What Should I Do if My Best Friend Is a Green Tea? [Transmigrated Into a Book]

Xu Yangyang felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her face frozen in shock.

Wu Liao had other matters to attend to and no time to deal with Xu Yangyang. Terrified, Xu Yangyang grabbed the hem of Wu Liao's coat, tears welling up in her eyes. "President Wu! I promise I’ll listen to you from now on! 'Leisure Life' has already been officially announced. It wouldn’t look good to replace me now! Fans will definitely think Xingyao is bullying me! Please, give me one more chance!" Wu Liao coldly shook off Xu Yangyang's hand. "With your level of popularity, how many fans do you even have? Besides, do you even know your place? If you treat 'Travel' as a resource, an artist of your caliber isn’t even qualified to be a co-star! We gave you 'Leisure Life' as compensation, but you didn’t cherish it!"

'Leisure Life' was already in its second season. With the success of the first season, the second season was set up to be a blockbuster, with both the cast and investment reaching S-tier levels. With such a setup, even a pig could become famous as a guest. Yet, Xu Yangyang still wasn’t satisfied. Wu Liao thought she deserved what was coming to her. His gaze turned icy. "Xu Yangyang, whether you were accidentally caught in a paparazzi shot or orchestrated it yourself, I think you know better than I do. Taking back 'Leisure Life' is already me being merciful!"

Xu Yangyang's eyes widened in shock. How could Wu Liao have found out that the paparazzi who took the photos were hired by her? No one should have known about that!

Wu Liao snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Xu Yangyang stood rooted to the spot, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. Like Xu Yangyang, Lin Ranran was also fuming.

On an international flight with Wi-Fi, she could monitor online discussions about Yan Xi in real-time.

Now, netizens unanimously believed that Yan Xi had neither faked her academic qualifications nor bullied her classmates. The account that had originally spread rumors about her bullying had been dug up by netizens. Countless comments and private messages flooded in, demanding that Lin Ranran apologize.

["Blogger, where’s the evidence that Yan Xi bullied her classmates?"]

["No evidence means it’s just slander. Yan Xi wasn’t even called Yan Xi in high school! Shouldn’t the blogger come out and apologize?"]

["Apologize now! Slanderers are disgusting!"]

["Probably some jealous keyboard warrior! Now that Yan Xi’s reputation is turning around, they’re probably going crazy somewhere!"]

Lin Ranran was so angry she felt like she was going to explode. A flight attendant approached with a glass of warm water, but Lin Ranran suddenly lashed out, knocking the tray and spilling the water on both of them. "Ahhh!"

The flight attendant instinctively stepped back, while Lin Ranran, her silk dress soaked, jumped up from her seat in a panic.

Lin Ranran shouted furiously, "What kind of service is this?!" The head flight attendant hurried over, using tissues to help wipe the water off Lin Ranran. "I’m so sorry, Miss Lin. It was our staff’s oversight!" The flight attendant was clearly wronged, but her professionalism kept her from arguing back. Instead, she bowed politely to Lin Ranran. "I apologize, Miss Lin. I didn’t hold the glass steady. Let me get you another cup of warm water."

Lin Ranran gave the flight attendant a disdainful look. "Hurry up!"

Lin's mother, sitting beside Lin Ranran, opened her eyes impatiently. Her gaze swept over Lin Ranran, then landed on the phone that had slipped from Lin Ranran’s grasp and fallen to the floor.

Lin's mother picked up the phone.

Lin Ranran was horrified and tried to stop her, but her voice caught in her throat.

Lin's mother glanced at the screen, her eyes filled with increasing disdain as she read the insults directed at Lin Ranran.

She casually tossed the phone back, and Lin Ranran fumbled to catch it. Lin's mother’s face was cold. "Utterly disgraceful! With your behavior, you’ll never measure up to Lin Xi!"

