Begging the Female Lead to Let Me, a Salted Fish, Go (GL) - Chapter 9
The line was so ridiculously melodramatic that Shen Ying froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. She looked up and saw Gong Zhi blushing. She smirked and laughed even harder.
Gong Zhi couldn’t come up with anything to say. She could only turn her head in frustration and stride toward Shen Shu’s hospital room.
[I must have been completely brainwashed by this crappy author’s old-school romance tropes!] Gong Zhi fumed as she walked.
The system nodded enthusiastically, laying on the flattery: [Yes, it’s all the author’s fault!]
Gong Zhi arrived at Shen Shu’s room and saw her mother’s face, a mix of surprise and concern. It was then that she realized she had another big problem waiting for her.
“So, what was wrong with you earlier?” Shen Ying asked, turning to look at Gong Zhi after listening to her mother’s anxious words.
Gong Zhi remained calm, her young face a mask of seriousness as she made up a story. “It was nothing. My school has a play, and I was just doing a bit of improv. I didn’t mean to scare Auntie, so I…”
“So you ran away, all the way to me?” Shen Ying finished her sentence.
Gong Zhi felt like there was a hidden meaning in Shen Ying’s words. She was silent for a moment, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So she just brazenly nodded. “Exactly. That’s what happened.”
“Okay.” Shen Ying let out a long sigh and stood up. “You’re coming with me for a checkup.”
“I don’t…” Gong Zhi tried to argue.
Shen Shu spoke up. “Whether it’s real or fake, you need to get checked out. You were covered in cold sweat earlier.”
Gong Zhi looked at Shen Shu. Shen Shu was still a young girl when she had Shen Ying. Now that her daughter was graduating from college, Shen Shu was only around forty. In a family like Gong Zhi’s, a forty-year-old’s face could look as young as a twenty-something’s. But Shen Shu had endured hardship and illness. Although she was beautiful, the fine lines around her eyes made her look older than she was.
Yet, her eyes held pure concern for Gong Zhi.
Gong Zhi could never refuse such genuine emotions from others. She opened her mouth but finally stood up sheepishly and followed behind Shen Ying.
Shen Ying was very familiar with the hospital. She quickly paid the fees for Gong Zhi’s checkup. Gong Zhi tried to take the bill from her, but Shen Ying blocked her hand and looked her in the eye. “This money is to reassure my mom.”
Gong Zhi pursed her lips. She suddenly regretted lying and deceiving Shen Ying.
Shen Shu was a good person. Unlike Shen Ying, who wasn’t a bad person but whose unstable darkness meter made her more of a hassle than anything else.
But Shen Shu was different. Shen Shu showed pure goodwill. She seemed to understand that Gong Zhi had a secret she couldn’t share. She didn’t pry or question her, but just tried to help in the best way she could.
Although the world often mocked pure-hearted people and kindness without a reward or motive, everyone genuinely longed for such kindness.
Gong Zhi was no exception.
Shen Ying looked at Gong Zhi trailing behind her, a dejected look on her face, like a bunny without food—a little unhappy but still well-behaved. She smiled faintly, but it quickly faded.
[Darkness meter: 97]
Gong Zhi had every major test done. Besides a few reports that would take a few days to get back, the results that were available on the same day showed that Gong Zhi was very healthy, healthier than most people her age.
“The young lady’s health is great. You can tell she gets enough sleep and exercises regularly,” the doctor said with a smile after looking at the reports. “Kids your age love to stay up late. You’re living on your youth now, but after 25, you’ll start feeling the pain.”
“Isn’t that the truth? You can’t stay up late forever.”
Gong Zhi, who had died young from a sudden death in her previous life, felt a connection and chatted with the doctor, making him laugh. “You’re a very interesting child. Not many people your age are so focused on health.”
Shen Ying watched from the side, shaking her head in amusement. She then asked the doctor, “So, she’s alright?”
“We’ll need to wait for the other reports. But the young lady looks fine, so it shouldn’t be anything serious,” the doctor replied with a smile.
Gong Zhi looked at Shen Ying and raised an eyebrow, her meaning clear.
Shen Ying ignored her and politely thanked the doctor, asking a few more questions about things to look out for. Finally, she turned and looked at Gong Zhi. Gong Zhi touched the tip of her nose, suddenly feeling a little guilty, and obediently followed behind Shen Ying.
