After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 72
by Little PandaWho?!
Facing the gift of placing righteousness above family loyalty1 that Chu Tiantian herself delivered to her door, Lin Xingzhu did not hesitate much and caught this meat pie that fell from the sky.
Actually, the reason Chu Tiantian did this was not difficult to understand; it was ultimately because she had learned a lesson from the person she liked, which in turn caused her thinking to change, and she also did not want her own relative to make mistakes again and again, following the tracks of an overturned cart2.
So, this was a win-win situation for her and Bai Xiying, and for Chu Tiantian.
Therefore, Lin Xingzhu smiled, took a USB drive out of the phone bag she carried with her as well, and then handed it to Chu Tiantian.
“Listening to your tone, you seem very certain about the result of doing this,” Lin Xingzhu said. “Since that’s the case, if you come forward to reveal this matter, the effect will naturally be better.”
She was not afraid of Chu Tiantian pocketing the USB drive; after all, she had more than one backup of the data she had gathered.
However, by doing this, Lin Xingzhu was agreeing with what Chu Tiantian had just said about being able to give it to her mother herself.
Chu Tiantian looked at Lin Xingzhu’s composed posture, a little surprised. “……It seems you all found the best way to deal with my older sister long ago.”
Hit a snake at its seven-inch point3; no matter how pampered, arrogant, and domineering Chu Xiaxia was, there were still two great mountains pressing down on her.
And Madam Chu, because of what Chairman Chu did back then, seemed to have always had a knot in her heart4. Lin Xingzhu did not doubt that after Madam Chu learned of Chu Xiaxia’s matter, she would remain indifferent, shielding and indulging her—from her attitude in handling the matter of campus violence that Chu Xiaxia was exposed for this time, one spot could be seen5.
And the reason Lin Xingzhu and Bai Xiying came today was mainly to see Madam Chu again to finally confirm her attitude.
But now with Chu Tiantian’s support, their original plan could seemingly be temporarily set aside, to be handed over to another person to carry out.
Having said this, Chu Tiantian was not angry either, and said faintly, “I will give these two USB drives to my mother today.”
Hearing this, Lin Xingzhu’s expression was a bit subtle: “Tomorrow would be fine too, after all, today is your eighteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony.”
An eighteenth birthday, no matter how you put it, has a very special meaning.
Who would have thought that after hearing this sentence, Chu Tiantian’s eyes would dim slightly, her expression becoming visibly lonely. “So what if it’s my eighteenth birthday, the person I want to see isn’t coming, so this birthday banquet has lost its meaning.”
Lin Xingzhu: “……”
Her tone is so sad.
But the very hard-hearted Lin Xingzhu did not soften in the slightest, and curved her eyes to express her agreement: “What you said makes sense.”
Don’t think she didn’t know that Chu Tiantian just wanted to sell misery6, and it would be best if she could reveal a thing or two to Jiang Yeye through her.
Chu Tiantian’s expression stiffened. Seeing Lin Xingzhu’s calm and innocent look, she tugged at her lips and resumed her indifferent appearance.
“Since everything has been made clear, you two can do as you please, I should be leaving as well.”
Lin Xingzhu raised an eyebrow, watching as Chu Tiantian gave the two of them a slight nod, then lifted her long skirt and left this dim area.
Bai Xiying, at the side, sighed: “Now, everything we wanted to do today has been resolved.”
Lin Xingzhu withdrew her gaze, took the arm of Bai Xiying beside her, and slowly walked back along the path they came, saying in a relaxed manner: “Isn’t this good? For the rest of the time, we can purely enjoy the delicious food.”
Because today’s banquet was a birthday banquet, the venue was decorated with many cake-style desserts, and one could capture a bit of sweet, milky fragrance with every breath.
And Bai Xiying beside her had already picked one up to taste without any politeness. Watching her squint her eyes in enjoyment due to satisfaction, Lin Xingzhu slowly smiled.
