The cicadas' cries herald the dawn, with the morning light gradually rising, streaming through the gauzy curtains and casting its rays on Guan Qingtong's shoulder.
"Qingtong, wake up."
A familiar voice reached her ears, and Guan Qingtong rubbed her sleepy eyes before lifting her head to clearly see the person in front of her.
Su Yirao, the so-called "vicious supporting character."
In the original storyline, Su Yirao had caused her to endure various hardships.
Guan Qingtong couldn't help but speak, "Sister Su..."
Su Yirao, noticing the slight wetness in Guan Qingtong's eyes, softened her voice, asking gently, "Hmm? What happened? Did you have a bad dream?"
"I dreamt... someone was speaking ill of you..." Guan Qingtong didn't want to make eye contact with Su Yirao, but in this moment, she couldn't afford to show any hesitation; she feared Su Yirao might see through her.
By all rights, she should detest this so-called "vicious supporting character," Su Yirao.
However, the current Su Yirao had awakened, and she hadn't acted out the malevolent deeds as in the original plot.
Everything that had truly happened—the moments where Su Yirao exhibited her own conscious behavior—these were the things that made it impossible for Guan Qingtong to harbor any hatred toward her.
In fact, she wanted to act according to her own will as well.
She didn't want to be a puppet on strings, controlled by some system.
Whether it was her life, or the events and people in it, she didn't want to follow a pre-arranged, step-by-step plot.
She wanted to make her own choices.
Especially when it came to her so-called "destined partner"—she wanted to choose for herself.
Yuxing Ye?
Hadn't she suffered enough in the original plot? Was she expected to repeat the same miserable fate?
Not only did Su Yirao refuse to continue being the villain, but Guan Qingtong also didn't want to go through the senseless, dramatic calamities forced on her for the sake of some plot.
"Who was talking badly about me?" Su Yirao's expression became serious, her alertness spiking as she asked, "Who did you dream was saying bad things about me?"
Guan Qingtong's thoughts raced, and she looked up slightly, answering helplessly, "Who else? Xiao Lin. I dreamt she was jealous and said a lot of mean things about you."
Su Yirao laughed softly, realizing she had overthought it.
It didn't matter who was awakened—she didn't want it to be the main characters.
The male and female leads were the central figures in the original story, and everyone else's plot existed to serve them. If they were unhappy with their current situation and wanted to return to the original storyline, then her peaceful days would become much more difficult.
"Don't take dreams too seriously."
"Okay." Guan Qingtong smiled, then asked, "Sister, is your headache gone?"
Su Yirao replied, "It's better now. But I just received a call—the police need us to come to the station to finish recording our statements. We should get ready to be discharged."
"Okay."
At the Rong City Police Station, the office was bright and clean, with the solemn police emblem hanging authoritatively on the high wall. The light from the wall illuminated the documents laid out on the table, giving the entire space an air of seriousness and dignity.
Present were Su Yirao, Guan Qingtong, Yuxing Ye, He Xiaoyue, and Zhu Yuan.
After half an hour of recording their statements, the police were satisfied, and they were free to leave.
As they were leaving, Su Yirao noticed Yuxing Ye looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. She instinctively stepped in front of Guan Qingtong, narrowing her eyes at Yuxing Ye, internally considering the possibility that he, too, might be an awakened character.
Yuxing Ye stood there, his face grim for a long time. But without any response from Guan Qingtong, and unable to swallow his pride, he finally left, looking rather dejected.
Su Yirao was about to revel in her victory when she turned around and was surprised to see Guan Qingtong warmly inviting two unfamiliar women out to eat with them.
During the statement recording, Su Yirao had come to understand the roles these women had played in the recent events and why Guan Qingtong would want to express her gratitude by treating them to a meal.
However, with the system's awakening happening so recently, she couldn't help but feel overly sensitive.
As they headed to the restaurant, Su Yirao quietly pulled Guan Qingtong aside and whispered in her ear, "Qingtong, if you meet new people, make sure to introduce them to me first."
"Hmm?" Guan Qingtong bit her lip lightly, her eyes widening slightly.
Such a request seemed... to go beyond the boundaries of friendship.
Seeing the confusion in Guan Qingtong's eyes, Su Yirao laughed it off, saying, "I'm just worried someone might try to take advantage of you."
"I won't let anyone take advantage of me." Guan Qingtong then asked hopefully, "Sister Su, are you worried I'll leave?"
Worried that she might leave after awakening?
Guan Qingtong smiled.
But before she could bask in that thought for more than a couple of seconds, a teasing voice interrupted.
"You two were so convincing at that event that I really thought you were just promoting the café." Zhu Yuan, the host, said. "I never expected you two to be a real couple."
"We're not exactly a real couple," Guan Qingtong said.
Zhu Yuan paused, confused. "Not exactly? What does that mean?"
