Who’s That?
Who is this?
All evening, Lu Zhenqiu accompanied Jin Shuiluan in watching eight episodes of a TV drama. She was drowsy the whole time. When Jin Shuiluan beside her asked about the plot, she was muddled and didn’t know what she said. It wasn’t until Jin Shuiluan asked if she was tired and told her to go rest early that she finally went into her room with Maomao.
She didn’t close the door. Jin Shuiluan had said she hoped Maomao could adapt to this place as soon as possible, and also, to make it convenient for her to study, she hoped Lu Zhenqiu could put Maomao’s daily necessities on the balcony. Lu Zhenqiu thought it made sense, so she moved Maomao’s dog bowl and toys to the balcony. Her room suddenly felt empty again. Jin Shuiluan asked if she needed any additional furniture, but she said it was fine like this, convenient for her livestreams.
Jin Shuiluan didn’t say anything more.
Lu Zhenqiu had rented several places before, but this was her first time sharing an apartment with someone, and it was with the landlord. However, she felt Jin Shuiluan was the easiest landlord to get along with she had ever met. She didn’t know why people in their circle said Jin Shuiluan was aloof and temperamental. She thought Jin Shuiluan was quite enthusiastic; it was just that her enthusiasm made it hard for Lu Zhenqiu to refuse. After sitting and watching TV for a whole evening, her dreams that night were filled with Chen Shimei1. Then, somehow, Chen Shimei’s face in the TV transformed into Tang Yingxia’s. Tang Yingxia called out to her from outside the TV, “Qiuqiu…”
It scared Lu Zhenqiu so much she jolted awake!
She woke up from the dream with a start. Opening her eyes, she saw Maomao lying at the head of the bed. Hearing her movement, it lifted its head and nuzzled her wrist. Lu Zhenqiu placed her hand on her forehead and took a long while to compose herself before turning to pick up her phone. It was only six o’clock, not even light out yet. Her phone, however, was stuffed with a bunch of messages, mostly on WeChat. She opened WeChat and saw several friends had sent her: 【Qiuqiu, what happened between you and Xiaxia?】
【Qiuqiu, Xiaxia said you blacklisted2 her?】
【Qiuqiu, you blacklisted Tang Yingxia? Well done! I couldn’t stand her for ages, being all ambiguous with Yu Wen while still stringing you along. So shameless!】
These few friends were people she had met a long time ago when she was a voice actress. They had met up offline and eaten together. Two of them were no longer in this circle, but everyone still kept in touch frequently. They also knew Tang Yingxia; those still in the circle had even done voice work for Tang Yingxia’s radio dramas, so it wasn’t easy for them to have a complete falling out3. Lu Zhenqiu understood their difficulties and replied to them one by one. Afterwards, she received a friend request. It wasn’t Tang Yingxia, but surprisingly, Yu Wen.
The reason for the friend request was: 【Hello, I’m Yu Wen. I hope you don’t misunderstand God Xia…】
Lu Zhenqiu didn’t even look at the rest and directly rejected it.
Just as she rejected it, Hua Luo’s message came in: 【Awake?】
Lu Zhenqiu hugged her phone: 【How did you know?】
Hua Luo: 【Xiao Yu4 told me. We’re playing games together on voice chat.】
Xiao Yu was the one who had just called Tang Yingxia shameless. After she stopped being a voice actress, she started gaming. She was witty and humorous, and her skills were good, so she was very popular in game livestreams, with over a million fans. This time, Lu Zhenqiu was switching platforms, and it was Xiao Yu who recommended she go to Sanshui5.
She herself was on Sanshui.
Lu Zhenqiu’s good mood was ruined by Yu Wen’s friend request just now. She replied listlessly: 【Yeah, just woke up. Yu Wen sent me a friend request.】
Hua Luo sent a “Wocao6,” quickly ended her game, and messaged Lu Zhenqiu: 【Why is she adding you as a friend? To show off? Thinks snatching Tang Yingxia is such a big deal? Deliberately trying to disgust you?】
Lu Zhenqiu typed: 【She said she wants to explain her relationship with Tang Yingxia.】
Hua Luo: 【Explain my ass! Tang Yingxia is no good, and this Yu Wen is also so damn provocative7. If I didn’t know about your relationship with Tang Yingxia, I might have thought she was pitiful, deceived by Tang Yingxia. But now that she knows about your relationship, she’s still deliberately being ambiguous with Tang Yingxia! I just don’t get it. There are plenty of single, beautiful people out there. Why insist on getting involved with someone who’s already taken? Does she think this makes her look charming?】
Lu Zhenqiu pursed her lips.
