At that time, we will not leave without seeing each other.
Yi Wanyue reached out to extinguish the cigarette in the glass ashtray, her eyes continuously fixed on Qiu Baiyu: “Why did you come here?”
Following her line of sight downward, she noticed the familiar dessert box in her hand and suddenly understood: “Did you come to buy a cake for Xiaomin?”
“Yes,” Qiu Baiyu responded.
“I originally planned to bring back two cups of drinks, but didn’t expect…”
Didn’t expect to run into Yi Wanyue.
Even more unexpected was seeing Yi Wanyue smoking — the female lead actually has this side?!
Qiu Baiyu’s expression was very calm, but her inner thoughts were quite unsettled.
Because the system had forcibly created an innocent and delicate female lead character in her mind, which suddenly collapsed, leading to a major character reversal.
But it’s not something she couldn’t accept, it just needed a bit of time to process… probably two or three minutes.
Yi Wanyue saw Qiu Baiyu suddenly fall silent and couldn’t help but smile, asking: “Did I scare you?”
“Can’t say it scared me,” Qiu Baiyu corrected her, “should say it was unexpected.”
She really didn’t expect that side of her.
At that moment, a emoji/meme suddenly flashed through her mind: she privately indulges in both smoking and drinking.
This is just too fitting for the current situation.
Yi Wanyue sat steadily in her original spot, looking at Qiu Baiyu with a half-smile: “Unexpected about what?”
Qiu Baiyu was very honest: “Didn’t expect you would drink, also didn’t expect you would smoke.”
“Do you feel you can’t accept it?” Yi Wanyue suddenly asked.
“What?” Qiu Baiyu didn’t immediately react.
“Is it that you can’t accept me doing these things, or do you also think I should be obedient and just pretty?”
Yi Wanyue picked up the special mixed drink on the table.
“Just like how Jiang Shen looks at me.”
She knows what she represents in Jiang Shen’s heart, and also knows how most people view her.
Like the holy and immaculate white moonlight at the edge of the sky, perfect and flawless, with all the world’s bad habits unrelated to her.
But she is not like this.
If someone is her friend, they should learn to accept her entirely, not just her good side.
After speaking, she saw Qiu Baiyu with an inexplicable expression.
She seemed to not understand the meaning of these two sentences.
“Why should I demand how you ‘should’ act?
“Why should I look at you the same way as Jiang Shen does?”
“I don’t like him, so it’s naturally impossible for me to be like him.”
Qiu Baiyu walked over to Yi Wanyue and sat down beside her, her voice gentle and composed.
“What I don’t accept is the act of smoking, not you.”
Yi Wanyue turned her head to look at her.
Qiu Baiyu earnestly reminded her: “Smoking is harmful to health, and as your friend, I only hope you can always stay healthy.”
After sitting down, Qiu Baiyu didn’t smell the strong smoke she expected; instead, she caught a light fruity scent.
She realized what type of cigarette Yi Wanyue was smoking.
But that’s not good either; smoking is harmful regardless of the type, and it’s best not to touch it.
After hearing her words, Yi Wanyue relaxed and smiled: “I thought you wouldn’t be able to accept it.
“You can rest assured, my smoking habit isn’t strong, and I also don’t like having the smell of smoke all over me.”
A question mark slowly emerged in Qiu Baiyu’s mind.
“So are you doing this to…?”
“Relieve stress,” Yi Wanyue said.
“What stress?”
“The stress from the competition.”
“So you also feel stress?”
Yi Wanyue couldn’t help but look at Qiu Baiyu again.
Qiu Baiyu honestly said: “I thought you had participated in so many competitions and already handled events so skillfully that you wouldn’t be nervous anymore.”
Yi Wanyue knowingly retracted her gaze.
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Qiu Baiyu asked again: “Is it your family that requires you to do your best?”
Yi Wanyue shook her head: “My family never requires me to do anything.”
She smiled slightly, opened her lips as if she had something to say, then immediately closed her mouth. After two seconds, she took a sip of wine: “I fear not doing well, and everyone experiences pressure.”
Study pressure, economic pressure, survival pressure, all kinds of pressure… it seems that in one’s life, it’s impossible to completely escape these two words.
Qiu Baiyu nodded to show agreement.
Indeed, everyone experiences pressure, even protagonists cannot escape it.
