The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 30

Tang Jing carried the basin to pour out the water when she noticed someone standing at the courtyard gate. At first, she thought it was a staff member, but something felt off. She glanced over and realized who it was.

Yet, she showed no reaction and turned to leave.

“Sister Tang!” Sun Sijia blurted out.

Tang Jing ignored her.

Sun Sijia rushed forward, blocking Tang Jing’s path, panting heavily from running too fast.

Tang Jing looked at her coldly. “What do you want?”

“I…” Sun Sijia had spent a long time reflecting, especially after receiving a call from Sister Fen. Though she couldn’t check the online reactions now, she knew from Sister Fen’s words that she was being torn apart by the public.

In the past, even just being photographed by paparazzi while having a meal with Tang Jing would land her on the hot search, criticized by netizens.

But today, she had first thrown a card at Tang Jing and then accused her of being ungrateful actions that would undoubtedly cause an explosive uproar.

Even without the card incident, just the accusation of ingratitude alone would have severe consequences.

Though she had always wanted to extract more resources from Tang Jing even coveting more, she was aware of how many good opportunities Tang Jing had given her over the years. Any so-called debt of gratitude had long been repaid.

After all, she wasn’t the only one who had saved Tang Jing’s mother back then. There were others, but they had been in a hurry to get to work and left the task of taking her to the hospital to Sun Sijia.

So when it came to the matter of gratitude, she still felt somewhat guilty.

But after reaping the benefits, her guilt had gradually faded, replaced by a sense of entitlement.

Now, however, she had suddenly come to her senses.

“Sister Tang, I was wrong.” Sun Sijia no longer cared whether there were cameras around. The most important thing now was to salvage her relationship with Tang Jing.

In the past, Tang Jing might have given her a way out, letting her off the hook.

But now, Tang Jing walked straight past her without even a glance.

“Sister Tang!” Sun Sijia panicked and grabbed her wrist.

Tang Jing pulled her hand away, putting distance between them, and asked impatiently, “What exactly do you want?”

“I…” Sun Sijia froze, opening and closing her mouth, unsure of what to say.

“I… I just wanted to apologize,” she stammered.

Tang Jing turned and walked back into the house without another word.

Sun Sijia wanted to follow but stopped after a few steps. She figured that if she kept pestering Tang Jing, she’d only annoy her further. Maybe it was better to wait until Tang Jing cooled down before trying to talk things out properly.

After standing in the courtyard for a few seconds, she turned and left.

The entire scene was broadcast live to the audience.

[Damn, I’ve never seen someone so shameless.]

[Her apology seemed sincere just now, but isn’t it a little too late for her to wake up?]

[And the things she said earlier didn’t sound fake at all. No amount of apologizing now will make up for it.]

[Exactly. She’s probably just afraid of losing the resources Sister Tang has.]

The moment this comment appeared, everyone felt they had uncovered the truth.

“What happened?” Meng Xue, too weak to get out of bed, heard some commotion in the courtyard and casually asked Tang Jing when she saw her.

“Nothing.” To Tang Jing, Sun Sijia’s behavior was laughable, and she didn’t think it was worth mentioning, so she said nothing more.

Meng Xue responded with an indifferent “Oh,” not paying it much mind.

“Lie down. I’ll go make some porridge.”

“Okay.”

In the village, most households cooked with large communal pots. Some used gas stoves or induction cookers, but everyone still preferred the traditional method.

Tang Jing pulled a piece of firewood from the stove, simmering the porridge over a low flame, this way, it would be more nutritious.

While the porridge was cooking, she used a smaller pot to stir-fry two plates of vegetables.

When sick, one’s appetite tends to be bland, so it was best to avoid heavy or greasy foods and stick to something light.

By the time the dishes were plated, the porridge was ready. She carried both the food and porridge into Meng Xue’s room.

Meng Xue had assumed Teacher Tang would only bring in her portion, but to her surprise, there were two bowls of porridge and two pairs of chopsticks.

After helping Meng Xue get dressed, the cameraman followed them in after all, the livestream couldn’t stay unmanned for long.

Apart from lunch breaks and nighttime sleep, everyone had to keep filming, as stipulated in the contract they’d signed.

Tang Jing brought in a small table from the living room and sat across from Meng Xue. The dishes were simple, but the two of them finished both plates.

Meng Xue had regained a bit of her energy by then.

“Get some more rest. I’ll check your temperature again tonight.”

“Mhm.” Seeing Teacher Tang’s gentle demeanor, Meng Xue didn’t want to rest at all. But with the cameras rolling, she worried Tang might overthink it, so she reluctantly closed her eyes.

Not wanting to disturb her, Tang Jing quietly picked up the bowls and chopsticks and slipped out, closing the door behind her. Instead of resting, she sat in the main room reading a book, occasionally checking in on Meng Xue.

Though Meng Xue didn’t want to sleep, the medicine eventually pulled her into a drowsy slumber. She didn’t even notice when or how many times Teacher Tang came in.

All she felt in her dreams was someone occasionally touching her forehead cool fingertips that brought her comfort. Unconsciously, she nuzzled against that hand.

Tang Jing hadn’t expected the usually composed Meng Xue to act so clingy when sick. Her heart trembled slightly, her eyes softening with warmth.

Her hand drifted from Meng Xue’s forehead to the top of her head, gently ruffling her hair twice. A doting smile tugged at her lips until the system’s warning chime snapped her back to reality. She quickly schooled her expression and stepped out with feigned seriousness.

