The mini car sped past Song Qiuyu, the wind it kicked up tangling her hair, carrying with it a faint but unpleasant exhaust smell.
If Jiang Xiao hadn’t been fast enough, she might have been hit.
Her heart pounded wildly; the close call with death left no room for anything else. Yet Jiang Xiao’s face showed a hint of discomfort.
The wrinkled fabric of his hoodie smoothed out as the hand that had grabbed the wrong spot hurriedly retracted.
But that brief, strange touch had already sent Jiang Xiao’s heart racing.
Song Qiuyu’s body seemed soft, without much muscle…
But no matter what, as long as she was okay, that was what mattered.
“Lao Song, you were way too reckless just now!” Xie Zhuran said anxiously.
“Shh, shh.”
Song Qiuyu nodded, her small hand stroking her chest.
But just as she did, she suddenly felt a small patch of pain there—not swelling, but a burning, stinging sensation.
She instinctively wanted to rub it, but before she could act, she quickly suppressed the dangerous thought.
Then she glanced at the culprit behind the pain.
Though she wanted to complain that the other person had grabbed too hard, she reminded herself that this also showed how urgent it had been at the moment, so she swallowed the harsh words that hovered on her lips.
“Thanks, Jiang Xiao. Good thing you were here!”
Song Qiuyu looked back at the mini car that had already disappeared behind her, still a little shaken.
“No problem. Just pay more attention when you walk next time.”
Jiang Xiao avoided looking at her face, his tone deliberately indifferent.
Watching Jiang Xiao walk away alone, Song Qiuyu blinked in surprise, sharply sensing his mood had inexplicably darkened.
Hmm, is he thinking about Xi’er?
Lost in thought, she fell into step with her two other roommates at a leisurely pace.
“How about we grab some fruit before heading back to the dorm? My treat.”
Song Qiuyu tilted her head and said this deliberately so Jiang Xiao would hear, hoping that after eating some favorite fruit, his mood would lift a bit.
And to thank Jiang Xiao for stepping in to save her earlier.
Though he grabbed the wrong spot…
Still, it wasn’t the first time Jiang Xiao had touched her body.
The last time at the hotel when he helped undress her, Jiang Xiao had already touched many places.
Of course, even thinking about Jiang Xiao grabbing her chest made her heartbeat accelerate uncontrollably.
Jiang Xiao slowed his pace, probably thinking the same.
Together, they went to the school’s supermarket to buy some fruit. Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao even pooled their money to buy a power strip.
Though her living expenses had improved recently, Song Qiuyu still used her phone to keep accounts as usual when leaving the store. But because of the near-miss with the car earlier, she took a special path inside.
Back at the dorm, after a busy day that stretched until lights out, she drafted an opening for the commercial script in a document.
Then she stretched, climbed into bed, tucked herself in, and prepared to sleep.
Everyone else was already lying on their own beds—Xie Zhuran, Lin An, Jiang Xiao—all quickly fell asleep.
Only Song Qiuyu couldn’t sleep.
She rubbed the painful spot on her chest, then unbuttoned the top two buttons of her nightdress, pushing the collar to the side.
Her slightly rounded, pale white skin was exposed, but what should have been pristine and flawless now bore several deep, reddish finger marks.
Naturally, these were Jiang Xiao’s overly forceful handiwork.
No way to complain.
She wondered how long it would take for these marks to fade. The scars from the Red Mole had taken nearly a week to disappear.
Damn it.
She didn’t button the buttons back up, simply turned over and started trying to fall asleep.
But her mind wouldn’t settle—there was an inexplicable feeling that she had forgotten something very important.
She flipped over again, careful not to disturb her roommates.
Finally, she faced the wall and lay quietly on her side, no longer moving.
She tried to recall and, after a while, remembered.
She hadn’t checked Jiang Xiao’s messages.
Her phone hadn’t been on the bed tonight.
It was still charging downstairs.
Without hesitation, Song Qiuyu sat up, got out of bed, and went to her desk, unplugged the charger, and picked up her phone.
She cautiously glanced toward Jiang Xiao’s bed and listened carefully several times to make sure he was asleep before daring to unlock her phone.
She’d been so busy this afternoon that she completely forgot her daily routine.
Song Qiuyu held her forehead and looked at Jiang Xiao’s chat window.
She opened it.
［Jiang Xiao］: Xi’er, I have good news to share. The short video account that Song Qiuyu and the others and I set up just got its first commercial order. I hope all of us will keep getting better and better.
