After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 98

Extra 8

Parallel World IF Line END

When Bai Xiying saw Qin Zhengke again, it was a leisurely afternoon.

Of course, this leisureliness was only relative to herself; for a true corporate livestock, Lin Xingzhu, leisurely time did not exist on workdays unless the weekend arrived.

Bai Xiying was walking in the residential complex carrying a bag of fruit bought from an outside supermarket, when she happened to encounter Qin Zhengke, who had come to find Lin Xingzhu about something.

She slowly slowed her steps.

Qin Zhengke happened to see Bai Xiying as well, and recognized her.

She approached with large strides, her big waves swinging and swinging¹ behind her with her steps.

Qin Zhengke had a very hearty laugh on her face as she made a self-introduction to Bai Xiying: “Hi, I’m Qin Zhengke, Lin Xingzhu’s friend, we met last time at MIYA Restaurant.”

Bai Xiying’s free hand happened to grasp the hand Qin Zhengke extended to greet her, and she said magnanimously: “I know you, my name is Bai Xiying.”

Having exchanged greetings, Qin Zhengke glanced at her casual, at-home style of dress, as well as the fruit and snacks she was carrying, and asked curiously: “You and Lin Xingzhu live in the same residential complex?”

Bai Xiying paused for a moment, and with a smile on her face, she began to speak: “Yes.”

She asked again: “Are you here to find Lin Xingzhu?”

Qin Zhengke shrugged her shoulders: “Yeah, but I guess she’s probably not at home.”

However, she did not mind; it would be fine to just put the things directly inside Lin Xingzhu’s home.

Bai Xiying looked at the things she was holding in her hand as if lost in thought; the two people walked inside while chatting idly.

When they walked into the same building, Qin Zhengke’s expression was still very calm. When they got into the elevator and she discovered that the two of them were going to the same floor, she raised an eyebrow.

Qin Zhengke: “You and Lin Xingzhu are neighbors?”

With a faint smile on her lips, the elevator doors opened and the two of them arrived at their destination. When she and Qin Zhengke were standing in front of the same door, meeting Qin Zhengke’s surprised gaze, she then explained: “Currently, I am living in Lin Xingzhu’s home.”

So they were not neighbors, they were cohabiting.

“Whoa.”

Qin Zhengke raised an eyebrow; the surprise in her eyes receded, twinkling with a peculiar color.

She suddenly recalled again the scene from the chance encounter at the restaurant when Lin Xingzhu had peeled shrimp for this great beauty.

Tsk tsk, could it be that this fellow Lin Xingzhu has a situation?

Since Bai Xiying and Lin Xingzhu were living together, Qin Zhengke no longer needed to specially ask Lin Xingzhu what her home’s password was.

She watched as Bai Xiying skillfully input the password, then pushed open the door, receiving her as if she were a host.

Qin Zhengke felt it was very novel; she looked at this small apartment, and it was completely different from when she had seen it a few months ago.

Now, the traces of two people living here could be seen almost everywhere inside; it was very obvious, and among them were things that were clearly not quite in line with that fellow Lin Xingzhu’s aesthetic.

Qin Zhengke felt as if she had discovered something.

She put the things Lin Xingzhu needed on the tea table, accepted the cup of water Bai Xiying brought for her, and began to speak with a smile: “Could I trouble you to tell Lin Xingzhu, after she returns, that the matter she entrusted me to handle is almost done, and that the needed items have also been listed and brought over.”

Bai Xiying glanced over the tabletop and nodded, “I will.”

Qin Zhengke’s eyeballs darted around; she put down her water cup, crossed her hands to prop up her chin, and asked curiously, “Miss Bai, is it convenient to say what your relationship with Lin Xingzhu is?”

In the self-introduction just now, Bai Xiying had not mentioned this point.

Bai Xiying smiled slightly, not feeling offended either: “It’s very obviously a friendly relationship, is it not?”

Qin Zhengke looked at her: “I wonder if you know He Yudong?”

He Yudong?

Bai Xiying thought of the woman who liked Lin Xingzhu, the one who sent her home that night.

She did not deny it: “We have met once.”

Qin Zhengke was lost in thought.

So the woman He Yudong talked about in the WeChat message she sent her that day—the one who came down in the middle of the night to take Lin Xingzhu upstairs—is this one before my eyes, right?

