Want a look?
Next to Tang Jia’s office was a small room of a few square meters. A folding bed was stored against the wall, and in front of the sliding glass window was a black desk with a small table lamp on it.
When Tang Jia occasionally didn’t go home, she would make do here.
As she entered, she saw Bai Xin sitting at the desk, slowly eating a lukewarm takeout meal, holding her phone.
Warm light shone directly from the window onto Bai Xin, giving a sudden illusion of gentleness. She heard Bai Xin’s cold and stifled voice say:
“Whatever means necessary, I don’t want to see the name ‘Cheng Jiqing’ brought up as a joke.”
“Understand?”
Her tone was unquestionable.
This didn’t seem to have anything to do with gentleness.
Tang Jia shook her head; she must have been bewitched just now.
As Bai Xin hung up the phone, she also put down her chopsticks. She had truly lost her appetite.
“Is your hand okay?” Tang Jia asked.
Bai Xin closed the lid of the takeout container. She didn’t know what came over her just now; it was just a thought, yet she had actually pricked herself. Not that she cared much, though.
She said, “En.”
It was just that the soreness and swelling made it annoying when she bent her arm.
Tang Jia paused. The moment she saw Bai Xin’s hand pricked, she suddenly remembered Cheng Jiqing’s state a few days ago. She even suspected if Bai Xin had done it on purpose.
She collected herself and said, “I’ve been thinking, it’s a bit of a pity to stop the research on that drug at this stage…”
This was not only from a medical perspective but also from the perspective of Bai Xin’s friend.
Global research on 3S was already rare, especially for this high-level compatibility, a ‘blood’ type that was one in ten thousand. Even if it was only effective for Bai Xin, its success would still be a significant contribution to ABO medical history.
Of course, most importantly, this was entirely beneficial and harmless to Bai Xin.
“We can pause it temporarily. After you’ve cleared things up with Cheng Jiqing… perhaps it can be continued.”
She used the word “perhaps.”
Because after the confession, Cheng Jiqing might not necessarily accept it.
But after careful consideration, she still felt it necessary to mention this.
Bai Xin wasn’t a muddle-headed person; she knew Tang Jia was right.
But she didn’t give a definite answer.
Besides having no choice, besides lacking confidence that Cheng Jiqing would forgive her after finding out.
Deep down, she truly didn’t want to exploit Cheng Jiqing anymore.
Why did she want to stop? It was also because stopping a day earlier would give her heart an extra sliver of empty reassurance.
Bai Xin said faintly, “We’ll see.”
She didn’t stay long and prepared to leave.
As the sun sank westward, in just that short while, the temperature in the room began to drop.
The sunlight cast an oblique shadow of the office furnishings.
In this room, that shadow couldn’t even hide an insect.
Before leaving, Tang Jia suddenly remembered, “You should also pay attention these few days; your indicators haven’t come down recently. It should be nothing serious, right?”
Bai Xin responded faintly.
There was discomfort.
It wasn’t anything terrible, just that her estrus period was approaching, and her body was filled with a burgeoning heat. With Cheng Jiqing not around, there was no other way but to expend her own energy.
But every time it ended, with no one around, the feeling of desolation and emptiness grew heavier.
After two or three repetitions, she would be utterly exhausted.
Especially when she occasionally returned to Nanjing, looking at the balcony, the sofa, the rooms, the bathroom, her mind would be filled with images of Cheng Jiqing loving and caressing her.
It only felt worse.
Tang Jia looked at her quiet demeanor, similar to usual, yet not quite the same.
When Bai Xin said ‘We’ll see’ just now, Tang Jia actually felt an indescribable emotion.
She had never seen Bai Xin so restrained.
Bai Xin gave her the feeling that this time, it wasn’t a feigned retreat but genuine worry about losing Cheng Jiqing as a person. Truly showing weakness.
Not for benefits, but for a person.
Tang Jia pushed up her glasses and suddenly remembered, saying, “Cheng Jiqing also showed symptoms of a rut period a few days ago.”
Hearing this, Bai Xin stopped in her tracks.
“But it should be over after so many days.”
“…”
Bai Xin sucked in a breath, frowned, and shot a deadly glare back.
Tang Jia: “…”
What’s that for? What kind of look is that?
She seemed to discern a meaning from the glare—What’s the point of telling me if it’s already over?
