When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 39

“You’ve just joined our magazine. I won’t make things difficult for you. As long as you dig up an exclusive scoop on Qin Yishu this month, your performance will be deemed satisfactory. If the magazine sales do well, there will be an extra bonus for you. You know how our magazine develops—as long as you work hard, it’s not impossible to become an important person in the industry in the future. You young people are just too restless…”

Jiang Yan stood in the small office, looking at the man with the sleazy look, feeling utterly disgusted.

He was drawing her an empty promise, thinking she was a three-year-old child who could be successfully brainwashed with a few words?

This magazine barely managed to survive by selling celebrity gossip. If it weren’t for their shamelessness, she wouldn’t have applied here.

“Editor-in-Chief, I know you have my best interests at heart, but Qin Yishu is notoriously difficult in the industry, with no scandals in all these years. Can I really stake out a story?”

Zhuo Wei’s eyes narrowed, and he snapped, “Why can’t you? She’s human, and every human has desires. Whether it’s desires in any aspect, you’ll find something as long as you look patiently. I’ve already bribed the security guard at Qin Yishu’s apartment complex. Just wait patiently; you will succeed. Go for it! The Editor-in-Chief believes in you!”

Jiang Yan subtly curved her lips, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes. This was the effect she wanted.

It seemed this greasy man wasn’t completely useless; at least he provided her with an opportunity to get close to Qin Yishu.

“Okay, Editor-in-Chief. I will follow her every step until I dig up explosive news. However, the conditions outside are very harsh, staying out in the wind and rain. Do you think you could…”

She raised her right hand, rubbing her thumb and index finger together, a very obvious hint.

Zhuo Wei glared at her, then took out his phone and transferred ten thousand yuan to her.

“This is your operations fund. Don’t come back without a scoop!”

Jiang Yan was pleased. After giving a confident guarantee, she took her camera and left. She drove her beat-up little car to Bishui High-End Apartments.

It was the rainy season in Jiang City, with continuous rain for over a month, making even the air humid.

Arriving at the apartment gate, Jiang Yan held the camera in her arms and ran inside through the rain.

“Hey, hey, hey, hold on! You’re a young woman I don’t recognize. Come over here and register. Have the resident come down to meet you.”

Jiang Yan went over, wrote down a random name and phone number, and blinked her big eyes. “Uncle, can you make an exception and let me go up to find my sister myself? Her identity is special, and it’s not convenient for her to come down.”

The security guard looked righteous, flexing the muscle on his arm. “Be serious! Don’t try to be cute with me! You young women always try to leap to the top, coming here to fish for a rich husband. I hate people like that the most! Honestly, have the resident come down to meet you, or I’ll call security.”

Jiang Yan had no choice but to say softly, “Uncle, I’m from the ‘Gossip Magazine’ (八了個卦雜志社).”

The uncle said, “What ‘gossip’ or ‘seven-sips’? This is a high-end complex. I have professional integrity! Don’t try to take the back door!”

Jiang Yan wondered if the damn Editor-in-Chief had lied to her, saying he’d bribed the guard when he hadn’t, wanting her to figure it out herself.

Having run out of options, Jiang Yan could only try one last method. She leaned close to the uncle and whispered, “Your wife’s distant cousin is the younger brother of your grand-aunt’s daughter.”

The uncle’s expression changed. He replied, “The cousin seems a bit too feminine.”

Jiang Yan replied again, “Actually, she’s a woman.”

The uncle clapped his hands and opened the gate, cautioning Jiang Yan.

“Keep the noise down. Don’t let anyone find out, or I’ll lose my job.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely come and go without a trace.”

After getting in, Jiang Yan, knowing the way, went up to the seventeenth floor. She cautiously entered the password and stepped inside. The first thing she did was take off her shoes. Walking on the bare floor sent a shiver of ice through her.

She could have openly lived in this large, multi-hundred-square-meter apartment, but she had famously declared before running away from home that she would never rely on her family.

Now her face was being slapped so hard it made a sound!

With her meager salary, to buy a house this big in the high-priced center of Jiang City, she would probably have to live to a hundred and then borrow another five hundred years from Heaven.

Sighing and lighting a cigarette.jpg

When she first transmigrated, her family was discussing her marriage, strongly hinting at marrying her off soon.

Although the person was also a girl, she wasn’t someone who was easily agreeable. She didn’t just like any girl, and she had a mission to complete. Naturally, she slipped away.

