Shuyu covered her mouth, crying as she poked her cat-like head out from under the blanket.
Trembling, she picked up her phone to look.
Seeing the words "Call in progress," Shuyu's anxious heart finally dropped dead.
Shuyu was truly breaking down. Was God really playing a joke on her like this?
Transmigrating into a book to complete missions was one thing, but to actually be heard crying and arguing like that by her mission target?
Shuyu felt as if her soul had left her body.
Shuyu said to Iron Egg, "Egg, I can only give my performance just now an 8.6 out of 10, because I am 1.4, as in dead inside."
Iron Egg: "Baby Yu, hurry up and think of a way to salvage your image."
Iron Egg: "If we can't complete the mission, we might end up crying behind bars."
Shuyu took a deep breath, her voice muffled, "Brother."
Si Yiheng chuckled lightly. His voice was magnetic and very catchy, "Realized the voice call went through?"
Shuyu's voice grew even more muffled, "Yeah."
Shuyu tried hard to salvage her image, speaking in a nasal voice, "I'm not usually like this."
"Oh?" Si Yiheng's tone seemed a bit careless, drawing out the end of his words slightly, "Is it that you don't like to cry, or you don't argue with people?"
Shuyu's mouth moved faster than her brain, "It's that I don't like interacting with people."
Si Yiheng seemed a bit surprised by Shuyu's reply, "Then you've really been wronged."
Si Yiheng: Transferred 1,000,000.
Si Yiheng's voice came through the receiver, "Move out and live on your own, don't wrong yourself."
Shuyu nodded blankly, "Oh, okay."
Si Yiheng: "I have classes this afternoon, so I can't accompany you..." to find a place to live.
Shuyu whispered, "I know, I will be obedient, goodbye Brother."
Si Yiheng: "Mm."
After hanging up the phone, Si Yiheng did not return to his senses for a long time.
He and Shuyu started dating through a friend's introduction. Si Yiheng did not believe in love; he only wanted to focus on his studies and career. His requirement for a girlfriend was that the other party be a colorless and tasteless person.
Someone with plain looks who wouldn't stir his emotions.
He could give his girlfriend money, a house, anything, as long as she was obedient and didn't cause trouble.
The previous Shuyu would occasionally cause trouble, but she was still a colorless and tasteless person.
But today's Shuyu seemed to have transformed from a colorless and tasteless person into someone sweet, soft, and salty.
Si Yiheng began to ponder whether to continue this relationship.
*
Upon receiving Si Yiheng's one million, Shuyu immediately decided to move out of the dorm.
Shuyu packed some of her essentials, put on an inconspicuous black high-waisted crop top and long pants, and wore a black baseball cap before heading out.
The baseball cap covered most of Shuyu's face, revealing only a small half of her delicate, fair face.
Shuyu dressed as ordinarily as possible, but she still couldn't hide her overly superior looks.
Iron Egg: "Baby, put on an outer coat to cover up a bit more."
Shuyu casually grabbed a coat and put it on. However, wearing the coat didn't help much; instead, with her pretty little face looking aloof, she appeared somewhat cool and edgy.
Iron Egg: "It seems a bit out of character."
Shuyu made a 'don't worry' hand gesture. "Tell me what look you want, I know how to do makeup."
Iron Egg tried hard to describe it, "Someone with poor circulation, a low-energy rat-person, a random extra who would disappear when thrown into a crowd."
Shuyu understood. She picked up the cosmetics on the table and drew dark circles under her eyes, put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses typical of a corporate slave, hunched her back, and coupled with her cowering, timid demeanor, the vibe was instantly right.
Shuyu sneaked out the door and went to their college's teaching building to find her counselor.
The original owner of the body studied fine arts, so Shuyu and the original owner were considered to be in the same major.
On the way to find the counselor, Shuyu deliberately passed by the exhibition hall and took a look at the paintings inside.
Shuyu found the counselor at the door of the office, explained the situation, and the counselor approved Shuyu's request to become a day student.
While Shuyu was doing this, Iron Egg was not idle either, organizing rental listings in neighborhoods near the school for Shuyu.
With the goal of letting Shuyu live well, Iron Egg finally recommended a high-end residential area to Shuyu.
Monthly rent: one hundred thousand.
Shuyu pursed her lips, "Wouldn't it be bad to live in such a neighborhood? Don't we have to return the money scammed from Si Yiheng?"
Iron Egg: "What's bad about it? It's not like we aren't going to pay him back. Once we get the mission reward, which is one billion, isn't it just paying Si Yiheng back one hundred million? Do we even need to care about one hundred million?"
Shuyu remained silent for a short while, "I feel like you are inducing me to overspend, Egg. Haven't you considered that we might not complete the mission?"
Iron Egg: "It's impossible for us not to complete the mission."
Although Shuyu was a rookie, her performance was very strong. She had transmigrated into the book for less than twenty-four hours and had already milked one million one hundred thousand from Si Yiheng.
