Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 10

Green Plum, Green Plum (2)

“Successfully saved the female lead, affection -10.”

《Absolute Control》 was a work written by Xu Jiao in the second year of high school. The titular supporting character in the story fulfilled all of her wishes at that time: firstly, being born into a wealthy family, with parents who were always busy making money, leaving no time to nag her. At home, there was a nanny who provided her with delicious food and drink every day, allowing her to live a life of luxury without lifting a finger.

Secondly, she was the type of student in school that both frightened and was envied by the good students. She could skip classes, play games, talk back to teachers, and do whatever she wanted without any restrictions.

When Xu Jiao wrote this setting, she was even moved by the malicious traits she deliberately added to the supporting character, thinking that no one in the world could be a greater author than herself, as she sacrificed the reputation of a character with her own name just to make the female lead shine.

However, now she looks back on it and just wants to flip the table!

Who could be more miserable than her, who has transmigrated into her own black history novel! Who else!

The system detected her rising embarrassment and, after some thought, spoke up to divert her attention: “There are heroines worse off than you.”

Xu Jiao: “…”

She calmed down.

Then she recalled the heroine’s story—

The female lead was named Shen Yelan. Just a month after her birth, her parents died in a car accident, leaving behind their houses and assets to be divided among relatives. She, on the other hand, became like a burden among relatives, shifting from one household to another each year. During the Chinese New Year, the topic always revolves around which aunt or uncle is supposed to take care of Shen Yelan next year, and they often pass the responsibility onto one another.

At first, she was thrown into the home of her uncle and aunt, living with her cousin. She wore her cousin’s hand-me-downs, and her school uniforms were always two sets of washed-out clothes. She also had to do housework.

Even in such circumstances, Shen Yelan had to endure her aunt’s sharp-tongued scolding every day:

“You lazy girl, still sleeping in? Don’t you want to live? Look at that pile of clothes waiting to be washed. Who do you think is going to do it?”

“Such a difficult test, your cousin only scored 76, and you actually scored 94. Did you cheat?”

“Shen Yelan, are you trying to die? 200 yuan is missing from my room. Did you steal it?”

……

Not only at home, but Shen Yelan also faced the neighbors’ disdain. They all thought she was an unloved orphan, gloomy all day, and would surely amount to nothing. They believed that even if she went into certain trades, she wouldn’t get any customers.

At school, Shen Yelan, with her fair complexion and quiet demeanor, was often bullied by the boys in her class. They would pull her hair when passing by, deliberately take her pencil case while she was doing homework, and then laugh at her embarrassment.

However, this was not the darkest period of her life.

When she entered high school, her cousin discovered that the boy she liked had talked to Shen Yelan. Jealousy arose, and she started spreading rumors around the school, claiming that Shen Yelan had gone astray and was mingling with shady people, associating with wealthy men…

After ruining Shen Yelan’s reputation, her cousin went to a delinquent student in the school, who was known for frequently changing girlfriends and having many bad habits, and recommended her cousin to him.

From then on, Shen Yelan was harassed both during and after school. The worst times were when this boy would shout under her apartment, causing her aunt to drag her by the ear to the balcony to scold and hit her in front of everyone.

It wasn’t until the delinquent lost interest in her and stopped harassing her that her torment ended.

But her cousin still wouldn’t let her off. After meeting Xu Jiao, the school bully, she incited Xu Jiao to make Shen Yelan’s life miserable, marking the beginning of Shen Yelan’s painful high school years.

This eventually led to her failing the college entrance exams and only getting into a very ordinary university.

Though she later had a miraculous encounter with a domineering CEO who appreciated her resilient character, Shen Yelan’s cold personality brought many obstacles in her love life, causing repeated breakups, having a child, and fleeing abroad, all filled with melodramatic clichés that author Xu Jiao meticulously arranged.

This tortured early “angst novel” readers to death.

In short:

Shen Yelan’s life went from bad to worse.

