The Romance Extras Turned Out to Be a Yuri Story - Chapter 68

The interview is over, and everyone is waiting.

Zhang Qiu reaches for the phone in her pocket. Lin Luoluo usually messages her almost every day, but it’s been two days now with no word, and she hasn’t replied to any of Zhang Qiu’s messages. Zhang Qiu is starting to worry about her. Lin Luoluo seems to have gone off the grid.

Since the recording is still underway, she doesn’t dare take out her phone. The moment the director calls for a short break, Zhang Qiu rushes to the restroom to call Lin Xiangdong.

When he answers the call, Lin Xiangdong is in the middle of comforting his mother.

“Mom, Luoluo will definitely wake up. The doctor said the same thing so absolutely last time, too. These doctors don’t tell us the good news; they deliberately exaggerate to scare us. It’ll be alright.”

Tan Yi is sobbing heartbreakingly, clinging to her son.

“God, you cruel God, why did you let my daughter get this strange illness? Our family has never committed any evil; we donate to charity and have helped so many people. Can’t God just have mercy on me and let my child get better!”

“She’ll be fine, Mom.” Amidst his mother’s wails, Lin Xiangdong’s eyes turn red. He holds his mother tightly. “Everything will be fine.” He is comforting both his mother and himself.

Lin’s father walks out of the attending physician’s office. Earlier, Tan Yi was emotionally unstable; she refuted every word the doctor said, completely unable to accept his diagnosis, which is why Lin’s father asked Lin Xiangdong to take her out.

Lin’s father looks exhausted, suddenly much older.

“Luoluo’s condition is the same as last time. The doctor said that if she stays in the hospital, we’ll need to hire a nurse anyway. I think it would be better to let her come home; she might be more comfortable in a familiar environment.”

Lin Xiangdong nods silently.

“Then I’ll go handle the discharge for my sister.”

The father and son both seem to have accepted Lin Luoluo’s fate of falling asleep, but Tan Yi screams, “Did that quack doctor not say when Luoluo will wake up? She’s so young and hasn’t had a chance to enjoy the world; how can she just sleep forever? Hurry up and find a solution!”

Lin’s father remains calm: “What do you suggest we do?”

“Someone must be able to cure her! We can pay whatever it takes to find someone.”

“Tan Yi,” Lin’s father says in a deep voice, “I already contacted multiple experts for a video consultation yesterday. If there was a way, of course I wouldn’t want to see Luoluo like this, but you need to accept it. If not today, we’ll wait two days. Maybe, just like last time, Luoluo will wake up in a bit? We have to believe in her.”

Tan Yi cries her eyes out. She covers her face and sobs helplessly, “What if… what if…”

“There is no ‘what if.’ Luoluo will wake up.” Lin’s father grips her shoulders. Tan Yi’s legs go weak, and she nearly falls to the ground, but he catches her in a hug.

She softens, clutching his shirt and silently weeping: “Luoluo, my Luoluo.”

The sound of her voice is heartbreaking to anyone who hears it.

Lin Xiangdong can’t bear to cry in front of his parents, so he uses the excuse of going to handle the discharge to get away.

He answers Zhang Qiu’s call.

As soon as the call connects, Zhang Qiu notices the unusual tone in Lin Xiangdong’s voice; it’s very low. Zhang Qiu frowns and asks, “Dongzi, are you okay?”

Lin Xiangdong covers his face and leans on the staircase railing. After composing himself for a moment, he asks, “Why did you call?”

“I just wanted to ask if Luoluo is home lately?” Zhang Qiu asks.

Lin Xiangdong chokes up, unsure of what to say, and lowers his head: “Yes, she’s home.”

Zhang Qiu says: “She hasn’t contacted me recently. I’m worried something happened to her.”

“It’s nothing. I have to hang up now.” Lin Xiangdong hangs up before Zhang Qiu can finish speaking. Zhang Qiu stares at her phone; the director is starting to call people back to work.

She senses that something is wrong, but she can’t leave the program recording right now. Suppressing her anxiety, Zhang Qiu receives the internship invitation from the law firm.

“Welcome, the five of you, to our Huannan Law Firm for your internship.”

Unexpectedly, one person was eliminated.

Zhang Qiu had thought the show invited all six of them, and everyone would be selected, but she didn’t expect one person to be eliminated at the interview stage.

“Our Huannan Law Firm is a comprehensive law firm, mainly specializing in legal affairs, finance and securities, intellectual property, and capital markets, where we have significant advantages. Next, Lawyer Huang and I will be guiding you. Let’s get to know each other.”

