After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Livestream and Shared Bath

◎ I heard that best friends take baths together ◎

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Jiao Qingyin started her livestream on time.

The content the company arranged for her was to try on various pieces of jewelry while chatting with the audience. The jewelry came from a brand she endorsed, and the conversation was supposed to revolve as much as possible around Satellite, which had not yet begun filming.

Thus, as soon as the camera turned on, the fans who had been waiting in the livestream room saw Jiao Qingyin holding an enamel bracelet, greeting them with a beaming smile.

Today, Jiao Qingyin wore a pure white camisole dress. Her black hair was styled with slight curls at the bottom. Her clear and transparent makeup made her originally aggressive beauty look much more harmless, giving her the aura of a flower or a small bird.

“Visual critical hit!”

“Ahhh, Little Jiao is too beautiful today!”

“Hello everyone,” Jiao Qingyin waved to the viewers. “Everyone is so enthusiastic today.”

“Because Little Jiao is especially good-looking today!”

“That smile is so cute, I’m going to faint!”

Looking at the screen full of compliments, the curve of Jiao Qingyin’s mouth deepened. “Are you all just coaxing me? Why haven’t I seen you this excited before?”

The way she slightly elongated her words sounded like acting spoiled. The comments instantly exploded, and various messy titles like “Baby” and “Wife” popped up, with everyone frantically explaining that they were telling the truth.

After boarding the star-shuttle, Wen Fengyue opened the livestream with a complicated mood. Upon hearing Jiao Qingyin’s soft voice, her hand shook involuntarily, and she sent a gift.

She sent a “Little Star,” the only free gift on the Fanxing Livestream platform. In less than a second, this star was submerged in the flood of gifts sent by other fans.

Wen Fengyue stared at the screen of her optical computer for a long time. Inside, Jiao Qingyin was saying words of thanks while putting on the enamel bracelet, her fair and delicate wrist looking like snow against it.

“Does it look good?” Jiao Qingyin turned her wrist, the enamel material reflecting a brilliant light. “I like it very much.”

When she said “like,” her pronunciation was always light, like a whisper in someone’s ear.

Wen Fengyue almost immediately raised her hand to cover her earphone.

Her heart was thumping like a drum, but her face was grim. If someone who didn’t know the situation saw her expression, they would surely think she was angry.

…Though, she actually was a little.

Wen Fengyue didn’t know what she was angry about. This livestream was Jiao Qingyin’s work. No matter what kind of smile she showed or what tone she used, it was all part of her business persona. She shouldn’t have emotional fluctuations over it, and… she had no standing to feel dissatisfied.

Her rationality understood everything clearly, but emotionally, she couldn’t control her feelings at all.

If Jiao Qingyin only smiled like that for her alone…

“Teacher Wen?” The assistant sitting in the front row noticed her abnormality and looked back. “Do you need anything?”

The assistant had previously worked under Manager Li. After Manager Li offended Jiao Qingyin yesterday, she had been severely criticized by the high-level leadership in front of the whole team. Seeing this, the assistant reacted quickly and immediately adjusted her attitude toward Wen Fengyue.

“Nothing.” Wen Fengyue turned off her optical computer and closed her eyes, pretending she wanted to rest. The assistant turned back awkwardly.

But a few seconds later, a certain someone opened her eyes again and once more entered the familiar livestream room.

Riding in the car is too boring, she’s just passing the time…

“There’s so much jewelry on the table, is Little Jiao going to try them on one by one?”

“Yes, which one do you want to see me wear first?”

Jiao Qingyin was all smiles, handing over part of the livestream’s initiative to the audience. This triggered another wave of comments and gifts, driving the room’s popularity to soar as more and more passersby clicked in.

Since Jiao Qingyin transmigrated, the original host’s appearance in others’ minds had been replaced by her own image, but that didn’t change the public’s past evaluations of the host.

In people’s impressions, the original host was always labeled as “stiff-faced”, a “vase”, and “expressionless.” Although she had tried to cultivate a sunny and cheerful persona, not many people outside of her fans bought it.

