Chapter 2: Balance: 666 yuan

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Balance: 666 yuan

Nan Zhi let go and was about to get up.

Nan Yi, who was in her arms, seized the opportunity. He sprang up nimbly and dashed into the room like a little whirlwind.

Then, with a BANG, he slammed the door shut! And locked it!

This time, Nan Zhi didn’t chase after him.

She first found the first-aid kit in the living room and simply disinfected and bandaged the wound on the back of her head. Her movements were slow but practiced.

Then, she went to the bathroom and washed all the makeup from her face until it was spotless.

Next, she went to the walk-in closet. From a mountain of sexy, "hot girl" style clothes, she found a plain gray knit dress that was barely acceptable and relatively thick.

As she took off her clothes, she saw her gaunt figure reflected in a nearby mirror.

No, not just gaunt—she was emaciated, to a pathological degree.

That Tactician had no idea how to cherish someone else’s body. To look good on camera, she had dieted recklessly, bringing her, a woman who was 1.7 meters tall, down to a mere 40 kg!

Nan Zhi had been abandoned in the snow as a child, which left her with a chronic illness. She had almost not survived. Her grandfather had spent a great deal of effort just to nurse her to a semblance of health.

Now, it was all ruined.

Just standing there, Nan Zhi could feel waves of dizziness wash over her.

She had thought it was a concussion earlier, but now it seemed she was just plain hungry!

Without even going to the hospital for a check-up, Nan Zhi could guess she had a whole host of problems like malnutrition and stomach issues.

Nan Zhi closed her eyes, barely managing to suppress her fury.

The flow of time was different between the two worlds. Four years had passed in this world, but a full twelve years had gone by in the other!

Nan Zhi had gone from being a person of low status with no voice to someone of high standing and great authority. She had long grown accustomed to hiding her emotions, and it was rare for her to be angered to this extent!

Nan Zhi quickly put on the dress and found her phone, wanting to order some ingredients to make a medicinal meal.

Both she and Nan Yi urgently needed to nurse their bodies back to health.

The Tactician had been a spendthrift, selling Nan Zhi’s small house and blowing through all her savings over the years.

Nan Zhi didn’t expect to have much money in her account. Recuperating with medicinal food needed to be a gradual process. Expensive herbs like ginseng would be too strong for their weak bodies to handle. So, for now, all they needed were some affordable, gentle herbs...

[XX Bank Available Balance: 666 yuan]

SLAP!

Nan Zhi slammed the phone screen-down on the table. Out of sight, out of mind.

As she walked out of the room, she saw that the door to the opposite bedroom was still shut tight.

Her steps paused for a moment before she quickly walked into the kitchen.

A short while later, the sounds of chopsticks whisking eggs and plates clattering came from the kitchen.

A faint, fragrant aroma of food, carried on the warm, steamy air, quickly spread and seeped through the crack under the second bedroom’s door.

CLICK.

The doorknob turned.

A pair of ink-black eyes hidden in the crack peeked out.

’That woman... is cooking?’

Nan Yi shook his head. ’Impossible.’

Ever since they moved in, that woman had never set foot in the kitchen.

That one time she left for a shoot, she forgot he was locked in the house. She didn’t leave any food or water, forcing him to starve for three whole days and nights, surviving only by drinking tap water!

’So how could she suddenly have such a change of heart and start cooking?’

’Is she planning to poison me?’

Nan Yi couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.

But the aroma of the hot food was just too tempting.

Having survived for years on bread and cold water, Nan Yi simply couldn’t resist the temptation.

By the time he came to his senses, his body had already moved on its own. He was standing at the dining table, staring intently at the bowl of white porridge in front of him.

He swallowed hard, glanced toward the kitchen to make sure that woman wasn’t looking, then quickly leaned in and took a big slurp from the edge of the bowl!

Hot! Scalding hot!

But that didn’t stop the rich aroma of rice from exploding in his mouth!

