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

The guests' rooms were all located on the second floor of the homestay. Zhou Qingyu, who preferred quiet, chose the room at the very end.

Late at night, when the guests and staff had all retired, Yan Xi and Zhou Qingyu were walking towards their rooms. As they passed Jiang Tao's room, they suddenly heard his excited shout.

Startled, Zhou Qingyu and Yan Xi saw Jiang Tao burst out of his room, beaming with joy.

"I got the investment! I got the investment!"

Xiao Yu grabbed Jiang Tao's arm, "It's too late, don't disturb others!" Jiang Tao chuckled, "I'm just so happy!"

When Jiang Tao saw Zhou Qingyu, he became even more animated. "Zhou Qingyu, I told you earlier you should have made a guest appearance in my drama. Now that I've secured the investment, you've missed your chance!" Zhou Qingyu snorted coldly; she couldn't care less about Jiang Tao's resources. "But," Jiang Tao continued, "I think your acting isn't as bad as people online say. If you're willing, I can still offer you the role of the mafia boss's daughter. Zhou Qingyu, let me tell you, the people who cast you before were just terrible. The roles they gave you didn't suit you at all. But my guest appearance..." Zhou Qingyu cut him off, "No need! I'm not interested in your drama! By the way, how much investment did you get? Why are you so excited?"

Jiang Tao held up two fingers. "They just contacted me and agreed to invest twenty million!"

That was a significant amount. Jiang Tao's plan was to raise thirty million, and now he had secured two-thirds of it.

"So, Director Jiang, are you still going to continue filming the variety show?" Yan Xi asked.

She remembered from the novel that Jiang Tao, Xiao Yu, and Qin Li were only scheduled to film up to the F-country leg. After that, the three of them would go shoot *The Bottom Line*, and other guests would take their places on the show. "Of course not! Xiao Yu and I were only guest stars for one leg of the show!" Jiang Tao's voice was full of pride. "We completed our mission on the third day, not bad at all! I thought I'd have to wait until I returned to China to secure the investment!" Jiang Tao had been worried earlier. He wasn't sure if appearing on a variety show would help him secure funding, but Director Yu had persuaded him to give it a try. Now, it seemed the show had worked out better than he expected.

"So, is Shen Xinghe still the male lead?" Yan Xi asked again.

Jiang Tao gave Yan Xi a suspicious look, finding her question odd. "Of course, he's the most suitable actor for the role. I wouldn't replace him with anyone else." Yan Xi frowned. In the novel, Jiang Tao was a minor character, and there wasn't much detail about how he secured the investment. Yan Xi wasn't sure about the specifics. But if Jiang Tao had secured the funding, why was Shen Xinghe still the male lead?

What about Qin Li? *The Bottom Line* was the foundation of Qin Li's career transformation and rise to fame, propelling him to become a top actor and giving him the standing to stand alongside Ye Luoyi. Without *The Bottom Line*, how would Qin Li become one of Ye Luoyi's many admirers?

The system chimed in, [Host, could it be that because of Da Jiajun, Qin Li's fate has also been altered? Didn't you also change Xu Yangyang's future?] Yan Xi shook her head, "Xu Yangyang was humiliated because she took luck from Qingqing, and that luck returned to Qingqing through me. This time, Da Jiajun did collapse, but Qin Li has kept a low profile. Even Wu Liao couldn't dig up anything on him. He wasn't affected by this incident."

If the flow of luck hadn't changed, and no one else had interfered, how could the plot have been altered?

Jiang Tao's excitement caused quite a commotion, and even Qin Li, who was across the hall, noticed and curiously opened his door.

Upon learning that Jiang Tao had secured funding, Qin Li remained calm, showing no signs of disappointment.

"Congratulations, Director Jiang."

Jiang Tao clapped Qin Li on the shoulder with great enthusiasm. "I decided on the male lead a long time ago, but Qin Li, you're a promising talent. We'll work together again in the future!" Qin Li's lips curled slightly, and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes. "Sure."

The third day of their trip to F-country arrived.

Unlike the previous two days, when the guests were free to plan their own itineraries, today their schedules were unusually synchronized.

The Licheng Fashion Week had begun.

Jiang Tao and Xiao Yu, being behind-the-scenes workers, had no interest in the fashion week. With the investment secured, they left early in the morning to finalize the shooting locations they had previously scouted.