But speaking of this first order, the product that Party A wants us to promote is quite special.
If I tell you, you might get scared—it’s a Couple Umbrella.
But I guess when you see this, your first reaction will be the same as mine, thinking it’s just a normal umbrella.
But actually, it’s… a more special kind of umbrella. If we hadn’t broken up and had gotten back together, maybe we would have used it.
Song Qiuyu was silent for a long time after reading it before finally recovering.
Honestly, this little essay was rare—Jiang Xiao hadn’t made a snide remark about her writing. That was more like it.
When chatting with an ex, one can chat, but constantly complaining about roommates? What’s wrong with that?
But why was Jiang Xiao still full of regret? It was because he couldn’t use the Couple Umbrella with Shen Xi…
Compared to Jiang Xiao’s regret, her own cosplay of Tifa felt trivial.
Holding the phone, Song Qiuyu stared at the screen a few more times, then firmly resolved to help Jiang Xiao find a wife soon so he could use the Couple Umbrella.
This White Snake Legend script was a great opportunity—she had to get Jiang Xiao and Sang Tian closer!
She switched accounts back, took the phone, climbed into bed, and squeezed every bit of rest time she could.
After two days of effort, she finally polished a script she was quite satisfied with and sent it to Party A.
At the library.
“Lao Song, I don’t think this character distribution works. We have to redistribute!” Xie Zhuran said dissatisfied as he looked at the electronic script in his hand.
“Yeah, Qiuyu, having Sang Tian and you play Lady White is okay, but having big guy Lao Xie take the role is just…” Lin An snickered mischievously.
“Lao Lin, don’t forget you’re playing Xu Xian.”
Xie Zhuran gave a meaningful wink to his roommate, frantically hinting that Lin An should side with him.
“No way, I actually think this allocation is pretty good!”
Song Qiuyu smiled sweetly and looked toward Jiang Xiao as Fahai, then at Sang Tian as Qing She, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.
Compared to Xu Xian and Lady White, a straightforward couple, the villainous pairing of Qing She and Fahai suited Sang Tian and Jiang Xiao’s personalities better!
After all, it wasn’t so obvious, so neither would get embarrassed.
This was the conclusion she had drawn these days.
Some girls like a guy but are too shy to approach him directly; instead, they act the most distant and polite to the one they like.
So her previous failures were probably because she rushed things.
This time, she’d take it slow.
“Besides, Lady White is the protagonist of the White Snake Legend, with so many scenes. I’m just stuffing chicken legs into your role, Lao Xie. Are you sure you don’t want it?”
Song Qiuyu raised an eyebrow, confidently saying, “Think about it—aren’t I just doing this for your own good?”
“Lao Song, do I look stupid? Look me in the eye! Look in my eyes.”
Xie Zhuran didn’t buy her act for a second, firmly believing she was just getting back at him.
“‘Ass?’”
“Eyes! Lao Lin, don’t interrupt.”
Watching the heated debate between Xie Zhuran and Song Qiuyu, Lin An rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Qiuyu only focused on getting back at Lao Xie, never thinking to sneak some benefits for herself or Sang Tian.
Ugh, this girl was hopeless.
At this rate, when would they ever become a real team? Sigh.
“But Song, are you sure it’s okay to only take the passerby role of the umbrella seller? Will Party A be satisfied with that for product placement?”
Sang Tian was also baffled by Song Qiuyu’s character allocation.
When she heard they were filming White Snake Legend, she was sure Qiuyu would be Lady White and Jiang Xiao Xu Xian.
But she hadn’t guessed a single role correctly.
What was Song Qiuyu thinking? Was she deliberately avoiding suspicion with this arrangement?
“Actually, no matter how much we discuss here, the key is what Party A says.”
Just then, a message reply arrived, and everyone gathered around the computer.
But Song Qiuyu only glanced once before feeling like the sky was falling.
“Party A says Lady White should be played by Teacher Lemon.”
After all this time, Party A had shortened their address to her from ‘Sugar-dipped Teacher Lemon’ to just ‘Teacher Lemon,’ and the tone was less formal and distant.
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Hehe, Lao Song, you still can’t beat my lucky streak.” Xie Zhuran laughed aloud.
Song Qiuyu was dumbfounded.
Another message came.
“Although the umbrella seller role seems fitting, Lady White’s role can better showcase your strengths, Teacher Lemon. What do you think?”
