...Girls' dormitory...
"Xiaoju, Xiaoju?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you so absent-minded?" Shangguan Yurou walked over to Han Juyou and asked with concern, "Ever since you rushed downstairs earlier and came back, you've been miles away. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing." Han Juyou smiled at Shangguan Yurou.
She took Han Juyou's hand and said softly, "If you run into any trouble, just tell me. I'll definitely find a way to help you."
In Liu Muye's book, Shangguan Yurou was gentle, thoughtful, and highly perceptive. Even when facing Han Juyou, whom she had just met, she was willing to offer unconditional help.
This was precisely a major reason why Han Juyou had been able to repeatedly and successfully drive a wedge between her and Nangong Ye in the original plot.
Han Juyou squeezed Shangguan Yurou's hand back, smiled, and said, "Really, nothing's wrong. I'm fine, thank you, Yurou."
"Don't mention it, we're friends." Shangguan Yurou smiled faintly, pressing her lips together.
Hearing Shangguan Yurou's words, Han Juyou suddenly felt a wave of warmth. She said, "Actually, growing up, I never really had many friends. I'm so lucky to meet someone as kind as you right at the start of the semester."
"Actually, I don't have many friends either," Shangguan Yurou murmured for a moment before saying, "People seem a bit too intimidated to get close to me."
"Why is that?" Han Juyou asked, puzzled. "Yurou, you're so kind, why would people be afraid to get close to you?"
"It's probably because..."
Shangguan Yurou almost blurted out that people stayed away because of her "young miss background," but the moment those words formed, wouldn't her hidden identity be exposed? Fortunately, she caught herself just in time.
Seeing the other girl stop mid-sentence, Han Juyou asked, confused, "Because of what?"
Shangguan Yurou stammered, "Because... because... I don't know, maybe I'm just not very likable."
"That's not true, how could you think that?" Han Juyou shook her head and said, "A girl as perfect as you is definitely much more likable than I am."
Shangguan Yurou shook her head. "Well, if you put it that way, Xiaoju, you're also very pretty and kind. Why wouldn't you have friends?"
"I don't know either..."
Prompted by Shangguan Yurou's question, Han Juyou suddenly found herself recalling her past...
As if remembering some unpleasant experience, Han Juyou shivered slightly. Then, snapping back to reality, she said to Shangguan Yurou, "I don't know why nobody wants to be friends with me either. Maybe I'm just an unlikable person."
Shangguan Yurou shook her head and smiled. "I'll be your friend."
"Okay."
At that moment, two young girls harboring deep secrets became good friends.
Han Juyou suddenly remembered the warning Liu Muye had given her on the first day of school—"You are not allowed to harm Shangguan Yurou."
She thought to herself, "Shangguan Yurou is clearly such a wonderful girl, how could I possibly want to hurt her? Why on earth did Liu Muye say something like that?"
Never before in her entire life had Han Juyou felt such profound confusion and bewilderment as she did at this exact moment.
In a fleeting instant, her feelings for Liu Muye also began to undergo a subtle shift—an indescribable emotion, like confusion intertwined with the faintest threads of... fondness?
This feeling sent layer upon layer of ripples across the surface of her heart.
...
That evening, Shangguan Yurou brought dinner back for Han Juyou.
Seeing Han Juyou sitting at her desk writing with a pen and paper, Shangguan Yurou decided not to disturb her. She placed the food to one side and went back to her own desk.
Once Han Juyou finished writing and clicked her pen shut, she noticed the meal Shangguan Yurou had brought for her and immediately said, "Yurou, thank you!"
Shangguan Yurou shook her head and replied, "It's nothing, don't mention it. What were you writing?"
"A novel." Han Juyou handed her notebook to Shangguan Yurou and asked, "Would you like to take a look?"
"Can I?"
"Of course."
With Han Juyou's permission, Shangguan Yurou picked up the notebook and began to flip through the pages.
After skimming a few pages, Shangguan Yurou remarked, "I wouldn't have guessed that someone as strong-willed as you would enjoy writing stories about princes falling in love with Cinderellas."
Han Juyou smiled. "It's pretty cliché, I know."
Shangguan Yurou said in surprise, "Not at all, it's quite interesting... You've actually written this much? Why didn't you write it on a computer? Then you could publish it online for everyone to read!"
Han Juyou replied, "Actually, I wrote this novel when I was a kid. The first page... I must have written it back in elementary school."
"Wow, then this must be really important to you. You'd better keep it safe."
Shangguan Yurou let out a gasp of wonder, closed the notebook, and handed it back to Han Juyou with a solemn expression.
"Thank you." Han Juyou looked down at the notebook and said, "Honestly, I haven't opened this notebook in a very long time. The last time I wrote anything in it was the year I graduated from middle school."
"Why did you suddenly stop writing?" Shangguan Yurou asked curiously.
"Because..." Han Juyou gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "I realized that a prince falling for a Cinderella could never happen in real life. Princes only end up with princesses, and fairy tales are always just fairy tales."
Shangguan Yurou asked cautiously, "Then... why did you suddenly start writing in it again?"
"Because I recently met someone," Han Juyou said, suddenly breaking into a smile.
"Let me guess~"
Shangguan Yurou leaned in close to Han Juyou and whispered a few mischievous words right into her ear.
"Oh, come on, that's not it at all! What nonsense are you talking about, how could I possibly fall for him?!" Han Juyou vehemently denied the person Shangguan Yurou had in mind.
The two girls exchanged a glance and burst into simultaneous laughter.
...
"You actually spent the whole afternoon reading a novel?"
Nangong Ye, who had been stuck in meetings all afternoon, finally shut his laptop lid and glanced over to see Liu Muye still reading a novel on the sofa opposite him.
Liu Muye stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "Me reading a novel all afternoon is called relaxing; you sitting through meetings all afternoon is called torture. We finally don't have to stand out in the sun for military training, yet you're still stuck managing your family's petty corporate affairs every single day. You really are one of a kind."
"It's arranged by my parents, I don't have a choice," Nangong Ye said with a helpless smile. "I haven't had a moment of rest since I was a kid."
Liu Muye clicked his tongue. "Tsk, your parents are terrifying."
"Are they? It's fine, I'm already used to it." Nangong Ye shrugged. Then he asked, "What about you? Why do you love reading novels so much? Aren't you bored?"
Liu Muye replied, "When people experience material scarcity, they seek fulfillment in the spiritual world. Web novels are my spiritual sustenance."
Nangong Ye blurted out, "Aren't you the young master of the Liu Financial Group? How could you ever experience material scarcity?"
"Uh..."
Liu Muye was completely stumped by Nangong Ye's question. For a moment, he had no idea how to respond—he certainly couldn't say, 'I was dead broke before I transmigrated into this book,' could he?
After a moment of silent rumination, Liu Muye said, "I'm different. I just genuinely love novels."
"Fine, whatever you say." Nangong Ye shrugged.
...
[When I was little and my family was poor, we couldn't afford the toys I liked, so I would always imagine myself as the overbearing CEO from a novel. That way, I'd have tons and tons of money to buy whatever I wanted.—Liu Muye's Journal]
...