Bai Xiying before her really looked like a mouse that had fallen into a rice vat7.
Seeing that she had even gotten cream on the corner of her mouth from eating, Lin Xingzhu pointed it out to her. She saw the tip of her tongue curl, and those little dots were once again swallowed into her belly.
While the two were enjoying their sweets, Lin Xingzhu noticed that Chu Xiaxia had also appeared in their line of sight, holding her skirt.
However, perhaps Chu Tiantian had not told her that Bai Xiying would also be coming, so Chu Xiaxia looked completely normal, not at all looking left and right for someone.
The place where she and Bai Xiying were sitting was a bit far from the center. Chu Xiaxia, standing near that area, couldn’t possibly spot them at a glance in the bustling hall. In a few minutes, Lin Xingzhu noticed that Chu Xiaxia was called away by Chu Tiantian, who had come to find her.
Later on was the start of the banquet, the brief speeches by Chu Tiantian’s parents, and the words of thanks from the protagonist, Chu Tiantian, to the hall full of guests.
When Madam Chu appeared, Lin Xingzhu and Bai Xiying both put down the things in their hands in unison and looked over.
Towards this woman who was seized by force and plunder8 by Chairman Chu many years ago, Lin Xingzhu still had a bit of curiosity in her heart.
Looking from afar, when Madam Chu and Chairman Chu stood together, their temperaments were truly a good match. Especially the harmonious and loving atmosphere when the two of them lowered their heads to whisper, it made people not doubt at all that this was a couple with a very good relationship.
Bai Xiying sighed with an unclear meaning: “I have to say, there are many ways to hold the beautiful person and return9, and seizing by force and plunder is also an effective way.”
Lin Xingzhu’s heart stirred slightly, and she turned her head to look at her: “If someone used this kind of method on you, would you eventually develop feelings for them?”
Facing the hypothesis in Lin Xingzhu’s words, Bai Xiying’s eyes curved into a smile, “No.”
Ah, how to say it, this was indeed Bai Xiying’s style.
So, the series of gong one, two, three, four10… in the original book would actually have a hard time obtaining Bai Xiying’s affection, right?
After all, if there were no surprises, they all walked the path of forced love.
Bai Xiying looked at her curiously: “Could it be that you would?”
Lin Xingzhu imagined it for a moment, somewhat hesitant: “This matter is hard to say.”
“……” Bai Xiying was a little surprised, “I thought your answer would also be no.”
After all, judging by Lin Xingzhu’s upright character, she should find it very difficult to accept this kind of love-chasing method that is clearly below normal moral standards.
Lin Xingzhu shook her head: “Specific situations must be analyzed specifically. I just imagined it for a moment; if it were you who used this ‘seize by force and plunder’ routine on me, I would probably resist, but in the end, I would slowly come to accept it.”
After thinking for a moment, she added: “Of course, the premise is that we have an emotional foundation from having spent time together.”
A very surprising answer.
After a moment, Bai Xiying’s eyes darted around, slightly smug: “It seems you really are dying of love for me.”
If Bai Xiying had a tail, Lin Xingzhu had no doubt that her big tail would already be wagging and sticking up.
“Yes, I’m dying of love for you,” she said in a flat tone.
Bai Xiying was not discouraged by her tone, “Then it seems quite a pity, not letting you experience this kind of romantic relationship.”
Lin Xingzhu glanced at her, seeing her slightly disappointed look. It was probably a pity because she herself hadn’t experienced such a romantic relationship.
Lin Xingzhu passed over a peeled shrimp, “Stop thinking about it, it’s impossible.”
They are already a couple, isn’t it good to be in a relationship peacefully?
That ‘seize by force and plunder’ routine is no longer suitable for them.
Bai Xiying was not discouraged. She hated everything related to force, but when the subject was changed to the current Lin Xingzhu, it seemed to have a different kind of interesting flavor.
