Silently staring at the diary, Jin Lan’s heart was in turmoil, on the verge of collapse.
Around noon, she glanced at the building she was in. She was currently on the fourth floor. If she just jumped down, she should be able to die, right? Hmm, that should be about right. But after thinking about it, it didn’t seem feasible. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door to her room.
“Ahhh …” Jin Lan let out a furious roar. It was obvious she simply couldn’t accept this outcome. To be honest, if she had a choice, she’d rather just be a nameless bystander.
There were quite a few female characters in novels who were just there to make up the numbers. Reading the diary, Jin Lan could deeply relate.
Take Mu Jinli from the campus arc, for example. That girl was essentially a background female lead—playing the role of the main character in a small side story, but once the arc ended, she completely faded into obscurity.
But at least she had a side story. What did Jin Lan have? Plot? Or something else?
Even taking a step back, she had been one of the earliest people to meet Chen Fan, so why had she ended up ?
At first, Jin Lan had foolishly believed she was the female lead caught between Chen Fan and Ye Aotian.
Maybe Chen Fan liked her, and Ye Aotian also liked her—if that were the case, her status would at least be elevated a little. So, she waited and waited … but nothing ever came of it.
Now, with her own story finally beginning, Jin Lan was falling apart. Wasn’t it obvious? She was just a supporting female lead, nothing more. A female lead that existed purely as a side character.
Thinking back to how proud she had once been, she felt a burning rage. What the hell? Why? Why did she have to be treated this way?
Jin Lan looked at her phone and saw a message from someone.
Lin Qingyue’s message was simple: “Sister Jin Lan, keep going, you can do it.”
Damn, this woman was doing it on purpose.
The top-tier, number one female lead was slowly mastering the art of passive-aggressive encouragement.
On the other hand, Cao Zijin’s message was much more direct: “Sister, do you think I should give your contact information to Ye Zifeng? Sigh, that guy is really handsome.”
“Are you trying to die, or what?”
“Come on, why are you getting mad? If you keep getting mad, you’ll get wrinkles. That’s not good for your health, you know.”
Damn it, I swear I could rip your head off right now.
“If you have nothing else to say, don’t bother me. I need some time to calm down.”
Calm down? Calm down, my ass.
Cao Zijin replied: “Look at you, Sister, is this really necessary? It’s just that you saw something you weren’t supposed to see.”
“So? What’s your plan? Tell me.”
“It’s not really a plan, but … let’s put it this way. Haven’t you always wanted to improve your relationship with Chen Fan? I think it’s actually not that hard to do, right?”
This sentence made Jin Lan waver.
Cao Zijin continued: “Sister, you’re actually really amazing. There’s one thing about you that’s truly outstanding, but you’ve been overlooking it.”
“Hah, what? That I’m older? If that’s what you’re getting at, don’t bother. That’s just depressing.”
“No, silly Sister, you’re forgetting something important—you were the first woman to like Chen Fan. That’s something no other girl has.”
Jin Lan was stunned. She said, “That’s impossible. How could I like Chen Fan?”
But … but somehow, at some point, she really had started liking him. She had grown accustomed to looking at the empty seat where his secretary should have been.
It had always been empty. Jin Lan had always been waiting for Chen Fan to return.
And as she waited and waited, she found that she couldn’t let go anymore.
“Sigh, fine. Speak, I’m listening. I admit it—you’re smarter and more capable than me.”
“Hehe, Sister, don’t joke around. Let me put it this way—Ye Aotian may be annoying, but my husband says we can’t kill him. He needs to be slowly tortured instead. I have no choice but to follow orders.”
“You’re not even married yet. Don’t talk like that. He’s not your husband yet.”
Of course. Women were all the same. They all got jealous.
Damn it, this was what a normal woman should be like!
Unlike those web novels where women suddenly became best friends after exchanging just a few lines. How was that even possible?
Looking at the current female leads, some rejected Chen Fan, some treated him as a stranger, some just liked messing with him for fun, and some genuinely had feelings for him.
Everyone had read the diary, and although they didn’t like Ye Aotian, that didn’t mean that just because they disliked Ye Aotian, they automatically had to like Chen Fan.
Each person was an individual.
“I more or less guessed as much. Go on, what are you thinking?”
“I asked my husband.”
“Stop right there. It’s Chen Fan. He’s not your husband yet.”
Cao Zijin said, “Mm, it’s Chen Fan. I asked Chen Fan—your Chen Fan.”
Jin Lan snorted but didn’t respond.
“I asked around, and Ye Zifeng can be killed, but Ye Aotian can’t. So, tell me, if Ye Zifeng dies, wouldn’t that be—?”
Jin Lan suddenly snapped to attention. Wasn’t this perfect?
She had just been wondering where to vent her anger, and now, here it was, served up on a silver platter.
If she didn’t take full advantage of this, how could she live up to the title of the “Main Character Team’s Top Strategist” that the author had given her?
“That’s a very good idea. Thank you, I’ll remember this favor.”
“So, you still need to give me that contact information. No matter what, you have to hand it over—whether it’s through my channel or another one, you can’t avoid it.”
“I know. This is the way things are headed, I can’t escape it. But let me ask you something, and answer me honestly, from the bottom of your heart.”
Cao Zijin said, “It’s about Zhu Yeqing, right? That’s nothing, Sister. You forgot—my mother was originally a mistress, so my views on relationships are a bit … skewed.”
Jin Lan completely accepted defeat. She even thought, if Cao Zijin were a villain, just how many protagonists would end up dead?
This woman was terrifying—not just intelligent, but also shameless. In fact, even now, Jin Lan couldn’t quite grasp her true personality. She was always laughing and joking, but if she ever stopped smiling … that would probably mean something big was about to go down.
After hanging up, Cao Zijin looked at Ye Zifeng, who was sitting across from her, and said,
“I got it. Heh, sorry about that. I had to have a nice little chat—after all, it’s not easy giving you a beautiful woman’s contact information, right?”
“Mm, understandable. Don’t worry, for now, I won’t go after the Chen family. But let’s be clear—I said for now.”
Cao Zijin said, “That’s fine. You can go after Chen Fan, it’s okay, I won’t be mad.”
Ye Zifeng froze in place. Staring at Cao Zijin, he asked, “Are you saying … I don’t need to hold back?”
“Of course not. I, Cao Zijin, need a strong man. And I myself am very strong too. So go ahead—if you lose, that just means you weren’t skilled enough, right?”
Ye Zifeng laughed wildly and said, “Suddenly, I get it. I finally understand why my older brother sighed when he heard about your engagement to Chen Fan. As expected, you’re really clever.”