Qinglin’s opening ceremony was held on the third day of the school year. Ye Yuhuan, as the top student, was naturally chosen as the outstanding student representative to give a speech. However, Qinglin students were multi-talented and involved in many fields, so of course, there was more than one outstanding student.
For instance, to her left was Shangguan Xianxian, who had won third place in an international youth equestrian competition.
And to her right was Guo Siwan, who had just returned from a European tour with the piano maestro Leon.
And not far off was Tang Ke, who had led the Chinese team to a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Ye Yuhuan straightened her speech manuscript, ignoring the tense atmosphere between Shangguan Xianxian and Guo Siwan beside her. These well-known half-sisters of the Shangguan family—though now they should be called stepsisters with different fathers and mothers—naturally sparked with animosity whenever they met.
Guo Siwan said, “Sister, I just got back to the country and heard our family has a new little sister. Who would have thought something like this could happen to the Shangguan family.”
Shangguan Xianxian replied, “Miss Guo, if I recall correctly, your surname isn’t Shangguan. And although you’ve changed your registered age, your bone age suggests you’re still a year older than me. I’m afraid I can’t accept you calling me ‘sister.’”
Guo Siwan said, “You’re too modest, Sister. If you can bear the title of the Shangguan family’s eldest daughter, what’s a simple ‘sister’ in comparison?”
Shangguan Xianxian retorted, “I can’t help that. After all, my name is the one written on the Shangguan family’s household register.”
However, one was the recently exposed false daughter, and the other was the illegitimate daughter about to be formally welcomed into the family. For now, their verbal jabs were considered restrained.
Tang Ke wasn’t as calm as Ye Yuhuan. His eyes widened, and he shuffled a little farther away. Though he had long known the two couldn’t stand each other, witnessing it firsthand still felt like sitting on pins and needles.
Their verbal sparring didn’t last long. Both were careful not to let it escalate into a real fight they couldn’t control, which would only make them a laughingstock.
Shangguan Xianxian then approached Ye Yuhuan, her demeanor as noble and elegant as ever, as if the “false daughter” status had no effect on her. She gave Ye Yuhuan a polite nod and said, “I was wondering if Miss Ye is free this weekend. If it weren’t for you yesterday, who knows what might have happened to Weiwei with the delay. Weiwei and I would like to invite you to dinner this weekend to thank you in person.”
Ye Yuhuan had been wondering if her appearance was an abrupt deviation from the plot or an abrupt deviation for this world. It now seemed to be the latter. She hadn’t appeared in the reborn Shen Wei’s memories; otherwise, Shen Wei wouldn’t be so eager to meet her.
But she took the dinner invitation with a grain of salt. She didn’t know what Shen Wei had told Shangguan Xianxian, but Ye Yuhuan didn’t believe a word of it. It was less a dinner and more an interrogation.
Shen Wei, who had defeated all the villains at the end of the story by feigning weakness, had maintained her persona as a timid small-town girl who had never seen the world. Her confrontation with Song Zhiqing was already somewhat OOC. This was likely why she wasn’t extending the invitation herself.
But at the same time, that question resurfaced in Ye Yuhuan’s mind: How did she appear?
Because of a divergence in history?
Perhaps in the reality before Shen Wei’s rebirth, she hadn’t chosen to attend Qinglin. And in the reality within the plot, after Shen Wei’s rebirth, she also hadn’t chosen Qinglin.
But that was strange, too. It seemed as if she was the only one who had changed. Forget it. Ye Yuhuan rubbed the bridge of her nose and replied, “I was just lending a hand. Besides, I wasn’t the one who did the real work. You should be looking for the girl who carried Shen Wei.”
Ye Yuhuan wanted to test Shen Wei’s resolve. As expected, Shangguan Xianxian immediately said, “We have a separate thank-you for Miss Cui. To be honest, it’s mainly Weiwei who wants to get to know you, so we truly hope Miss Ye will do us the honor of coming.”
