Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Axi_xixixi: “How did it go?”

When Chu Nanxing received the message, she was choosing the pajamas she would wear later. One was a sheer lace dress, sexy and revealing, laying all unspoken implications bare, allowing no room for evasion. The other was a softer, more conservative pink satin slip dress, which revealed its charm only inadvertently, making her look innocent yet alluring.

Chu Nanxing chose the second one.

After changing, she took the perfume bottle, spritzed it into the air, and waited for the fine, rain-like scent to gently and lightly cover her neck. Satisfied, she carefully checked herself in the mirror. Intentionally not wearing slippers, she hugged her pillow and walked towards Meng Rendong’s bedroom.

“Knock, knock.”

She knocked on the door, hearing the anxious pounding of her heart in the darkness, yet vaguely full of anticipation for everything that was about to happen.

At the same moment, at Dream Isle Bar.

Yan Xi hadn’t received a reply for a long time. She lifted her phone high, wondering if the signal was poor. Wang Luoshui, who had just ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, glanced at her: “What are you doing?”

Yan Xi lowered her phone, leaned in, and recounted the plan she and Chu Nanxing had devised, her words full of proud excitement. However, halfway through, Wang Luoshui interrupted her with a look of disbelief:

“Wait? What did you say? What plan did you and Nanxing discuss?”

“Do you think Rendong will be happy when she sees Nanxing doing this?”

Yan Xi was rebuffed and naturally disagreed: “Don’t give me that high-minded love talk. The reality is that Rendong has been bewitched by that vixen who popped out of nowhere. Nanxing has family background and talent; they are much better suited. Rendong just doesn’t know Nanxing’s true feelings. If she did, no one else would matter.”

“And think about it, ever since Jianyu’s incident, Rendong has been completely compliant with Nanxing. She gives Nanxing anything she wants. It’s only these past few years since Nanxing left that she’s become so strange…”

Wang Luoshui took a deep breath, looking at her friend, who was rambling vaguely under the influence of alcohol, with an expression that implied she was holding back.

A few seconds later, she didn’t touch the drink she had just ordered. She got up from the bar stool, picked up her bag from the seat, and walked away. Yan Xi was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after her and grabbed her arm:

“Are you giving me the cold shoulder now too, Wang Luoshui?”

Wang Luoshui looked at her calmly, unusually devoid of her usual mediator’s gentle demeanor: “Axi, I don’t want to talk about how bad your idea is, but if something like this happens again, don’t tell me.”

Yan Xi: “What do you mean by that?”

In the flashing, multi-colored lights, Wang Luoshui looked deep into her eyes: “When you like someone, you can silently guard them from behind, you can openly express your affection, you can boldly pursue them, or you can stay safely within the boundaries of friendship—”

“But you absolutely cannot use those dirty, despicable methods to get them, disrupt their life, or break up their current relationship…”

She stopped abruptly and smiled: “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Hey! Are you calling me uncultured again!” Yan Xi stamped her foot, pointing at Wang Luoshui’s retreating back and cursing.

Inside the apartment.

Meng Rendong opened the bedroom door, heard Chu Nanxing’s timid excuse about being afraid of the dark, looked up and down at the girl in front of her, and said: “Then sleep with the light on. I don’t care about the electricity bill.”

Chu Nanxing: “…”

She should have pulled the circuit breaker first.

She awkwardly paused for two seconds, then changed the reason: “There’s lightning and thunder outside. I’m a little scared sleeping alone, Rendong. Can I sleep with you tonight…” Her voice trailed off.

Meng Rendong looked at her calmly: “Since when did you have this problem?”

Chu Nanxing bit her lower lip, her words rambling incoherently: “It’s because I’ve been alone abroad for so many years, and I ran into some things, so after coming back to China, I don’t want to be alone—”

Meng Rendong interrupted: “Oh, then I’ll send you home.”

Chu Nanxing: “…”

She couldn’t keep up the pretense anymore. She suddenly threw the pillow onto the floor and asked loudly, “Meng Rendong! Are you doing this on purpose!”

Meng Rendong raised an eyebrow: “Doing what on purpose?”

Chu Nanxing moved closer, wanting to grab her hand, but Meng Rendong backed up slightly, looking down at her. The cold gaze made her movements stop instantly. In the tense silence, she heard the other person say calmly:

“I wanted to remind you last time, Nanxing.”