Lin Ranran’s face turned pale with anger, but in front of her mother, she could only play the part of the innocent lamb. "Mother, I understand. I’ll work hard to be a worthy daughter of the Lin family."

Lin's mother scoffed again, put on her eye mask, and went back to resting.

Lin Ranran sat back in her seat, gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

By 10 p.m., the live broadcast had ended, and the guests returned to their rooms. The night enveloped Li City, and stars twinkled in the ink-black sky.

[Ding! Preventing Xu Yangyang from securing Xingyao resources has increased Zhou Qingyu’s luck points by 0.1.]

[Ding! Da Jiajun’s downfall has increased Zhou Qingyu’s luck points by 1. Current luck points: 12.1.]

Yan Xi was warming milk in the kitchen when the glowing orb in her consciousness popped out. [Host, this is amazing! Even though you were the one being slandered, it’s Zhou Qingyu’s luck that increased!]

The system had originally thought that even if Yan Xi cleared up the rumors about her academic qualifications, it wouldn’t have anything to do with Zhou Qingyu.

Yan Xi added a spoonful of sugar to the two cups of milk. "Otherwise, why do you think I didn’t clarify the matter right away?"

At the supermarket, the system had already informed Yan Xi about Da Jiajun spreading rumors about her, but Yan Xi had ignored it.

In fact, Yan Xi had scanned copies of all her certificates on her phone—her student ID, diploma, degree certificate, and even the documents from when she changed her name at the police station. Clearing things up would have been a piece of cake.

The system: [You deliberately delayed to use the heat from this incident to help Zhou Qingyu?]

"Of course," Yan Xi admitted frankly. "Don’t you remember? Da Jiajun is a character from the novel!"

Although Da Jiajun had only a minor role in the novel, Yan Xi had an excellent memory.

After Zhou Yanci’s sudden death, Zhou’s father suffered a stroke from grief and was hospitalized. The responsibility of running Zhou Corporation fell on Zhou Qingyu’s shoulders.

Zhou Qingyu had no talent for business, as evidenced by the consistent losses at Xingyao Entertainment. Under her management, Zhou Corporation’s situation worsened. With the losses mounting, Zhou Qingyu realized she wasn’t cut out for running the company and decided to hand it over to professional managers. But just then, Da Jiajun accused Zhou Qingyu of carrying a fake bag, insinuating that Zhou Corporation was on its last legs and no longer a force to be reckoned with.

This was pure slander. Even a dying camel is bigger than a horse, and besides, even if Miss Zhou was short on cash, her wardrobe was full of bags. She hadn’t even started selling them off—how could she be carrying a fake?

Still, the incident dealt a blow to the Zhou family, causing partner companies to doubt Zhou Corporation’s stability and refuse to cooperate.

Da Jiajun wasn’t the direct cause of Zhou Corporation’s downfall, but he certainly added fuel to the fire. Now that he had walked right into her trap, Yan Xi wasn’t going to give him the chance to harm Zhou Qingyu in the future.

Proving her academic credentials was simple, but it wouldn’t have much impact on Da Jiajun. At most, he’d grovel and apologize, then continue thriving online a few days later. Yan Xi wanted to make sure he could never rise again, never have the chance to hurt Zhou Qingyu.

Wu Liao’s appearance had been a stroke of luck for Yan Xi.

—Finding people who had been harmed by Da Jiajun in the past was something Yan Xi couldn’t do, but Wu Liao could.

Over hotpot and card games, Yan Xi had stalled Wu Liao for three hours, allowing herself to be criticized online for the same amount of time. Finally, after receiving Wu Liao’s WeChat confirming that enough evidence had been gathered, Yan Xi deliberately mentioned the number "70%."

This number directly contradicted Ye Luoyi’s "card-counting" conclusion. Given Ye Luoyi’s scheming nature, she would definitely seize the opportunity to expose Yan Xi. And Qin Li, who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, wouldn’t let Yan Xi off the hook either.

There was a high probability that the two of them would bring up the "academic fraud" issue.