Her resolve is quite strong, Ye Yuhuan thought. Shen Wei probably knew nothing about her, which was good. She, on the other hand, knew Shen Wei inside and out.
But regarding the invitation, Ye Yuhuan thought for a moment before saying, “However, I already have plans with Song Zhiqing this weekend. If you don’t mind, could I bring her along?”
Shangguan Xianxian frowned, troubled. She still had lingering fears from the tennis match and had no idea what would happen if those two got together again. But then she recalled Shen Wei’s determined expression from last night and considered that the Song Zhiqing she knew wasn’t an unreasonable person. Perhaps yesterday was just an accident. With that in mind, Shangguan Xianxian agreed to the request.
Shortly after the principal’s speech, it was the outstanding student representatives’ turn. Ye Yuhuan was first. The moment she walked on stage, Song Zhiqing could feel the attention of everyone around her sharpen.
Ye Yuhuan stood behind the wooden lectern, her shirt snow-white, the bow tie fastened snugly around her neck, giving her an inexplicably ascetic air. But looking up, one saw a breathtaking face. She stood at the center of everyone’s gaze, her posture poised and dignified. Even a dry and tedious opening ceremony speech, when processed by her clear and pleasant voice, gained a charm that made people want to listen.
Seeing the astonished faces of the new students on the other side of the auditorium, Song Zhiqing sighed. It was time to start protecting her strategist’s peace and quiet again.
Doesn’t that girl know how to tone it down a little?
But recalling the smile from last night that she had savored for so long, Song Zhiqing had to admit that this was the toned-down version.
By the time Ye Yuhuan left the stage and returned to her seat in the class section, Guo Siwan was speaking. She was an eloquent speaker, giving a brief overview of her European tour in just a few minutes, emphasizing the spiritual tremors she felt under the nourishment of music. If Ye Yuhuan hadn’t known from the plot that during this tour, Guo Siwan had also secretly planted a seed of doubt, making Shangguan Chong suspect that Shen Wei’s birth mother had cheated on him before their falling out, she might have actually been moved for thirty seconds.
In the book 《After Rebirth, I Got Together with the Fake Daughter》, Song Zhiqing was certainly not the only Villainess Supporting Female Character, nor was she the biggest one. Guo Siwan, who was currently waxing poetic about the charm of music, was the true third female antagonist. She was a nightmare that had haunted Shen Wei from her past life into this one.
Come to think of it, Ye Yuhuan mused, Shen Wei’s eagerness to probe me is likely also due to Guo Siwan’s return. She needed to focus her energy on dealing with Guo Siwan to avoid revealing any weaknesses. Song Zhiqing, by comparison, could be put aside for now. After all, their destructive capabilities weren’t even in the same league.
After Ye Yuhuan settled in her seat, Song Zhiqing quietly leaned over. “You remember our Cosmic Beauty Garden meeting today, right?”
“I remember. Six p.m., West Building, activity room 312.”
Song Zhiqing gave her an approving nod.
It was incredible, yet somehow imaginable, that the Cosmic Beauty Garden was a proper school club. However, due to its large membership and overly arrogant president, it had become the home of the school’s bullies.
This meeting was about recruiting new members. As the strategist, Ye Yuhuan didn’t just serve Song Zhiqing’s love life; she had also made undeniable contributions to the development of the Cosmic Beauty Garden. For instance, it was Ye Yuhuan’s idea to transform the club from an unsanctioned underground organization into a legitimate school club. After that, Song Zhiqing’s influence grew even more formidable. Now, she commanded Qinglin’s number one paparazzi team and number one online army.
And the official name of the Cosmic Beauty Garden was the Qinglin Art Club.
The purpose of their art was idols. The passion for their art came from idols. The final works of art were idol merchandise.
One could say they had achieved a perfect closed loop.
While the two were talking, Guo Siwan had finished her speech. When it was Shangguan Xianxian’s turn, Song Zhiqing expertly pulled out her phone. Oh, right, I forgot to mention: the captain of Qinglin’s number one paparazzi team was Song Zhiqing herself, who was passionate about producing large quantities of beautiful photos of Shangguan Xianxian.
