The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Chen and Lin

This was a portion of the film that hadn’t been shown in detail during the filming process, but it provided more than enough for the audience’s imagination to run wild.

Late-night cinemas seem to lack the usual inhibitions. Many young couples were whispering, discussing the movie’s plot. Seated a bit further away from the rest, Lin Chumu and Lu Chaoqing remained undisturbed by the noise, focusing intently on the screen.

In reality, nothing explicit had happened between Xiang Yunchen and Xu Mulin that night. However, after a period of ambiguous tension and subtle provocation, the normally composed Xu Mulin finally realized she had developed feelings for her junior. Yet, caught between her academic pursuits and this nebulous, flirtatious distance, Xu Mulin ultimately chose her studies.

Before moving abroad, Xu Mulin had her family arrange everything—either providing legal aid for Xiang Yunchen or helping her transfer schools and covering her tuition. A family capable of sending a child to study abroad was naturally influential, and they easily granted her small request.

However, after Xu Mulin left, Xiang Yunchen refused to transfer. When the bullies reached out for her again, the little beast that had been hiding in the shadows finally bared its sharp fangs. Before they could find another chance to retaliate, all the evidence had already been submitted to the court.

The Female Lead, having finally grown after her internal struggle, appeared as a key witness at the trial, sealing the fate of the perpetrators.

Time flowed like water. Initially, Xiang Yunchen and Xu Mulin kept in touch, but the messages dwindled under the weight of time zone differences and heavy workloads. Xu Mulin was usually the one to initiate conversation; the kind-hearted girl was relieved to know that Xiang Yunchen had finally found the courage to resist. At the same time, she worried that the girl would be left without friends and sought her out whenever she had a free moment.

But as days passed, Xu Mulin noticed Xiang Yunchen’s responses becoming increasingly perfunctory until they eventually ceased altogether.

She felt like a discarded tool that had fulfilled its purpose; Xiang Yunchen didn’t need her anymore. Or perhaps, as Xu Mulin heard from others, Xiang Yunchen had never truly needed her meager offering of friendship. She heard that after she left, Xiang Yunchen became a different person—decisive and efficient, quickly becoming a prominent figure on campus. The junior who once “naively” asked for her help didn’t actually need those simple explanations; she ranked first in the entire school during the next exams.

Good resources and connections naturally follow undeniable strength; no recommendation is required. Xu Mulin suddenly felt like a complete joke. It was as if she had never truly known Xiang Yunchen, watching from afar as the girl lived a completely different life in her absence.

Yet, this vibrant version of the girl was exactly what she had hoped to see from the beginning.

It was snowing heavily on Christmas Day abroad. Because the roads were slippery, a senior classmate and another female student offered to walk her back to her off-campus dormitory after a party. Xu Mulin didn’t refuse.

The male senior was always a gentleman—a handsome, young foreign student who had pursued Xu Mulin but had been gracefully rejected. He hadn’t been drinking that night, but Xu Mulin remained cautious, carrying a personal alarm. However, the boy left as soon as they reached the complex gates; the female student, whining about the cold, stayed to accompany her inside.

Xu Mulin had a strong sense of privacy and politely declined when the female student tried to follow her into her apartment. She thought the woman had left, but in reality, she was still loitering around the complex. When Xu Mulin finished her shower and headed to the nearby convenience store for coffee, the snow-covered student suddenly rushed out from nowhere.

The coffee spilled all over the ground during the scuffle, and Xu Mulin felt a surge of irritation. But before she could truly lose her temper, a slender hand reached out and blocked the student’s path.

The newcomer’s silhouette wasn’t bulky even in a down jacket. Dressed in a long, sky-blue dress, she looked like the person Xu Mulin had struggled to describe even with the most beautiful words on a certain night years ago. After years apart, the girl’s once youthful features had matured. The initial insecurity was gone, replaced by a face full of composure.

She drove the unwelcome woman away with a cold voice, possessing a natural authority that Xu Mulin had never seen before. But when she turned back, her smile was as familiar and sincere as ever.

The sweet-smiling Xiang Yunchen was still that adorable girl who made people want to protect her, but Xu Mulin also knew that this young woman no longer needed anyone to stand up for her. Unknowingly, Xiang Yunchen had grown into someone unfamiliar. Both were moving toward better paths, yet the distance between them seemed to be growing.

But just as Xu Mulin was rehearsing how to thank her, a steaming cup of her favorite cappuccino and a plane ticket were pressed into her hands. Xu Mulin looked blankly at the hot coffee and the return ticket, only to see Xiang Yunchen’s face, bright under the streetlights, still wearing that same bashful, shy expression: “I… I worked hard for a long time just to have the chance to chase after Sister… If Sister thinks I’m qualified, you can tear the ticket up and throw it in the trash can. If Sister still doesn’t like me, just accept the coffee, okay?”

The girl blinked her naturally round “puppy eyes,” her innocent and cute expression identical to Lu Chaoqing’s own. “Because it’s too cold here. I feel bad for you; I don’t want Sister to freeze.”

Even watching it again, Lin Chumu could clearly feel the care Jiang Yanqiu had put into the casting.

Because this Xiang Yunchen was simply too much like Lu Chaoqing.

In the final scene, the two walked side-by-side through the snow, hand-in-hand. The girl’s beautiful large eyes were filled with the reflections of the streetlights as she hummed her new song, occasionally playfully kicking a bit of snow into her own boots.

By the time they reached home, Lu Chaoqing’s shoes were dry and clean, but Lin Chumu’s short boots—much like Xu Mulin’s—were soaked with melted snow, making even her socks cold. As she took off her socks and tossed them into the washbasin, Lu Chaoqing, who had been immersed in the movie’s emotions, finally seemed to notice. She hurriedly apologized.

“How about going to the bathroom to wash up? It just so happens I’m not that cold right now,” the little fox spoke up again with that pure face. “As compensation, how about I help warm Sister up in a bit?”