Chapter One: Who is the young lady

Countless times catching the train at the last second, countless times rushing to the interview site in a frantic dash

Liang Xiao remained silent for a long time, unable to come up with a way to evaluate Yan Ke as a person. After struggling for a while, he finally erupted in frustration and uttered three words: "Damn it!"

That salary is insufficient for the social obligations related to colleagues' celebrations and funerals, and savings are merely an illusion. Almost every month, I have to rely on my parents to provide me with a few hundred to a few thousand yuan as pocket money.

Perhaps it was the grievances of General Liang that moved... Ah, it startled the heavens, and that night became Yan Ke's day of suffering

"My life should not continue like this," she thought, wiping away her tears with the corner of the blanket. "Tomorrow, I will start to be a different person, starting tomorrow!"

She did not become an expert in the three-dimensional world, nor did she even attain the status of a so-called "expert" in the two-dimensional realm. She lacked the courage to flaunt her large face for others to photograph, and she was unable to earn a substantial income. After graduating, she spent six months at home before becoming an administrative officer at a small private enterprise not far from her home.

Ye Zilu perfectly played the role of a denominator, achieving a score that was utterly insignificant, with a distance of one hundred thousand miles from the re-examination score line, joyfully holding her highest academic degree, the bachelor's degree certificate and graduation certificate, joining the ranks of those who graduated only to be unemployed

Of course, although my alma mater did not make it into the national "985" project, it at least managed to catch the tail end of the "211" project, which is something that many people envy and resent. However, people's goals differ. This outcome for Ye Zilu was like a bucket of cold water, suddenly splashed over her head when she was completely unprepared, leaving her utterly stunned.

"Alright, I have something to attend to, I can't bear to watch any longer. Tomorrow, let her clean it up and come to my place—hey, Lao Liang, you take care of yourself." Yan Ke shook her head in despair and strode out, while the assistant quickly nodded and bowed to express apologies to General Manager Liang, hastily chasing after her.

These things constituted her pale youth

He was resting with his eyes closed in the back seat of the car, drowsily on the verge of falling asleep, when suddenly his body lurched forward violently. Before he could fully awaken, a sharp pain struck... and then he no longer needed to wake up.

Only in the stillness of the deep night does she reflect on how she has become such an ordinary person, devoid of dreams, direction, and future

This severe procrastinator merely sighed, casually pushed the fragments with slippers to gather them into a pile, told himself he would clean up in the morning, placed the small bear at the position of the frame, and lay in bed under the bedside lamp, staring blankly at the fallen photographs.

However, the next moment I feel like I am crazy; who cleans at such a late hour instead of getting a good night's sleep

As a result, she dreamed of events from her high school days

Specialty: Hair

It was not out of sadness over breaking up with her ex-boyfriend—she had long known that he had no feelings for her. Even a woman who is somewhat naive would understand whether others like her or not. Waiting for her to initiate the breakup was already a demonstration of her style.

Yan Ke is a typical elite man. While still in university, he managed to secure some funds from his father to start a small advertising company. To his surprise, over time, he actually made a name for himself in the industry. In recent years, their "Xinfeng Advertising Company" has collaborated with many large corporations and even helped several aspiring models gain popularity.

This text message is too long, taking two pages to convey its meaning clearly. Ye Zilu read it over and over again, noticing that the source of the message in her contacts was an unknown number—because she had already deleted this person from her contacts.

