After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 56

Collusion

Bai Xiying sat at her workstation with an ashen expression, her entire body emanating an aura of low spirits and depression.

“Xiying, Xiying?”

Wang Xiaoxiao saw Bai Xiying looking like this as soon as she arrived in the morning and worriedly called her name several times.

Her eyeballs moved slightly, and Bai Xiying said, her face without color: “Xiaoxiao-jie, the work I registered for the competition is lost.”

“What?!”

“What happened? What’s going on?!”

Wang Xiaoxiao’s voice was hurried, and she looked at her anxiously.

Bai Xiying was like someone who had lost their soul: “Yesterday I brought my laptop and USB drive over. When I left in the evening, I was in too much of a hurry and forgot the USB drive here. Today, when I came over to find it and prepare to submit, I discovered I couldn’t find it.”

Wang Xiaoxiao still remembered that before leaving work yesterday, Bai Xiying had said she found a small detail she forgot to change and would fix it when she got home.

She comforted her, saying: “I remember, don’t you also have a copy saved on our computer here? You can use that one.”

As she said this, Wang Xiaoxiao also felt a little uncertain in her heart, because if there was still a backup, Bai Xiying wouldn’t be like this.

“……It’s gone.” Bai Xiying said, her face pale: “The one on my computer, it suddenly disappeared.”

Wang Xiaoxiao looked at her in shock.

After a long moment, Bai Xiying mumbled: “I know. I trust you, Xiaoxiao-jie.”

Initially, she had saved it in two copies: one on the USB drive, and one in a private folder on the work computer. Wang Xiaoxiao knew about this.

Wang Xiaoxiao’s shoulders suddenly slumped. She glanced around, suspecting gods and ghosts¹, at the colleagues arriving for work one after another, and said hesitantly: “Xiying, this matter of yours, someone must be playing tricks…”

Bai Xiying’s eyes moved, and she said, her heart like dead ashes: “But there’s no time left. The deadline is tonight. Can I find it?”

The atmosphere became somewhat heavy and tense.

Suddenly, Wang Xiaoxiao’s eyes brightened slightly: “Go find Director Mu. Tell her about it and ask her to investigate the surveillance footage to see who it was.”

Her hair, which she had no mind to tidy, was a bit messy, covering Bai Xiying’s deep, dark eyes: “Xiaoxiao-jie, thank you. I’ll go find Director Mu right now.”

As she spoke, it was as if Bai Xiying had found hope. A strong light burst forth from her eyes, and she dashed to the front of Mu Muqing’s office door.

“Knock, knock, knock——”

Hearing the voice of the person inside, Bai Xiying quickly opened the office door and stood before Mu Muqing, who was lowering her head to organize things.

“It’s Xiying.” Mu Muqing looked up, her originally cold and hard face softening, concealing an obvious concern: “You came to find me in such a hurry. Is something the matter?”

“I, I have a matter I’d like to ask for Director Mu’s help with.”

At first, Bai Xiying showed some of the awkwardness from when Mu Muqing had previously advised her to give up on entering the competition, but thinking of the important matter of the preliminary review, Bai Xiying still spoke under Mu Muqing’s slightly gentle gaze.

“Oh?” Mu Muqing raised an eyebrow: “What matter?”

Bai Xiying took two deep breaths. Although her face was still pale, her emotions had clearly calmed down a bit, and she explained the matter to Mu Muqing once through, clearly and methodically.

After a long moment, Mu Muqing finally spoke slowly: “So you suspect that one of our colleagues tampered with your competition entry, and you want me to allow you to investigate the surveillance footage?”

“Yes!”

Bai Xiying’s breathing was a little rapid, her gaze containing a plea.

Mu Muqing fell silent again.

