The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 25.2

Chapter 25.2: Her Little Trick

 

Fortunately, Jiang Qishuang immediately let go of Lu Chaoqing after the move, preventing Lin Chumu from feeling too uncomfortable.

 

The concert, excluding the interaction segment, lasted two hours, meaning two hours of constant singing and dancing on stage. Lilium’s choreography was famously complex and demanding for a girl group, requiring high physical stamina.

 

The next two songs were a K-pop style track and a more soothing contemporary dance. Each time they returned after a costume change, even their makeup had subtle differences. Fans who noticed this detail discussed it even more intensely, feeling that attending the concert live was truly a worthwhile experience.

 

Lin Chumu sat closest to the stage in the center. Unmanned cameras moved around constantly, capturing footage that would eventually be compiled into a complete stage video and released by the official company online, giving those who missed the concert a chance to watch. Under the bright lights, she could even clearly see all the stage background settings. Backstage people were busy changing clothes, and she wondered what kind of performance they would bring next.

 

Her impression of Lu Chaoqing had changed significantly, but truthfully, she couldn’t blame herself for her initial dislike—the Lu Chaoqing in the original plot was truly unlikeable in every way.

 

The debut spot was real, but the center position was bought; the sweet and cute fairy persona was fake, while bullying teammates and criticizing seniors was real; she played the victim to gain dedicated fans outside, and was disrespectful to her parents inside, relying on a family background that wasn’t hers to clash with managers and other staff within the company. She constantly courted scandals, but rarely showcased real ability.

 

The original Lu Chaoqing had poor physical stamina. Being an idol definitely required physical fitness, not just casually singing and dancing on stage as outsiders imagined. “She” often used poor stamina to excuse her subpar stage performance, frequently earning the forgiveness and pity of devoted fans while simultaneously causing waves of casual fans and group fans to lose interest and dislike her, slowly eroding her general public appeal.

 

Although Lin Chumu had never been an idol, all professions shared the unchanging principle of professionalism. Aside from “her” other actions, this one point alone was enough to make Lin Chumu utterly disgusted with the person.

 

But the current Lu Chaoqing was clearly vastly different from the one in the plot.

 

Initially, Lin Chumu thought that after accepting her help, the girl would become arrogant, but she didn’t. The girl who left a terrible first impression was slowly washing away the stains added in the original book with her actions. Lu Chaoqing was enjoying the stage, pouring all her effort and passion into it, setting everything else aside.

 

She was a dedicated idol who shone on stage.

 

The concert lasted from 7:00 PM until 9:40 PM, ten minutes longer than originally planned.

 

Those ten minutes were dedicated to audience interaction and short a cappella performances by each member. Both the VIP and general viewing sections had a chance to interact, and the people on stage tried their best to make the audience feel that the concert was well worth the price.

 

After the final curtain call, the sight of the five girls bowing one by one moved many people to tears. They hadn’t been practicing for too long, but they were genuinely trying their best to present the highest possible standard to their fans.

 

Because the duration wasn’t long, but the standards weren’t lowered, they had to put in more effort behind the scenes to satisfy people at the concert. Yet, they hid all their anxieties and hardships deep inside, never letting any fan worry.

 

After the girl group’s performance, it would take a long time to remove makeup and pack up other things. Except for the most obsessive paparazzi, few fans would wait for so long in the wind. Lin Chumu was about to call her driver to pick her up and leave when she suddenly received a message from Lu Chaoqing.

 

The little “green tea” was always very precise with her punctuation when speaking online, but now, likely having just come off stage and getting her phone, her tone was hurried.

 

Little Green Tea nudged you.

 

Wait for me, don’t go yet.

 

Lin Chumu’s fingertip hovered above the dial button. After a slight pause, she didn’t make the call.

 

The early autumn weather was already turning cool, but because she was watching the concert indoors, she wasn’t wearing heavy clothes, only a thin khaki trench coat. Watching the crowd come and go, Lin Chumu walked to a corner and waited for a while, feeling bored. When she received a video call, she answered it and heard Lu Chaoqing’s panting voice.

