The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Daily Social Death

Lu Chaoqing: “…”

The age-restricted yuri comic she could maybe understand, but what exactly was the How to Trick Your Boyfriend Handbook/Guide? Was the original owner attracted to men or women? Or did she simply not care, and followed her desires?

Though utterly confused, the new mission was coming in half an hour. Lu Chaoqing had only thirty minutes to prepare. Even if she wanted to take time off and rush home, it was too late. It was rush hour, and going back would take about an hour by car, or around forty minutes even by subway.

If Lin Chumu saw those two items, Lu Chaoqing’s already fragile, slightly improved impression would instantly collapse. Lu Chaoqing absolutely did not want that to happen.

After locating the position of the two items, Lu Chaoqing distractedly followed the assistant, continuing to familiarize herself with the environment by touring the other areas, and before she knew it, half an hour had nearly passed.

When the APP notified her that Lin Chumu had opened the front door, Lu Chaoqing quickly ran over to say something to the assistant, and then headed toward the restroom.

You initiated a video call with Lin Chumu.

A few seconds later, the opposite side accepted the invitation.

“What is it?”

The person who had rushed home was still wearing a women’s suit. From Lu Chaoqing’s angle, she could see the slightly open collar, revealing an exquisite, straight collarbone. A mask covered her chin, making her look beautiful yet ambiguous.

Lu Chaoqing previously thought her orientation wasn’t entirely straight, but now she suddenly felt her sexual orientation was being severely tested. Especially when the woman slightly tilted her chin up and began walking, the near-submissive angle made Lu Chaoqing involuntarily recall the previous events and swallow hard.

A little uncomfortable.

“Is Sister at home? I happen to need something from you. Since I have to stay in the dorms now and can’t go back…” Lu Chaoqing secretly glanced at Lin Chumu’s unreadable face and made up her mind, “I left something in the living room. Could Sister please bring it to me?”

Lin Chumu’s expression was unchanged: “What is it?”

Lu Chaoqing practically squeezed the words out from between her teeth: “The How to Trick Your Boyfriend Handbook/Guide.” That book is called just that.”

The age-restricted yuri comic was hidden inside this book. It was a very thin booklet, but the content was truly inappropriate. Unless deliberately opened, it wouldn’t be seen. She believed that with Lin Chumu’s personality, she wouldn’t intentionally open someone else’s belongings to look. Therefore, even though both items sounded strange, Lu Chaoqing ultimately chose to sacrifice one to save the other.

Compared to the How to Trick Your Boyfriend Handbook/Guide, which at least on the surface should have no content that couldn’t pass censorship, the 18+ yuri comic was clearly more provocative.

Sure enough, Lin Chumu, whose sexual orientation was clearly female, frowned with displeasure upon hearing the words “Boyfriend.” She seemed to want to say something to Lu Chaoqing but swallowed it back, her expression somewhat volatile.

Lu Chaoqing pretended not to notice her change in expression, her face as natural as possible.

Lin Chumu paused for a moment, thinking about something, before slowly saying, “Anything else you need?”

“No, that’s all.”

“Then I’ll hang up…”

“Wait, Sister!”

Lu Chaoqing was terrified that Lin Chumu would hang up immediately and something unexpected would happen, leaving her unable to clear her name. So, she could only bite the bullet and continue with awkward small talk under the other party’s slightly impatient gaze: “I really envy Sister for being able to go home often. I basically have to stay out all the time now. What should I do if I miss Sister and Mom and Dad later?”

Lin Chumu, on the other end of the video, found what she was looking for and was clearly even more impatient with Lu Chaoqing’s childish question, but patiently replied: “If you miss home, sometimes you can take leave. The company isn’t that heartless.” A moment later, to prevent Lu Chaoqing from wasting any more time, Lin Chumu said “I have something to do” and immediately hung up.

She was so ruthless that she didn’t seem like someone she had been intimate with.

Lu Chaoqing was gritting her teeth in annoyance.

She had never dated or been intimate with anyone in her previous world, and she thought that at least after forming this layer of intimate relationship, things would be different. But she didn’t expect it to make no difference to Lin Chumu at all.

However, since the two had already had that kind of relationship, she naturally couldn’t truly treat Lin Chumu as her biological sister. Every time she called her “Sister” (Jie Jie), it was merely a polite term of address. Presumably, it was also impossible for Lin Chumu to truly treat her as a younger sister. The “Sister-Sister” relationship has many interpretations, not just the one based on blood.