A person whom Lin Xingzhu could order around so naturally…

Her eyes shifted, and she coughed once: “What kind of person do you think Lin Xingzhu is?”

As an older sister, helping my younger sister inquire a bit about her sweetheart’s thoughts is very normal, right?

Qin Zhengke thought this way, looking at Bai Xiying full of expectation.

“…” Being asked this question out of the blue, Bai Xiying gave her a strange look, not feeling awkward either: “She’s a good person.”

It’s like being given a good person card², huh.

However, Lin Xingzhu indeed was a good person.

Qin Zhengke stroked her chin and admitted: “That’s right, that person’s moral standards are particularly high!”

Bai Xiying nodded, thinking of Lin Xingzhu’s consistently calm and self-possessed appearance, “A person like her, I can’t imagine what she is like when she likes someone.”

This was a question that had been troubling Bai Xiying for several days. It seemed that Qin Zhengke was very familiar with Lin Xingzhu, and from the situation seen in the restaurant that day, she also had a girlfriend, so Bai Xiying did not need to worry about anything. Now, understanding Lin Xingzhu’s personal situation from a friend who was very familiar with her was perhaps a very good avenue.

Hearing this question, Qin Zhengke’s heart stirred.

She looked at Bai Xiying’s eyes and suddenly understood something.

So it turned out Lin Xingzhu had not gotten the tragic script of being given a good person card, but had instead gotten the script of a mutual secret crush!

Mentioning this, Qin Zhengke suddenly got excited!

She cleared her throat a few times: “Actually, I think, you know, sometimes the one involved is confused, while the onlooker is clear³. As for Lin Xingzhu, if she hasn’t placed someone in her heart, she won’t do things that exceed the boundaries of friendship.”

Bai Xiying felt that Qin Zhengke was hinting at something to her. She asked: “For her, what are things that exceed the boundaries of friendship, then?”

Qin Zhengke pretended to think, but was actually just speaking about the issues she had now discovered. In fact, just from these two times she had seen them, as someone who was relatively familiar with Lin Xingzhu, she could glimpse a bit of Lin Xingzhu’s thoughts from some of the details.

Qin Zhengke: “Because she is a person who greatly values a sense of boundaries, so as far as her personality is concerned, she would not do something like intimately cohabiting with someone.”

Bai Xiying felt she was explicitly hinting at her.

She said: “What if she was forced at the beginning, then?”

Hmm?! There is still someone who can actually force Lin Xingzhu?

Qin Zhengke was a little excited inside, but she still answered the question very seriously, “If she was unwilling, then she would definitely find a way to kick that person out later. If she didn’t kick them out, and instead accepted it calmly and composedly…”

“What would happen if she accepted it?”

Qin Zhengke: “Nothing much, it just means that she has placed this person in the bottom of her heart, and this person’s role is definitely different from that of an ordinary friend.”

Bai Xiying felt her heart beating, thump thump thump. She felt that Qin Zhengke still had more to say.

“Then there are some issues of detail; the two most important points are that when she starts taking care of someone or ordering someone around as a matter of course, it means her attitude toward this person has exceeded the boundaries of friendship.”

Bai Xiying felt very nervous, yet her mind was also unprecedentedly clear. Because she discovered that these things Qin Zhengke said seemed to fit very well when applied to how Lin Xingzhu was toward her. No, that’s not right, it seemed that from the very beginning, Lin Xingzhu had been stern and very impolite to her.

Bai Xiying wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion, becoming a little uncertain again.

Qin Zhengke excitedly watched the drama on Bai Xiying’s face, feeling that she had guessed completely right!

Thinking of how the conversation between the two just now was almost an explicit hint, she was no longer polite and very frankly stated her own guess: “Actually, the first time I saw you, I discovered that Lin Xingzhu was not quite the same toward you.”

Bai Xiying returned to her senses, her attention captured by this sentence: “Hmm? What do you mean?”

Qin Zhengke: “Because I saw her peeling shrimp for you, which is not something Lin Xingzhu would do for a friend. To be honest, I was already curious about you at that time.”

She looked at Bai Xiying with a smile: “So don’t doubt it at all, Lin Xingzhu definitely likes you.”

