February, on the first day of school at Yinggui University, the cake shop outside the school gate was packed with people.
Li Jing was wearing an employee vest and standing behind the counter, facing a few girls who were looking at her with fierce expressions.
“Look at yourself, you’re so pathetic!”
“Feng Ce is the School Hunk, the Feng family is a powerful family, you don’t really think Feng Ce came to buy cake for you, do you?”
“Poor loser, stop dreaming and go to sleep!”
Li Jing only reacted for a second, then quickly adapted to the situation.
After all, she was an old quick transmigrator.
This was her last mission before retirement, a classic melodramatic substitute female lead in a melodramatic novel. All three male leads had the same White Moonlight*, Ye Yan, a famous actress, and she just happened to have a face that was nine-tenths similar, so she was successively abused physically and emotionally by the cold and ruthless CEO, the financial tycoon School Hunk, and the top-ranking Acting Emperor, donating her kidney and blood, and finally dying tragically. After her death, the male leads realized they had fallen in love with her and were heartbroken.
TN: the elusive beloved one that’s eternally out-of-reach
Now the plot was progressing to the point where the CEO was about to start taking her by force, and the School Hunk had also discovered her face, and his attention to her had caused his fangirls to be unhappy.
Li Jing lowered her head, her thick bangs and glasses frame blocking her face, her gaze falling on her sleeve - it was washed white and had frayed edges, but it was the only piece of clothing she could wear.
“So pathetic again,” Li Jing said to herself, dissatisfied.
After transmigrating through so many worlds, she had never been a rich person, always playing the role of the poor!
The system’s voice sounded timely.carpreads.pages.dev
Hello, Host, as the top no. 1 in the quick transmigration business, you will enjoy exclusive benefits for your last mission before retirement!
In this world, all monetary transactions generated in your name, including but not limited to all payment actions made for you, will be credited to your real-world account in full! You can take the money to the retirement world after the mission is completed!
Li Jing: Oh, wow?
Her dissatisfaction immediately lessened by half.
Almost all quick transmigrators were people who had died in the real world, so completing the mission and retiring was a new life for them, and it was also Li Jing’s aspiration.
And now, she had the chance to become rich and go to a new world!
Li Jing quickly thought up a new methodology for getting rich.
While she was communicating with the system in her mind, the girls across from her saw her as meek and timid, with no confidence. And her looks were nothing special, how could Feng Ce be interested in her?!
“Playing dumb, are you? Are you deaf?!”
With a whoosh, a cup was thrown towards Li Jing.
Li Jing’s reaction speed had been honed through countless trials, and she dodged it deftly with a side step and a tilt of her head.
But because of this movement, her bangs, which had been blocking her face, were brushed aside, and the girls who were being arrogant across from her suddenly fell silent.
Their first reaction was, she’s so white.
Her eyebrows were extremely delicate and natural.
Even though Li Jing was still wearing those dull glasses, she gave them a sense of astonishment for a moment.
Then, inexplicably, they felt even more embarrassed and angry.
“You—”
Li Jing raised her hand and pushed her bangs back, saying only one sentence:
“Don’t you want to know what flavor of cake Feng Ce likes to buy?”
The noisy shop instantly fell silent.
Really, really?
Feng Ce never looked at anyone directly, and he treated everything other girls gave him as trash, which was why his entering the shop and talking to Li Jing had caused them such strong dissatisfaction.
But if they could guess Feng Ce’s preferences…
The leading girl coughed, then said arrogantly, “Although I don’t believe you, you can still tell us—”
Li Jing interrupted her directly: “Get a membership card.”
The girl didn’t understand: “Wh-what membership card?”
Li Jing pulled over the sign from the counter and pointed to her name tag: “Get a membership card. Write my name.”
Everyone: “………”
Li Jing asked the system, “Does this count as a transaction generated in my name?”
The system, also not expecting her to start making money just a minute after arriving, replied: “……It does, Host.”
It can only be said, she truly is the number one in the quick transmigration business!
System: “So you’ve already figured out Feng Ce’s taste preferences through the plot details? As expected of you.”
Li Jing guided a group of young girls to apply for membership card and top up their accounts through her employee portal, while taking a moment to reply to the system, “Huh? I don’t know.”
She pointed to the best-selling mille-feuille in the glass cabinet, her gaze meeting the girls’ excited eyes, “It’s that one.”
Everyone, without any doubt, said, “It’s definitely the coffee flavor, he drank coffee for four days last week!”
“Yes, yes! I remember too!”
“Ahhh, I want to buy it, don’t fight with me!”
“I just topped up two thousand! I’ll buy it first—”
The system, having witnessed everything, said: “……As expected of you!”
