Troublesome – Chapter 106

Name

Jin Shuilan!

Lu Zhenqiu’s idea of livestreaming the next day was declared a bust. She slept for an entire day. Jin Shuilan took a half-day off to sleep with her. In the afternoon, Jin Shuilan went to the film set to check in, discussed things with the director for half an hour, and then came back to continue resting. They slept soundly during the day and played hard at night, completely reversing their sleep schedules. But Lu Zhenqiu was preoccupied with the livestream, so she only fooled around for half the night before going to sleep.

Jin Shuilan didn’t torment her. Just before holding her to sleep, she bit her neck a few times, leaving it dotted with red marks. The next day, when Lu Zhenqiu was changing, she saw them and blushed, quickly using makeup to cover them up. Fortunately, her skin was fair, so covering them with a slightly whiter concealer didn’t make much of a difference. Still, Lu Zhenqiu felt a pang of guilt and wore a high-collared sweater, sitting primly and properly in front of the livestream camera.

She hadn’t streamed since the incident with Lu Yan, so when she suddenly went live, her fans were incredibly excited. They swarmed in, and the first thing they said was a compliment: 【Wifey is beautiful!】

【Qiuqiu, are you okay?】

【Qiuqiu, you’ve been wronged. That sock puppet account, whoever it was, is so damn despicable!】

【Exactly, they just can’t stand to see others doing well. Hugs for Qiuqiu.】

The stream was filled with kisses, hugs, and lifting high¹. Lu Zhenqiu smiled and greeted them. A fan asked: 【Qiuqiu, did you move again?】

Lu Zhenqiu replied to her, “No, this is a hotel.”

【A hotel, are you out traveling?】

【That’s good too, it’s nice to get away and relax. Are you still going home for the New Year?】

【Qiuqiu Qiuqiu, I’m late!】

Lu Zhenqiu said, “It’s not really traveling.”

She hadn’t even stepped out of the room, so how could it be considered traveling? At this thought, she thought of Jin Shuilan again and pursed her lips. The bullet comments flew by, a chaotic mix of all sorts of messages. Lu Zhenqiu poured a glass of water and sat down, asking them what song they wanted to hear, though she noted that she didn’t have good equipment here, so her singing might not be as good as usual.

The fans all said they didn’t mind; they were satisfied just to hear her sing.

As Lu Zhenqiu was looking for a song, an account chimed into the stream. The entrance effect was simple, but the name was very familiar. As soon as it entered, the fans all greeted it: 【The boss is here!】

【Good afternoon, boss.】

【The legendary boss has arrived!】

Lu Zhenqiu switched back to the stream window and saw the screen full of “boss.” She tilted her head. The account ‘Dream Lover Yi Zhenqiu’ was lit up. She bit her lip and quickly sent Jin Shuilan a message: 【Why haven’t you changed your name!】

Jin Shuilan was sitting in a chair resting, watching the livestream on her screen. A message popped up at the top; it was Lu Zhenqiu’s question. Jin Shuilan thought for a moment: 【Change it to what?】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【Change it to anything, just don’t use this name.】

Seeing comments from this username, the heat rapidly gathered on Lu Zhenqiu’s face. A single glance at the name made her blush to the ears. Fans asked if she was hot and why her face was so red. Lu Zhenqiu quickly picked up her water glass, wanting to drink some warm water to calm her emotions.

【Zhenqiu’s Bottom²】 sent 【Zhenqiu】 a Love Warship.

Lu Zhenqiu let out a pfft, and water sprayed all over her computer screen.

She hurriedly wiped it with a tissue.

She watched as the screen flashed with the purple special effects of the gift.

【Zhenqiu’s Bottom】 sent 【Zhenqiu】 a Love Warship X2.
【Zhenqiu’s Bottom】 sent 【Zhenqiu】 a Love Warship X3.
【Zhenqiu’s Bottom】 sent 【Zhenqiu】 a Love Warship X4…

Lu Zhenqiu’s hands trembled as she sent Jin Shuilan a message: 【What are you doing?】

Jin Shuilan: 【I’m in a good mood, just sending some gifts.】

Lu Zhenqiu: 【I’m asking about your name!】

Jin Shuilan: 【You don’t like it? Should I change it to another one?】

Lu Zhenqiu ignored her.

Jin Shuilan sent over a dozen Warships, causing a commotion in the stream. Afterward, Jin Shuilan sent out ten 200-yuan red envelopes, saying they were New Year’s blessings for the fans and netizens. The fans howled: 【The boss is badass!】

【The boss is so generous! You totally deserve to make money³!】

【The boss’s name is… interesting.】

【Even though I really want to refuse a red envelope from my love rival, she’s sending two hundred!】

All sorts of jokes flew around. Lu Zhenqiu clicked on Jin Shuilan’s name. It was too conspicuous. She directly muted her.