At this time, Qin Zhengke still did not know that the matter Lin Xingzhu had entrusted to her was for Bai Xiying; otherwise, she would definitely have loudly affirmed to Bai Xiying, making her believe that Lin Xingzhu one hundred percent liked her!

“She likes me?”

Qin Zhengke affirmed: “Yes, no need to doubt.”

Lin Xingzhu, who had returned home from work, discovered that Bai Xiying was a little off today.

After hearing her say that Qin Zhengke had come looking for her this afternoon and had also left the materials she needed, Lin Xingzhu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly picked up the folder and opened it to look at the contents.

After a long while, Lin Xingzhu suddenly raised a smile and said to Bai Xiying, who had been staring at her the whole time: “Your identity problem can be solved!”

Bai Xiying was slightly stunned, her gaze shifting to the things in her hand, “…Did you ask someone to inquire about this?”

Lin Xingzhu did not particularly take credit, but instead said with a faint smile in a calm tone as if it were nothing: “You don’t know anyone else here yet, isn’t it very normal for me to help you consider your identity problem?”

It was very normal.

But asking connections to find someone to help must have been a lot of trouble.

The most important thing was, Bai Xiying had not taken the initiative to bring this issue up, yet Lin Xingzhu had kept it in mind all along and had silently done this for her.

Bai Xiying recalled Qin Zhengke’s affirmative tone in the afternoon.

Lin Xingzhu likes her.

Her gaze flickered, and Bai Xiying spoke with emotion: “Thank you, Lin Xingzhu, when did you ask about this matter?”

Lin Xingzhu did not hide it from her: “Last time we went out to eat, I asked Qin Zhengke to help me inquire about it. I didn’t expect her to be so fast, to have news today.”

“I didn’t expect it either.”

Bai Xiying said, staring at the materials.

She had not expected that the things Qin Zhengke delivered today would be about her, and even less had she expected that today she would actually solve the problem that had been troubling her for so many days.

She felt her blood boiling, clamoring to be released.

Bai Xiying bit her lip, restraining her surging emotions.

Lin Xingzhu likes her, likes Bai Xiying.

Bai Xiying took a deep breath, like a lucky person who had won the grand prize in a lottery; clearly very happy, so happy she was about to go crazy, yet still having to do her utmost to restrain herself to prevent those around her from noticing anything amiss.

Lin Xingzhu just saw Bai Xiying’s expression twist for a moment.

Lin Xingzhu: “…”

Hmm, thinking about it, it’s still understandable, she’s just too happy to hear this news, right?

Thinking this way, her heart ached for her again.

Lin Xingzhu blinked, reined in her emotions, and got up to make dinner first.

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In the middle of the night, as Lin Xingzhu was cultivating sleepiness and preparing to turn off her phone and go to sleep, she suddenly heard a movement at the door.

Rustle, rustle.

Are there mice?

Thinking this, Lin Xingzhu was just about to turn on the light and lift the covers to take a look.

Suddenly, the sound of the door being opened rang out; it was very faint, but to Lin Xingzhu, who was concentrating on the movements outside, it still sounded very clear.

Is it Bai Xiying?

She wrinkled her brow, not knowing what Bai Xiying was coming to find her for so late.

Lin Xingzhu maintained a posture of staying put, quietly waiting to see what tricks she wanted to play.

After about ten seconds, the tip of Lin Xingzhu’s nose suddenly smelled a very faint fragrance.

—The scent of their shower gel.

A pair of hands, soft as if boneless, slowly climbed onto her, followed by a warm body.

Lin Xingzhu’s expression was somewhat icy, her tightly clenched fists suppressing an anger that was on the verge of erupting.

Just as Bai Xiying’s entire body pressed against her, Lin Xingzhu spoke without any warning: “Bai Xiying.”

The person on her body stiffened.

Lin Xingzhu’s voice was icy: ”Did I not say, do not use—”

“Do not use sex as a transaction.” Bai Xiying interrupted her, “I know.”

The person on her body seemed to be speaking right next to her ear, very, very close.

Lin Xingzhu maintained her original posture, suppressing her anger and said coldly: “Since you know, why do you still do this?”

Bai Xiying let out a light laugh, her deliberately lowered voice had a kind of mysterious feeling in the darkness.