Ye Yuhuan sighed. Once Song Zhiqing had finished working her magic, Ye Yuhuan told her about the arrangement she had just made with Shangguan Xianxian backstage.
After hearing this, Song Zhiqing’s expression was as conflicted as someone who had just discovered that chocolate should be eaten with chili peppers. She and Shen Wei were already at odds. While she wouldn’t go so far as to seek revenge at the cost of mutual destruction, having dinner with her was still too much to ask.
But that’s Shangguan Xianxian!
Ye Yuhuan knew what she was thinking. This was precisely why she had suggested they go together. Unless the situation was extreme, antagonizing the female lead was actually a losing game. Guo Siwan had only succeeded in the beginning because she had Shangguan Chong’s backing, which greatly hindered the female lead’s ability to act.
When it was Song Zhiqing’s turn, she was practically sent to prison as easily as slicing a melon.
Moreover, Ye Yuhuan harbored a seemingly unrealistic fantasy: that Song Zhiqing would witness the sincere feelings between the female leads, have a sudden epiphany, and realize her own pursuit was fruitless.
But for now, Ye Yuhuan could only try to persuade her. “Aren’t you curious about Shen Wei and Shangguan Xianxian’s relationship? This is a perfect chance to observe them up close.” Seeing Song Zhiqing waver, Ye Yuhuan added more pressure. “And if you miss this opportunity, who knows when you’ll get another chance to sit face-to-face with Shangguan Xianxian so openly.”
Song Zhiqing was still a bit conflicted. “That’s not my main concern. I’m just afraid that if Shen Wei deliberately acts all intimate with Shangguan Xianxian, I’ll get angry enough to go over and tear her apart. My image in Shangguan Xianxian’s eyes would plummet.”
Ye Yuhuan wanted to remind her: was it not possible that they were genuinely intimate?
But she certainly couldn’t say that. Ye Yuhuan could only feed her more motivational fluff. “You can try your best to hold back. Besides, that’s just one possibility. And even if it does happen, it’s better than the lukewarm state you two are in now. Who knows, you might even be able to go down the ‘bickering lovers’ route. If you maintain the status quo, you’ll get nothing.”
Spurred on by her words, Song Zhiqing was about to agree. She would dress up beautifully and outshine Shen Wei. As long as Shen Wei was put in her place, she definitely wouldn’t get angry. But just then, a huge commotion erupted around them.
Ah, it turned out that the previously unnoticed Tang Ke had just publicly confessed his feelings to Shangguan Xianxian.
Ye Yuhuan had anticipated this plot point while backstage, but seeing it happen still felt like a hazy dream—it was exactly the same.
However, unlike the shallow depiction of Tang Ke in the plot, the Tang Ke in Ye Yuhuan’s eyes was much more vivid. At least, he wasn’t just some cannon fodder male character and a tool to advance the protagonists’ emotional development.
Ye Yuhuan knew Tang Ke was a math genius and an expert in computer technology. He was also the ace of Song Zhiqing’s online army.
The work of the people under Song Zhiqing was always more or less related to Shangguan Xianxian. Tang Ke had probably developed feelings for her over the long process of collecting and disseminating information about her. After all, apart from this opening ceremony, the two had never had any real-life contact. And just now backstage, even though Tang Ke tried his best to hide it, his eyes couldn’t help but stick to Shangguan Xianxian.
It seemed he had gotten even more excited after seeing her in person and impulsively confessed, completely disregarding the presence of his boss, Song Zhiqing.
Ye Yuhuan recalled a news story she had once read: a long-distance boyfriend sent his girlfriend flowers every week, and a year later, the girlfriend got together with the delivery man. Looking at the twisted expression now faintly visible on Song Zhiqing’s face, it seemed the two situations shared a certain uncanny resemblance.
There was nothing new under the sun.
