Oops, I’m the Scumbag Ex in Her Storyline - Chapter 26

When An Zhiyuan stepped out of the office, he ran right into Bei Lanlan coming in from the outside.

His expression wasn’t great—stiff, dull, and strangely wary. For the first time, instead of brushing past her as usual, he gave her a long, cautious look, his eyes filled with something that looked like… fear.

From now on, he would better not mess with this little demon again—he really had no desire to spend his retirement in Syria.

…

Bei Lanlan blinked in confusion. After shutting the office door behind her, she turned to see Xin Yan sitting in her desk chair, looking decidedly displeased.

She walked over and asked, “What’s going on?”

At the sight of Bei Lanlan’s face, Xin Yan’s expression relaxed slightly. She rubbed her forehead wearily and said, “The marketing department chose a new brand ambassador. I’m not very happy with the choice.”

Bei Lanlan replied, “Then just tell them to replace her.”

Xin Yan looked up at her, and Bei Lanlan blinked back innocently.

Xin Yan fell silent. She was beginning to realize that, in some ways, Bei Lanlan was even more decisive and domineering than she was. Xin Yan always weighed every angle—what the shareholders would think, what the market research suggested—but Bei Lanlan? At least with smaller matters, her attitude was crystal clear: What I say goes. Everyone else can get lost.

This was true for Bei Lanlan. It was true for Song Xizi. And it had also been true for the original version of herself.

Xin Yan found herself thinking: maybe she needed to learn to be a little more willful too.

After a moment’s thought, she shook her head and said, “I’m just personally dissatisfied. From a professional standpoint, the choice is perfectly reasonable.”

“Who did they pick?” Bei Lanlan asked, curious.

“Kong Zhiluo.”

Bei Lanlan didn’t react at first. Two seconds passed before the name clicked, and then she understood exactly what Xin Yan meant by “personal reason.”

She tightened her grip slightly around the laptop in her arms and replied in a casual tone, “This is your company. If you don’t want her, just say so. No one’s going to object.”

Xin Yan looked up toward the ceiling, a trace of melancholy on her face. “It’s not that I don’t want her.”

“I just don’t want her messing up my life. Or yours.”

Bei Lanlan’s steps paused. She frowned slightly. “Mess up my life?”

Xin Yan nodded. “Even though I no longer think you resemble Jing Chu all that much… others might still think so. I heard—”

She coughed lightly and lowered her voice, “I heard Cong Zhiluo only ever dates women who look like Jing Chu. It’s obvious she picks her girlfriends based on looks. So, if she ever…”

She trailed off, but Bei Lanlan understood the implication.

She let out a soft laugh—more subdued and certainly more attractive than Assistant An’s nervous chuckle.

In an uncharacteristically gentle voice, Bei Lanlan said, “She already has Jing Chu.”

Xin Yan sighed with frustration. Why was she the only one who knew the truth of the story? It made her feel like even when she was telling the truth, no one believed her.

She stood up. “So what? I’m not trying to be prejudiced, but their circle is… chaotic in ways you can’t even imagine. Besides, you’re better than Jing Chu in so many ways. It’s like buying toilet paper—left side is 4-ply, right side is 5-ply. They look similar, but given the choice, everyone’s going to pick the better one.”

Bei Lanlan fell silent.

She decided to temporarily ignore the fact that Xin Yan had just compared her to toilet paper. Placing her laptop down, she said softly, “Jing Chu is a world-renowned pianist. I’m not.”

Xin Yan looked at her in surprise. “That’s only because you didn’t choose music. When you’re Jing Chu’s age, you’ll be standing at the top of your own industry.”

She said it with such confidence, like she’d already seen that future. Then, realizing she might’ve gone too far, she added, “Of course, different industries mean different levels of fame. Personality plays a part, too.

Like me and Song Xizi—we have the same skills and the same accolades. The only thing I don’t have is her flair for performance. I’m not the kind of person who posts what I had for dinner on social media, so I’ll never be as famous as she is.”

“Do you envy her?” Bei Lanlan asked.