So, when Jiao Qingyin faced the camera and displayed the side the original host truly wanted to show, the people seeing her began to have thoughts like, “I never realized she was this beautiful before…”

The most requested item in the comments was “rings.” The logistics staff noticed and wrote “Rings” on the teleprompter board.

But Jiao Qingyin shook her head. “Rings won’t do.”

Facing the protesting comments, Jiao Qingyin waved her long, beautiful fingers in front of the camera. Then, she lowered her voice and spoke as if sharing a small secret: “Rings… I have to wait until I have a lover before I wear them.”

This statement stirred up a thousand waves. Fans are always very concerned about a star’s private life. Hearing Jiao Qingyin say this, they all began to ask about her relationship status.

“As far as I know, if a star mentions a ‘lover’ in front of the camera, they definitely already have someone and are paving the way for a later reveal!”

Jiao Qingyin read this comment aloud and then denied it: “I don’t have a partner yet, but…”

As she said the word “but,” Wen Fengyue’s heart tightened bit by bit, until—

Jiao Qingyin took off the bracelet, hooked it with her fingertip, and shook it, the smile on her lips deepening. “But, I’m about to fall in love with Teacher Wen Fengyue—”

Wen Fengyue’s breathing stopped. She accidentally sent out another string of Little Stars.

The comments were scrolling too fast, densely covering Jiao Qingyin’s face, causing the entire livestream to lag. Wen Fengyue’s shuttle just happened to be passing through a tunnel at that moment, and she was kicked out of the room by the lag.

Staring at the black screen of her optical computer, Wen Fengyue even had a sudden impulse to turn around and go back to see Jiao Qingyin.

The tunnel was very long, which caused her to miss Jiao Qingyin’s next few sentences.

“Haha, you guessed right, we’re indeed ‘falling in love’ in Satellite.”

“Do I dislike same-sex plots? Of course not. Besides, Teacher Wen and I have a very good private relationship.”

“It wasn’t a conflict on the starship; we were practicing lines. You’ll know once it airs.”

“There aren’t just romance plots, but also many intimate scenes… No body doubles will be used, because…”

When Wen Fengyue finally reconnected to the livestream, she saw Jiao Qingyin fiddling with a butterfly tassel earring, smiling seemingly carelessly: “Teacher Wen is so beautiful and has such a good figure. I like her, so—I’m looking forward to being more intimate with her.”

With a snap, a certain taut string in Wen Fengyue’s brain broke.

She clumsily put away her optical computer, not daring to look for even another second.

But even so, her imbalanced heart rate failed to return to normal. Her entire mind was filled to the brim by Jiao Qingyin’s casual remark.

It wasn’t until she arrived at the roadshow venue, just before going on stage, that Wen Fengyue gathered enough courage to open the livestream again.

…Just one look. I’ll turn it off after one look.

“Little Jiao is so pretty, can you open the touch permissions? [Drooling.jpg]”

“Touch permissions! Touch permissions!”

“Can the comments restrain themselves a bit! If she actually opens them, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

When Jiao Qingyin finished putting on a necklace, she happened to see these comments and couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow.

While preparing for the livestream, she had noticed a “Touch Permissions” setting highlighted in red in the optical computer’s settings. Once touch permissions were enabled for a holographic video call or livestream, the other party could directly touch the person on the camera’s side.

Most evaluations of this permission on the Star-Net revolved around “realistic touch” and “both parties can feel pleasure.”

Thus, as soon as the comments asking Jiao Qingyin to open the permissions appeared, they were swiftly muted by the livestream moderator. Seeing this, the cold-faced Wen Fengyue stopped her attempt to report the users.

The actor next to her wanted to say a few words to her, but was frightened by Wen Fengyue’s cold and fierce expression, fearfully withdrawing his hand and turning to others.

The way the Film Queen is looking at her optical computer is so scary, she must have received some bad news…

Halfway through his secret thoughts, he saw the Film Queen put away her device and go talk to the director.

Soon, the roadshow began. Wen Fengyue, as one of the leads, walked onto the stage, but her heart was no longer there.

She was thinking of the table full of glittering jewelry, thinking of those intimate words directed at her, thinking of… thinking of Jiao Qingyin.