And protagonists don’t know they are protagonists; they don’t have a god’s perspective. They also worry about not doing well, and with that comes pressure. This is actually easy to understand.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Qiu Baiyu said, “whether you get that trophy or not, life must go on without any impact.
“Even if you regretfully miss the championship here, it doesn’t stop you from becoming a champion elsewhere.”
Yi Wanyue curiously asked: “Like where?”
Qiu Baiyu replied: “For example, in my heart, and also in Xiaomin’s heart.”
“In our hearts, you are already the most amazing pianist in the world, especially in Xiaomin’s heart.
“The first time you invited her over and created music with her impromptu, she still remembers it. She thinks you’re incredible, the best in the world, so she always wants to learn piano from you, wanting to become someone as amazing as you.
“For this competition, she also wanted to be there to cheer for you, but she had to go to school that day and couldn’t make it, and she was downcast for quite a while because of it.”
Listening to this, Yi Wanyue couldn’t help but laugh.
“Thank you for comforting me, I feel much better.”
“Then next time, don’t smoke,” Qiu Baiyu said, “if you feel stressed, you can come to our house, Xiaomin and I will praise you more.”
Smoking harms the body; positive energy doesn’t.
Yi Wanyue didn’t say whether it was good or bad.
She just smiled, calmly sipping the wine in her glass.
Qiu Baiyu added another question: “Does your family know about the smoking?”
Yi Wanyue said: “They know.
“My smoking has some relation to my family.”
“?”
“Mainly, it has to do with my sister.”
“Is it convenient to talk about?”
Qiu Baiyu’s curiosity was piqued.
Yi Wanyue smiled: “There’s nothing that can’t be said.”
“You probably found out before that my family’s business is managed by my sister.
“Actually, both my sister and I were cultivated as heirs to the family business, having to learn commercial things every day.
“I didn’t learn as well as my sister; she always managed to learn these things easily, whereas I couldn’t muster interest or learn them, which led me to think I was stupid. I was anxious for a while and even picked up smoking.
“When I was anxious, I’d smoke a cigarette to calm down; it was somewhat effective.
“Later, my sister discovered it.”
Qiu Baiyu listened, fascinated: “And then?”
Yi Wanyue, while recalling, said: “Then she confiscated my cigarettes and raised her hand to give me a…”
Qiu Baiyu: “A big slap?”
Yi Wanyue: “—a flick on the forehead.”
Qiu Baiyu: “…?”
Alright.
Couldn’t predict the plot at all.
But as long as it wasn’t a big slap, it’s good.
“Then what happened?”
“Then we sat down and talked.
“We talked for a very long time. She told me that everyone has their strengths, and there’s no need to dwell on being worse than others in some areas. For example, I play the piano well, and she can’t match me in that.”
Yi Wanyue said this with eyes curved and words full of a pure smile.
“My sister is really bad at playing the piano; no matter what instrument she plays, she can’t match me.”
Qiu Baiyu looked at her smile and seemed to see the sisters joking in front of the piano, very happy.
Yi Wanyue’s voice continued.
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“Then I realized: it is indeed so.
“Anxiety made me see only the areas where she was stronger than me and ignore where I was stronger than her.
“I don’t like doing business, so I don’t learn it well. She doesn’t like playing the piano, so she doesn’t learn it well either. We are the same, so why should I obsess over this trivial matter?”
“I like playing the piano, so I developed my piano career. She likes doing business, so she expanded her business territory. We each have our dreams and skills; no one is inferior to anyone else.
“Regardless of how things change, we will always be family and love each other forever.”
When Yi Wanyue said these words, her expression was composed, calm, and gentle.
She has the firmest love as her support, the world’s most selfless care, and at the same time, she has her own ideas and thoughts.
Qiu Baiyu looked at her, her eyes brightening once again.
The system’s plot mentioned that the female lead was initially cultivated as an heir, but there wasn’t much detail, just a line that she gave it up because she didn’t like it.
At that time, she thought it was to serve the romantic storyline with the male lead, leading her to give up the family’s vast business, but it doesn’t seem so now.
This is the result of Yi Wanyue’s independent thinking.
She didn’t give up because of love or a man, but because she didn’t like it and wanted to walk another path she preferred.
The piano is her path, her career, a career she chose for herself.
