The cannon fodder in the stand-in novel tries to rewrite his life, part 3. Please add to your favorites...

Chen Xia had just finished cleaning the room when the landlady stormed over in a huff.

As soon as I entered, my eyes scanned every corner of the room like searchlights.

Seeing the room neatly tidied and spotless, a slight smile appeared on his lips, but his tone remained stiff: "It's alright, I guess!"

The landlady, though stubborn on the outside, was kind-hearted. She said it was alright, but promptly returned the deposit and half a month's rent to Chen Xia.

Chen Xia politely accepted the money: "Thank you, Auntie. I'm sorry for the trouble you've caused me these past few days."

The landlady waved her hand and laughed heartily, "Oh, you silly child, don't be so polite with me. If you ever need to rent a place again, remember to call me, I'll save you a good room!"

Chen Xia nodded, picked up her laptop bag, and left the small cubicle where the original owner had lived for three years.

Stepping out of the dilapidated neighborhood, she felt much lighter.

As for a new place to live, Chen Xia already had a target in mind. The original owner of this body had also considered moving and had looked at several properties with a real estate agent.

At the time, she was most satisfied with a 35-square-meter, one-bedroom, one-living-room, fully furnished apartment in a relatively new residential complex less than 500 meters from her company. The rent was 3,000 yuan, with a three-month lease starting, and one month's rent as deposit and one month's rent in advance.

The original owner had left the agent's number, so Chen Xia found the agent's phone number and called the agent.

Unfortunately, that apartment had already been rented out. But the agent told her that there were two other apartments available in that complex, one for 2800 yuan a month and the other for 2900 yuan.

After Chen Xia went with him to take a look, she decided to rent the apartment that cost 2900.

After signing the contract and paying the rent and deposit, Chen Xia moved into her new home with her laptop bag.

After having the system check to make sure there were no suspicious items or hidden cameras, Chen Xia released Ling Yi and then took out several cleaning robots to give the house a thorough cleaning.

Chen Xia took a shower in her spatial dimension, changed her clothes, grabbed her bag, and went downstairs to a nearby specialty store to buy the latest model of mobile phone.

The original owner's phone was the one she bought when she first started working. It was already a bit slow, but she thought it was still usable, so she couldn't bear to replace it. Now that she's with Chen Xia, she naturally won't make herself suffer anymore.

Chen Xia's timing for transmigrating was perfect. Miss Ye was returning to the country today, and soon Shen Shuyue would discover that she was a substitute, then angrily break up with her and come to her for help.

This is also one of the reasons why Chen Xia decisively moved out of the dilapidated room she had previously rented, and the reason is readily available.

Yesterday, Shen Shuyue called the original owner again to boast about how expensive the diamond ring Gu Yan bought for her was.

The original owner mentioned Aunt Lan, who had taken good care of them when they were young: "When I called the director last time, I heard from the director that Aunt Lan was sick."

Shu Yue, I remember how good Aunt Lan was to you when you were little. Your generation of children all took Aunt Lan's surname, Shen.

The headmistress said, "Aunt Lan often mentions you. If you have time, why don't you give Aunt Lan a call? You even said back then that Aunt Lan loves you like a mother..."

"Xiaxia, can you please stop bringing up the past and people in front of me? Is growing up in an orphanage something to be proud of?"

Why do you always say such discouraging things when I'm happiest? You don't get tired of saying it, but I'm tired of hearing it!

I don't feel that Shen Lan treats me any differently than she treats you. Shen Lan is nice to us because she receives a salary from the school, so it's only natural that she should be nice to us.

Do you expect me to be grateful to her for the rest of my life? That's her job; she's a life skills teacher at an orphanage..."

“Growing up in an orphanage is not something to be proud of, but it is not something to be ashamed of either. Why can’t I mention it?”

Shu Yue, you should know how to be grateful. No one is obligated to be kind to you. You don't have to be grateful to her, but you can't belittle her.

I never expected you to be this kind of person. We're on different paths, so don't contact me again.

The original owner never expected Shen Shuyue to be this kind of person. She was extremely angry at the time, and after saying a few words to her, she hung up the phone directly.

The original owner was too kind. Although she said she wouldn't contact Shen Shuyue again, she still softened and forgave her when Shen Shuyue came to her crying.

Now that it's Chen Xia, a poisonous best friend like Shen Shuyue, she should get as far away from us as possible.

Chen Xia deleted Shen Shuyue from her contacts and cleared her friend list on WeChat and QQ. Then she removed the old SIM card and installed it in her new phone.

The original owner's phone number was used not only to contact former teachers and classmates, but also as their current work number.

She doesn't plan to resign from her current company for the time being, as it's too troublesome to notify her colleagues to change their contact information one by one.

So she decided to delete Shen Shuyue from her blacklist and never contact her again.

But she also got a new number, intending to use it as her work number. If anyone asks for her number in the future, she can give them this new number, and familiar colleagues can casually mention that she changed her number when chatting.

