Gu Cheng's lips twitched slightly as he said softly, "Bingtong, put me down first."
He was a disabled person, after all—he couldn't withstand a fall!
Ye Bingtong numbly let Gu Cheng down.
"You really are frail!" Ye Xiao had already started clapping enthusiastically.
Ye Bingtong nearly despaired, "I-I don't know what came over me just now..."
"Enough, cut the pretense!" The diligent supporting character Ye Xiao had already started acting out the script, "You pretend to be weak and pitiful, just to make everyone blame me, right? Fine, I'm the cruel one, the immature one! Are you satisfied now?"
With that, Ye Xiao charged straight for the vase.
As long as she smashed the vase, this part of the storyline would come to a temporary close—charge!!!
Ye Ming'an was prepared. As soon as he saw Ye Xiao's move, he rushed over and hugged the vase in his arms before she could reach it!
Ye Xiao: "???"
Ye Ming'an squeezed out a smile and handed over a cushion, "Slam this instead."
Ye Xiao: "..."
Alright then!
She snatched the cushion and furiously slammed it to the ground, "Just follow along with this imposter then!"
She turned around and ran upstairs.
[Oh yeah. I'll lie down for a while; I'm dead tired.]
Ye Xiao ran swiftly, leaving behind a deeply silent scene.
Ye Bingtong spoke timidly, "Dad, Mom, is Xiaoxiao angry with me? I... I'll go placate her."
"No, no, no, there's no need," Ye Ming'an and Du Yaru chimed in unison to stop her.
Ye Bingtong was somewhat dazed, but she felt that her parents were being sympathetic toward her, and she couldn't help feeling slightly smug.
After Ye Xiao left, the main scene consisted of Ye Bingtong's sobbing, the male supporting character's sympathetic promises, and the Ye family's parents' desperate consolations.
That was the original storyline.
But now.
On one hand, everyone was still immersed in the shock of Ye Bingtong lifting Gu Cheng and the wheelchair, and on the other, they were contemplating Ye Xiao's expressed thoughts, rendering the atmosphere very silent for the moment.
Ye Bingtong originally kept crying and playing her part but, seeing the unusual reaction of the others, she gradually fell silent as well.
Gu Cheng felt something was off about himself today, thinking it might be better to go home and see a doctor...
He spoke up, "Uncle, Auntie, I've troubled you for long enough today; I should take my leave now."
Ye Ming'an replied almost reflexively, "Stay for dinner."
Gu Cheng intended to decline, but inexplicably he accepted, "Alright, I've been missing the culinary skills of the Ye family's chef."
Ye Ming'an nodded and had already instructed the chef to prepare Gu Cheng's favorite dishes.
The awkward silence continued among them.
Ye Ming'an coughed lightly, "Xiaoxiao's temper is a bit fierce; I'll go soothe her."
Ye Ming'an turned and walked upstairs.
It wasn't long.
Ye Ming'an came downstairs with a sulky Ye Xiao in tow.
Ye Xiao glanced disdainfully at Ye Bingtong and snorted through her nose.
[Just that little while and it's back to work again! So annoying, so annoying! I'll never work in my next life!]
Listening to Ye Xiao's complaints, they all fell into silence again.
The day's events were truly too bizarre; they needed some time to digest it all.
"Xiaoxiao, it's all my fault. Shall I apologize to you? You can rest assured, I won't compete with you for Brother Gu," Ye Bingtong said timidly.
Hearing Ye Bingtong repeatedly pushing him away, Gu Cheng's brow furrowed slightly.
Bingtong was being so cautious, he should be feeling tender toward her, but recalling Ye Xiao's heartfelt sentiments made Gu Cheng feel somewhat concerned.
He said softly, "Bingtong, for something like this, shouldn't you ask for my opinion first?"
Ye Bingtong panicked slightly and quickly said, "Brother Gu, I just didn't want to trouble you."
As she spoke, tears began to shimmer in her eyes, slowly sliding down her dark face.
"Wow, it got darker," Ye Xiao suddenly exclaimed.
Ye Bingtong panicked and subconsciously touched her face, but this time, she didn't feel any darkness.
Ye Bingtong immediately struggled to maintain her composure and couldn't help but glare at Ye Xiao.