In her heart, Bai Xiying silently gritted her teeth and sneered repeatedly. Clearly, Mu Muqing is now treating me as someone who has no choice but to ask her for a favor. She neither refuses nor agrees, merely remaining silent, allowing my scorching, anxious heart to suffer in apprehension as time passes. Finally, just as I am about to despair, she will speak her consent like celestial music and, as she wishes, reap my gratitude and goodwill.

“It is possible.” Mu Muqing finally spoke. “However, you also know that everything you’ve said is just speculation; there is no substantive evidence to prove that one of our colleagues did such a thing. So I can take you to see the surveillance footage. If this matter is indeed true, I will absolutely not tolerate it. But if nothing is found, I hope this matter does not spread within the company.”

As a superior, considering

Bai Xiying said gratefully: “I understand, Director Mu.”

Mu Muqing took her to the server room.

Bai Xiying very seriously searched the surveillance footage from the time she left work until she arrived at the company this morning.

But there was nothing. No one had gone to her workstation, no one had touched her computer; there was no funny business at all.

Yet the USB drive had vanished into thin air, and the file saved on the computer had also flown away without wings².

Bai Xiying’s mind went completely blank, unable to believe it!

Standing behind her, a trace of satisfaction silently slid across the bottom of Mu Muqing’s eyes. She placed a hand on Bai Xiying’s shoulder and comforted her: “You see, there’s nothing. Could it be that you forgot to take it? Or perhaps you lost it somewhere else? As for the file on the computer, it might have been accidentally deleted.”

The hand placed on her shoulder made the look in Bai Xiying’s eyes even colder.

“I, I don’t know……” Bai Xiying’s gaze was dazed, her six spirits without a master³.

A secret smile rose in her heart. Mu Muqing said: “Do you need me to give you a day off to go look for it properly? It’s alright if you really can’t find it. If you miss this competition, you can polish your skills and practice well, and you can always wait for the next one.”

Bai Xiying’s expression was blank. She shook her head but said nothing, leaving the server room having lost her soul and spirit⁴, not even saying goodbye to Mu Muqing.

Mu Muqing, who had been presumptuously left behind in the server room, was not angry. She turned back, glanced at the screen again with great interest, and returned to her own office in high spirits.

After Bai Xiying went back, Wang Xiaoxiao, who had been paying close attention to her, quickly came over to ask about the situation.

But Bai Xiying just shook her head and said with a dim gaze: “There was nothing.”

“What?” Wang Xiaoxiao exclaimed, not caring if her voice was too loud, her face full of disbelief: “How could that be? This clearly looks like someone doesn’t want you to participate in the competition.”

After saying this, Wang Xiaoxiao’s heart suddenly dropped.

The only person I know of who didn’t want Bai Xiying to participate in the competition seems to be Director Mu, whom Bai Xiying mentioned before…

But how could it be Director Mu? She has no reason.

Wang Xiaoxiao quickly dismissed this unrealistic, bizarre, and inexplicable guess of hers.

Bai Xiying lowered her eyes: “But there was nothing in the surveillance footage.”

Since the surveillance footage captured nothing, even if Bai Xiying had ten thousand suspicions, she couldn’t wrongfully accuse someone without any basis, nor could she find any clues to get her things back.

Wang Xiaoxiao: “……”

She felt a little pained, especially seeing Bai Xiying’s despairing look, which made her feel even more pained!

How could it be like this!!

Now the work for submission was gone, and it was obviously too late to draw it again.

For the entire day, Bai Xiying’s soul was not guarding its house⁵. Seeing this, Wang Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to say anything more, merely patting her shoulder comfortingly.

All the way until the end of the workday, Bai Xiying did not go to find Mu Muqing again; it looked as if she had resigned herself to her fate.

Before leaving, as she bent down to pick something up, her hand smoothly slipped, and a black object was clutched into her palm. Only after she had exited the building did she put the miniature camera into the bag she was carrying and take a taxi home.

Inside the car, Bai Xiying’s complexion and radiance were shining forth⁶. Where was the half-dead, not-aliv, haggard appearance she had at Hurricane Studio?

