When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds-Chapter 56: Chi Mo 10

However, since Tan You had no feelings for Xiang Zhe, her reaction was entirely different. She disliked this sort of meddling on principle; she felt it put the people involved in an awkward position.

Tan You wasn’t idle, either; she, Zhou Wenwen, and Lin Meng were unpacking their luggage. This guesthouse wasn’t like a hotel with individual rooms. Instead, several of the women were sharing one large room.

"It feels like a college dorm room," Lin Meng said with a smile, glancing around the room.

Tan You took a look as well. "This is nice. You guys pick first. I can sleep anywhere."

The long sleeping platform was big enough for everyone.

Zhou Wenwen said, "Alright then, let’s just go in order of appearance. We’ll take spots one, two, three, and four, starting from that end."

Of course, Tan You and Lin Meng had no objections. To be honest, Tan You felt that all the female guests were really easy to get along with. There was no scheming or backstabbing at all; the atmosphere was incredibly warm and healing.

Although they all carried their own painful experiences, it was precisely because they had all endured similar hardships that they treated the world with a softer touch.

After putting their things away, Tan You and the others didn’t linger in the bedroom but headed out to the living room. Xu Jike and Shi Lei were in front of the TV, fiddling with the settings. When Xu Jike saw Tan You and the others approach, he smiled.

"Dinner will be ready in a little while. I see there’s karaoke here. Does anyone want to give it a try?"

Tan You was the first to wave her hands in refusal. "I’m a terrible singer. I’m completely tone-deaf."

She knew her own limits. Although her speaking voice was decent, it was a well-known fact that she couldn’t carry a tune. She had already made enough of a fool of herself that afternoon and didn’t want to do it again.

Lin Meng wandered around the living room. "Hey, there’s a dance machine! How about we play this?"

Tan You asked curiously, "How do you play this?"

Zhou Wenwen laughed. "You’re such an innocent, you’ve never played these? My daughter loves this. Watch us first."

Tan You quietly sat down to the side. Soon, Lin Meng and Zhou Wenwen were following the on-screen prompts, making the corresponding movements. Tan You quickly figured it out—it was all about quick reflexes and letting your body move with the flow.

"I probably can’t play this either. My reflexes are pretty slow." Tan You waved her hand. "There are so many things I’m not good at."

Xu Jike was surprised. "Aren’t you a dancer? How can your reflexes be slow?"

Tan You was puzzled. "Do dancers have to have fast reflexes? Our pieces require long periods of practice. I’m not a martial arts actor. My reflexes are genuinely slow; I can’t keep up with the moves at all."

Lin Meng suggested she try it anyway. "It’d be a shame not to play at all. Want to give it a shot?"

Tan You thought about it and agreed it would be a pity not to. "Fine. But I’m afraid this might just kill me."

To be honest, Tan You really couldn’t keep up with the dance moves on the screen at first. They were all modern dance, not nearly as graceful and flowing as classical dance. After two minutes, Tan You hadn’t hit a single beat, and her score was a glaring goose egg.

Zhou Wenwen couldn’t bear to watch. "Maybe we should just give up? There’s no problem in the world that can’t be solved by giving up."

But Tan You’s stubborn streak kicked in. "I’ll dance for a few more minutes. I’m not asking for much, just a passing score."

Lin Meng teased, "Going from zero to passing, and you say that’s not asking for much?"

Despite her words, she didn’t walk away. Instead, she stayed by her side, coaching Tan You on how to play and how to do the moves. There’s nothing in this world you truly can’t do, as long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort.

Before dinner, Tan You had already pushed her score up to seventy, ten points higher than the passing grade she was aiming for. Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment, but her eyes curved with a smile, and she seemed much more outgoing.

Chi Mo’s face, when she wasn’t smiling, was like a flower on a high, cold mountain. But when she smiled, it was like ice and snow melting. Especially with her cute bunny teeth and her deer-like eyes crinkling slightly, she looked both playful and radiant.

Gao Jing couldn’t help herself. She pinched Tan You’s cheek. "I’ve met a lot of people in the industry, and I’ve certainly seen my fair share of handsome men and beautiful women, but every time I see you, I’m just captivated. You’re just too beautiful."

Tan You’s eyes curved into crescents. "Jingjing, you’re exaggerating. You’re very beautiful too. You worked so hard today, Jingjing. Let me make dinner tomorrow night. Wenwen and Mengmeng will have to help me."

Of course, Zhou Wenwen wouldn’t refuse. "Of course. Mengmeng and I definitely won’t let you handle it all by yourself."

’She knew Tan You was recruiting her to help block any unwanted romantic advances. Helping a beautiful woman? You call that helping? This was about protecting their girl from being coveted by outsiders.’

Seeing Chi Mo completely walled off by the other women, Xu Jike couldn’t help but sigh. He was interested in Chi Mo, but he needed a chance to actually get close to her. The way things were now, he couldn’t even get near her.

Xiang Zhe lowered his head and smiled. ’He wasn’t about to help Xu Jike. Chi Mo had already made her disinterest perfectly clear. It wouldn’t be right for him to join in and make things awkward.’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Since the show’s main theme was being "warm and healing," it was inevitable that during dinner, the cast would bring up their own thoughts and experiences, such as the impact of divorce on children.

Lin Meng said, "Honestly, kids are the ones most affected by divorce. I’m especially grateful I don’t have any children."

"Back when I found out my ex-husband was gambling, I knew it wasn’t the right time for me to bring a child into this world." She said this with a small smile. "I felt our family wasn’t stable, and he wasn’t going to change."

"If I’d had a child then, it would have been irresponsible to both me and the child. If bringing a child into the world just meant they would suffer, I would have felt like I was committing a sin. And back then, I didn’t want to be a single mom, either."

Gao Jing nodded. "You did the right thing. After my divorce, my daughter came to me crying one day and asked if I had divorced her dad. It was heartbreaking."

"She asked me why I had to separate from her daddy and asked if we could not separate. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I just felt I was being so irresponsible, letting her witness the unhappiness in our family."

Xiang Zhe asked, "So what did you say to her?"

Gao Jing replied, "I just told her that her daddy was always busy with work and wasn’t home much anyway. Us divorcing wasn’t that different from before. I said she could contact her dad whenever she missed him, and he would come see her when he had time."

Lin Meng remarked, "But in her eyes, you being separated is completely different."

"It is," Gao Jing said with a wry smile. "Her father and I had intentionally not told our child we’d separated, but she found out anyway. I later learned it was her kindergarten teacher who told her."

"Kids these days know way too much," Zhou Wenwen said, sympathizing. "My daughter asked me similar questions, too. She wasn’t surprised at all that her father and I divorced. Because her paternal grandparents never valued her, my daughter was actually happy when we did."

"In her words, several of her classmates’ parents are divorced too, so there’s nothing different about it."