Silently staring at the diary, Jin Lanâs heart was in turmoil, on the verge of collapse.
Around noon, she glanced at the building she was in. She was currently on the fourth floor. If she just jumped down, she should be able to die, right? Hmm, that should be about right. But after thinking about it, it didnât seem feasible. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door to her room.
âAhhh â¦â Jin Lan let out a furious roar. It was obvious she simply couldnât accept this outcome. To be honest, if she had a choice, sheâd rather just be a nameless bystander.
There were quite a few female characters in novels who were just there to make up the numbers. Reading the diary, Jin Lan could deeply relate.
Take Mu Jinli from the campus arc, for example. That girl was essentially a background female leadâplaying the role of the main character in a small side story, but once the arc ended, she completely faded into obscurity.
But at least she had a side story. What did Jin Lan have? Plot? Or something else?
Even taking a step back, she had been one of the earliest people to meet Chen Fan, so why had she ended up like this?
At first, Jin Lan had foolishly believed she was the female lead caught between Chen Fan and Ye Aotian.
Maybe Chen Fan liked her, and Ye Aotian also liked herâif that were the case, her status would at least be elevated a little. So, she waited and waited ⦠but nothing ever came of it.
Now, with her own story finally beginning, Jin Lan was falling apart. Wasnât it obvious? She was just a supporting female lead, nothing more. A female lead that existed purely as a side character.
Thinking back to how proud she had once been, she felt a burning rage. What the hell? Why? Why did she have to be treated this way?
Jin Lan looked at her phone and saw a message from someone.
Lin Qingyueâs message was simple: âSister Jin Lan, keep going, you can do it.â
The top-tier, number one female lead was slowly mastering the art of passive-aggressive encouragement.
On the other hand, Cao Zijinâs message was much more direct: âSister, do you think I should give your contact information to Ye Zifeng? Sigh, that guy is really handsome.â
âAre you trying to die, or what?â
âCome on, why are you getting mad? If you keep getting mad, youâll get wrinkles. Thatâs not good for your health, you know.â
âIf you have nothing else to say, donât bother me. I need some time to calm down.â
Cao Zijin replied: âLook at you, Sister, is this really necessary? Itâs just that you saw something you werenât supposed to see.â
âSo? Whatâs your plan? Tell me.â
âItâs not really a plan, but ⦠letâs put it this way. Havenât you always wanted to improve your relationship with Chen Fan? I think itâs actually not that hard to do, right?â
This sentence made Jin Lan waver.
Cao Zijin continued: âSister, youâre actually really amazing. Thereâs one thing about you thatâs truly outstanding, but youâve been overlooking it.â
âHah, what? That Iâm older? If thatâs what youâre getting at, donât bother. Thatâs just depressing.â
âNo, silly Sister, youâre forgetting something importantâyou were the first woman to like Chen Fan. Thatâs something no other girl has.â
Jin Lan was stunned. She said, âThatâs impossible. How could I like Chen Fan?â
But ⦠but somehow, at some point, she really had started liking him. She had grown accustomed to looking at the empty seat where his secretary should have been.
It had always been empty. Jin Lan had always been waiting for Chen Fan to return.
And as she waited and waited, she found that she couldnât let go anymore.
âSigh, fine. Speak, Iâm listening. I admit itâyouâre smarter and more capable than me.â
âHehe, Sister, donât joke around. Let me put it this wayâYe Aotian may be annoying, but my husband says we canât kill him. He needs to be slowly tortured instead. I have no choice but to follow orders.â
âYouâre not even married yet. Donât talk like that. Heâs not your husband yet.â
Of course. Women were all the same. They all got jealous.
Damn it, this was what a normal woman should be like!
Unlike those web novels where women suddenly became best friends after exchanging just a few lines. How was that even possible?
Looking at the current female leads, some rejected Chen Fan, some treated him as a stranger, some just liked messing with him for fun, and some genuinely had feelings for him.
Everyone had read the diary, and although they didnât like Ye Aotian, that didnât mean that just because they disliked Ye Aotian, they automatically had to like Chen Fan.
Each person was an individual.
âI more or less guessed as much. Go on, what are you thinking?â
âI asked my husband.â
âStop right there. Itâs Chen Fan. Heâs not your husband yet.â
Cao Zijin said, âMm, itâs Chen Fan. I asked Chen Fanâyour Chen Fan.â
Jin Lan snorted but didnât respond.
âI asked around, and Ye Zifeng can be killed, but Ye Aotian canât. So, tell me, if Ye Zifeng dies, wouldnât that beâ?â
Jin Lan suddenly snapped to attention.
She had just been wondering where to vent her anger, and now, here it was, served up on a silver platter.
If she didnât take full advantage of this, how could she live up to the title of the âMain Character Teamâs Top Strategistâ that the author had given her?
âThatâs a very good idea. Thank you, Iâll remember this favor.â
âSo, you still need to give me that contact information. No matter what, you have to hand it overâwhether itâs through my channel or another one, you canât avoid it.â
âI know. This is the way things are headed, I canât escape it. But let me ask you something, and answer me honestly, from the bottom of your heart.â
Cao Zijin said, âItâs about Zhu Yeqing, right? Thatâs nothing, Sister. You forgotâmy mother was originally a mistress, so my views on relationships are a bit ⦠skewed.â
Jin Lan completely accepted defeat. She even thought, if Cao Zijin were a villain, just how many protagonists would end up dead?
This woman was terrifyingânot just intelligent, but also shameless. In fact, even now, Jin Lan couldnât quite grasp her true personality. She was always laughing and joking, but if she ever stopped smiling ⦠that would probably mean something big was about to go down.
After hanging up, Cao Zijin looked at Ye Zifeng, who was sitting across from her, and said,
âI got it. Heh, sorry about that. I had to have a nice little chatâafter all, itâs not easy giving you a beautiful womanâs contact information, right?â
âMm, understandable. Donât worry, for now, I wonât go after the Chen family. But letâs be clearâI said for now.â
Cao Zijin said, âThatâs fine. You can go after Chen Fan, itâs okay, I wonât be mad.â
Ye Zifeng froze in place. Staring at Cao Zijin, he asked, âAre you saying ⦠I donât need to hold back?â
âOf course not. I, Cao Zijin, need a strong man. And I myself am very strong too. So go aheadâif you lose, that just means you werenât skilled enough, right?â
Ye Zifeng laughed wildly and said, âSuddenly, I get it. I finally understand why my older brother sighed when he heard about your engagement to Chen Fan. As expected, youâre really clever.â