Transmigrated as the Heroine’s Perfect Alpha - Chapter 16

“It is nothing. I will be out in a second.” Xie Ling replied. She stood before the sink, splashed her face with cold water, wiped it off casually with a towel, and opened the door to walk out.

Ren Xuan stood outside the door, looking up at Xie Ling, who still had water droplets clinging to the hair on her forehead. She gave a strange “Oh?” and asked, “Your makeup effect is quite good. What setting spray did you use? Care to share?”

“What? Share what?” The other two, who were still huddled together studying figurines, immediately gathered around upon hearing this.

Xie Ling had just wanted to claim that she was naturally gifted, but fearing she would be ridiculed, she changed her tune. “I will send the link to the group chat.”

Tang Wenwen looked surprised. “A link? You bought it online? Aren’t you afraid of hurting Lisa’s feelings?”

“Lisa? Why would she be hurt?” Xie Ling did not understand.

Qian Lu smirked. “You have been buying cosmetics from her for over a year. If you suddenly switch to online shopping, won’t she be devastated if she finds out?”

Xie Ling let out an “Oh,” finally understanding that the Lisa the others mentioned was just a sales associate. That made her even less concerned. She was just an extra, and there was no need to give her too much attention.

Ren Xuan looked at Xie Ling’s profile and shot a warning glance at Tang Wenwen and Qian Lu. “The customer is god. She is just a salesperson; we do not owe her anything. Just because we bought things from her a few times does not mean we cannot shop elsewhere. Looking at the way you talk, it is as if we have to be responsible for the rest of her life.”

Xie Ling strongly agreed with Ren Xuan’s stance. “Exactly. It is my freedom to choose where to spend my money. The link is already sent. If you are worried about her feelings, you can go and support her yourselves.”

Qian Lu and Tang Wenwen exchanged looks, nodded in silent agreement, and busily opened their phones to place orders. Ren Xuan did not look again and was the first to open the door and leave.

It was almost eleven o’clock. Traffic in Haicheng was never smooth; it was congested year-round, especially during meal times, when the roads became completely impassable. To ensure they arrived on time, Qian Lu started the car early to take her sisters out.

Her new car was quite flashy, but to get into the backseat, one had to either open the soft top and climb over the door or enter through the front passenger seat. As Xie Ling stooped to crawl into the back, she glanced at the interior and finally understood why Qian Lu always acted so frugal. With the frequency at which she changed cars, if she did not economize, it was unlikely she would have another car to drive.

Tang Wenwen was simply too ferocious; when she wanted to smash something, she did it, and each time was more ruthless than the last. Thinking of this, Xie Ling reached out to pat Qian Lu, who was gripping the steering wheel, on the shoulder. “Nice new car. It is beautiful and cool.”

Qian Lu suddenly wilted like a deflated balloon, her voice becoming listless. “Thanks for the compliment. I like it too.”

Ren Xuan noticed Qian Lu stealing glances at Wenwen and laughed. “Wenwen, you really cannot be like you were in the past. If Qian Lu upsets you, just deal with her directly. Smashing cars is such a waste of money. At this rate, she will not have any money left to prepare any holiday surprises for you.”

“That depends on her performance. Who told her to always associate with those brainless people? If my car were fine, I would naturally not take it out on her car. Nobody wants to lose their temper for no reason.” Tang Wenwen glanced at Qian Lu, her anger flaring up at the thought of the bad romantic interests Qian Lu attracted.

Xie Ling leaned against the seat, looking at the pair in the front row with a playful expression, regretting that she had not written more about them or penned a few extra side stories, which might have won over a massive base of shipping fans. What a pity.

After the car stopped, Tang Wenwen was the first to exit. Qian Lu, who had no words to defend herself, folded the passenger seat to let Ren Xuan and Xie Ling out of the back. She then led them into a clubhouse that was extremely high-end, even though its storefront was very low-key.

Xie Ling and Ren Xuan exchanged a look as they walked behind, their lips curling slightly. They realized Qian Lu had truly spent a fortune this time. Although they all had decent backgrounds and wealthy families, they were still in the stage of relying on pocket money. Even those who were already working were limited by family restrictions, earning only a meager salary or receiving heavily reduced allowances. Dining at such a place was a bit extravagant for Qian Lu, who had just bought a new car. However, from a positive perspective, Ren Xuan was very appreciative of her gesture this time.