In fact, neither of them disappointed Yan Xi.

Even without them, Jiang Tao’s lack of tact would likely have brought the matter to light.

So, by debunking Da Jiajun on the variety show and having Wu Liao expose the people Da Jiajun had harmed in the past, Da Jiajun’s reputation would be utterly ruined. He’d never be able to continue in this industry.

The system’s eyes sparkled: [Brilliant! Since Da Jiajun would harm Zhou Qingyu in the future, we’ve taken him out first!]

That was exactly Yan Xi’s plan, though the unexpected boost to Zhou Qingyu’s luck points was a nice bonus.

[But…] The system was still puzzled. [I remember when you contacted Wu Liao, you only asked him to investigate the paparazzi who took the photos. You didn’t say anything about taking back Xu Yangyang’s resources. Why did Wu Liao do that?]

The system’s glowing orb floated beside Yan Xi, who tapped its head. "Are you stupid? If I hadn’t wanted Wu Liao to take back Xu Yangyang’s resources, why would I have told him that the paparazzi incident might have been orchestrated by Xu Yangyang herself?"

"Let me ask you this: If you gave a huge benefit to one of your subordinates, but before it took effect, that subordinate stabbed you in the back, would you still give them that benefit?" The system was indignant: [Of course not!]

"Exactly," Yan Xi shrugged. "Some things don’t need to be spelled out."

Since Wu Liao had managed to find Yan Xi, she judged him to be a smart man who would understand with just a hint.

Dealing with Da Jiajun was something Yan Xi had planned deliberately.

But handling Xu Yangyang was just a matter of convenience.

Delaying the clarification by a few hours to take care of both of them was a win-win situation.

[Host, you didn't see how people were cursing you online before the clarification!] (No normal person would want to be insulted like that!) [You’re really good to Zhou Qingyu!]

Yan Xi, holding a cup of hot milk, paused as she climbed the stairs.

The milk in the cup swayed slightly due to inertia, forming faint ripples on the surface.

Yan Xi glanced toward the direction of the room.

After a long moment, she said softly, "Because Qingyu is worth it."

Then, Yan Xi smiled, her eyes gentle. "Don’t you think Qingyu has been even better to me?"

This had been puzzling the system for a long time. It could only see what was happening now or what had occurred in the novel, but it couldn’t trace back to the past.

Yan Xi’s kindness toward Zhou Qingyu might be because of the incident involving the fake and real heiresses, during which Zhou Qingyu had lent Yan Xi ten million yuan.

But why would Zhou Qingyu be so good to Yan Xi?

[Did you save Zhou Qingyu’s life back then?] the system asked curiously. [Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine. Zhou Qingyu isn’t known for having a good temper!]

"It was because of a bouquet of flowers," Yan Xi said.

[What?] The system didn’t understand.

"Ten years ago, when I went to visit my mother’s grave, I saw Qingyu standing alone. The flowers she had prepared had withered for some reason, covered in dust. The sky was gray, and it was drizzling. Qingyu had forgotten her wallet and couldn’t afford to buy a new bouquet. She was crying in the rain."

"Then, I gave her a bouquet of flowers."

The system was stunned. [Just that? A bouquet of flowers?]

"Yes," Yan Xi nodded. "Just a bouquet of flowers."

Yan Xi didn’t know if anyone else would remember a favor as small as a bouquet of flowers for five years.

But Zhou Qingyu would.

Even though it was just a bunch of lilies from a flower shop, costing less than a hundred yuan. Yet, five years later, when everyone mocked Yan Xi for being a fake heiress who had stolen someone else’s place, only Zhou Qingyu was willing to speak up for her.

In the dreams, everyone said Zhou Qingyu was vicious, domineering, and had a terrible temper. But only Yan Xi knew that Zhou Qingyu was actually a very kind person.