So her eyes darkened slightly, her thoughts diverging: “How is it impossible?”
Lin Xingzhu raised her eyes: “Hm?”
Bai Xiying’s eyes held a certain emotion as she looked at her: “Can’t role-playing satisfy it?”
Lin Xingzhu: “???”
She hinted tactfully: “The little toys you bought haven’t been used yet.”
There are only two people, there’s no need for so many tricks.
Who would have thought Bai Xiying would get even more excited: “Both together, that’s even better!”
Lin Xingzhu: “……”
She peeled another shrimp and stuffed Bai Xiying’s mouth: “Shut up for now, this is a child’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
The protagonist of the event is still a minor. It’s not good for them to be discussing these things at her birthday banquet.
Bai Xiying mumbled “mm, mm” twice, swallowed the shrimp meat that Lin Xingzhu had personally peeled for her, and said nothing more.
As for whether she had given up on the idea in her heart, nobody knew.
After the banquet, when the guests began to leave one after another, Lin Xingzhu and Bai Xiying also followed the crowd, not staying any longer.
Just after walking out of the villa’s main gate, Lin Xingzhu suddenly noticed that Bai Xiying’s expression was somewhat astonished.
She paused for a moment and followed Bai Xiying’s gaze.
It was two young women chatting idly by the fountain.
One was wearing a black deep-V backless dress, extremely sexy. The other was wearing a mysterious blue slim-fit fishtail dress, her level of sexiness on par with the woman in the black dress.
Lin Xingzhu didn’t think much of it: “You know them?”
A trace of an emotion that Lin Xingzhu couldn’t understand flashed through Bai Xiying’s eyes: “……Not really.”
Hearing this answer, Lin Xingzhu couldn’t help but size them up again.
Perhaps the gazes of the two of them were too intense, the two people conversing over there seemed to sense something and both turned their heads to look over here.
The distance was a bit far, so Lin Xingzhu couldn’t see their expressions clearly, but upon seeing their actions, she gave a polite, slight nod, then took Bai Xiying’s arm and walked without stopping to the parking area.
On the other side.
A flash of amazement passed through Wen Lin’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but ask the person beside her: “Do you know them?”
The woman in the slim-fit fishtail dress heard this and pondered, “I only know one of them.”
Wen Lin looked at her: “Which one?”
The woman said: “The one with her hair down, that’s the Lin family’s Lin Xingzhu.”
This name was somewhat familiar. Wen Lin thought for a moment and remembered who this was.
It was precisely that Lin Xingzhu who caused a disturbance at the Pink Building that alerted the police.
However, thinking that they were in the wrong first in that matter, although Wen Lin was a little unhappy in her heart, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
Hearing this name at this moment, she was a little disappointed, because the one who amazed her was the woman beside Lin Xingzhu.
Although she couldn’t see her specific appearance clearly, with one sweep of her eyes, Wen Lin was attracted by her overall charming temperament and figure.
Seeing Wen Lin’s interested look, the woman hesitated for two seconds, then said again: “However, I can guess who the person beside Lin Xingzhu is.”
Wen Lin quickly asked: “Who is it?”
The woman said haltingly: “Looking at the matching formal dresses they’re wearing, the woman beside Lin Xingzhu should be her girlfriend, Bai Xiying.”
Several months ago, Lin Xingzhu’s hair pushed up her hat in a fit of rage for a beautiful woman11 and took on the Qiao family, ultimately sending Qiao Zijin to prison without mercy. This matter caused a great sensation in their upper-class circle for a time.
Everyone said that after the prodigal son returned12 and changed from evil to return to righteousness, Lin Xingzhu had become a seed of infatuation13, representing two extremes.
Wen Lin’s eyes widened, “Who?!!”
The woman, not understanding why, repeated it once more: “Bai Xiying.”
