After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 49

Intuition

The preliminary review works to be submitted for the ASHY competition would close in five days. Generally speaking, anyone who wanted to participate in the competition had already started preparing their preliminary review works at the time of initial registration.

At that time, while chatting with Wang Xiaoxiao in the pantry, Bai Xiying had deliberately revealed that she still had some details to modify and estimated that she would submit them the day before the deadline.

When she said these words to Wang Xiaoxiao at the time, she had deliberately lowered her voice, yet was able to ensure that Wang Ruonan, who was not far away, could definitely hear.

Thinking of this, Bai Xiying slid the mouse, her eyes still fixed on the design drawing on the computer screen, but her thoughts had flown elsewhere.

Her own plan would definitely deal a blow to Mu Muqing’s reputation in this industry, and Mu Muqing’s reputation would absolutely implicate Hurricane Studio. This chain of influence would inevitably affect the cooperative project with Xingyuan, and it was hard to guarantee that the newly developed game on Lin Xingzhu’s side would not be affected.

Bai Xiying hesitated for a moment on whether to give Lin Xingzhu a heads-up.

After all, today was different from the past; the current Lin Xingzhu had, without her realizing it, become much more important to her.

When getting off work in the evening, Bai Xiying deliberately did some tricks to her computer and placed the miniature camera she had bought in the morning in a hidden place, ensuring it could completely record all the details at her workstation, before picking up her bag and leaving.

As usual, Lin Xingzhu drove her home from work.

In the car, Lin Xingzhu rubbed the steering wheel, somewhat hesitant about whether to bring up Bai Xiying’s routine nightly outing plan.

To be honest, Lin Xingzhu really wanted to know why Bai Xiying had to keep following Xie Yunya.

After pondering for a moment, she still took the initiative to speak.

“Are you still going tonight?”

Her peripheral vision swept to Bai Xiying beside her, and Lin Xingzhu said in a deep voice: “If you want to go… you must remember to take safety precautions.”

Bai Xiying was a little surprised. She thought Lin Xingzhu would stop her, but she didn’t expect her to say such words.

However, she had already made a decision in her heart.

Bai Xiying brushed her hair, turning her head to look at Lin Xingzhu who was driving. Her every move had a sense of temptation that was rarely seen on ordinary days: “I’m not going.”

Bai Xiying’s voice was like it was coated in honey, seeping into one’s heart: “I know you’re worried about me. I won’t go at night anymore in the future. I can find someone to help me keep an eye on things.”

Lin Xingzhu raised an eyebrow. This style of doing things was not quite like Bai Xiying, but she still felt pleased by the words from her mouth.

Sensing that Bai Xiying didn’t mind bringing this matter up, Lin Xingzhu thought for a moment and tentatively spoke: “Why do you go follow Senior Xie Yunya every night?”

Bai Xiying had long anticipated this. She slowly uttered the half-true, half-false explanation she had prepared long ago: “Because I previously felt that something bad might happen to Senior, this feeling was very strong, and sometimes I would also dream about it. In addition, I had received some help from Senior before, so I went to check on her every night with the mentality of ‘it’s better to believe it than not’.”

“This way, I can also have some peace of mind,” Bai Xiying said.

Lin Xingzhu was lost in thought. It sounded very metaphysical. If it were the Lin Xingzhu from before she transmigrated into the book, she would only find it to be a fantasy tale. To follow someone every day just because of an unproven guess was truly too absurd.

But even something as unscientific as transmigrating into a book existed in the world. As the female lead who constructed this world, it seemed normal for Bai Xiying to have some special intuition?

To be honest, if one were to delve deeper, if Bai Xiying was certain that something would happen to Xie Yunya, then she probably wouldn’t just follow her for that little bit of time at night; she would definitely find a way to pay attention around the clock.

Therefore, what Bai Xiying said about her only wanting some peace of mind, taking time out after work to make a trip, was completely plausible.

In just a few short seconds, Lin Xingzhu had thought it all through. She nodded her head to show she understood and said: “Your idea is good, but on the premise of looking after others, you must not forget to pay attention to your own safety.”

Through this matter, Lin Xingzhu also vaguely understood one thing, which was that Bai Xiying had a streak of madness in the way she did things, often disregarding herself to achieve her goals.

So she couldn’t help but earnestly admonish: “To me, you are the most important. If you need help, you can ask me, but don’t easily put yourself in danger.”

Bai Xiying raised her head to look into her eyes, hooked her lips and asked: “Were you following me because you were worried about me?”

Mentioning this matter where Lin Xingzhu was slightly in the wrong, she fell silent for a moment, then nodded her head.

This kind of thing, following people from behind, was really not something Lin Xingzhu advocated. But when the subject was Bai Xiying, whom she couldn’t help but worry about, she subconsciously broke her usual practice for it.

Bai Xiying’s delicate chin lifted slightly, the smile on her lips unstoppable. Obviously, Lin Xingzhu’s attitude of nodding in admission was very pleasing to her.

Lin Xingzhu asked: “When did you discover I was following you?”

Since they had spoken openly, they might as well ask more clearly.

Bai Xiying hummed, “Let me think.”

“Actually, sometimes I’m more sensitive. I felt someone was watching me several times, but when I turned my head, I never found anything,” Bai Xiying said. “But one time it rained. After I passed by the park and came back, I found mud stuck to my shoes. As a result, the next morning, I found the same kind of mud on your shoes. Although this kind of guess is very ridiculous, I just felt that you were following me that night.”

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

So that’s how I was exposed? Carefully calculating the time, then Bai Xiying had known for a long time.

“Your intuition is really sharp,” Lin Xingzhu lamented.