On the balcony of the third floor of the guesthouse,

The moonlight was hazy, casting a silvery glow over the balcony. A small rocking chair stood by the railing, and Zhou Qingyu sat quietly on it, her stunning features even more striking under the moonlight.

The scene was serene and beautiful.

But Zhou Qingyu’s mood was far from calm.

"What kind of trash is that Da Jiajun? How dare he bully someone I care about! Doesn’t Star Glory have any PR team? If he can mobilize his fans to curse Yan Xi, can’t I do the same?"

"And what’s Xu Yangyang even doing? She was supposed to be resting for her sprained ankle, yet she got photographed?"

"Who’s the one spreading rumors about Yan Xi bullying others? Send them a lawyer’s letter! Let them know the cost of spreading lies!"

Zhou Qingyu fired off a series of commands, and Qiao Yan felt like her eardrums were being hammered by a sledgehammer, barely able to keep up.

She rubbed her temples. "Miss, Da Jiajun has already been dealt with. As for Xu Yangyang, we’ve canceled all her schedules. As for the account spreading rumors… it’s a fake account, so it’s hard to trace the owner. Star Glory has done all it can for now."

The account was a throwaway, with no other content on its profile, making it difficult to identify the person behind it. Star Glory had already done its best.

Zhou Qingyu took a deep breath. "Is anyone curious about why Yan Xi changed her surname?"

This was her biggest concern. Yan Xi had changed her surname to cut ties with the Lin family. If her original name was brought up, it would be easy to dig up her past with the Lin family.

Qiao Yan: "Some people are indeed curious, and a few have started digging into 'Lin Xi's' past."

Zhou Qingyu frowned. "Contact the platforms and have those posts deleted!"

Qiao Yan hesitated. "Miss, given our relationship with the platforms, we can manage to remove some trending topics, but a full-scale deletion… that’s something only Chairman Zhou can do."

After all, just a few days ago, Zhou Qingyu had been mocked online for slapping Ye Luoyi. Star Glory had managed to remove the hashtag, but they couldn’t stop netizens from using homophones to continue mocking her. To completely erase someone’s past from the internet… only Zhou Corporation, which held shares in the platforms, could do that.

But Zhou Qingyu hadn’t even asked Zhou Yanci for help when she was being attacked online, let alone for Yan Xi.

Qiao Yan didn’t even consider that possibility.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Qingyu sat alone on the rocking chair on the balcony. The summer night in Li City wasn’t hot; it was actually quite cool. A gentle breeze swept through the streets, carrying the faint scent of grass from the garden.

Zhou Qingyu slowly scrolled through her WeChat chat history, stopping at the last message. The name "Zhou Yanci" appeared on the screen, their last conversation dating back to a week ago. The topic had been about the ownership of the Royal Hotel in the European market, and the discussion had ended in a stalemate.

Zhou Qingyu hadn’t contacted Zhou Yanci in a long time. Whenever she did, it was usually to compete for a Zhou Corporation project, which often ended in a heated argument. Asking for his help was out of the question.

Zhou Qingyu held her phone, hesitating for a long time, before finally making the call.

Zhou Qingyu: "Help me with something."

Zhou Yanci’s eyelids twitched. He had the sudden urge to reach through the phone and drag Zhou Qingyu out to see if she’d been possessed by something strange.

"What is it?" Zhou Yanci didn’t show any surprise, his tone remaining calm.

"Lend me the Zhou Corporation’s PR team. I need to handle something."

Zhou Yanci pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Father won’t agree."

Their father disapproved of Zhou Qingyu’s career in the entertainment industry and wanted her to return to being a proper young lady of the Zhou family. Allowing her to mess around with Star Glory was already his greatest concession.

"It’s not about me," Zhou Qingyu said calmly. "I just need them to delete posts about the Lin family’s fake and real heiress situation, as well as Yan Xi’s past."

Zhou Yanci’s hand, which had been massaging his nose, paused.

Zhou Qingyu continued, "I won’t owe you for this. I’ll give up my share of the Royal Hotel’s European market to you."