Did the other woman know she was being watched by so many people? Did she know how many of those people harbored ill intentions? They actually dared to fantasize about touch permissions…

But if it were a touch permission opened only for her alone…

Realizing what she was thinking, a deeper shadow instantly fell over Wen Fengyue’s eyes. Her terrifying expression could almost make a child cry.

The roadshow ended. Wen Fengyue checked the time and bid farewell to the cast members who were preparing to head to a group dinner.

“Eh? Teacher Wen isn’t coming?” an actress asked. “I heard that natural restaurant is very hard to book…”

“No, I have other work.” Wen Fengyue shook her head expressionlessly. After nodding to a few people she was slightly closer to, she strode toward her star-shuttle.

The people she ignored showed embarrassed and annoyed expressions. The director knew Wen Fengyue was solitary and didn’t actually have a problem with everyone, so she tried to smooth things over.

But not many were appreciative, especially a lead who had always had business conflicts with Wen Fengyue. At this moment, they couldn’t help but be snide: “The Film Queen is indeed different, putting on airs and playing the big shot.”

“No matter how big a shot she is, isn’t she still going to act in a same-sex film with a starlet who just debuted?”

The director frowned, wanting to say a few words of advice, but the people began to snicker quietly. She couldn’t say more and could only shake her head helplessly.

On the other side, Wen Fengyue returned to Jiao Qingyin’s house as fast as possible.

She did have a job as a late-night radio guest tonight, but that started at eleven o’clock. There were still four hours until then.

Wen Fengyue should have used these four hours to catch up on sleep or eat something, but no matter what, she wanted to see Jiao Qingyin first.

As for what she would do after seeing her… she hadn’t decided yet.

Wen Fengyue stood somewhat rigidly in front of the villa door and pressed the doorbell.

What responded was the robot butler’s greeting: “Hello, Wen Fengyue. You have been detected as the Master’s [Soulmate]. Welcome.”

Soulmate? Wen Fengyue froze. She remembered that the status Jiao Qingyin registered for her yesterday was only “Friend.”

Because Jiao Qingyin was home, the door automatically opened for a visitor with “Soulmate” level clearance.

After the door opened, Wen Fengyue looked at the warmly lit living room and actually felt a bit hesitant to step inside.

But the pair of fluffy wolf-head slippers at the entrance gave her strength back—Wen Fengyue suddenly remembered that when Jiao Qingyin’s logistics team entered the house, they all wore disposable slippers provided by the robot. Only she… was special.

Wen Fengyue entered the house as if walking on air. Soon, she was attracted to the vicinity of the kitchen by a food aroma different from the early morning.

It was a meat dish… Wen Fengyue looked toward the glass door but didn’t find Jiao Qingyin’s figure inside.

This left Wen Fengyue at a bit of a loss.

She turned to look at the small robot following her and asked, “Where is Jiao Qingyin?”

The small robot answered every question: “On the second floor.”

“Resting on the second floor…?”

“Taking a bath.”

Hearing the words “taking a bath,” Wen Fengyue, who had been thinking of taking a look at her, immediately withdrew her foot.

Her action of stopping abruptly mid-stride looked a bit comical, but the small robot’s next sentence made her heart sink instantly.

“Master has been bathing for one hour. Detected the bathroom temperature is exceeding the limit. Master is in danger.”

“One hour?” Wen Fengyue picked up the slow-reacting small robot and rushed to the second floor with it, then placed it at the door of the master bathroom. “You go in and look.”

The small robot’s fixed routine was disrupted. It spun around in circles twice before replying: “Master has set a ban. Robots cannot enter an occupied bathroom.”

“…” Wen Fengyue bit her lip. The master bathroom door was half wood and half thick frosted glass. She could see heavy water vapor fogging the glass and could feel the heat emanating from the door gap. One could imagine the indoor temperature.

Unable to rely on the robot, she could only knock on the door herself. “Jiao Qingyin, are you in there?”

Her question, though she knew the answer, received no response. After two seconds, Wen Fengyue knocked again. “You’ve been in there too long, you should come out—is your physical condition still normal?”