That was a group photo with her classmates at her high school graduation. At that time, she was still a silly and naive girl, wearing an oversized school uniform that required her to keep her hands in her pockets to prevent her pants from falling down, revealing three playful and beautiful youth pimples on her forehead, smiling at the camera with a grin that showed her teeth but not her eyes

Low income, introverted personality, and a hobby of surfing the internet

Xinde High School is the best secondary school in Longcheng, a key school in the city. It is the ultimate goal that junior high school students and their parents from the twelve districts of Longcheng look up to during the annual high school entrance examination. Every year, countless students strive desperately to sharpen their minds, hoping to transform themselves into "top students" and carve out a bloody path through the sea of people to gain admission to Xinde High School

She curled up into a ball, hugged her legs, turned over the phone on the bedside table, retrieved the stored messages, and flipped to the most recent one

Of medium build, with facial features that are normally arranged, not particularly good-looking; under normal circumstances, a bit of grooming would not detract from the construction of urban spiritual civilization

In a first-tier city like Longcheng, earning 3,000 yuan a month and spending 2,000 yuan to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the suburbs, one hopes to achieve independence... Unfortunately, independence remains unachieved.

She fiddled with her phone expressionlessly, unable to articulate the feelings swirling within her. Habitually, she opened the mobile web, browsing through Weibo, taking a stroll on Renren, wandering around Douban, and refreshing her frequently visited forums twice—by now it was 3 AM. Apart from those in different time zones, everyone else was asleep, and even the internet was quiet.

He has a substantial income, is a talented young man, has a good appearance, comes from a respectable family, and... It is inevitable that no one is perfect, and there are some eccentricities.

General Liang looked up at the sky and down at the ground, avoiding the tearful expression on Xiao Ming's face.

Wearing the Sindh school uniform, buying pancakes at the school gate, the owner can spread an extra layer of sauce

Note 2: "Loser": the antonym of a winner in life

Ye Zilu, twenty-four years old, an ordinary urban resident, an only child, neither a rich second generation nor a poor second generation

Xiao Ming's celebrity company's image design has changed from blue to green.

And those few who still held hope for her, preparing to watch her rise in university and then seek to redeem herself in the battlefield of the postgraduate entrance examination, were also disappointed two years ago

Liang Xiao rolled his eyes, feeling that the advertisement for the new product on his side should not have been entrusted to this person

During her time in Sindh, Ye Zilu believed she would become an extraordinary person, an expert in a certain field, and earn a substantial amount of money. She anxiously awaited the grand prize that fate would bestow upon her. However, now that she has unwrapped the gift box, she finds that it is still just a box. After peeling away layer after layer, Ye Zilu finally understands that fate has given her nothing.

She is a young person who is currently in vogue and is disdainfully referred to as part of the "boomerang generation"

Staying up all night to rush a paper before the deadline is a common occurrence, and I almost missed the payment deadline for the graduate entrance exam back then due to repeated delays

On that day, Yan Ke was in a hurry to attend a social engagement. Before leaving, she reviewed the new advertisement's female lead for the company. This was a young singer who had just entered the industry not long ago, having released one or two albums. Her singing skills were not remarkable, but at least she did not sing off-key, so she had not gained much fame. Fortunately, her image was quite good, embodying the popular "pure girl" style of the time. Therefore, the entertainment company intended to have her appear more frequently in advertisements.

Usually fond of nitpicking, with a sharp tongue and a bad temper, loves to show off and fuss over trivial matters, deriving pleasure from hurting others' self-esteem

However, the last shudder remained—during the college entrance examination, she unfortunately faltered.

Finally, I got into a university... Well, how should I put it, it can barely be considered a reputable one, with the admission score just scraping past the key threshold. However, to be honest, it is a university that people from outside the local area have probably never heard of.

Note 1: "Wenna": a winner in life

During her four years at university, Ye Zilu did not receive a single scholarship, nor did she obtain any certificates other than the "Outstanding Volunteer" certificate that every participant received. She adhered to the glorious tradition of "studying eighteen hours a day and studying for one week each semester," relying on the leniency of university exams to barely scrape by with marginal scores, flying low under the radar

Alas, let the past not be mentioned again, for life has already seen much turmoil

During her three years at Shinde High School, her report card at the end of each term became the focal point of discussion among relatives and friends during festive gatherings. The comments were invariably along the lines of "This child is certainly destined for Tsinghua or Peking University," "Even if she doesn't make it to Tsinghua or Peking University, she will definitely be among the top five in the country," "Look at how well this child has been raised," and "She doesn't seem to study particularly hard; she must be naturally intelligent."