……

Xu Jiao, returning from her thoughts: “Uh…”

She said, “I can explain this plot arrangement.”

The system coldly replied: “No need to explain—30 meters ahead, the protagonist Shen Yelan is being extorted by some thugs. Please go forward and save her, allowing her to feel the basic human kindness in a harmonious society.”

Xu Jiao sighed, lamenting the system’s heartless orders to a sick person, and slowly got up from the pile of waste paper. She touched her forehead, wincing in pain.

She slowly moved in the direction indicated by the system.

System: “Look to your left foot—”

Xu Jiao glanced down: “Money?”

System: “Do you see the ant by your foot? I think it might reach Shen Yelan faster than you.”

Xu Jiao, caught in her laziness: “…”

She sped up to a snail’s pace, absentmindedly communicating with the system in her mind: “In the last world, you only notified me when the protagonist encountered major plot points. Why are you calling me for such minor matters now? Are you deliberately tormenting me?”

System, righteously: “Didn’t you say you wanted to start loving life and loving the protagonist in this world?”

Xu Jiao looked conflicted: “But doing this will make the plot collapse noticeably.”

System: “Do you want to collapse the plot, or do you want the protagonist to die?”

Xu Jiao: “…Have you noticed that since downloading the latest package, you’ve become more arrogant?”

System: “Heh heh.”

Xu Jiao ignored it, quickened her pace, and muttered to herself: “This is so simple. As long as I appear in front of Shen Yelan and scare off the thugs, I will become her best friend. Such a clichéd plot, boring.”

……

Before long, she arrived at the “scene of the crime.”

Xu Jiao saw a familiar yet unfamiliar profile surrounded by thugs.

Familiar because this face looked just like Xia Jingzhe from the previous world.

Unfamiliar because…

Shen Yelan looked much younger, her features not yet fully developed, but her fair skin already hinted at the distinctive contour that would set her apart in the future.

Xu Jiao was momentarily dazed but not surprised—

Because from the past to the present, all the protagonists in her novels had the same appearance.

Steadying herself, she directed her gaze towards Shen Yelan’s outstretched hand, which held 50 cents.

The few girls surrounding her showed mocking expressions. One of them raised her hand and pushed Shen Yelan, teasing, “Classmate, this is boring. If you want to give, then give. If you don’t, then don’t. Who are you trying to insult with 50 cents?”

Shen Yelan pursed her lips, “This is all my allowance.”

The girls exchanged glances, just about to teach her a lesson when suddenly they heard someone say:

“What are you doing?”

They stopped and collectively turned to look, even Shen Yelan shifted her gaze.

At the corner stood a girl dressed in a flag-raising ceremony uniform. The short blue-black plaid pleated skirt highlighted her long legs, the black short vest seemed tailored to perfectly fit her waist, and the blue shirt underneath was adorned with a beautiful red bow at the neck.

Her demeanor was proud, like a righteous savior. Standing there, the sunlight seemed to favor her, making her appear radiant and dazzling.

Shen Yelan squinted, unable to decipher her feelings at that moment.

Until she heard the voices around her:

“Huh?”

“Sister Jiaojiao! Why are you here?”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, this is your territory. We’ll go somewhere else.”

With that, one girl took the 50 cents they had collected, respectfully handed it to Xu Jiao, gave her friends a look, and hinted, “It’s this person’s fault for being ignorant. If Sister Jiaojiao doesn’t like it, we’ll teach her a lesson for you.”

Xu Jiao looked down at the 50 cents in her hand, her mind blank, and responded a beat later, “No need.”

The girls quickly disappeared, leaving her and Shen Yelan facing each other. After a moment, Shen Yelan averted her gaze and turned to leave.

The system reminded, “Successfully saved the female lead, affection -10.”

After a pause, it sincerely asked, “Is this routine simple?”

Xu Jiao: “…”

System: “Is this plot boring?”

Xu Jiao: “…”

She gritted through her teeth, “Shut! Up!”