Hua Luo waited for a long time but didn’t get a reply. She said a few words to Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu rolled her eyes and said, “No wonder Yu Wen was just crying on Weibo.”
“What Weibo post?” Hua Luo frowned. Xiao Yu sent her a Weibo link. Hua Luo clicked on it and saw the post Yu Wen had just made: 【Couldn’t sleep all night. I was thinking about how smoothly my writing journey has been, and how I’ve met all you lovely readers. I’m so happy. Perhaps because I’ve grown up surrounded by the love you’ve given me, I haven’t really matured and still see myself as a child. A child is unreserved with everyone and treats everyone sincerely. But because of this, I might say the wrong things and be misunderstood. If any friends have truly been hurt because of me, I want to say to you, I’m sorry.】
Hua Luo made a gagging sound twice. Xiao Yu: “What’s wrong with you?”
She said: “Nauseated enough to puke!”
Regardless, Yu Wen was quite skilled at being sentimental. Below this Weibo post, everyone was praising her for being sensible. Hua Luo casually scrolled through a few comments, and her eyes ached from reading them.
【Protecting the best Wenwen in the world! I will forever submit to Wenwen.】
【Crying my eyes out. Sometimes, a casual remark of ours gets unscrupulously misinterpreted. Hugs for Wenwen.】
【Wenwen, don’t worry. True friends won’t drift apart or misunderstand you. Those who can misunderstand you will misconstrue your meaning no matter what you say.】
【Yes, Wenwen, you still have us. We will always be with you.】
It was cringey8, truly so cringey! Yu Wen’s “I’m so delicate and pitiable” white lotus9 act was so cringey Hua Luo couldn’t bear to look directly at it. Still, she couldn’t resist opening Weibo and posting: 【Sometimes, when you can’t sleep, it might be because you have a guilty conscience.】
Her Weibo posts had actually subtly dissed10 Yu Wen and Tang Yingxia before, but this was the first time she was confronting them so directly. She was truly too angry. Why should Lu Zhenqiu be the one who was hurt, while Yu Wen reaped all the benefits?
Sure enough, readers immediately noticed something amiss with her Weibo post.
【Something’s not right. Luoluo’s post, am I really not overthinking this?】
【Luoluo didn’t say much, isn’t this a very normal sentence?】
【Ah—interesting.】
Hua Luo squinted, saw the comments but didn’t reply. Anyway, she had deliberately posted this for Yu Wen to see. And Yu Wen did see it. She followed Hua Luo, so naturally, she saw that Weibo post and the comments below. She gripped her phone tightly, biting her lip.
Viewed separately, both Weibo posts seemed normal. But taken together, sensitive readers had already sniffed out a problem, especially Yu Wen’s readers, who came on aggressively: 【What guilty conscience? Just because our Wenwen has a good temper, she has to endure such slander from you?】
【So random. Where did this person pop out from?】
【What kind of flop author11 is this, how does it feel to clout-chase12?】
This sentence hit a raw nerve with Hua Luo’s readers. Hua Luo was indeed not as popular as Tang Yingxia or Jin Shuiluan. She preferred horror novels and didn’t write mainstream genres, so naturally, she didn’t have as many readers. But fewer readers didn’t mean they were weak in a fight, especially when the words “clout-chase” were thrown out. Her readers’ tempers flared up instantly!
【Hmm? What flop author? Hua Luo? No matter how much of a flop Hua Luo is, she’s never resorted to marketing gimmicks.】
【Exactly, our Luoluo is much better than some authors who only know how to use marketing and hype CPs13.】
【Some people write seriously, others take shortcuts. Just watch, if you walk too many night roads, you’re bound to run into a ghost14!】
Yu Wen clenched her fists when she saw these replies. A wave of anger stuck in her throat, unable to be coughed up or swallowed down, like a fishbone stuck in her throat15. Her eyes turned red with anger, her gaze cold.