Qin Yishu, her target, was a top-tier Movie Queen in the entertainment industry, known for being beautiful, having good acting skills, and having zero scandals. She had just won the Golden Lion Film Festival award again two days ago, making her the youngest “Three Golds Grand Slam” Movie Queen in the industry and the actress with the most international A-list awards among her peers. She was riding a wave of success.

But her childhood was very unfortunate. Her parents died in a fire when she was young. Although she was later adopted, her personality was withdrawn and difficult to deal with. It wasn’t until she moved house at the age of fifteen that she met the person who changed her life.

However, for some unknown reason, that little girl next door suddenly disappeared without a word. Qin Yishu searched for a long time but couldn’t find her, gradually developing a paranoid and cold personality. Her “Blackening Value” (黑化值) was reportedly due to that girl.

When Jiang Yan heard Oscar’s plot summary, she sensed something was off, so she asked it why she had to save the target when the original cause wasn’t her fault. Oscar only said that those with more ability should work more and didn’t elaborate, seemingly deliberately mysterious.

So, to resist the arranged marriage and the mission, Jiang Yan came to Jiang City alone.

Although the Jiang family could find her in minutes, they hadn’t yet, which meant they wanted her to play around and come back on her own. This made her feel much more at ease.

As she was lying down, she heard people arguing outside the door. The sound penetrated the electronic lock and went straight into Jiang Yan’s ears.

“Qin Yishu, don’t think you’re so important! Everything I do is for your own good! Do you know what a big director Director Li is? If you offend him, don’t think you can continue to work in this industry!”

Qin Yishu?!

Jiang Yan jumped up from the sofa. She looked through the peephole. A man and a woman were standing opposite each other. She could only see the face of the exasperated man.

He seemed genuinely furious, his face dark, his fists clenched. Compared to him, the woman in the black casual suit was much more relaxed, arms crossed, standing casually.

Jiang Yan had watched all of Qin Yishu’s programs and film works beforehand. That face was already imprinted in her mind, and she could almost imagine the expression with which she was facing the man opposite her.

Thinking carefully, the man’s name popped out of her head: Chen Mang, Qin Yishu’s manager.

He usually appeared on variety shows, claiming to have a unique vision and the ability to spot talent. In reality, he was just lucky. Qin Yishu helped him when he was marginalized by the company.

Qin Yishu’s current achievements and status could be said to have nothing to do with Chen Mang, yet the man had no self-awareness, thinking it was all his own doing. The tagline he used on variety shows was “The Top Gold Medal Manager in the Country.”

Jiang Yan didn’t know what other, better-behaved managers thought, but she felt so much secondhand embarrassment that her toes were curling and digging a Barbie Dreamhouse into the floor.

Chen Mang was still raging impotently. Qin Yishu said nothing, looking at him with composed leisure.

“If Director Li truly wanted to invite me, he wouldn’t bypass me and contact you directly. Only you know what you’re thinking, trying so hard to get me to go to such an event. Chen Mang, ten years as partners. We both know what kind of people we are. Stop doing these disgusting things under the pretense of being ‘for my own good.’ I could lift you up ten years ago, and I can kick you out now. Try me if you don’t believe it.”

After saying that, Qin Yishu walked straight to the door, opened the lock with her fingerprint, and stepped inside. The door closed gently. Chen Mang’s expression grew gloomier, his eyes revealing a poisonous coldness like a snake, which was inexplicably unsettling. At least, Jiang Yan felt a sudden chill.

Leaving a person like this next to Qin Yishu was ultimately a hidden danger. She had to find a way to warn her.

Chen Mang stood there for a few minutes, his expression slowly returning to normal. He made a call and walked toward the elevator. Jiang Yan didn’t know who he was talking to, but judging by his expression, it wasn’t a proper person.

Boredom set in as Jiang Yan stayed in the apartment. Several times, she wanted to rush to Qin Yishu’s door and tell her she was a delivery assistant, but that method clearly wouldn’t work.

Qin Yishu was a very suspicious person. She hadn’t had many close friends over the years, let alone a live-in assistant. Rushing over like that would only backfire.

She might suspect she was sent by a rival or planted by Chen Mang to monitor her. She had to come up with a less deliberate method, one that seemed natural, perhaps one that would make Qin Yishu invite her home herself?

Jiang Yan thought all afternoon but couldn’t come up with anything. She ran her hand frustratingly through her hair, then heard a faint door closing sound next door.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. She grabbed her camera and rushed out. After Qin Yishu took the elevator down, Jiang Yan took another one. Once outside, she realized the other person had only gone to throw out the trash.

Jiang Yan hid nearby, picked up her camera, and blatantly took two “clicks.” Sure enough, Qin Yishu turned to look.

