Wang Mingyu glanced nervously at Wang Qingying. Seeing that she made no move, he let out a sigh of relief.
This must be what it's like to walk on thin ice with royalty.
That evening was storytime as usual.
"Once upon a time, there was a little pig.
It loved to eat all kinds of fruit.
In its own yard, it planted strawberries, apples, pears, bananas, and so many other fruits.
Yet every time, the little dove would choose to build its nest in the pear tree.
The little pig couldn't understand why.
So it asked the little dove: Little dove, little dove, why do you want to build your nest in the pear tree?
The little dove replied: Umm, because 'nest by pear', 'nest by pear', I love you so!"
Wang Qingying drifted off to sleep to the sound of the story, her smile as sweet as a pear.
It was easy to see that she truly loved this story.
Because it felt as though Wang Mingyu were telling her "I love you", hehe.
Gazing down at the sleeping Wang Qingying, Wang Mingyu leaned over, lowered his head to kiss her forehead, and smiled faintly. "A kiss a day, nest by pear, good night."
This kiss seemed to make Wang Qingying's smile even sweeter, though Wang Mingyu didn't notice as he returned to his room.
Wang Mingyu lay in bed, pondering the plot ahead.
"The campus belle cohabiting, camping, the movie theater face-slapping arc—what comes next again? Wang Qingying probably won't confess to Jiang Feng anymore."
No matter what, he spent every day with Wang Qingying, and he could slowly melt this iceberg of a girl.
"So will the scene where Wang Qingying confesses to Jiang Feng disappear? It should, right?" Wang Mingyu was thoroughly conflicted.
His primary concern right now was whether changing the plot would make subsequent events vanish entirely, or if they would simply replay in a different way.
"Sigh." Wang Mingyu let out a sigh; overthinking was useless anyway.
Skipping past the segment where Wang Qingying madly confesses to Jiang Feng, the next thing on the schedule was...
The beginning of Jiang Feng's journey to making a fortune!
Simply put, working a part-time job at a milk tea shop.
After all, this wasn't a rebirth novel; as a growing protagonist, he obviously couldn't possess vast wealth and status right at the start.
Yet once Jiang Feng got together with Mu Yunxi or Wang Qingying, things would be different.
Then he would have sufficient backing to support what he wanted to do, along with enough opportunities for trial and error.
For now, however, Wang Qingying's path had been intercepted by Wang Mingyu, and Mu Yunxi's path was also being blocked by Wang Mingyu step by step.
One day.
Logically speaking, Wang Mingyu should have been at home secretly reading study materials, but...
"You, you, you, why are you here?!" Mu Yunxi cried out in shock.
She had clearly only invited Lin Linyu!
"Not welcome? So heartbreaking." Wang Mingyu feigned sadness.
Could he possibly miss such an important arc? Impossible!
So he had called up the other supporting character—Lin Linyu.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm the one who brought him along," Lin Linyu hurriedly apologized to Mu Yunxi.
She knew this wasn't right, but Wang Mingyu had begged her repeatedly, so...
"No, n—no problem, I was just a little surprised," Mu Yunxi waved her hand.
She definitely didn't mean that he wasn't welcome.
It was just that today she was specifically going to show her support at Jiang Feng's workplace.
The only reason she hadn't called Wang Mingyu was because she didn't want him to see how invested she was in Jiang Feng's matters.
Yet unexpectedly, he still came.
She always felt that with Wang Mingyu around, interacting with Jiang Feng became awkward.
Because she would care too much about Wang Mingyu's presence, causing her to hesitate whenever she spoke to Jiang Feng.
"Hehe, I told you that you couldn't do without me either," Wang Mingyu said with a smile, patting Mu Yunxi's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go show some support."
The three of them walked into the shop.
Jiang Feng was pleasantly surprised when he saw Mu Yunxi, but the moment he caught sight of Wang Mingyu, his face darkened instantly.
Why was this jerk here again?!
Whenever Wang Mingyu was around, nothing good ever happened!
"Hi, Jiang Feng," Mu Yunxi greeted him with a smile.
