this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Xu Qingli waited for quite a long time before finally calming down. Then she suddenly realized she had forgotten something very important—she had originally come to ask for directions, but after all that commotion earlier, she had already sent everyone away without even asking for directions.
What should she do now? Xu Qingli was dumbfounded.
Just as she was panicking, footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.
Xu Qingli’s heart tightened. She turned around and saw a strange man, who looked quite young, walking toward her step by step.
“Miss Xu?” The man looked very surprised when he caught sight of her.
Xu Qingli took a deep breath, forced herself to stay calm, and took two steps back, eyeing him warily. “Hello.”
The man’s expression grew even stranger, but after glancing inside the car, he ultimately said nothing and simply walked forward to open the door on the driver’s side.
Only then did Xu Qingli realize—this was his car. Feeling awkward, she took another two steps back.
“Miss Xu.” The man cast a look behind at the back seat, then leaned out to ask her, “Where are you headed? Need a ride?”
“No, thank you,” Xu Qingli quickly waved her hand and replied politely.
The man let out a sound of acknowledgement before saying, “Goodbye then.”
With that, he closed the door and slowly drove the car out of the parking space.
Xu Qingli suddenly recalled that she could ask him for directions and hurriedly chased after him for a couple of steps. The man seemed to notice her movement and rolled down the window, looking at her in confusion.
That glance made Xu Qingli a little nervous, and the opening line she had prepared to say got stuck in her throat.
Just then, Xu Qingli suddenly heard Shui Miao’s voice. Turning around, she saw Shui Miao and the driver walking toward them.
“Never mind.” Xu Qingli waved at the man in the car and ran toward Shui Miao and the driver.
“Xu Qingli, what are you doing!?” Shui Miao’s expression was dark, and she looked furious. “Do you know how much danger your face could attract? I almost called the police—”
Before she could finish, she noticed the car that had just driven away and swallowed the rest of her words.
“I’m sorry,” Xu Qingli said sincerely. “My phone died, and I wanted to wait for you in the car, but then I got lost again.”
“As long as you’re okay.” Shui Miao’s attitude instantly calmed down.
But Xu Qingli inexplicably felt that Shui Miao seemed a little more distant toward her now.
“How did you know I was here?” Xu Qingli took the rare initiative to ask a question.
The driver quickly answered, “Sister Miaomiao called Shu Ruan, and she said she ran into you here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shui Miao’s phone rang. It was Shu Ruan, calling to check if they had found Xu Qingli.
Shui Miao responded briefly before hanging up.
On the way back, Shui Miao seemed distracted and didn’t scold Xu Qingli anymore.
Xu Qingli wasn’t good at making conversation with people she wasn’t familiar with in the first place, so she didn’t take the initiative to speak up either.
The journey back was silent, and they soon arrived home.
Shui Miao dropped her off, reminded her to be careful, and then left.
After washing up and lying in bed, Xu Qingli felt utterly exhausted. Though her mind was full of thoughts, having to go out and socialise was truly draining, so she quickly fell asleep.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
She slept soundly and woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming through the window, which felt like a rather unfamiliar sight to her.
As a full-time comic artist, her sleep schedule was all over the place. Ever since she had graduated, she had never once woken up this early again.
However, the original owner worked in the entertainment industry, and her sleep schedule was even more erratic than Xu Qingli’s, with no fixed schedule at all. Having just slept for so long, she couldn’t fall back asleep right away and had no choice but to get up.
While washing up, her phone suddenly buzzed with several consecutive message notifications.
Xu Qingli was startled. She tapped to check and saw that the messages were from someone named Meng Dongling.
[Had a late-night shoot last night. Though it was tough, there were also unexpected moments of beauty. Sharing this with you, hoping that you’ll be able to see it as soon as you wake up.]
[Image]
[Oh, and while waiting between scenes last night, I came across a short poem. Found it quite interesting, so I thought to share it with you too.]
[Image]
The first image was a photo of a sunrise.
The surroundings were still shrouded in gray, with an orange sun having just broken through the clouds at the horizon. Although it lacked that dazzling brilliance, instead resembling an enlarged egg yolk, it still looked utterly beautiful.
The photographer had decent skills, with the composition of the photo distinctive and clearly taken with care.
The second image was a poem.
[Say it’s the grief of lonely autumn
Say it’s the longing of distant seas
If someone asks about my sorrow
I do not dare to mention your name.
I do not dare to mention your name.
If someone asks about my sorrow
Say it’s the longing of distant seas
Say it’s the grief of lonely autumn1.]
In Xu Qingli’s opinion, this wasn’t even a hint—it was outright confession of love. It was obvious that this person had genuinely loved the original owner. Yet, the original owner had left a note beside his name with the letter “C” in her contacts.
The original owner divided the “fish” in her fishpond into three categories. The “C” here didn’t stand for the letters in “ABC,” but was rather, an abbreviation for “chicken rib2.”