Seeing the world progress at 48%, Tang Jing sighed helplessly. Rules were rules, even a single percentage point couldn’t be skipped.

But she didn’t dwell on it. Back when she’d first joined the company, she’d dreamed of completing enough missions to earn a promotion only then would she be worthy of standing before her senior.

Now, on her very first mission, she’d already met that very senior and there was even a chance they could become lovers.

How could she not be overjoyed? She felt almost too lucky. So, to truly become her senior’s partner, she could wait for the remaining 2% of world progress.

By evening, Meng Xue’s fever had broken, and her spirits had lifted. When she saw Tang Jing, she smiled sweetly. “Teacher Tang.”

“How are you feeling?” Tang Jing couldn’t help but smile back at the sight.

“Much better.” Meng Xue leaned against the headboard, rubbing her stomach. “I’m a little hungry now.” She blinked up at Tang Jing.

Even such an ordinary sentence sounded like a coquettish plea to Tang Jing. Her ears flushed red, and she coughed into her fist before saying, “Then I’ll go make something for you.”

“Okay, thank you, Teacher Tang.” Meng Xue said cheerfully, her voice noticeably brighter now that she was feeling better.

Tang Jing couldn’t help but chuckle softly at her tone.

Since her mother’s passing, Tang Jing rarely smiled whether with friends or directors, her smiles were usually just slight upturns of the corners of her lips.

This was the first time she had laughed so freely, even letting out an audible sound.

The cameraman was stunned for a couple of seconds.

Viewers in the livestream were equally shocked.

[Ahhhh! Sister Tang actually laughed!]

[Oh my god, Sister Tang looks so beautiful when she smiles.]

[This is the first time I’ve ever seen Sister Tang laugh so happily well, not counting on-screen performances.]

[JingShangNongXue is real!]

[No, MengLiHuiTang is the real deal!]

The shippers of both pairings immediately started bickering again.

Since Sun Sijia had ruined the field behind the house, the production team confiscated her plot. She had thrown a tantrum at the time, but the team simply refunded her all the points she had spent.

The field had been rented from the village, and while the crops could be eaten, they would eventually grow back.

But if the land was left barren, regrowth would be much harder.

Without the vegetables from the field, Tang Jing had to buy supplies from the production team’s store. Though the prices were steep, it wasn’t too bad for their group.

On the way back, she ran into Luo Dong and Jian Anping.

Seeing the basket of vegetables in her hand and noticing she had come from the production team’s store, Luo Dong realized she had gone shopping.

“Teacher Tang, we’ve also started growing vegetables. Would you like to buy from us?”

Tang Jing thought for a moment. “How much are you selling them for?”

“A hundred points a month.” Since selling to the production team fetched the same price, he figured he might as well offer some to the guests.

After all, he had seen the prices at the production team’s store, they were even higher than what they were charging.

“Deal,” Tang Jing agreed without hesitation. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll transfer the points to you then.”

“Sure.” Luo Dong nodded with a smile.

Tang Jing’s points were all with Meng Xue, so any spending had to be discussed with her first.

When she got back, Tang Jing mentioned it to Meng Xue, who nodded and said, “Sure, I’ll give you the points card so you can transfer it to them directly.” She immediately went to fetch the card.

“No rush, I’ve already talked to them. We’ll sign the contract tomorrow.” Tang Jing quickly pressed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

Though Meng Xue was feeling much better now, she still needed plenty of rest.

Meanwhile, Sun Sijia had developed a fever, a high one at that. The production team promptly arranged for her to be sent to the hospital and called her agent.

When the director contacted Sun Sijia’s agent, he had another consideration in mind.

For the sake of the show, they had no choice but to remove Sun Sijia from the program.

Over the past two days, she had been too much to handle, turning the livestream into a toxic mess. Many viewers had even left.

To stabilize the livestream’s popularity, the director had focused most of the screen time on Tang Jing and Meng Xue’s group after all, their segments were the only ones that kept the audience engaged.

As for Sun Sijia’s footage, they cut as much as possible.

The other guests’ screen time remained unchanged.

That evening, Tang Jing and the others received the news. Though no one showed it outwardly, they were all secretly relieved.

Simply because Sun Sijia had been so unbearable that no one could stand her.

Originally, earning points every day was already exhausting enough, but having to deal with this person’s antics on top of it made them avoid each other whenever possible.

At first, the production team had considered hyping up the relationship between Sun Sijia and Tang Jing to boost popularity. But later, they realized that while some viewers might tune in for that, the majority preferred watching Tang Jing’s interactions with Meng Xue.

In fact, the ship between these two had already gained so much traction that many in the industry were aware of it.

After all, Tang Jing had the reputation of being a double-award-winning actress, with numerous friends in the industry. Over the years, she’d been part of many rumored pairings, but those were mostly small-time celebrities secretly leveraging her fame for clout.

However, when it came to Tang Jing and Meng Xue’s ship, even her friends who tuned into the livestreams didn’t think it seemed fake. Even if they weren’t an actual couple, their interactions were at least on the level of closest friends.

Some even messaged Tang Jing directly, teasing her about whether she had taken a liking to Meng Xue.

Tang Jing always gave vague replies after all, with the system’s rules in place, no matter how much she liked Meng Xue, she couldn’t outright admit it.

As for whether others misunderstood, or if the system wanted to hold her accountable for it, that wasn’t her problem.

System: “…”

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