The antique girlfriend of a chaebol heir

In the cold drink shop

Su Zijing took the initiative to speak: "Senior Shen, what would you like to drink? It's on me today."

Shen Ci knew about Su Zijin's current situation. She was working part-time while studying, and every weekend she had to go out for part-time jobs. Every penny she earned was hard-earned.

How could she bear to spend her money?

"No need," Shen Ci quickly refused, her voice softening, "It's my treat."

Su Zijing was sensitive, and she saw through Shen Ci's concerns at a glance—Shen Ci's refusal to let her treat was not because she looked down on her, but because she didn't want her to spend money.

Su Zijin suddenly smiled.

"Senior Shen," she tilted her head, her face full of gratitude, "thank you for arranging my meeting with that young master Jiang last time. From now on, I won't have to worry about money when I go to school."

Seeing Shen Ci's puzzled expression, Su Zijing spoke directly:

"After Young Master Jiang found out that I had saved him, he had five million transferred to my account. He also told me that this favor was wiped clean and that I should keep quiet and not tell anyone else about it."

She paused, then said calmly, "I accepted the money."

At this point, Su Zijin couldn't help but recall the scene of their meeting that day.

After that young master Jiang opened the door, he didn't even let her in.

In less than five minutes, he learned what had happened from her, got her bank card number, and hurriedly went downstairs.

His anxious expression, as if the sky had fallen, moved even an outsider like her.

She could tell that Young Master Jiang cared a lot about Senior Sister Shen.

"You don't need to thank me," Shen Ci said, her voice tinged with apology. "As you know, I hid your existence from Jiang Duo last time here, pretending to have saved his life, and even using that as leverage to make him my boyfriend. If it weren't for me, you two would have met months ago. But I never expected..."

"You just didn't expect me to take the money without hesitation, did you?"

Su Zijin calmly took over what she hadn't finished saying.

She looked at Shen Ci quietly, her eyes revealing a wisdom beyond her years.

"Senior Shen, I've been having the same dream for the past few days. Don't laugh at me if I tell you."

Then, Su Zijin recounted the absurd yet incredibly real dream.

In that dream, she achieved her goal of passing the admission score for Puhua University with excellent grades.

However, instead of choosing the major she truly liked, she followed the trend and chose business administration, which is relatively popular among girls.

After graduation, she joined Jiang Duo's company and became his personal assistant thanks to her outstanding abilities.

She spent every day with him and took him as her motivation to keep striving forward.

In that dream, she dared not relax for even a moment, doing all her work to the utmost perfection, just to earn even a nod of approval from Jiang Duo.

In her dream, she loved Jiang Duo intensely and humbly, but Jiang Duo remained indifferent to her.

However... compared to other women, she was the woman Jiang Duo had the most contact with and the one he trusted the most.

At the end of the dream, everyone assumed that she and Jiang Duo were a couple.

Tired from talking, Su Zijin took a sip of her drink.

"Senior Shen," she put down her cup, her tone light, "you know, wasn't this dream... kind of funny?"

Shen Ci didn't find the dream ridiculous; in fact, she was somewhat shocked.

Because she knew that the scenes in Su Zijin's dream largely overlapped with those described in storybooks.

Without her, everything in my dreams would have happened in the future.

Su Zijin looked at Shen Ci, her eyes becoming clearer and more determined than ever before.

"Senior Shen, do you know? These past few days, every time I wake up from a dream, I'm so glad it was just a dream."

She paused, her tone tinged with lingering fear.

"In my dream, I was like an NPC with a pre-programmed routine, treating love as my entire life's mission. I had no ideals, no sense of self, and lived each day just to please him. I don't want to become that kind of person, and I certainly don't want to lower myself to the dust for someone who doesn't love me."

"Senior Shen, do you know why I accepted that money so readily?"

Su Zijing looked out the window, as if she could see the future she longed for through the glass.

"Actually, I've thought about it seriously every time I wake up. If I didn't have this money, I might really have compromised with reality like in my dream, chosen a business administration major that's easy to find a job in, found a stable job after graduation, and slowly paid off my student loan."

"However, I don't like the routine life in my dream, and I dislike dealing with the hypocritical and complicated relationships between people. I love mathematics because it is pure and doesn't lie. One plus one equals two, and in the end, there is only one answer to the formula. My dream is to become a mathematician."

Su Zijing turned her head, looked into Shen Ci's eyes, and said, word by word:

"If it were for the sake of making money, I might completely go against my own wishes and give up my ideals. I participated in math competitions, and my teacher said that if I put in a little more effort, I could try to get into the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the United States."

"Before, I didn't dare to think about things that far ahead, but now that I have this money, I don't need to work part-time on weekends anymore. I can use all the time I save to study, and this money is more than enough to support my studies abroad."

At this point, Su Zijing suddenly winked mischievously, a relaxed yet sly smile playing on her lips:

"Besides, Young Master Jiang's life is so precious. For people of their social class, a mere five million is nothing. But for me, this money can completely change my destiny."

"He got a good deal, buying his life for five million."

She raised her glass to Shen Ci, "And I used this money to buy my future, so I also made a profit."

Shen Ci listened quietly, his gaze falling on the simply dressed girl in front of him, whose eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

Looking at this girl who can still clearly plan her life even in difficult circumstances.

The tangled mess in my heart that had been there for so long suddenly and miraculously untied.

These days, she has been trapped in that storybook, overwhelmed by the original owner's terrible ending.

In front of Jiang Duo, she was constantly trapped and on edge, fearing that one wrong step would lead to repeating the same mistakes and being doomed forever.

But now, looking at Su Zijing, she suddenly felt relieved.

Yes, everything has changed.

Su Zijing did not fall in love with Jiang Duo, would not become his assistant in the future, and would not waste her youth in that "accepted" ending.

The girl from the storybook, who humbled herself to the dust for love, is now sitting opposite her, her eyes filled with the entire starry sky.

Everything in the storybooks will cease to exist.

Shen Ci took a deep breath, feeling as if the huge rock that had been pressing on her chest had finally been lifted.

And she

From now on, you can try to live without fear...