After Her Death, They Begged for Forgiveness - Chapter 21

“Get out. Don’t let me see you again.”

Having already secured the evidence, Xu Bingqi had completely lost any desire to continue engaging with Gu Xiaozhou. But to ensure Gu Xiaozhou still reeling from shock could fully comprehend the situation, she thoughtfully added, “If you ever try any underhanded tricks behind my back again, remember the leverage I now hold over you.”

Gu Xiaozhou’s lips were pale, her entire body seeming to have been drained of strength all at once. She murmured, “Bingqi, you weren’t like this before.”

Xu Bingqi directly opened the stopwatch on her phone. “Fifteen seconds. Get out of my house.”

Rather than trying to mend her relationship with Xu Bingqi, the immediate priority was clearly to avoid having her shameful actions exposed online after all, that would bring her unimaginable negative consequences.

Gu Xiaozhou parted her lips slightly but ultimately said nothing and quickly left.

There will be plenty of time another day, she thought. There will always be opportunities for reconciliation in the future.

Though sad and uneasy after leaving, Gu Xiaozhou was far from devastated. Subconsciously, she felt that even if she approached Xu Bingqi again later, Xu Bingqi probably wouldn’t actually upload those recordings online.

But the moment she became aware of her own thought, Gu Xiaozhou abruptly halted in her tracks, her expression freezing.

Wasn’t Xu Bingqi always known for being petty and holding grudges?

Why did she think that after nearly destroying the other’s reputation, Xu Bingqi wouldn’t retaliate?

So contradictory.

For a moment, Gu Xiaozhou even wondered what Xu Bingqi’s true personality was. It was as if Xu Bingqi had been placed behind a thick, hazy concave lens, her form and temperament distorted without reason under its effect.

What kind of person was Xu Bingqi really? Why did the Xu Bingqi in her memories possess both a calm, gentle nature and a vindictive one?

Unease coiled silently in her heart like fine spider silk. She suddenly wanted to call Jiang Ruo after all, Jiang Ruo had once lived closely with Xu Bingqi and should know her better than anyone.

Jiang Ruo was currently discussing a scene with an actress playing a villain role, her phone already set to silent mode.

The actress was professionally trained, but her performance in complex roles was stiff, like an exquisite puppet without a mind, merely mimicking simple expressions of laughter and tears as directed.

“You haven’t grasped the internal logic of this character,” Jiang Ruo sighed. “Without understanding, you naturally can’t portray it.”

Jiang Ruo’s approach was gentle and accommodating, so the actress expressed her dissatisfaction with the villain role without reservation. “This character doesn’t really have much logic to begin with, does it?”

“Her actions are too manic,” the actress shook her head. “She seems to exist purely as a tool in the plot to create obstacles for the protagonist.”

“Manic?” Jiang Ruo chuckled softly. “In what way is she manic?”

Her smile was like a spring breeze brushing through willow branches in March, yet the actress in the restroom couldn’t help but shiver, an inexplicable chill rising in her heart.

“I don’t understand why she treats the female lead that way,” the actress continued, ignoring the momentary illusion. “If she admires her, she should offer support. But this character both admires and suppresses her at the same time.”

“When I read the script, I thought she was deliberately creating desperate situations for the female lead, only to swoop in like a savior later to win her affection.” The actress sighed softly. “But this antagonist never ended up saving the female lead, nor did she have any emotional connection with her. She seemed solely obsessed with lurking in the shadows and creating hardships for her.”

“Yet the character setting insists she harbors deep love for the female lead,” the actress complained. “I’ve been acting for years, but I’ve never encountered a role like this. I simply can’t portray it convincingly.”

“You could approach it from a different angle,” Jiang Ruo explained. “For instance, you could interpret the character as observing the female lead.”

“But if it’s just observation, why go through all the trouble of tormenting her?”

Jiang Ruo shook her head impassively. “The most effective way to see the full extent of someone’s character is to place them in an extreme environment. In such situations, the true nature usually hidden beneath the surface will be revealed, like opening a lid to a box.”

“But the director’s setting specifies love for the female lead?” The actress frowned slightly, feeling even more confused after Jiang Ruo’s explanation. “What you’re describing sounds like a scientist’s research method rigorous, but devoid of personal emotion.”

Jiang Ruo glanced at her watch and quickened her pace. “Do you remember the antagonist’s backstory? She clawed her way up from the very bottom, surviving countless life-and-death struggles.”

“Someone so meticulous, how could she rashly give away her love before fully understanding the other person’s character?” Jiang Ruo paused, then smiled. Love isn’t some illusory thing sustained by sweet words. Even if she genuinely harbors deep feelings for someone, if that person proves unworthy, that love would be wasted, a risk this character couldn’t bear to take.”

“So, she ended up trapped in this endless cycle of observation.”

After speaking, Jiang Ruo picked up her phone and noticed Gu Xiaozhou’s missed call from a few minutes earlier, her eyebrows lifting slightly.