 

“Where are you? Don’t move, I know, I’ll be right there!”

 

The girl’s voice was still sweet and pure. Not long after hanging up, she ran over like a little whirlwind, her expression hidden behind a mask. Lin Chumu, standing in the corner, was about to wave to her, but saw the girl suddenly accelerate and run straight into her arms.

 

Lin Chumu, wearing high heels, stumbled but managed to stand steady. Fortunately, she was wearing block heels today, otherwise, the move just now would have been incredibly dangerous.

 

Before she could instinctively push the person away, the girl in her arms unceremoniously wrapped her arms around Lin Chumu’s waist and rubbed against her vigorously. The smile on her face was no longer the standard eight-teeth business smile, but sweet with a hint of playfulness and boldness. She rested her chin on Lin Chumu’s shoulder and said softly, “I’ve been bad lately, it’s my fault for not contacting Big Sister proactively. But I’ve been preparing a gift for Big Sister. You won’t mind if it’s not perfect, right?”

 

Then, she raised a pair of watery, bright eyes to look at her.

 

Her makeup-free eyes had less of the sharpness created by cosmetic enhancements, revealing the natural curve of her original eye shape. There were still tiny bits of glitter not completely removed on her slightly upturned eyelashes, sparkling like stars quietly picked and crushed from the Milky Way in the night sky.

 

The close proximity made Lin Chumu hold her breath involuntarily, looking back at her while suppressing her accelerating heart rate. The woman’s gaze, sweeping down from above, carried a hint of sharpness, seemingly indicating a slight resistance to such touch.

 

Lu Chaoqing immediately let go obediently, gently biting her lip and stepping back two paces, creating a safe social distance, though there was a hint of faint reluctance and grievance in the look she gave Lin Chumu.

 

“I was a little too excited just now, sorry.”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

Lin Chumu was uncomfortable with her looking at her that way, but she involuntarily softened her tone, and began to wonder if she had been too harsh just now. She then changed the subject: “What do you want to give me?”

 

Seeing that Lin Chumu didn’t seem genuinely angry, Lu Chaoqing cheekily kept her guessing: “It’s a secret for now. I’ll give it to you when I get back.”

 

The late summer, early autumn night was already chilly. Seeing that Lin Chumu wasn’t wearing much, Lu Chaoqing took off her own jacket and draped it over her, shaking the collar before the other person could refuse, indicating that she was truly not cold after singing and dancing on stage for two hours.

 

“By the way, Big Sister, what did you think of my performance today?”

 

Lu Chaoqing naturally took her arm and led Lin Chumu toward another area. If they left now, some people might not have dispersed yet, and a sudden appearance would certainly cause a crowd. The area she was heading to was likely where she had arranged for a private car. Lin Chumu didn’t struggle, allowing her to hold her arm.

 

“It was good.” She lowered her eyes to observe Lu Chaoqing’s expression. Seeing that the girl was clearly not satisfied with the answer, she quickly added, “Just like the music show stage that time, among so many people on stage, you’re the only one I notice.”

 

Lu Chaoqing was overjoyed: “Really?”

 

“Really.” Recalling the sight of the girl shining brightly on stage, Lin Chumu’s answer this time was extremely sincere. “You can be confident.”

 

“Actually, I’m never very confident, but for some reason, getting praise from Big Sister makes me feel so happy and motivated.” Lu Chaoqing’s eyes sparkled. Under the hazy light, the deep blue contact lenses looked like two pieces of colored glass, her eyes darting around. “The concert is today, and tomorrow I have a whole day off. It happens to be Sunday. Can Big Sister spend the day with me as a reward?”

 

Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, Lu Chaoqing gently tapped her own mouth: “I’m sorry, if you have something on, putting me later is fine too!”

