I Just Want to Spoil and Run Away with the Abused Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 32.2

Shi Xingrao pulled Lin Shuangran over to the dining table and had her sit down. “Sis, just sit and wait for the meal. I’ll open it.”

Taking the wine and corkscrew from Lin Shuangran, Lin Yi lazily brushed back her hair, the tassels of her earrings swaying with the movement. The woman exuded a captivating charm, like a peacock flaunting its feathers.

As she moved, the scent from Lin Yi wafted to Shi Xingrao’s nose. “Push it in a little deeper.”

Before she could finish, Shi Xingrao shot her a sharp glare. “Why do you talk so much?”

Lin Yi lowered her voice to a volume only the two of them could hear. “After I helped you this much, is this how you repay me? If I hadn’t taken the anklet.”

Yesterday, when Lin Shuangran returned to the old house and opened the box, she discovered the anklet was missing. The tension that had built up to its peak suddenly dissipated, and she slumped down weakly. The anklet wasn’t there so it wasn’t just Shi Xingrao who could have had it.

Lin Shuangran remained crouched for a while before Aunt Chen seemed to remember something and walked in. “Second Miss, it seems the eldest young lady came by last night. I just heard from the butler.”

Lin Yi lowered her long, amber eyes, a hint of mischievous delight in them as if she relished the chaos. “By now, Lin Shuangran must have found out about you.”

Shi Xingrao pulled the cork out with a single motionpopthe bottle opened, the wine sloshing and splashing a little onto her knuckles.

Her fingers were slender like scallion stems, her nails neatly trimmed and rounded, the tips tinged with a faint pink. Were these the same pale, delicate fingers that had been with Lin Shuangran yesterday?

Lin Yi’s eyes darkened slightly.

“You’re hoping I get caught, aren’t you?” Shi Xingrao couldn’t help but warn, “Stop saying meaningless things. There’s nothing between us, so don’t stir up trouble.”

Instead of getting Lin Yi’s assurance, Shi Xingrao was met with a disdainful scoff. “Your fingers are so short. Can you really make someone happy? I think you’d be better off being a bottom.”

Shi Xingrao: “…”

Fuck. A certain plant.

Cat Ears: “Her tone is so annoying. Oh no, Sister Miao, she said your hands are short.”

Lin Yi really was the type to equally piss off everyone.

Shi Xingrao sat back down beside Lin Shuangran. The bullied puppy seemed to be brewing something.

“Sister.”

Seeing Shi Xingrao return to her side, Lin Shuangran finally felt at ease. She didn’t want Lin Yi and Shi Xingrao to get too close.

Although she hadn’t found any evidence yesterday, she still felt that the relationship between Lin Yi and Shi Xingrao wasn’t that simple. At the very least, Lin Yi treated Shi Xingrao differently.

Shi Xingrao’s initiative to return to her side and rely on her pleased Lin Shuangran immensely. A gentle smile graced her lips as she carefully wiped the wine stains from Shi Xingrao’s hands with a handkerchief.

Shi Xingrao looked as if she had been terribly wronged, her expression full of grievance. “Sister, she said my fingers are short. Tell her my fingers aren’t short!”

Mentioning whether her fingers were short or not, a flush of crimson spread from Lin Shuangran’s ear tips down to the side of her neck, blooming across her fair skin. The pristine moonlight seemed tinged with worldly hues, making her especially captivating.

Shi Xingrao was usually clingy and well-behaved, but sometimes she was entirely different like now, when she loved to pester people with questions.

Lin Shuangran didn’t want to answer such questions, but Shi Xingrao, like a little puppy, always had ways to make her respond.

At this moment, Shi Xingrao gazed at her with a pitiful expression. Such a look on that stunningly beautiful face made one want to go along with whatever she said.

“Wife, say something,” Shi Xingrao whined, tugging at Lin Shuangran’s sleeve.

Lin Yi: “…”

Lin Yi: “Fine, your fingers aren’t short, okay?”

Before Lin Yi could finish, Lin Shuangran clasped Shi Xingrao’s hand in hers and replied, “Mengmeng’s fingers aren’t short. Sister, stop teasing her.”

