Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 55

The pitch-black night brewed a full and beautiful dream, until a loud crowing rooster startled the person from their sweet slumber.

Xie Qingtang turned and met Chang Yishao’s sleepy eyes. She calmly withdrew her gaze, but her thoughts couldn’t help but drift to the moment of having her hair blown dry and her neck massaged—she couldn’t tell if she missed the refreshing relief that loosened her muscles, or if she was engrossed in the sensation brought by those soft yet powerful fingers.

The jumbled thoughts brewing in the morning gave rise to a sense of crisis.

Xie Qingtang slowly sat up. She played with the long hair draped over her shoulders, her gaze fixed on Chang Yishao’s face. Her voice and tone were slow, still carrying the lingering laziness of the morning: “Your foot…”

“It’s fine now,” Chang Yishao met Xie Qingtang’s gaze with a gentle smile.

Xie Qingtang responded with an “Oh.” After she had gone to the separate room, changed her clothes, and come out, she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked again, “Is the house settled?”

Chang Yishao: “…” Her movement paused for a moment. She pursed her lips and lowered her eyes, concealing the sharpness within. Last night seemed to have closed the distance between her and Xie Qingtang, but this one sentence this morning seemed to have reopened a chasm. Her secret feelings were abruptly thrust into the open by Xie Qingtang’s question.

After arriving in Shencheng, Chang Yishao hadn’t forgotten about the house. However, after redecorating a home, she didn’t like the cold emptiness of living alone. Instead, she preferred to continue snuggling with Xie Qingtang in a not-so-spacious room, lying side-by-side on a narrow bed. In the middle of the night, upon hearing the shallow breathing beside her, her restless heart found a haven.

Now, she had to formally address this issue that Xie Qingtang had brought up, facing her own heart while also facing Xie Qingtang. Silence spread through the room. After a long while, Chang Yishao finally let out a sigh and said, “It’s taken care of.” She watched Xie Qingtang intently, not wanting to miss any emotion that appeared on her face.

“Is that so…” Xie Qingtang drew out her words. Changing the subject, she didn’t pursue the question further. She simply smiled with curved eyes and said, “Take your medicine. I’ll take you over.”

Xie Qingtang’s “take” was by means of a somewhat old-fashioned bicycle with a back seat. Although the bike was old-fashioned, the frame was polished bright and clean, clearly telling people that it could still hold out for many more years.

The roaring of an engine that erupted like a spark setting off a massive explosion, the grinding of tires against the pavement that let out a series of invigorating screeches, the whistling wind that lashed one’s face like a whip… these were largely what constituted Chang Yishao’s recollections of a “vehicle.” But at this moment, these scenes retreated like a tide, and the memory reassembled, like an invisible pen, outlining the simple yet sleek lines of a bicycle.

Xie Qingtang placed one foot on the ground. She turned her body and patted the back seat. The morning sunlight outlined her gentle features; she was a brilliance that could not be ignored.

“Hop on. My riding skills are great.”

Chang Yishao hesitantly got onto the back seat. The first-time experience felt novel, yet also slightly nerve-wracking. Her hands wanted to wrap around Xie Qingtang’s waist, but she ultimately pulled them back, settling for a light grip on the hem of her clothes.

Riding a bicycle like a wheel of fire and wind—only Xie Qingtang could manage it. No one knew when she would accelerate or slam on the brakes. After several near-toss-offs, Chang Yishao finally let go of the clothes she was clutching and instead wrapped her arms around Xie Qingtang’s waist, which was slender like a bundle of silk.

The traversing cars, the coming and going electric scooters, and the single-toned shared bicycles formed the Shencheng morning—the old-fashioned carrier bicycle mixed in awkwardly. Xie Qingtang seemed oblivious. The morning breeze blowing against her face, the sun rising above the horizon… the essence of this “day’s first plan” brought her a sense of relaxation and joy that made her almost forget herself.

It wasn’t until the shadows of tall buildings enveloped them and the sounds of the surrounding hubbub re-entered her ears that she let out a sigh of relief and said, “We’re here.”

Chang Yishao released Xie Qingtang’s waist, her fingertips seemingly still retaining that warmth. She curled her fingers and smoothed the bangs that the wind had messed up. She tactfully said, “Be careful on the way. There’s no need to rush back.” Xie Qingtang’s riding skills were good, but they lacked a certain steadiness—Chang Yishao never thought she would have a day when she was on edge because a bicycle was speeding.

“Alright,” Xie Qingtang waved her hand with a bright and sincere smile. She turned the handlebars and rode a distance before looking back at Chang Yishao. Seeing that she was still standing in the same spot, she raised her hand again to signal Chang Yishao not to watch her.

This time, Xie Qingtang, who rode away like an arrow released from a bow, did not look back again.

The tenderness in Chang Yishao’s eyes instantly vanished after Xie Qingtang’s figure disappeared, replaced by an innate sense of aloofness and coldness. After a night of rest and recuperation, her right foot, which wasn’t severely injured to begin with, was almost completely healed. She slowly walked into her office. Instead of starting her work immediately, she contacted other people.

Last night’s incident was a small episode, but it was destined not to be lightly erased. Instead, it left a profound mark in Chang Yishao’s heart.