Besides intuition, her powers of observation are also very strong, Lin Xingzhu thought to herself.

Looking at it this way, it seemed that the matter with Xie Yunya was also eighty or ninety percent certain to be true?

Bai Xiying suddenly smiled and said with a hidden meaning: “Yes, my intuition can help me avoid many things.”

After returning home, because there was nothing special to do, the two separated on the twelfth floor as usual.

Pushing the door open and entering her home, Lin Xingzhu called Jiang Yeye’s name twice. No one answered. She had probably run out to play again and hadn’t come back yet.

This way, Lin Xingzhu was the only one left in the entire apartment building.

She only made dinner for herself. After filling her stomach and just as she finished cleaning things up, the door at the entryway was opened again.

Jiang Yeye was humming a song while changing her shoes.

Lin Xingzhu frowned imperceptibly: “What time did you go out today?”

Jiang Yeye said with a grin: “Not long after you went to work!”

So she had run out to play wildly for a whole day again.

Lin Xingzhu took a sip of water and asked: “How old is that friend of yours? Does she not have to go to school?”

“Her? Ah, she’s like me, she also took a leave of absence from school, so we have time to play every day. Cousin-jiejie, you don’t have to worry about me being bored!”

While speaking, Jiang Yeye moved closer, tossed her bag onto the sofa, and casually grabbed an orange from the platter on the coffee table. She peeled it and started eating.

It was only at this moment that Lin Xingzhu smelled the faint scent of alcohol coming from her body.

She frowned, looking at the oblivious Jiang Yeye, and asked in a deep voice: “Jiang Yeye, did you drink today?”

Her body stiffened. Jiang Yeye was a bit guilty, but Lin Xingzhu had already pulled her up. As she got closer, the originally faint smell of alcohol became even clearer.

“You’re not even eighteen yet.” Lin Xingzhu rubbed the space between her eyebrows, her tone neither heavy nor light: “Especially in a place where you’re unfamiliar with the people and surroundings, and you still drink. How big is your heart? Have you ever thought about what would happen if your alcohol tolerance isn’t good and you get drunk?”

Hearing that there wasn’t much anger in her cousin-jiejie’s words, Jiang Yeye stuck out her tongue and said with some guilt: “I just tried a little with my friend, I only drank a tiny bit. I promise it won’t happen next time.”

Lin Xingzhu lowered her head to glance at her. Seeing her ingratiating expression, she released her hand and suddenly asked: “What have you two been playing these past two days?”

Jiang Yeye raised her head in a daze: “We didn’t play much, huh? We just went to some arcades and script-kill¹ shops and the like.”

However, they planned to change clothes and attend a fan event tomorrow. Thinking of this, Jiang Yeye immediately reported to Lin Xingzhu that she might be back a little later tomorrow.

Hearing that this friend hadn’t taken Jiang Yeye to any outrageous places, Lin Xingzhu felt slightly relieved. Facing Jiang Yeye’s request, she pondered for a moment and gave a time limit: “Be back before ten o’clock, otherwise you can forget about ever going out again.”

“Okay, okay.” Making an OK gesture with quirky charm, Jiang Yeye did a salted fish² roll, quickly leaped up, and ran back to her room to get ready to remove her makeup.

Tonight, Bai Xiying would no longer be following Xie Yunya. This way, Lin Xingzhu didn’t need to go out either. Once time was freed up, one always wanted to do something.

She walked around the room twice and finally found a cookbook about desserts in the kitchen and started reading it.

The matter of feeding Bai Xiying was a long and arduous journey. It was not only for the sake of Bai Xiying’s health; no matter how inexperienced she was in romantic relationships, Lin Xingzhu also knew that this was a way to farm favorability points.

Isn’t there a common saying? If you want to capture a person’s heart, you must first capture their stomach!

Bai Xiying’s dessert stomach, Lin Xingzhu decided she would work hard to monopolize it.

On the other side, Bai Xiying received a phone call and suddenly stood up.

“You said Xie Yunya is missing?”

The voice on the other end of the phone continued: “Yes, I was originally keeping an eye on the vicinity as you said, but I suddenly discovered that the two people shown in the information as her cousin and little aunt seem to be looking for someone everywhere. They look very anxious. I tried to ask around and found out that the person they’re looking for is the Xie Yunya you asked me to watch.”

“What should we do now? Should I continue to keep an eye on them?”

After hearing what he said, Bai Xiying frowned and said: “Continue to watch. Mainly watch the progress of their search for the person. In addition, help me check around what time she went missing. The price will be extra.”

“Alright.”

Hanging up the phone, Bai Xiying paced back and forth on the balcony, finally stopping to stare outside. Tonight, there were only a few stars in the night sky, looking dim and lackluster. Even the moon was indistinct, like a Pipa³ player half-hiding her face. It seemed tomorrow’s weather would not be very good.

So it still happened after all.

If her expectations were not wrong, Xie Yunya’s personality probably changed so drastically because of this accidental disappearance, right?

She just didn’t know where exactly she went during the time she was missing.

Bai Xiying couldn’t say she was very disappointed, let alone feel any remorse. Just as she had told Lin Xingzhu in the evening, she was only seeking peace of mind. If she encountered it, she would do her best to help. If there was really nothing she could do, then she had done her best.

As for the fact that Xie Yunya had really gotten into trouble and disappeared now, Bai Xiying instead had a feeling of the dust having settled.

As long as she could shorten the time Xie Yunya was missing, she wouldn’t have been doing useless work.

This way, she and Xie Yunya would be completely even—even if she was completely unaware of it.

Thinking of the information she had investigated before, Bai Xiying’s eyes darkened, and she already had a direction in her heart.

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