After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 23.1

In just this short while, the rain grew heavier.

The branch of Qinghong Entertainment in Xingcheng was unusually remote. In the distance stood a chemical factory that operated day and night, brightly lit, yet the towering building appeared eerily silent, with only a few floors still illuminated.

When the elevator doors opened, the Beta receptionist initially smiled, ready to greet her, but the moment he recognized Ying Xu’s face, he fell silent.

His lips curled slightly, his expression dripping with disdain.

Ying Xu remained indifferent.

The only downside seemed to be that she hadn’t brought an umbrella, and the place was far from the city center.

She casually hailed a ride and waited in the lobby, but the Betas around her began exchanging glances, taking turns coming up with excuses to shoo her away. Their tones were arrogant, their words crude. But when it came to shamelessness, Ying Xu was confident she could hold her own against anyone.

So, despite the glares, she sat there unbothered, completely unfazed. Instead, she mimicked their condescending attitudes, trading insults blow for blow.

Nearly ten minutes passed, yet the app still showed no available rides, as if her account had been blacklisted.

Finally, even Ying Xu grew impatient.

Who knew when Gu Qingzhu and the others would leave? The first rule of delivering a threat was to avoid running into the target immediately afterward that would be utterly lacking in style.

Resting her chin on her hand, she hesitated over whether she should actually ask Sheng Qiuyu for help.

When a message suddenly popped up.

[Cheng Jun]: I’m here.
[Cheng Jun]: Isn’t the livestream over? Is Gu Qingzhu not letting you leave?
[Cheng Jun]: Which floor are you on? I’ll come up to get you.

Several messages in a row. The impatience in Ying Xu’s eyes shifted to surprise.

Why was Cheng Jun here? How did she know the location?

But upon reflection, when the system introduced Cheng Jun, it mentioned that her “mother” was a shareholder in Qinghong. It wasn’t strange for her to have her own sources of information.

Her fingers tapped out a reply, and Cheng Jun’s agitation visibly eased, her tone softening again.

[Is that so? As long as you’re safe.]
[This place is run-down, but security is tight they won’t let my car in. Just come out first.]

Ying Xu stood up and walked back to the front desk. A rain-soaked umbrella lay there, as if its owner had just arrived.

Having learned his lesson, the man avoided meeting her gaze. “What now?!”

She simply picked up the umbrella from the desk, ignoring his furious shouts behind her: “That’s the company’s umbrella! Can you even afford to pay for it?”

Ying Xu thought, Of course, I’ll make Gu Qingzhu pay for it.

Fifteen million doubled would be thirty million. Come to think of it, an Omega who could throw money around like that clearly came from immense wealth.

She finally realized the crux of the matter and asked: [Just how much money does the Gu family have?]

Back when she publicly “cut ties” with Gu Qingzhu, the system had incessantly warned her to reconsider.

Clearly, it didn’t understand the concept of strategic retreat it simply wanted Ying Xu to remain Gu Qingzhu’s appendage forever. If the female lead loved her, she could pat her face or hold her hand. If she hated her, she could toss her aside and step on her.

But Ying Xu was too stubborn, and the system couldn’t sway her, leaving it deeply frustrated.

Now, it only gave a perfunctory answer: [Maybe… ten billion?]

Ying Xu stared ahead, feeling as though the raindrops sliding down the umbrella had turned into zeros.

The rain blurred the light and shadows. She had intended to ask about Cheng Jun’s car, but when her gaze landed on the overly flamboyant red supercar parked by the roadside, the words died on her lips.

The car had been redecorated, adorned with a painting of a rose and a bird. The vivid red hues looked even more poignant under the streetlights.

The lights flickered hazily as the car window rolled halfway down. Rain mixed with snow scattered across the vehicle, tousling Cheng Jun’s hair as she gazed at Ying Xu for a few seconds before saying, “Get in.”

There was no ambiguity in her tone, nor excessive warmth. Ying Xu closed her umbrella and got in, catching a faint whiff of aged vine perfume in the air.

Cheng Jun glanced at the Alpha seated beside her.

Perhaps from walking too quickly, the woman’s clothes were damp, clinging to her well-proportioned frame. Her long lashes framed strikingly vivid blue eyes, which now held a hint of embarrassment, likely over the water from the umbrella dripping onto the car seats.

Her expression was unusually animated, her breathing steady, lips rosy, a far cry from the pallor she’d shown during the livestream earlier.

Cheng Jun tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel and asked softly, “Who told you to do the livestream?”

“Hmm?”

Ying Xu hadn’t expected that to be the first topic Cheng Jun would bring up.

After a brief pause, she replied casually, “Myself.”

“When it’s just the two of us, I’d like Xiao Xu to be honest with me.”

“Of course,” Cheng Jun said. “I know Xiao Xu has no obligation, but ”

Ying Xu chuckled dryly.

The same tactic now that she was the one being “put on the spot,” it didn’t feel so bad.

She simply smiled and reminded her, “My name is Ying Xu.”

“Is that really what you’re still hung up on?”

Cheng Jun sighed softly, realizing she wouldn’t get any further answers. Or perhaps, from the very beginning, Ying Xu had already given her the response.

“Myself”

Absurd as it was, given Ying Xu’s devotion to Gu Qingzhu, wasn’t that just like her?

The rain streaked across the window, wiped away by the wipers, only to return moments later.

The warmth of the aged vine perfume thinned under the dampness. Finally, Ying Xu heard Cheng Jun speak again.

Her voice was low, carrying an indescribable emotion. “Seeing you like this… it really upsets me.”

Ying Xu didn’t think she looked pathetic, it was all just an act. Whether it was online hate or real-life scorn, after a while, one got used to it.

If anything, Cheng Jun’s expression and tone while saying this aligned more closely with the “pathetic” she described.

Ying Xu stared at Cheng Jun, who remained silent, as if locked in some unspoken standoff.

After a long moment, Cheng Jun finally spoke. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ying Xu studied her still-stunning face before averting her gaze. “No reason.”

The last time Sheng Qiuyu had spoken in that tone, she’d cried pitifully, her eyes rimmed red, looking unbearably endearing.

Cheng Jun claimed to be upset, yet she didn’t shed a tear hardly convincing.

Cheng Jun might not know Ying Xu’s criteria for judgment, but she could clearly see from the woman’s unchanged expression that her pitiful act had failed.

Yet she wasn’t the least bit annoyed. Instead, she let out a soft laugh and mused, “Am I not as good at this as Cheng Fei? She’s cuter, more likable, most of the Cheng family prefers her over me.”

Ying Xu said nothing. Cheng Jun added, “This car isn’t mine. No need to treat it carefully.”

With that, the car sped down the night road. Ying Xu didn’t ask where Cheng Jun was taking her, and Cheng Jun didn’t inquire about their destination either.

The car was silent and still, save for the sound of raindrops pattering against the windows.

“Did Sheng Qiuyu tell you?” Cheng Yun said casually, “About my background. Until last year, I always thought I was the daughter of a Qinghong shareholder. And then, in the blink of an eye, I became a third-generation mining heiress. It feels quite novel, actually.”

As Cheng Yun’s biological father approached the end of his life, he suddenly became obsessed with having his children “return to their roots.” Within a few months, seven young heirs of the Cheng family were reclaimed.