Transmigration of the Famous Cyber Star
chapter-20

Liu Man sprinted too fast, and the distance was too far. Li Xiaoru and Wang Nina couldn’t clearly see Yu Zhan’s face, but they could tell it was a tall man.

Wang Nina sighed in relief. As long as it wasn’t Professor Qiu who was going to have dinner with her.

Li Xiaoru’s mind was filled with gossip. She thought this man must be Liu Man’s wooer. She felt glad that Liu Man had finally walked out of the shadows of her crush on Tang Tu, and was slowly accepting relationships with other men.

Yu Zhan, after considering Liu Man’s artistic temperament, took her to a music-themed restaurant located downtown.

The environment of the restaurant was quite good. The entrance was covered in green plants as if the restaurant was located in a forest. The decorations inside were fresh and casual. The chairs and tables were all made of wood, and there were flowers in vases on every table. There were lights shaped like stars all over the ceiling. In the middle of the restaurant, there was a bar with a variety of wine and drinks. Located at the front of the restaurant was a stage. It was still early, and there wasn’t anyone performing yet.

This place would definitely be the favorite for all who loved literature and art. Liu Man also liked the environment, for Yu Zhan saw the novelty and curiosity through her eyes.

“Have you ever come here before?” He asked.

Liu Man searched through her memories before replying, “No.”

“I’ve came here a few times, and I felt that the food and the environment were pretty good,” Yu Zhan said, then, as if thinking of something else, added on, “The last few times I came here were all by myself. This place is pretty much a tea restaurant or a café during the afternoons and a bar during the evenings.”

Liu Man did see a couple of customers sitting in corners all by themselves, working with a laptop in front of them. This place was filled with petty bourgeoisie tastes.

The waitress led them to a spot that was pre-reserved by Yu Zhan. The view was perfect, for they could see the entire stage, but others wouldn’t be able to see them because of the plants covering their surroundings.

The waitress placed two different menus in front of the duo, but Yu Zhan pushed them all towards Liu Man, “Order whatever you like to eat.”

Liu Man, however, said, “I’m here to accompany you, so the food should be ordered by your taste.”

“There’s no need to be courteous between friends,” Yu Zhan said as he looked directly into Liu Man’s eyes, “Am I not your friend?”

“No, no. I do treat you as a friend,” Liu Man immediately responded. However, when she thought about it, she felt as if she didn’t really know Yu Zhan that well.

Yu Zhan, as if knowing what she was actually thinking about, laughed, “Friends need to get to know each other too. You will be familiar with me in the future. I’m not fastidious with food, but I am picky with drinks.”

“Actually, I’m not that fussy about food either,” Liu Man mumbled. Since Yu Zhan already said that much, she knew she had to be the one to order. The food on the pictures of the menu all looked palatable, so she chose a plate of fish, some beef, and a vegetable dish.

“You can order the drinks, I’m fine with tea,” She pushed the menu back to Yu Zhan.

“You like to drink tea?”

“Not really, I just don’t like sweet drinks. I pretty much don’t like anything that’s too sweet,” When Liu Man lived in the cold palace, it was an issue just to have regular meals. How could she ever gain access to high-quality tea or sweet drinks?

When she was a child, she, like all others her age, really liked candy. Every time she wanted to have some candy, her Aunt Zhao, would go and beg the palace maids. Once, she saw through the window, her aunt kowtowing and being humiliated just for a bit of maltose. Gradually, she got rid of her liking for candy.

Liu Man lowered her head to cover up the sorrowfulness in her eyes. When she looked up, she went back to her positive and cheerful mood.

Yu Zhan, however, did notice her change of mood, “Then, I’ll have tea, too.”

As time passed by, there were more and more customers in the restaurant. A singer got onto the stage with his guitar, and he started to sing a campus folk song. The light-hearted and melodious sound easily changed the vibe in the entire restaurant. The lightbulb above the table gave a light of warm yellowness, and it also softened everyone’s expression. It was as if the unaccustomedness between Liu Man and Yu Zhan disappeared too.