Ye Zilu is feeling sad because she suddenly feels that she has achieved nothing

The next day, the headline of the entertainment section of Longcheng Daily reads: "XX Street sedan driver causes a series of car accidents while driving under the influence, New Feng's leader Yan Ke severely injured and in a coma, life uncertain"

She did not intentionally delay others... She simply has a habitual tendency to procrastinate.

In such a determined and striving mood, she finally fell into a deep sleep, yet the pile of fragments lying quietly beneath the bedside table remained there.

Thus, our ancestors were indeed wise, having invented a term called "praise killing"

She seems to be busy with nothing, feeling exhausted all day long as if she were a dead dog, yet upon reflection... she hasn't really done anything at all

In those years, Ye Zilu was also a person of great brilliance. In the third year of Xinde, considering all major and minor exams, she ranked among the top three in her grade once and frequently hovered within the top twenty. The position of the top girl in the class was rarely shaken, except in a few cases. Her performance in the first mock exam of her senior year was particularly remarkable, as she directly entered the top ten in the entire city, and the second-year class downstairs specifically invited her to give an inspirational speech. At that time, her mother was already selecting majors for her with promotional materials from Tsinghua University.

A person truly lives up to their name

Achievement: None

I have always believed that a girl as intelligent as you should understand my meaning, waiting for you to initiate the breakup yourself. However, two whole months have passed, and you seem completely unfazed. Thus, I realize that in your heart, I am nothing at all. I think it is better for us to go our separate ways. Yezi, I wish you happiness

Yan Ke was still not satisfied: "That outfit... oh dear, I can't bear to say anything. Where is that person, Liang Xiao? Where is Liang Xiao?"

Waking up in the middle of the night, Ye Zilu turned over in bed, unable to sleep due to a dream in which someone was calling her "Sister Ye" with admiration and asking her questions while holding an exam paper. Hugging her blanket, she stared blankly at the pile of debris on the floor, thinking to herself: "Should I sweep it up?"

This decision was made quite swiftly

Even the daffodil fails to evoke any feelings of narcissism; Ye Zilu rolled over and closed her eyes to sleep

The transcript is a sight of devastation

After completing these meaningless tasks, it was as if she had fulfilled some kind of ritual, and she lay back down under the covers, feeling an unprecedented sadness

Yan Ke scrutinized the small singer, whose eyes were watery and whose forehead seemed to proclaim "I am very pure." As she put on the outerwear brought by her assistant, she remarked in a tone that was neither too high nor too low: "Who styled this Cleopatra hairstyle? Is her pancake face not flat enough? Oh right, and that foundation of yours, where did you buy that shabby thing? It falls off as soon as you smile, looking like a fresh meat mooncake, are you afraid it won't scare the audience to death?"

Perhaps it was from that time onwards that Ye Zilu gradually began to transform into a true fool

I have just been dumped by my boyfriend, and now my future looks bleak

Ye Zilu accidentally broke a glass picture frame on the bedside table before going to sleep

Day after day, life is lived in such a repetitive manner, with no career to speak of and an extremely limited social circle. As a young woman in her twenties, she is often criticized for lacking social skills and the ability to communicate effectively

From the third year of high school until now, a span of six to seven years has passed, and Ye Zilu has transitioned from being the "Wanna" recognized at family gatherings to being criticized as a "Loser"

A great deal of time was spent idly daydreaming, fiddling with unnecessary items, browsing forums, or reading online novels

You see, the advertising fee you provided is insufficient. Let me tell you, Liang Xiao, since we are acquaintances, a discount is a discount, but the deposit should also be settled quickly. What is this all about? Look at our makeup artist being so stingy, unwilling to part with that little bit of eyeshadow and foundation—hey, who is that? I mean, what harm is there in just giving the girl a little contour? It really doesn't take much effort. Don't let her squeeze it out; if she ends up with some kind of cardiac deformity, would that be considered a work-related injury?