Chapter 6

In the end, after witnessing Su Yuxue kill her father with her own eyes, Yang Yue drew her sword and took her own life.
What a foolish girl.
To be honest, when Xia Xi saw the role she was supposed to play, she felt an urge to curse out loud. She thought she must have had the worst luck in the world.
In the novel Pampered Love, she was a cannon-fodder female supporting character; in Fate of Immortals, she was still a cannon-fodder female supporting character. This was just too damn unfair!
Just as Xia Xi was gloomily staring at the script, her phone rang. Startled, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw the name "Fang Yi" displayed on the screen. She frowned, wondering why Fang Yi was calling her since they weren’t close.
After a moment of hesitation, Xia Xi finally answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Xia Xi, it’s Fang Yi," the voice on the other end sounded overly familiar. "I’m only calling because I care about you."
"Mm."
"Do you know Lin Wei? She’s back," the voice on the phone said mysteriously, as if trying to pique Xia Xi’s interest.
"Oh."
But it was clear Xia Xi wasn’t buying it. Her tone sounded utterly uninterested.
"Xia Xi, ah," the voice on the other end sighed with frustration, probably thinking Xia Xi was too dense. "Why are you so clueless? Let me spell it out for you. Lin Wei is Luo Chu’an’s ex-girlfriend, and she means a lot to him. I’m telling you, you’d better keep a close eye on your boyfriend, or who knows what might happen. Lin Wei, she’s..."
As Xia Xi listened to the endless chatter on the other end, she grew increasingly irritated. She was already frustrated with her current miserable situation, and now, out of nowhere, someone claiming to "care" about her was spouting things she didn’t want to hear.
"Oh, so why are you telling me all this?" Xia Xi never followed the expected script. Her voice was thick with sarcasm. "Do you want me to rush over to Lin Wei and scratch her face, or do you want me to hide in a corner and cry silently? Either way, I bet you’d enjoy the show, wouldn’t you?"
"How, how could you think that?" The voice on the other end paused, then let out a forced laugh. "I genuinely care about you. How can you think of me that way?"
"Really?" Xia Xi sneered. "Well, thank you, but I can’t handle your 'concern'." With that, she promptly hung up, restoring peace and quiet.
A close friend? More like a plastic friendship!
Xia Xi snorted coldly. She no longer cared how Fang Yi might react to her behavior.
Whoever it was, it didn’t matter anymore. If someone else wanted to push her over the edge, so be it. But she refused to endure this suffocating situation any longer!
Perhaps due to her low spirits, Xia Xi surprisingly did not wander around in the following days. She obediently stayed at home and began earnestly studying the script, determined to make the most of her time to fully grasp the personality of the character she was to play and memorize her lines.
When Da He heard the news, he was utterly astonished. Rushing over to Xia Xi’s home and finding her genuinely engrossed in the script, he was overjoyed.
Watching the focused Xia Xi, he revealed a gratified smile, his eyes filled with the sentiment: It’s truly not easy, the child has finally turned over a new leaf and started taking things seriously.
Xia Xi: “...”
And so, day by day, time passed, and Xia Xi’s mood gradually improved. The day she was to join the film crew drew nearer.
One day, as she was curled up on the sofa, meticulously marking up the script with a pen, she suddenly heard the sound of a key turning in the lock outside. Assuming it was Da He coming to visit, she paid it no mind and continued studying the script intently.
“Xia Xi.”
When Xia Xi first heard the voice, she froze for a moment. It took her a while to realize it belonged to Luo Chu’an.
She looked up and saw the evident hesitation and reluctance on Luo Chu’an’s handsome face. Narrowing her eyes, she silently thought to herself, It seems like today is going to be a tough battle.
“What brings you here?” Xia Xi instantly slipped into acting mode. Setting the script aside, she rose from the sofa with a look of pleasant surprise and walked toward Luo Chu’an.
“I… happened to be passing by, so I came up to see you.”