It was the first time Nan Yi realized that plain white porridge could be this delicious!

Just as he was about to eagerly take a second sip, a voice suddenly fell from above his head:

"Who said you could drink it now?"

Nan Yi’s back went stiff.

The next second, he reflexively raised his arms to cover his head, preparing for the kicks and blows that were sure to follow. His resentful eyes were fixed on the bowl of porridge from which he’d only managed a single small sip.

Nan Zhi sighed. She set down the plate of scallion egg pancakes she was holding and gently pulled Nan Yi over.

"Let me see. Did you burn yourself?"

Nan Yi stared at Nan Zhi without blinking.

He was like a small, wounded animal, simultaneously fearing the mother who had hurt him, yet unable to resist sinking into the warmth she was now offering.

’...No, that’s not right!’

He shook his head violently, suppressing the faint flicker of longing that had bloomed in his heart, and bared his teeth in a threatening snarl.

Nan Zhi took the opportunity to gently pinch his mouth open and looked inside.

"It’s okay, just a little red. The porridge just came off the stove, so it’s very hot. Eat slowly."

Nan Yi froze again.

He forgot to resist, letting Nan Zhi lift him onto a chair and press a spoon into his hand.

"Blow on it," Nan Zhi said.

Nan Yi mechanically puffed out his cheeks. "Hoo... hoo..."

A faint smile bloomed in Nan Zhi’s eyes, as lovely as peach blossoms on a sparkling spring river.

"Alright, you can eat now."

Just as Nan Zhi was about to pick up her chopsticks, a loud knocking at the door interrupted her.

Nan Yi’s shoulders trembled in fear. He slid off the chair and hid under the dining table.

"Don’t be scared. I’ll go see who it is."

In truth, based on the Tactician’s residual memories, Nan Zhi had a good idea who it was.

She walked over and opened the door.

An irresistible force pushed her aside as someone squeezed in and slammed the door shut.

After making sure the neighbors couldn’t hear, a furious roar came crashing down on her—

"Nan Zhi, are you crazy? You just decided not to film, just like that! You were the one who said you’d do anything to get on the show, that you didn’t care how much hate you got! We’ve only been shooting for a few days! Do you have any idea how many people *I* had to beg to get you on this show? And what do you do? You go dark on me and disappear? If you know what’s good for you, get your ass back there! Even if you just stand in front of the camera like a wooden post, you have to keep filming! Otherwise, you’d better think long and hard about whether you can afford the breach of contract penalty!"

The person standing before Nan Zhi was her agent, Xu Li. The two had been working together for almost three years, ever since Nan Zhi’s debut.

Xu Li’s attitude had gone from having high hopes at the beginning to feeling frustrated that Nan Zhi wasn’t living up to her potential.

Now, her tone was filled with explosive frustration and disappointment, which only made Nan Zhi seem all the more calm in contrast.

Nan Zhi’s voice rang out, cool and clear as a mountain spring.

"Mm, I understand. When is the shoot?"

This time, it was Xu Li’s turn to be stunned.

"You—you’re really going?"

She had been preparing for a bitter fight to the end, but Nan Zhi had just agreed, like that?

As Xu Li calmed down, she finally noticed what was different about Nan Zhi—

The old Nan Zhi was arrogant and empty-headed. She thought she was clever, but everyone could see right through her petty schemes.

She had the foundation of a perfect ten, a true beauty, but she had managed to drag herself down to a seven, or even lower.

But now, what she had washed from her face was not just the discordant makeup, but also the vulgarity and restlessness.

She was like a forest in a secluded valley after a fresh rain, or a rough stone polished into a beautiful piece of jade.

Just by standing there, she exuded an aura of profound grace.

’She’s like a completely different person!’

"Didn’t you mention a penalty for breach of contract? I can’t afford to pay it, so of course I have to continue with the show."

Nan Zhi said this nonchalantly, then paused and added,

"We were just about to eat. Would you like to join us?"