Shi Xingrao had called her “wife,” so it was her place to answer, not Lin Yi’s.

Lin Yi’s meaningful gaze met Lin Shuangran’s unwavering one.

Sparks flew instantly.

Cat Ears: “Is your three-way relationship always this intense?”

Shi Xingrao: “…”

First of all, I’m not dating Lin Yi.

Second, Lin Yi’s hands are so short she’ll never find a girlfriend.

Lastly, my fingers are long.

Duoduo: “…”

According to Cat Ears, the meal was so tense it felt like sparks were flying. Finally, Lin Shuangran spoke up, “Would it be possible to delay the release of Lin Corporation’s game?”

At these words, the usually antagonistic Lin Yi and Shi Xingrao exchanged a glance in unison.

“Why?”

“It’s part of the deal to break off the engagement.”

Lin Yi: “You’ve already discussed breaking off the engagement with Lu Ze?”

Shi Xingrao poked at the rice in her bowl, glanced up at Lin Yi, and at her signal, Lin Yi continued, “Is that the only condition Lu Ze set for breaking off the engagement?”

“If there are any other conditions, you can discuss them with me. Anything can be negotiated. But Xiao Ran, I don’t want you to be deceived by Lu Ze.”

It had to be said that at critical moments, Lin Yi, as an older sister, was quite reliable.

At the very least, Shi Xingrao nodded along with every word Lin Yi said. “Yes, if he has any other conditions, I can help you too, sis.”

Seeing the two people in front of her who cared so deeply about her, Lin Shuangran couldn’t help but laugh. Did these two really think she was that unreliable? But one was family, and the other was her beloved. Being cared for by them warmed her heart.

“Earlier, he mentioned wanting me to take him to the company to compare the two games, but I didn’t agree. After that, he said their game had encountered some issues and hoped we could delay our game’s launch a bit to give them some breathing room.”

“Lu Ze’s intention seems to be that since the two games are quite similar, he hopes for fair competition, launching at the same time and letting the best one win.”

Lin Yi nodded. “Fine, we can compete with them fairly.”

“In the future, try not to go out when Lu Ze invites you. That guy has ill intentions. Don’t think of him as just the kid from next door anymore,” Lin Yi added.

Knowing that Lin Shuangran had gone to see Lu Ze, Shi Xingrao, that little fox, was bound to stir up trouble. She might even insist on tagging along to keep an eye on Lin Shuangran.

Lin Yi didn’t plan on going back today. The housekeeper had prepared a room for her on the second floor.

At nine in the evening, Shi Xingrao stepped out of her room to get some water. As she passed by the balcony, she heard a woman’s lazy voice. “Over here.”

Lin Yi, wearing a knitted sweater, leaned casually against the balcony railing. When she saw Shi Xingrao approaching, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Why do you think Lu Ze is doing this?”

There was enough space between Shi Xingrao and Lin Yi for two more people to stand. Shi Xingrao replied, “It’s definitely not for fair competition.”

“Most likely, he wants our game to launch later while his launches first. He probably still wants to seize the advantage. Once everyone is engrossed in his game, the traffic for Lin Corporation’s game will naturally be lower. It might even end up being a flop.”

“Is business warfare always this boring? Relying on deception?”

Lin Yi chuckled, her beautiful fox-like eyes seeming to hook Shi Xingrao as she looked at her. “Yes, it’s incredibly boring. In business warfare, we often resort to cutting power cords, watering down competitors’ lucky plants, and posting negative comments in their review sections.”

Sure enough, the next day at ten in the morning, Lu Corporation’s game launched a few days ahead of their originally planned schedule.

Not only that, but they also bought a flood of promotional articles to smear Lin Corporation’s game. Some accused Lin Corporation of plagiarizing Lu Corporation’s game, while others spread pessimism, claiming that since Lin Corporation had never been involved in the gaming industry, they were bound to fail, just trying to cash in on a trend and labeling anyone who played their game a fool.

Reading these slanderous remarks, Shi Xingrao felt her eyelid twitch. Seriously? They were even saying things like “only fools would play it.”

In the future, when she and Yu Chen engaged in mutual slander, she should buy promotional articles claiming that anyone who liked Yu Chen was a fool.