"Why are you guys here?" Jiang Feng asked.
"To support you, of course."
Wang Mingyu stepped forward, glanced at the drink menu, and said without hesitation, "I'll take this one, osmanthus oolong lemon tea."
"Are you sure?" Jiang Feng raised an eyebrow.
He assumed Wang Mingyu was just trying something new on a whim.
"Sure!" Wang Mingyu nodded solemnly.
He wasn't just trying it on a whim! He was here specifically to taste the osmanthus oolong lemon tea that had been touched by a white-silk-stockinged girl's feet!
"Is this good?" Lin Linyu asked.
She had never tried osmanthus oolong lemon tea before and was very curious.
"I heard it has a bit of a foot odor to it. Did you know that, Wang Mingyu?" Mu Yunxi kindly reminded him.
"I know, but..." Wang Mingyu leaned close to Mu Yunxi's ear and whispered, "If it's the jade feet of a beauty like you, wouldn't that still be acceptable?"
Hearing Wang Mingyu's explicit words, a blush crept up Mu Yunxi's cheeks as she raised her small fists to beat against Wang Mingyu's chest. "You... you really are a hateful person!"
"Haha, just kidding."
Seeing the two of them flirting, Jiang Feng's face filled with fury. "Make up your minds already!"
Mu Yunxi and Lin Linyu froze slightly, not expecting Jiang Feng to speak to them like that.
Although there might be a reason for it, was there really any need to act this way?
And there weren't even any customers waiting behind them.
"I'm not drinking it anymore," Mu Yunxi said, storming out of the shop in a huff.
"Yunxi, wait up!" Lin Linyu chased after her.
Wang Mingyu shrugged. "My bad, I won't order anything either."
Since Jiang Feng hadn't started making it yet, and the female lead had walked out, there was no point in him staying behind.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jiang Feng reached out to keep them, but no one paid him any mind.
He hadn't expected Mu Yunxi to get angry.
This outcome was not what he had anticipated.
Still, he had only himself to blame for courting disaster.
His temper was far too short.
Heh heh heh, this was precisely why he needed to show up during this arc.
He had long since detected Jiang Feng's hostility toward him.
Whenever he got even slightly intimate with Mu Yunxi, Jiang Feng would act like someone had smashed a vat of vinegar.
With a loud bang, he would completely blow his top.
Hmph, Mu Yunxi would definitely stay angry for a few days, and Jiang Feng would have to work hard to coax her.
That would give him plenty of time to take Wang Qingying out on a date! Heh heh heh!
Yet he couldn't afford to let his guard down just yet.
Because another female lead was about to appear.
She was a girl whose perfect face was hidden behind heavy bangs, with a bombshell figure that nobody except Jiang Feng could notice!
Too bad for the plot, though—his intelligence hadn't been lowered.
And he even knew who that person was, heh heh heh.
Because she was so inconspicuous in class, the male protagonist hadn't discovered her yet.
Normally, this was the kind of setup that only appeared in rebirth novels.
However, the author of this book was extremely fond of rebirth-genre heroines, so they had forcefully written her in.
Then, at some casual, unsuspecting moment, Jiang Feng would discover her beauty.
Sigh, one could only say it was indeed a bit cliché.
A wide smile spread across Wang Mingyu's face as he caught up with the two angrily retreating girls.
"Want to go somewhere else? My treat for some milk tea to help you relax?"
Mu Yunxi was still burning with anger and ignored Wang Mingyu's words.
Wang Mingyu stepped up behind her, curled his hands into fists, and gently tapped her shoulders. "Don't be mad, don't be mad anymore. We came out to have fun, and Jiang Feng didn't do it on purpose."
"Hmph! I think he did mean it! I went out of my way to support him, and after just a few words, he lost his patience," Mu Yunxi complained.
"Then to make up for his mistake, let me buy you a drink, alright? Stop being mad—anger hurts your liver. What if you end up becoming my little darling?"
Mu Yunxi covered her mouth and giggled. "Pfft, who's your little darling?"