After Entering a Romance Reality Show Disguised as a Man to Win Over All the Female Leads - Chapter 22.2

Everyone was so anxious they wanted to scratch their heads and cheeks. They did not know that inside the pitch-black laboratory, Rong Yu had already begun hearing her own heartbeat accelerating.

He Jiao turned off Rong Yu’s phone in front of her. Her voice remained calm.

“Electronic devices are not allowed inside the laboratory.”

Then she casually placed the phone on a table at the side.

The room fell into darkness again.

Immediately afterward, the instrument lit up again and moved from Rong Yu’s abdomen toward her legs.

He Jiao crouched down along with it.

Rong Yu immediately held her breath.

After an unknown number of breaths, He Jiao finally put away the instrument and stood up again.

“Inspection complete. Beginning data recording.”

Rong Yu could not see her face at all, but she could feel He Jiao’s gaze falling on her body.

After waiting like this for dozens of seconds, He Jiao began calmly reading out a string of information.

“Height, 173 centimeters. Waist, 62 centimeters. Leg length, 108 centimeters…”

As Rong Yu listened to her reading out each piece of her body data, she felt somewhat ashamed. Even though the surroundings were pitch-black and no one could be seen at all, she still instinctively turned her head away from the front.

Immediately after came the sound of a pen tip rubbing across paper, as if He Jiao were recording the data.

Rong Yu only felt that everything around her was filled with strangeness.

Since she could not see the surroundings, logically speaking, He Jiao should not be able to see either. But now she could actually still write.

Also… Rong Yu still had not figured out what He Jiao wanted to do.

Until the sound of the pen suddenly stopped.

The room immediately became so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Only Rong Yu’s own breathing remained.

After a moment of silence, He Jiao slowly spoke.

“According to the records, the data is qualified. You may participate in the experiment.”

Rong Yu could not understand which experiment she meant, but she understood that He Jiao had said she was qualified. That should mean she had passed the interview.

She immediately let out a long breath of relief.

“Then hurry and let my hands down.”

She urged.

But she discovered that He Jiao before her did not move. She continued standing quietly in the darkness.

He Jiao was not as cold as He Huaiting, but the aura around her still could not be ignored. When she did not speak, that feeling of being quietly watched made Rong Yu’s heart pause.

In the next moment, a soft veil covered Rong Yu’s eyes.

Along with it came the rich, salty, damp deep-sea scent on He Jiao, brought from who knew where.

Rong Yu heard her own light panting speeding up. The instant He Jiao approached, her heart beat so fast it nearly leapt from her chest.

She could not see the other person’s face, but this made her imagine Lian Langsheng even more clearly.

Thinking that she was being approached and forced close by Lian Langsheng with both hands restrained behind her made an indescribable shudder rapidly sweep through her whole body.

Then, He Jiao’s voice sounded by her ear.

“You’re not Rong Yu, are you?”

Rong Yu froze and subconsciously wanted to refute it.

But she heard the other girl continue in a low voice, “In other words, you’re not a man. You’re a woman.”

He Jiao’s voice was decisive and without the slightest hesitation. She had clearly already confirmed it.

This time, Rong Yu was truly stunned. She looked blankly into the darkness ahead, wondering when He Jiao had discovered the truth about her body.

Clearly, the livestream viewers all seemed to have been hypnotized, unable to distinguish her gender. Why could He Jiao tell?

But immediately afterward, she heard an even more explosive piece of news.

“They all know too,” He Jiao said softly. Her voice was so small that even Rong Yu could barely hear it, let alone worry about it being recorded by the camera.

That voice slipped into her ears, dense and soft. Even the breath He Jiao exhaled carried a little chill, making the roots of Rong Yu’s ears go numb.

“I never liked that Rong Yu. He acted pretentious and empty, all style and no substance. From the very beginning, I knew he had ulterior motives. But I didn’t expect that after we cooperated to win the program’s prize, he would actually have someone run me over and kill me just to take it all for himself.”

Every word He Jiao spoke seemed to dance on the tip of Rong Yu’s heart.

Rong Yu had never expected the plot after the novel’s ending to be like this. Lian Langsheng had actually filled in a continuation for the entertainment-industry novel she had written for her.

But it also seemed somewhat reasonable.

The original “Rong Yu” in the novel was a college student with ordinary grades and ordinary abilities, yet could stand out among a group of highly educated people. In the novel, this was because of the refreshing, satisfying heartthrob physique.

If it were turned into the real world, “Rong Yu” should indeed be someone socially adept and deeply scheming.

But she had not expected him to have someone kill He Jiao just to monopolize the prize money from the program team.

Rong Yu’s brows furrowed, and she felt both angry and indignant.

She had originally only wanted to imagine a suitable identity and let the “herself” in the novel be together with Lian Langsheng in her place. Yet she had not expected the continuation ending Lian Langsheng filled in to be so realistic and terrifying.

Did Lian Langsheng not like this book?

Why add this kind of ending?

Rong Yu could not understand no matter how much she thought.

But the moment she thought that even if this was only a brain world, the part of Lian Langsheng in this consciousness body had truly believed she experienced the pain of being hit by a car, she could not help feeling heartache for He Jiao before her.

She could not see the other girl’s expression, but the other girl seemed able to see hers.

“You’re feeling sorry for me?” He Jiao asked softly. “Aren’t you curious who that ‘Rong Yu’ I mentioned was?”

A cool hand touched Rong Yu’s cheek. The fingertips were like cold jade. The chilly touch slid from beside her ear to her jaw, finally gently lifting her chin.

“Who exactly are you?”

Rong Yu could not help sighing inwardly. He Jiao truly was the person most like Lian Langsheng. She was indeed different from the other three.