The remaining three groups of guests—Zhou Qingyu, Ye Luoyi, and Qin Li—were all attending the fashion week.

After having breakfast prepared by Louis at the homestay, Zhou Qingyu took Yan Xi to a styling studio called Blue, one of the best in Licheng.

The stylist chose a light blue haute couture mermaid gown for Yan Xi. The dress hugged her figure, flaring out below the knees to create a beautiful mermaid tail. The skirt was adorned with scattered diamonds, resembling twinkling stars in the night sky.

Yan Xi wasn't a celebrity, so she didn't have any brand sponsorships. This meant she couldn't borrow a dress; she had to purchase the one she chose.

Zhou Qingyu didn't mind at all. Although she was a star, she only wore dresses she liked, and all her gowns were bought. In her eyes, there was no such thing as "borrowing" a dress. Buying a dress for Yan Xi was just a trivial matter.

Haute couture dresses didn't come with price tags, so Yan Xi asked the stylist helping her adjust the dress how much it cost. The stylist informed her that the dress was from C-brand and cost one million.

Yan Xi was speechless.

One million. So casual.

Zhou Qingyu's styling was more complicated than Yan Xi's. As a female celebrity attending the fashion week, she had her usual styling team and photography team with her. The former was at Blue helping her with her look, while the latter was out in Licheng scouting suitable locations for photoshoots, so they could quickly get shots later.

While Zhou Qingyu was getting styled, Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling emerged from the dressing room.

As fate would have it, the two of them were also getting styled at Blue today. Separated by a large vertical plant wall decoration, Zhou Qingyu didn't see Ye Luoyi. She was playing a silly mobile game while the stylist worked on her hair.

"Scammed out of thirty million?" Su Lingling's voice came from the other side of the plant wall. "I heard it from someone else. Who would have thought? The scammer had been targeting my friend from the start, just to swindle her money."

"Didn't she report it to the police?"

"Reporting it wouldn't help," Ye Luoyi sighed. "Every time, she managed to make my friend so happy that she willingly spent money on her. Before she knew it, she had already spent tens of millions on her."

Su Lingling leaned back in the styling chair, shivering at the thought. "That's terrifying. I'm glad I don't have anyone like that around me."

Ye Luoyi's gaze flickered toward the plant wall. "That's why it's hard for people from different social classes to be friends. Those people are only nice to us because they want to take advantage of us."

As they chatted, Ye Luoyi suddenly exclaimed, "Qingyu, you're here too!"

Zhou Qingyu looked up, her sharp gaze piercing through the gaps in the plant wall. "Obviously. Or do you think I'm a ghost now?" [Zhou Qingyu's rudeness is as consistent as ever!]

[Isn't it common knowledge that Zhou Qingyu and Ye Luoyi don't get along? Why should she be polite?]

[But Ye Luoyi is always so nice. I still think Zhou Qingyu is being too harsh!] [Nah, I like that Zhou Qingyu doesn't let herself be pushed around.] [Fun fact: Zhou Qingyu and Ye Luoyi don't have to interact. No one's forcing them to pretend to be close.]

Ye Luoyi was left speechless by Zhou Qingyu's retort, but she had cultivated a calm and gentle persona. She couldn't lash out like Zhou Qingyu. Taking a deep breath, Ye Luoyi composed herself.

At that moment, Yan Xi emerged from the dressing room in the light blue mermaid gown. Zhou Qingyu put down her phone, her cold face breaking into a smile.

Yan Xi twirled in front of Zhou Qingyu. "How do I look? Pretty?"

"Better than the last one," Zhou Qingyu said seriously. "This one accentuates your waist and makes your skin look brighter. What do you think?"

Yan Xi hesitated. She also thought this dress looked better, but the previous one was more comfortable.

Zhou Qingyu raised an eyebrow and called over the manager. "Wrap both of them up. Put it on my bill."

The manager was overjoyed and instructed an assistant to take care of the transaction.

Beside them, Ye Luoyi looked surprised. In truth, she already knew Zhou Qingyu was incredibly generous, but she had to act surprised. "Qingyu, you're so good to Yan Xi!"

