After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 20

The Room

To see her one last time.

“Qiao Ziqin has a mental illness?”

Hearing the news from her assistant, Lin Xingzhu was stunned for a moment, then looked at the medical report with a cold smile.

“I’m afraid it was specially diagnosed to evade her sentence.”

The original work never mentioned Qiao Ziqin having a mental illness; on the contrary, her spirit was exceptionally sound.

“Doesn’t Qiao Song¹ know that a lie like this will fall apart the moment it’s exposed?” Lin Xingzhu closed the report she had been casually flipping through and asked the person standing before her desk.

“He knows,” the assistant replied, lowering his head. “But I heard that Qiao Song was under some pressure and specifically had someone conduct an examination on Qiao Ziqin.”

Lin Xingzhu rose, crossing her arms as she stood by the window. Her gaze swept past a bird in the sky before her faint gaze landed on the building opposite.

“The Qiao and Zhao families had a marriage alliance,” she said in a low voice, her eyes downcast.

So this pressure, naturally, came from the Zhao family’s side.

And that was indeed the case.

At this very moment, Qiao Song had just hung up the phone, his face ashen.

Huang Mingyun² looked at him with a face full of concern, her gentle features unable to hide her worry. “Can this really get our Ziqin out?”

Qiao Song snorted. “If the Zhao family truly had the heart to help, they wouldn’t be showing their attitude only now!”

A flicker went through Huang Mingyun’s eyes. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of Ziqin, and now she’s made such a mistake…”

Thinking of his carefree ex-wife, Qiao Song’s expression soured, and his tone wasn’t much better. “You don’t need to blame yourself. Her own mother doesn’t even care. You’ve already done more than enough.”

He had long found this rebellious and untamable daughter an eyesore. All day long, she learned nothing good and only knew how to oppose him. It wasn’t as if she was his only child!

Thinking of the recent tug-of-war with the Lin Corporation, Qiao Song’s eyes darkened. “The diagnostic report is out. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do.”

As for whether the Lin Corporation believed it or not, that was no longer his concern.

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Naturally, Lin Xingzhu and Bai Xiying didn’t believe it.

Having seen through Qiao Song’s intentions, Lin Xingzhu acted decisively, sending someone to conduct another psychiatric evaluation on Qiao Ziqin. The result, of course, was that there was nothing wrong with her. This time, the Qiao family had no significant reaction.

Although the Qiao family had already decided to give up on Qiao Ziqin, they didn’t skimp on keeping up appearances, hiring several lawyers to defend her publicly.

This tug-of-war lasted for nearly half a month. With Lin Xingzhu’s utmost effort, she hired the best lawyer. In the end, Qiao Ziqin was sentenced to a ten-year term for multiple crimes, including attempted rape.

This was the maximum penalty Lin Xingzhu could secure within the bounds of the law, and she hadn’t given Qiao Song any opportunity to pull strings.

However, thinking of Qiao Ziqin’s troublesome stepmother, Lin Xingzhu guessed that she had probably put in no small amount of effort as well.

On the day Qiao Ziqin’s sentence was handed down, Bai Xiying had originally wanted to book a restaurant to treat Lin Xingzhu to dinner. But as it happened, Lin Xingzhu had to work overtime at her company. In the end, the two decided to just order barbecue takeout to their home after work and have a private meal together.

Lin Xingzhu drove her car into the parking garage and went upstairs, treading on a floor of moonlight.

Fearing that Bai Xiying would be waiting anxiously in the apartment, she didn’t even go back to her own home, directly pressing the elevator button for Bai Xiying’s floor.

Not two seconds after she rang the doorbell, the door was opened from the inside, as if someone had been standing right behind it, waiting.

Meeting that beautiful and delicate face, Lin Xingzhu paused, her expression turning a little serious. “Don’t open the door so quickly next time.”

Bai Xiying: “?”

She blinked, a little confused, and her pearly teeth gently bit her pink lip, leaving a faint mark that quickly vanished.

“Why are you lecturing me the moment you arrive?” Bai Xiying’s nose crinkled, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Lin Xingzhu glanced at her and said, her tone neither light nor heavy, “If you gave me less to worry about, I wouldn’t have to lecture you the moment I open my mouth.”

She bent down to change into the slippers Bai Xiying had already prepared for her and sighed. “You live alone, you need to be more vigilant. Especially this late, you should confirm who’s at the door before opening it.”

So, with a personality like Bai Xiying’s, how can I not move in and look after her?

Their time together had already let Bai Xiying understand what kind of person Lin Xingzhu was.

Therefore, she wasn’t surprised at all that she would say such things.

“It’s because I knew it was you,” Bai Xiying said. “I’m not as naive as you think.”

Lin Xingzhu shot her a look, her clear gaze as cool and limpid as water in the night.

Although she hadn’t said a word, Bai Xiying somehow saw the condemnation in her eyes.

Bai Xiying averted her gaze, feeling a little guilty. “Alright, alright, I promise I won’t do it again.”

Only then did Lin Xingzhu retract her gaze, satisfied.

It wasn’t that she was making a fuss over nothing. The truth was, Bai Xiying’s identity was sensitive, and this world was bizarre and twisted. If she wanted Bai Xiying to suffer less harm, her own efforts weren’t enough; Bai Xiying also needed to raise her own vigilance.

