The Stand-in is Exceptionally Clingy [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 26.2

Chapter 26.2: The CEO and Her Canary

“She must have moved out for good. I saw that her room was completely empty.”

As soon as Shu Yu finished speaking, she saw Lou Bianxia suddenly stand up and walk quickly toward Jian Ke’s room. The nest of stuffed animals in the corner was empty, leaving only the clean floor, and the walk-in closet was more than half empty. None of the cosmetics that had filled the vanity table were left. Lou Bianxia pulled open the drawer that held Jian Ke’s ID card and passport, and inside was only a sapphire blue velvet box.

Lou Bianxia opened the box and saw the pink diamond bracelet inside.

The bracelet was dazzling and brilliant, shining with a sparkling silver light, but a piece of jewelry only has its true value when worn on the wrist of the right person.

She closed the box and carefully, slowly, put it back in the drawer. Looking up again, her deep eyes seemed to be laced with a cold, icy glint.

Lou Bianxia’s face was tense and expressionless as she walked downstairs, a stern look on her face, as if a storm was brewing. She felt as if the heavens were playing a cruel joke on her.

Lou Bianxia asked Shu Yu, who was still sitting at the dining table, “When did she leave? Did she say where she was moving to?”

Shu Yu could feel the anger Lou Bianxia was suppressing and said softly, “She left this morning. She called a moving company. She didn’t say where she was moving to, and I didn’t ask.”

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

Lou Bianxia took a deep breath. “Nothing, you go ahead and eat. I have something to take care of.” Shu Yu watched her walk to the living room and make a phone call. She figured she was calling Jian Ke. Her chopsticks tapped against the bowl unconsciously.

Lou Bianxia, holding back her frustration, called Jian Ke. The brief busy signal was enough to exhaust her patience. The feeling of things slipping out of her control made her anxious. Jian Ke answered, her voice slightly breathless and her breathing heavy. “Ms. Lou, what’s wrong?”

Lou Bianxia was so angry she couldn’t contain it. How can you even ask me what’s wrong? Her voice was low. “You moved out of Jingxiu Garden?”

Jian Ke had just gotten off the treadmill. To prepare for the action scenes, she had to exercise every day. Beads of sweat clung to her temples and dripped down to the tip of her nose, almost falling before being absorbed by the light-colored towel. Jian Ke wiped the sweat from her cheeks with the towel, not noticing the accusation in Lou Bianxia’s voice. “Yeah, I moved out this morning. I forgot to tell you. Thank you so much for taking care of me during this time.”

Lou Bianxia gritted her teeth. “I didn’t tell you to move. Why did you make this decision on your own?”

Jian Ke: The white moonlight is back, so what’s the point of a substitute? Is it annoying to have me in the way? “It was my fault for not telling you sooner, but I’ve packed up most of my things. If I’ve left anything behind, you can just throw it away.”

Lou Bianxia snapped, “Jian Ke, the contract we signed was for three years. It hasn’t even been one year yet. Hurry up and move back!”

Jian Ke: “Now is a great time for you and Shu Yu to have some alone time. Of course, I wouldn’t want to stay and be a third wheel.” She tried to encourage Lou Bianxia, sounding like a teacher giving advice to a student. “How will you know if there’s a good outcome if you don’t bravely try something?” “Li Yao isn’t the right match for Shu Yu. You are. To win Shu Yu over, you need to live under the same roof and build your feelings.” She thought she had been as explicit as she could be.

The two people were on completely different wavelengths. Lou Bianxia felt a headache coming on. “How do you know who’s the right match for whom? Jian Ke, I’m begging you to stop with your bizarre ideas and stop fooling around.” She couldn’t understand why Jian Ke was so actively trying to get her and Shu Yu together.

Another wave of frustration hit her. “Where have you moved to? Hurry up and move back, or I’ll have Cen Ming come pick you up.”

Jian Ke frowned. Lou Bianxia’s torrent of criticism made her feel very uncomfortable.

She had kindly moved out to create an opportunity for Lou Bianxia, and in her eyes, it was “fooling around”? She silently flipped her a middle finger. Jian Ke: “Since Shu Yu is back, it wouldn’t be good for me, her substitute, to be in front of her. If she finds out that we have a contract to be together, she might get the wrong idea.” You’ll just scare her away, and then you’ll never have another chance. “The contract is a dead thing, but people are alive. I won’t even demand the compensation for the remaining two years.”

Jian Ke: Isn’t that thoughtful? I’m not even asking Lou Bianxia for a penalty fee. “Bye, Ms. Lou. I’m busy lately, so please don’t come looking for me.”

Lou Bianxia: “You…”

Jian Ke kept a polite smile on her face until the very end, hung up the phone, and then quickly turned it off. Her acting coach was already urging her to hurry. Jian Ke put her phone in the locker behind the gym and quickly walked over. She said apologetically, “Sorry, Teacher. We can start now.”

Lou Bianxia tried calling several times, but all she heard was the automated female voice: “The subscriber you have dialed has been switched off…” Lou Bianxia was on the verge of an emotional breakdown and called Jian Ke’s assistant.

But Jian Ke’s decision to move was made suddenly, and her assistant had no idea. Lou Bianxia paced back and forth in the living room, her eyes fixed on her phone. She told Cen Ming to call around and find Jian Ke, and she sent Jian Ke several WeChat messages, but they all fell into a silent abyss.

As if being swallowed by an invisible sense of dread, Lou Bianxia had a strong intuition that if she didn’t grab onto Jian Ke now, the girl might disappear from her life forever.