Bai Xin didn’t look at her again and walked out the door, an inexplicable surge of anger and annoyance more intense than before welling up inside her.
The fifth day of training in Jiangcheng.
On this day, the online doubts about Cheng Jiqing suddenly showed a weakening trend…
When Cheng Jiqing was at-ed1 in the group chat and asked about it, she had just come out of the shower.
These past few days, with her rut period threatening to arrive yet holding back, the number of times she showered had surged. Once in the morning and once at night, and sometimes she’d wake up in the middle of the night, the area below also damp.
In her dreams, a woman would cling to her neck, and the person would tremble at her mere touch.
She harbored resentment, tormenting her fiercely.
Yet upon waking, she felt even more dissatisfied, feeling as if her body was even more pent up…
She clicked open WeChat, her mood sour.
The small group chat for 《Cat and Mint》, its name was—No-Carb Fairy Group.
It was Zhou Qing’s idea.
The Weibo link was also posted by Zhou Qing.
【It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here. @Cheng Jiqing, has your company finally made a move?】
Cheng Jiqing clicked on it. Before accepting the role, she used to browse Weibo quite a lot. Recently, she hadn’t looked much; any fresh gossip2 these past two days had been sent to the group by Zhou Qing.
The link led to a Weibo post by a certain Big V3, with two photos.
【#FindingTheAngelBeautyInTheFire# Friends, does she look familiar?】
Below were two photos: one from that summer fire in Beicheng, and one was Cheng Jiqing’s solo promotional photo.
The promotional photo was very simple: a clean and refreshing bare-faced look, a white shirt, and a dark green background.
It was beautiful, but too rigid, failing to capture Cheng Jiqing’s clear and outstanding ethereal charm.
Cheng Jiqing returned to WeChat: 【No.】
Ada would have told her before posting anything. It was probably just that someone had found it.
A few days ago, when the promotional photos were taken, Cheng Jing had actually called to mention that the photos might be released by someone.
At that time, Cheng Jing suppressed the photos and news because she hadn’t entered this circle yet, and also because the Weibo post looking for the person had been trending.
Cheng Jiqing appreciated the kindness of Cheng Jing thinking to ask for her opinion.
As for the photos, she never minded. It wasn’t anything shameful.
Zhou Qing: 【It’s a good thing, anyway. I took a look, the comments below are okay.】
Li Yunlan: 【Pretty good, you can relax a bit for now.】
Cheng Jiqing herself hadn’t realized; did she seem so weighed down to outsiders recently?
#AngelBeautyRealIdentity#
#《CatAndMint》FemaleLead#
These two topics shot straight to the trending list, occupying the discussion for half a day.
The photos from the fire had already attracted a small amount of attention at the time. Once it hit the trending list, Cheng Jiqing’s Weibo followers increased by more than two thousand.
Cheng Jiqing clicked on the comments to take a look.
‘Holy sh#t… Is it real? If it is, I’m going to turn from a passerby to a fan. This promotional photo really isn’t great, not as stunning as a candid shot…’
‘Conservative comment, waiting for the drama to air, hope not to be disappointed.’
‘Seems a bit like hype. If not, I apologize.’
‘Next time, just use the first photo for promotion, okay! Who doesn’t love a great beauty! This face, this figure, I could lick it for a lifetime! (Just kidding)’
Compared to when the promotional photos were released a couple of days ago, the comments were a small reversal.
At least no one was cursing her anymore.
It was naturally a good thing that no one was cursing her.
She went back to reply to the group messages.
【Thank you for your concern, teachers. Afternoon tea is on me tomorrow.】
They chatted for a few more sentences in the group.
Zhou Qing: 【Afternoon tea won’t cut it. I just want hotpot right now.】
Wang Ning: 【This drama doesn’t have too many scene changes. With Director Tong’s skill, it should be finished in about a month and a half.】
Zhou Qing: 【Craving.JPG】
Cheng Jiqing put her phone on the table, ruffled her hair with a towel, walked to the window, and opened it wider.
Just as she was about to turn and get the hairdryer, the vibration of her phone on the wooden table was hard to ignore.
Actually, the message wasn’t urgent, but Cheng Jiqing still subconsciously walked over. Realizing her own action, she paused for a moment.
