After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 68

Not As You Wish

After returning from S City, Lin Xingzhu threw herself into work.

After terminating the contract with Hurricane Studio, the people from the company contacted Zhumei, and the subsequent contract signing matters all proceeded very smoothly.

Father Lin had already revealed to her that he would have her go to Tianqi soon, and before leaving, Lin Xingzhu had to finish all the work on her hands.

During the lunch break, she noticed that a trending topic about Mu Muqing had appeared on the internet again.

Back when Mu Muqing was taken away by the police, Lin Xingzhu had asked Bai Xiying about Mu Muqing’s situation.

At that time, Bai Xiying had said that what she wanted to see most was Mu Muqing being utterly and thoroughly defeated in the area she cared about most.

And for the past twenty years, what Mu Muqing cared about most was none other than her own illustrious reputation as a genius and the business she founded with her own hands——Hurricane Studio.

But the former two-time consecutive winner of the ASHY competition had produced nothing for three years. Rumors of Jiang Lang’s talent is exhausted¹ had their clamor rise above the dust², and with the appearance of today’s trending topic, they were once again being spread like bubbling and scattering³.

Besides her talent being spent, the crime of stealing others’ works, a charge that all industry professionals look upon with contempt, was officially confirmed today.

Lin Xingzhu scrolled through the trending topics, looking at the chorus of ridicule, sighs, and curses in the public forum, feeling not a ripple of emotion in her heart.

This was all fault taken from herself.

When a wall is pushed, everyone gives it a shove⁴. Under the trending topic of her confirmed crime today, intimate photos once again confirmed the rumors of Mu Muqing’s messy private relationships.

And as far as Lin Xingzhu knew, ever since Mu Muqing was taken away by the police, all the work Hurricane Studio had undertaken was now being withdrawn by Party A⁵. Just like Xingyuan’s actions, because their own damaged reputation had harmed the interests of their partners, the partners had the right to terminate their contracts, and Hurricane Studio even had to bear the cost of breach of contract compensation!

And all of this would be counted against Mu Muqing.

At this time, when Hurricane Studio’s person in power was absent and the studio was in chaos, her competitors were not holding back in the slightest. Lin Xingzhu had been paying no small amount of attention to the foul wind and a rain of blood⁶ within it recently.

As for the excellent artists within Hurricane Studio, they had started resigning one after another long ago, right after Mu Muqing was taken away. Staying in a place with a completely ruined reputation was truly detrimental to their future career development.

It could be said that the things Mu Muqing cared about had now been almost completely destroyed by her own hands, one dry, two clean⁷.

Truly, evil has evil retribution, one eats one’s own evil fruit⁸.

Regarding the police’s subsequent ruling on Mu Muqing, Lin Xingzhu only instructed her assistant to continue following up on it and did not intervene further.

Although, given Mu Muqing’s actions, the official punishment would at most be to make her fulfill the corresponding civil liabilities, Hurricane was already destroyed, her reputation was in ruins, and she also had to bear various compensation payments. This had already achieved the result Bai Xiying wanted.

After watching for a while, Lin Xingzhu stopped paying attention and turned back to continue her work.

On the other side, Bai Xiying, who was at home focusing her mind and bending her will on painting, suddenly received a phone call from Xie Yunya.

After chatting for a few minutes, Bai Xiying hung up the phone. She looked at the half-finished painting on the easel and remained silent.

After pondering for a good while, she stood up, covered the unfinished painting with a white cloth, changed her clothes and shoes, and went out with her bag.

In the coffee shop, Xie Yunya had already been waiting for a long time.

Seeing the figure she held in her heart and thoughts appear at the door, her eyes lit up, and she waited with slight nervousness for the person to approach.

“You… you’re here.” Xie Yunya revealed a gentle smile.

Bai Xiying nodded and said nothing upon seeing the glass of iced coffee already placed in front of her.

Xie Yunya gazed at Bai Xiying’s charming eyes and brows, momentarily in a daze. She suddenly spoke, asking with a hint of bitterness: “…Are you and Lin Xingzhu together?”