Still no answer.

“—Jiao Qingyin?”

Only Wen Fengyue’s voice echoed in the empty corridor.

Cold sweat broke out on her nose. A nameless fear seized Wen Fengyue’s heart. Instinct drove her to push open the bathroom door, frantically calling Jiao Qingyin’s name.

“Teacher Wen?” Finally, a blurred response accompanied by the pitter-patter of water came from behind the curtain shielding the bathtub.

“Are you okay?!”

Wen Fengyue took several large strides to the bathtub and reached out to pull back the curtain. But just as she saw a glimpse of skin steamed pink by the heat, she shing pulled the curtain back again.

“I… you… are you alright?”

Inside the bathtub, Jiao Qingyin had already prepared a weak and pitiful expression. Seeing Wen Fengyue pull the curtain back, she was almost laughed to tears in anger and splashed a bit of water.

Wen Fengyue knew nothing of Jiao Qingyin’s intent. She was trapped in a dilemma, her expression slightly distorted.

Jiao Qingyin was clearly in a bad state, but the medical robot couldn’t enter the bathroom. If she wanted to take her out, she would inevitably need to open the curtain first, carry her while she was unclad, and then…

Wen Fengyue subconsciously clenched her fists, her nails sinking deep into her flesh.

She kept telling herself that both she and Jiao Qingyin were women; there was nothing she couldn’t see. Moreover, this was an emergency; touching the other’s body was a necessity, not out of other thoughts. She had a completely clear conscience…

…Did she really have a clear conscience?

Wen Fengyue could feel her heart beating rapidly, and this was obviously not purely out of concern for Jiao Qingyin. She… had a guilty conscience.

If Jiao Qingyin knew her thoughts, would she find them disgusting?

Especially since—they had clearly only known each other for one day!

Wen Fengyue was not the type to become interested in someone because of their appearance or body. She was absolutely certain that even if the shell was identical, as long as the person wasn’t Jiao Qingyin, she wouldn’t have the slightest reaction.

It was hard for Wen Fengyue to explain this attraction that seemed to come from the depths of her soul. Furthermore, she couldn’t even convince herself—how could she convince Jiao Qingyin that she didn’t have ill intentions?

“Teacher Wen… I feel a bit… unwell…”

A weak voice came from behind the shower curtain, pulling Wen Fengyue out of her rigid state.

Jiao Qingyin was suffering; she was calling to her for help.

As soon as this thought appeared, all of Wen Fengyue’s thinking stopped. By the time she came to her senses, she was already looking at Jiao Qingyin soaking in the bathtub amidst the dense mist.

Dense bubbles covered most of her body. Only her shoulders and a part of… Wen Fengyue’s breathing grew heavy. She immediately looked away, focusing her gaze entirely on Jiao Qingyin’s face.

Jiao Qingyin happened to look at her too. Her eyes were half-lidded, her face flushed with an abnormal red. “Ugh…”

Wen Fengyue bit the tip of her tongue hard to keep herself awake.

With her nerves pulled taut, she discovered that Jiao Qingyin’s attraction to her was much higher than she had imagined.

“You’ve soaked for too long,” Wen Fengyue’s voice was very unnatural. “I’ll carry you out. The medical robot is already waiting.”

She picked up a large bath towel lying nearby, wanting to wrap Jiao Qingyin’s body first before carrying her out of the water.

But perhaps because she was unconscious, Jiao Qingyin did not cooperate with her movements. Not only did she keep moving randomly just as Wen Fengyue was about to succeed, but she also pulled the towel aside twice.

Thus, Wen Fengyue inevitably touched some places she hadn’t originally intended to touch.

Her heart was practically jumping out of her throat. From childhood to adulthood, Wen Fengyue had never experienced a moment as agonizing as this.

When Jiao Qingyin woke up, she would surely be very angry with her. Perhaps their friendship would end in this brief day.

Wen Fengyue had never been a good person. At this moment, countless malicious and low-level thoughts flashed through her brain, screaming for her to give up self-control and do some things she wanted to do based on instinct.

