After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 26

Little Bird, Little Bird, Your Haven Is a Tender Embrace

Bai Xiying sat by her computer, giving the registration form one last check. Seeing that all the information was correct, she finally clicked submit.

A loading spinner appeared on the webpage, and when the four large words “Registration Successful” appeared, Bai Xiying smiled faintly before closing the page.

When her phone rang, she glanced at the caller ID, looked around, and then slipped into the breakroom to answer.

“I have the results of the investigation you asked for. I’ve sent everything to your email.”

“Good,” Bai Xiying said coolly. “I’ll transfer the remaining payment to you tonight.”

The man on the other end said another word and then hung up.

Bai Xiying casually put the phone back in her pocket, picked up her mug to make a cup of coffee, and prepared to head back to her desk.

As she was about to exit, Mu Muqing was standing right outside the door.

Bai Xiying’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Mu Muqing let out a soft laugh. She took a step forward, blocking the doorway just enough that to get past, one would have to make intimate contact with her.

Naturally, Bai Xiying was unwilling to do that.

Cradling her coffee mug, she said with a cool expression, “President Mu, I’m done in here.”

The implication was clear: you can move now.

Mu Muqing ignored it, asking instead, “Are you really not going to consider it?”

In the KTV private room that day, her directness had all but laid her intentions bare to Bai Xiying. She refused to believe Bai Xiying didn’t understand what it meant.

She had never been like this with any other woman.

Originally, Mu Muqing had planned to take things slow. It was rare to meet a woman who suited her tastes so perfectly, and since she worked under her, being so close gave her an advantage. She wasn’t in a hurry.

But the constant appearance of others coveting Bai Xiying and getting in her way was starting to seriously annoy her.

Mu Muqing was not a patient person to begin with, especially not in matters like this. She decided to change her approach.

Bai Xiying’s expression didn’t waver as she stated the facts. “President Mu, I already have a girlfriend.”

“Lin Xingzhu?” Mu Muqing said dismissively. “Don’t think I don’t know. That’s just an act you two are putting on.”

She smiled, the picture of confidence. “It’s for Qiao Ziqin, isn’t it? Bai Xiying, that’s not a real reason.”

“Alright, to be honest, I don’t think you and I are compatible, President Mu,” Bai Xiying said, glancing at her before suddenly sighing. “If I’m not mistaken, you should have female companions by your side, don’t you?”

Mu Muqing suddenly fell silent.

A mocking curve appeared on Bai Xiying’s lips before she quickly flattened it.

“But I’m single,” Mu Muqing stressed. “I’m single, so pursuing you isn’t a moral failing. Besides, all of that is in the past.”

Mu Muqing had never hidden her desires. When she had physical needs, she certainly wouldn’t deny herself—especially when she was young, beautiful, and wealthy. Why should she suppress herself?

It was just how things were for urban men and women, driven by basic desires. She had always been clear with those women; their relationships were purely physical. The morning after, they would go their separate ways with no emotional strings attached.

“…”

As expected, the same old excuses.

Mu Muqing said, “If you don’t like it, I won’t have any more in the future.”

She glanced at Bai Xiying, feeling she could absolutely make that promise.

To be honest, even Mu Muqing didn’t understand why she felt such an intense, possessive urge whenever she faced Bai Xiying.

It was as if Bai Xiying was meant to belong to her.

Bai Xiying’s lips twitched. “But President Mu, when I say I don’t like something, I simply don’t like it. Can’t you tell that this is just an excuse to reject you?”

Bai Xiying’s features were light and delicate, her aura unique and cool—completely different from anyone Mu Muqing had ever met.

She was stunned for a moment by Bai Xiying’s mercilessly direct words.

When Mu Muqing finally processed it, a flash of shame and anger crossed her face. “Why must you be like this? You’re just bothered by my past.”

Although Mu Muqing didn’t want to admit it, why else would Bai Xiying bring up her history with other people if she wasn’t bothered by it?

Bai Xiying raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a hint of surprise.

So she’s aware that I mind.

But I don’t just mind. I’m utterly disgusted by it.

Provoked by her attitude, Mu Muqing’s anger flared and she spoke without thinking. “You look down on me so much, but how clean is that Lin Xingzhu!”

She sneered maliciously. “I’m afraid she’s even more sordid than I am.”

But what does that have to do with her?

Bai Xiying paused slightly, then said, “But she is cleaner than you.”

At the very least, Lin Xingzhu’s heart is much cleaner than hers.

One was like foul-smelling sludge, the other like a pure, weightless cloud in the sky. There was simply no comparison.

“You!” A jolt went through Mu Muqing’s heart, and she could no longer control her expression.

Her gaze shifted, and she turned and walked away.

She would wait. She would make Bai Xiying change her mind eventually, Mu Muqing thought, a vicious glint flashing in her eyes.

What is wrong with these people? One after another, they all want to compare themselves to Lin Xingzhu.

Bai Xiying went back and added an ice cube to her cup. Feeling the refreshing coolness against her hand, she returned to her desk.

Just as she sat down, Wang Xiaoxiao leaned over and asked with some concern, “What happened just now?”

Her desk was closest to the breakroom, so she had faintly heard the commotion. She paid extra attention and saw President Mu storm out with a cold expression right before Bai Xiying emerged.