Bai Xiying nodded. “We just got together not long ago.”

As she said this, she didn’t know how moving the smile that unconsciously lifted the corners of her lips was.

Seeing this, Xie Yunya felt increasingly bitter and uneasy in her heart.

“How is your body?” Bai Xiying asked.

Xie Yunya came back to her senses and forced a restrained smile. “I’m recovering quite well. I also have to thank you and Lin Xingzhu. If you hadn’t appeared in time, I really don’t know what I would have encountered.”

Speaking of this, Xie Yunya thought of the people she had encountered in that building, and she had actually long had her suspicions in her heart.

If Lin Xingzhu and Bai Xiying hadn’t broken in that night, she probably would have encountered something extremely bad that very evening.

Although Xie Yunya’s family background was ordinary, she had superior looks, outstanding grades, and had always treated people gently. She had always been a sought-after presence, so naturally, she had a degree of reserved pride in her heart.

She found it hard to believe that if those training⁹ methods in the building had really all been used on her, whether she would still be able to maintain her current calm appearance, or whether she could still speak calmly to the Bai Xiying in front of her.

…After all, that place was too dirty.

Thinking of this, Xie Yunya closed her eyes in shame, as if wanting to erase this absurd and chaotic memory.

Bai Xiying gave her a deep look but didn’t speak.

After personally experiencing all this, she now understood the reason for the drastic change in Xie Yunya’s personality in her past life.

Probably, although the Xie Yunya of that time had been rescued long ago, she must have suffered no small amount of humiliation inside, to the extent that after she came out, she would sometimes be as calm as usual, and at other times be frenzied and gloomy like a pervert¹⁰.

“It’s good that you’re out now,” Bai Xiying said faintly.

Yes, it’s good that I’m out.

Xie Yunya’s lips trembled as she gazed at Bai Xiying with longing.

Actually, she had always had good feelings for Bai Xiying. In university, she couldn’t help but take extra care of her, especially after unexpectedly learning about Bai Xiying’s family situation, she couldn’t help but feel pity and tenderness for her.

But now…

She thought somewhat bitterly, Bai Xiying was already someone else’s girlfriend.

And the moral bottom line in Xie Yunya’s heart did not allow her to do something that would destroy someone else’s relationship.

She lowered her eyes and suddenly said gently, “If Lin Xingzhu is not good to you, you must tell me. Although I am not as powerful and influential as she is, as your friend, I can still stand up for you.”

Bai Xiying raised an eyebrow, took a sip of the sweetened coffee, and said in a light voice, “There’s no need, Xuejie¹¹. I trust Lin Xingzhu. She won’t do anything bad to me.”

Her and Lin Xingzhu’s affairs, no matter what, had nothing to do with other people.

Not to mention, Bai Xiying had long planned to have no more involvement with Xie Yunya from now on. If it weren’t for the intention of coming to make her attitude clear, she wouldn’t have wanted to come to this appointment at all.

“…” Xie Yunya opened her mouth but couldn’t speak.

She looked in astonishment at Bai Xiying, whose expression had suddenly softened at the mention of Lin Xingzhu, and only felt that the coffee she was drinking was both bitter and astringent, more so than any cup she had ever had before.

Do you like her that much?

Like her so much that you won’t allow others to say a single bad word about her.

Bai Xiying didn’t know what Xie Yunya was thinking. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and from her soft lips came words that were extremely cruel to Xie Yunya: “Xuejie, actually, if there are no other matters in the future, you don’t need to contact me anymore.”

Looking at Xie Yunya’s wide-eyed, disbelieving expression, Bai Xiying smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Actually, I know Xuejie has good feelings for me, but I don’t like you, Xuejie. The only one I like is Lin Xingzhu. Besides, we graduated long ago. I’m very grateful for your care for me when we were in school, Xuejie, but I think I also repaid you no small amount during our university days…”

“I’ve thought about it, and I feel there’s really no need for us to be in contact in the future. After all, during that period after graduation when we didn’t contact each other, weren’t we both doing just fine?”

