Secretly Seducing the Third Female Lead Behind the System’s Back - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Real and Tangible

As soon as Bai Chu reached into the blanket, her hand touched something soft and warm. She instantly shot upright and switched on the light, shouting in alarm, “What the hell?!”

Jiang Yisheng had just fallen asleep when a cold hand startled her awake. The next second, the bright light snapped on, and she was forced to open her eyes.

“Who is it? I just fell asleep…” She rubbed her eyes and sat up, squinting toward the side of the bed.

“Bai Chu?” Jiang Yisheng blinked in disbelief and rubbed her eyes again. It really was Bai Chu.

“Jiang Yisheng?” Bai Chu frowned, utterly confused as she looked at her.

“You?!” Bai Chu’s gaze flicked away from Jiang Yisheng’s face and instantly darted to the side.

Jiang Yisheng looked down at herself—and screamed, “Aaaahhh!”

“Get out!” She quickly pulled the blanket up to her neck and tried to shoo Bai Chu away.

Bai Chu really did flee the room, shutting the door tightly behind her and leaning against it, trying to calm her breathing.

Jiang Yisheng burrowed under the blanket, stunned.

Why was Bai Chu in her room?

And then—that sensation from earlier returned to her waist. The cool touch of fingers lightly brushed her side, sending a tingling itch through her skin.

Jiang Yisheng shivered and turned her head—suddenly seeing a suitcase she didn’t recognize.

Wait, where’s my suitcase?

She looked around in a panic. This… wasn’t her room.

Sh*t.

She pulled her phone out from under the pillow and found several missed calls—all from Zhang Tao.

She tapped into WeChat. There was a voice message from Zhang Tao: “Boss, don’t scare me, where are you?”

Crap.

Jiang Yisheng realized she had entered the wrong room.

She quickly replied: “Don’t worry, I’m coming back now!”

She fumbled around for her clothes under the blanket, hastily throwing them on and buttoning her shirt all the way to the top.

The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. How could she make such a stupid mistake?

After taking a deep breath to steel herself, she finally opened the door.

Sure enough, Bai Chu and He Youran were standing outside with baffled expressions.

Jiang Yisheng gave them an awkward smile. “Uh… would you believe me if I said I went into the wrong room?”

“…We believe you.”

Jiang Yisheng looked up and saw Bai Chu’s cheeks slightly flushed. She nodded and gave a small cough. “President Jiang, please head back.”

Jiang Yisheng was surprised—Bai Chu wasn’t even scolding her?

“Okay… I’m really sorry.” Jiang Yisheng nodded and hurried away.

Just as she reached the hallway, she saw Zhang Tao pacing nervously at her room’s door.

“Taozi!” Jiang Yisheng called out.

“Boss!” Zhang Tao rushed over, scanning her from head to toe. “Where did you go? I was worried sick!”

Jiang Yisheng quickly pulled her into the room and whispered, “I just did something really embarrassing… I went into the wrong room and fell asleep in someone else’s bed.”

Zhang Tao gasped. Oh no. She should have insisted the bodyguards come down to pick her up.

Boss Jiang was notoriously germaphobic and couldn’t stand sharing a bed with anyone…

“But guess who’s room I ended up in?” Jiang Yisheng asked, almost gleefully.

Zhang Tao: “???”

“It was Bai Chu’s! Isn’t that crazy? Even when we go traveling, we run into each other.” Jiang Yisheng chuckled, “No wonder I thought I smelled something nice beside me.”

Bai Chu really did smell good.

Jiang Yisheng savored the memory in her mind.

Zhang Tao kept her expression neutral and said nothing. “Boss, next time I’m definitely not leaving you alone again.”

She was still shaken. Thankfully, Jiang Yisheng had stumbled into Bai Chu’s room—a familiar face. If it had been a stranger’s room… someone with bad intentions…

After that little mishap, Jiang Yisheng was too embarrassed to sleep. She decided to go out and walk around, maybe buy some souvenirs.

She picked out small gifts for her “parents,” but there was one more person she wanted to buy something for.

She wandered through all the souvenir shops nearby but couldn’t find anything she liked.

As she exited the last shop, she spotted a small roadside stall selling handmade bead bracelets. The elderly vendor was stringing together shells and stones that tourists had brought him.