Obviously, the original owner considered this C-tier “fish” as dispensable and not worth the effort to invest and maintain. If they could remain completely devoted to her, that was great, but if they didn’t, that was also fine.
Xu Qingli couldn’t even continue brushing her teeth.
How could she have even forgotten about this mess?!
Compared to its peak, the original owner’s current “fish pond” was less than a third of its former size. But based on the notes Xu Qingli had counted, there were still a full dozen of them!
Help!!!
Just imagining her future encounters with these people made Xu Qingli’s scalp tingle.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to face them in person yet.
So she needed to deal with this as quickly as possible.
Xu Qingli first casually changed her nickname, then replied to Meng Dongling.
Pear Under Pressure3: [The sunrise is beautiful. Next time, you should find someone to watch it with you, otherwise, it would feel like such a waste.]
He replied almost instantly.
Meng Dongling: [Will you watch it with me next time?]
Pear Under Pressure: [I’m a night owl, not suited for early-morning activities like this. You should ask someone else instead of wasting your time on me.]
Meng Dongling’s status kept showing that he was “typing” for a long time, but no message came through.
Xu Qingli knew he understood her hidden meaning, so she silently apologised while simultaneously blocking his contact.
In situations like this, being ruthless was the kindest approach for both sides.
It would be the best if Meng Dongling ended up resenting her and withdrew his feelings of affection for her.
Xu Qingli carefully went through the other “fish” in the original owner’s pond once more and realized why Meng Dongling had been lumped into C-tier. The other “fish” were either wealthier, better connected, or more famous than him. Even the only other person classified as C-tier was a taekwondo expert, recruited by the original owner for her protection. But she probably could have never imagined that after her downfall, his fists would be the first to turn against her.
Among all the “fish” in her pond, only Meng Dongling had still wanted to help the original owner in the end.
Now, when looking at this list, Xu Qingli couldn’t help but sigh. Lost in thought, her phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming call from Shui Miao.
In real life, since becoming a full-time comic artist, Xu Qingli mostly communicated through messaging apps and rarely answered calls. Every ring startled her, and this time was no exception. Her fingers jerked as the phone slipped from her grasp.
With quick reflexes, Xu Qingli caught the phone just before it could plunge into the water basin. But then, as if remembering something, she slowly loosened her grip and watched as the phone fell into the water.
She had been standing there too long that she had forgotten to drain the basin. The phone sank straight to the bottom, the screen stubbornly remaining turned on for a while before abruptly blacking out.
Xu Qingli exhaled, fished the phone out, and carried it to the living room before placing it on the coffee table.
Just then, a loud knocking erupted from the door.
Knowing it must be Shui Miao, Xu Qingli hurried over to open the door.
“What’s wrong with you?” Shui Miao’s voice came in before she did. “Why didn’t you answer your phone again?”
“My phone fell into the water basin. I think it’s broken,” Xu Qingli said.
Shui Miao paused, as if biting back a curse, and asked, “Where is it?”
Xu Qingli handed her the waterlogged phone from the coffee table.
“You didn’t even wipe off the water?” Shui Miao was exasperated. “Forget it, let’s get it repaired… No, just replace it.”
Given the contents of Xu Qingli’s phone, if it fell into the hands of someone without professional ethics who leaked it online, she might as well retire from the industry immediately.
“Mm.” Xu Qingli hadn’t considered the career-ending consequences yet—her mind was still fixated on resolving the “fish” situation. “I want to change my phone number as well.”
Shui Miao, who had been about to call her assistant to arrange for a new phone, turned to stare at Xu Qingli, narrowing her eyes. “Change your number?”
With so many “fish” in her contacts, was she really willing to do that?
“I said I wanted to turn over a new leaf,” Xu Qingli murmured, avoiding her gaze and lowering her head slightly. “A new number can symbolise a fresh start.”
Shui Miao opened her mouth but found herself speechless.
Yesterday, Xu Qingli’s unexpected maneuvers had successfully caught Wen Qiaozhou’s attention and even landed her the lead in the promotional video, something Shui Miao had never seen coming. She had even felt a little resentful, thinking that since Xu Qingli was this capable, then she wouldn’t need her management anymore.
But after cooling off for a night, Shui Miao had regained her composure.
Even if they didn’t have any personal feelings between them, she and Xu Qingli were still bound by shared interests. If Xu Qingli soared to stardom, Shui Miao still stood to benefit greatly. Conversely, if Xu Qingli crashed and burned, she’d suffer the fallout too. Beyond the immediate financial losses, with rising stars like Shu Ruan—who outshone others in every aspect—already in the company, how long would it take for Shui Miao to groom another newcomer to prominence?
And according to Shui Miao’s calculations, the odds of Xu Qingli crashing were extremely high. After all, she had even dared to cast her fishing line toward Wen Qiaozhou himself.
