Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 30

Since her debut, Liu Wuxian has followed a seductive route. Some people adored her charm, but she was also heavily criticized for it.

However, she didn’t care at all. Unlike He Yanjin’s caution, she was always self-willed. Since her debut, people had bet that she would soon be shelved, but in reality, she was still leaping and bounding everywhere.

Xie Qingtang didn’t care if Liu Wuxian was charming or not; her attention wasn’t focused on the meaning of Chang Yishao’s words. After her mind whirled a few times, she finally asked the question deep in her heart. In fact, she knew the answer even without Chang Yishao’s reply.

Chang Yishao’s slight “displeasure” vanished amidst Xie Qingtang’s question. She was suddenly startled that she had almost gone down the wrong path. The emotion in her eyes seemed to be instantly frozen. She calmly met Xie Qingtang’s probing gaze and nodded, saying, “I know her.” Xie Qingtang did not respond, lowering her eyelids as if considering their relationship. Time seemed to stop at this moment, and the atmosphere at the dining table solidified. Chang Yishao spoke again, her voice like a cold blade cutting through silk: “My future sister-in-law, but we don’t interact much.”

Xie Qingtang let out an “Oh,” instantly understanding the source of Liu Wuxian’s disgust towards He Yanjin. She stopped talking and focused on picking vegetables. As her chopsticks picked up a piece of bamboo shoot and placed it in her bowl, her hand suddenly trembled. Chang Yishao’s words had another layer of meaning: the Chang family knew about her existence. Any normal person would think she was He Yanjin’s stand-in, so what would the Chang family think? Would they not discourage Chang Yishao’s behavior, which could be considered “heretical”? “I say—” Xie Qingtang opened her mouth slowly, “Do you rarely go home?”

Chang Yishao frowned. She didn’t expect Xie Qingtang’s topic to jump to this. After a while, she said, “No need. We all have our own lives.”

Xie Qingtang made another judgment in her heart.

The Chang family didn’t seem to care much about Chang Yishao. This might be complete indifference, or it could be excessive pampering and indulgence. Based on the speed of processing after Chang Yishao contacted the person in charge of the Mo Ye platform, the latter seemed more likely. Chang Yishao was truly too complicated; who knew what was hidden beneath her calm facade?

Chang Yishao’s danger level immediately escalated. Xie Qingtang looked up at her and sighed softly. Only take her beauty, not her person. Xie Qingtang silently recited a phrase. After taking a deep breath, she buried her head in her food. Chang Yishao’s cooking skills were truly amazing. During the contract period, she should fully enjoy the benefits.

The program filming in Pingyao was presented to the audience through a combination of live broadcast and edited feature film. During the highly anticipated hands-on session, there were more viewers glued to the live stream than usual. Chang Yishao’s and Liu Wuxian’s fans had already started a war of words, while a small group of people were attracted to the staff member wearing a baseball cap, screenshots and discussions flying around.

— Is the young woman a kiln worker? Mom, I want to learn ceramics too!

— Speaking of which, she looks a lot like He Yanjin. Wasn’t there a “True and False Heir” thing before? Is this the young woman?

— Be quiet, those people are tearing each other’s hair out, don’t attract them over. I know this young woman, she streams on the Mo Ye platform!

Xie Qingtang only remembered her main job when she was collapsed on the sofa scrolling through Weibo—her Weibo follower count was steadily increasing, obviously leveraging the show’s momentum. Considering herself a vulgar person, how could she not love real money? She immediately posted a message on Weibo with her live stream details: 8 PM, see you there.

“I have to work overtime tonight,” she looked up and said to Chang Yishao, who had finished cleaning the kitchen and walked out.

Chang Yishao gazed at her, then nodded after a moment, saying, “Okay.”

She had always known about Xie Qingtang’s live streaming, but she wasn’t a viewer. She hadn’t even entertained the slightest thought of watching. However, at this moment, an idea was stirring, like a seed about to break through the soil.

Xie Qingtang’s streaming style was different from the original host. She wasn’t an anchor who relied on a certain type of content to gain followers; she was extremely unpredictable. In her live stream, nothing was too much of a surprise. Xie Qingtang originally wanted to continue streaming content related to handicrafts, but the period of life in Pingyao had worn down her interest—this experience taught her that even her most beloved activity couldn’t withstand the fatigue and weariness after a “nine-to-five” routine.

The bullet screen flickered by. Many fans still remembered the snippet of the song she had sung before and were waiting for her to deliver the finished product. Xie Qingtang’s response was very straightforward, “Just a little bit more,” which was her honest truth.

— A little bit, or a billion bits?

— When is the streamer debuting? Release an album!

— Career fans are scratching their ears and cheeks.

— Are you the young woman in “Beauty Like Porcelain”?

— I’m going to boldly shout: Hey, wife!

Amidst the numerous bullet comments were some inquiries. Newcomers were bewildered by the atmosphere in the comments, momentarily thinking they had walked into the wrong venue. When they couldn’t get an answer, they could only continue to relentlessly spam the screen.

— I’ve never seen a streamer like this, streaming like attending a funeral, wanting to earn dirty money, yet putting on airs, truly outrageous.

— Does she really think she can have the world just because she has a pretty face?