“Jiejie.”

Lin Xingzhu’s ears went numb.

Bai Xiying continued: “Why do I do this? Of course it’s because I like you. Not a possessive kind of like, nor a grateful kind of like, but a pure kind of like, one that only wants to have you as a person.”

Lin Xingzhu felt a pair of hands retreat, then slowly grope around. After a long time, it seemed as if something cool was hanging down and brushing past her wrist.

It felt like a metal chain.

Her originally clear and angry mind seemed to be malfunctioning, stuttering.

“A pure kind of like?” Lin Xingzhu repeated.

“Yes, just like the kind of like that exists between lovers. At this very moment, that is how I feel about you, Jiejie.”

Lin Xingzhu seemed to have forgotten to push Bai Xiying away.

Or perhaps, upon hearing this confession where Bai Xiying analyzed her feelings, she had forgotten that she still had strength, that she could still control her own body.

Seeing that Lin Xingzhu did not move, Bai Xiying’s eyes lit up slightly, and joy surged in her heart.

Not pushing me away is proof, isn’t it?

After a long time, Lin Xingzhu finally spoke. She seemed to have ignored that confession, and was muttering to herself: “Why did you have to climb into my bed tonight?”

The most important thing was, tonight’s Bai Xiying had a confidence that she would not be rejected for climbing into bed.

Who gave her this confidence?

Combining it with the events that happened today, everything seemed to have become clear.

—Qin Zhengke.

The heart-stirring calls of “Jiejie” were still being ambiguously whispered in her ear. Lin Xingzhu’s throat rolled, and she suddenly began to speak with an unclear meaning, “That call of ‘Jiejie’ really wasn’t for nothing.”

She raised her hand and seized Bai Xiying’s misbehaving wrist, ignoring the tinkling sound of metal by her ear, and said in a deep voice: “Bai Xiying, have you really figured out your feelings of like for me?”

“…” Bai Xiying took a breath and said sweetly: “Jiejie, I’m not a fool, of course I know.”

This call of “Jiejie,” in such a late night, seemed to be tinged with a different color.

“Bai Xiying.” Lin Xingzhu said her name seriously, “I like you.”

Her heart relaxing, Bai Xiying spread her lips into a smile, her eyes uncontrollably starting to moisten again, “I know, I like you too, Lin Xingzhu.”

Actually, it is not too late to get to know each other now. As long as it is you, as long as it is Lin Xingzhu, who appears in Bai Xiying’s life, no matter when, it is not too late.

This was the issue Bai Xiying had thought through this afternoon when she was alone.

Unable to control her own feelings, Bai Xiying took the initiative to move closer and, under the cover of darkness, deeply kissed Lin Xingzhu’s lips.

After a long time, the two separated.

Lin Xingzhu was not bothered by the feeling of the metal chains clasped on her hands, allowing Bai Xiying to cover her body.

Bai Xiying murmured: “When did you start to like me?”

When?

Lin Xingzhu tilted her head back and recalled the first time she saw Bai Xiying, the stunning beauty that could not be hidden even under the horror in her heart, “…It was probably conceiving a desire upon seeing her beauty, I suppose.”

Conceiving a desire upon seeing her beauty?

Bai Xiying suddenly let out a muffled laugh. After the laughter, she spoke very joyfully, “Jiejie, it actually has a nicer name, called love at first sight.”

After saying that, the corners of her lips tilted up with unstoppable pride.

So it turned out that during their first meeting, Lin Xingzhu was already plotting improperly⁴ toward her.

Lin Xingzhu coughed once: “The meanings are about the same.”

Bai Xiying was happy in her heart at this moment and did not bicker with her.

She spoke joyfully: “Jiejie.”

“Mm.”

“Jiejie.”

“What is it?”

Bai Xiying squinted her eyes and said with a beaming smile: “Do you know there’s a saying that’s particularly popular online?”

Lin Xingzhu: “What is it?”

“Call me Jiejie during the day, at night, Jiejie calls out.”⁵

“…”

Lin Xingzhu chuckled lightly, released the hidden clasp on her wrists, and wearing the metal handcuffs, turned the tables, flipping over to press her down.

“Sorry, perhaps at night you’ll also need to work hard and call me Jiejie.”

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