Ever since learning about Bai Xiying’s physical condition at the hospital, Lin Xingzhu had unknowingly developed a greater sense of responsibility when it came to protecting Bai Xiying’s personal safety.

By the time she came back to her senses, this sense of responsibility and protectiveness, which had arisen at some unknown point, had quietly occupied a corner of her heart. The area wasn’t large, but it was hard to ignore.

In a way, Lin Xingzhu was a person who believed strongly in cause and effect. In her past, she used to accompany Mother Qin to the temple to worship Buddha regularly. After leaving the Qin family, this habit had persisted over the years. When she had free time from work, Lin Xingzhu would go to a temple alone to offer a stick of incense.

However, Lin Xingzhu didn’t like going to temples crowded with pilgrims. She preferred less famous Buddhist temples in the mountains, climbing the mountain steps one by one to quietly offer incense amidst the rising morning mist.

The blue sky, white clouds, green trees, and red bricks always brought a sense of peace to her heart.

Buddhism speaks of affinity, and it also discusses karma³.

She had inherited the “cause” of Lin Xingzhu’s body, and on the basis of not violating morals, laws, or her own personal bottom line, Lin Xingzhu was willing to protect Bai Xiying, the “effect.”

Bai Xiying’s slightly dazed gaze moved away from her serene face.

Lowering her head to arrange the things on the dining table, Bai Xiying couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What were you thinking about just now? You were so lost in thought.”

Pulling her thoughts back from her trance, Lin Xingzhu helped Bai Xiying set up. Hearing the curiosity in her tone, a tiny curve appeared on Lin Xingzhu’s lips. “I was thinking about how you’re such a handful.”

Bai Xiying: “…”

She frowned in dissatisfaction and, right in front of Lin Xingzhu, brazenly swapped the beef skewers in front of her with the lamb skewers in front of herself.

Now it was Lin Xingzhu’s turn to be amused.

“Alright, alright, my mistake,” Lin Xingzhu said, raising her hands in surrender. “You’re the bigger person, please forgive me.”

Bai Xiying shot her a sidelong glance and let out a light huff before switching them back again.

She knew Lin Xingzhu didn’t like lamb, but Bai Xiying ate it, so she had deliberately placed it in front of herself from the start.

After everything was set out, Lin Xingzhu sat down and only then noticed a bag not far away. She was taken aback. “We’re having dessert with barbecue?”

Bai Xiying followed her gaze, then got up to put the items in the refrigerator to chill. “You don’t need dessert with barbecue. I bought this specifically for myself.”

Lin Xingzhu watched her swiftly put the things away, looking as if she was afraid Lin Xingzhu would snatch them from her, and couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

But after laughing, she realized that Bai Xiying had a bit too much of a sweet tooth.

She had to have large amounts of sugar in her soy milk, her usual food preferences were on the sweet side, and whenever she saw her, she would always have some dessert or candy on her, looking like she was addicted to sweets.

The thought flashed through her mind, but Lin Xingzhu didn’t pay it too much mind.

The two of them cracked open their beers, one bottle each, and feasted on the barbecue at the table.

Even though they were two people alone in a room late at night, there was not a hint of an ambiguous atmosphere.

After all, with a combination of barbecue and beer, the entire space was filled with the joyful, soul-soothing spirit of eating skewers.

After eating and drinking their fill, Lin Xingzhu leaned back, exuding an air of lazy contentment.

Bai Xiying, opposite her, was a bit more reserved, her posture on the dining chair still elegant.

After a while, Bai Xiying finally put down her last meat skewer, pulled a napkin from the table to wipe her lips, which were a bit numb from the spice, and took another sip of beer to quell the heat.

Lin Xingzhu’s gaze shifted unnoticeably from her vibrant lips.

Bai Xiying took a moment to recover, then suddenly said, “Qiao Ziqin contacted me today.”

“Contacted you?” Lin Xingzhu sat up straight, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Bai Xiying nodded. “It must have been after the sentence was handed down. But she didn’t contact me directly. A young woman called me. She said Qiao Ziqin wants to see me one last time.”

Lin Xingzhu became thoughtful. She had already learned this evening that Qiao Ziqin would be spending the next ten years in prison. Given her obsession with Bai Xiying, it wasn’t surprising at all that she would make such a request to see her one last time before going in.

She tapped her fingers on the table, her calm eyes fixed on Bai Xiying, and said almost without thinking, “I respect your decision on this matter.”

Bai Xiying hesitated for a moment. “I want to go.”

Afraid that Lin Xingzhu would be unhappy, Bai Xiying explained, “I want to know why she would do these things to me for no reason…”

As she said this, Bai Xiying lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting a shadow, clearly still bothered by the matter.

Lin Xingzhu’s fingertips twitched slightly. “Alright, I’ll arrange it for you.”

A smile immediately bloomed on Bai Xiying’s face.

Her skin was already fair, and with a little alcohol, a faint pink blush dusted her cheeks. Her eyes, warmed by the drink, were moist and clear, making her look like a soft, docile kitten lying there, waiting to be petted.

Lin Xingzhu couldn’t help but look away.

Her evasive gaze landed at the end of the apartment, where a closed white door stood in the shadows, blurring her line of sight.

For some reason, Lin Xingzhu subconsciously straightened up, leaning forward slightly.

The next second, slender fingers, as fair as scallion stalks and smooth as jade, pushed her back against the chair. A fragrant scent, mingled with the aroma of alcohol, washed over her.

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