Footnotes
- 大義滅親 | dàyì mièqīn | Literally “great (大) righteousness (義) destroys (滅) kinship (親)” | An idiom meaning to place justice and moral principles above family ties, even if it means taking action against one’s own relatives for the sake of the greater good. It represents a high moral standard where public duty or universal principles supersede personal relationships.
- 重蹈覆轍 | chóngdǎo fùzhé | Literally “to tread again (重蹈) on the tracks of an overturned cart (覆轍)” | An idiom that means to repeat a past mistake or to follow a disastrous course of action that has failed before. It serves as a warning against failing to learn from history or one’s own previous errors.
- 打蛇打七寸 | dǎ shé dǎ qīcùn | Literally “when hitting (打) a snake (蛇), hit it seven inches (七寸) down” | A Chinese proverb meaning to strike at an enemy’s most vital point or critical weakness to be effective. The “seven-inch” spot is traditionally believed to be where a snake’s heart is located, thus a fatal blow. It emphasizes precision and targeting the core of a problem.
- 心結 | xīn jié | Literally “heart (心) knot (結)” | A term describing a deep-seated emotional problem, a lingering resentment, or an unresolved issue that weighs on a person’s mind. It’s like an emotional tangle that one cannot easily undo, affecting their feelings and behavior.
- 可見一斑 | kějiàn yībān | Literally “can (可) see (見) one (一) spot (斑)” | An idiom meaning that from a single small part or detail, one can get a glimpse of or infer the whole situation. It implies that a small piece of evidence is representative of a larger truth.
- 賣慘 | mài cǎn | Literally “to sell (賣) misery (慘)” | A slang term for the act of playing the victim or deliberately exaggerating one’s misfortune to gain sympathy, attention, or some other advantage from others.
- 米缸 | mǐ gāng | Literally “rice (米) vat (缸)” | A large ceramic or wooden jar used for storing uncooked rice in traditional Chinese households. It symbolizes abundance and sustenance. The imagery of a mouse falling into one suggests a situation of overwhelming plenty and unrestrained indulgence.
- 強取豪奪 | qiángqǔ háoduó | Literally “to forcefully (強) take (取) and tyrannically (豪) seize (奪)” | An idiom describing the act of taking something by force, coercion, or plunder, without any regard for reason or the owner’s consent. It implies a brutal and domineering method of acquisition.
- 抱得美人歸 | bào dé měirén guī | Literally “to hold (抱) the beautiful person (美人) and return (歸)” | An idiom that means to successfully win the love or hand of a beautiful woman. It’s often used to describe the happy ending of a courtship.
- 攻一二三四 | gōng yī’èr’sānsì | “Gong” (攻) is a term originating from Japanese “seme” and is widely used in Chinese online fiction communities (especially Danmei/BL) to refer to the “top” or “active/pursuing” partner in a same-sex relationship. “Gong one, two, three, four…” refers to a trope where the protagonist is pursued by a series of such characters.
- 沖冠一怒為紅顏 | chōngguān yīnù wèi hóngyán | Literally “hair pushing up the official’s hat (沖冠) in a single fit of rage (一怒) for (為) a beautiful woman (紅顏)” | This is a famous classical allusion from the story of Wu Sangui, a general at the end of the Ming Dynasty. He was said to have defected to the invading Manchu forces out of rage because a rebel leader had taken his beloved concubine. The phrase now describes an extreme act of anger or a momentous decision made for the sake of a beloved woman.
- 浪子回頭 | làngzǐ huítóu | Literally “the prodigal son (浪子) returns his head (回頭)” | An idiom meaning a profligate or wayward person who mends their ways. It originates from the biblical parable of the prodigal son and is used to describe someone who returns to a righteous path after a period of irresponsible or immoral behavior.
- 癡情種 | chīqíng zhǒng | Literally “a seed (種) of infatuation/deep love (癡情)” | A term used to describe a person who is deeply devoted, infatuated, and hopelessly in love, often to the point of being irrational. It characterizes someone who is completely consumed by their romantic feelings.
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