After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 59
by Little Panda【Lin Xingzhu: Do you want to go out for a meal tonight?】
【Bai Xiying: Wait a moment, I’m packing my things.】
With a slight movement of her fingers, Lin Xingzhu sent an “Okay.”
Having gotten rid of a detestable person, Bai Xiying deserved a celebration.
Lin Xingzhu sent a message to Jiang Yeye, who was obediently staying at home, telling her to handle her own dinner. It was completely inappropriate to bring her to this kind of celebration.
After locking all the information on Mu Muqing that she had someone gather into a drawer, Lin Xingzhu picked up her car keys and left work right on time.
She intentionally drove to the Hurricane building, and sure enough, it wasn’t long before she saw Bai Xiying slowly approaching, holding a large box.
Lin Xingzhu ignored the subtle glances of bystanders, got out of the car, and helped Bai Xiying put the things into the trunk.
Lin Xingzhu asked, “Were the resignation procedures completed so quickly?”
Bai Xiying finished putting the things away, straightened up, and dusted off her hands. She gave a light laugh. “The person in HR guessed my situation, and since the boss wasn’t in, she readily let me go.”
“As for the work I was handling, that was even less trouble. Your project was withdrawn, and my part of the previous work was already submitted. When I left, I was without matters, one body light2.”
After saying this, there was a hint of mockery in Bai Xiying’s eyes. “I wasn’t the only one planning to leave today. Quite a few people in the studio are planning to resign.”
It’s just that Bai Xiying’s situation was special, so her progress was a bit faster.
Lin Xingzhu was not at all surprised by this situation.
“Evil has evil’s retribution3,” she said. “This is the price Mu Muqing deserves to pay.”
Whether it was the complete ruin of her reputation or the bankruptcy of her business.
At the mention of this, Bai Xiying’s eyes immediately brightened with pleasure.
She stopped talking about that person who spoiled the mood. “Where are we eating tonight?”
Lin Xingzhu smiled and said, “A barbecue restaurant in the mall over on Xinmalu4. I heard it’s delicious.”
Hearing they were having barbecue, Bai Xiying’s eyes lit up slightly, and she pressed her lips together as she followed Lin Xingzhu into the car.
In all the time she had worked here, Lin Xingzhu had never once visited the mall on Xinmalu, which Bai Xiying had previously mentioned was quite far from the company.
But she had asked around today and heard that a recently opened barbecue restaurant over there was very good. So, when she decided to take Bai Xiying out to celebrate, Lin Xingzhu immediately chose that one.
Although Bai Xiying had said it was very far, the drive actually only took ten minutes.
Upon reaching the mall’s fifth-floor dining area, Lin Xingzhu followed the sign at the entrance and led Bai Xiying into the restaurant.
It was very crowded, but Lin Xingzhu had already made a reservation.
By the time dinner was over, they had spent nearly two hours.
Lin Xingzhu rested her chin on her hand and looked at her. “Your appetite seems very good today?”
Bai Xiying slowly and methodically wiped her hands, her lips curving into a smile. “Because it’s your treat.”
“Huh? Did I say I was treating?”
Bai Xiying looked at her. “Weren’t you?”
The phrase “glowing with radiance with every glance”5 seemed as if it were tailor-made for Bai Xiying.
Lin Xingzhu sometimes couldn’t help but marvel at how one person could possibly possess so many coexisting qualities: charm and purity, sexiness and radiance. Each one was enough to leave an onlooker stunned with admiration.
Just like the Bai Xiying of this moment, bright and exquisitely beautiful.
Lin Xingzhu’s heart felt as if it had been gently plucked, suffused with a tingling softness6. “Of course it is.”
As the two of them were sipping their drinks, a rather handsome young man suddenly strolled over and stopped right beside their table.
“Miss, could I add your WeChat?” the young man asked, blushing slightly, yet looking at Bai Xiying intently and without any timidity.
Lin Xingzhu: “…”
It seems I’m not the only one with good taste when it comes to true beauty.
However, Lin Xingzhu wasn’t angry. A woman as beautiful as Bai Xiying had the right to receive sincere expressions of interest from others.
Besides, she was confident that Bai Xiying would not be interested in the handsome young man before them.
Just as she was thinking this, she saw a moment of blankness appear in Bai Xiying’s sparkling, expressive eyes. Then, Bai Xiying looked up at the clean-cut, handsome young man beside her and did not open her mouth to refuse.
“…”
“??”
Lin Xingzhu’s heart tightened. Vague details suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She suddenly realized that her thinking seemed to have been going down the wrong path all along.
In the original phoenix literature7, the author had portrayed all the main characters as female, and the sexual orientation of every named female character was also toward women. But now the book’s events had become reality, even though nothing seemed to match the original plot besides the order of appearances. The original work had coercive plot points from the start; it seemed it had never explicitly stated that Bai Xiying’s sexual orientation was toward women. So now that everything was real, was her own natural assumption—that Bai Xiying liked women just as she did—far too absolute?
Lin Xingzhu suddenly felt a chill. This abrupt coldness wasn’t coming from outside, but radiating from within her.