But in the end, she still reached out and picked it up.
Zhou Qing: 【@Cheng Jiqing @Li Yunlan】
Zhou Qing: 【Holy sh#t, holy sh#t, Lanlan, you’re up there too!】
Li Yunlan: 【?】
Cheng Jiqing was startled, wondering if Zhou Qing had tagged the wrong person.
The next second, Zhou Qing sent another link to the group.
【Well, I’ll be. Filming hasn’t even started, and you two already have dating rumors.】
In the top-floor meeting room of XM Group, everyone present was core management of XM. They all knew Bai Xin’s identity and had signed confidentiality agreements.
Regardless of whether Cheng Jing truly intended to stand by idly or was just pretending not to care, Bai Xin was seizing this opportunity.
Just as Zhou Yushu had said, the Bai family’s downfall was imminent, a matter of the near future.
In fact, Bai Zhaoliang was already stamping his foot in anxiety4.
The phone on the table vibrated slightly; this was the fifth call Bai Zhaoliang had made to her today.
Bai Xin glanced at it and pressed mute.
After listening to the senior executive, she turned to ask Zhou Yushu, “Has the bank side been handled?”
Zhou Yushu nodded. “We’ve already spoken to the several banks capable of providing funds to the Bai family.”
Bai Xin withdrew her gaze, her expression cold as she gestured for the previous executive to continue.
Meetings with Bai Xin automatically created a tense atmosphere.
Even Zhou Yushu would do some prep work before meetings. Bai Xin’s thinking was that of a typical creator; she could identify the problem with just one look.
While others were still trying to navigate the maze, she could directly draw the route map.
Trying to vaguely muddle through something past her was almost impossible.
Therefore, there were few incompetents in XM.
As the meeting concluded, Bai Xin raised her hand, and Lily, quick-witted and nimble-fingered, handed over the document.
Bai Xin pinched the file:
“Vice President Li, are you sure you personally reviewed this proposal?”
Vice President Li opened his mouth, feeling guilty despite himself, and struggled to maintain his composure. “I did review it, perhaps not too carefully.”
Hearing this, Bai Xin’s gaze turned deep and distant towards him.
She didn’t speak for two seconds.
Everyone broke into a cold sweat for Vice President Li.
Their Bai Xin had been difficult to serve these past few days; wasn’t this just offering himself up for slaughter5?
Bai Xin’s voice, as cold as frost, cut through: “Why don’t I just do your job for you?”
“…My apologies, CEO Bai. I’ll be more careful next time,” Vice President Li coughed dryly.
Seeing this, Zhou Yushu interjected, “Take it back and redo it.”
Vice President Li nodded, cold sweat nearly dripping down.
The meeting ended, and the executives rose to leave. The meeting room instantly emptied.
Zhou Yushu remained in the chair to Bai Xin’s right, glancing at her. She knew Bai Xin had been displeased with her too these past few days.
To be precise, displeased with everyone.
Bai Xin was the standard type: if she wasn’t happy, then no one else would be happy either.
It was probably also due to the matter of the watch.
Provoked by Bai Xin’s attitude these past two days, she had actually calmed down a bit from her previous infatuation. She thought about it carefully; surprisingly, she hadn’t felt that “lovesick” pain in her heart these few days.
“Not leaving?”
Bai Xin ignored her. Besides her bad mood, Bai Zhaoliang was calling again.
She still didn’t answer.
Y2 was initiated by Bai Xin, and the entire framework of the Bai family’s involvement in the Y2 project was also built by Bai Xin. With Bai Xin pulling out, core personnel had left, and now without the Cheng family’s support, cooperation in various aspects had stagnated.
Bai Zhaoliang now found even the path to bank loans blocked by Bai Xin.
“Bai Zhaoliang still has a villa; it’s worth quite a bit.”
Bai Xin finally replied, “Let him keep it. People need to have some hope to become even more desperate.”
There was another principle: things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme.
She was anxious but not irrational. The villa and family assets were Bai Zhaoliang’s last hope. As long as the Bai family business was gone, that house would be the Bai Zhaoliang family’s final struggle.
She had suffered for over a decade; she couldn’t let him repay it all in one go.
Zhou Yushu felt a chill down her spine listening to this, only thankful that the Zhou family was not Bai Xin’s enemy. She had truly watched the Bai family decline, bit by bit, from prosperity to ruin.