She was simply the strongest rookie in their gold-digger department.
Iron Egg: "I believe in you. Spend it without worry. Even if we can't complete the mission when the time comes, I will make up the money even if I have to sell myself."
Shuyu smiled, "Okay, Iron Egg, but I will also make money. I can support myself."
As long as she bought a tablet and a stylus, she believed she could earn the one hundred thousand for her monthly rent.
In her original world, although Shuyu was a top-tier social phobic without a stable job.
But Shuyu was a relatively famous artist, and her income was very considerable.
The people waiting to commission her were lined up for a year.
Her base price for a commission was over one hundred thousand.
Just now, she specifically looked at the paintings of this era, and Shuyu gained a general understanding of the art in this world.
Shuyu was even more confident about making money in this era. In her original time and space, artists had already begun competing fiercely, almost all developing irreplaceable personal styles.
She had also developed a strong personal style through this fierce competition. In her original time and space, her social media followers had exceeded ten million.
If she hadn't taken a seven-figure commission for an original character and worked herself to death, burning out until she literally dropped dead, Shuyu might still be surviving in her original world.
It was a pity that she hadn't even sent the commissioned original character to the client yet.
*
Shuyu quickly arrived at the real estate agency following Iron Egg's directions.
Before Shuyu entered the agency's doors, Iron Egg cheered her on, "Baby Yu, don't be afraid. Just pretend you are playing a game. The mission we need to do now is to successfully rent an apartment."
"Just treat the agent as an NPC."
Shuyu took a deep breath, her palms sweating slightly, "O-okay."
Shuyu walked to the door, turned around, and circled back to the corridor. "It's not that I'm not going in. I'm just going slowly, going with a plan."
Iron Egg: "..."
Iron Egg whispered like a devil in Shuyu's ear, "Baby Yu, if you don't go in, you'll have to go back to the dorm and live in a four-person shared room. Oh, and you'll also have to explain to your counselor why you want to live on campus again."
Shuyu's expression cracked for a moment. "I'll go rent the apartment right now."
Shuyu finally braced herself, pushed open the door, walked in, and followed Iron Egg's directions to find the agent Iron Egg had contacted.
Shuyu: "Hello, miss. I'm the person who contacted you this morning about renting an apartment. I want to sign the contract."
The real estate agent blinked, looking at the girl who was keeping her head down and gripping the hem of her shirt so tightly it was almost tearing. The girl was tall, wearing a baseball cap, and her skin was very pale.
The agent was highly professional and quickly matched Shu Yu with her client list. "Alright, Miss Shu, I'll take you to see the apartment."
Shu Yu said, "No need to see it, I'll rent it directly."
The listings organized by Iron Egg definitely wouldn't have any issues.
The agent was a bit surprised. In all her time working in real estate, she rarely met such a straightforward client.
"Okay, Miss Shu, what would you like to drink?" The agent guided Shu Yu to take a seat.
Shu Yu kept her head down, her voice very soft, trying hard to minimize her presence. "I won't have anything."
The agent was taken aback for another moment, then a friendly smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Alright, then please sit here and rest for a bit while I prepare the paperwork for you."
Shu Yu replied, "Okay."
Shu Yu quickly signed the documents, added the landlord's contact information, transferred the commission to the agent, and sent the rent to the landlord.
Shu Yu moved into her new place that very same day.
The rented apartment looked like a showroom, standard and well-kept. It had everything it should have—a large refrigerator, dishwasher, and washing machine—along with three bedrooms and a study.
Shu Yu couldn't have been more satisfied.
After putting her things away, Shu Yu ordered some essential daily necessities and snacks online, and also took the opportunity to order a tablet.
In the laboratory.
Si Yiheng wore a white lab coat that accentuated his broad and straight shoulders, giving him an aura of elegant aloofness.
Si Yiheng took a sample out of the centrifuge, his long, slender fingers steadily and accurately placing the test tube into the rack.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Si Yiheng swiped to answer and put it on speaker.
"Brother Heng, you don't need to help me keep an eye on the apartment anymore. I've already rented it out."
The person on the phone was Si Yiheng's childhood friend, Xiao Jun.
Xiao Jun was studying abroad. Recently, because he had made a small mistake, his family had cut off his allowance, so he thought of renting out his apartment back in the country to get some spending money.
Si Yiheng gave a cold, indifferent response. "Mm."
"Are you still living downstairs from my place lately?"
Si Yiheng replied, "Mm."
Xiao Jun couldn't stand it anymore. "Brother Heng, besides 'mm', can you say anything else?"
Si Yiheng stopped talking altogether.
Xiao Jun was speechless.
Too lazy to even speak now, huh?
Xiao Jun asked, "I heard you got a girlfriend. Is she pretty?"
Only then did Si Yiheng lift his thin eyelids, replying in a faint voice, "I don't know. We haven't met yet."