Shu Yu paid close attention to the movements in the living room, vaguely hearing Lou Bianxia’s anxious voice on the phone.

She gripped the edge of the dining table with her fingers, her heart constricting. The thing she feared most, the thing she never wanted to face, was happening. After seeing the trending topic that had reached the top of the charts abroad, she had been distraught all day.

The familiar profile in the photo—she could tell it was Lou Bianxia at a glance. The intimate and ambiguous actions, the unique tenderness and patience that could be felt from the photos alone, were the complete opposite of the cold and emotionless person the public believed her to be.

Her finger traced the blurry figure’s back and then the charming, beautiful face of the person nestled in her arms. She’s so much like me, that face and those eyes. But that bewitching, seductive expression was something she had never worn before. She looked up Jian Ke, a vibrant and clever college student. In variety shows, she was lively, sharp, and cunning, and her eyes were filled with echoes of Shu Yu’s past self.

So why did Lou Bianxia have someone so similar to me by her side? The answer seemed self-evident. It would be a lie to say her heart was completely unmoved. Seven years had passed, but one sincere feeling had remained unchanged. On a whim, she had called Lou Bianxia.

“Just a girl.” That was how Lou Bianxia had described Jian Ke. With a hint of doting and tenderness that she herself probably didn’t even realize.

A sense of crisis flashed through Shu Yu. Her chest felt heavy, and the memory of the gardenia scent swept over her again. It turned out she had never forgotten the warmth of Lou Bianxia’s confession that day. The opportunity for this performance in China was one she had worked hard to negotiate with her dance company.

She couldn’t control herself; her heart was pounding, and she thought about giving her life a different possibility. Jian Ke’s understanding and concession came as a surprise. But didn’t this also prove that, in Lou Bianxia’s heart, Shu Yu’s position could not be surpassed by anyone else?

Shu Yu was grateful that she had made the right choice, but all her joy collapsed when she saw Lou Bianxia, who was now radiating a fierce aura because of Jian Ke’s disappearance. It was the fear and panic of the love she thought she had in her hands evaporating into thin air. She wanted Lou Bianxia to stop. Now that she was by her side, what was the point of looking for that substitute celebrity?

“Senior,” Shu Yu walked up to Lou Bianxia. “Since Jian Ke chose to leave without saying goodbye, she probably doesn’t want you to look for her anymore.” As she said that, she was startled by the terrifying look Lou Bianxia gave her.

Lou Bianxia closed her eyes, pressed the space between her brows, and said in a hoarse voice, “I will find her.” She put on the jacket that was draped over the sofa and walked to the entrance to change her shoes, clearly intending to go out and look for Jian Ke herself. Then, as if she remembered something, she turned to Shu Yu. “I’ve booked you a room in the best hotel in the city. It’s also close to the theater. Why don’t you move there tomorrow?”

Lou Bianxia’s voice was gentle and low, but Shu Yu felt as if she was being cruelly pushed away. “It’s inconvenient for you to keep staying here. I’ll come to see your performance at the theater next time, and I’ll bring Jian Ke with me.”

Shu Yu ran after her, tears welling up in her eyes. “I don’t think it’s inconvenient at all, Senior, you—”

“You’re going to get engaged to Li Yao. You might even get married next year.” Lou Bianxia looked straight at Shu Yu. “So staying here with me is inconvenient and inappropriate.” “Shu Yu, you should have known for a long time that I like you.”

Lou Bianxia’s words were like a thunderclap in Shu Yu’s ears. Her breathing became rapid, and the hand she had subconsciously reached out to grab Lou Bianxia’s sleeve fell to her side. “Why did you…”

Lou Bianxia gave a faint smile. “You’re terrible at hiding your feelings. If I hadn’t figured it out from your evasive attitude, I wouldn’t have deserved to have liked you for so long.”

Shu Yu’s eyes were wet with tears, and her lips trembled as she explained, “I was just a little scared back then. I didn’t have any other intentions.”

“I know. That’s why, aside from that one accidental time, I never thought of confessing my feelings to you.” Lou Bianxia’s expression remained calm throughout. “You and Li Yao are a good match. I genuinely wish you both happiness.”

After saying that, Lou Bianxia sighed and stood up. But Shu Yu suddenly wrapped her arms around her from behind, their warm bodies pressed together. The cold scent on Lou Bianxia’s body made her heart pound uncontrollably. In an instant, however, Lou Bianxia pulled her arms away and took a step back.

Shu Yu sobbed, hot tears streaming down her face. “I don’t like Li Yao. Our relationship is just a family alliance.” “You like me, and I like you, so we should be together.” She spoke tearfully, her eyes pleading. “I will break up with Li Yao and I won’t get engaged to him.” “Senior, please take me away.”

Lou Bianxia looked at her beautiful, tear-stained face, and her mind wandered.

Jian Ke would never cry like this. Jian Ke wasn’t a crybaby, but her expressive, soulful eyes always seemed to be filled with an autumn shimmer, making it look like someone was always bullying her.

She also loved to fake-cry, shedding a few prominent “golden beans” of tears, playing coy and acting wronged, her voice soft and sweet, making people want to comfort her. But those lively eyes were also filled with mischief and calculation.

The longing in Lou Bianxia’s heart grew like wild vines in the wilderness. “Shu Yu, before I met Jian Ke, maybe I would have.” She pulled Shu Yu’s hands away from her arm. Lou Bianxia’s voice was clear. “But now, I can’t.”

“Because I think I’ve fallen in love with Jian Ke.”

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