"However..." Ye Luoyi's tone shifted as she glanced at Yan Xi with a playful look in her eyes. "Yan Xi, you've received such expensive gifts from Zhou Qingyu. Have you ever reciprocated?" Zhou Qingyu raised her eyes and shot Ye Luoyi a look. "What does it have to do with you?" (By the way, Zhou Qingyu has given Yan Xi so many things on the show, but we haven’t seen Yan Xi treat Zhou Qingyu particularly well...)

(+1, isn’t this kind of friendship unbalanced?)

(But if I had a wealthy friend like Zhou Qingyu, I’d cling to her too!)

(Haha, cling to her? Or just leech off her?)

Su Lingling chimed in at the right moment, adding fuel to the fire. "Zhou Qingyu, don’t you get it? With your arrogant and domineering attitude, who could possibly stand you? The only reason Yan Xi is friends with you is because you’re rich. She’s just using you for your money! If you weren’t rich, do you think she’d even look at you?"

"Lingling, how can you say that?" Ye Luoyi scolded Su Lingling with a slightly reproachful tone, then turned to comfort Zhou Qingyu. "Yan Xi seems quite innocent. She probably isn’t that kind of person, right?"

"Innocent?" Su Lingling laughed. "How innocent can someone with a master’s degree from a top university be? She’s even good at calculating odds in blackjack. Manipulating people is nothing to her." There were some things Ye Luoyi couldn’t say herself, but with a little nudge, Su Lingling would say them for her. Ye Luoyi didn’t expect these words to completely destroy the relationship between Zhou Qingyu and Yan Xi, but she was confident they would plant a seed of doubt in Zhou Qingyu’s heart.

Once cracks appear in a friendship, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes superficial. Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling didn’t bother to hide their conversation from Yan Xi, who overheard everything.

Ye Luoyi wanted to see how Yan Xi would defend herself. Would she stand her ground and claim she wasn’t after Zhou Qingyu’s money? But could she really refuse the high-end designer dresses and wear cheap clothes worth a couple hundred yuan to attend fashion week with Zhou Qingyu? If she did, surrounded by others in haute couture, wouldn’t Yan Xi feel out of place and resentful toward Zhou Qingyu?

Once a mirror is broken, it’s hard to mend. Once water is spilled, it’s hard to retrieve. Cracks only grow wider. Yan Xi listened intently to the conversation between Ye Luoyi and Zhou Qingyu. As Ye Luoyi had predicted, Yan Xi stood her ground and refused to accept Zhou Qingyu’s haute couture dress. Not only did she stand her ground, but her eyes also welled up with tears. "Qingyu, I didn’t scheme against you. Forget it, I won’t wear it. That way, no one will misunderstand you..."

She headed to the dressing room, ready to take off the dress and return it to Zhou Qingyu. As she passed Ye Luoyi, Yan Xi suddenly tripped and fell beside her. Ye Luoyi: ?

A clumsy fall? What kind of main character trope is this?

Yan Xi looked at Ye Luoyi with tearful eyes. "Teacher Ye, why... why would you do this?" Ye Luoyi: ?

Why what?

Ye Luoyi was stunned for a moment, but in a flash, she pieced everything together: Yan Xi falling beside her, Yan Xi’s accusatory tone... "It wasn’t me!" Ye Luoyi stood up abruptly.

Meanwhile, Yan Xi rubbed her swollen ankle, whimpering, "It hurts so much..." Zhou Qingyu’s expression darkened as she stepped forward to help Yan Xi up. "Ye Luoyi, what’s wrong with you? If you have a problem with me, take it out on me! Picking on Yan Xi—what kind of coward are you?!"

"It wasn’t me!" Ye Luoyi stomped her foot in frustration, grabbing Su Lingling’s hand. "Lingling, you were right beside me. You saw it, didn’t you? I didn’t trip her!"

Su Lingling looked confused. "I didn’t see clearly..."

Ye Luoyi was frantic. "There’s a live broadcast. We can check the replay!" Yan Xi tugged at Zhou Qingyu’s sleeve. "Qingyu, it wasn’t Teacher Ye who tripped me. I just wasn’t paying attention. Don’t blame her. You two are the same kind of people. It’s my fault for trying to fit in with you..."

(Did anyone see Ye Luoyi trip Yan Xi?)

(I watched the replay. Yan Xi’s skirt was too big, so it’s hard to see... But if it wasn’t Ye Luoyi, did Yan Xi just trip over nothing?)

(It feels like Ye Luoyi and Su Lingling were both targeting Yan Xi today!)

