The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Birthday (2)

The moment Lin Chumu’s shoulder shifted, Lu Chaoqing jolted awake. She looked around with a dazed, helpless expression, only remembering she was on a plane as she slowly lifted her head—directly into Du Yaqing’s bizarre gaze.

There was a slight dampness at the corner of her mouth. Her matte lipstick had done a decent job of masking the traces of last night’s kissing, but after being partially rubbed off, her lips appeared slightly more swollen than usual. Most tellingly, at the junction of Lin Chumu’s neck and shoulder, there was a faint red mark where Lu Chaoqing had been nuzzling. At a glance, it looked incredibly ambiguous, making it impossible not to let one’s mind wander.

Seeing Lin Chumu about to get up unbothered, Lu Chaoqing hurriedly pulled a wet wipe from her pocket and cleaned the spot under Du Yaqing’s increasingly strange look. She didn’t stop until Lin Chumu’s neck was pristine white again, completely oblivious to how her own actions looked. She simply asked calmly, “Are we going to take the photos first?”

The fans hadn’t just bought support screens; they had also “rented” several shops as support stations, all of which were publicly listed on various forums. Since it wasn’t yet time for the shops to open, Lu Chaoqing planned to take a quick verification photo in front of the closed doors to avoid crowds and then post it the next day.

After that, they would head to the support screens for commemorative photos—this was the sequence Du Yaqing had set in the itinerary.

“Yaqing-jie?”

Seeing her usually meticulous manager suddenly spacing out, Lu Chaoqing asked again. Du Yaqing finally snapped out of her shock. The woman, who was always a professional in the workplace, asked with a rare hint of embarrassment, “What did you just say?”

Lu Chaoqing repeated herself.

The schedule for the support check-ins was tighter than she had imagined. Most of the time was spent on disguises; to prevent sasaengs from tailing them, Lu Chaoqing essentially changed her outfit at every stop. By the time they finished, it was already noon. On the way to the rehearsal, she only managed to eat two slices of sugar-free whole-wheat toast in the car—the kind of food that was hard to swallow even for someone used to eating salads.

Lin Chumu, who had no other schedule for the evening, had already been arranged to wait at the venue. When she saw Lu Chaoqing walking over with a yawn, she gave a polite but cold wave before sitting back down to continue studying her flow chart. The makeup artist was a new girl who had heard rumors about the two of them. Seeing the cold interaction, she began whispering to her colleague with suppressed excitement, all of which Lu Chaoqing overheard.

“Their relationship is bad… yeah, I think so too. I mean, Xiaoqing is nice to us, but she barely even greeted her when she walked in.”

“She’s even prettier in person! A look that’s right between ‘bold’ and ‘elegant.’ Great bone structure, and her base features and skin are amazing!” The girl assumed Lu Chaoqing couldn’t hear through her earplugs. “Anyway, I like her. I feel like the other one is being a bit excessive. Tsk… an autograph? Fine, I’ll see if I can get one for you later.”

After finishing her voice message, the girl approached to start on the makeup, only to realize that the girl in the chair wasn’t actually resting. Lu Chaoqing had her eyes narrowed to a slit, looking back with a touch of alertness.

Lu Chaoqing withdrew her gaze once the makeup artist was ready, then subtly shifted her attention back to the woman not far away.

The heater in the room was high. For the first time ever, Lin Chumu was wearing a floor-length black velvet gown that exposed her back. The “wings” attached to the shoulders fluttered slightly against her fair skin in the draft. A wide-brimmed hat featured a lace veil, with a vivid crimson rose weighing down one side of the brim.

Those beautiful cat-like eyes stared intently at Lu Chaoqing through the falling black lace. Lin Chumu’s hand, resting against her chin, featured polished nails that looked like porcelain, shimmering with a starry brilliance. Noticing Lu Chaoqing’s gaze, that hand slid down—seemingly by accident—and traced a circle on her exposed collarbone.

Lu Chaoqing, her eyes landing on the matching collarbone chain, looked away as if burned. As the makeup artist compared various jewelry boxes to her neck, Lu Chaoqing felt increasingly restless. Finally, just as the artist settled on an opal necklace, a lifestyle assistant piped up: “Wait, didn’t Xiaoqing have a collarbone chain earlier? I think that one matches today’s look much better. The opal is a bit too much; the other one fits today’s theme perfectly.” She turned to search for it. “Where did I put it…”

Lu Chaoqing glanced at Lin Chumu, who was already heading backstage, then at her finished makeup in the mirror. Before she could say “don’t bother,” Du Yaqing rushed in and slapped a small box onto the table—the one Lu Chaoqing had specifically hidden in the car.

“When are you going to fix this habit of forgetting things? If Chumu’s assistant hadn’t reminded me, I would have forgotten. Wear this tonight—isn’t it the birthday gift from your mother? Also, I changed the warm-up segment. It’s a ‘Truth or Dare’ format now. There are ten slips: two are a bit troublesome, and the other eight are very simple.”

To ensure a genuine reaction, Du Yaqing hadn’t told her the specifics, just the general flow. Lu Chaoqing was familiar with these tropes and felt confident that the organizers wouldn’t pull anything truly bizarre to prank her.

This confidence lasted through the red carpet, the new song demo teaser, and right up until the mini-game. Invited by the host, Lu Chaoqing reached into a small box to draw a “Dare” slip. Under the gaze of countless cameras, the spotlight captured her brilliant smile, magnifying every movement and expression.

The host dutifully continued: “Next, our protagonist will reveal the lucky dare we’ve drawn—”

The slip of paper, still smelling of fresh ink, was opened. The bold black characters were clearly visible:

“Please choose one person within three meters to play the Kiss Me · Pocky game together ~”