After thinking this through, Lu Chaoqing felt slightly better, but she still regretted her previous clumsiness. She had mentally prepared her speech, but her courage instantly evaporated under Lin Chumu’s pressure, leaving her speechless like a clay statue.

But as long as the goal was achieved, why worry about anything else?

Since Lin Chumu hadn’t seen it, the mission was marked as complete, and a weight was temporarily lifted from her mind. Lu Chaoqing quickly composed herself and returned to the team to continue practicing with the others.

Since that day, Lin Chumu had become busy, seeming to have forgotten to send the item to her, nor did she have an assistant deliver it. Lu Chaoqing wasn’t in a hurry to remind her, lest she appear guilty.

The roommates in the dorm had also become quite familiar with each other in a short time. After training, Lu Chaoqing personally ordered a low-fat, low-sugar cake and a pile of small snacks, secretly sneaking them in without being discovered. She bought a large quantity, enough for the roommates to eat for several days. The food slightly changed the impression of the other girls, who were no longer hostile or exclusionary as before.

It was normal for the entertainment industry to have “royalty.” In many cases, “royalty” was associated with arrogance, abusing their status within the group, either with cold sarcasm or team bullying, acting superior and causing resentment among many. However, Lu Chaoqing was the complete opposite of what they had imagined. She was not only gentle but also very down-to-earth in her actions.

Especially her diligent, hardworking, and unpretentious demeanor during training gradually changed the views of most people. Over time, those trainees who were originally displeased with her gradually became willing to get close to Lu Chaoqing. This was finally a good start.

However, the competition for debut spots remained extremely cruel. In just one short week, the number of trainees plummeted from forty-two to thirty. This was just the beginning. Lu Chaoqing even suspected that if they continued, so few people would remain that they would need to recruit new members again.

The boring and monotonous training continued for nearly half a month when another department of MT released news that they would select one of the current batch of trainees to collaborate on an MV with a newly debuted singer, starring as the female lead. The new singer was a young, sunny man, which immediately caused a huge stir among the girls.

Many people wanted this opportunity to show their faces and see a handsome guy. Even though a newly debuted singer’s popularity is generally not too high, it still caused a sensation among the trainees.

When she returned to the dorm for a rest that afternoon, Lu Chaoqing noticed that the large-eyed girl named Yao Xichen was more enthusiastic toward her than usual, trailing behind her like a shadow. The other two roommates were somewhat put off by her behavior. One excused herself to get water, and the other claimed to find the mentor, leaving only the two of them in the dorm.

This gave Yao Xichen the time she needed to act.

Lu Chaoqing only went to pour a glass of water, then saw her sitting on her bed, smiling and fiddling with her phone, waiting for her to return. MT was not overly strict about the trainees’ personal freedom; they could still use their phones outside of training. When Lu Chaoqing returned, her gaze fell onto Yao Xichen’s screen, and she immediately saw a photo of the singer.

The girl, sensing her gaze, subconsciously turned off the screen, then looked up at Lu Chaoqing, who was standing beside her: “Qingqing, you’re back?”

Yao Xichen was clearly not interested in small talk. After Lu Chaoqing answered with an “Mm,” she immediately asked a few more caring questions before cutting to the chase: “Since you’re a publicly announced trainee, your chances of collaborating with Chen Zixin are probably high, right?”

Chen Zixin was the male singer who had just debuted.

“That’s right,” Lu Chaoqing said directly. “Why?”

Yao Xichen: “…” She hadn’t expected Lu Chaoqing to be so direct. She had planned to beat around the bush for a while before asking her to give up the opportunity, but her planned speech instantly died in her throat, and her expression immediately soured a bit.

Chen Zixin was indeed handsome, and many girls probably wanted to collaborate with him. Since she was interested, most girls likely shared the same aesthetic preference.

Lu Chaoqing, who was usually understanding, acted as if her emotional intelligence had been sucked out today. She let Yao Xichen’s face turn red while the girl struggled to form a sentence, yet Lu Chaoqing remained standing there, looking directly at the embarrassed and immobile Yao Xichen sitting on her bed. Just as the other girl was about to lose her patience and blurt it out, a knock at the door interrupted their standoff.

