She Became The Black Lotus’s Pure, Untouchable Love - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Just one reply.

Thinking this, she tapped the screen twice and typed a single syllable.

…Mm.

She wanted to see exactly what Ning Xiangxiang had to say to her.

Huo Xingyu sat with one arm crossed over her chest, holding her phone directly in front of her with the other hand. She stared at the alternating green and white chat bubbles.

Five minutes passed. Not a single sound.

“Uh…” Huo Xingyu narrowed her eyes.

Perhaps seeing a reply from her was too unexpected; it was understandable if the girl was currently too overwhelmed with excitement to function.

Ten minutes passed.

Still no reaction. Huo Xingyu’s mood began to shift toward irritability.

Maybe… maybe she’s choosing her words carefully? It was only logical to spend time thinking about how to reply in a way that would make Huo Xingyu happy. Ning Xiangxiang was so ditsy; it was perfectly normal to give her some time to think.

Thinking this, she smoothed her long, curled hair and sat up a bit straighter, staring intently at the screen.

Twenty minutes passed. The hand she was holding in front of her went numb, and Ning Xiangxiang still hadn’t followed up.

What does this mean?

She flirts and then just runs away??

Messaging her at nine in the evening wasn’t to make up or to coax her. Was it literally just to ask if she had eaten??

Huo Xingyu endured it as long as she could before deciding to send one more sentence—one more heavy hint. She knit her brows and tapped the screen aggressively.

The crew has already stopped working, right?

She had made it as clear as day. Even if Ning Xiangxiang had a decorative ornament on her shoulders instead of a head, she should be able to understand this explicit hint.

If you want to keep filming that much…

Then be a good girl.

Say something nice to me!

Huo Xingyu held her phone indignantly. A moment later, just as she was making up her mind to shut down the production for an entire year, the chat interface she had been staring at finally popped up with a white message.

…

The bathroom was filled with mist.

Ning Xiangxiang carefully dressed herself in a difficult, awkward posture. Since Sister Luo wasn’t there and she was too embarrassed to trouble Lin Junru, it took her over twenty minutes just to do a simple sponge bath with one leg in a cast.

She slowly pushed her wheelchair, moving from the bathroom to the bedside. She reached out and grabbed the phone on the nightstand. After messaging “Auntie Chen” earlier, she had gone to wash up.

She recalled that 9:00 PM was usually when Auntie Chen was out square dancing; logically, the woman shouldn’t have time to reply.

But looking at the reply on the screen:

…The crew has already stopped working, right?

Ning Xiangxiang was stunned. She hadn’t told anyone about this yet—how did “Auntie Chen” know? Had someone leaked it on Weibo?

Ning Xiangxiang quickly opened Weibo to search, but under the “Song of the Sea” hashtag, it was still just a sea of insults, no different from before. If they knew filming had stopped, there would be a flood of celebratory posts and giveaway raffles.

Since the news hadn’t leaked, how did “Auntie Chen” know?

Recalling that incredibly “dramatic” bowl of chicken soup at the hospital, Ning Xiangxiang fell silent.

An expert…

She really is an expert!

She hadn’t realized Auntie Chen was such a hidden powerhouse with such far-reaching connections. Her information network was terrifying!

Since Auntie Chen was this formidable, Ning Xiangxiang narrowed her eyes. While plotting her “retaliation” against Huo Xingyu in her head, she typed out a question:

Can you tell me what Huo Xingyu’s Alipay account number is?

…

Huo Xingyu stared at the bizarre reply that had taken twenty minutes to arrive.

First of all, the grammatical error—what did she mean by “Huo Xingyu’s”? It sounded as if Huo Xingyu were an outsider to this conversation. Wasn’t she Huo Xingyu?

And why did Ning Xiangxiang want her Alipay account? To send her money?

As these questions surfaced, she suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted. She thought of Ning Xiangxiang’s pitiful state: unable to afford an assistant, limping alone in the Film City, having to do everything herself with no one to care for her.

