Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 9

Chang Yishao didn’t care how He Yanjin and Zhou Yunmeng got together, nor did she care when He Yanjin would return or what she was returning for. After saying the words “vicious shark,” Lu Li fell silent, but Chang Yishao was amused by herself. She picked up the teacup and sipped the steaming tea, her posture elegant and composed.

Human curiosity knows no bounds, and after a moment of silence, Lu Li couldn’t help but ask, “Do you think He Yanjin will come looking for you?” After all, He Yanjin’s shamelessness was well-known. Lu Li didn’t particularly like He Yanjin’s personality, but because she was her friend’s girlfriend, she naturally showed some respect. However, that respect came to an abrupt halt after He Yanjin cheated. She truly couldn’t understand why, with an excellent partner like Chang Yishao, she would do such a thing. Just how low was He Yanjin’s moral compass? “You won’t get back together with her, will you?” Lu Li asked again, her voice filled with worry.

Chang Yishao gave her a sideways glance and slowly said, “She has a girlfriend.”

Lu Li patted her head as if just remembering, saying “Oh,” and then continued, “What about that little sister in your house? How long did you sign the contract for?” Chang Yishao paused at the question, the bright smiling face of Xie Qingtang instantly flashing in her mind. She shook her head and quietly replied, “I don’t know.” Before Lu Li could ask the next question, she added, “Did you ask me out just to ask about these things?”

Lu Li rubbed her nose and chuckled awkwardly, “Just checking up on you.” She took out a small black bowl from her bag and gently placed it on the table, asking, “What do you think of this porcelain? Didn’t you say you have a practical activity in your course? Why not go to the kiln and work with porcelain?”

Chang Yishao pondered for a moment, then nodded, “That’s possible.” After a pause, she added, “But this isn’t a decision I can make alone.”

“I know that.” Lu Li smiled with her eyes, clasped her hands together, and bowed slightly to Chang Yishao, responding, “I thank you on behalf of Qi Er.”

Chang Yishao: “…” She turned her head, her gaze drifting out the window. The sky was clear and bright, and without the obstruction of fog and haze, the edges of the high-rise buildings were particularly sharp.

Yucheng International Airport.

A short-haired woman wearing sunglasses looked around, her assistant closely following behind her, dragging a suitcase. The surroundings were noisy, and fans with banners were enthusiastically gathered, but the woman ignored them all, merely giving a faint nod before parting the crowd to create a narrow path. This person was He Yanjin. After breaking up with Chang Yishao, she went abroad under the pretext of “relaxing.” Now, she had finally returned to this familiar place. She took a deep breath and hurried forward. When she reached her destination and saw the familiar sedan, she immediately pulled open the car door and slipped inside.

It was the Zhou family’s driver.

“Miss has something going on today,” the driver’s tone was rigid.

He Yanjin casually acknowledged him, then slumped into the seat to play on her phone. The unsent messages made her feel embarrassed, melancholic, and painful, but this emotion only lingered on her face for a moment. She had things to do now that she was back. Would the person in her heart not see her until she reached that dazzling status?

“Sister He, there’s a singing streamer recently who is being called ‘Little He Yanjin’?” The voice of the assistant, Xiao Yi, was filled with surprise. She had only recently been hired by He Yanjin.

He Yanjin’s eyes sharpened. She wasn’t interested in streamers, but the title “Little He Yanjin” made her uneasy. Frowning, she found and forwarded the relevant video. Her gaze suddenly turned cold—she wasn’t focused on the singing, but on the streamer whose face bore some resemblance to hers—and that familiar curio shelf and wall. He Yanjin’s heart immediately stirred. She stared intently at the less than one-minute video clip repeatedly, and only after a long while did she look away.

She opened her Weibo. There had been no activity for nearly a year, but many fans were still waiting for her return. This situation brought a wave of pleasure from the bottom of He Yanjin’s heart. Her fingers flew, and she quickly typed out a line of text: “I’m back. Has someone been fraudulently using my name recently?” She quickly reviewed it and hit send. She always managed her own Weibo, occasionally using a lighthearted tone to joke with her fans. At this moment, the tone should also be lighthearted.

Before long, the replies below multiplied. He Yanjin found the comment that mentioned the streamer “Tang Xi” among the numerous replies and liked it. This comment, which was originally buried, immediately floated to the top, exposing it to more people’s view.

The sentence she posted carried a hint of doubt, but in the ears of her supportive fans, it immediately became a certainty. They spontaneously translated the sentence into “a streamer named Tang Xi is fraudulently using He Yanjin’s name,” which was something these people could not tolerate.

Xie Qingtang woke up and found that Chang Yishao had already gone out; she didn’t mind.