Bai Xin sat in her chair, looking down at her phone.
Zhou Yushu didn’t ask for a snub6 and got up to leave.
After exiting, her assistant followed beside her and asked in a low voice, “CEO Zhou, everyone upstairs has been very tense recently.”
Zhou Yushu chuckled lightly. “I’m tense too.”
Assistant: “…”
Zhou Yushu walked into her office. “Tell everyone to do their own jobs properly. This isn’t about Bai Xin being picky; that proposal clearly wasn’t done seriously. It was shoddy. If Bai Xin had let it pass without a word, XM wouldn’t be where it is today.”
The assistant nodded. “You’re right. Then, should we do something else to alleviate CEO Bai’s mood?”
Zhou Yushu had contacted Tang Jia these past two days. She roughly knew why Bai Xin was in a bad mood recently—who else could it be for now, other than Cheng Jiqing?
Perhaps until that person returned, Bai Xin’s mood wouldn’t improve.
Zhou Yushu said irritably, “Do what? Court death?”
Assistant: “…”
Forget it.
The things she had been doing recently were already pointless enough.
In the meeting room, Bai Xin was still sitting in her chair, leaning back, the leather chair creaking in the empty room.
She was just too lazy to move for the moment.
Although she didn’t have to interact with Cheng Jiqing daily now, and nothing much would happen, it was just that this period was special, and her needs had increased.
After high-intensity work, when she quieted down, she would become more sensitive.
And thus, more uncomfortable.
Looking at those one or two people in the company made her even more annoyed.
She glanced at her phone; it was past eight in the evening, not too late.
She opened WeChat. Because of the meeting, she hadn’t eaten dinner, so she hadn’t sent Cheng Jiqing a photo yet tonight.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Xin asked Lily to order a pot of congee for her.
Waiting like this in the meeting room, Cheng Jiqing no longer replied to her messages instantly…
The lights were bright white, as dazzling as daylight, only the outside was pitch black.
Gazing out, the horizon was indistinct.
Her eyes ached from looking. She retracted her gaze, preparing to turn off her phone and take a short nap, when her eyes suddenly glanced at the WeChat chat window, at a familiar name.
It was from the Bai family side, a muted work group.
She clicked into it.
【The person with Lanlan is that Cheng Jiqing. I’m crying, is this shipping a CP or is it real?】
【Image.】
The next second, the group message was recalled.
【Sorry, sorry, sent to the wrong group!】
【Kneeling.JPG】
Bai Xin’s fingers froze mid-air. She could memorize that photo with just one glance.
The background was the orange light of dusk, on a low bridge by Jiangcheng Lake. Two women stood facing each other, and one of them was—Cheng Jiqing.
She could recognize her with just one look at the photo.
Bai Xin’s aura suddenly turned gloomy.
Cheng Jiqing’s trending topic was still lingering; she knew about it in the afternoon and had the PR team remove the anti-fan7 comments.
Bai Xin stared at her phone.
A casual sweep.
Under the #AngelBeauty# tag, two consecutive ones were—
#LiYunlanDatePartner#
#LiYunlanNewRomanceClarification#
She clicked in and saw Li Yunlan’s Weibo.
Li Yunlan: Everyone is together.
The accompanying picture was a group photo of several people. Cheng Jiqing was on the right, her elbow resting on an antique wooden table, the arm wearing the white jade bodhi bracelet particularly eye-catching.
The first comment was from Cheng Jiqing.
A simple smile emoji.
Bai Xin’s teeth pressed against the tip of her tongue, and she bit down hard, trembling.
It was clearly a clarification, clearly nothing was going on, she knew all that.
But it was just a feeling that Cheng Jiqing was distancing herself from her. In that photo on the bridge, Cheng Jiqing was smiling at someone else.
In that group photo, Cheng Jiqing’s bright and lively smile also seemed to remind her—she couldn’t wait any longer.
She had a bad feeling; if she continued to wait quietly like this, Cheng Jiqing would drift further and further away from her.
Just these few greetings every day, just sending a few photos every day, was not enough.
