CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: SISTER NING, DID YOU STARVE TO DEATH IN YOUR PAST LIFE?

Lin Yuanyang was deeply mired in self-doubt.

"I’ll buy it myself, lend me a golden card."

He was afraid this naive girl would really get robbed, so it was better to keep some money for her.

Bai Xiaotang didn’t suspect anything and transferred 5 million to him, evidently forgetting Ji Ning’s previous advice again.

Although Ye Tong didn’t know the value of the golden card, she still worriedly reminded him, "Xiao Yang, don’t lose it."

Lin Yuanyang glanced at Ye Tong, who was just slightly smarter than Bai Xiaotang but equally naive, and nodded lightly.

"Sister Xiaotang, where did you pick up Sister Ning?" Lin Yuanyang asked knowingly.

"In the Ginkgo Forest."

"How did she get into the neighborhood?"

This upscale community was home to wealthy people in Anhe City, with strict security measures that wouldn’t allow outsiders in, let alone vagrants or beggars.

Bai Xiaotang thought for a moment and innocently replied, "Maybe she accidentally walked in."

Lin Yuanyang had a "you’re kidding me" expression on his face.

"Sister Ning was just sitting under a ginkgo tree, wearing clothes that were old and torn. She said she was hungry, so I brought her back."

Lin Yuanyang furrowed his brows in thought, "Are her clothes still around?"

Bai Xiaotang shook her head, "Uncle He threw them away."

Lin Yuanyang: "..."

How big-hearted could this naive girl be?

When Ye Tong left the room, leaving only the two of them, Lin Yuanyang couldn’t help but remind her, "I’ve looked into Ye Tong’s background—no problems there. But Ji Ning, I haven’t found a trace of her origin. You should still be cautious..."

Bai Xiaotang didn’t think much of it and patted his uninjured shoulder, saying righteously, "Sister Ning just came out of the mountains; her residency certificate is newly processed, so there’s no way to check. But she’s definitely not a bad person. My intuition is always sharp."

Intuition, my foot! Do you even have intuition?

Lin Yuanyang rolled his eyes.

"You see, she doesn’t know much about daily life, doesn’t have any family, not even a place to sleep. It’s so pitiful. If I didn’t take her in, she’d be sleeping on the streets, and who knows, she might run into bad people. What if they forced her to do something bad?"

"..."

"Xiao Yang, good deeds will be rewarded. Look, I saved her, and today she saved you. You shouldn’t be so suspicious of her. Kids, pondering too much will stunt your growth..."

"..."

Lin Yuanyang turned his body away, not wanting to deal with her, and directly closed his eyes.

Bai Xiaotang finally stopped her chatter.

"Xiao Yang, rest well. Goodnight~"

As the door closed, Lin Yuanyang opened his eyes again, picked up the personal Smart Brain beside him with his uninjured hand, and quickly tapped a few keys.

The light screen soon showed dozens of split-screen videos, the surveillance footage from the neighborhood over the past half month.

Lin Yuanyang opened all the videos and played them at 36 times speed.

S-Class spiritual power handled the video at this speed with ease.

In less than an hour, he had watched all the videos in the neighborhood.

"How did she get into the neighborhood? Could she be a superpower user?"

Lin Yuanyang muttered to himself.

He then expanded the surveillance footage to the entire street.

***

The next day.

Ye Tong anxiously arrived at the film set with Ji Ning.

Afraid someone would recognize the other culprit who kicked through the wall last time as Ji Ning.

But the morning passed uneventfully, with no one causing trouble.

Ye Tong slowly relaxed.

Near noon, Ye Tong took advantage of a short break between two scenes to rush out and find someone.

At the entrance, Li Tao stopped her, "Xiao Tong, where are you going? There’s still a scene left to shoot."

"The next scene has my sister in it. I’m going to call her."

Li Tao hesitated, then remembered Ye Tong had a sister who often hung around the film crew for meals, and waved her out.

