Chapter 2 "What's this little bit of money?"
Looking at the string of exhilarating numbers on her phone screen, Yun Qingqing suddenly found Gu Mingyan incredibly pleasing to the eye.
She explained softly, "I was filming a scene where I fell into the water on set just now, and I had to do several takes before I saw the message on my phone."
This explanation is reasonable and also cleverly plays the victim.
Gu Mingyan remembered that she had indeed heard that Ding Manni had made things difficult for her and that she had fallen into the water repeatedly today. Her initial displeasure dissipated considerably, and she snorted, "Fine, remember to reply to my messages promptly next time."
"Definitely, definitely." Yun readily agreed.
Seeing that Gu Mingyan had no intention of leaving, she made a hypocritical polite remark, "You've come all this way, would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
Yun Qingqing thought to herself that, based on Miss Gu's past behavior, she would definitely scoff at this small apartment in an old neighborhood, immediately reject the suggestion, and leave.
After all, she had always been so dismissive of the original owner of this body.
To everyone's surprise, after looking her up and down, Gu Mingyan actually condescended to nod and said, "Okay, I'm a little tired anyway."
Yun Qingqing: "???"
No, why isn't this young lady following the usual procedure?
Seeing her stunned, Gu Mingyan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What? Not welcome?"
Yun Qingqing immediately came to her senses: "How could we not welcome you? It's an honor to have you here, Miss! Please come in, please come in!"
—For the sake of 500,000, let alone come in and sit down, she would immediately pack up and sleep on the floor if asked to give up her bed for Gu Mingyan to lie on.
Yes, that's how resilient and adaptable office workers are after being worn down by life.
She took out her key and opened the rather flimsy door.
Gu Mingyan gestured for the bodyguards to wait downstairs, while she followed Yun Qingqing inside.
The apartment was a one-bedroom unit, not very large, but it had been kept quite tidy and cozy by the original owner. However, this space was clearly insufficient in the eyes of Gu Mingyan, who was used to living in villas of thousands of square meters.
She disdainfully changed into slippers, shuffling around half of the small living room before blurting out, "Yun Qingqing, is this your bathroom? It's so tiny! Where do you live?"
Yun took a deep breath and kept repeating "500,000, 500,000, 500,000" to suppress the urge to ask this naive young lady to leave.
She replied with a forced smile, "Miss Gu, this is all of my house. The living room and bedroom are combined, and over there is the bathroom and a small balcony."
Gu Mingyan's face showed an expression of disbelief.
She walked to the small sofa, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately did not sit down. Instead, she chose to continue standing, examining the cramped space with the eyes of someone studying an alien creature.
Yun Qingqing ignored her pickiness and casually took a bottle of yogurt from the refrigerator for her: "Here, have some."
This is considered the highest level of hospitality.
Gu Mingyan held the yogurt in her hand and urged him to get down to business: "Hurry up and get ready. Come with me to the fashion show tonight. I want to 'bump into' Brother Jin Yan."
Yun listened attentively and gave a disinterested "Oh".
According to the plot, whenever this stand-in female supporting character runs into that jerk male lead Ye Jinyan, it's bound to be another chaotic and melodramatic soap opera filled with jealousy and turmoil. She's too lazy to join in the fun.
"No, I'm hungry. I'll eat first." Yun Qingqing walked towards the kitchen without hesitation.
She hasn't had any water since she transmigrated here, and she's been starving.
Of all things under heaven, eating is the most important.
Yun gently rummaged through the drawers and found two packets of braised beef noodles. She skillfully unpacked them, boiled water, and made the noodles.
When you're starving, a steaming bowl of instant noodles is the ultimate comfort food.
Gu Mingyan was somewhat displeased that she was ignoring her orders, but she was also curious about what she was doing.
"Yun Qingqing, what are you doing?" Gu Mingyan asked, peeking out.
"Cook instant noodles," Yun said softly without turning her head.
"Instant noodles?" Gu Mingyan's pretty eyebrows furrowed. "Is this pile of yellow stuff actually food?"
Yun Qingqing ignored her and focused on watching the noodles stretch out in the pot.