“My name is Du Juan. You can call me Lawyer Du. I am one of the partners at Huannan Law Firm.”

Lawyer Du was the main interviewer for Zhang Qiu earlier. She is a woman who looks very serious. Since she entered the room, she hasn’t smiled and has been looking at them with a solemn expression.

“Hello everyone, I’m Huang Yao. You can call me Lawyer Huang or Teacher Huang.”

Lawyer Huang is more easygoing, joking, “I’m the one who assists Lawyer Du.”

Lawyer Du glances at him and continues: “Your workstations are outside. Follow me.”

She leads everyone from the conference room to the outside. The law firm is bright and magnificent. The severe black and white is interspersed with orange, making the whole office look serious yet softened by lively lines.

The two lawyers’ offices are fully transparent glass rooms with large, bright desks. Their own workstations are white cubicles, and computers and office supplies have already been placed on the desks.

Lawyer Huang says: “These are your workstations. You can choose any one you like.”

“Once you’ve chosen, divide into two groups and come find me. I have assignments for you.”

The two lawyers enter their offices to chat. The five interns choose their workstations and begin discussing how to form groups.

There are five people, with only two women. Hu Tao glances at Zhang Qiu and thinks she seems a bit weak. She hesitates, and just then, Shi Wenbin, a graduate student who studied abroad, says: “How about the two of us form a team, and let the other three form the other team.”

Everyone seems to think Zhang Qiu’s specialization is not very helpful. The other two male interns exchange glances and, with a gentlemanly manner, say, “Okay.”

Zhang Qiu has no objection, and the teams are set.

Zhang Qiu’s two teammates are also from old-school political science and law universities: one named Yu Ping and the other Qiu Jun. Both are easy to talk to and say, “Then let’s go report to Lawyer Huang.”

They walk over and knock on the door. Lawyer Huang has just finished discussing with Lawyer Du. Seeing that they’ve divided into groups, he takes out two files, motions for them to follow him, and hands the two cases to them, saying: “I have two cases here. The clients will be coming this afternoon. Look them over, decide how to allocate the cases, and see who will follow which one.”

“Lawyer Du will lead you on one case, and I’ll lead the other.”

“Choose, then come find us in the office.”

Everyone opens the files and takes a look. One is an intellectual property case, and the other is a financial case.

Shi Wenbin, who returned from overseas, is more familiar with intellectual property but not very familiar with domestic law clauses. He tentatively asks Hu Tao. After hesitating, Hu Tao pushes the financial case to Zhang Qiu’s team, saying: “This case involves finance, so it should be easier for you to handle.”

The two male interns exchange glances, considering Zhang Qiu’s specialization, and nod.

“Then we’ll take this one.”

Hu Tao picks up the file. The intellectual property case is with Lawyer Huang. Everyone looks at them with envy.

Hu Tao and Shi Wenbin enter Lawyer Huang’s office.

Facing the more serious Lawyer Du, everyone else feels a bit uncomfortable.

Zhang Qiu didn’t rush to find Lawyer Du. Instead, she picked up the file, read it, and then passed it to her teammates, explaining: “This type of P2P wealth management is the hottest model in various lending apps right now. A company acts as an intermediary via the internet, connecting borrowers and lenders. The intermediary usually charges a handling fee or earns a spread on the interest. Everyone has probably used a certain mobile payment app; the ‘Jiebei’ feature uses this model.”

Qiu Jun immediately reacted: “Then we need to check if this company has the lending qualification!”

“And we need to examine the client’s contract to see if there are any illegal clauses.”

Yu Ping added: “The client’s demand is to get back their principal. The lending company refused to pay, citing the borrowers’ inability to repay. Later, seeing the matter escalate, they tried to deduct the investors’ principal by arguing that investment comes with risk.”

“However, regulation of these financial institutions is relatively weak under current law, and there aren’t appropriate legal provisions to explain this breach of contract.”

Zhang Qiu nodded in understanding. “Let’s discuss it with Lawyer Du first, and then we’ll get more specific details after meeting the client this afternoon.”

Zhang Qiu naturally took control of the situation, and the other two readily agreed.

Meeting Lawyer Du

Du Juan was watching from her office. The students with Lawyer Huang had already gone in, but her team hadn’t arrived yet. She hesitated for a moment, then stood up, opened the door, and cleared her throat, looking at the three people engrossed in discussion with their backs to her.

“Lawyer Du!”

All three became cautious, like mice seeing a cat.

“Have you chosen?” Du Juan asked.

“Yes, we have.”

“Then come in.” Du Juan opened her office door, and everyone filed in.

“Have you looked at the case information?”