Even if she couldn’t rush over immediately, she couldn’t let Cheng Jiqing ignore her existence…
【Great, great, you two are heroes. The crew gets free publicity, no need to even buy trending topics.】
【Dying of laughter, this paparazzi8 is something else, everyone was together, and they just cropped out the people in the back.】
【Hahahaha.】
Zhou Qing said: 【Chengcheng, Lanlan, I’ve even thought of a CP name for you. How about Qing Chu Yu Lan9?】
Cheng Jiqing: “…”
Cheng Jiqing: 【Teacher Zhou, your schadenfreude10 is way too obvious!】
Cheng Jiqing pouted. Zhou Qing loved to joke, but not in an annoying way, always within acceptable limits. The responsibility of lightening the mood in the group rested on her.
Li Yunlan: 【PattingHead.JPG】
Li Yunlan: 【But Qing Chu Yu Lan sounds pretty good.】
Zhou Qing: 【Hahahaha, oh no, it’s official.】
Wang Ning: 【@Zhou Qing I bet some people will definitely ship you, the ex-wife, with Chengcheng.】
Wang Ning: 【@Zhou Qing I’ve also thought of a CP name for you and Chengcheng, Po Fu Cheng Zhou11!! How about it!】
Cheng Jiqing: “…”
You never know how your favorite female celebrities are randomly shipping CPs behind the scenes.
The few of them were still joking.
Although Cheng Jiqing didn’t want to be a wet blanket, she was afraid that if they continued, it would get more and more outrageous. She replied lightly: 【My girlfriend is calling me to bed. Goodnight, teachers.】
A string of question marks followed below.
Zhou Qing: 【Wuwuwu, I just accepted the Po Fu Cheng Zhou pairing, I’m heartbroken.】
Li Yunlan: 【Really?】
Cheng Jiqing didn’t reply further, afraid that if she continued chatting, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
She turned off her phone, placed it by her bed, and then picked up 《Go Ashore》 from the table.
She continued reading from where she left off yesterday—I seem to feel that what that person wanted from me at the beginning was not love.
Startled by this realization, my nerves became more sensitive, my gaze sharper, my thoughts more profound.
Thus, I became increasingly terrified.
But what’s utterly absurd is that I can also feel her love for me.
At ten o’clock, Cheng Jiqing felt somewhat restless and irritable.
Perhaps it was also due to the approaching rut period—it seemed like today’s reaction was a bit stronger than yesterday’s.
Therefore, she couldn’t calm her mind.
She put the book down.
Her phone, right on cue, vibrated twice.
Picking it up, she seemed to sense who it was from—a woman’s sixth sense was so magical everywhere.
Bai Xin: 【Image】
Even from the thumbnail, it looked ominous, but her hands were itchy and she clicked it open.
Two pairs of underwear, one pink and one white, were laid out on the bed. They were the ones she had accompanied Bai Xin to buy at the lingerie store last time. Her fingertips rubbed together involuntarily, as if she could feel their soft and delicate texture.
Bai Xin: 【Chengcheng, which pair?】
Cheng Jiqing: “…?”
Her body warmed slightly. She didn’t reply immediately, her feelings complicated. She hadn’t fully recovered, but these past two days, Bai Xin had been… too well-behaved.
After a moment, the screen suddenly lit up.
A video call from Bai Xin came through.
“…”
Cheng Jiqing hesitated for a moment, then, as if driven by ghosts and gods, she tapped accept.
The background on the other end was Nanjng, and it was in the bathroom. Warm yellow light fell on Bai Xin.
She saw Bai Xin’s cold yet bewitching face; a subtle change in her expression was enough to radiate allure.
“Did you receive it?”
“…En.”
Bai Xin didn’t seem to care if she had replied or not, and slowly asked, “Which pair?”
Cheng Jiqing feigned ignorance: “What?”
In the video, Bai Xin’s eyelashes lowered slightly, her eyes glinting. She saw those smooth collarbones rise and fall shallowly with her breath, her voice ethereal in the space.
“Which pair should I wear tonight?”
“…” Cheng Jiqing knew this cat was about to play dirty. She averted her gaze from that skin, her voice calm: “Up to you.”
However, Bai Xin’s next sentence made her breath catch sharply.
“Then, do you want to see?”
The author has something to say:
Chengcheng: Damn it, she launched a surprise attack!
LP: The author holding back Bai Xin:
She’s a walking red flag trying to turn green
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LMAO LP, love the notes. laughed out loud.