The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Lu Sangjiu suddenly felt her guard crumble, and her spirits sank.

’So, after all this, is Gu Jue still destined to end up with Ye Zhiyao?’

In the private room across from her, Gu Jue opened the door and stepped aside to let Ye Zhiyao enter, his posture seeming somewhat detached.

But Ye Zhiyao just smiled sweetly at him. ”Thank you, Senior Brother Gu.”

Gu Jue said nothing. But just as he was closing the door, he seemed to sense something and glanced up in Lu Sangjiu’s direction.

Lu Sangjiu reacted instantly, whipping her head around to avoid his gaze.

A moment later, Lu Sangjiu cautiously peeked back.

Once she confirmed the door was shut, Lu Sangjiu breathed a sigh of relief. Then it suddenly occurred to her... ’This probably wasn’t the best place to sit.’

Downstairs were the three people she had a beef with, and across the way were the story’s male and female leads. Not a single person she wanted to run into.

’Well, at least the main hall on the second floor is safe...’

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she saw three male cultivators walk into the tavern. An attendant began leading them up to the second floor.

Lu Sangjiu took a closer look. ’Well, what do you know. Isn’t the one in the lead one of the two male cultivators who teamed up with Ye Zhiyao in the Qingyu Secret Realm?’

’What was his name again? Li Yijiang, I think?’

Back then, he and another male cultivator had shamelessly demanded their Cold Ice Crystal Stones. She had put on a whole act for Gu Jue, provoking him into action and scaring them off with a single sword strike.

She had made a mortal enemy of him in the process. The look he gave her as he was leaving had been downright vicious.

And now, taking a look at his cultivation level—wouldn’t you know it, another Late-stage Golden Core!

To make matters worse, the attendant led him and his two companions to a table in the main hall, seating them not far from her.

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’I’ve only made enemies with a handful of people, and they all just so happen to be gathered here? How absurd is that???’

And her perfect vantage point for watching the drama unfold had now become a trap, surrounded by enemies on three sides. One wrong move and she’d be discovered.

Lu Sangjiu’s heart ached. ’A whole group of Golden Core Cultivators, and then there’s me, a piece of Foundation Establishment Trash.’

She considered contacting Luo Linlang for help, but then she had another thought. ’If I’m by myself, I might not be noticed.’

’But if my senior sister comes, she’ll have to use the main entrance, and Zhou Yun is bound to recognize her.’

’My senior sister is only at the Golden Core Early Stage. What if she can’t beat them?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Sangjiu made her decision... ’Better just keep my head down and stay hidden!’

Lu Sangjiu was closest to Li Yijiang’s table and didn’t dare turn to look at him, so she idly watched the group downstairs out of boredom.

Then, as she watched, she suddenly felt something was off. When she saw clearly that Yi Ze’s foot was, indeed, deliberately tapping against Du Xing’er’s under the table, she was utterly shocked.

’This... are they really getting their thrills like this?’

Zhou Yun was chattering away at Yi Ze, but he was barely paying her any attention. Feeling snubbed, she nudged Du Xing’er beside her with her elbow.

”What are you doing, just sitting there like a mute?”

The nudge made Du Xing’er jump, and she let out a startled cry.

That only annoyed Zhou Yun more. Her brows furrowed. ”What’s wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?”

She paused, then asked, a little puzzled, ”Why is your face so red? Are you hot?”

Du Xing’er’s face flushed an even deeper red. She avoided Zhou Yun’s gaze and stammered, ”N-nothing... I’m just a little hot from the wine. I’ll go get some air, I’ll be fine!”

With that, she kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone as she rose and headed for the door.

Zhou Yun, completely baffled, frowned and continued to complain, ”She’s always acting so meek and uncouth, all day long. It’s so annoying.”

Yi Ze, however, had a suggestive smirk playing on his lips, his eyes following Du Xing’er’s departing figure... ’Tsk, that body... so much more enticing than Zhou Yun’s.’

Lu Sangjiu witnessed the entire exchange and felt as disgusted as if she’d swallowed a fly.

’Hitting on another woman right in front of his fiancée... someone should just drag that bastard out and castrate him!’

Still, thinking back on Du Xing’er’s reaction... ’That was pretty interesting in its own right,’ Lu Sangjiu thought.

As soon as Du Xing’er was gone, it was clear Yi Ze’s mind had gone with her. He forced himself to listen to Zhou Yun for a few more moments before he couldn’t take it anymore and stood up.

”I remember you like candied fruit. I saw a shop on my way over. I’ll go buy you some. Wait here for me.”

Zhou Yun gasped, rising to her feet with a look of someone completely overwhelmed by the gesture. ”Then I’ll go with you, Ze!”

”No need. I’ll be back soon!”

Without giving Zhou Yun another chance to speak, Yi Ze hurried away.

Zhou Yun had no choice but to sit back down. She cupped her blushing cheeks and murmured to herself in delight, ”Ze is so good to me.”

She paused, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. ”...But when did I ever say I liked candied fruit?”

Watching the foolish woman downstairs, who actually believed Yi Ze was being good to her, Lu Sangjiu was left speechless.

’He most likely went to find Du Xing’er,’ she thought. At the same time, she grew curious. ’I wonder how Du Xing’er will react?’

The flames of gossip roared to life in her heart. Unable to resist, Lu Sangjiu decided to secretly extend a sliver of her Divine Sense to investigate.

Her Divine Sense spread out, and soon enough, Lu Sangjiu located Du Xing’er and Yi Ze in a dark alley beside the tavern.

Yi Ze had Du Xing’er pinned against a wall, one hand stroking her cheek in fascination. ”Xing’er, you’re so beautiful today. I’ve missed you.”

Du Xing’er bit her lip slightly and turned her head away, saying petulantly, ”You’re my senior sister’s fiancé. It’s not appropriate for you to say such things to me.”

Lu Sangjiu: ”...”

’Before you said that, did it not occur to you that with half his body pressed against yours, the situation is already far more inappropriate?’

’But from the sound of it, these two must have hooked up a long time ago.’

In response to Du Xing’er playing hard to get, Yi Ze just chuckled as if teasing a kitten. ”Jealous?”

”Of course not. What right do I have to be jealous...?”

”Why not?” Yi Ze gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. ”Don’t you know who it is I truly love?”

A flash of delight crossed Du Xing’er’s eyes. She started to say something, but Yi Ze had already lowered his head to kiss her.

Even though Lu Sangjiu had braced herself, the cringeworthy scene nearly blinded her.

What she hadn’t expected was that the two weren’t even satisfied with a simple kiss...

When she made the shocking discovery that they were starting to undress, Lu Sangjiu couldn’t stop herself. The wine in her mouth went flying with a ”PFFT!”

This time, she didn’t dare watch any longer. She frantically retracted her Divine Sense.

But just as she spat out her wine, someone happened to be walking past her. The person flew into a rage. ”What do you think you’re doing?!”

The man had a booming voice, and his shout drew the attention of many people on the second floor.

Lu Sangjiu jumped in fright. She quickly covered her face with her sleeve and muttered apologies to the man.

Although the man grumbled and cursed, he saw that Lu Sangjiu was genuinely apologetic and didn’t have the heart to give her a hard time, so he soon walked away.

Lu Sangjiu breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she turn her head and cautiously lower her sleeve.

But then she heard footsteps striding quickly toward her. She instinctively turned her head and came face-to-face with Li Yijiang.

Now he saw her clearly. He gritted his teeth. ”Lu Sangjiu... I knew it was you!”