Xie Yunya’s face instantly turned pale.

From the moment Bai Xiying spoke her first sentence, she had realized something.

But watching Bai Xiying, whose face was gentle, yet whose every sentence was like a bayonet stabbing at her heart, Xie Yunya still couldn’t stop feeling sad.

“…Is that, is that really what you think?”

Bai Xiying: “That’s right. Everything I’ve said is from the heart.”

What happened after that, Xie Yunya could no longer remember clearly.

She only vaguely remembered herself arduously saying ‘okay’, and then saw Bai Xiying smile. After that, all that was left in her memory was the silhouette of Bai Xiying leaving against the light, carrying her bag.

Walking further and further away, further and further away, until she could no longer be seen.

As if she was going to disappear completely from her life.

Xie Yunya bit her lip. A person who had always been gentle and restrained could no longer hold back at this moment, her blurry eyes gazing down the long road where not a single trace of that person could be seen.

---

“You went to see Xie Yunya today?”

Lin Xingzhu placed the last stir-fried dish on a plate, carried it out to the dining table, and took off her apron, looking at Bai Xiying who was scooping rice to the side.

Just now, the other person had suddenly told her that she had gone to see Xie Yunya in the afternoon.

“That’s right. I told her not to come looking for me in the future if there’s nothing important, since I’m a person with a girlfriend, after all.”

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

She was a little astonished. “You really said that?”

Isn’t that a bit too direct? Lin Xingzhu couldn’t help but think.

Bai Xiying pulled out a chair and sat down, her lips curving. “Anyway, that was the meaning behind my words.”

“…”

Lin Xingzhu was silent for a moment. She could actually sense those feelings Xie Yunya had for Bai Xiying.

But, “Actually, I have confidence in us. You don’t have to do this just for that. I don’t think our romantic relationship affects you having normal friendships.”

After all, Xie Yunya isn’t a pervert like Qiao Zijin and Mu Muqing. Lin Xingzhu didn’t want Bai Xiying to shrink her social circle for the sake of a relationship.

“A good relationship should help both people grow. Xiying, I don’t want you to sacrifice anything for me.”

After solemnly saying this, Lin Xingzhu noticed Bai Xiying staring at her blankly, her eyes holding an aura she couldn’t quite decipher.

…Could it be that she was moved by my words?

Lin Xingzhu swallowed, and just as she was about to say something, she saw Bai Xiying suddenly burst out laughing with a pfft, and any serious or moved atmosphere instantly vanished.

“What are you thinking?” Bai Xiying was laughing uncontrollably. After she finished laughing, she explained, under Lin Xingzhu’s somewhat darkening expression, “Don’t worry, I didn’t sacrifice anything. It’s just that Xuejie and I haven’t had much contact for a long time, and on top of that, some other things happened between us, that’s why I said that.”

It turned out she was making herself have many feelings¹².

Lin Xingzhu narrowed her eyes and moved closer. Taking advantage of Bai Xiying being off guard, she suddenly pinched her tender cheek.

“Aha, you! You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

Bai Xiying raised an eyebrow and gave her a flirtatious glance, as if to say, “I did do it on purpose, what can you do about it?”

Seeing this, Lin Xingzhu felt her breath tighten.

Ever since she and Bai Xiying had both opened the meat¹³, Lin Xingzhu didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she often felt that Bai Xiying was becoming more and more charming and vibrant, often making one’s heart flutter with just a single glance.

But… she deliberately wouldn’t do as Bai Xiying wished.

Lin Xingzhu let her go and spoke very much like an upright gentleman¹⁴, “Time to eat.”

She just couldn’t do anything about her, which is why she wouldn’t punish her by taking it to the bed as she wished.

Although Bai Xiying always said there was nothing wrong with her body, Lin Xingzhu still felt that letting loose desires too much was not good.

---

---