This voice grew louder and louder, several times almost overwhelming the little bit of logic she had left.

But in the dark, she always felt that someone had once taught her that one cannot express love in such a poor way.

Wen Fengyue forcibly endured, to the point where the veins on her temples bulged. However, her movement to reach out and hug Jiao Qingyin remained very light, for fear of hurting her.

She said hoarsely, trying to wake the person in front of her: “Jiao Qingyin… Jiao Jiao… don’t move.”

Miraculously, after she unconsciously called out “Jiao Jiao,” Jiao Qingyin—who had been dizzily rubbing against her—suddenly became much more well-behaved. Wen Fengyue breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped the towel around the other as fast as possible.

But the accident happened the moment she intended to carry her out of the water.

Perhaps being suddenly suspended made Jiao Qingyin lose her sense of security. She abruptly opened her eyes and spread her arms, circling Wen Fengyue’s neck.

Wen Fengyue didn’t expect this move. Her center of gravity shifted, and she fell forward—

At the critical moment, Jiao Qingyin, who was being held by her, grabbed the shower curtain. The two didn’t fall, but they hit the shower switch open.

Splash— warm water poured down over their heads.

“Teacher Wen!”

This accident seemed to wake Jiao Qingyin up. Seeing her struggle twice, Wen Fengyue let her down.

Wen Fengyue’s gaze met the other’s bare feet on the tiles for a second, then quickly moved away.

“You’re okay…”

Her words weren’t fully out when Jiao Qingyin’s somewhat panicked voice sounded in her ear: “Teacher Wen, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to get you wet…”

The drenched Wen Fengyue looked up and met Jiao Qingyin’s gaze.

Jiao Qingyin’s head was slightly lowered, and she was staring at her with those ink-black eyes. Her expression was nervous and sad, but what flickered in her eyes was clearly a fierce light full of possessiveness.

At this moment, Wen Fengyue suddenly had a dangerous premonition. It was as if… the one standing in front of her wasn’t the usually gentle and smiling Jiao Qingyin, but…

A beast with hidden fangs, approaching step by step.

It seemed that as long as she exposed her soft nape, this beast would open its mouth and snap her spine with one bite.

Wen Fengyue instinctively took a step back, but lightly hit the bathroom wall.

This action seemed to make Jiao Qingyin misunderstand something. A layer of mist rose in those beautiful eyes, and her voice trembled: “Teacher Wen, I really didn’t do it on purpose… do you hate me?”

Wen Fengyue opened her mouth. The instinctive warning only appeared for that one moment before being dispersed by the hunter disguised as a white rabbit.

How could she hate her?

She could feel her soul thumping, and vaguely realized that she might already… have fallen in love with Jiao Qingyin.

Even though she had only known her for a day.

Looking at the nearly crying Jiao Qingyin, she slowly shook her head. “…I don’t hate you.”

This answer clearly invigorated the person in front of her. Jiao Qingyin smiled happily and even leaned over to hug Wen Fengyue’s arm. “That’s good!”

Because she had stayed in the high-temperature room for a long time, her skin was tinged with a faint pink all over. Now, only wrapped in a single bath towel, every movement she made made Wen Fengyue feel like she was going to have a heart attack.

In order not to lose her composure, Wen Fengyue looked up and began to organize her words, preparing to escape from here as soon as possible.

But Jiao Qingyin reached out and touched her wet hair.

Strangely, Wen Fengyue actually shuddered because of this movement.

That feeling… was as if she had always been waiting for the other to touch her like this.

Wen Fengyue’s train of thought was interrupted, and Jiao Qingyin slowly tightened her web. She displayed an expression tinged with shyness and expectation, whispering an invitation to the person in front of her:

“Teacher Wen, it’s not good for your clothes to be wet. Why don’t you take a bath with me?”

As if that wasn’t enough, she added: “I heard that best friends take baths together and share small secrets while bathing. I’ve never had an experience like that. Teacher Wen… do you want to try it together?”

The little dimple that Wen Fengyue had been thinking about emerged from the side of her cheek. The smile on Jiao Qingyin’s face was sweet to the extreme.