So today, she had originally intended to advise Xu Qingli with good intentions. While high risks brought high rewards, the consequences of keeping someone like Wen Qiaozhou as a “fish” in her pond was simply too absurdly high.
Shui Miao had once heard a piece of gossip about Wen Qiaozhou. When he was still very young, Zhu Zhenshan had once pitted her two sons against each other for the same project. Anyone with eyes could see she was testing their abilities so she could choose an heir.
The younger of the two brothers, who was Wen Qiaozhou’s father, gave it his all but ultimately lost.
After the results came out, his father was devastated. Suddenly, Wen Qiaozhou stepped forward and accused his uncle of scheming against his father behind the scenes, making the competition unfair.
Naturally, his uncle denied it, but Wen Qiaozhou laid out every detail, even articulating exactly what his uncle had been thinking, leaving him no room for rebuttal.
Zhu Zhenshan was furious, and the uncle’s status in the family plummeted from then on.
However, Wen Qiaozhou didn’t necessarily benefit from it either. Everyone, including his own parents, found him terrifying.
Given Wen Qiaozhou’s capabilities at the time, there was simply no way he could have uncovered his uncle’s schemes. No one knew how he had found out, and that was precisely why they feared him. Who didn’t have any secrets of their own? After all, there was no one who liked being seen through so easily by another person.
Wen Qiaozhou had always been strikingly beautiful ever since he was a child, with an androgynous charm that made some whisper behind his back, calling him a “demon.” After this incident, he seemed even more like one, and the label seemed even more fitting for him.
Although Shui Miao felt these rumors were likely exaggerated, there was no doubt Wen Qiaozhou had an uncanny ability to perceive the subtlest details in observing people’s true intentions.
Countless sly old foxes in the business world had stumbled because of him. Xu Qingli’s little schemes probably weren’t even worth his consideration and wouldn’t even register on his radar.
Shui Miao had thought long and hard about dissuading her from keeping this particular “fish,” never expecting that Xu Qingli would skip straight to the finale in one step—the sea queen had actually grown a love-struck brain!
For a moment, Shui Miao was overwhelmed and couldn’t decide which was more dangerous: raising fish in general, or having Wen Qiaozhou as one of them.
She couldn’t help but take another look at Xu Qingli. Unlike before, when she always had a slew of excuses for everything, she now stood quietly with her hands at her sides. Her silent resolve seemed to carry an even more powerful weight.
Shui Miao had no choice but to ask, “Have you thought this through? Are you really sure you want to do this?”
“Mhm.” Xu Qingli nodded, then tilted her head slightly in confusion. Wasn’t Shui Miao always hoping the original owner to behave more? So why didn’t she seem happy about this?
“You…” Shui Miao tugged at her hair in frustration and pressed her again, “Aren’t you afraid Wen Qiaozhou will find out about your other ‘fish’?”
Xu Qingli shook her head. “I’m not afraid.”
So what if he found out? After all, what did it have to do with him?
Just as Shui Miao was about to say more, her phone rang.
It was her assistant, who had been waiting downstairs. After answering, Shui Miao’s expression shifted rapidly, her gaze toward Xu Qingli becoming extreme complex.
Xu Qingli couldn’t contain her curiosity, “What’s wrong?”
“President Wen is downstairs,” Shui Miao said.
Xu Qingli’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Why would a domineering CEO like Wen Qiaozhou condescend himself to visiting her apartment building?
“Xu Linhe is here too,” Shui Miao added.
Xu Linhe? The name sounded familiar… Xu Qingli quickly recalled seeing this name earlier in her A-tier “fish” list.
Xu Qingli: “…”
“They both seem to be here looking for you,” Shui Miao continued. “I remember you just said you weren’t afraid—”
“Sis Miao, my stomach suddenly hurts!” Xu Qingli clutched her abdomen and squatted down on the spot.
Shui Miao: “…”
XQL: the queen of misunderstandings LMAO
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- The poem is Sorrow, by poet Dai Wangshu and translated by Anna Gustafsson Chen ↩︎
- the slang “chicken rib” (鸡肋, jī lèi) — a phrase meaning something of little value, but hard to throw away. It comes from a famous saying in Romance of the Three Kingdoms: “鸡肋，食之无味，弃之可惜” (“Chicken ribs — tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away”). ↩︎
- “鸭梨山大” is a homophone for “压力山大”, which literally means “pressure as large as mountains”, a popular internet slang phrase meaning “I’m under huge stress” or “feeling crushed by pressure.”
But instead of writing the serious version “压力,” XQL playfully swaps in “鸭梨” — which sounds the same but means “duck pear.”
So “鸭梨山大” literally reads as “A mountain of duck pears,” a pun that visually softens the phrase and adds humor. The ‘duck’ is sort of irrelevant and just served as a homophone, so I’ve omitted that part ↩︎