Leaning over to look at the content on Lin Yi’s tablet, Shi Xingrao casually joked, “How about you also market it as ‘only fools would play their game’?”

Lin Yi tapped her slender fingers on the tablet, a faint smile curling her crimson lips. “That’s not a bad idea.”

Lu Ze stared at the backend data showing the continuously rising number of registered users. Though he knew it was the result of long-term preparation and extensive promotion, the game’s soaring download count, which had nearly surpassed that of his previous title, still made his heart race with excitement.

You should know that even without this level of downloads on the first day, Lu Corporation’s previous game had already become incredibly popular. Now, with such a strong start on day one, he had no idea just how massive this game would become.

He firmly believed that in the gaming industry, he couldn’t possibly lose. His game was outstanding in its own right, there was no reason for it to fail. Moreover, with such aggressive marketing, he refused to believe that Lin Corporation, a mere knockoff brand, could truly steal any market share from them.

Lin Corporation’s journey in the gaming industry would begin here, and it was destined to end here as well.

However, by 8 p.m., Lu Corporation’s new game was already trending on social media, accompanied by negative news about the game being attacked and the company allegedly selling user data.

Once again, the company’s game encountered issues. A line of mocking text appeared on the website interface:

Tsk, still haven’t fixed the vulnerabilities? With this level of competence? Trash, boring. How dare you boast about your game with skills like this? How good could it possibly be?

Tonight, all staff were on standby at the company. Lu Ze had kept everyone there to prevent server crashes due to the high number of downloads. But now, instead of dealing with server issues, they were facing another hacking problem the same one they had encountered just a short while ago.

The simultaneous occurrence of negative press and the game being attacked to the point of shutdown left Lu Ze utterly stunned for the first time in his life.

It wasn’t just shock he felt as if his heart were bleeding. This game was something he had watched grow from nothing. He had even participated in the character modeling design. To him, this game was like his own child.

This game meant more to him than any other he had worked on before.

He had been involved since the project’s inception. Now, his “child” had grown up and was being seen and loved by players. He knew his game had the potential to go much further, yet on its very first day, it was hit with such a disaster.

Before this game, he might have held onto the hope of creating other games in the future. But now, things were different. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that he lacked the ability to produce a game better than this one.

Lu Ze was so agitated he felt almost suffocated. “Fix it quickly! Do you want everyone to see our website being hacked?”

The staff were already drenched in sweat. They hadn’t expected the game to be attacked to the point of shutdown. Logically, their servers shouldn’t have been vulnerable to such an extent.

Lu Ze’s eyes were red with fury. He was certain this had something to do with the Lin family. Lin Shuangran, how dare she? How dare she plot against him like this?

On the surface, she had agreed to delay the release of Lin Corporation’s game, only to turn around and hire someone to hack his game. Everyone knew how crucial the first few days were for a game’s launch.

But before Lu Ze could even confront her, evidence of Lu Corporation selling players’ private information was leaked online. Already overwhelmed, Lu Ze felt his mind go blank at the sight of this news.

Back when Cat Ears had hacked Lu Corporation’s website last time, they had discovered this information. At the time, Cat Ears had asked Shi Xingrao whether they should release the data to sabotage Lu Ze. But Shi Xingrao had merely replied calmly, “Don’t release it.”

Cat Ears had even marveled at Shi Xingrao’s kindness back then. But now, it was clear, Shi Xingrao wasn’t withholding the information out of benevolence. She was simply waiting for the right moment to strike, to finish him off when he was already down.

【Damn, I was wondering why I’ve been getting so many scam calls lately. Turns out my info got leaked from the game.】

【Anyone who plays Lu Corporation’s games is a fool getting sold out without even knowing it.】

【What Lu Corporation is doing is illegal. Has no one sued them yet?】

【Thanks for the heads-up, whistleblower. I was seriously about to try that game.】

【Is no one going to mention that Lu Corporation’s new game isn’t as fun as their last one? The only reason it had so many players on launch day was the heavy promotion.】

【I agree. It’s pretty similar to their previous game, but the interactivity is noticeably worse. I lost interest after just a short while.】