【Huh?】

【Boss?】

【That’s what you get for being flashy hahahahahaha!】

Lu Zhenqiu looked at the now-silenced Jin Shuilan and took a deep breath. Her phone lit up. Jin Shuilan had sent: 【So you like locking me in the little black room⁴.】

This person!

Lu Zhenqiu’s face turned red again. She immediately unmuted Jin Shuilan’s account.

The bullet comments were full of laughter. It wasn’t even the New Year yet, but they were getting an early taste of the holiday excitement. Jin Shuilan remained a woman of few words, just sending gifts and red envelopes, seeming to be in an excellent mood.

The stream was exceptionally lively, with many new people coming and going. Lu Zhenqiu sang several songs. Jin Shuilan listened as she got up and went to the pharmacy across the street to buy her some throat lozenges. When she returned to the set, she received a tag from the magazine publisher, notifying readers of a livestream time. The readers were extremely excited. Jin Shuilan had done livestreams before, but very rarely, which made them seem all the more precious.

Her homepage was flooded with news of the livestream. Tang Yingxia naturally saw it too. She shot up from her bed, looked at the time, and frowned before a thought occurred to her, and she immediately contacted her editor.

Her editor was also a long-time employee of the magazine and was responsible for liaising with her. Two days ago, the editor had informed her that there would be a joint-stream⁵ event related to a new book livestream by a super great god⁶. She had been kept in the dark and had agreed just like that.

Only now did she realize that this person might be Jin Shuilan.

She was going to be on Jin Shuilan’s new book livestream?

Fuck!

Was there some kind of mistake?

Making her a guest? A foil?

Tang Yingxia gritted her teeth and asked her editor, “The joint-stream event, is it with Jin Shuilan?”

The editor was stunned for a few seconds before replying, “Yes, it’s Teacher Jin.”

It really was. Tang Yingxia’s lungs were about to explode with anger. She said, “I’m not going.”

“What’s wrong, God Xia?” the editor asked, confused. “Why not? Your new book just started its second encore run, this is perfect for promotion.”

No matter how much promotion, she would not go on Jin Shuilan’s livestream!

Wasn’t this a naked face-slapping⁷? She had signed with Jin Shuilan’s old publisher, only to be used by them as a tool to curry favor with Jin Shuilan? Tang Yingxia couldn’t swallow this insult. She said, “Anyway, I’m not going.”

Hearing that she couldn’t give a clear reason, the editor’s tone also changed. “That won’t work. We’ve already confirmed it with Mi Qi, and the contract has been signed.”

“Who told you to sign it!” Tang Yingxia said, furious. “Why wasn’t my consent sought?”

The editor chuckled. “God Xia, you signed an all-copyrights contract back then. All promotional activities are handled by our magazine. Besides, when we told you about it, you didn’t object.”

Tang Yingxia felt a mouthful of blood stuck in her chest. She said with a cold face, “So I have to go?”

The editor placated her, “God Xia, you’re just a guest. If you don’t want to speak, we can keep your mic muted.”

The meaning was clear: she had to go.

Tang Yingxia gripped her phone tightly, hung up, her eyes red with anger!

She looked down at the promotional page, gritting her teeth with such hatred she could have poked a hole through her phone. While she was fuming, her fans were delighted. Some even left comments under the magazine’s Weibo post: 【A guest, a mysterious guest, could it be God Xia?】

【Will it really happen? Teacher Jin and God Xia, two gods joining in a perfect union⁸!】

【No no no, our Teacher Jin can’t carry the title of ‘god.’ Our Teacher Jin is just a writer.】

This comment was dripping with sarcasm.

After Tang Yingxia had a hit book, she began to cultivate a “God Xia” persona, wanting to compete in everything she did. Before Jin Shuilan released her new book, Tang’s readers would take Jin Shuilan’s old works of the same genre and compare them, even saying that the younger generation is to be feared⁹ and was directly suppressing their senior. This angered some of Jin Shuilan’s readers into spontaneously promoting her work. Readers who had previously been Buddha-like¹⁰ in their reading habits couldn’t stand seeing their favorite author being stepped on like this, and they actually managed to boost all of Jin Shuilan’s old works to a new level of popularity.

Later, Jin Shuilan posted on Weibo, thanking them for the promotion but telling them not to let it affect their lives, and said that she was just a writer, and that everyone being happy while reading was enough.

Her magnanimity¹¹ was instantly on full display. Afterward, whenever Jin Shuilan was mentioned, her fans would be the first to say: 【Teacher Jin, just a writer.】

Just a writer, Teacher Jin.

It had even been turned into a famous meme within the circle.

Now, seeing this sentence, some more perceptive readers caught on, while some slower ones were still spamming: 【Two gods joining in a perfect union!】

Putting Jin Shuilan and Tang Yingxia’s pen names together with those four words was indescribably comical.