“This is perfect,” Jiang Yisheng clapped her hands and stepped forward. “What kind of things can be made into bracelets?”

“Small ones, like shells and sea snails,” the vendor replied, peering at her through his reading glasses. “Best if they’re about the same size—it’ll look nicer.”

Jiang Yisheng nodded seriously, taking his advice to heart. She looked up at him in surprise.

“You look a lot like my old neighbor!” she said. “He loved the ocean and always said he’d retire by the sea. He also liked painting. Very artsy vibe. But he didn’t have such a big beard—his family wouldn’t let him grow it, haha.”

The vendor chuckled but didn’t reply.

Then Jiang Yisheng started gathering materials. The vendor gave her a basket, a small shovel, and a pair of gloves.

Ironically, the sky had been cloudy when she tried to watch the sunrise, but now the sun was blazing hot. Jiang Yisheng combed the beach under the scorching sun for hours. She had thought it would be easy to find good pieces, but the truly beautiful ones were rare.

Zhang Tao and the bodyguards offered to help, but Jiang Yisheng refused. A gift had to come from the heart—she needed to pick it herself.

Finally, she brought her collection to the vendor. He adjusted his glasses, examined the shells, and casually praised her: “You’ve got an eye for this. These will turn out beautifully.”

“Really?” Jiang Yisheng was sipping iced water from a lounge chair nearby. One bodyguard held an umbrella over her, while Zhang Tao fanned her with two portable fans.

She perked up instantly and sat upright. “You know, just now when I tried to pick this black-and-white shell, there was a tiny crab guarding it. It waved its claws at me like, ‘Don’t touch that!’ But I really liked it, so I swapped it with a similar shell behind him and snatched it when he wasn’t looking.”

The vendor glanced at the sweat on her brow and smiled. “Very thoughtful. Must be for someone important, huh?”

Jiang Yisheng scratched her head, a little shy. “You could say that.”

“It’ll take about an hour. You can go look around and come back later.” The vendor shone a light on another bracelet he was finishing, checking for flaws.

“Got it. Thanks, sir.” Jiang Yisheng was hungry anyway and headed off with Zhang Tao and the others to eat Thai food.

…

Meanwhile, Bai Chu and He Youran, feeling refreshed, were out for a stroll after lunch.

“Crazy, right? Running into President Jiang here of all places,” He Youran recalled the morning’s chaos.

“Mmm,” Bai Chu replied vaguely. The memory had kept her awake all morning. She could still feel the sensation on her waist, and her pillow still held the faint scent of that person’s body wash, lingering and distracting.

They strolled toward the port street and passed by the bracelet stall.

The vendor was working quietly with the shells and thread.

“Anything you’re looking for?” he finally asked after finishing one.

Bai Chu’s gaze landed on a bracelet he was finishing—shells and sea snails gleaming with ocean hues and textures, their forms uniform and beautiful.

He Youran was intrigued. “How much are the bracelets?”

“This one was made from shells personally gathered by a customer. It’s for someone special,” the vendor replied with a smile. “Not for sale. But the others on display are.”

Bai Chu glanced at the ones on the side. “See anything you like?”

He Youran shook her head.

“Then let’s go.”

As they turned to leave, Bai Chu took one last glance at the bracelet in the vendor’s hand but said nothing.

He Youran noticed and asked, “Do you like that one?”

“No.” Bai Chu replied instinctively. Children raised in someone else’s household weren’t allowed to like anything.

“But it is really pretty. That person put so much care into it,” He Youran added.

Bai Chu lowered her gaze and gave a faint nod.

…

When Jiang Yisheng returned to pick up the bracelet, she was amazed the moment she saw it.

“So pretty.” She held it up to the sunlight, examining it carefully.

The vendor’s craftsmanship was exquisite. The holes were perfectly drilled, the pieces arranged beautifully, and a shell cleverly knotted at the end to hide the closure—clearly made with great care.

She thought, Only something this thoughtful is worthy of Bai Chu-jie.

“How much?” she asked, already reaching for her wallet.

“Since I look like your old neighbor, just take it for free,” the vendor waved her off.

“I can’t do that. I have to pay,” Jiang Yisheng insisted.