 

At this, Lin Chumu didn’t know how to respond.

 

She actually had a gathering tomorrow, which was just a highly commercial exchange that few people genuinely cared about. It wasn’t a place she liked, and the event itself was largely optional. However, unless Lin Chumu was truly too busy to go, she rarely had her assistant take her place.

 

She subconsciously wanted to use this as an excuse to refuse Lu Chaoqing, but after the other party proactively spoke up, refusing now would make her seem unreasonable.

 

The girl’s gaze was full of anticipation, but Lin Chumu also knew that even if she refused, Lu Chaoqing wouldn’t show her sadness, choosing to hide it, just as she had countless times before.

 

Lin Chumu was not an exceptionally cold-hearted person, especially when the other person showed such genuine care for her.

 

Upon receiving the message “Lin Chumu’s favorability has increased,” Lu Chaoqing finally got her desired “Okay” and nearly jumped up right there.

 

Among the capture targets, Lin Chumu’s favorability was the hardest to increase.

 

Jiang Yang was easy to appease with just a few words. Lu Chaoqing’s parents already doted on the original host. She maintained peaceful relationships with all her roommates except Yao Xichen, especially Ji You and Chen Li, whose favorability was already high, so she had no worries there. The only person who constantly gave her a headache was Lin Chumu. This woman was immune to both gentle and tough approaches, and her favorability increased at a snail’s pace.

 

Because she had been so busy recently, the two of them barely had time to meet. Lin Chumu’s favorability, accumulated bit by bit, had only just reached a mere 20, causing her main plot progress to stall.

 

However, the main plot would not stop because of this. If Lin Chumu’s favorability remained low, Lu Chaoqing could still be dealt with by Lin Chumu, even if she didn’t court disaster.

 

After all, the “real vs. fake daughter” dynamic always hung over them. It was only temporarily masked by Lu Chaoqing’s efforts to show goodwill, which prevented a huge conflict from erupting for now. But one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. As long as Lu Chaoqing remained in the Lu family, the two would inevitably clash over the title of the daughter.

 

Lin Chumu was definitely not a sentimental woman. Even if her favorability reached 100 in the future, it was impossible for her to remain anonymous for Lu Chaoqing’s sake forever. And pushing the still-unestablished Lu Chaoqing to rock bottom was, for the current Lin Chumu, just a matter of minutes.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

Feeling Lu Chaoqing’s grip on her arm slightly loosen, Lin Chumu slowed her pace and looked at her with confusion.

 

Lu Chaoqing had already trained her emotions to be switchable at will. She immediately looked up and smiled sweetly at Lin Chumu, showing no hint of a flaw: “I’m thinking about what to do with you tomorrow.”

 

Lin Chumu was about to say “Whatever,” but her gaze suddenly caught a blinding flash of light, like a car headlight or a camera flash. Although it was only for a split second, their quick professional instincts made both of them notice it.

 

Lu Chaoqing’s expression suddenly turned slightly uneasy.

 

Although Lilium had only recently debuted, due to their high popularity and being from a major company, they quickly had a series of standardized offline activities for crowd control and support. However, professional fansites would politely take photos openly from a distance. Although a concert was a public event, there was no designated interaction time when they left the venue. Anyone taking photos now was either paparazzi or a sasaeng (stalker fan).

 

Remembering the previous incident where Lu Chaoqing was photographed and slandered, Lin Chumu instinctively walked in front of her to shield her and tried to find the person who might have taken the picture in the darkness. Unfortunately, the other person’s reaction seemed very fast, and they instantly disappeared.

 

“Are sasaengs that brazen now?”

 

EM and MT’s legal departments were always strong and usually pursued lawsuits directly. After being dealt with a few times, paparazzi didn’t monitor their artists as closely. However, sasaengs were currently easy to escape legal repercussions if they didn’t commit overly egregious acts, so they had become increasingly rampant.

 

Lin Chumu’s first reaction was that a sasaeng had targeted them, especially since she had heard about Lu Chaoqing’s fan incident recently.