The matter didn’t escalate.
Yu Wen promptly explained on Weibo that her morning post was just a momentary sigh of emotion and had nothing to do with Hua Luo. Moreover, she and Hua Luo didn’t know each other, so she asked her readers not to speculate further, and especially not to disturb Hua Luo. At the same time, she also tagged Hua Luo on Weibo, apologizing for her readers’ comments that morning.
Hua Luo chewed on candy as she looked at Yu Wen’s tag. Xiao Yu asked her, “Are you going to reply to her?”
“Reply my ass.” Hua Luo closed Weibo and said to Xiao Yu, “Don’t tell Qiuqiu about this. She uninstalled all these apps yesterday to adjust her mood. I don’t want her to see that white lotus again.”
Xiao Yu agreed, “Got it.”
After Hua Luo finished speaking, her QQ on the computer kept dinging. Xiao Yu asked, “Who’s looking for you this early in the morning?”
Hua Luo smiled and replied, “My apprentice.”
She had recently taken on a young apprentice to write with. The apprentice was well-behaved and sensible, greeting her every morning as soon as she woke up. Xiao Yu knew a bit about this and said, “I won’t disturb you and your apprentice’s bonding time. I’ll go ask Qiuqiu about the platform.”
Hua Luo sent an emoji sticker16, put down her phone, and sat in front of her computer to chat with her apprentice.
Xiao Yu also sent Lu Zhenqiu a message.
Lu Zhenqiu was making breakfast. Maomao squatted at the kitchen entrance, head tilted up, tail wagging leisurely. This kitchen was semi-open; Jin Shuiluan could see Lu Zhenqiu’s busy figure as soon as she came out of her room. She was slim, wearing a light yellow loungewear hoodie. Her beautiful hair was secured at the top of her head with a clip, with a few strands trailing down her nape and onto her chest, the ends swaying.
Jin Shuiluan’s heart swayed along with them, her gaze softening.
Maomao heard a sound behind it and turned its head. Seeing Jin Shuiluan, it walked over and sat down in front of her, like a well-behaved child waiting for praise. Jin Shuiluan couldn’t help but pat its head. Maomao let out a “Woof!”
Lu Zhenqiu turned her head and immediately stood up straight when she saw Jin Shuiluan, a polite smile on her face. “Teacher Jin, you’re awake.”
Jin Shuiluan nodded slightly. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I’ve made some breakfast. Would you like to have some?”
“Alright.” Jin Shuiluan walked over and asked Lu Zhenqiu, “How did you rest last night?”
Lu Zhenqiu said, “Quite well.”
She had dark circles under her eyes, and yet she said “quite well.” Jin Shuiluan pursed her lips, walked to the kitchen counter, poured a glass of warm water, and had drunk half of it when they both heard a noise at the door. Maomao eagerly rushed over. Lu Zhenqiu’s expression changed slightly, and she immediately went to grab Maomao. The door opened, and a woman in high heels stood at the entrance. She met Lu Zhenqiu’s gaze, who was crouching down, for two seconds. The woman hurriedly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, wrong door.”
The door slammed shut with a kuang! Ji Zibo17 scratched her head. That’s not right. She used her key to open the door, how could it be the wrong one?
Ji Zibo looked up at the door number, her brow furrowed. Just as she was about to use her key card, she heard the door click open with a kacha. Jin Shuiluan stood at the doorway, her face stern.
Ji Zibo saw Lu Zhenqiu behind her, over her shoulder, and said, “Who’s that?”
Lu Zhenqiu stood behind her, nodded slightly at Ji Zibo, and smiled. Ji Zibo’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she had thought of something. She pointed at Lu Zhenqiu, words about to tumble out, when Jin Shuiluan took a step forward, clapped her right hand over Ji Zibo’s mouth, and directly pushed her out the door!
The author has something to say:
Thirty red envelopes, memeda18.
Ji Zibo: Teacher Jin, I want to send you an emoji sticker.
Jin Shuiluan: Scram.
Guess what emoji sticker it is, hahahahahaha!
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