The knocking was rhythmic and didn’t sound like the two roommates who could enter directly with fingerprint verification. Lu Chaoqing went to open the door first, and a petite woman with an apple-shaped face came into view.

“Miss Lu, CEO Lin invites you for afternoon tea. Please go to the 7th floor, room 701, in Building Three, in ten minutes.”

The person only left that one sentence, bowed, and departed without any unnecessary words or delay. Lu Chaoqing, who was momentarily stunned, immediately had her eyes light up at the mention of “afternoon tea.” Even her conversation with Yao Xichen when she turned back carried a hint of excitement.

“But I don’t like Chen Zixin. I like my Sister! No matter how handsome Chen Zixin is, can he be as handsome as my Sister?”

After a long period of suffering from nutritional meals, Lu Chaoqing’s anticipation for afternoon tea suddenly soared. She imagined desserts like pizza or red raspberry cake. However, when she tidied up and rushed over excitedly, all she saw were two cups of cappuccino coffee and a plain, undecorated slice of rye cake base.

Lin Chumu, sitting behind the desk, made an inviting gesture, forcing Lu Chaoqing to bite the bullet and sit down. The first sip tasted unbearably bitter.

But what made her feel even more distressed was what came next.

Halfway through the coffee, Lin Chumu said “Oh” as if she had just remembered something, bent down, and pulled out the book she had brought from inside the desk. Because the collaboration project would take a long time, Lin Chumu had an independent office even though she wasn’t a permanent employee of this company. Lu Chaoqing subconsciously scanned the empty office, only relaxing when she confirmed there were no other people.

“Thank you, Sister!”

Lu Chaoqing was itching to take it back, but Lin Chumu dodged backward, causing Lu Chaoqing to nearly fall onto her. She quickly stepped back a few paces to stop her disrespectful movement. The ordinary book felt like a thousand pounds in Lin Chumu’s hand. Lu Chaoqing momentarily forgot the coffee and just stared intently at the book.

“Sister?”

The slight tension that arose in the atmosphere made Lu Chaoqing swallow. She was quite uncertain whether the other party had discovered the secret inside.

But this was truly unfair. Whatever she looked at was the original owner’s business and had nothing to do with her, yet she, Lu Chaoqing, had to bear the social death when it was discovered.

Although Lin Chumu was sitting, her tall and relaxed posture made Lu Chaoqing, who was standing, feel inferior in aura. No matter how many words she had prepared, it was difficult to speak them smoothly in front of her. She stood there nervously, unable to move, like a primary school student being lectured by a teacher.

The natural, clear light from the window fell between the woman’s eyelashes and the bridge of her nose, creating a beautiful shadow. From Lu Chaoqing’s perspective, the slightly lowered long lashes carried a natural tremor, and the moment she looked up, a clear light entered her clean and beautiful pupils.

Lin Chumu slowly handed the book over.

The exchange of the book between the two felt like a stretched-out slow-motion shot.

Feeling the continued thickness of the book, Lu Chaoqing immediately breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. At the same time, she subtly reached out a hand and slowly traced the spine of the book, trying to locate the thin yuri comic hidden inside to confirm her safety. It wasn’t until the person across from her reminded her, “The coffee is cold,” that she pretended to take a sip. After hastily drinking it, she realized there was a red lip print on the cup, feeling sticky on her mouth.

Lu Chaoqing: “…”

Looking up at Lin Chumu’s slightly smudged lipstick of the same color, she suddenly felt an urge to jump directly from the seventh floor.

Time seemed to pass very slowly at this moment. Every silent passing minute was Lu Chaoqing being repeatedly fried and tormented in hot oil. Sitting opposite her was the woman who had just indirectly kissed her, her expression unreadable, but seemingly brewing an impending, heavy storm.

Sensing that Lin Chumu was about to stand up, Lu Chaoqing immediately rose and apologized, her eyes looking at the woman opposite her filled with innocent, watery panic. She extended a pale fingertip and lightly touched her full cupid’s bow. The light, rosy smudge she picked up was incredibly alluring.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, and I thought Sister wouldn’t mind.” Her voice gradually faded here. Lu Chaoqing lowered her head, not daring to look at Lin Chumu. The sound of her heart pounding seemed to echo in the quiet office. “Otherwise, I’ll let Sister kiss me too… then we’ll be even?”