 

“Maybe they’re just curious…” Lu Chaoqing’s face was slightly pale. She tightened her grip on Lin Chumu’s hand again. “Let’s hurry up and leave, Big Sister.”

 

She had originally intended to have dinner with Lin Chumu to raise her hard-won favorability, but now she gave up the idea. Lu Chaoqing’s emotions were a mess. She felt a dull, twisting pain, making her feel somewhat lost.

 

“Can I go to your place?”

 

After getting into the car and fastening her seatbelt, Lu Chaoqing saw Lin Chumu navigating toward the MT dorm and quickly intervened. Lin Chumu looked at her quizzically. Seeing Lu Chaoqing’s uneasy expression, her heart softened, and she consented: “Alright.”

 

The girl, as if granted a great pardon, leaned her head back on the comfortable headrest and let out a long sigh of relief.

 

Lilium’s popularity had been consistently high during this period.

 

After winning first place on a music show stage, the group gained excellent promotional resources, and the company was very pleased. The co-sponsored girl group was a first, and their contracts were not long, essentially a test run. Whether they would disband or renew after three years depended on the group’s status at that time.

 

This concert was also completely sold out, with a 100% occupancy rate. Tickets were snapped up in seconds, which was considered an excellent achievement, making them trend on social media several times, and their public appeal was decent.

 

However, various revelations about Lu Chaoqing had been cropping up recently, requiring the PR department to work hard to suppress the issue. Even with their resources, they didn’t know where those things came from. Theoretically, with such little time since their debut, paparazzi and sasaengs shouldn’t be following them so frequently, and none of the other members were being targeted.

 

However, given Lu Chaoqing’s good personality and her never proactively causing trouble, the staff didn’t dislike the young girl. Instead, they shared a common hatred for the unscrupulous media outlets that insisted on stirring up trouble.

 

The day after the concert, Lu Chaoqing woke up in high spirits and prepared breakfast for everyone, even making a portion for Yao Xichen, though not separately. She then gently woke everyone up.

 

Chen Li quickly finished washing up and rushed over to help her: “Xiao Qing, you really shouldn’t. Just let the auntie cook, or order takeout. Why wake up so early to make things yourself?” The leader smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, next time you do this, remember to call me. Don’t do it alone.”

 

Lu Chaoqing naturally said, “It’s nothing,” in a gentle, warm tone.

 

Chen Li quickly tidied up the kitchen and then reminded Lu Chaoqing not to wake up so early to cook alone next time, saying a few words about the somewhat reluctant Yao Xichen who had just emerged. Ji You and Jiang Qishuang were also clearing the dining table. Jiang Qishuang looked at her and smiled, bright and beautiful even without makeup: “The sun must have risen in the west. Xiao Qing is up so early today?”

 

Lu Chaoqing always liked to sleep in. Although she didn’t sleep until noon, she usually woke up after nine or even ten o’clock, but today she was up before eight. She first cooked a pot of porridge, ordered some ready-made ingredients via takeout for everyone to season, and prepared toast, fried eggs, and fried bacon, quietly bustling in the kitchen for a long time.

 

The girl, who had already applied her base makeup, cheerfully made a peace sign: “I’m going out today. Don’t wait for me for lunch, so I made breakfast to make amends.”

 

“You’re going out?” Chen Li paused her motion of spreading blueberry jam on a slice of bread. “Paparazzi from X Agency seem to be very rampant lately. Be careful not to get photographed.”

 

Lu Chaoqing looked completely unconcerned: “I won’t. I can wear a mask and sunglasses.”

 

“Then be careful.”

 

After Chen Li spoke, Ji You seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she swallowed the words that were about to spill out.

 

Lu Chaoqing ate a little something and returned to her room to finish her makeup.

 

Her private makeup style was always similar, leaning towards a simple, light, natural look. Because her facial features were already good, it made her face appear even more pure. Before leaving, she told Chen Li she would be back in the evening and then walked out the door with light steps.