Even in such a state, she still wanted to take a portion of her savings to send to Huo Xingyu just to make her happy.

But money was the one thing Huo Xingyu didn’t lack. Even if Ning Xiangxiang emptied her wallet, those few coins wouldn’t mean anything to her.

Huo Xingyu narrowed her eyes at the request for her account. She had heard people say that to see if someone loves you, you have to see if they are willing to give you the thing they lack most. Rich people give you time; poor people give you money.

Ning Xiangxiang was this poor, yet… she was thinking of sending money to her Alipay?

It seems…

It seems Ning Xiangxiang really loves me beyond help!

Having clarified this “fact,” Huo Xingyu’s face began to feel inexplicably hot. The tips of her ears turned a deep crimson, and a smug smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

If she didn’t accept it, would Ning Xiangxiang fall into an awkward, self-conscious state? Would she think Huo Xingyu looked down on her money? Maybe… maybe she could let Ning Xiangxiang send whatever she wanted, and then Huo Xingyu would return it tenfold. That should work.

Smiling, Huo Xingyu typed out a string of numbers. She promised—she swore—that she only felt a tiny bit of anticipation.

She quickly opened the Alipay app. After waiting and waiting, a friend request finally popped up.

She tapped it. Inside the request box was a notification for a user named Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace. The red dot in the corner indicated it was brand new.

The profile picture was of Jackie Chan with two “ox-horn” buns, wearing a tight Chun-Li cosplay outfit that struggled to contain his bulging muscles. His eyes were three parts coquettish, three parts alluring, and four parts shy.

Huo Xingyu stared at the nickname “Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace” and the Jackie-Li profile picture. She fell silent.

Her instinct was to reject it. But if she didn’t accept, what would happen to Ning Xiangxiang?

Frowning, Huo Xingyu pressed the “Accept” button with great difficulty. Her heart was racing with a mysterious tension. She stared at the Jackie Chan icon, thinking: What should I say after I send the money back to her?

She’d say she wasn’t angry anymore. If Ning Xiangxiang really wanted to film that much, she’d let Director Lu continue tomorrow. She’d even treat the crew to dinner as an apology so Ning Xiangxiang wouldn’t be in a tough spot.

Only… just don’t let that “Madam White Snake” get so close to her again.

Huo Xingyu felt as if a transparent bubble was floating up in her heart, drifting higher and higher. Just as it was about to float out, a notification popped up at the top of the blue app.

Master, someone has beaten up your chicken—

What?

Confused, Huo Xingyu tapped the notification and entered the “Ant Manor” mini-game. She stared at the little fat chicken on the screen, which was now black and blue from a beating.

Huo Xingyu was stunned.

The round little chick had tears in its eyes, its chubby body was wrapped in bandages, and a fist-sized lump had swollen on its head.

The record on the side read:  Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace used a “Family Card” to take away your chicken!  Your chicken stayed at Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace’s manor for 1 minute. After eating 2g of feed, it was beaten up by Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace and sent back.

…Ning Xiangxiang!

Ning Xiangxiang actually snuck in to beat up her digital chicken!!

Beating it was one thing, but she used an item to lure the chicken away first and then beat it?? This was premeditated! This was a carefully planned assassination of her chicken!

Looking at that Jackie Chan Chun-Li avatar and the nickname, a complex surge of emotion rose in Huo Xingyu’s heart. She felt both aggrieved and furious.

What do you mean “Exterminating Evil and Promoting Peace”?! Beating my chicken is “Exterminating Evil”?!

Huo Xingyu stared at the weeping fat chicken. She decided: this production must be shut down indefinitely. She had to make Ning Xiangxiang realize her mistake.

Just then, more messages popped up at the top of the screen:

Ning Xiangxiang: Since we aren’t filming tomorrow anyway, do you want to go out for a walk together?