The trio nodded.

“Then tell me your thoughts.”

Qiu Jun and Yu Ping exchanged a glance, now feeling lucky they had discussed it outside; otherwise, they would be embarrassed, and a poor first impression on the lawyer would be made.

The two spoke eloquently in front of Lawyer Du, who then turned to Zhang Qiu and asked, “What about you?”

Zhang Qiu nodded and said: “This kind of P2P wealth management is a newly emerging business practice, and its conduct is difficult to define. I’d like to check for related cases in courts at various levels to understand the judges’ basis for judgment, and also to review the contract the client signed before concluding.”

Lawyer Du stated: “Very well. Go find your materials. The client is scheduled to be received at 3 PM this afternoon. That’s all.”

Lunch and Worries

As they left the office, Yu Ping and Qiu Jun whispered to each other, “Lawyer Du is so serious.”

“Lawyer Huang is much nicer.”

They looked enviously at Hu Tao and Shi Wenbin, who were still chatting and laughing in Lawyer Huang’s office, talking lively about who knows what.

After stepping out, Zhang Qiu immediately opened her computer and began researching.

Qiu Jun and Yu Ping, not wanting to lose to a woman, also started looking up relevant legal clauses. The three divided the work, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime. Lawyer Huang came out and said, “Since this is our first meeting, lunch is on me. We can also get to know each other. After all, we’ll be spending a lot of time together here, and who knows, maybe we’ll become colleagues in the future.”

Hu Tao was the first to respond, and everyone was happy.

With Lawyer Du absent, Lawyer Huang spoke cheerfully, sharing stories about his early days in the industry, which fascinated everyone and gave them a deeper understanding of the profession.

The cameras were following them the whole time. Most of the interns were relaxed to varying degrees, but Zhang Qiu remained quiet, listening, and not participating in the group chat. Lawyer Huang noticed her—she seemed like a very composed girl.

After lunch, everyone returned to the office to get busy, preparing to meet the client in the afternoon. Zhang Qiu stepped out briefly. Her call to Lin Luoluo still went unanswered.

Frowning, she called Fang Duo and asked her to find Meili to ask if she had seen Lin Luoluo recently.

Fang Duo quickly replied:

[Sister Qiu, Meili hasn’t seen her. I went to her advisor, who said her family requested a long leave of absence for her.]

Zhang Qiu’s heart sank. What on earth happened?

She suppressed the urge to go back and find Lin Luoluo and called Lin Xiangdong again.

The Screenwriter and the Sleeper

In the other world, Shuhe wrote a page of a script following the format given to her.

A script is different from a novel; it’s quite dry.

She stretched her neck; her shoulders were sore and painful.

Taking a sip of water, Shuhe felt a little uneasy. She spoke to the computer: “Are you there?”

The computer didn’t respond.

“Did it leave?” Shuhe scratched her head.

Since she went to the address the ghost gave her, the ghost hadn’t reappeared. However, the investor kept urging her about her progress.

Shuhe had just met with the old screenwriter and added them as a contact. The screenwriter sent her many script formats. After discussion, the screenwriter agreed to only guide her and not participate in the creative part.

Shuhe’s head was pounding.

She had no experience writing scripts and was essentially fumbling her way through.

Lin Luoluo squatted in the corner, unwilling to move.

Ever since she learned that the System had lied to her, she suspected that all of this was a System conspiracy just to make her complete the missions properly.

Lin Luoluo began to doubt if her entire transmigration was a scheme, and she sank into deep frustration.

“I won’t write anymore,” Shuhe muttered to herself. “I’ll go look at the readers’ comments.”

Shuhe rubbed her hands, chuckling: “Am I truly a reincarnated literary star?”

“Zhang Qiu is so capable!”

“Of course she is, she’s my female protagonist!”

Shuhe laughed as she read, then suddenly heard a familiar name. Lin Luoluo looked up, her eyes blurred with tears.

Shuhe slapped her thigh, musing, “I’ll write another fan-fiction chapter.”

She opened a document and immediately started writing.

Lin Luoluo fell asleep to the hypnotic sound of the keyboard.

In her sleep, she seemed to hear her parents’ calls.

[Lin Luoluo, wake up!]

Lin Luoluo was suddenly startled awake. The room was pitch black. The author was asleep. She passed through the wall and saw the bizarre red moon outside. The red moon grew brighter and brighter, forcing her to raise her arm to shield her eyes. After the bright light subsided, everything returned to calm.

[Oh no!]

Lin Luoluo heard the System scream: [The world lines are messed up! The three worlds are starting to merge!]

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