She took out a small bowl, skillfully beat the egg mixture, and prepared to make a poached egg. Then, she squeezed in all the seasoning and sauce packets, and finally sprinkled on a small handful of chopped green onions and cilantro.
In an instant, the apartment was filled with a rich and strong aroma of spices.
Gu Mingyan couldn't help but move closer, her eyes fixed on the pot of noodles bubbling in red oil: "This looks delicious."
Yun gave a soft "hmm" and used her chopsticks to scoop the noodles into a large bowl. The red soup and green onions looked incredibly appetizing.
Gu Mingyan watched her movements with wide eyes and repeated, "This looks delicious."
This time, Yun Qingqing understood.
She turned her head and looked at Miss Gu, whose appetite had been whetted, her mind racing with calculations.
Yun asked softly, "Want to eat?"
Gu Mingyan raised her chin and gave a reserved hum.
Yun Qingqing began to talk nonsense with a straight face: "Miss, don't be fooled by how simple it is to make instant noodles. The process is actually quite complicated. Not only do you need to control the heat precisely, but you also need to prepare the soup base and make the dipping sauces... It takes a lot of effort."
She picked up a few noodles with her chopsticks and counted them seriously: "Since we know each other, I'll give you half a portion. Each noodle is ten yuan, and this half portion has about thirty noodles, so it's a fair price of three hundred yuan. I'm honest with you, young and old."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Qingqing's phone rang with a notification that the money had been credited to her account.
Gu Mingyan was completely unaware that she had been tricked, and instead said with great interest: "Quickly scoop it up and let me have a taste."
"Alright." Yun Qingqing changed her previous dismissive attitude and diligently scooped up the instant noodles, whose price had skyrocketed, and handed them to Gu Mingyan.
Gu Mingyan carefully picked up a few strands of instant noodles with her chopsticks, blew on them, and then tentatively put them into her mouth.
The next second, her eyes widened slightly.
Gu Mingyan had been eating meticulously formulated nutritional meals for over twenty years, and this was the first time she had encountered such a purely technological and non-natural food. She was immediately amazed.
"Slurp—slurp—"
She immediately forgot all about ladylike etiquette and began to eat heartily, holding the bowl.
Yun looked at the young lady across from her, who was beaming with happiness over a bowl of instant noodles, and her gaze unconsciously softened, as if she were looking at a walking ATM.
What an honest and simple child! He's generous with money, has low demands, and can be made happy with just a bowl of instant noodles. He's much easier to deal with than those difficult clients from my previous life.
Gu Mingyan glanced up by chance and caught Yun Qingqing's gaze before she could look away.
She blinked, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
The clouds are so light today, they've really changed a lot.
In the past, Yun Qingqing's gaze was always complex, mixed with the jealousy, flattery, and scheming that Gu Mingyan was used to... Where would she find the clean, bright, and friendly look she has now?
This kind gaze made Gu Mingyan, who was used to being revered or envied, feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
After the two finished their exorbitantly priced instant noodles, Yun Qingqing began to leisurely clear the dishes.
Gu Mingyan sat on the small folding stool, quietly waiting for Yun Qingqing to wash the dishes, and unusually, she didn't urge her.
Once Yun Qingqing finally cleared some space, the two set off for the show.
When the car arrived at the perimeter of the show venue, the city lights were already on.
Just as they were looking for a parking spot, a black Rolls-Royce with its windows closed passed by them and drove straight away from the show.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Gu Mingyan eagerly pushed open the door, ready to go find her brother Jin Yan.
A system's electronic voice suddenly sounded in Yun Qingqing's mind:
[Ding—Notification: The male lead, Ye Jinyan, has left the scene. You missed the important plot point where Gu Mingyan entangled herself with the male lead and was subsequently neglected.]
Yun responded with a calm "Mmm".
The system reiterated: "Host, you just missed the original plot."
As Yun Qingqing watched Gu Mingyan looking around like a headless fly, she lazily asked the system in her mind, "What punishment will I receive for missing the plot?"
The system paused for a moment, then responded curtly: "[...This system only provides prompts and assistance; it has no penalty function.]"
Yun Qingqing immediately retorted confidently, "Then I don't care whether it's right or wrong?"
system:【……】
The electronic sound froze, which is unusual for it.
Hmm, that makes sense.