(Can’t people from different social classes have pure friendships? Feng Yinyin is a top celebrity, and her assistant is her best friend. Their relationship is so good! Ye Luoyi, stop stirring the pot!)

Ye Luoyi was at a loss for words. She had intended to sow discord between Yan Xi and Zhou Qingyu, but somehow the focus had shifted to her.

Zhou Qingyu helped Yan Xi to the sofa, glaring at Ye Luoyi several times in the process.

Ye Luoyi immediately went to check the live broadcast replay, only to find that the view was blocked by Yan Xi’s skirt, making it impossible to see anything.

Meanwhile, the live chat was filled with comments criticizing Ye Luoyi—

(Yan Xi has such a good temper. If it were me, I’d have torn her apart by now!)

(Ye Luoyi is a rich heiress. She probably thinks Yan Xi is just an ordinary person who’s easy to bully!)

(Poor Yan Xi. Just because she comes from an ordinary background, people assume she’s scheming? Are we saying that only people from the same social class can be friends now? Can’t the rich and poor be friends anymore?)

(Ye Luoyi is so petty! Zhou Qingyu hasn’t said anything, so why is Ye Luoyi running her mouth so much?)

Yan Xi sat on the sofa, rubbing her ankle with a pitiful expression.

If Ye Luoyi could play the "innocent victim" card and accuse Yan Xi of being after Zhou Qingyu’s money, why couldn’t Yan Xi do the same? Fight fire with fire—use the same tactics to leave the other person with no way out! Ye Luoyi could sense Yan Xi’s intentions.

From start to finish, Yan Xi never directly accused Ye Luoyi of tripping her, but she made sure everyone believed it. By playing the victim, Yan Xi turned Ye Luoyi into the villain.

What should she do? Apologize?

But Ye Luoyi didn’t want to apologize. If she did, it would mean she had indeed tripped Yan Xi, and things would only get messier from there.

The stylist brought out Ye Luoyi’s dress. "Miss Ye, this is your dress. After your fitting in the country, we made some adjustments. It fits your figure even better now. Would you like to try it on?"

—As the spokesperson for E-brand, Ye Luoyi could easily borrow their latest haute couture dresses.

But Ye Luoyi was no longer in the mood. She just wanted to change and leave Blue as quickly as possible. Zhou Qingyu, however, wasn’t about to let her off the hook.

"Ye Luoyi, don’t you think I’ve spent too much on Yan Xi?" Zhou Qingyu raised an eyebrow, looking at Ye Luoyi. "I think I haven’t spent enough!" Ye Luoyi looked at Zhou Qingyu suspiciously, a bad feeling creeping into her heart. Following Zhou Qingyu’s gaze, Ye Luoyi realized she was looking at the E-brand haute couture dress in the stylist’s hands.

Zhou Qingyu pointed at the dress and said, word by word, "I want this dress."

For luxury brands, customers who buy haute couture are treated like gods, while lending dresses to celebrities is just a way to use them as walking advertisements to showcase the products. Once a haute couture piece is sold, it can no longer be lent out. Zhou Qingyu crossed her arms, watching Ye Luoyi with a smirk. "Ye Luoyi, once the dress is sold, it can’t be borrowed anymore. I wonder what you’ll wear to fashion week now?"

Ye Luoyi’s face turned pale. She had tried on this dress a week ago and had it tailored to fit her perfectly. If Zhou Qingyu bought it, where would she find another dress that fit so well on such short notice?

Ye Luoyi immediately turned to the E-brand designer, her eyes pleading.

She was the brand’s spokesperson! She could buy the dress herself. Surely E-brand wouldn’t abandon her over one dress? Her endorsement fee was worth much more than this dress!

The designer also considered this. Ye Luoyi was the face of E-brand. Selling the dress she was supposed to wear to another customer, leaving her without a dress for fashion week, would reflect poorly on the brand as well. The designer politely declined Zhou Qingyu. "Miss Zhou, the dress has already been reserved for Miss Ye. If you’d like, we can arrange to have a new dress custom-made for you tonight..."

"Five times."

Zhou Qingyu said nonchalantly, "I’ll pay five times the price for this dress."

The designer trembled. This was E-brand’s autumn-winter haute couture! The dress cost over 800,000 yuan, and five times that would be over 4 million yuan!