 

While waiting for the car, Lu Chaoqing first took a selfie and posted it on her Moments, then thought for a moment and set it to be visible only to Jiang Yang.

 

During this time, she had basically been following a routine between a few locations, with no time to chat with Lin Chumu, naturally she didn’t interact with Jiang Yang either. Sometimes, she would only remember to reply to his messages a day later. After she posted this Moment, she quickly saw Jiang Yang’s like and a private message.

 

Jiang Yang: Going out?

 

Jiang Yang retracted a message.

 

Jiang Yang: Which little sister are you going out with?

 

Lu Chaoqing replied quickly this time.

 

She first checked the mission she received last night while removing her makeup, then typed two simple words into the chat box.

 

The concise answer successfully piqued Jiang Yang’s curiosity. In his impression, Lu Chaoqing had always been obedient, answering almost every question he asked. She rarely left him guessing like this, which was why Jiang Yang initially chose Lu Chaoqing as his target.

 

But once an habitually obedient person gradually breaks free from control, even the slightest hint of something being off is easily noticed.

 

The unanswered Jiang Yang put down the cup of coffee he was savoring, staring at the motionless chat box for a long time. Just as he was about to type again, he received a message from Lu Chaoqing first.

 

SUN: Brother Jiang Yang, I actually want to tell you something.

 

Jiang Yang: What is it?

 

SUN: Starting today, treat me as your sister.

 

Jiang Yang: What do you mean?

 

Things were not going as he had imagined.

 

Actually, in the original plot, Jiang Yang genuinely had no feelings for the original host. Even after they got together, he still said he only treated her as a sister, and the one he truly liked was Lin Chumu. But before that, he had restricted the original host in every way under the pretense of being her fiancé, making the original host believe their relationship was mutual.

 

But now, the pace with Jiang Yang was completely different. How could Lu Chaoqing lose interest in him before he maximized his benefit?

 

Jiang Yang became anxious. He even hung up the phone call from the beautiful woman he had made plans with yesterday, and after she called twice more, he didn’t hesitate to add her number to his blacklist, typing a long message of “sincere words” into the chat box. Lu Chaoqing, who was close to her destination, saw that the time was right and finally sent:

 

SUN: Oops, I’m with my Jiejie.

 

Jiang Yang immediately replied, “I’ll come find you after I’m done,” and received Lu Chaoqing’s location two minutes later.

 

Those two minutes were neither long nor short, but in 120 seconds, Jiang Yang, who felt like an eternity had passed, conjured up countless dramatic scenarios of push and pull.

 

In that brief moment of silence, he felt something was wrong the moment he saw the name “Lin Chumu.” His gaze flickered back and forth, and his anger gradually flared. Jiang Yang clenched his fist.

 

Lin Chumu, it was Lin Chumu again. He had long known that Lin Chumu had bad intentions, especially regarding his relationship with Lu Chaoqing. He didn’t know how he was getting in her way. Jiang Yang was furious.

 

Lu Chaoqing saw that the tension was enough, and then put away her phone with a smile on her face.

 

The APP she had opened earlier clearly displayed the mission released after the concert last night.

 

Important Main Plot Update.

 

Lin Chumu encountered Jiang Yang at a business banquet and unintentionally mentioned the issue of identity. She suddenly realized that her household registration had not even been returned to the family yet, so she decided to discuss it with her parents first. However, due to Lu Chaoqing’s coquettish pleading and acting out, the discussion ended unhappily.

 

She endured it, outwardly agreeing to her parents’ suggestion to wait a little longer, but her inner dissatisfaction with Lu Chaoqing gradually grew. Later, Lin Chumu directly announced the real vs. fake daughter identity during Lu Chaoqing’s career upswing…

 

An Important Main Plot segment is approaching. Please escalate the conflict between Lin Chumu and Jiang Yang to avoid this plot segment.