Zhou Yanci’s expression finally turned serious.

The Royal Hotel’s European market was a significant part of Zhou Corporation’s business empire. The project had been in the works for a long time, and Zhou Qingyu had been competing with Zhou Yanci over it for years.

To ultimately gain control of Zhou Corporation, this piece of the pie was crucial. Yet now, just to delete some online posts, Zhou Qingyu was willing to hand it over to him.

Zhou Yanci paused. "You’re giving up the competition?"

Zhou Qingyu scoffed. "Zhou Yanci, don’t get ahead of yourself! This is a one-time deal. Next time, for the Zijin Garden project, I won’t let you have it!"

Zhou Yanci's eyes showed a hint of helplessness, but he still said, "Alright." Half an hour later, a massive scandal exploded in the entertainment industry of Hua Nation. A top male celebrity was caught soliciting prostitution, and paparazzi had snapped photos of him wearing pink floral boxers. The celebrity, looking terrified, was escorted out of the club by the police, his pale flesh exposed, with only the bright pink boxers standing out. In an instant, all netizens were feasting on the scandal. Prostitution was just the beginning; soon, tax evasion, sleeping with fans, and a series of other dark secrets were exposed. The entertainment industry was in turmoil, with platforms like Douban, Weibo, and Douyin flooded with discussions.

Most of those who had been paying attention to Yan Xi's past were now distracted. Posts discussing her history were quietly deleted. In a room, Ye Luoyi was on the phone with Pei Yubai.

"Was it Zhou Corporation who leaked this? Does Zhou Yanci know Zu Jiayan?"

Zu Jiayan was the top male celebrity who had just fallen from grace.

The news of "Zu Jiayan soliciting prostitution" went viral the moment it was released, topping the trending lists on multiple social media platforms within minutes. It was late at night in Li City, but early evening in Hua Nation—prime time for people to catch up on gossip after work. As an insider, Ye Luoyi knew that if paparazzi had captured such photos, they would first contact the celebrity's management company rather than immediately exposing the story.

No paparazzi would pass up the chance to make millions.

"Tianhui has connections with major platforms, and they told me," Pei Yubai said calmly. "Zhou Corporation was behind this. Who knows how Zu Jiayan managed to offend Zhou Yanci?"

Ye Luoyi pondered silently.

Zu Jiayan had debuted as an idol through a talent show two years ago, with an immense following and a large number of fangirls. Judging by his endorsements... he had no connection to Zhou Yanci. The industry was baffled. No one understood how Zu Jiayan had managed to provoke Zhou Corporation. Moreover, Zu Jiayan was set to star in a fantasy drama co-produced by Xingyao, which should have put him on good terms with Zhou Corporation.

Could it be that Zhou Yanci was targeting him just because he was involved in a Xingyao project? That seemed unlikely.

Soon, Ye Luoyi thought of another possibility.

—Yan Xi.

Earlier that day, Yan Xi had publicly humiliated Da Jiajun, bringing up her name change. Many netizens were curious: why had Yan Xi changed her surname? Following this thread, some began digging into Yan Xi's past.

It was only a matter of time before the truth about the "fake heiress" scandal resurfaced. The best way to bury one news story was to cover it with another, more explosive one.

Ye Luoyi suspected that Zhou Yanci was playing this card.

"It's not impossible," Pei Yubai mused. "Back then, Zhou Yanci spent ten million to help Yan Xi break free from the Lin family." Ye Luoyi was momentarily stunned, a hint of bitterness in her eyes. "Does Zhou Yanci know Yan Xi?" "Of course," Pei Yubai shrugged. "With Zhou Qingyu in the picture, how could they not know each other? Yan Xi has a contract with Zhou Corporation and is set to work there after graduation."

All of this had been relayed to Pei Yubai by Zhou Qingyu. It was insider information about Zhou Corporation, known to very few.