Xin Yan gave a sudden, surprised laugh. “Only the shallowest person would envy her life. Haven’t you noticed? She’s incredibly lonely.”

Just like the original her had been.

Bei Lanlan then asked quietly, “And what about you? Aren’t you lonely?”

Xin Yan smiled. “I have you.”

Something inside Bei Lanlan stirred. Then she heard Xin Yan say softly, “No matter what happens in the future, at least for now—we’re still family.”

That moment of fluttering emotion thudded to the ground with a heavy drop.

Xin Yan had mentioned letting her go once before, but it had been such a fleeting remark that Bei Lanlan hadn’t taken it seriously. Now that she brought it up again, Bei Lanlan realized she no longer felt the same shock as the first time.

The first time, her mind had gone completely blank—she’d thought she was dreaming.

Now, she just went quiet. The room fell still.

Xin Yan, sensing her mood dip, assumed it was about what happened last night.

Taking the opportunity, she sincerely apologized: “I overreacted yesterday. Who you choose to associate with is your business. I shouldn’t interfere. It’s just… I’ve known Song Xizi for so long, and I worry. I’m afraid you’ll get fooled or hurt, afraid you’ll become one of her dozen zodiac exes. That would be a nightmare.”

Bei Lanlan stared at the floor for a while before slowly lifting her head, frowning in puzzlement. “Why do you always assume I’ll end up with someone else?”

She had never even considered it—yet Xin Yan seemed to think it was inevitable.

Xin Yan blinked, finally realizing how much she’d been projecting. She’d been so busy guarding against this person and that one, she’d forgotten that relationships required both sides. If Bei Lanlan didn’t want it, it wouldn’t matter who tried.

She exhaled with a wry smile. “Maybe it’s because I know that one day, you’ll leave. And I’m scared… that when I’m not around, you won’t be okay.”

Bei Lanlan blinked at her. Xin Yan pressed her lips together and added, “That’s why I keep trying to drive away anyone who seems like trouble. If you’re going to be with someone, I hope it’s a person who’s kind.

Someone who cares about your work, who asks how your day was, who pays attention to your moods. I want you to be able to relax, to be real, to be willful. Most importantly, I hope she can see—like I do—just how amazing you are. That to her, no one else even comes close.”

She finished and smiled, waiting for Bei Lanlan’s response.

Bei Lanlan stared at her, stunned. It took her several seconds to finally open her mouth.

“I…”

Xin Yan leaned in slightly, curious.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Bei Lanlan found the words came out surprisingly smoothly. “I don’t like Song Xizi.”

Xin Yan: “…”

Wait, what?

That had nothing to do with what she’d just said!

After pouring her heart out, was the takeaway really just about Song Xizi?

Xin Yan was dumbfounded. She couldn’t understand why Bei Lanlan had blurted that out… but hey, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Not liking her was perfect. That was exactly what Xin Yan wanted.

“I don’t like her either,” she nodded quickly.

Bei Lanlan added, “I don’t want to see her again.”

Xin Yan nearly burst out laughing. “Done. I’ll have someone keep an eye on her. If she ever dares show up in front of you again, I’ll take it up with your school principal.”

Bei Lanlan said, “I don’t want you to see her either.”

Xin Yan: “…”

Okay, that one was harder.

But Xin Yan quickly came up with a solution. “Unless it’s for business, then it’s either her or me. We’re not both showing up.”

She sounded righteous and noble—but the truth was, she and Song Xizi were already in that kind of mutual-exclusion mode.

Taking advantage of Bei Lanlan’s ignorance of the fact, she even asked cheekily, “What do you think?”

Bei Lanlan hadn’t expected Xin Yan to be this accommodating. She paused, then nodded. “Sounds good.”

With that resolved, Xin Yan returned to work, finally in a good mood.

Bei Lanlan also turned back to her desk.

Staring at the black screen in front of her, she realized her heart was beating faster than usual.

The feeling of being willful… was really quite wonderful.

Being willful and accepted… was even better.

Head lowered over her work, Bei Lanlan didn’t notice that in the reflection of her screen, her smile was even brighter than Xin Yan’s had been just moments ago.