Troublesome – Chapter 111

Replacement

The coffee table was fiercely smashed, creating a crack.

Lu Zhenqiu woke up once during the night. When she reached for a glass of water, she touched Jin Shuilan’s arm. Jin Shuilan opened her eyes. “Why are you awake?”

“I want some water.” Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was slightly hoarse and dry from crying, a stark contrast to its usual clarity. Jin Shuilan took a thermos from the bedside table, opened it, and handed it to Lu Zhenqiu. The temperature was just right—not too cold, not too hot. Lu Zhenqiu took a sip, and her throat felt much better. Her eyes still ached a little. Jin Shuilan took the cup from her after she finished and asked, “Want some more?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “No more.”

After speaking, she lay down. Her exhausted body felt weak and weary, but when she turned over, she couldn’t fall asleep. Jin Shuilan, lying beside her, reached out and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into her embrace. Under the covers, neither of them was wearing anything. Their skin touched, and Jin Shuilan’s scent washed over her. Lu Zhenqiu felt a wave of warmth. She snuggled deeper into Jin Shuilan’s embrace, her soft chest pressing against her, feeling even more comfortable.

Jin Shuilan rested her head on top of Lu Zhenqiu’s. Her arm, slender yet strong, was wrapped around Lu Zhenqiu’s shoulders, her palm slowly caressing her rounded shoulder. Lu Zhenqiu leaned against her chest, listening to the sound of her heartbeat. Each beat was thunderous, and her own heart quickly synchronized with its rhythm.

“Can’t sleep?” Jin Shuilan asked. Lu Zhenqiu lifted her head slightly from her embrace, her nose brushing against Jin Shuilan’s chin. Her voice was a little hoarse. “A little. I was wondering if we should go to your place tomorrow.”

They had originally promised to go tonight but had to break the appointment. Jin Shuilan asked her, “Do you want to go tomorrow?”

Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t really felt like going out for the past two days and had barely looked at her phone, closing herself off a bit. She fell silent for two seconds at Jin Shuilan’s question, not making a sound. Jin Shuilan said, “If you don’t want to go, we’ll stay home.”

She said, “I’ll stay with you.”

Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. “Will they be angry?”

“Of course not.” Jin Shuilan chuckled. “They’re just a little worried about you.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was a bit lower. “I’m fine.”

She just needed a couple of days to recover. After learning the news from Lu Yan and seeing Tang Yingxia’s true character, their two-year relationship felt like a joke. Back then, with Jin Shuilan’s guidance, she had already come to terms with it, but the recent incident during her stream came without time to guard against it, pushing all her pent-up emotions to a breaking point. That was why she wanted a couple of days to rest.

Jin Shuilan said, “I know.”

I know you’re fine, but my heart still aches for you.

Lu Zhenqiu wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to bury herself deeper in her embrace. Her nose inadvertently brushed against the softness of her chest. Jin Shuilan lowered her head. In the dim light of the bedside lamp, her eyes focused as she called out, “Qiuqiu.”

“Hm?” Lu Zhenqiu’s voice rose at the end as she looked up and met Jin Shuilan’s gaze. She moistened her lips and opened her mouth. “I…”

Jin Shuilan lowered her head and pulled the covers up. A moment later, a suppressed moan could be heard. Just as she opened her mouth, Jin Shuilan slipped a lozenge into it. The sensation was refreshingly cool, contrasting with the heat of her body. Lu Zhenqiu moved her body restlessly, pulled once again by Jin Shuilan into the pleasure of fish and water¹.

For four or five days straight, they hadn’t left the residential complex except to walk Maomao. He Jinmei and Jin Wei had said they were visiting relatives out of town to pay New Year’s calls² and probably wouldn’t be back until the tenth day of the lunar month. Before leaving, they had prepared a lot of pickled vegetables for Lu Zhenqiu and Jin Shuilan, and they also agreed to have a meal together after they returned. This time, Lu Zhenqiu didn’t refuse and accepted gladly.

Starting from the fifth day of the lunar month, the platform’s administrator began asking about her streaming schedule, wondering if she needed to request more time off. Lu Zhenqiu politely declined, planning to stream as usual.

Before starting the stream, her heart pounded for a quarter of an hour. She hadn’t looked at any online news for the past few days, but Xiao Yu and Hua Luo had kept her informed. They mentioned Tang Yingxia, saying she had gone silent, but the internet was still scolding her enthusiastically. They said that her novel, which had been sold a second time, was now facing returns, and the incident had blown up. Apparently, the magazine publisher was also thinking of terminating her contract.

The magazine publisher did indeed want to terminate her contract, and Zhao Siran had already contacted Tang Yingxia about the matter. As things stood, Tang Yingxia’s reputation was damaged, and her work was being boycotted. Putting aside her conflict with Jin Shuilan, just considering Lu Zhenqiu alone was enough. The Lu Zhenqiu of today was not yesterday’s comparison³; she had many fans—fans from her streams and fans from her voice acting work—and was considered a minor celebrity⁴ in her circle. After how Tang Yingxia had treated her, just dealing with these fans was difficult enough, not to mention the netizens and Jin Shuilan’s readers.