"Yo, the tears stopped just like that? Bingtong, I'm really impressed by your control," Ye Xiao said, laughing heartily.
This dialogue wasn't found in the book.
But that doesn't matter.
The system only required the reproduction of key plot points and staying true to the supporting female character's persona.
This wasn't a key plot point, and the supporting female character was written to be troublesome and mean anyway, so this speech was not out of line.
"Xiaoxiao, you..." Ye Bingtong wanted to cry again, but she was scared her eyes would ooze ink, resulting in a mixed expression halfway between wanting to cry and holding it back, which was quite a sight to behold.
"Alright, alright," Du Yaru started playing peacemaker, "Xiaoxiao, matters of the heart can't be forced. The Ye Family and the Gu Family may have had a marriage arrangement since they were young, but it's also because the two of them have mutual affection that they could set things. Just like Bingtong, who has a master-level piano ability, and Gu Cheng happens to love piano music, too. That's why they are so well-matched."
Ah, the piano...
Ye Xiao glanced at the expensive piano in a conspicuous spot in the living room and revealed a strange expression.
A sudden pang struck everyone's heart.
Indeed.
Ye Xiao's inner voice struck again.
[Tsk, tsk, tsk, the piano... I remember later on, this piano becomes the spot where the female lead and the little blond regularly 'play'. Pinning the sacred beneath them, their eyes filled with fallen indulgence... Thrilling.]
Gu Cheng clenched his teeth, glaring viciously at Ye Xiao.
He really wanted to scold this woman!
But since she hadn't spoken these words out loud, he couldn't find an excuse to rage at her.
The expressions on Ye Ming'an and Du Yaru's faces were awkward beyond belief.
Ye Bingtong didn't hear anything; she revealed a shy smile, "My piano ability is just mediocre."
"Bingtong, don't be too modest. If some people overestimate themselves and want to compare with you, you should let them see the difference between you," said Gu Cheng as he glared viciously at Ye Xiao again.
Ye Xiao seemed oblivious to it all.
Alright then.
An opportunity to modify the plot was coming.
[Ding, the third modification opportunity has been activated. Countdown: sixty seconds. If unused, the benefit will be forfeited.]
Ye Xiao looked towards the upcoming scene.
The scene was simple.
Encouraged by everyone, the female lead decided to play a piece. She played the extremely challenging Liszt 'Liebestraum', and her superior skills made the supporting female character feel deeply ashamed, leading her to request piano lessons as well.
Of course, it was clear that the supporting female wasn't cut out for it, and it ended up being nothing but a source of comedy.
Ye Xiao focused on that part.
"After completing 'Liebestraum', Ye Bingtong's expression remained calm, as if she had just done something utterly trivial..."
That's the spot.
This time, Ye Xiao tried directly adding one word.
Unexpectedly, it worked.
It seems like the system's 'change one word' can mean: replace, add, or remove. Pretty convenient for her to take advantage of.
On this end.
Persuaded by Gu Cheng and the others, Ye Bingtong with a resigned face said, "Then I'll just play something simple. But really, I'm just average, don't laugh at me."
Ye Bingtong sat down at the piano.
As described in the book.
At that moment, the waning sunlight filtered through the curtains into the room, casting a warm glow.
And a beam of light happened to fall on Ye Bingtong, making her look unearthly in her beauty.
Of course.
What was a bit different from the book this time was that Ye Bingtong, who looked more like a Disney version of the Little Mermaid, was very dark.
Ye Bingtong took a deep breath, then started to play.
Her piano skills were indeed good; she played the challenging 'Liebestraum' with great finesse.
Gu Cheng watched quietly, his expression softening.
He really still liked the quietly playing Bingtong.
Very quickly.
'Liebestraum' came to an end, and Gu Cheng was about to applaud.
"Ding-dong-bang-bang..." 'Liebestraum' started from the beginning again.
Ye Bingtong, without any interval, started over.
Gu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then lowered his hands.
No problem, listening to it again was fine too.
Ye Xiao had already taken out some sunflower seeds and started munching on them beside them.
This performance won't be ending anytime soon.
It was simple.
She had added a word 'hundred' to the sentence "After completing 'Liebestraum'..."
And so it became.
After completing a hundred 'Liebestraum'...
This was only the second round; there were still many more to go.