Jin Shuilan paid no mind to any of this. She was still watching Lu Zhenqiu’s livestream. After singing two songs, Lu Zhenqiu’s mouth was dry. She went to get some water and, upon returning, received a call from the platform administrator. He asked if she had received her bonus from the annual gala. Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t paid attention to the payment. She switched back to her banking app to check and saw it hadn’t arrived. The administrator said, “You’ll probably get the payment in the next two days. The procedures are usually completed before the New Year. I’m taking leave to go back to my hometown tomorrow, so if you still haven’t received the bonus by the day after, contact finance directly. I’ll give you his number.”

Lu Zhenqiu agreed, “Mm, okay.”

The administrator said, “Are you writing it down?”

Lu Zhenqiu glanced at the notebook by the coffee table. It had been under the computer before the stream; it was probably Jin Shuilan’s. She picked up the notebook, flipped to the last page, and jotted down the number. After hanging up, she saved the number from the notebook into her phone. As she closed the notebook to put it back, a folded piece of paper that had been pressed very flat suddenly fell out from the middle. Lu Zhenqiu picked up the paper; it felt quite heavy. She opened it curiously and discovered it was actually a solo poster of herself!

She was stunned for a few seconds. Her hand trembled, and the poster fell onto the table. Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. A minute later, she opened the notebook. On the flyleaf, her name was written several times.

Lu Zhenqiu, Lu Zhenqiu, Lu Zhenqiu.

The handwriting was beautiful and strong; it was Jin Shuilan’s.

Lu Zhenqiu’s heart thumped wildly. Countless thoughts raced through her mind. Even though she knew Jin Shuilan had done so many things for her in secret, facing this notebook, she was once again moved beyond control.

Her vision blurred, and she bit her lip until it hurt. Lu Zhenqiu blinked, her eyes growing hot, burning. She turned to the next page, and a secret crush was laid bare before her without reservation.

Her heart ached so much she couldn’t breathe. Lu Zhenqiu only looked at two pages before she didn’t dare to look anymore. She rubbed her eyes, returned to the screen, and apologized to everyone, saying her throat was uncomfortable before closing the stream.

Jin Shuilan saw her reddened eyes through the screen and frowned. After asking the director and confirming there was nothing else, she simply went straight back to the hotel. The moment she opened the door, she heard a low crying sound, suppressed and intermittent. Jin Shuilan’s heart tightened with panic. She immediately walked over and saw Lu Zhenqiu with her back to her, head down, crying. There were many crumpled tissues on the floor. She walked closer and saw Lu Zhenqiu looking down and flipping through the journal. She called out, “Qiuqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu heard her voice and turned her head. Her eyes, having just cried, were slightly red, shimmering with moisture. Her cheeks were also rubbed red from the tissues. She sniffled, looking both adorable and pitiful. Jin Shuilan really couldn’t hold back. She walked right over and hugged her. In her arms, Lu Zhenqiu said, “Jin Shuilan, are you an idiot?”

Her voice was choked with sobs, like an injured little animal curled up in her arms. Jin Shuilan’s heart was about to melt. She said, “Do you like me being an idiot?”

“I don’t,” Lu Zhenqiu’s voice hitched. “I like it when you tell me things, not hide them from me.”

Jin Shuilan stroked her hair. “I know.”

Lu Zhenqiu had only read a little of the journal; her eyes were so blurry from crying she could barely see the words. Hearing Jin Shuilan’s response now, she said, “You shouldn’t have hidden it from me back then. Why didn’t you just tell me that you were the one who sent the ginger tea?”

Jin Shuilan seemed to recall that period of time, her voice growing a little lower, suppressed. “Telling you would have only caused you pain.”

Lu Zhenqiu sobbed, “Why would telling me cause me pain?”

Jin Shuilan said helplessly, “Didn’t you say that you didn’t like her because of the ginger tea? If I had told you, wouldn’t you have been in a lot of pain?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “That’s because I…” Before she could finish, she looked up, her sobs stopping. She stared at Jin Shuilan and asked her, “How did you know I said that I didn’t like her because of the ginger tea?”

That sentence… she seemed to have only said it to one person.

Jin Shuilan moistened her lips, blinked, and looked at Lu Zhenqiu. Their eyes met. Jin Shuilan stood up. “I’ll go…”

Before she could finish, Lu Zhenqiu grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to sit on the bed. Lu Zhenqiu’s slightly exasperated voice sounded by her ear, “Jin Shuilan!”

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, memeda.

Teacher Jin’s vests all fell off¹².

Lu Zhenqiu: Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?

Jin Shuilan: Really, there’s nothing left.

Lu Zhenqiu: Really?

Jin Shuilan: Really, I’m speaking from the heart. If you don’t believe me, you can feel it.

Lu Zhenqiu: …

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