"We're in that ambiguous phase, more than friends but not quite lovers," He Xiaoyue, who had been silent until now, added calmly.
"It's not even that far," Guan Qingtong continued. "It's just that her mom started to get the wrong idea because of what happened at your event..."
Su Yirao trailed a step behind them, her gaze landing on the way Zhu Yuan and He Xiaoyue's hands were intertwined. Understanding dawned on her as to why Zhu Yuan had misunderstood.
Soon, the four of them arrived at a restaurant specializing in various lobster dishes.
"So, you two are contract lovers?" Zhu Yuan said, finally understanding their relationship.
"You could put it that way."
Guan Qingtong nodded, her gaze drifting over to where Su Yirao was seated. "Sister Su is straight. There's no way we could be together."
She deliberately left out the part about her own orientation, speaking just loud enough for Su Yirao to hear.
However, Su Yirao, still looking at her phone while ordering food, seemed to either not notice or simply not care.
Zhu Yuan, regretful, sighed, "I guess my gaydar was off this time! I really thought you two made a good pair."
"Hahaha, Sister Su has said that too!" Guan Qingtong pulled out her phone and showed Zhu Yuan the photos Tony had taken of them. "These pictures—Sister Su even said it herself."
Having finished ordering, Su Yirao raised an eyebrow, finally tuning into their conversation.
"Yes, we do look well-matched! If we didn't, I wouldn't have asked you to play my girlfriend, would I?"
Guan Qingtong met Su Yirao's open gaze and laughed, "True, true. I'm honored."
"You two are both so straightforward," Zhu Yuan commented, waving her hand dismissively. "Looks like you're both straight, no doubt about it! I'll never trust my gaydar again."
At this, the usually quiet He Xiaoyue chimed in, "That's not necessarily true."
All three women turned to look at her.
Guan Qingtong froze in the middle of handing out chopsticks, her hand tightening around them slightly.
"Wife, your gaydar is sometimes spot on. For instance, when it led you to realize I liked you," He Xiaoyue said, a rare smile gracing her typically stoic face.
Guan Qingtong's heart rate finally returned to normal.
She continued handing out the chopsticks, saying, "Enough with the public displays of affection! Let's knock it off."
Zhu Yuan smiled knowingly, "You're right. I'm grateful my gaydar helped us connect."
"I haven't even started eating yet, but it already feels greasy," Su Yirao quipped, noticing the trays of lobsters being brought to the table.
He Xiaoyue pointed behind Su Yirao, saying flatly, "Well, the lobsters are here now."
As soon as the words were out, several trays of lobsters in different flavors were placed on the table, along with disposable gloves for eating.
After peeling a few spicy lobsters, Guan Qingtong glanced over at He Xiaoyue feeding Zhu Yuan, and suddenly, the spicy lobster in her hand didn't seem as appetizing.
He Xiaoyue was normally so aloof, yet she was feeding her girlfriend like this?
The contrast was almost too much!
Sensing Guan Qingtong's hesitation, Su Yirao smiled and placed a peeled, seasoned lobster at her lips.
"They're eating the seasoned ones; why don't you give it a try?"
Guan Qingtong's eyes lit up as she leaned in to take a bite of the lobster Su Yirao offered, happily savoring the taste.
"It's delicious!"
Su Yirao chuckled softly and offered her another peeled lobster.
"Then have another."
"Aren't you going to eat, Sister Su?"
Su Yirao glanced at the couple opposite them, who were still feeding each other affectionately, and replied, "If their girlfriends are getting fed, mine should too. I can't have my girlfriend feeling left out."
Guan Qingtong laughed and quickly peeled a lobster for Su Yirao, saying, "Sister, here's one for you too! I'm not one to leave my girlfriend out either."
The two women across from them exchanged amused looks, and Zhu Yuan teased, "You two may be fake, but at least be mindful of the influence you're having on us!"
Su Yirao tilted her head slightly, laughing, "Even if we're fake, we can still show off! It's good practice. When we really have to show off in public, it'll be more natural."
"Tsk, tsk, you're so full of yourself!" Zhu Yuan clicked her tongue.
"Wife," He Xiaoyue spoke up.
Zhu Yuan turned to respond, only for He Xiaoyue to lean in and plant a light kiss on her lips.
"Wife, we're the real deal. How could we possibly lose?" He Xiaoyue smiled indulgently, throwing a challenging look at Su Yirao.
Well, that's another person who's just as unwilling to back down as Sister Su!
Feeling completely outmatched, Guan Qingtong mentally surrendered.
But to her surprise, it seemed Su Yirao had gotten a taste for this kind of competition and wasn't about to give up so easily.
"Qingtong..."
Zhu Yuan: Some things are better left unchallenged. We have our trump card.
He Xiaoyue: Yes, exactly. Let's keep our trump card to ourselves, for privacy's sake.