The Blue Sea Club was famous in Haicheng. Dining here, excluding alcohol, cost over 8,000 yuan per person. A meal could easily reach tens of thousands of yuan. After the meal, Xie Ling, whose appetite had increased, was still only half-full. She had wanted to order two more dishes, but when she met Qian Lu’s pleading eyes, she silently put her hand down. She thought that, at worst, she would play the host later and treat everyone to afternoon tea.

Unexpectedly, as they walked out of the club’s main entrance, they saw Qian Lu’s regular driver standing opposite them, waving at them with a smile. Seeing this, before Ren Xuan or Xie Ling could ask, Qian Lu explained, “Wenwen and I have things to do this afternoon. I will let Uncle Li take you home.”

Ren Xuan glanced at the luxurious business van behind Uncle Li, raised a hand to block the harsh sunlight from her forehead, and said to Qian Lu, expressionless, “Fine. That is better than squeezing into your backseat and having to watch you two feed each other dog food.”

“Indeed.” Xie Ling agreed wholeheartedly. That cramped space was truly suffocating for someone with her long arms and legs.

Uncle Li dutifully drove them to their building. Xie Ling lived in the outermost unit, so she got off before Ren Xuan. She watched the car drive toward the inside of the complex and only turned to unlock the door with her fingerprint once she saw it turn the corner.

The housekeeper had just finished lunch and was cleaning. Xie Ling did not disturb her. She took the car keys, which had been sent back with her, from the key bowl and headed downstairs. On the way back, she had already thought of a safer plan.

Since she had not eaten her fill, and Ji Xue was working a part-time job at a dessert shop, she decided to take a detour to visit her, buy a cake, pretend it was a chance encounter, and return the USB drive she had left in the car. That should work, right? As long as it was reasonable, coincidental, and seemingly casual, Xie Ling did not believe she could fail the wretched system’s violation check.

Determined, she acted immediately.

Xie Ling took the USB drive, went down to the underground parking lot, unlocked her car, looked up the destination on her social media map, and slowly drove out of the parking garage.

At exactly 2:00 PM, 36 Huainan Road, Haiyao Cake Shop.

Because of Xie Ling’s cold and heartless reply the previous night, Ji Xue had been so upset she did not fall asleep until 4:00 AM. A cup of coffee in the morning had not done much, and by the afternoon, she was yawning continuously. Her eyes were filled with tears of exhaustion. She wore her uniform and a mask, standing behind the counter, half-asleep. Her heavy head bobbed from time to time, like a wobbling tumbler.

Fortunately, there were not many customers today. She fought back a yawn to finish checking out the first customer of the afternoon. She forced her watery eyes open, but the display, which she had just been able to read, blurred once more.

Ji Xue was truly exhausted. She had slept so little over the past two days that she had reached her body’s limit. Her consciousness was so hazy that she did not even notice the sports car parked at the entrance.

Xie Ling had been sitting in her car for quite a while. She stared at the rear of the car parked at the street corner, thinking the glossy black paint looked familiar. She considered driving away and ignoring it, but she had a nagging feeling that the car looked suspicious and sneaky. She stared at it for over ten minutes, and since the car did not move, Xie Ling frowned, glanced at the storefront to the side, and decided she did not want to waste more time. She opened her door and got out.

The automatic door of the cake shop opened. Xie Ling walked in amidst the sweet sound of the greeting. Before she could even see the pastries on the shelves, she caught a glimpse of someone behind the counter swaying and about to fall.

With reflexes as fast as Xie Ling’s, she took a long stride, reached out, and caught the person.

Ji Xue was in a terrible state. She had been drifting off, so when she was caught just as she was about to fall, she felt both ashamed and grateful. She was wearing gloves, which made it inconvenient to operate, so she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the fabric of her sleeve. In her panic, she did not look up to see who had caught her, but began to bow and apologize. After apologizing, she wanted to express her thanks; the word “thank” was already on the tip of her tongue and about to spill out.

However, Xie Ling, who was wearing a mask, suddenly changed her expression. She raised a hand to stop the expression of gratitude before it could be voiced. Her eyes narrowed, and she knit her brows together, declaring her dissatisfaction: “What is wrong with you employees? Sleeping on the job? Where is your boss?”

“Little Anti” could not help but exclaim, “Impressive. Your reaction speed is getting faster and faster.”

Xie Ling looked at the dazed Ji Xue, desperately screaming in her heart, I am sorry, I did not mean it.

“Little Anti” changed its tone even faster, sneering, “Stop screaming in your head. If you have the guts, say it out loud.”

“Shut up!”

Xie Ling knew, of course, that screaming in her heart was useless, but she simply did not have the courage to say it out loud. If she had that kind of courage, she would not be walking further and further down the path of self-destruction!