She got out of the car at the entrance of her residential complex and happened to run into Lin Xingzhu, who was returning from outside.

Rolling down the car window, Lin Xingzhu gestured: “It’s on the way, so I’ll give you another ride?”

Bai Xiying did not refuse.

After getting in the car, she asked: “You went to the police station again today?”

Lin Xingzhu sighed leisurely: “Yes, this morning I just took Jiang Yeye to the hospital for a physical examination, and on the way, I went to see Senior Sister Xie.”

Speaking of this, she raised her eyebrows and looked at Bai Xiying beside her: “Senior Sister Xie has been constantly thinking of you. She asked me how you are, and if you were injured.”

Bai Xiying asked: “How did you reply?”

Lin Xingzhu shrugged: “How could I reply? Naturally, that you are fine.”

However, it was very obvious that Xie Yunya clearly had feelings for Bai Xiying. Although she was relieved to hear this, the unconcealable disappointment in the bottom of her eyes was truly lamentable to see.

But it was obvious: mercy for a love rival is cruelty to oneself.

Even though Lin Xingzhu saw it, she didn’t say a word about telling Bai Xiying she could come to see her another day.

Bai Xiying smiled: “Senior Sister Xie should be fine, right?”

After speaking, without waiting for Lin Xingzhu to answer, Bai Xiying answered her own question: “She should be fine.”

Last night, she had taken a quick look. Xie Yunya clearly had no external injuries and didn’t look like she had suffered any tragic and inhuman **.

That is enough.

Bai Xiying thought coldly, reborn in this life, I shortened the time of Xie Yunya’s disappearance to just a few days and rescued her in time, not letting her suffer any torment. The repayment for her past kindness is thus concluded.

From now on, we owe each other nothing.

As for visiting her in the hospital? Bai Xiying had never even considered this question.

Her unusual coldness was not concealed, and Lin Xingzhu could easily see through it at a glance.

Bai Xiying was cold to Mu Muqing; it could be understood that she disliked Mu Muqing, yet the other party kept pestering her. Bai Xiying detested Qiao Zijin, because the other party had improper intentions toward her and had attempted to harm her.

But why is Bai Xiying so cold to Xie Yunya, who has just escaped danger?

They clearly got along very well in university, and Xie Yunya has a gentle personality and never had any disagreements or disputes with her. All signs indicate that Bai Xiying has no reason to treat Xie Yunya this way, yet she does it anyway.

It is as if overnight, Xie Yunya has become a stranger to her, unworthy of attention.

Lin Xingzhu let out a breath, pressing all sorts of doubts to the bottom of her heart. She always feels that she is about to touch the bottom of the truth.

She steered the topic back to the beginning: “I went to the police station. It was very chaotic there yesterday. The people who had been abducted to the 18th floor were all released one by one, and the police are helping to contact their families.”

Bai Xiying turned her head to look at her expression; things were clearly not that simple.

Sure enough, Lin Xingzhu said with a frosty look in her eyes: “And only those people were released. Miyue, that is, that underground space, the performers there, and the people on the so-called ‘menu’ we saw, have all disappeared.”

Bai Xiying realized something.

“It can’t be said that they’ve disappeared.” Lin Xingzhu said with a calm expression, “The police said the investigation could only go this far.”

Bai Xiying: “Even with you applying pressure, it’s no use?”

“No use.”

Among the people rescued yesterday, only Jiang Yeye’s background was slightly stronger. Lin Xingzhu used the Lin family’s influence to apply pressure, but she could only rescue those people.

The rest was a place that she, or the Lin family, could not reach.

“It seems the water is very deep⁷,” Bai Xiying commented.

Lin Xingzhu rubbed the bridge of her nose: “Yes, and it’s very obvious that for something like this to happen, it’s clearly not something that can be done by rich people alone.”

Only when power and business collude could they achieve such an effect of hiding the sky with one hand⁸ in the extremely prosperous A City.

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