The Stand-in is Exceptionally Clingy [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 27.2

Chapter 27.2: The CEO and Her Canary

“Then what about a girlfriend?” Shen Zhi tossed her hair, her words carrying a very obvious suggestive meaning.

The girl smiled leisurely and pushed the cocktail on the table towards Shen Zhi. “I don’t have one of those either. Would you like to try it, Big Sister?”

Shen Zhi’s heart rejoiced. She hadn’t expected the other party to agree so quickly and immediately reached for the drink.

But before her hand could touch the glass, the girl’s expression suddenly changed, and she took it back. “You have a partner but you’re still flirting with other people? Shen Zhi, I didn’t expect you to be like that.”

Shen Zhi was stunned: a partner? Where did she get a partner?

Following the girl’s gaze, Shen Zhi turned her head blankly and saw Lou Bianxia standing behind her, arms crossed, with a somber expression.

She was uncharacteristically wearing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, her beautiful eyes filled with gloom, and her cold gaze looked down on Shen Zhi—the exact expression of a person catching their spouse cheating.

Shen Zhi quickly explained, “I don’t really know her. We’re not close at all.”

Lou Bianxia glanced at the girl beside her, her eyebrows raised. “You have time to flirt with women here, but you don’t have time to answer my phone calls?”

Shen Zhi almost spat blood. Ms. Lou, could you please not make your words so ambiguous? It’s very easy for people to misunderstand.

Sure enough, the girl rolled her eyes at Shen Zhi in exasperation and immediately walked away.

A beautiful love story that was about to begin was ruined just like that.

Shen Zhi chewed on her teeth and swallowed them down. She said weakly, “Ms. Lou, is there something you need me for?”

Lou Bianxia didn’t answer her directly. Instead, she used her knuckle to adjust her glasses and casually scanned the room. “You’re a public figure now. Aren’t you afraid of being photographed?”

Shen Zhi shrugged. “So what if I am? I’ve always liked women, and everyone around me knows that.”

Besides, because she often frequented bars, Shen Zhi was a regular at many of them. She wasn’t an unfamiliar face, and anyone who liked to frequent bars in Lidcheng would have some impression of her.

Therefore, as early as when the behind-the-scenes photos for Sea of Fog were released, all her romantic affairs were dug up by netizens.

Shen Zhi had always believed in living for the moment and never cared about what other people thought. Her impulsive decision to enter the entertainment industry and act was just to “discover new resources.”

Lou Bianxia never judged others’ worldviews or lifestyles. She just said, “Freedom is the highest-level spiritual need, and the entertainment industry doesn’t have room for it.”

“That girl is your fan,” Lou Bianxia said with certainty, a faint cold glint reflecting off her glasses. “The way she put the drug in the drink was very practiced. She’s probably a repeat offender.”

Shen Zhi was shocked. “But… she drank from that glass too.”

Lou Bianxia: “Of course, she put it in when she pushed it toward you. You were staring at her face the whole time. You probably didn’t have the mind to notice those little movements.”

Shen Zhi’s expression was awkward. Then she heard Lou Bianxia ask, “Have you seen Jian Ke recently?”

The tone sounded very casual.

Shen Zhi had been anticipating this and gave a flawless answer. “Jian Ke? I haven’t seen her in a while. I heard she just took on a new show. Did something happen?”

If Lou Bianxia found out that she had dragged Jian Ke to a bar to have fun again, she and Jian Ke probably wouldn’t be able to see each other anymore.

Lou Bianxia narrowed her eyes. “She suddenly moved out of the house. I don’t know where she went. You… haven’t seen her today?”

Shen Zhi’s face showed genuine surprise because she really didn’t know about it.

“She moved out? Did something… happen between you two?”

Lou Bianxia’s expression was irritable, and the overwhelming aura of aggression made Shen Zhi’s heart tremble. She dared not meet her gaze.

Lou Bianxia fell silent.

This brief moment of silence made Shen Zhi even more apprehensive.

She had no idea what had happened between the two of them or why Lou Bianxia looked so angry.