“Does Daylight like the new cat food?” Yu Zhan asked her.

“Mhm, she has a good appetite now. Oh yeah, how much did that catfood cost? I’ll transfer you the money through WeChat right now,” Liu Man said.

TL’s Note: If you’ve forgotten, WeChat is the primary messaging app used in China.

“Just give me 800,” Yu Zhan said the first price that came to his mind.

Liu Man felt doubtful, “Why is it so cheap?”

When she bought fake cat food from Taobao, just one bag of it had costed her five hundred RMB. Even if she had only boughten about 15 pounds and boughten 12 pounds from Yu Zhan, Yu Zhan had given her four bags.

TL’s Note: 15 pounds for one bag of fake cat food, and 12 pounds for one bag of real cat food. Basically, only ONE bag of fake cat food (15 pounds) cost 500 yuan alone – and she had boughten five bags of fake cat food, but FOUR bags of real cat food (from Yu Zhan) cost only 800 yuan. Get it now?

“It’s a different route for how I got the cat food. I’m selling it to you by its prime cost,” Yu Zhan explained.

Liu Man believed what he had said. She took out her phone, found Yu Zhan’s WeChat, and transferred over 800 RMB.

Yu Zhan didn’t even take out his phone, it was like he didn’t even care.

Liu Man recalled how the pet clinic was filled with people yesterday, “If you’re having dinner with me, what about the clinic?”

“The money will never stop coming in, and the work will never end. I do have to rest sometimes though. When the clinic first started out, I was inexperienced and almost always made a mess. However, now that the clinic is gradually getting better, I’m thinking of making it so that the clinic doesn’t open on Tuesdays.”

“Why did you want to become a vet?”

Liu Man thought that being a veterinarian was a very unpopular job. Nobody would even connect Yu Zhan to a vet. There’s no need to say much about Yu Zhan’s outstanding stature and appearance, he was also always so fashionable with his clothing. Today, he had changed into another jacket, a dark blue wool coat. When he sat down, he took it off and placed it aside. Inside the wool coat, he was wearing a casual dark gray shirt. As he sat on the wooden chair lying back, he seemed relaxed and a bit lazy. His hands looked better than Liu Man’s, as if he played the piano as well. Liu Man could see his fingers, the joints distinct as they held the teacup.

“I’ve loved animals ever since I was just a kid. When I went to college, I chose business, but I never really liked it. So, I transferred to veterinarian major during Sophomore year. I also studied veterinarian for my master’s degree,” Yu Zhan answered every question Liu Man had and kept nothing back, “Operating a pet clinic was my dream when I was younger.”

“I’m so envious that you get to make your dream come true,” Liu Man was much more envious at Yu Zhan’s tone, how he could talk about it all, and do whatever he wanted to do. He must’ve had a great background and good parents who pampered his capriciousness.

“There’s nothing to be envious about, you can do it too,” Yu Zhan smiled and asked, “What’s your dream? Is it okay to tell me?”

Her dream?

Yu Zhan’s question was a hard one for Liu Man.

Before all of this, her only dream was to walk out of the cold palace. She wanted to be able to stand in front of everyone like all other princesses, feeling honorable and proud. She wanted to be able to clear her mother’s and her aunt’s names. She wanted to make everyone know that the emperor had another child named Liu Man.

Now, she was finally out of the cold palace. The only thing was, she was in a new era. The Han dynasty had been gone for more than two thousand years, and everyone who knew her or used to know her were all gone. What was the point of her still not over with being a princess?

Yu Zhan saw a flash of perplexion through the girl’s eyes. He felt as if she might not have been as carefree as she looked on the outside. She probably had a lot of secrets and worries.

“My dream… Maybe it is to let more people know about me,” Liu Man murmured.

“Become a superstar, that way everyone in the entire world would know you,” Yu Zhan joked.

Liu Man laughed along, “Yeah, become a superstar. Such a nice dream.”

Both of them knew it was a joke, and they never took it seriously.

They never foresaw that one day, Liu Man would really make his joke come true.

Credits: Sydney & Kathrien