Song Qiuyu twitched at the corner of her eyes twice. She wanted to argue immediately, but thinking twice…
This was Party A…
If she accidentally offended them, that first paycheck would vanish.
Party A was the biggest boss.
Finally, she reluctantly typed her reply.
“Understood, I will adjust the roles.”
After all, she had already cosplayed once; playing Lady White again shouldn’t be a big deal.
Beside her, Xie Zhuran wore a cocky grin.
“And as for the role of Xu Xian…”
Party A’s words instantly tightened everyone’s nerves.
“I think the most handsome one should play it. I feel you two have a lot of ‘OP’ chemistry.”
“?!”
Lin An and Xie Zhuran both froze. What the heck—why were they paired together again?
They had hoped to pull some tricks, like forgetting lines or not adapting to the role, anything to make Song Qiuyu change the cast so Sang Tian could play Xu Xian.
Song Qiuyu’s expression soured, and Jiang Xiao’s was even worse.
He didn’t think the current situation suited him playing a husband to Song Qiuyu—a couple that needed a Couple Umbrella…
Song Qiuyu looked helplessly at Sang Tian, who seemed oddly pleased, then at Jiang Xiao’s hard-to-read expression and forced a smile.
“Jiang Xiao, what do you say?”
Jiang Xiao paused but ultimately chose to compromise.
He knew how important this first commercial order was. Though unhappy, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and play Xu Xian, acting as Song Qiuyu’s husband.
Moreover, for some reason, he didn’t feel particularly resistant to it.
After that, Party A not only adjusted their role assignments but also gave some notes on the script.
They said it wasn’t dirty enough.
And they gave a suggestion.
The five freshmen, staring at their screens, felt the immense pressure from Party A looming over them.
“So, do we really have to replace Huangjiu with that thing?” Xie Zhuran was scared by Party A’s proposal.
To emphasize the product’s safety and for the pun, Party A actually wanted to replace the Huangjiu that Fahai gives Xu Xian with a Special Elixir that can only force Lady White to reveal her true form when the married couple makes love.
For a moment, he barely had time to be glad he wasn’t playing Lady White.
If a girl had to act that out, it would be way too embarrassing, almost bordering on sexual harassment.
But since all were guys, it might be okay.
Even Lin An’s expression grew more serious as he shifted his gaze from the group chat to Song Qiuyu. He seemed hesitant to speak.
For the first paycheck, Qiuyu might have to pay too high a price.
Not just Qiuyu.
Jiang Xiao’s situation wasn’t any better.
Song Qiuyu frowned, carefully weighing Party A’s suggestions.
If the suggestions were unreasonable, she might consider outright rejection.
The difficult part was that Party A’s requests weren’t random—adding dirty jokes and replacing Huangjiu probably wouldn’t harm the overall script.
And even if Party A’s ideas were ridiculous, as inexperienced college students, their say was minimal. If Party A got upset, they’d simply end cooperation.
Sang Tian’s expression was complicated—disgust and annoyance, mixed with helplessness, worry, and a little hope.
These ideas were way too embarrassing. But if Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao played these roles… maybe it would bring them closer.
Just as the atmosphere stiffened, Jiang Xiao spoke.
“I’m fine with it. Song Qiuyu, how about you?”
Song Qiuyu: Cat shocked.jpg
Not only was she shocked, everyone was surprised that Jiang Xiao was the fastest to accept.
He was just forced to accept.
If he hadn’t spoken, the stalemate might have dragged on until Party A canceled the cooperation.
But ultimately, the final decision was Song Qiuyu’s.
She paused. She’d initially dragged Jiang Xiao into making short videos to help him become more cheerful, and he’d gradually grown more proactive.
Her eyes sparkled with some satisfaction.
“Then it’s settled. Any other suggestions?”
She sent the message to Party A.
Sure enough, Party A had one more request—they directly deleted the original umbrella seller character Song Qiuyu had created and shifted that character’s scenes to Qing She.
This proposal was unanimously approved.
That umbrella seller role had only existed to avoid the risk of Song Qiuyu, as the host, playing Lady White and Xu Xian.
Now, it was useless.
Everything finalized, Party A logged off.
“Finally over…”
Song Qiuyu breathed a sigh of relief, her expression tense as if she’d been in a battle, staring at the newly revised script under Party A’s supervision.
“Make sure you each download the new script and get familiar with the plot,” she reminded them while scrutinizing how much innuendo was packed into the new version.