A familiar male extra nearby chuckled, "Brother Tao, you’re really loyal. Anyone else would’ve been kicked out long ago, but you have a soft spot for them."

Li Tao glanced at him and smiled, "The girl has it tough; it’s just a meal. I can afford it."

"Brother Tao, you’re the best," the male extra gave Li Tao a thumbs-up.

Li Tao modestly made a few remarks.

But in his mind, he was thinking of the Anhe Middle School special admissions letter Ye Tong brought in the morning, and Ji Ning’s physical test scores,

A double-A potential student would definitely have a promising future, and making connections now would only broaden his network.

Their conversation was ordinary yet overheard by a female extra not far away. She quickly ran to a secluded place and sent someone a message.

[Brother Tao has a new sweetheart, come quickly!]

***

On the tree-lined avenue.

Maple leaves covered the ground, layer upon layer, resembling a red and yellow carpet spread across the entire road.

This road was also a filming location, but no crew was using it today, so some extras without work used it as a temporary rest area.

Many extras in strange costumes sat along the road, gathering in small groups, chatting, bragging, putting on makeup, reciting lines.

At a glance, it seemed like a chaotic distortion of time and space, with demons dancing wildly.

Ye Tong hurried over, looking back and forth among the "demons" until her steps halted under a certain tree, and she quickly walked over.

"Sister Ning, wake up... there’s work, Sister Ning..."

Her voice was anxious yet small, like she was afraid others would hear.

A red paint-stained hand vigorously shook the person sleeping with their head buried in a hat in front of them.

"Sister Ning, Sister Ning..."

With the hat falling off, Ji Ning finally opened her eyes.

Her beautiful, peach blossom eyes carried a sleepy moisture, making Ye Tong lament the unfairness of heaven, wasting a good thing.

How could someone so handsome not be a real man?

"Is it mealtime?"

Ji Ning’s hoarse voice had a trace of joy, which seemed out of place with that handsome face.

Ye Tong’s heart skipped a beat, rolling her eyes and mercilessly smearing the red powder on that "deceptive" pretty face.

She gave her a look of frustrated anger.

"No work, no meal. Studio 16 now needs extras for mutated zombie scenes. No acting required, just fall when you hear the gunshot, and meals are provided afterward."

Ye Tong’s hands were a bit rough as she completely covered the excessively good-looking face.

"Okay, hurry up! Don’t keep the crew waiting."

Ye Tong pulled up Ji Ning, who was sitting on the ground, and they marched heroically toward the filming location under envious eyes.

"Brother Tao, we’re here. Sorry for the trouble..."

"Quickly get in position."

...

"Ratatat..."

"Cut—that’s a wrap!"

It was over in less than 5 minutes.

As the lead "mutated zombie," Ye Tong managed to get a second or two on camera this time.

For this, she practiced her expressions at home, and while Ji Ning wasn’t scared, Bai Xiaotang got frightened twice.

Now, Ye Tong looked longingly at the director surrounded by machines, letting out a longing sigh, "I wonder if the director could see my acting this time?"

Ji Ning leisurely crawled up from a pit not far away, casually dusting herself off.

She glanced at the bald man behind the camera and asked her, "Where do we get the meal?"

Ye Tong recollected herself, rolling her eyes, "Sister Ning, were you starved to death in your past life?"

"No."

Ye Tong paused, turning to look at her.

Ji Ning’s beautiful peach blossom eyes always seemed nonchalant, but now they were a bit serious, as if she really knew how she died in her past life.

Ye Tong shivered, quickly suppressing the strange thoughts popping up in her mind.

"Uh... Sister Ning, if not, then not, suddenly being so serious almost scared me to death. Let’s go, let’s go grab our boxed lunch."

Watching the brisk figure in front, a trace of helplessness appeared at the corners of Ji Ning’s lips.

She didn’t know if she died in her past life, but this body was her original one.

What exactly happened back then?

Why did she suddenly lose consciousness?