It was just that Jian Ke said she wanted to buy me a drink tonight, which is why I…

Lou Bianxia: “It’s nothing, really. If you see her next time, remember to call me.”

Shen Zhi nodded profusely, using all the acting skills she had. “I understand. Thank you for earlier, too.”

“It’s nothing. You’re Jian Ke’s friend.”

Watching Lou Bianxia leave the bar, Shen Zhi let out a silent sigh and whispered an apology in her heart.

A moment later, Jian Ke walked back from the restroom.

She looked around and asked Shen Zhi with a puzzled expression, “Where’s that girl? Didn’t you say she was your type? Did you scare her away?”

Shen Zhi looked melancholic. “Don’t even mention her. Lou Bianxia was just here.”

Jian Ke subconsciously looked around, then seemed to remember something and relaxed. She said nonchalantly, “Her? What’s she doing here?”

Shen Zhi was still terrified. “What could she be doing? Of course, she was here to catch you. I shouldn’t have posted that moment, and I definitely shouldn’t have forgotten to block her from it.”

Jian Ke ordered a “Blue Moon.” The iridescent blue sparkling water looked dreamy and sweet. “Catch me? Why would she have the time to catch me now? She should be pursuing Shu Yu, not me. Why would she be catching me?”

“Who’s Shu Yu?”

“She’s Ms. Lou’s white moonlight,” Jian Ke said with a mysterious smile, beginning to gossip with Shen Zhi. “I think I mentioned before that she has a crush… It’s actually her high school…”

Shen Zhi was surprised that Ms. Lou had such a romantic history. She shook her hand as she drank, regretting that she had ears. She really didn’t need to know so many secrets.

“So you moved out? Do you have a place to live now?”

Jian Ke picked up the cocktail, a symbol of freedom, and clinked glasses with Shen Zhi. “Yeah, I do. It’s not far from here. I just haven’t finished unpacking my stuff yet. I’ll invite you to my housewarming party another day.”

Shen Zhi looked at Jian Ke’s carefree expression and remembered the dark and gloomy look in Lou Bianxia’s eyes as she left. She felt a strange sense of disconnect.

The current situation was that Ms. Lou’s white moonlight had returned, and her temporary mistress had also tactfully made her exit.

So shouldn’t Ms. Lou be happy? Why was she so agitated, like a firecracker about to explode, and looking for Jian Ke?

She should be hoping that Jian Ke would disappear and not show up again, right?

Shen Zhi glanced at Jian Ke. “You said… Ms. Lou really likes that Shu Yu?”

Jian Ke: “Yeah, she does.”

She had only been back for two days, and the favorability had already increased so much. Their relationship might have already made a substantial leap forward.

Shen Zhi hesitated, then swallowed the words, “Is it possible that she likes you?”

Jian Ke propped her chin on her hand, finished the cocktail in her glass, and her voice was so low that no one could hear it. “I guess I just hope to have everything that truly belongs to me…”

…

Jian Ke wasn’t good with alcohol. After one drink, her cheeks started to burn, and her vision became blurry.

Shen Zhi held her shoulders. “If you’re not good with alcohol, don’t keep drinking. You’re such a messy drunk. If you cause a scene, I’ll have no choice but to… ahem, just leave you here.”

Jian Ke patted her flushed cheeks. Her steps were a little shaky, but her mind was still clear.

“Today was just good luck, so I had a little extra. I can’t be greedy.”

Shen Zhi walked Jian Ke to the entrance of the bar and hailed a taxi.

“Are you sure you can get back by yourself?”

Jian Ke: “I know what I’m doing. I’m not drunk yet. I can get home safely.”

Shen Zhi: “Then remember to send me a message when you get there.”

Jian Ke waved goodbye to Shen Zhi and got into the taxi.

The taxi driver repeatedly confirmed that Jian Ke didn’t have any signs of being drunk or wanting to vomit before he felt at ease to ask for her destination.

“Jingxiu on Cijin Road… Oh, no, I’m just used to saying that. It’s on Chengxiu Street…”

The taxi started and merged into the main road.