After her unpleasant encounter with the original owner of the body, Shen Shuyue went straight to Gu Yan for comfort, only to find that Gu Yan was completely distracted and spoke to her very perfunctorily.

Shen Shuyue felt wronged, but seeing Gu Yan's dark face and frequent checks of his phone, she knew something urgent must have happened, so she didn't tell him about her unpleasant breakup with Chen Xia.

The next day, Shen Shuyue was still furious. She decided to call Chen Xia and show off the jewelry and bags that Gu Yan had bought for her.

Although she didn't value these things, they were excellent tools for showing off to Chen Xia.

She wanted to show Chen Xia that what good is being a good student and getting into a top-tier university? After graduation, he'd just be an ordinary worker, and his monthly salary wouldn't even be enough to buy her a handbag.

She wanted to prove that even though she was just a vocational school graduate, she was the president's special assistant and could date a handsome, rich president.

Then, no matter how many times she dialed Chen Xia's mobile phone, it showed that the call could not be connected. Sending a WeChat message resulted in a large red exclamation mark.

And then there's that cold, impersonal message: "You're not her friend yet." Please send a friend request first; you can only chat after the other person accepts it.

Shen Shuyue trembled with anger: "Chen Xia, we only had a few words of argument, and you actually deleted and blocked me?"

"Fine, fine, you're so saintly and know how to be grateful, while I'm just a heartless ingrate!"

Shen Shuyue grew angrier the more she thought about it, so she changed her clothes, grabbed her bag, and went shopping. Only a burst of retaliatory spending could cheer her up.

Shen Shuyue went to a luxury store that Gu Yan had taken her to many times before.

It's almost time to change seasons, and she needs to buy a few new outfits. She spotted a dress she liked and gestured to the sales assistant to find her the right size.

After receiving the dress from the sales assistant, Shen Shuyue went into the fitting room to try it on when she suddenly heard two shop assistants talking about Gu Yan outside the fitting room.

Shen Shuyue pressed her ear against the fitting room door, wanting to hear what they were saying.

Shop assistant A: "Hey, how long do you think Mr. Gu's current girlfriend will last?"

"They'll break up soon. I heard from Xiao Jiang, a sales representative for XX brand, that Gu Shao's ex-girlfriend, Ye Jia's daughter, returned to China yesterday."

"Now that Miss Ye is back, there's no need for a fake. You know Miss Ye's temper. Could she tolerate a fake being constantly hanging around in front of her?"

"Hey, you know what, Miss Shen and Miss Ye really look alike! If I didn't know Miss Ye didn't have a sister, I'd suspect they were related by blood!"

"It's not impossible. Miss Ye's biological father was quite the womanizer in his youth. Perhaps that Miss Shen is the Ye family's illegitimate daughter who was lost to the world."

"It's unlikely. I heard from a colleague who works at the Gu family that Miss Shen is an orphan who grew up in an orphanage."

I've heard that Mr. Ye is very generous to his women. If Miss Shen were an illegitimate daughter of the Ye family, how could she possibly end up in an orphanage?

The word "counterfeit" made Shen Shuyue's vision go black. So Gu Yan was dating her because she looked like the eldest daughter of the Ye family.

She often heard people gossiping about this Miss Ye at the company, describing her as a privileged girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth, beautiful, a high achiever... as if all the praise could be used to describe her.

Shen Shuyue took off her dress, casually tossed it in the fitting room, opened the door, and walked out.

Just as the two shop assistants were about to ask her if the dress fit, they saw her distraught appearance and realized that she had overheard their conversation. They quickly pretended nothing had happened and went back to their work.

The two exchanged a glance, pretended nothing had happened, and went about their own business.

Like a ghost, Shen Shuyue wandered aimlessly through the streets. Unconsciously, she arrived at the company building and saw Gu Yan's car approaching. She instinctively hid to the side.

After Gu Yan got out of the car, she personally went to the passenger side to open the door and escorted a woman who looked about 70% like her out of the car.

No wonder Gu Yan always said he liked her with long, flowing curly hair, liked her in sexy dresses, and liked looking at her profile...

So this is what Miss Ye is like. She is just a one-to-one imitation of Miss Ye made by Gu Yan.

Shen Shuyue stood in the shadows below the company building, quietly watching Gu Yan gaze at the woman with tenderness and focus—an expression she had never seen on his face before.

Miss Ye gracefully took his arm, and the two walked into the building side by side, as if they were a match made in heaven.

Shen Shuyue felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly, making it difficult to even breathe.

The facts were undeniable; she had no choice but to believe them. She was merely a tool Gu Yan used to fill the void in Miss Ye's heart while she was abroad—a dispensable substitute.

She thought she was a Cinderella in distress, which was why she was able to meet a domineering CEO like Gu Yan. It turns out, it was all just wishful thinking on her part.