In the few seconds of pause, several speculations flashed through Lin Xingzhu’s mind, some of them despairing.
She suddenly thought it would be strange if she wasn’t angry. If I had known, I would have booked a private room!
In the silence, the young man in the black shirt felt his hopes rising, and he pressed his lips together to restrain the joy on his face.
Bai Xiying pressed her lips together and said with a detached air, “Sorry, but that’s not really possible.”
The breath Lin Xingzhu had been holding was slowly released, and an expression of relief she herself hadn’t noticed spread across her face.
The young man was stunned for a moment, somewhat disappointed.
He had originally thought the beautiful woman before him was about to agree.
However, despite not getting the result he wanted, he was still polite in his departure. “It’s alright, my apologies for bothering you.”
He nodded at the two of them and returned the way he came.
Before Bai Xiying could look over, Lin Xingzhu defensively raised her glass and took a small sip of juice.
Bai Xiying watched her with a probing gaze. “You look very nervous?”
She was the one who was asked out, so why was Lin Xingzhu so nervous? Unless she was very much anticipating the outcome of her response.
Bai Xiying became thoughtful.
Lin Xingzhu blinked. “No, I’m not.”
She would never admit it.
Especially when something she had been almost certain of seemed to have deviated slightly.
Lin Xingzhu spoke as if casually gossiping, “Was that guy just now handsome?”
Bai Xiying frowned. “…He was.”
Although she didn’t like men, she had to admit that the man who had just asked for her WeChat was indeed quite handsome, both thin and tall, clean-cut and good-looking.
And his attitude was very forthright.
For Bai Xiying, this was an experience of receiving a normal expression of interest that she had almost never had before.
That was why she had been dazed for a moment.
“What? You like him?” Bai Xiying’s tone was not good.
Although it was a fleeting encounter and Bai Xiying’s impression of the strange man was decent, if Lin Xingzhu dared to say she liked him, she would definitely let Lin Xingzhu know that sometimes, being sexy is more comforting than being handsome.
“I was clearly the one asking you,” Lin Xingzhu muttered, then threw up her hands. “I don’t like him.”
She stated her position unequivocally.
Bai Xiying’s brow relaxed.
To prevent herself from misinterpreting someone’s friendship as love and causing a disastrous misunderstanding, Lin Xingzhu asked, “We’ve been friends for so long, but it seems we’ve never talked about our ideal types.”
Although she had no experience, Lin Xingzhu didn’t want to turn corners and beat around the bush8 on this matter. She said cleanly, “I like women. What about you?”
Bai Xiying: “…”
She raised an eyebrow slightly and said with delight, “Me too.”
“I thought you would have known that when I agreed to be your fake girlfriend,” Bai Xiying said.
That was a measure taken based on a stereotype, Lin Xingzhu thought, I did always assume you liked women, but your attitude just now toward a male suitor really made my heart jump.
Now that it’s confirmed, it’s all good.
Then the subtleties I had sensed before now have a more certain answer.
The corners of Lin Xingzhu’s lips turned up.
Bai Xiying glanced up at her, then lowered her head in thought.
All this time, she had never noticed Lin Xingzhu making any intimate moves toward her.
Even when the two of them shared a bed, she was always proper and never crossed any lines—even when she was asleep.
Even with her own deliberate temptations, Lin Xingzhu always managed to remain calm and indifferent.
This didn’t quite match Bai Xiying’s long-held understanding.
She was a little confused.
Just like herself; because she liked Lin Xingzhu, she couldn’t help but want to have skin-to-skin intimacy9 and be in close contact with her.
And she had no shortage of dreams in the middle of the night where she was the one being “pancaked.”10
Even after confirming her feelings, the voice and appearance11 that flashed before her eyes when she reached her peak in a dark room was always Lin Xingzhu’s.
But why don’t I see any desire for me from Lin Xingzhu?
Bai Xiying unconsciously started biting her lip again.
Seeing this, Lin Xingzhu reminded her, “Relax, don’t always bite your lip.”
Ever since she had uncomfortably blurted out that biting one’s lip was a bad habit, she had formed a habit of reminding Bai Xiying whenever she saw it, in order to reinforce that her original words had absolutely no other meaning.
After a long while, the two of them came out of the restaurant.
Lin Xingzhu: “Do you want to walk around some more?”
Bai Xiying glanced down.
So Lin Xingzhu went down with her.
“I still remember a few months ago you said the mall here on Xinmalu was far away, and that it was a hassle to buy things.” Thinking of this, Lin Xingzhu looked down and smiled. “I said at the time that we should go shopping together when we had a chance.”
Memories began to resurface with Lin Xingzhu’s words, and Bai Xiying’s expression became a little subtle.
At the time, she had mentioned this place as a deliberate test for Lin Xingzhu.
Lin Xingzhu glanced at the supermarket’s logo, a touch of wistfulness in her eyes. “I didn’t expect that we would have to wait until now.”
Back then, she and Bai Xiying had just started their jobs. But now, when they finally had time to come here together, it was when Bai Xiying had already resigned, and she herself was about to leave.
Time passed so quickly.
