Chapter 13: This is reality, not a novel
It felt like opening a random door, thinking it would lead to a cute fantasy island, only to find the island full of muscular men instead. The kind of shock that drops you straight from heaven to the bottom.
Mu Yi’s memories suddenly loosened, and she recalled some unpleasant experiences.
Including last night’s dream.
Her mind became confused, and she didn’t clearly hear what the other person asked. The only thing she noticed was that Gu Zhiren had appeared again.
And this time, as her future neighbor.
So she immediately stepped back, wanting to take out a weapon and get into a defensive stance. But she had nothing at hand, so she could only raise her keys and point them at Gu Zhiren.
“You came to live next door just to keep an eye on me?”
That’s seriously crazy!
I thought it would take some time, but you showed up the very next day? Why are you so eager, you jerk? Are you some kind of sister-obsessed guy?
Mu Yi felt completely speechless.
“So you really are Mu Yi?”
Gu Zhiren frowned slightly and raised his eyebrow. At the same time, he gave a faint smile, half surprised and half confused.
No matter how he looked at her, she was clearly a girl.
But Gu Anran had clearly said that Mu Yi was male. As an editor, she couldn’t possibly get the author’s gender wrong, nor would she joke about something like that.
So how should he explain this situation?
“Huh?”
Mu Yi glared at him with caution, gradually calming down. Then she suddenly realized something. Her narrow eyes widened slightly, and she subconsciously held her breath.
Oh no… I’m done for. What should I do?
She usually tried to save her brainpower, because she believed it should only be used for important things.
Like right now!
Thinking quickly, Mu Yi forced her brain to work at full speed. She knew this question had to be handled seriously, it was connected to too many things.
“Ah…”
Her eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at Gu Zhiren, her eyes curved into a half-moon shape.
“That’s right, I am Mu Yi. I don’t have any younger sister. The ‘Mu Shuang’ from last night was just me in disguise!”
She proudly puffed out her chest, lifted her chin, and pointed her nose at Gu Zhiren. The small hand holding the keys waved a little.
“I didn’t expect that not only girls, but even a man like you would be fooled by me. People always say men have some kind of instinct, but clearly that’s not true.”
She took a couple of steps forward proudly, as if she were walking on a red carpet after winning an award.
“But… let me tell you, I’m not afraid of you telling others about this.”
Seeing Gu Zhiren cross his arms and look like he was watching a show, Mu Yi frowned slightly and pressed her lips together. She stayed silent for a moment, tightening her grip on the keys.
She considered herself an expert.
She had read countless works, if not thousands, then at least tens of thousands, and even knew several top creators.
The content of those works was usually simple and straightforward, not as complex as novels.
And among them, there was one type of story that was always popular.
That is…
“Ma’am, you wouldn’t want your husband to lose his job, right?”
“Miss, you wouldn’t want your real identity to be exposed, right?”
“Classmate, you wouldn’t want your relationship with your boyfriend to be made public, right?”
When someone’s weakness falls into another person’s hands, it’s like a fish on a cutting board, completely at their mercy. But Mu Yi wasn’t like that. She didn’t carry those so-called burdens at all.
Things that people usually criticize, like a man dressing as a woman, or certain past experiences, none of that counted as a weakness to her.
Right now, Mu Yi was just an ordinary web novel writer. No matter how bad her personal reputation might be, as long as her writing was good, didn’t cross any forbidden lines, and could make money for the platform, the website would still support her, and readers would still pay.
People read the story, not the author. No matter what kind of person the author is, if the story is good, people will read it.
Thinking of this, Mu Yi took a few more steps forward and stopped in front of Gu Zhiren. She raised the key and tilted her head.
“This is the key to the place next door. Aren’t you moving in? Here you go.”
“When you act like a girl, it really looks real. Your acting is quite good.”
Only then did Gu Zhiren comment casually. But he didn’t take the key. He uncrossed his arms and walked past her, heading toward the stairway.
Thinking about her attitude, he couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly. He was starting to lose patience.
“Sir, you came downstairs to meet me, but you just throw me the key like this. If I tell the landlord about it, I wonder if you’ll still get that 200 yuan.”
Hearing this, Mu Yi puffed up her cheeks, so angry that her head felt like it was buzzing.
She knew why Gu Zhiren came. Even if she did nothing, he would definitely move in. In other words, that 200 yuan was already guaranteed.
So why should she waste more time with him? She had planned to just give him the key and leave.
But now…
“So you even bribed the landlord? Very well.”
Mu Yi angrily walked around to stand in front of him, biting her teeth hard.
“You rich people, always acting superior, trying to interfere with other people’s lives. As long as you have money, you think you can do anything, right?”
She was so angry that her words became a bit messy. Step by step, she walked up the stairs, her footsteps heavy.
“Just because you have money, you think you’re amazing?!”
Gu Zhiren followed silently behind her, watching her storm up the stairs. When he heard that last sentence, his expression became a bit strange.
Even though they had the same name and were both supposed to be male, they were clearly completely different people.
“…Mu Yi.”
He spoke the name without thinking, the name of his childhood friend. But the person in front of him suddenly turned around, eyes wide, and asked in a raised tone.
“What?”
Gu Zhiren’s eyes instantly became guarded. He hid all expression on his face, then calmly raised his left hand and adjusted the cuff of his right sleeve.
“You called my name but didn’t say anything…”
Seeing that he stayed silent, Mu Yi gave him a disgusted look, then turned back and kept climbing the stairs, muttering,
“You’re really a strange person!”
Only after she finished speaking did Gu Zhiren reply from behind.
“I wasn’t calling you.”
Hearing this, Mu Yi’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She walked up a few more steps before turning her head and asking,
“You have a friend with the same name? What a coincidence.”
Gu Zhiren looked at her with a strange gaze. The moment their eyes met, she seemed startled. She quickly turned her head away and sped up her steps, moving more lightly. But he had no intention of scaring her.
Then Mu Yi started talking to herself again.
“Knowing that someone with the same name as your friend has such a bad personality, and as a woman still dresses like a man, and even likes to trick people…”
“Do you feel uncomfortable? Do you want me to change my name? Oh, have you read my novel? What I’m writing now is actually about this.”
She tilted her head slightly, spinning the key around her finger.
“But let me remind you, this is real life, not a novel.”
At this point, Mu Yi let out a soft sigh. Her tone carried a bit of sadness as she said
“Honestly, I kind of feel sorry for you, having to watch someone like me write novels every day.”