During the live stream, there would always be some malicious comments mixed in the bullet screen. Xie Qingtang was not surprised at all. After all, that certain person, after being humiliated, would constantly harass and slander her. But this time, it was clearly a large batch of anti-fans flooding the live stream room, organized and premeditated, spamming various bad things. Generally, the only people who do this are those who have been offended or competitors, Xie Qingtang couldn’t be sure who it was. She seemed to possess a heart of steel, completely unaffected by those comments, continuing to do as she pleased, not even sparing a glance for the “haters.”

After one particularly vicious attack, it was followed by the comment, “Only an idiot would give gifts to a superficial streamer like you.”

But just after this comment swept across the screen, countless gifts appeared in the center of the screen, blossoming like fireworks, long and unceasing—the stream of gifts achieved a “clear screen” effect. A few minutes later, comments like “Ahhh” and “Sugar Mommy, support me” surged forward, completely drowning out the hater’s remarks.

Xie Qingtang clicked on the gift leaderboard and found an unfamiliar name, “Xiao Jiucheng”—the account looked newly registered, even the profile picture was the system default. This person immediately jumped to the top of the rankings, spending more money in a few minutes than all previous donors combined. Xie Qingtang frowned, somewhat stunned. Seeing these three characters, she immediately thought of the phrase “When the music of Shao is played nine times, the phoenix will come.” An individual came to mind, but she immediately dismissed the thought. At this time, Chang Yishao was probably holding her Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo), reading it with great relish.

— Who is this Senior Xiao? Does Tangtang know them?

— Tears of envy are streaming down from the corners of my mouth.

Xie Qingtang suppressed her turbulent thoughts. She smiled, replied with a “No, I don’t,” and continued her streaming endeavor.

Warm light was cast on her hair and between her eyebrows. Chang Yishao sat on the bed, her left hand pressing down on the open book, and her right hand holding her phone. A melodious tune entered her ears, echoing in the spacious room. After a long while, she exited the application and directly opened the chat window with Lu Li.

“Have you ever given a gift to a streamer?” After a moment of hesitation, Chang Yishao tapped send.

Lu Li was currently playing a single-player game with a friend. Her peripheral vision caught Chang Yishao’s message. After landing a headshot on a monster, she picked up her phone. However, when she clearly saw the message, her expression was momentarily dazed. She thought for a moment that she had become the monster in the game, beaten into a dizzy state.

“Who is it?” a female voice said. The person took off her headphones and gazed at Lu Li.

Lu Li lay down on the sofa in exasperation, placing her phone face down to the side, saying weakly, “Come and see for yourself.”

The woman slowly walked towards Lu Li. She picked up the phone, which was still lit up, and after a while, she let out a drawn-out “Yiiiii.” “It just so happens that I’m back. How about we ask her out for a gathering in a few days?” After a pause, she added, “And Qi Er.”

“You go ahead and call her,” Lu Li squinted at her. She reached out and hooked the woman in front of her, pulling her to her side, and said heavily, “Tang Xiaorong, look, how should I advise her? I feel like she’s becoming more and more outrageous now. The elders in our grandfather’s generation are pleased with her stability, but look, does this look like stability?”

“Didn’t she find a girlfriend? Why is she messing with a small streamer again—” Tang Rong’s words stopped abruptly. After a moment, she shook her head, “Unlikely. Why don’t you talk to her?”

Lu Li thought for a while and nodded. After contemplating for a bit alone, she replied, “Only those spoiled rich kids do things like throwing thousands of gold to please streamers. How would I know?”

“You are somewhat in danger right now, do you understand?”

Giving a gift to a streamer is dangerous?

Chang Yishao frowned, unable to understand Lu Li’s logic.

Lu Li’s new reply followed.

“Tang Xiaorong is back. When should we have the gathering? Bring your girlfriend, Miss Xie, with you.”

Tang Rong is back? Chang Yishao was somewhat surprised. Given the complexity of the Tang family situation, she thought this friend would never set foot in Yucheng again. It had indeed been many years since they last met. Chang Yishao’s thoughts shifted from “streamer gifts” to Tang Rong. After a while, she remembered something and sent a message in their small group chat.

Chang Yishao: @Tang Rong, did you ask Zhou Yunmeng about the matter I asked you to inquire about before?

Lu Li: What matter? How come I don’t know? @Tang Rong.

Tang Rong: Huh? What?

A few minutes later, she added: Was it about asking Zhou Yunmeng when she had given something to Qi Er? It was several years ago, right? I asked.

Chang Yishao: When did you ask?

Tang Rong: …A year ago.

She only remembered it when she was flipping through old messages—it was fortunate that she and Chang Yishao didn’t exchange messages frequently, otherwise she would have completely forgotten. A few years late, it shouldn’t be a big deal, right? In fact, she couldn’t remember whether she had completed the task on time or not. A year ago, she had asked Zhou Yunmeng and didn’t get any special reaction, so she naturally tossed the matter back out of her mind.

Qi Er: Gave what?

The group fell into silence until Qi Yu, who rarely checked group updates, popped up.

Tang Rong suddenly felt the shocking sensation of being caught red-handed doing something wrong. Fortunately, they weren’t face-to-face, so she didn’t have to look at Qi Er’s poker face.

After a long time, Chang Yishao finally replied with a single sentence: “It’s nothing.”

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