After Transmigrating into the Villain’s Cat, I Dominated the Entertainment Circle – Chapter 125
by Little PandaIF Route (9)
Meeting the parents.
Lin Sifei got home and slipped off her shoes.
Luo Ke stood in the doorway, waving a hand. “Well, I’ll be going then.”
Lin Sifei’s cheeks puffed out. She shifted to the side, clearing a small path. “You’re not coming in to sit for a while?”
“May I?”
“Of course.” Lin Sifei smiled, turned, and walked into the kitchen to pour two glasses of lemonade.
She placed the glasses on the table. “Have a drink. The barbecue was a bit greasy; this will be much more refreshing.”
Luo Ke picked up her glass and took a sip. It was a little sour, but as the tartness faded, a trace of sweetness followed.
“It’s delicious.” She smiled and clinked her glass against Lin Sifei’s.
They sat quietly on the sofa. The clock ticked forward, second by second, but neither of them noticed, each holding her glass and taking tiny sips.
Luo Ke wanted to stay with Lin Sifei a little longer, so she drank even more slowly, barely touching the water with her lips.
The atmosphere felt a little warm. The tips of Lin Sifei’s ears turned red. She picked up the air conditioner remote and glanced at the temperature—it was set to her usual preference.
She said nothing, just silently lowered it by two degrees, pretending the air conditioner had been set too high.
Luo Ke didn’t say anything either, just watched her quietly.
The mood between them grew stranger and stranger.
Holding her breath, Luo Ke scooted a little closer to Lin Sifei.
She had just moved over, not even having had time to raise her hand, when the phone in Lin Sifei’s bag began to ring like mad.
Lin Sifei jumped, whipping her head to the side to find her phone. “Hello?”
“Lin Sifei! Where did you go today?!”
Her manager’s furious roar1 was so loud it left Lin Sifei completely stunned. “Huh? Me?”
She couldn’t help but glance at Luo Ke, who frowned slightly and began texting her secretary.
Lin Sifei hummed and hawed, unable to come up with a clear answer as she stalled for time. “I didn’t go anywhere.”
In that short time, Luo Ke had already received a reply. She showed her phone to Lin Sifei: no company employees had leaked anything; no one was stupid enough to violate their confidentiality agreement.
Lin Sifei breathed a sigh of relief, her confidence growing. “I didn’t go anywhere, just played some games at home.”
“You’re already on the hot search, and you’re still hiding it from me!”
A jolt went through Lin Sifei. She frantically gestured for Luo Ke to open the trending topics list.
One look confirmed it: photos of her and Luo Ke eating barbecue were flying all over the internet.
Lin Sifei gave a dry cough. “I was just having some barbecue with a friend.”
“Just?!” Her manager sounded like she was about to faint from anger. “You were having barbecue with President Luo! Who is she? She’s a president, with vast resources at her disposal. Your statuses are not equal.”
Lin Sifei pouted, displeased. “I’m a rich second generation, you know.”
“Can you compare to the Luo Corporation?” her manager said, her tone one of exasperated disappointment2. “When it’s over, she can just say ‘let’s break up’ and walk away. And you? You’re not the type to trade favors for resources. You’ll be the only one who gets hurt.”
Listening to her manager paint her as some kind of pervert with a head full of trash, Luo Ke couldn’t stop a small cough from escaping.
“Um… sorry to interrupt, but I am genuinely pursuing Feifei. And I truly do like her.”
The manager, not expecting the person in question to be right there, was struck speechless.
“Wait, President Luo, this relationship of yours…”
Luo Ke had finally made some progress; she couldn’t let the manager ruin it. She made a split-second decision, reaching out to cup Lin Sifei’s face in her hands.
“I like you. I really, really like you.”
Her gaze was fixed on Lin Sifei, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Lin Sifei looked back at her. It was the same confession as always, but for some reason, she could see a profound sense of anticipation in Luo Ke’s eyes.
Her throat moved. Her fingers clenched the fabric of her clothes. “I… I think we could give it a try.”
The manager let out a wail of despair and angrily hung up the phone.
Before Luo Ke could even react, Lin Sifei had grabbed her by the collar, tilted her head up, and pressed her lips against hers.
As their soft lips met, Luo Ke’s eyes widened slightly, her senses filled with the faint, sweet fragrance from Lin Sifei’s body.
She couldn’t help but deepen the kiss.
The annoying ringtone sounded again. Assuming it was the manager, Luo Ke quickly pulled back, feeling a little guilty.
Somehow, it felt like she’d just poached the prize cabbage3 from someone else’s garden.
But unexpectedly, the call wasn’t from her manager, but from Lin Sifei’s father.
An expression of disgust crossed Lin Sifei’s face.
But she answered the call anyway. Her father’s malicious voice came through the speaker. “So you’ve latched onto the Luo Corporation. No wonder you’re so bold.”
“What do you want?”
Her father’s voice softened slightly. “If you don’t want the arranged marriage, fine. You like President Luo, so get married soon. The Luo Corporation is indeed a better choice. You’re very capable.”
“You’re disgusting,” Lin Sifei sneered. “I did hook up with her. But not to help you—to ruin you. How has the Lin Corporation been doing lately?”
Her father’s voice instantly turned vicious. “I knew you were a white-eyed wolf4. I should have strangled you the moment you were born.”