Zhao Siran’s initial suggestion was to put her in cold storage⁵, having her disappear for a while before re-emerging. But then rumors of her being a straight woman were exposed, followed by one thing after another, causing the matter to snowball, growing bigger and bigger. Even their public relations department couldn’t suppress it, so the boss suggested terminating the contract. Zhao Siran really wanted to curse her boss. What good could come from being greedy for small advantages?

Now look what happened. Tang Yingxia was gone, and Jin Shuilan was gone too. Their magazine had to watch as two money-shaking trees⁶ disappeared right before their eyes, especially Jin Shuilan. They had spent less money back then, and now they were suffering for it!

Zhao Siran was truly furious. However, these discussions were all private. On the surface, Tang Yingxia was still signed with their magazine. It was just that the previously discussed publication plans and manuscripts would have to be postponed indefinitely.

Tang Yingxia’s pen name was now considered completely ruined.

Tang Yingxia was aware of these things, but she also knew there was no better solution right now. Her only option was to create a new account and have Yu Wen promote it later. This was another reason she was tolerating Yu Wen.

She still wanted to rise again from the eastern mountain⁷.

And currently, her only capital to rise again from the eastern mountain was Yu Wen.

She was also certain that Yu Wen would help her, because she had evidence that Yu Wen knew about Lu Zhenqiu but persisted in confessing anyway. She also had proof of how Yu Wen had built her career by stepping on an older author. That older author had even been forced by Yu Wen to quit online literature. It was from that incident that Yu Wen first tasted the sweetness of abusing fans to solidify their loyalty⁸, and once it started, it could not be stopped, and now she had changed its root and became more severe.

Her fake persona.

Tang Yingxia had kept evidence of it all.

The two of them now maintained a superficial peace, at least it hadn’t reached the point of tearing face. They would still exchange a sentence or two each day. Tang Yingxia suppressed her temper and monitored the online trends daily. After the New Year passed, the heat around her incident had slightly died down, but one stream from Lu Zhenqiu sent the pen name “Sheng Xia” to the trending topics again.

【You can’t be too Sheng Xia in life, ptooey ptooey ptooey!】

【Sheng Xia is honestly one of the few scumbag authors I’ve ever seen. To think she’d play with someone’s feelings just because she was jealous of a colleague’s success!】

【Idiot Sheng Xia! She caused our Qiuqiu to be put in cold storage for two years! That was our Qiuqiu’s prime!】

【She really harmed people not shallowly. That was Zhenqiu’s career peak, right? And she ran into a scumbag, and it was all ruined!】

【Go on and curse, I’m all cursed out. Right now, I just think Teacher Jin is so, so good. It’s been two years, and she never gave up on loving someone, wholeheartedly!】

【Let me tell you all something. Teacher Jin can’t cook, but she especially loves making ginger tea for Zhenqiu.】

This comment was soon pushed to the top. The replies were all “KDL!”⁹ and “KSWL!”¹⁰ Teacher Jin is the best!

When Lu Zhenqiu saw this comment, she turned to look at Jin Shuilan, who was sitting on the bed, and asked, “Are you online?”

Jin Shuilan looked up at her and nodded. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Zhenqiu pursed her lips into a smile, suddenly walked over to her, and asked, “Is this you?”

The roots of Jin Shuilan’s ears instantly turned red. She said awkwardly, “That wasn’t me.”

Seeing her evasive expression, Lu Zhenqiu suddenly smiled. The gloom that had been weighing on her chest for a long time slowly dissipated. She said, “Oh, I thought it was you.”

Jin Shuilan silently logged out of her side account, cleared her throat, and said, “Aren’t you about to stream?”

“It’s starting right now.”

Sitting in front of the camera again after several days, Lu Zhenqiu was surprisingly a little nervous. Jin Shuilan asked, “Do you want me to keep you company?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “No need.”

She said this as she returned to her chair, but she still pulled Maomao over to block half of the camera. When the stream first went live, the broadcast lagged for a moment before returning to normal. Countless bullet comments flooded in, all comforting Lu Zhenqiu. To make sure she would see them, they had all changed their IDs to something related to her.

【Qiuqiu Don’t Cry】【Qiuqiu We’re With You】【Qiuqiu You’re The Best】【Qiuqiu Look At Me】【Qiuqiu We’ll Always Be Here】【Forever Supporting Qiuqiu】…

Lu Zhenqiu’s eyes reddened. She was about to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She lowered her head, took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, she saw an ID that read: 【Qiuqiu dumped Teacher Jin and got together with me】

She placed a hand over her lips and let out a small smile.