She didn’t want to overly speculate about the malicious intentions of others, but when the truth, which was in line with her guesses, lay before her, she felt a wave of nausea and disgust. The barely-there figure in her mind overlapped, sketching out an entirely unfamiliar He Yanjin. If her utilitarianism and the hysteria and insecurity inherited from her family were understandable, the moment she crossed that line, she became a wicked person.

Zhang Yi shrugged with his legs crossed, looking nonchalant.

“The person was caught. The desire to teach them a lesson won’t be realized.”

He had been publicly humiliated and lost a large sum of money in the live broadcast room by Xie Qingtang, making him a laughingstock. He held a grudge against her. In this respect, he and He Yanjin were in agreement; both wanted to teach the presumptuous Xie Qingtang a lesson.

Zhang Yi was accustomed to doing this kind of thing and wasn’t as nervous as He Yanjin. He probably wouldn’t even flinch if the police showed up now. Seeing He Yanjin sitting on the distant sofa, her face filled with panic, Zhang Yi first smiled carelessly, then got up and walked over to her side. He looked at her with an ambiguous smile and asked, “Could it be that you still harbor thoughts of reconciling with that person?” His finger landed on He Yanjin’s face, gently tracing her flushed cheek. A look of lewdness and a strange sense of satisfaction floated in his small eyes.

“Young Master Zhang—” He Yanjin smiled ingratiatingly and leaned closer to Zhang Yi, softening her voice, “What should we do about this matter?”

Zhang Yi sneered and didn’t answer He Yanjin’s question. He squinted his eyes, his gaze slowly moving inch by inch across He Yanjin’s face. The perverse air had not dissipated. Instead, he asked, “You were also close with Miss Zhou before?” He abruptly flung away the hand He Yanjin had extended and chuckled, “You truly are a woman of capability. Maybe there are even more people?”

He Yanjin’s smile froze on her face.

Chang Yishao’s abandonment, Zhou Yunmeng’s withdrawal… all the past events made her even more anxious. Although Zhang Yi was funding her, she couldn’t bet everything on Zhang Yi given the possibility of multiple retaliations. She ignored various issues and made her belief firm through repeated self-hypnosis—as long as she walked that path and was looked up to by the world, the person she loved would definitely see her again.

Zhang Yi clicked his tongue, looking at He Yanjin as if she were a plaything. He had plenty of spare money to play these games.

However, Zhang Yi’s frivolous attitude came to an abrupt halt after receiving a phone call. He coldly waved He Yanjin away and hurriedly drove back to the Zhang family. He knew that everything he had was given to him by his father, not by his own ability.

He Yanjin didn’t have any emotional fluctuations because of Zhang Yi’s departure. She didn’t like Zhang Yi, but she was attached to the benefits he brought her. She knew that many people in the crew disliked her and looked down on her, yet in the end, they still had to play supporting roles for her, He Yanjin? When her reputation gradually rose, she would wash away the shame brought by past events.

When her phone rang, a hint of disgust appeared on He Yanjin’s face. But when her eyes caught the familiar number, a surge of ecstasy, like a tidal wave, almost drowned her entirely. She eagerly answered the phone. The silence on the other end did not quell her enthusiasm. She incoherently began, “Yishao, you, I, you still love me? Right? You found that woman to provoke me, to make me angry, didn’t you?”

“Pipe dream,” Chang Yishao’s mocking laughter was like frost, instantly freezing He Yanjin’s smile. Someone was handling the matter with Zhang Yi. As for He Yanjin—she originally didn’t want to contact this person. Perhaps finding peace was not a good ending for He Yanjin.

If she wanted something worse, there was nothing stopping it.

“I won’t look back. I know everything you’ve done. Do you need me to spell it out for you, one by one?” Chang Yishao’s tone was sharp, devoid of any warmth or tenderness. Her upbringing usually kept her polite, but at this moment, the moment she opened her mouth, her voice was cold and malicious, “You are base and filthy. Even if you truly become a star admired by the masses, so what? Do you expect me to look down at you?”

He Yanjin was proud, but this pride stemmed from her inferiority. Chang Yishao’s tone was condescending, a look He Yanjin had never seen before. She blinked. The hand holding the phone was trembling. She couldn’t utter a single word, only able to listen to Chang Yishao deliver one icy knife after another.

She was like a drowning person, and the belief that “Chang Yishao will return” was her faith, her last straw.

And now it was being personally cut by Chang Yishao.

“I will be with her.”

“And you—if you don’t want your past secrets to be exposed, you had better put aside your madness and covetousness.”

Chang Yishao smiled faintly, her gaze cold and distant. If the old matters couldn’t be halted by the spring breeze, then they could only die in the cold, silent winter night.

He Yanjin’s blood felt frozen throughout her body. She knew Chang Yishao was serious.

She had hypnotized herself repeatedly, but now the cruel bell had rung. Her face was deathly pale. She climbed up at all costs, just to be qualified to stand side-by-side with Chang Yishao. Was she wrong?

She had made so many sacrifices, didn’t Chang Yishao see any of it?

He Yanjin’s hatred burned like a raging fire.

Long after Chang Yishao’s voice disappeared, she slowly looked down at her phone screen.

Zhou Yunmeng, who had left with the smugness of successful revenge, had sent her two messages.

“I used you as an excuse to cover up my cowardice. You used Chang Yishao as a reason to satisfy your greed.”

“Neither of us deserves what we love. Miss He, are you ready to welcome the collapse?”

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