She always knew what she wanted, knew where the path beneath her feet should lead, clear-headed and opinionated.
In an instant, the image of Yi Wanyue as the female lead became suddenly richer in front of Qiu Baiyu, even more vivid.
More full and lively than the few lines of information given by the system.
She is the protagonist of this world but not a puppet.
She is alive, with blood, flesh, and her own thoughts as a female lead.
Qiu Baiyu unconsciously smiled warmly, sincerely feeling happy for her: “It’s wonderful that you found your own path to walk.”
Then turned the topic: “But you still need to smoke less; it’s harmful to your body.”
Yi Wanyue smiled, lightly nodding her chin: “I understand.”
Then she nodded towards the caramel pudding on the table: “Don’t forget to bring a drink for Xiaomin.”
Qiu Baiyu then remembered the important matter, immediately stood up to go to the bar to pack two drinks, then turned back to lean against the bar, looking at Yi Wanyue, her gaze shifting back and forth between her and the fruit-flavored cigarettes on the table.
Yi Wanyue found it funny for a moment: “I’m not smoking now.”
Heaven and earth as witness, from the moment Qiu Baiyu appeared until now, she hadn’t thought about touching a cigarette.
Qiu Baiyu said: “I’m afraid you’ll smoke after I leave.”
Yi Wanyue smiled without speaking, which could mean anything.
Immediately, Qiu Baiyu suddenly asked: “Can I confiscate your cigarettes like your sister?”
It was indeed a very bold question.
Yi Wanyue slightly tilted her head: “Hmm?”
Qiu Baiyu continued: “Then give you a heavy…”
Yi Wanyue completed the thought: “Flick on the forehead?”
Qiu Baiyu: “—caramel pudding cake.”
Yi Wanyue was stunned for a moment: “?”
Qiu Baiyu took the two packed drinks, paid, and didn’t return to take the box of caramel pudding cake, letting it sit obediently next to Yi Wanyue’s cigarettes.
“Eating some dessert when anxious is good too; consider this portion as a treat from Xiaomin. I’ll buy her another one.”
Yi Wanyue blinked lightly, her gaze slowly falling on the beautiful white packing box.
Qiu Baiyu turned and walked towards the door.
After three steps, she suddenly stopped and walked back.
Yi Wanyue also seemed to remember something and looked up in her direction.
The two met eyes again.
Qiu Baiyu: “Oh, there’s one more thing.”
Yi Wanyue: “There’s one thing.”
Both spoke simultaneously, then closed their mouths at the same time, showing a perfect understanding.
After two seconds of silence, Qiu Baiyu spoke first: “You go ahead.”
Yi Wanyue directly asked: “Do you want to come see my competition?”
Qiu Baiyu was a bit stunned, then said: “What a coincidence, I wanted to say the same thing—do you have tickets?”
“Hmm?”
“The tickets sold out so fast, I didn’t get any. I was actually thinking of shamelessly asking if you had any…”
She only knew that tickets for celebrity concerts sold out quickly, but she didn’t expect that tickets for a piano competition would be gone so fast. By the time she clicked into the ticket system again, they were already sold out.
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It really opened her eyes.
Yi Wanyue, hearing this, smiled: “So you also want to go see.”
Qiu Baiyu nodded.
She indeed wanted to see.
Watching a piano competition is something she hasn’t done yet, so she wants to go see it.
Since she now has so many opportunities to experience things she never experienced before, how could she miss it?
Another reason is that another vicious female character is about to appear.
According to the system’s background, the “many difficulties and dangers” on the love road of the male and female lead couldn’t possibly involve only the original owner; there will definitely be other characters appearing.
The upcoming piano competition is the time point for one of these female characters to appear.
To help the host distinguish opposing factions, the system provides a rough introduction for each character, including their appearance time, so she can know in advance.
Since she knows, she cannot ignore it.
Yi Wanyue is her friend, and she must help her friend, ensuring she competes smoothly and peacefully.
“I want to go see, and Xiaomin also hopes I go to take many photos for her,” Qiu Baiyu asked, “Is photography allowed during the competition?”
Yi Wanyue smiled: “As long as you don’t use flash and sound, it’s fine.”
Then she took out a ticket from her handbag and directly walked up to Qiu Baiyu, handing it to her: “See you there.”
Qiu Baiyu accepted the ticket.
“See you there.”