Thinking of her unfinished “business” from yesterday, she opened her live stream early. Because her streaming time was irregular, viewers couldn’t always wait in the room, so they came in sporadically, with only an occasional person joining. Xie Qingtang didn’t speak, just continued with the task at hand. When she was nearly finished, she noticed a surge of people entering the live stream.

But the newcomers were clearly hostile.

【Little He Yanjin? What the hell? Does anyone actually watch such a boring streamer?】

【Where does she look like her? Isn’t this an insult to my goddess? My goddess is a singer, what is she, a straw-sandal weaver?】

【Isn’t that going too far? Bamboo weaving craftsmanship, haven’t you seen it before?】

【But they do look quite alike, the two of them.】

【Are those who say they look alike blind? Is she trying to ride on her coattails? Doesn’t she know her own worth?】

That group frequently mentioned He Yanjin, and Xie Qingtang inwardly sighed, realizing things were not good. She hadn’t even met the “white moonlight” yet, and she had already offended her? But then again, with what she was currently doing, whether they met or not, this “white moonlight” would be thoroughly offended. Seeing the chaotic barrage of comments, Xie Qingtang decisively chose to close the live stream. It wasn’t like they were throwing gifts and insulting her? She wasn’t a masochist; why should she let them continue to attack her?

However, although the battleground of the live stream was closed, the controversy that extended to the forums did not stop.

【He Yanjin’s fans are too much? Running over to insult someone without knowing the facts? Where is your quality? Are you bullying our Tangtang because she has few fans? And “Little He Yanjin,” who wants to carry someone else’s name and live in someone else’s shadow? Our Tangtang has never called herself that. The two are completely unrelated, what is He Yanjin doing? [eye-roll]】

Xie Qingtang also had a few indignant fans who spoke up for her. When Xie Qingtang saw this message, she almost couldn’t resist liking it.

【Isn’t she a singing streamer? Is she not riding on my goddess’s fame?】

He Yanjin’s fans were obviously not to be outdone.

【As a passerby, honestly, when it comes to a cappella, He Yanjin really can’t compare to that streamer. Surely no one is unaware of the concert fiasco?】

He Yanjin was a singer. If the “Little He Yanjin” behavior angered her fans, their fury escalated when someone questioned He Yanjin’s singing ability. People caught up in emotion are most likely to vent their anger, and Xie Qingtang was the “unlucky one” who became the target. She never expected to trend on hot search terms by being insulted this way.

What in the world is going on? Xie Qingtang was utterly speechless. However, according to the logic of this abusive romance novel world, Chang Yishao should appear at the appropriate time, confronting He Yanjin and carrying out the early stage of “abusing the female lead,” right? She was just a poor tool. Oh no, as long as the tool person didn’t fall in love with Chang Yishao, there was still hope.

When Chang Yishao returned home, she found that Xie Qingtang’s gaze towards her was somewhat ambiguous.

Her brows furrowed, and she wanted to ask but didn’t know where to start. She placed the small bowl she had gotten from Lu Li on the coffee table and then turned around and entered the kitchen.

Xie Qingtang’s scrutiny was cut off by the closed door.

As a “girlfriend,” Chang Yishao was too outstanding. But precisely because of this, a hint of chill rose in Xie Qingtang’s heart. When both she and Chang Yishao were clearly aware of their identities and roles, was this private gentleness inherent nature or something else? How could she be so gentle to a “stand-in for the white moonlight”? And this kind of gentleness from her didn’t seek an equal return, and could even be said to desire “the complete opposite.”

“A ruthless strange person.” Xie Qingtang’s assessment of Chang Yishao was constantly being revised, but she couldn’t escape those five words. In her view, Chang Yishao was truly too strange; she couldn’t figure out what Chang Yishao was thinking at all. Given Chang Yishao’s personality, could that abusive romance novel world really progress? Could it be that this world was about to collapse, and the system was trying to squeeze out her last bit of “labor” by kicking her here for “retirement”? Xie Qingtang’s eyes flickered. The deeper she thought, the more likely this possibility seemed. She pressed her temples, and her gaze shifted to the exquisite small bowl. This was a black-glazed tea bowl with a leaf pattern (a “Wood Leaf” pattern), and the color was the legendary “colorful black,” but the leaf inside the bowl lacked a sense of natural vibrancy.

“What do you think of this bowl?”

Xie Qingtang didn’t know when Chang Yishao had walked out of the kitchen. Hearing the question, she raised an eyebrow at Chang Yishao and put the bowl back in its original place. She shrugged and said, “It’s better than one that’s sprayed on.”

Chang Yishao folded her arms and chuckled softly, her amusement unclear. In the bright living room, she looked somewhat languid, with a hint of arrogance and sharpness hidden in her chestnut-colored eyes. Xie Qingtang only glanced at her before looking away. Chang Yishao was a beauty, but precisely because of this, one shouldn’t look too closely. What if she got hopelessly entangled?

Support