Ye Luoyi was from Hang City and had only moved to Hai City after entering the entertainment industry. She wasn't familiar with the intricacies of Hai City's elite circles. As for the feud between Yan Xi and the Lin family, she had only just learned about it through Su Lingling.

Ye Luoyi sighed, "I had no idea Yan Xi had such a history with the Zhou family!"

Pei Yubai scoffed, "Without her heiress status, Yan Xi clings to Zhou Qingyu for money, doesn't she? She's nothing but a lowly opportunist, nothing to fear!" After hanging up, Ye Luoyi sat by the window, reflecting on the conversation.

A lowly opportunist?

Yes, Yan Xi, the fallen fake heiress, was like a rat in the gutter—utterly beneath notice.

But her academic achievements—graduating from Hai University, ranking in the top ten in the city's college entrance exams—made Ye Luoyi doubt that Yan Xi was foolish.

In fact, she was far from foolish; she was clever.

It was precisely because of her that Zhou Qingyu shone so brightly on variety shows, making Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling seem dull and unremarkable in comparison. Fame was a fickle thing, often dependent on luck.

Perhaps even Yan Xi herself hadn't realized that her interactions with Zhou Qingyu would become so popular. But the fact remained: their chemistry had skyrocketed in popularity, leaving Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling as the boring control group.

On her way back to her room with a glass of milk, Yan Xi's system mentioned that Zhou Yanci had been busy all day and was still working late at the Royal Hotel. Yan Xi took a moment to send Zhou Yanci a couple of motivational articles, reminding him to rest early and not overwork himself.

Yan Xi wasn't sure if her reminders would do any good, but it was better than nothing. Maybe one day, while burning the midnight oil, Zhou Yanci would remember her advice and decide to call it a night.

Dreams are worth having! Dripping water wears away stone, after all.

Zhou Qingyu came down from the third-floor balcony and ran into Yan Xi.

She took the warm milk from Yan Xi and took a sip. "It's sweet. Did you add sugar?"

"Artificial sweetener—no calories!"

Reassured, Zhou Qingyu gulped down half the glass. Drinking milk before bed helped with sleep, and Zhou Qingyu made it a nightly habit. Yan Xi remembered that. Zhou Qingyu looked at the empty glass and sighed, "Can you imagine being lactose intolerant? Some people can't even drink fresh milk. How tragic!" Yan Xi, still with a bit of milk foam on her lips, asked, "Who are you talking about?" Zhou Qingyu replied, "Zhou Yanci, of course! When we were kids, I shared my fresh milk ice cream with him, and he ended up vomiting and had to be hospitalized. His mom still holds a grudge against me for that!"

Yan Xi was stunned. "...What?"

It took her several seconds to process the fact that Zhou Yanci was lactose intolerant. When she finally came to her senses, she panicked and asked the glowing orb in her mind, "System, I just advised Zhou Yanci to drink milk before bed to help him sleep... What must he think of me now?"

The system paused for a moment before replying, *[He probably thinks you're trying to poison him.]*

Yan Xi: !

The system added another blow, *[But Zhou Yanci likely doesn't think you have a personal grudge against him. So, he might assume you're acting on Miss Zhou's orders to poison him?]*

Yan Xi: !!!!!!!!!!

Well, one glass of milk had just made the already strained sibling relationship even worse!

"Xi Xi? Xi Xi?"

Noticing Yan Xi's distraction, Zhou Qingyu nudged her. "What are you spacing out for? It's time to go back to your room."

Yan Xi shrank back, hesitating for a long while before deciding not to tell Zhou Qingyu about her accidental "poisoning" of Zhou Yanci.

"Maybe next time, I should just give Zhou Yanci sleeping pills directly!" Yan Xi clenched her fists, sharing her thoughts with the system. The system...

*[Doesn't that sound even more like poisoning? Suddenly, I feel like Zhou Yanci might not die from overwork in this lifetime, but from being poisoned.]*