“A perfume with a rose middle note doesn’t suit you. It gives off a deliberately mature scent.”

Chu Nanxing’s face turned from red to white. She stood there, feeling utterly humiliated. She glared at Meng Rendong, then turned and ran back into the room without saying a word, not even remembering to pick up her pillow.

Meng Rendong stared at the direction she left, letting out a soft sigh. She picked up the pillow and turned back into her bedroom. As she closed the door behind her, she inexplicably thought of Ji Yu again.

She thought of the woman’s soft warmth.

Her obedient appearance.

Her eyes reflecting only Meng Rendong herself.

How much must she love me?

At this thought, Meng Rendong’s gaze involuntarily softened. She even felt a rare pang of guilt. Her beginning with Ji Yu wasn’t a typical romantic relationship, yet the other woman didn’t seek her wealth, only treating her well wholeheartedly. Facing such a lover, Meng Rendong felt that she should perhaps give her more.

Checking the time, Meng Rendong didn’t bother her assistant outside of work hours. Instead, she picked up her phone, revised a text several times, and finally typed a line:

How to date to make a girlfriend happier?

Ji Yu was unaware of Meng Rendong’s increasing concern for her.

She was lost in her memories, leaving the Corgi beside her anxiously worried and unsure what to do. It could only nudge her with its head, telling her not to move around or step on the glass shards underfoot. Then, it pulled out one card after another for her as if by magic.

Good Mood x1, Sudden Luck x1, Heart Sweet as Honey x1…

Before long, Ji Yu felt a gentle breeze on her face, lightly blowing away those gloomy, terrible emotions. She crouched there, wiping the tear stains from her face with the back of her hand, then stretched out her arm to stroke the Corgi’s head:

“Oh, you… you really are…”

She had never been worried about by anyone like this before. Now, seeing the worry filling the Corgi’s round eyes and hearing the almost crying sounds coming from its nose, she suddenly felt a little guilty.

The Corgi, seeing her recover slightly, thought for a moment, and then went into the room to retrieve a slip of paper, placing it in Ji Yu’s palm.

Ji Yu looked down and saw it was a lottery ticket she had bought inadvertently while passing a charity lottery stand two weeks ago. This was a small charitable habit of hers; she would donate a little when she saw the Red Cross Foundation, and would plant virtual trees on whim on a tree-planting website. This lottery ticket was just two yuan casually donated.

The Corgi saw her confusion and said, “Check this period’s number! You have a five-minute good luck buff right now!”

The knowledge stored in its memory told it that when women were unhappy, they would shop.

Ji Yu: “?”

She laughed: “It’s not possible to win five million.”

The Corgi whined, urging her to check quickly, and at the same time, retrieved the broom and dustpan, gnashing the broomstick in its teeth, attempting to sweep the floor.

Ji Yu laughed at the sight. She snatched the pitiful plastic broom handle from the dog’s mouth. After cleaning up all the glass shards on the floor, she couldn’t resist the persistent urging and obediently took out her phone to search for the winning numbers for that period.

“See? I told you, one of the numbers is wrong…”

Ji Yu’s voice suddenly stopped.

The Corgi came closer to look, its mouth spreading wider in a grin, its furry face full of triumph: “No five million! But fifty thousand is acceptable, right?”

It bumped Ji Yu’s arm with its round backside: “Yuyu! Spending money makes you happy! You need to cheer up quickly!”

Ji Yu stared blankly at the phone screen.

Fifty thousand.

After tax, this amount immediately met her goal for the card, with plenty to spare.

After a long silence, she suddenly asked: “Even if I’m not by Meng Rendong’s side, would appearing in Chu Nanxing’s career count as following the plot?”

The Corgi tilted its dog head: “Yes.”

Then, it suddenly realized something: “Yuyu, do you want to break up with Meng Rendong?”

Ji Yu lowered her eyes, thinking of the nightmares that never stopped, and of the story where someone else would ultimately stand by Meng Rendong’s side. She nodded, her voice very soft:

“Mhm.”

“Because staying with her won’t make me happy anymore.”

The guilt was still there. She had confessed to the wrong person from the start. How could she ever be forgiven?

Ji Yu thought.

Let the wrong thing stop.

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