As a designer, his own value would skyrocket!

No, no... The designer shook his head vigorously. The brand’s spokesperson was still more important.

(Oh my god, is Zhou Qingyu serious?)

【A few million is just a drop in the bucket compared to the expenses of the young lady before...】 【But whether it's those luxury bags or the yacht, they are worth their price! This dress, though, isn’t worth that much, is it...】

【I envy Yan Xi. The young lady truly dotes on her!

"Ten times."

Seeing that the designer didn’t agree, Zhou Qingyu raised the price.

She sat leisurely on the sofa, casually quoting prices while discussing with Yan Xi which nail polish color looked better, as if the overpriced haute couture gown she wanted to buy was just a string of numbers.

"If ten times isn’t enough, then twenty times. Still not willing to sell?" Zhou Qingyu admired her soft pink manicure and chuckled softly. "You need to understand, there are countless celebrities in the entertainment industry, one after another. Those who are popular this year might be forgotten by next year. But customers like me? There aren’t many of us in the world." A top-tier wealthy customer versus a trending female celebrity—the weight of importance was clear at this moment. An haute couture gown worth over eight hundred thousand, Zhou Qingyu was willing to pay sixteen million for it. If the designer still didn’t come to their senses, they’d be out of their mind. In that instant, the designer made their decision.

Pleasing the customer was their ultimate goal.

Ye Luoyi’s face turned red, then pale, and then green. Her voice weakened, filled with grievance. "But... but this gown was promised to me earlier!"

The designer sighed helplessly. "Miss Ye, as you said, it was a loan. Lending you the gown was always meant to attract other customers to buy it."

Ye Luoyi clenched her teeth. If it were just an ordinary haute couture gown, she could have bought it herself, even at a loss. She had the money, but the gown had been driven to an absurd price by Zhou Qingyu!

Zhou Qingyu sat on the sofa, resting her chin on her hand, watching Ye Luoyi with amusement. "Ye Luoyi, I can let this go."

Ye Luoyi immediately looked up, her eyes filled with gratitude. But Zhou Qingyu’s next words plunged her into an icy abyss. "But you have to apologize to Yan Xi, in front of all the live-stream viewers, and say, 'I was wrong.'"

A single "I was wrong" could have a huge impact on a celebrity’s reputation, especially in front of a live audience.

But Ye Luoyi didn’t think she was wrong. She hadn’t tripped Yan Xi. Zhou Qingyu was clearly targeting her!

Beside them, Yan Xi blinked in surprise.

She hadn’t expected Zhou Qingyu to pull such a move. Even she was stunned. After all, spending twenty times the price on a haute couture gown was such a loss. It seemed she still didn’t fully grasp Zhou Qingyu’s wealth.

The system jumped around Yan Xi, even more agitated than Ye Luoyi: 【See? See? This is the classic villainess!】 【It’s only because you’re wearing rose-tinted glasses that you think the young lady is a good person!】

【If you put yourself in Ye Luoyi’s shoes, you’d see how the young lady is tormenting her!】

There’s a reason Zhou Qingyu is labeled as the villainess in this novel world. Her actions right now are textbook villainess behavior.

But...

"So cool!" Yan Xi’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

The system: ?

【Say that again?】

"Don’t you think Qingyu’s actions just now were so cool?" Yan Xi’s gaze at Zhou Qingyu had shifted from shock to admiration, her eyes filled with warmth.

The system...

【You’re hopeless!】

【Your rose-tinted glasses aren’t just 800 meters thick—they’re layered with Photoshop and beauty filters! They’re now 10,000 meters thick!】

In fact, it wasn’t just Ye Luoyi. Even Ye Luoyi’s fans in the live stream were furious with Zhou Qingyu’s behavior—

【This is so humiliating! Does Zhou Qingyu think having money makes her superior?】

【Does E-brand have no backbone?】

【They’re filming a variety show together. How could Zhou Qingyu act like this!】

On the other hand, Zhou Qingyu’s supporters thought—

【If I had a best friend like the young lady, I’d cry tears of joy!】

【The young lady is so good to Yan Xi! I’m so jealous!】

【Ye Luoyi’s fans need to understand one thing: if you provoke first, you’re the one at fault. If Ye Luoyi had just focused on her styling and didn’t stir up trouble, the young lady wouldn’t have targeted her!】