 

Escalating conflicts was already easy for Lu Chaoqing, who had done it several times.

 

Because she was meeting Lin Chumu today, she specifically woke up in the morning and spent a long time choosing makeup looks from the photos stored on her phone. While cooking, she remembered and applied the most subtle, natural “tea art” makeup she was best at.

 

Since the near-disaster at the hotel last time, Lu Chaoqing’s attitude toward Lin Chumu had unconsciously shifted.

 

Before, if she wanted to raise favorability, she would definitely initiate a more intimate contact on stage and flirt a bit. Doing subtle, strange gestures and pretending it was unintentional was her forte. But ever since she realized that the initial interaction was a misunderstanding, Lu Chaoqing understood why the female lead in the original plot fell for Jiang Yang.

 

The female lead was straight from beginning to end!

 

Some things were just her wishful thinking.

 

Since Lin Chumu was straight, she might very well fall for Jiang Yang according to this ridiculous plot. And since Lin Chumu was straight, her taste would definitely be different from a gay person’s.

 

She decisively abandoned the “man-slayer” lipstick and the elaborate Lolita dresses that the original host always wore when going out. Instead, she chose a sky-blue long trench coat, paired with a black and white long-sleeved short skirt and small high-heeled boots. This outfit should look relatively complementary standing next to Lin Chumu, and not overly cloying. Her black wig was styled into cute, obedient pigtails, making her look completely non-threatening. Although she wore a mask, she still garnered a lot of attention when she walked into the mall.

 

After politely declining the third boy who tried to strike up a conversation, Lu Chaoqing saw the tall, slender figure and immediately waved on her tiptoes.

 

“I checked my horoscope before I left today,” Lu Chaoqing said, running over with a smile. “It said something good would happen today. Turns out, I didn’t get stuck in traffic when I left, and I saw Big Sister quickly after arriving at the designated spot. How about we go watch a movie first, and then have dinner?”

 

Lin Chumu: “As you like.”

 

“Watch Seven-Day Breakup?”

 

“Fine.”

 

If they weren’t familiar with each other, such a simple answer might be interpreted as perfunctory, but Lu Chaoqing had become used to her tone. When the other person said “whatever,” she truly meant it.

 

Seven-Day Breakup was a newly released movie with a high rating, a suspense-romance film. Lu Chaoqing had originally wanted to drag Lin Chumu to see something like Frozen, but unfortunately, it had already been taken out of theaters here.

 

After buying tickets and walking in, it was unsurprisingly a couples’ theater. Several young couples sat nearby, holding popcorn and milk tea, whispering sweet nothings and not paying attention before the movie started. The girl closest to her was holding a cup of “Soy Milk Jade Kirin,” which made Lu Chaoqing’s mouth water.

 

Although she wasn’t fat at all and was actually thin, she had to maintain her body fat percentage for muscle gain, so drinking milk tea, eating chocolate, or other high-calorie sweets was absolutely impossible. Lin Chumu, who maintained her figure so well, probably didn’t have the habit of drinking milk tea either. The leader, Chen Li, was very strict about this in the company, so she had no chance to taste it.

 

To make matters worse, as the movie began, the screen immediately showed the sweet scene of the male and female leads shopping and drinking milk tea together. Lu Chaoqing wasn’t soured by the public display of affection, but the milk tea in the movie made her intensely desire one.

 

Lin Chumu herself wasn’t very interested in this kind of movie. She would likely prefer a pure suspense film, but after the experience of eating Japanese food last time, she let Lu Chaoqing choose this time as well. The beginning of the movie was a bit slow, with the first few minutes being all about the sweet memories of the male and female leads. Lin Chumu wasn’t interested at all. She only felt it was getting better after the male lead died, but just as she was focusing, the movie screen suddenly showed the victim’s mutilated body completely uncovered.

 

A cold fingertip touched her arm at the same time. The next second, simultaneous screams from different people filled the entire movie theater.