Jiang Yan pretended to panic, running toward Qin Yishu in a fluster. Just as she was about to brush past her, the other person grabbed her.

“Paparazzo?”

Her voice was cool with a hint of hoarseness, inexplicably sexy.

Jiang Yan lowered her head, hugging the camera to her chest, stuttering, “I’m, I’m sorry. I won’t take photos of you again.”

Qin Yishu scoffed lightly, not letting go of Jiang Yan’s arm.

“To sneak in here, you’re quite capable. Whose reporter are you?”

Jiang Yan looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. “I can’t tell you. If I do, I’ll be fired. I haven’t even gotten this month’s salary yet.”

She was timid yet defiant, with two tears rolling down her fair, clean little face, making her look utterly pitiful.

The moment Qin Yishu saw her face, her expression instantly changed. Her eyes shifted several times before settling into calmness.

She leaned close to Jiang Yan and said, “How much is your boss paying you? I’ll give you ten times that. Will you come home with me?”

Jiang Yan’s acting was only halfway done when she heard the invitation to go home. She thought she was hallucinating.

Didn’t they say Qin Yishu was withdrawn, cold-blooded, and difficult to deal with? Why did she take the bait so easily? This isn’t logical.

“You want to keep me? No. I only sell my art, not my body.”

Although she desperately wanted Qin Yishu to take her back immediately, she still had to keep up appearances. Which lonely person at the top of the pyramid wouldn’t want a gentle and obedient little white rabbit?

Especially if this little white rabbit was innocent and pure-minded, seeming easy to control.

Jiang Yan was very satisfied with the persona she had created, little knowing that Qin Yishu had already seen through her. She said with a half-smile, “Then how can I get you to come with me? If you tell me your condition, as long as it’s not too excessive, I can satisfy you.”

Jiang Yan thought: See? The big shot is still captivated by my charm!

“How about you hire me? I can be your assistant or something. That way, I’ll be working and not taking your money for nothing.”

Qin Yishu curved an unnoticeable smile. Her hand slid down Jiang Yan’s arm and intertwined their fingers.

“Okay, I agree. Be my personal assistant. Stay with me twenty-four hours a day.”

Jiang Yan was forced to walk inside with her. Looking at her sharply defined profile, she felt a strange sensation, as if this scene had happened a long time ago.

Then she decided she was overthinking things. This was the first time she had met Qin Yishu. They had no prior connection, so how could there have been such a romantic moment before?

After entering Qin Yishu’s home, Jiang Yan realized what true enjoyment of life looked like.

The interior decoration subtly screamed “luxury.” None of the paintings on the wall or the antiques in the entryway were fakes.

How did she know? Because the news of Qin Yishu high-bidding on these items was still circulating on gossip websites. She had done her homework for the “Gossip Magazine” interview.

Qin Yishu took out a set of silk pajamas for Jiang Yan, her voice low. “Who wants to shower first?”

Jiang Yan’s face instantly flushed. Although she was prepared for this to happen, she didn’t expect it to be on the very first day!

“Wh-What do you mean?” she asked timidly, her face red.

No matter what the situation, she couldn’t break character!

Qin Yishu leaned closer, their breaths mingling. “We don’t have to shower. I took one this afternoon.”

Being stared at like that made Jiang Yan a little fearful. She pulled her collar closer, her voice even quieter.

“I showered too.”

Qin Yishu stepped forward, wrapped her arm around Jiang Yan’s waist, and teased, “You mean, we can start right away?”

Before Jiang Yan could speak, her lips were sealed, and she was pushed down onto the sofa.

That’s not what I meant!

But she couldn’t make a sound, only fragmented whimpers, which undoubtedly ignited Qin Yishu’s fire. Her eyes darkened, and her hands began to explore.

The instant the pain hit, Jiang Yan almost swore out loud. She held back with great difficulty, biting down on Qin Yishu’s neck, letting out a faint whimper.

Qin Yishu didn’t let her go, moving from the sofa to the bed, and then from the bed to the carpet, savoring every moment of the spring night.

By the end, Jiang Yan’s voice was hoarse, and she could barely make a sound.

“I’m so tired…” She whimpered, hoping Qin Yishu would pity her.

After the ordeal of the night, Jiang Yan no longer knew if she was maintaining her persona or if she genuinely felt this way.

After all, she had never felt this way in her previous twenty years—floating up and down in endless desire and ecstasy, feeling tireless.

Qin Yishu leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Yanyan, do you still remember Sister Yezi?”

Jiang Yan was too exhausted to think straight. She turned her back to her, her voice muffled. “I don’t remember. I don’t think… I know that person.”