Bai Xiying looked up at this supermarket, which she had never visited in this life, and remained silent.
Fortunately, this time she was really here to buy daily necessities.
When she had first returned, she had no toys prepared at home, and her emotions were highly volatile. She urgently needed an outlet, so she had to run over here to find a 24-hour adult store to buy some things on the fly.
In order to test whether Lin Xingzhu had seen anything she shouldn’t have, she had deliberately probed her with a question.
Carrying the purchased items out of the supermarket, they turned a corner. Just as they were about to exit, Lin Xingzhu glanced to the side and inadvertently saw a store around the corner that one can only understand by intuition12.
Lin Xingzhu: “…”
The location was a bit hidden, but for those who needed it, they could definitely find it if they looked.
Bai Xiying, whose emotions were gradually settling, noticed the person beside her pause and followed her gaze.
Just then, someone lifted the cloth curtain13 and went inside.
The corners of Bai Xiying’s lips pressed down, and her eyes, which had been gradually clouding over ever since Lin Xingzhu reminisced about the past, grew even darker and more repressed.
It’s very normal for a normal person to go in there when they have needs.
But what about me?
This self, this inseparable part of Bai Xiying, could Lin Xingzhu truly accept all of it?
Footnotes
- 乌龙 | wūlóng | Literally “oolong,” as in the tea. In modern Cantonese-influenced slang, it refers to an “own goal” in soccer (乌龙球 | wūlóngqiú). By extension, it means an embarrassing mistake, a blunder, or a foolish misunderstanding that one brings upon oneself.
- 无事一身轻 | wú shì yī shēn qīng | An idiom that literally translates to “without matters, one body is light.” It describes the feeling of being carefree and unburdened after resolving troublesome issues or finishing one’s responsibilities.
- 恶有恶报 | è yǒu è bào | A common saying that literally means “evil has evil’s retribution/report.” It’s a karmic belief that evil deeds will inevitably lead to bad consequences for the doer. It’s the first half of a couplet, the second half being 善有善报 (shàn yǒu shàn bào) – “good has good’s retribution.”
- 新马路 | Xīn Mǎlù | Literally “New Horse Road,” but 马路 (mǎlù) is the modern standard word for “road” or “street.” So, it functions as “New Street” or “New Avenue.” Such names are common for newly developed areas.
- 顾盼生辉 | gù pàn shēng huī | A chengyu (four-character idiom). Literally: 顾 (gù) means to look around, 盼 (pàn) means to look or gaze, 生 (shēng) means to generate or give birth to, and 辉 (huī) means radiance or brilliance. It describes a person, usually a woman, with exceptionally bright and expressive eyes, whose every glance seems to generate a captivating radiance. It conveys a sense of vibrant beauty and charm.
- 泛着酥软 | fànzhe sūruǎn | Literally “suffused with a crisp/tingling softness.” 酥 (sū) can mean crisp, but also describes a pleasant, tingling, slightly numb sensation, often associated with pleasure or weakness in the limbs. 软 (ruǎn) means soft or weak. The combination describes a pleasant, melting weakness or a soft, tingling sensation spreading through the body.
- 凰文 | huáng wén | Literally “phoenix literature.” This is a slang term for a specific genre of Chinese web novels. 凰 (huáng) is the female phoenix, symbolizing femininity. The term is a slightly more literary-sounding euphemism for adult-rated novels (often called 黄文 huáng wén, “yellow literature,” where yellow is associated with pornography) that feature female protagonists, and very often, lesbian (百合 bǎihé) themes.
- 拐弯抹角 | guǎiwānmòjiǎo | A chengyu (four-character idiom) that literally means “to turn a corner and rub against a corner.” It is used metaphorically to describe speaking or acting in a roundabout, indirect, or evasive way, rather than being direct.
- 肌肤相亲 | jīfū xiāngqīn | A four-character phrase that literally means “skin and flesh mutually intimate.” It has a classical, literary feel and refers to intimate physical contact, often with romantic or sexual connotations. It’s much more formal and evocative than simply saying “physical contact.”
- 摊饼 | tān bǐng | Literally “to make a pancake” or “to spread a flatbread.” In modern Chinese internet slang, this is a euphemism for a sexual act, typically where one person lies flat on top of another, resembling the process of flattening dough to make a pancake.
- 音貌 | yīn mào | A literary compound word combining 音 (yīn) for “sound/voice” and 貌 (mào) for “appearance/face.” It refers to a person’s complete presence, encompassing both how they look and how they sound.
- 只可意会 | zhǐ kě yìhuì | A phrase that literally means “can only be understood by the mind/intuition.” It’s the first part of a longer saying, 只可意会，不可言传 (zhǐ kě yìhuì, bùkě yánchuán), meaning “It can only be understood intuitively, it cannot be conveyed in words.” It refers to something subtle, implicit, or experiential that defies easy explanation.
- 布帘 | bùlián | A cloth curtain. In this context, it often serves as a simple, discreet doorway for small shops in China, providing a degree of privacy without the formality or expense of a solid door. It creates a sense of separation and hints that the space behind is private or specialized.
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