Li Jing only cared about whether the amounts had been credited to her account.
She patted the pocket of her apron, empty—oh, this poor substitute female lead didn’t even have a phone.
The original owner was an orphan, adopted by a kind grandmother, but she was also exploited by her grandmother’s son. Almost all the money she earned from studying and working went into the pockets of that gambling uncle, so much so that she couldn’t even afford to eat, and she hadn’t had a single bite to eat all day today.
Li Jing didn’t have a phone to check her bank account balance in the real world, but thankfully the system could provide her with a page.
The initial deposit was only 0.1 yuan.
The transaction details were just starting to refresh.
The fangirls were all rich, number one topped up two thousand, number two topped up one thousand, number three and four topped up five hundred… oh, she just added three thousand to grab the coffee-flavored mille-feuille cake.
The bank account balance shot up, finally reaching 7000.1 yuan.
Li Jing: Three minutes into the book, seven thousand yuan earned √
Not a bad record.
She asked the system, “I heard that real estate prices are very expensive in the retirement world, is that true?”
After retirement, she wanted to live in a large villa by the clearest ocean in the world. She heard that the Main God himself had property there, very luxurious and high-end, she wondered how much she needed to save.
The system calculated and politely replied: “With your current savings, you can buy approximately 0.001 square meters.”
Li Jing: “…”
Her desire to make money became even stronger.
The fangirls swept away all the coffee-flavored cakes in the store. Seeing Li Jing’s performance, the store manager and owner were very satisfied. When it was time to leave, they didn’t ask Li Jing to stay and clean, letting her go.
Li Jing took off her employee vest, wearing her thin, worn-out clothes, and walked out of the store.
Then her stomach finally felt a strong reaction.
So hungry…
The original owner hadn’t eaten anything all day, the belated hunger pangs felt like strong sulfuric acid, corroding her frail body. So much so that she felt a strong desire when she looked at the pastries in the cake shop window.
Just then, the crowd suddenly became agitated.
“Look, that car—”
“Damn, a global limited edition Maybach, and that license plate… is it that person from the Fu family?”
At the same time, Li Jing also heard the system’s prompt.
Important character has appeared!
Male lead number one, Fu Lingchu, is approaching you. 100m, 80m…
Li Jing rubbed her flat stomach and straightened up.
Very good, meal ticket number one has arrived.
Li Jing decided not to use the 7,000 yuan she had just earned.
-—–
Through the car window.
Fu Lingchu saw her at a glance. Even though she was dressed poorly and her bangs covered most of her face, Fu Lingchu still saw her precisely in the crowd.
She looked so much like her… even her figure was so similar.
“Stop.”
“Yes, President Fu.”
The moment the man’s leather shoes landed, a gasp went through the crowd.
This year’s richest man, the youngest entrepreneur, who had graced the covers of top financial magazines several times—Fu Lingchu, was also exceptionally handsome.
He was tall and slender, with handsome features, a chiseled and sharp profile, and eyes as deep and unfathomable as a hawk’s. His powerful aura as a leader made those around him afraid to look directly at him.
The moment he appeared, the entire street seemed to shrink.
Fu Lingchu stopped in front of Li Jing. Their height difference made him appear even more commanding.
“Have you made up your mind?” The man spoke in a low voice, his tone leaving no room for argument.
At this point in the plot, Fu Lingchu had already seen the original owner and White Moonlight’s nine-tenths similar faces. He also knew about the original owner’s tragic past and her miserable living conditions. So, he directly offered to sponsor her, treating her as a commodity with a price tag.
Li Jing didn’t respond. She tapped the system in the background: “Let me see the favorability rating.”
Her mission in this world was to complete the plot, which meant raising the favorability ratings of all three male leads to 100%, making them all fall in love with her, and then she could die and leave.
According to the current data, Fu Lingchu’s initial favorability rating was 2%.
Feng Ce’s favorability rating was 1%.
The favorability rating of the yet-to-be-unlocked Acting Emperor male lead was 0%.
The system emphasized the female lead’s character: “Li Jing is a sensitive, insecure, but very stubborn poor little white flower. Even though she is looked down upon by those in power, she still wants to protect her broken dignity.”
Li Jing: It’s okay to be sensitive, insecure, and stubborn.
But poor is not okay ^_^
She quickly got into character, tilting her chin up at a 45-degree angle towards Fu Lingchu, her face filled with forced pride: “What’s so great about having a little bit of stinky money?”
System: “That’s right! That’s the feeling! The emotions are perfectly— "
Then, Li Jing pointed at the cake shop behind her: “If you have the guts, buy this shop for me!”
Li Jing’s “for me” was pronounced with unwavering determination.