【My wife smiled.】

【My wife smiled at me, hey. She has me in her heart.】

【Rounding up and down¹¹, our child is old enough to buy soy sauce¹².】

【Sorry, Teacher Jin, I don’t want to, but wife Qiuqiu is just too charming!】

No one mentioned Tang Yingxia at all. Lu Zhenqiu was grateful for their thoughtfulness. She composed herself before speaking, her slightly hoarse voice deeper than usual. The bullet comments spammed “sexy,” and gift effects filled the screen. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I can’t sing today. Let’s just chat.”

The bullet comments erupted in howls. Everyone chimed in, and the atmosphere was even livelier than in her previous streams, the fans even more excited. Jin Shuilan logged into her account, changed her name, and started sending warships.

Lu Zhenqiu paused while reading the list of thank-yous.

“Thank you…” She turned to glance at Jin Shuilan, then bit her lip as she read, “…thank you to the Head of the Yi Zhen Qiu Shui CP Fanclub¹³ for the Love Warship.”

What kind of name was that.

Lu Zhenqiu’s face flushed red after reading it.

The fans, however, were unaware. They exclaimed one after another: 【Teacher Jin is so badass! She single-handedly turned Qiuqiu’s wife fans into CP fans!】

【To have one, say one, I really love Teacher Jin too. She’s so devoted. It’s been over two years, and she’s still so persistent. I love her so much.】

【I love Teacher Jin, and I love Qiuqiu, and I love Yi Zhen Qiu Shui even more!】

Lu Zhenqiu’s face grew even redder.

The lively atmosphere in the stream was accompanied by a strange harmony. Of course, a few discordant voices would pop up occasionally, but before Lu Zhenqiu could even see them, Jin Shuilan had permanently banned them.

When it came to hand speed, she was a professional.

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t sing the entire night, just chatting with them. She was also pulled into a game by Xiao Yu for a while. For three or four days in a row, her stream slowly returned to normal. She would also randomly pick fans to connect with and play games. Jin Shuilan even made an appearance once. Now, a good portion of the people squatting¹⁴ in Lu Zhenqiu’s stream were Jin Shuilan’s readers.

Although these readers were small in number, they were quite creative and were influencing the entire stream to become CP fans. Lu Zhenqiu smiled as she answered their question, “Teacher Jin?”

She peeked her head out. “Teacher Jin is outside, working.”

Jin Shuilan was on the phone. It was a call from the production crew, informing her that the upcoming baihe drama that was scheduled to air had undergone a change. They said that the subject matter touched on sensitive issues, so it might not be released for the time being.

Jin Shuilan had already learned about this two days ago. In Tang Yingxia’s upcoming show, there was a very borderline¹⁵ plot point that didn’t meet censorship standards. However, because it was borderline, it was hard to say whether it was right or wrong. When they were filming this part, the crew had considered cutting it. Later, thinking of Tang Yingxia’s fame and how this controversial topic might be a good way to abuse the fans, they filmed it. Who would have thought something like this would happen now? Not only was Tang Yingxia’s reputation in ruins, but it had also affected the TV adaptation. They were now worried about whether it would be reported by viewers after its release. In the current situation, if Tang Yingxia was reported, it wouldn’t abuse the fans but would instead become a laughingstock. So, the production team wanted to delete the segment before releasing the show. But deleting it and adjusting the entire plot would take time, and it definitely wouldn’t make the original release date. Now, hearing this news, everyone in the industry was stirring, wanting to grab this slot.

Jin Shuilan’s production crew, of course, also knew about this and had successfully secured the slot. The condition for the exchange was to let the other party have next year’s baihe drama slot.

The crew was calling Jin Shuilan now to discuss this matter, hoping she could come to the set as soon as possible. They needed to hurry up with filming. Jin Shuilan nodded. “I understand.”

She put down her phone, her gaze slightly heavy. She then glanced in Lu Zhenqiu’s direction, thought for a few seconds, and sent a message to Ji Zibo.

Ji Zibo was a bit baffled when he received her message but did as he was told. Soon, a topic about Tang Yingxia’s TV show being replaced appeared online, and it climbed the ranks very quickly. In a moment, marketing accounts¹⁶ caught wind of the news and came over to forward it.

The moment Tang Yingxia opened Weibo, she saw her feed flooded with this news. Her mind went blank with a buzz, and she immediately shot up from her chair! Her eyes burned as she stared at the phone screen, her expression one of shock and disbelief!

Impossible!

Yu Wen had promised her that this year would definitely be hers!

Tang Yingxia immediately called Yu Wen, but the line was constantly busy. Her delicate brows knitted together, her entire face darkened, her eyes filled with gloom, and she clenched her jaw. She dialed the number again and again. The endless busy signal made her lose her patience. She kicked the edge of the coffee table, and a sharp pain shot through her toes. She cursed in frustration, grinding her teeth. With a bang, she violently slammed her phone onto the coffee table. The glass surface of the table cracked under the impact, and the fracture quickly spread outwards, becoming a mess of shards that bared fangs and brandished claws!¹⁷

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, memeda!

Jin Shuilan: Heard you all reached an agreement? I’m here to join the fun.

Yu Wen: …

Tang Yingxia: …

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