“While I was making it, a bunch of tourists came by and bought other bracelets. Yours brought me business—consider it advertising.” The vendor smiled. “Affection is the only thing as priceless as art.”

Jiang Yisheng laughed. “Then thank you, sir—no, thank you, artist.”

The vendor stroked his beard and said, “Thank you.”

That evening, determined not to miss the sunset again, Jiang Yisheng skipped her nap and arrived early at the beach.

“Phew~” She leaned back into the sand, hands braced behind her, and squinted comfortably at the horizon.

More and more people gathered to watch the sunset. Jiang Yisheng looked at them sitting in pairs or groups, all united in waiting for the same thing—though each person’s reason for watching was different.

What did sunsets mean to her?

She thought long and hard. Maybe nothing too special. As a kid, it meant going back to her aunt’s house after school. As an adult, it meant getting off work. She’d seen countless sunsets—each one carrying a different mood.

But if she had to give it meaning, maybe it was this: Living.

Only by being alive can you see the sunset. Not just sunsets—sunrises, stars, anything you wish to witness. Being alive is the prerequisite for it all.

She took a sip of her carbonated water and watched the sun slowly approach the horizon.

“Being alive is so nice.”

As the sea breeze ruffled her hair, she occasionally looked toward the horizon, occasionally at the crowd.

And then—she spotted a familiar figure.

Bai Chu was sitting alone on the beach, sipping a cocktail and gazing toward the sea. Her eyes reflected the dimming light, shimmering gently.

“Mind if I sit here?” came a voice.

Bai Chu looked up to find a bright-eyed girl smiling at her under the deep blue sky, holding two drinks. She tilted her head slightly in question, eyes filled with quiet warmth.

To Bai Chu, it felt like the entire sky framed only this one person—and in that person’s eyes was only her.

She nodded almost involuntarily.

Jiang Yisheng sat beside her, unusually silent, just quietly watching the sunset.

And oddly enough, the thoughts you have while watching a sunset with someone else were completely different from when you’re alone.

People’s energy really is magnetic. Once someone gets close, your thoughts naturally drift toward them.

As Bai Chu sat there, memories of her time with Jiang Yisheng came flooding back—how her feelings had shifted from dislike to something much more complex.

She couldn’t quite say she disliked her. Sure, Jiang Yisheng annoyed her sometimes, embarrassed her. But she never really caused trouble. In fact, she bought her breakfast. She even stood in front of her in moments of danger…

Lost in thought, Bai Chu glanced over at Jiang Yisheng.

“Bai Chu-jie,” Jiang Yisheng suddenly said.

Bai Chu turned, waiting for her to continue.

“If I sit here… do you think a crab might crawl out of the sand and pinch my butt?”

“…What.”

“Just wondering,” Jiang Yisheng mumbled.

“Well, it’s possible.”

“And if it does, will you help me whack it off?”

“I guess I would.”

“Would it crawl into my pants?”

“Do small crabs just taste like sand?”

“…”

Bai Chu didn’t respond. She realized that sometimes Jiang Yisheng didn’t actually need a reply when she spoke.

The sea breeze blew in again, salty and cool, tousling Bai Chu’s hair. Around her, the world quieted—not the bustling crowd, but the soft, specific murmurs, like the waves brushing her heart.

Half the sun had dipped below the horizon. People began lifting their phones to capture the moment. The crimson light no longer pierced the sky, but instead glowed warmly as it faded.

“Wow, so pretty.” Jiang Yisheng pulled out her phone to record.

Bai Chu looked at her screen. The camera swept across the shoreline before stopping on the sunset.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Bai Chu-jie?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re beautiful too.”

“…Huh?”

“Mm!” Jiang Yisheng nodded enthusiastically and turned to look at her.

Caught off guard by the sudden gaze, Bai Chu shifted her eyes back to the phone. “The camera’s crooked.”

“Then you record it for me.”

With no choice, Bai Chu took the phone and recorded the scene.

In the frame, the fiery sunset glowed—and its light tinted Bai Chu’s cheeks a soft pink.

The beach fell silent, as if no one wanted to disturb this fleeting beauty.

Just as the sun fully slipped below the horizon and Bai Chu was about to stop recording—suddenly, a bracelet appeared in the frame.