Jian Ke in the car didn’t notice that in the dim street, a black Volkswagen immediately followed.

The journey was only ten-odd minutes, and Jian Ke soon arrived at her new home.

The apartment she rented was a one-bedroom, two-living-room unit. The building was a high-rise with two units per floor, far from the noisy streets, quiet and safe. Although the location wasn’t the best in the city, it was very close to her company and the training base.

Jian Ke pressed her palm to her hot cheeks, checking her reflection in the elevator door.

—My face doesn’t look as red as before.

Just then, with a “ding,” the elevator door opened. Jian Ke stepped inside, raised her hand, and pressed the button for the 23rd floor. But just as the elevator door was about to close, someone suddenly stepped inside.

Jian Ke subconsciously pressed the “open door” button and turned her head to see Lou Bianxia walking into the elevator.

Lou Bianxia was wearing a black coat and long boots. Her loose hair had a familiar scent, mixed with the cold night wind, giving her a sense of urgency.

But the most unusual thing about her tonight was the metal-framed glasses perched on her high nose bridge.

It wasn’t that Jian Ke had never seen Lou Bianxia wear glasses before. She wasn’t nearsighted; she just had some astigmatism, probably from staying up late to read documents.

She never wore them outside or during the day. She would occasionally wear them late at night in the study when she was working, but it was rare.

Sometimes, when the two of them were watching a movie on the projector in the living room on the first floor, Lou Bianxia would take them out if the light was too bright and blurred her vision.

Other times were in bed. The metal-framed glasses were not as light and flexible as other materials, and they didn’t easily slip off her nose. The intertwined gold wire frame perfectly matched Lou Bianxia’s noble and cool temperament, and the cold light would occasionally flash at a certain angle.

Only when Lou Bianxia’s body started to weaken would Jian Ke take them off and place them on the bedside table, damp with moisture.

The hors d’oeuvres before the main course—Jian Ke’s care was always patient and meticulous, but with a few more teasing twists.

Lou Bianxia walked up and stood beside Jian Ke without saying a word, her gaze fixed on the numbers jumping up on the elevator screen.

Jian Ke wanted to ask if she was here for her, but her eyes scanned the other person’s cool and tense profile, and she closed her mouth.

The elevator reached the 23rd floor. Jian Ke was the first to step out. Her new rented apartment was on the right side of the corridor.

Hesitating at the door, Jian Ke didn’t open the fingerprint lock. Instead, she took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Lou Bianxia, who had been following her. “Excuse me, Ms. Lou, is there something you need?”

Lou Bianxia’s hands in her pockets were clenched so tightly that her nails were about to dig into her skin. Only this physical pain could suppress her emotions, which were as turbulent as a passing storm.

Just as Cen Ming had said, she had to take it slow and not scare Jian Ke.

Her fingers trembled as she tactically adjusted her glasses. “What? Aren’t you going to open the door and invite me to see your new place?”

So you came all this way just to visit?

This is a completely incomprehensible move.

Jian Ke: “I just moved in today, and there are still a lot of things to unpack. How about next time? I’ll be sure to invite you to my housewarming party.”

“House… warming… party?” Lou Bianxia said, one word at a time, forcing a smile. “Since I’m already here, it’s not too much to ask to take a look, is it?” “I’m genuinely curious to see what kind of apartment it is that you were so eager to move out of my Jingxiu Garden and into.”

Jian Ke politely smiled at Lou Bianxia, pressed the fingerprint lock, opened the door, and said, “Then please continue to hold on to that curiosity, Ms. Lou. Remember to bring Sister Shu Yu to the housewarming party when it happens.”

With that, she closed the door cleanly in front of Lou Bianxia.

A loud “bang” echoed.

Lou Bianxia: …

She had a strange feeling that the little girl who had moved into a new place was getting bolder.

Lou Bianxia walked out of the apartment complex with a gloomy face. Cen Ming, who was waiting by the car, saw her expression. “Did Miss Jian not let you in?”

Lou Bianxia glared at her, opened the car door, and said, “Go check if anyone lives in unit 2302 of Building 3.”

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