Shen Ying walked slowly ahead, with Gong Zhi following, watching her slender back.
She was a little too thin…
Gong Zhi couldn’t help but think. Shen Ying did look a lot like the “white moonlight,” but because of her difficult life, she was so slender that she looked more like a fragile porcelain doll than the other person.
Gong Zhi sighed. Shen Ying suddenly stopped and turned to look at Gong Zhi. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about you…” Gong Zhi answered instinctively. She stopped herself in time, and seeing Shen Ying’s slightly widened eyes, she realized what a silly thing she had just said.
She gave a fake flirtatious smile. “Looking like that, people will think the company is employing child labor. You need to look the part to maintain appearances.”
As she said this, Gong Zhi’s voice held a hint of genuine sadness. “That’s five million yuan. You have to earn it all back for me.”
Shen Ying pursed her lips. “I thought someone like you wouldn’t care about a mere five million.” Her voice carried a hint of subtle relief.
“No one’s money grows on trees,” Gong Zhi said, deeply distressed, determined to correct the misguided values caused by old-school romance novels.
“But you don’t need to be the one to earn it,” Shen Ying said, as if she had become addicted to arguing.
Gong Zhi shook her head. “That’s not true. You have to be able to read financial reports, right? And for small businesses, some just need market research, but others need connections, a lead, and a way in. If others can’t find them, then I have to. These relationships also need to be maintained daily. It’s not that easy. Besides, the things that require my attention are never small, so I have to be on high alert.”
Gong Zhi went on and on about the hardships of work. Shen Ying walked beside her, nodding occasionally, her expression a little vacant. Shen Ying remembered in her previous life, that brainless little girl with the big chest never cared about business or financial reports. She would only come to her father and brother when she needed money.
A family like the Gongs, no matter how patriarchal, would not mistreat their daughter. If the daughter was capable, they would be willing to help. But if she was a lost cause, they would just spoil her, and there was no harm in raising a pampered socialite.
But the Gong Zhi by her side now was clearly completely different from the one in her memories.
Were they really the same person?
Shen Ying was a little confused, but this person beside her was undoubtedly more relaxing and trustworthy.
[Darkness meter: 95]
Gong Zhi’s spirits lifted: [It’s dropping! The darkness meter is dropping! It must be because what I’m saying is so logical.]
The system was also very excited: [Go, host, there’s hope for the world!]
Gong Zhi smiled and explained in more detail.
They walked all the way to Shen Shu’s room. It was getting late, so they said goodbye to Shen Shu together.
Gong Zhi had talked so much her throat was dry, but thinking of the darkness meter, she couldn’t help but cough and prepared to continue. She couldn’t help it. The darkness meter was still so high, and she was a little worried. She felt like any fluctuation would send her to heaven.
“You’ve been especially talkative today,” Shen Ying’s final comment completely stopped Gong Zhi in her tracks.
[Is this how you treat your benefactor?!] Gong Zhi mentally prodded the system. [If the person was my brother, would she dare to talk to him like that?]
System: [Well, he’s the male lead. There’s a physical connection that acts as a buffer.]
Gong Zhi: […Pornographic! That’s not allowed in Green Jin Jiang!]
But selling her body was out of the question. Gong Zhi pouted: [I just don’t understand why people are so passionate about something that costs so much and is so physically taxing.]
System: [Host, don’t you want to take care of someone? A beautiful body, no matter male or female, is a great thing, right?]
Gong Zhi thought about it seriously: [I don’t want to be that tired.]
The two got in the car. Seeing that Gong Zhi was still looking listless, Shen Ying asked, “I have a question.”
Gong Zhi’s spirits lifted. This was probably another way to lower the darkness meter. “Go ahead.”
“When you weren’t feeling well and came out, how did you know where I was?” Shen Ying asked. Seeing that Gong Zhi was about to answer, she added, “Think carefully before you answer. What if I wasn’t in the lobby? You came straight to me without a moment’s hesitation. Did you already know where I was? Did you… stalk me?”
[Darkness meter: 95… 95.1, 95.2…]
Gong Zhi: …What? How is the darkness meter jumping by tenths? Is this a new trick?
So the female lead still wants me to die, doesn’t she?