Gu Mingyan searched the glamorous fashion show several times, but couldn't find Ye Jinyan anywhere.
She pouted in disappointment, feeling a bit irritated.
Just as I was about to turn my head and complain to Yun Qingqing, I saw that Yun Qingqing was staring intently at the catwalk, her eyes sparkling, looking completely absorbed.
This was the first time she had ever been so close to a fashion show runway, and she marveled at the models' incredibly long legs.
Yun Qingqing's face was a little chubby, plump and looked like it would feel really nice to touch.
Gu Mingyan stared at her profile and suddenly felt a tickle in her hand, wanting to pinch it.
However, the young lady's composure made her suppress this impulse.
She followed Yun Qingqing's gaze to the catwalk, assuming that Yun had taken a fancy to a particular outfit, and casually said, "Tell me which one you like, and I can order it right away."
Yun Qingqing snapped out of her reverie and immediately offered a perfunctory, polite reply: "No, no, I'm so sorry..."
"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Gu Mingyan interrupted her, glancing disdainfully at her plain T-shirt and jeans. "My follower is dressed so shabbily, it's embarrassing for me."
Yun swallowed back the polite words that were about to come out: "Miss is right!"
In order not to embarrass Miss Gu, she had no choice but to reluctantly accept the gift.
Gu Mingyan pulled her to the backstage area, greeted the person in charge, and then walked in as if inspecting her territory.
The scene was bustling with activity, as models who had just come off the stage were changing clothes and removing accessories with the help of staff.
Gu Mingyan glanced around the backstage area and casually pointed to two models with similar figures to Yun Qingqing: "You, and you, come here."
Then she gently raised her chin at Yun: "Which one do you like? Let them wear it and show you how it looks."
Yun Qingqing: "!!!"
Is this the world of the rich?!
You don't even need to try on clothes yourself when buying them; there are personal models to wear them for you.
Just as Yun Qingqing was once again redefining her understanding of the phrase "outrageously extravagant," Gu Mingyan's phone rang.
She glanced at the contact name; it was Zhang Ying.
Gu Mingyan had heard that Ye Jinyan had invested in a variety show called "Best Partners" some time ago. In order to create more opportunities to interact with Ye Jinyan, she signed up for the show without thinking.
The show required guests to find their own partners, and Gu Mingyan, wanting to save trouble, casually chose one of her followers, Zhang Ying, to accompany her.
Zhang Ying sent the message to remind Gu Mingyan to interact on Weibo as soon as possible and officially announce that the two of them would be participating in a variety show together.
Gu Mingyan had no interest in this kind of hype and publicity; she just found it troublesome.
She looked at the interactive text template Zhang Ying had sent her on her phone, impatiently closed the chat window, and put her phone on silent.
When Gu Mingyan looked up again, she saw Yun Qingqing tapping her chin with her hand, her chubby face contorted in a frown.
She found it a little funny and walked over to ask, "Have you made your choice yet? Is it that hard to pick?"
Yun turned her head gently at the sound, pointed to the clothes in front of her, and answered honestly, "These are all pretty, but they are different styles. I'm having trouble deciding which one to choose."
The items she pointed to included a sharply tailored suit dress, a gentle shirt dress, and a short, playful evening gown.
Without a second thought, Gu Mingyan waved her hand and said to the show manager waiting beside her, "Wrap up all these dresses in her size and swipe your card."
The manager took the card with a smile and announced a number that made Yun Qingqing's heart skip a beat.
Yun Qingqing was stunned and instinctively grabbed Gu Mingyan's arm: "Wait! There are too many! One is enough for me!"
Although she wanted to cling to this golden opportunity to make a quick buck, everything should be done in a sustainable and gradual manner!
Today, there was another transfer of 500,000 yuan and an exorbitantly priced instant noodle, and now she's even gotten a few high-end designer clothes for free... Yun Qingqing's already dwindling conscience is starting to ache.
Gu Mingyan didn't care at all: "What's this little bit of money? Just take it."
Seeing Yun Weiwei's slightly open mouth and wide-eyed expression, she finally couldn't resist and quickly pinched her chubby cheeks.
Yes, it feels really good.
Yun Qingqing: "?"
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