“Also, while scientists may be rigorous in their experiments, it’s their obsessive pursuit that truly sends chills down your spine,” Jiang Ruo said, standing up with her phone. “Otherwise, all those tedious data would have drained their passion long ago.”

The actress fell into deep thought.

After leaving the break room, Jiang Ruo returned Gu Xiaozhou’s call.

“Ruo Ruo, what do you really think of Xu Bingqi?” Gu Xiaozhou answered eagerly. “I feel like I can’t quite, figure her out?”

Jiang Ruo replied gently, “Sister Bingqi has always been a very good person.”

Gu Xiaozhou’s chaotic thoughts seemed to hit a pause button. Jiang Ruo always mechanically repeated similar statements asking her this question was ultimately pointless.

“Sister Xiaozhou, you’ve actually met her already, haven’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jiang Ruo’s fingers tightened slowly, her knuckles turning pale from the pressure, yet her tone remained soft and gentle.

“No, I was just reminiscing about the past.”

Gu Xiaozhou fell silent for a moment, ultimately choosing to lie to Jiang Ruo.

She felt as though she were living in a world half-real and half-illusory, where she and everyone else seemed somehow unreal.

“Sorry, Ruo Ruo, I think I might need some rest for a while.”

Perhaps she had been too exhausted lately, Gu Xiaozhou thought she needed a proper rest.

“It’s fine, Xiaozhou-jie, you should rest. Bye.”

Jiang Ruo hung up the phone.

The impact of the plot corruption value reaching 40% was significant, like a gradually spreading storm. Under such turbulence, her experimental environment seemed to have partially collapsed.

Unfortunately, constrained by her character settings, she couldn’t immediately check her experimental data and had to wait for feedback from others.

Gu Xiaozhou must have met her sister, but how was her sister doing now?

She would find out sooner or later, and she would pull her sister out from the vast sea of people once again.

After Gu Xiaozhou left, Xu Bingqi quickly locked the door.

She backed up the recording files from her phone to both her computer and a USB drive, her fingers swiftly tapping the keyboard as she watched the progress bar slowly move until the transfer was complete.

For the time being, Gu Xiaozhou would surely hold back a bit and not dare to provoke her so easily again.

[Sis, I’ll be joining the film crew next month, so you have to spend more time with me this month~]

It was a message from Song Guanjin.

Song Guanjin was obsessed with all sorts of flame-keeping behaviors.

[Sis, we’ve already got the Friendship Ship now~]

Xu Bingqi tapped on the keyboard, but before she could reply, she saw Song Guanjin’s next message.

[This is the very well-behaved cat.]

[Image]

In the picture, the cat’s pair of green eyes resembled two sparkling emeralds, set in its chubby little head. Its fur was soft and smooth, as if woven from the finest silk. Xu Bingqi could imagine that stroking the cat’s back would feel like running fingers through clouds.

Most importantly, Xu Bingqi felt that this cat looked exactly like the one she had picked up in her previous life.

It was as if time had twisted here, mysteriously overlapping the past with the present.

[Very cute.]

Xu Bingqi slowly typed: [Is it really a stray cat?]

The innocent cat had no idea why the other person asked this question but still replied obediently: [Yeah, I took the photo by the sidewalk.]

Xu Bingqi’s reply this time was surprisingly fast.

Song Guanjin felt that her message had barely been sent for a second before she received Xu Bingqi’s response: [Alright, I want to adopt it.]

Song Guanjin even suspected that Xu Bingqi had already typed this message in the chatbox beforehand.

Being adopted by Xu Bingqi?

Would that mean she could lie in her sister’s arms all day, breathing in her familiar and comforting scent, and enjoying her sister’s doting caresses?

Song Guanjin lost herself in the thought, as if already touching the warmth and comfort of the imagined scene.

After a while, the cat finally struggled to snap out of her daydream.

A cat demon shall never be enslaved!

[No, you can’t~]

Song Guanjin’s mind raced, and she came up with a perfect excuse: [I like it too, I want to adopt it.]

Unable to adopt this cat that looked exactly like the one from her past life, Xu Bingqi felt a slight pang of regret.

[Alright, after you adopt it, can I come over to pet the cat?]

After sending the message, Xu Bingqi noticed that Song Guanjin didn’t reply for a long time.

Perhaps she was busy preparing to join the film crew.

Of course, you can!

Song Guanjin finally understood what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot.

Once again, she had been tricked by a cunning human!

What difference was there between this and a human’s uniform fetish!

The little kitten felt nothing but regret at the thought that in the near future, Xu Bingqi would be petting her in his own home, feeding her with her own cat food, while she would have to pretend to be well-behaved by gently rubbing against his pant leg to maintain her innocent “cat persona,” and even go along with it by purring contentedly.

Her cheeks flushed with heat, and in the end, she angrily closed the chat window.

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