“Heh, I also regret ending up with a father like you.” Lin Sifei rolled her eyes and tossed the phone to Luo Ke.
Luo Ke caught it and cut off whatever the man on the other end was about to say. “Mr. Lin, Luo Corporation is very interested in Lin Corporation’s businesses and projects. I believe we will be in contact much more from now on.”
With that, she hung up.
Luo Ke looked at Lin Sifei. “If I leave him with nothing, will you mind?”
“Not at all.” Lin Sifei tilted her head. “It would be even better if you could save the Lin Corporation, though. It was originally founded by my maternal grandfather.”
“No problem.” Luo Ke stood up. “He already senses the danger, so he’s bound to make a move. I need to go handle things.”
“You have to work overtime? I’m sorry for giving you more work. It must be exhausting.”
Luo Ke smiled, leaned in to kiss her on the lips, and gave a little wink. “Recharging.”
Lin Sifei stared at her, stunned. Luo Ke was already waving goodbye as she opened the door and left.
Lin Sifei touched her lips, an irrepressible smile spreading across her face. She grabbed a throw pillow, buried her entire face in it, and rubbed against it wildly for a long moment.
Only when she couldn’t breathe did she lift her head and touch her lips again.
“It’s not so bad, kissing and all that.”
She giggled a few more times, then jumped up and ran to the balcony, watching as the car’s taillights lit up below and it slowly drove away.
Before long, the crisis at Lin Corporation could no longer be hidden. As President, Lin Sifei’s father liquidated all his stocks, planning to dump the mess and run.
Lin Sifei, of course, wouldn’t let him get his way. She temporarily stopped Luo Ke from having someone file a lawsuit and called her mother first.
Lin Sifei’s mother had a poor relationship with her husband and had moved abroad long ago to develop her own career.
Lin Sifei wasn’t close to her. She had no feelings for the woman who had once abandoned her, only acknowledging her as her grandfather’s daughter.
“Sue for divorce. He hasn’t had time to transfer the assets yet, so you have the advantage.”
Her mother laughed and thanked her, then hung up without asking a single question about her. She was probably off to prepare the documents.
Seeing Lin Sifei’s head droop, Luo Ke reached out and hugged her. “Do you want to come to my house today? I think it’s time you met my parents.”
Lin Sifei’s eyes flew wide. “Today?!”
Luo Ke was taken aback by her reaction. “Are you busy today? Then tomorrow or the day after is fine. Whatever works for you. They’re not busy.”
“No, it’s not that I’m busy.” Lin Sifei covered her face with her hands. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve done any proper skincare? I haven’t even used a face mask! No, no, I’ll go next week. Let me prepare first.”
Seeing her flustered state, Luo Ke felt an urge to laugh. “You look beautiful right now.”
“That’s just beauty being in the eye of the beholder5. You’d think I was cute even if I turned into a pig,” Lin Sifei huffed, already feeling the need to book a professional facial.
Luo Ke watched her frantic movements with a helpless smile. “Alright, next week then.”
Within a week, Lin Corporation was almost completely absorbed by Luo Corporation. With his assets being divided by his wife and lawsuits being filed by his employees, Lin Sifei’s father was left with practically nothing. All that remained was to wait for the court date.
As evening fell, Lin Sifei stood before the mirror, carefully applying her lipstick.
She pressed her lips together, then parted them with a soft “pop.”
Luo Ke’s gaze fell on her lips, and she couldn’t help but recall their softness.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Before she could finish reminiscing, Lin Sifei was pulling her away.
“Don’t be in such a hurry.” Luo Ke checked the time. It was still early.
Lin Sifei was dead serious. “We should go early, just in case.”
Resigned, Luo Ke could only go along with her.
When they arrived at the villa, they were indeed half an hour early.
Luo Ke entered the passcode to open the door, chatting casually. “My parents don’t have much to do, so they should both be home. We can just go in.”
The lock played a cheerful melody and clicked open.
Luo Ke turned back with a smile, only to see Lin Sifei trembling before the door like a dead leaf in a winter wind.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Sifei’s eyes were red-rimmed. “I… I’m scared…”
Luo Ke reached out and took her hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Footnotes
- Hédōng shīhǒu (河东狮吼), 'the roar of the lioness from Hedong,' is a classical Chinese idiom used to describe a fierce, shrewish, or domineering woman, often a wife scolding her husband. It's used humorously here to describe the manager's furious shouting.
- Hèn tiě bù chéng gāng (恨铁不成钢), 'to hate iron for not becoming steel,' is a common idiom expressing frustration and disappointment over someone's failure to live up to their potential or expectations.
- Gǒng le rénjiā dì lǐ báicài (拱了人家地里白菜), literally 'a pig rooting up someone else's cabbage,' is a humorous Chinese internet slang phrase. It refers to someone (the 'pig') 'stealing' or ruining a cherished daughter or prized pupil (the 'cabbage').
- A báiyǎnláng (白眼狼), or 'white-eyed wolf,' is an idiom for a cruel and ungrateful person who repays kindness with treachery.
- Qíngrén yǎnlǐ chū xīshī (情人眼里出西施), 'in a lover's eyes, a Xishi appears.' Xishi was one of the legendary Four Great Beauties of ancient China. The phrase is the Chinese equivalent of 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'
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