I was two minutes late meeting the female lead.
"Can't you hurry up? Do you have any idea how long Sylvia's been waiting for you?"
I refused the fried food the female lead offered.
"What's wrong with you? Sylvia went out of her way to be kind! Is this how you treat her?!"
Good lord, why didn't the original owner just get rid of you two sooner? Truly one of life's great mysteries.
1
When I left home that morning, the female lead, Sylvia Shui, was already waiting downstairs with soy milk and youtiao.
Her non-blood-related brother, the story's third male lead, Ethan Qi, stood beside her, hands in his pockets, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Seeing me amble over slowly, Ethan's face darkened. He snapped, "Ivy Liu, can't you move faster? Do you know how long Sylvia's been waiting?"
See that? The female lead's name is Sylvia—exquisite. Meanwhile, her 'bestie' is just... Ivy. Could the author be any lazier?
I opened my mouth to speak, but Sylvia cut in first: "Brother Ethan, don't be like that! Xiao Yi didn't mean to be late!"
Xiao Yi... (Xiao Yi → Little One)
My eye twitched. Sylvia held out the youtiao and soy milk. I said earnestly, "Sorry, I'm on a diet. No fried food."
Sylvia froze, eyes welling with hurt.
Ethan saw this and immediately scolded me: "Ivy Liu, what's wrong with you? Sylvia was being thoughtful! Is this how you repay her kindness?!"
How did I "repay" her? Did I smash the youtiao over her head?
I knew without asking: if this were the original Ivy Liu, she'd have taken the breakfast with a flustered apology, batting her eyelashes at Ethan. After all, in the original plot, Ivy was secretly in love with him—obedient to every word.
And Ethan? This jerk exploited her feelings, making her protect Sylvia unconditionally while never returning her affection. Later in the story, Ivy even gets disfigured by burns after confronting thugs to save Sylvia—only for Sylvia's shallow guilt to evaporate amid arguments with her suitors.
Just thinking about it makes my head throb. I tried to distance myself from the female lead, but she threw herself at me, clinging to my arm:
"Xiao Yi, don't be angry! Brother Ethan didn't mean it... He's just... really worried about me..."
Seriously, why didn't the original Ivy finish you off instead of playing 'bestie'? Some mysteries defy logic.