 

“What are you doing!”

 

Lin Chumu’s first reaction was to shake off Lu Chaoqing’s hand, but when she turned her eyes and saw the girl’s startled pupils in the dim light, her expression softened slightly, and she began to wonder if she had scared the girl.

 

The girl, who looked like a small puppy with innocent wide eyes, trembled under Lin Chumu’s low reprimand. She then cowered next to Lin Chumu, breathing rapidly, her eyes watery.

 

“I didn’t mean to…” To avoid disturbing the people next to them, Lu Chaoqing whispered, “I couldn’t help but grab your hand because I was scared. I’m sorry!”

 

Lin Chumu didn’t quite understand what she was afraid of, but the current setting was indeed not suitable for them to keep whispering and disturbing others. So, she nodded, indicating that she didn’t mind the earlier abruptness, and raised a finger to her lips to signal silence.

 

Lu Chaoqing nodded obediently, but the next moment, she leaned her head onto Lin Chumu’s shoulder.

 

Lin Chumu’s body stiffened. She instinctively wanted to push the person away, but the girl resting on her shoulder had already found the most comfortable position, letting out a soft hum and leaning there limply, using Lin Chumu’s shoulder almost entirely for support. Pushing her away suddenly would inevitably cause her to fall and potentially hit something, which would be hard to explain if anything happened.

 

While she hesitated, Lu Chaoqing “doubled down,” extending her hand to cover Lin Chumu’s hand. Seeing that Lin Chumu didn’t intend to push her away, she continued to slide her fingers down, intertwining their fingers.

 

The one-hour and twenty-minute movie ended quickly.

 

Lu Chaoqing’s timing was impeccable. Jiang Yang’s home was in another district. Accounting for getting ready to leave and traffic, driving over would take about two hours, which coincided perfectly with her time out with Lin Chumu.

 

As the woman rubbed her shoulder, which was a little sore from being used as a pillow, and pondered how to tell Lu Chaoqing to avoid such excessive behavior next time, she saw the girl, who was cheerfully walking ahead, intending to break her diet by buying fruit tea, suddenly stop. She quickly ran back to Lin Chumu, almost bumping into someone in her haste.

 

“Did you run into paparazzi?”

 

Lin Chumu instinctively tried to shield her, but Lu Chaoqing shook her head. To prevent her overly conspicuous hair color from being recognized today, she had deliberately worn a black wig. Her normal clothes made her look no different from an ordinary person, so she shouldn’t have been targeted and recognized so easily.

 

“Jiang Yang,” Lu Chaoqing’s voice was soft, even revealing a hint of grievance. “Jiang Yang came looking for me. I don’t know why he knows I’m here.”

 

As she spoke, she was also pulling Lin Chumu to hide, clearly not wanting Jiang Yang to disrupt their time together. Upon hearing that name, Lin Chumu felt a wave of nausea, especially considering that Jiang Yang’s residence wasn’t nearby and a grown man wouldn’t usually be casually strolling through the mall alone…

 

Was he monitoring Lu Chaoqing?

 

Perhaps because it was her first time acting in such a scene, Lu Chaoqing’s ears gradually turned crimson, but her gaze toward Lin Chumu was firm. They stopped in a place away from the bustling crowd. Lu Chaoqing’s heart hammered wildly. Finally, her gaze settled on Lin Chumu’s cold face.

 

Lu Chaoqing believed she was an excellent mission-taker. Let alone such a small trick, she was prepared to have a romantic encounter with the female lead if necessary.

 

She was going all out now—”Jiejie,” she called Lin Chumu, her expression conflicted but immediately resolute. Under Lin Chumu’s gaze, she slowly raised her hand and pointed to her own full and vibrant lips.

 

“I really want him to give up,” Lu Chaoqing’s voice carried a barely detectable sob. “So, I want to ask you for a favor.”

 

“Since we already… Can we kiss just one more time?”