Luo Chu’an’s gaze was somewhat evasive, but Xia Xi, immersed in her delight, didn’t notice. She ran over, intimately grabbing his arm, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “I’m so glad you came! You haven’t visited me since I was discharged from the hospital. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Xia Xi.” Luo Chu’an frowned, pulling his arm out of her embrace. He sighed, as if steeling himself, and turned to face her. But when he saw his own reflection in her upturned eyes, a sudden pang of sorrow struck him, and the words he had intended to say stuck in his throat, becoming too difficult to utter.
“What’s wrong?” Xia Xi asked, noticing Luo Chu’an standing beside her, stammering and hesitating. Though inwardly annoyed, she maintained a facade of deep affection and hurt. “Don’t you like it when I hold you like this?”
“Xia Xi, don’t be like this. I have something I need to discuss with you.”
Hearing this, Xia Xi froze for a moment. Seeing Luo Chu’an’s hesitant expression, a flicker of understanding flashed in her eyes. She lowered her head and let out a bitter laugh.
Seeing her like this, Luo Chu’an felt a twinge of heartache. “Xia Xi, I…”
"Are you going to discuss Lin Wei's return with me?" Xia Xi interrupted Luo Chu'an before he could finish speaking. She lifted her head, her eyes red as she looked at him. "Are you going to break up with me?"
Luo Chu'an froze for a moment, a flicker of embarrassment and surprise quickly passing through his eyes. He closed his eyes, pushing aside the faint reluctance in his heart, and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Hah"
Xia Xi stared directly into Luo Chu'an's eyes. The despair in her gaze left him with nowhere to hide. He had never intended to hurt her, but in the end, it was unavoidable. Luo Chu'an silently closed his eyes, only to hear Xia Xi's trembling voice say, "You really are sorry for me. All these years we've been together, from start to finish, you've only treated me as a substitute for Lin Wei. The youth and emotions I've poured into you ultimately can't compare to her single sentence, 'I'm back,' is that it?"
Xia Xi paused here, blinking lightly as the tears in her eyes slowly traced down her cheeks. "Have you ever loved me, even just a little?"
"Xia Xi, I'm sorry." Luo Chu'an looked at the girl wounded by love before him, his heart filled with unbearable sorrow, unable to deceive her, unable to bear seeing her cry.
Originally, Luo Chu'an had thought breaking up with Xia Xi was the right thing to do. He didn't love her, so why waste her youth? But when he found himself in this position, watching the tears in Xia Xi's eyes, he suddenly realized how terrible his past actions had been. He had never once considered her feelings from her perspective.
If he knew from the beginning that he couldn't give Xia Xi the future she wanted, why had he pursued her in the first place?
"I think I know your answer." Xia Xi looked at the apology in Luo Chu'an's eyes, let out a bitter laugh, wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, and said calmly, "As you wish, Luo Chu'an, let's break up. I'll let you go."
When Xia Xi finished speaking, a struggle flashed in Luo Chu'an's eyes. He repeated the word "breakup" softly, dazed, several times, until it all dissolved into a sigh. A hint of hesitation crept into his previously resolute heart.
Seeing Luo Chu'an like this, Xia Xi, who had originally felt deeply wronged, suddenly felt much better. Both Luo Chu'an and the original host were parties in this relationship, why should the original host suffer alone? Of course, this scumbag Luo Chu'an should also experience what it means to be tormented.
"Host!" The system, which had been silent until now, couldn't hold back any longer upon hearing Xia Xi's decision to break up with Luo Chu'an. "You can't break up with the male lead, "
"System, didn't we agree that I would formulate the strategy plan and you wouldn't interfere?"
"But"
"No buts. Just stay quiet."
System: “...”
Luo Chu'an was stunned for a long moment. Surprise, confusion, sadness, and struggle flickered in his eyes before finally settling into calm. Yet, his voice involuntarily rose. "You just said break up?"
Xia Xi nodded, suppressing the tears in her eyes. "Yes, I said we should break up, Do you disagree?"
Luo Chu'an seemed to realize that his reaction had been strange and shook his head in frustration. "No, I was just a bit surprised."
He had now come to understand, perhaps he still held some lingering affection for Xia Xi, but Lin Wei was the woman he had always loved.
No matter what, he couldn't lose her again.