System: “??? Huh?”
The system stretched out its Erkang* hand: “W-wait! You’re supposed to raise his favorability rating, Host!”
TN: famous meme from the classic My Fair Princess, super duper famous Taiwanese drama
Li Jing: “I know.”
She had transmigrated through so many worlds, she had an enterprise-level understanding of various missions.
She needed to raise the favorability ratings of the three male leads towards her, the substitute female lead. So, she had to make them realize that she was different from the White Moonlight. She had to make them confused and captivated by her appearance and feel a strong contrast in her personality. Only then could she accurately raise the favorability rating towards Li Jing.
Of course, there was another real reason she didn’t say. After transmigrating through so many books and playing so many roles, this was her last world—
She just wanted to let loose and ruthlessly earn money from these idiotic male leads ^_^
Men who look for substitutes were so scummy. Only by scamming them for money while completing the mission could she feel happy.
Fu Lingchu looked at her, a mocking glint slowly appearing in his dark eyes.
Li Jing, a low-class person, didn’t understand how vast his assets were. She naively thought that making him buy a shop would scare him off. This woman, who had never seen the world, was like heaven and earth compared to his A’yan.
She was just a shoddy counterfeit, a fake.
But, wasn’t this a good thing? Such people were the most susceptible to temptation. For him, she was easy to control.
With a mocking smile in his eyes, Fu Lingchu raised his hand slightly. His assistant, dressed in a suit, got out of the Maybach driver’s seat and respectfully pressed a series of numbers on his phone. After dialing, he handed the phone to Fu Lingchu with both hands.
The call lasted only one minute.
Throughout the call, Fu Lingchu’s gaze remained fixed on Li Jing.
Li Jing remained calm and collected.
Soon, someone arrived in a car, delivering a drafted contract. The process was incredibly swift, showcasing the efficiency of Fu Lingchu’s personal team.
This cake shop had already been purchased by Fu Lingchu, and the contract clearly stated that it was a gift for Li Jing.
All she needed to do was sign her name, and the shop would become hers. She wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry anymore, nor would she have to toil away at the shop, because she had become the boss.
Fu Lingchu waited leisurely, knowing she couldn’t refuse—someone who couldn’t even afford a meal had no leverage to refuse.
And for him, using this amount of money to buy that face… was more than worth it.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, those slender white hands reached for the contract.
Fu Lingchu’s lips curled into a slight smile.
But the next second, Li Jing suddenly tore the thin paper to shreds!
She was a bit weak from hunger, but with a professional spirit, she still managed to toss the paper scraps with a dramatic flair. “I don’t want it!”
—She only wanted cash, thank you very much!
The transaction was complete, and the system’s cash counting sound echoed in her mind, a cacophony of “cha-ching.” President Fu had spent 500,000 yuan to buy her this chain store.
Li Jing’s current balance: 507,000.1 yuan.
System: “…”
She had only been in this book for a few hours! Was she a devil??
Li Jing beamed with delight. “I can buy one square meter of a seaside villa now.”
She had basically figured out the new path to wealth and prosperity.
This domineering CEO in front of her was the first golden leek*.
TN: leeks are to be harvested, read a bit more here on Chinese various memes related to leeks, basically just people tricked into losing their money/assets.
The mockery in Fu Lingchu’s eyes faded, and he narrowed his eyes, looking at the girl in front of him, who was thin and frail from malnutrition, his expression unreadable.
“Do you know the consequences of doing this?”
Li Jing’s answer was to step over the scattered contract confetti and walk into the cake shop.
She was so hungry.
She used a tray to grab a freshly baked meat floss bacon bread, ten yuan.
Li Jing: I can afford it, full payment √
Holding the bread, she took a big bite. The aroma of meat and the soft bread filled her mouth, and her stomach, which had been close to losing all sensation from hunger, finally warmed up. The food filled her body with a comforting warmth.
Li Jing sighed contentedly.
In the distance.
The Maybach was parked in a corner, and inside the black tinted windows, the man’s gaze never left her.
She treated money like dirt, rejecting the entire shop and only taking a bite of a cheap bread.
She was clearly in a dire situation, yet her expression was full of happiness.
That was… an expression rarely seen on Ye Yan’s face.
Fu Lingchu’s favorability +3%.
As the system’s notification sounded, Li Jing curled her lips into a smile.
Host, Fu Lingchu thinks… you’re special.
Li Jing wiped her mouth with satisfaction and got up, leaving with her warm 500,000 yuan.
Of course she was special—
She was specially very wicked, oh^_^
carp: new project, short quick read about scum MLs and that trashy men should stay in the trashcan. NU page here .