A faint smile appeared on Bai Xiying’s face as she reassured her, “We just had a small disagreement.”

What kind of disagreement could make someone argue directly with the big boss?

Wang Xiaoxiao looked at her forced smile and the flicker of worry in her eyes. She hesitated for a moment, but the great beauty’s face was too compelling, and she couldn’t help but ask again.

“…Are you really sure it’s nothing?”

Bai Xiying pursed her lips, and the gentle smile on her face slowly faded. Her face, as exquisitely beautiful as a begonia blossom, gradually took on a look of loneliness and distress.

“Xiaoxiao-jiejie, you can’t tell anyone else, okay?” she said.

Wang Xiaoxiao immediately perked up.

“Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word of it.”

She patted her chest in assurance.

Bai Xiying’s eyelashes fluttered, her eyes filled with pure trust, which made Wang Xiaoxiao’s sense of responsibility soar.

“I think President Mu found out that I signed up for the ASHY Design Competition,” Bai Xiying said forlornly. “That’s what we were talking about just now.”

“Huh?” Wang Xiaoxiao was stunned. Recalling the sounds she’d heard, she asked, “She won’t let you go?”

That doesn’t seem like President Mu’s style.

But then, thinking of President Mu’s usual cold, stern, and unsmiling demeanor, she wasn’t so sure if she’d do something like that.

Bai Xiying nodded. Her hair, which had been cascading down her back, fell forward, hiding half of her pale face and making her look even more frail and helpless.

Well, that’s a tricky situation.

Wang Xiaoxiao fretted. “Maybe there’s a reason? Aren’t we working on the big project from Xingyuan right now? Maybe she’s worried that the competition will affect your work? Why don’t you try talking to her again later?”

She was the one who had encouraged Bai Xiying to sign up in the first place, and President Mu’s actions were truly strange.

Hearing this, a troubled look flashed across Bai Xiying’s face, which Wang Xiaoxiao clearly caught. She was understanding, though; after all, having to talk to the big boss again would put pressure on anyone.

After comforting Bai Xiying for a while longer, Wang Xiaoxiao returned to her own work.

Bai Xiying also composed herself and got back to work.

There was, of course, a reason she had just tearfully recounted a distorted version of what happened in the breakroom to Wang Xiaoxiao.

As Bai Xiying worked on her computer, rendering and adding color, she recalled the moment she had left Mu Muqing’s office several days ago—that brief instant of hesitation from the other woman.

She chuckled softly. In any case, it wasn’t as if she was framing Mu Muqing for something she wouldn’t do.

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After finishing another meeting, Lin Xingzhu returned to her office to drink some tea and rest her voice. Then, she stood up to stretch her body after sitting for so long.

She stood by the window, gazing at the distant buildings and the white clouds drifting across the sky, her mind gradually clearing.

When a person has a moment of peace, they begin to think.

She had been in this world for nearly two months now. Everything was adapting well. Of the messes the original owner had left behind, she was gradually cutting ties where necessary and taking responsibility where she must.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

But for some reason, Lin Xingzhu suddenly felt a little lost.

She rarely had this kind of emotion. Or rather, in the first twenty-plus years of her life, she had almost never felt this way. When she finally recognized it, it brought a strange sense of uncertainty.

What was she feeling lost about?

Lin Xingzhu looked up, her gaze following a bird as it drifted across the sky.

Does it know where its destination is?

Then, she watched as the bird, which had been circling aimlessly, suddenly turned and joined another, much chubbier bird, and the two began to circle sweetly and lovingly together.

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

Apologies, my mistake for interrupting.

So your destination was the tender, lingering embrace of a mate.

In an instant, all her wistful melancholy vanished.

Her expression was odd. The mood to draw parallels between an object and her own life disappeared without a trace.

After enjoying the breeze for a while longer, Lin Xingzhu pressed a hand to her forehead, sat back down, and began to work.

Her choice to join Xingyuan had indeed been the right one. Even though the entire company was currently focused on this new project, with everyone mobilized, the workload still couldn’t compare to her job before she transmigrated.

It really suited her original desire to just lie flat and slack off.

However, having been in this world for two months, Lin Xingzhu had figured out the world’s framework, built upon the plot of the original novel. There was one thing that constantly weighed on her mind: the bankruptcy of the Lin family mentioned in the original story.

She hadn’t finished reading that smutty novel, but because the cannon fodder character shared her name, she had paid close attention to the comments in the review section back then.

The main person responsible for the Lin family’s bankruptcy was, apparently, Gong Four¹.

Lin Xingzhu didn’t know her name or her identity. She had no leads and no way to guard against her.

However, there were two things she could be sure of: the person was definitely interested in Bai Xiying, and she came from a powerful family. Only with both of those would Gong Four have the motive and the means to go after Lin Xingzhu and the Lin family.

Looked at this way, the key to breaking the deadlock seemed to lie with Bai Xiying.

At this thought, her hand, which was flipping through documents, paused for a moment before continuing on naturally.

What’s one more problem to deal with? In any case, she already had to keep an eye on Bai Xiying’s health to make sure she wasn’t being drugged anymore. Sparing a bit more attention to watch the people who appeared around her wasn’t a big deal.

As her thoughts reached this point, Lin Xingzhu put down her pen, a sudden realization dawning on her.

This doesn’t count as stalking, right?

She suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

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