She was sensitive, delicate, gentle, and elegant. She possessed all the virtues Lian Langsheng had had before her family incident. Even though she remembered being killed by the previous “Rong Yu,” she still had not torn things apart with Rong Yu before investigating clearly. She had only quietly watched her actions.

Compared with He Huaiting and the others, He Jiao was the only character who had previously met that “Rong Yu,” yet she could still accept all the changes extremely quickly.

And because of this, she had developed her own thoughts and seriously considered Rong Yu’s identity and the reason for her appearance.

Until now.

Lian Langsheng’s IQ was much higher than Rong Yu’s, and He Jiao, whose family background was similar to hers, had also inherited that excellent quality.

Rong Yu knew she could not hide it from her. She could only brace herself and admit, “Whether you believe it or not, I—”

Before she could finish speaking, the surroundings suddenly began shaking violently.

Rong Yu’s thoughts, immersed in He Jiao’s atmosphere, instantly returned. She abruptly remembered the doctor’s words:

“In the brain world, you absolutely must not make the other party feel that this world is false. A brain world is different from a dream. If the personal consciousness of the brain world is overturned and the patient cannot wake up in time, it will be like the passage between two cities being cut off. It is very likely that the real-world consciousness—that is, Lian Langsheng’s original consciousness—will become completely fused with the brain world. By then, she will truly be beyond saving.”

Rong Yu abruptly came to herself and immediately shut her mouth.

The instant she stopped speaking, the shaking space around her immediately returned to calm.

He Jiao, who treated every word with particular seriousness, seemed to have completely failed to notice the abnormality just now. She was still waiting for Rong Yu’s answer.

“You what?”

Rong Yu hesitated.

She could not see He Jiao’s eyes. She could only roughly determine He Jiao’s position through the sound of her voice. Looking in the other girl’s direction, her mind reacted quickly.

“I was born a girl, but everyone thinks I’m a man, even my parents. So the clothes I’ve worn since childhood have always been men’s clothes, and I’m used to going out disguised as a man… But I don’t know why either.”

If this excuse were placed in the real world, absolutely no one would believe it.

But this was a brain world evolved from a novel world. Even He Jiao and the others’ hair and eye colors had not attracted anyone’s attention. No matter how absurd Rong Yu’s reason sounded, it seemed as if there were traces to follow.

She just did not know whether it could fool He Jiao.

As soon as Rong Yu finished speaking, she felt the damp atmosphere around them grow even stronger.

The hand that had originally lifted her chin slowly loosened and slid along her arm to touch her wrist.

Then—

With a click, Rong Yu was finally free.

She quickly tried to pull her hand back and retreat, but unexpectedly, she could not pull it away.

The hands clasping her wrists were cold and soft, yet their strength was much greater than hers.

Rong Yu suddenly heard He Jiao’s voice by her ear again. But this time, it was no longer as quiet as before.

“You’re not him. Then when you see this… you won’t be afraid either, right?”

Before Rong Yu could react to what she meant, she felt her hand being guided forward by He Jiao and pressed against something cold and wet.

That thing was like overlapping iron plates, beautifully curved yet sharp and exquisite. It even rose and fell with breathing, opening and closing like scales.

Rong Yu could not see what it looked like, but she could trace its shape with her hand. From a slender, tight waist, it gradually became fuller downward. The icy-cold sensation and tightly packed scales were shocking enough just to touch.

Rong Yu took a deep breath. Almost without needing the other girl’s guidance, she continued feeling downward on her own.

Only when she would have had to bend down did her hand finally stop.

This was—

She could hardly believe it.

But she finally understood why, when she had previously seen He Jiao, there had always been that cool aura around her, and why, during the shooting game, her agile movements had been so flexible, like a fish.

And that full, large, round pearl, which could calm Rong Yu’s breathing and make her feel as if she had returned to the deep sea.

This was a fish tail.

A living fish tail, even trembling faintly under her touch.

She could even feel the rise and fall of breathing beneath the scales and the powerful muscles of the tail.

No wonder He Jiao could see clearly in the dark. No wonder there was always a salty, damp scent around her…

But Rong Yu clearly remembered that she had not given He Jiao any special nonhuman setting. Even in her other novels, she had never written a similar merfolk creature.

Could this be…

Something Lian Langsheng added herself?

Why?

The icy scales beneath her fingertips rose and fell, scraping against Rong Yu’s fingers. He Jiao’s hand was still firmly covering the back of her hand. The cold softness contrasted sharply with the hard, cold touch beneath her palm.

The scene of a conversation with her closest friend in Rong Yu’s memory suddenly returned.

She abruptly remembered that a long time ago, she seemed to have discussed merfolk with Lian Langsheng.

At that time, she had not yet become a popular novelist on the platform, but Lian Langsheng had already regained control of the company and begun rebuilding and expanding the Lian family business with her parents’ assets.

Meanwhile, Rong Yu had been busy spending entire days in the library, researching all kinds of relatively unusual documents, hoping to find material for her novels.

Lian Langsheng was so busy every day that she barely had time to breathe, but she still came to Rong Yu’s house every day to eat dinner with them.

That day, Lian Langsheng got off work and came to pick her up for dinner. She sent Rong Yu a message from downstairs at the library.

The moment Rong Yu saw her message, she immediately returned the book and walked out of the seventh-floor reading room.

The library’s elevator was outside the floors, made of fully transparent glass that let one see the complete view outside. The moment Rong Yu stepped into the elevator, she saw the familiar figure standing on the open plaza outside.

The adult Lian Langsheng possessed an allure almost no woman could reach.

Mature and charming, bright yet steady. She was unstoppable in the business world, yet still carried a natural intellectual aura.

Her good upbringing since childhood made every movement elegant and graceful, full of unconcealed brilliance. Coupled with a face that even TV celebrities could hardly compare to, she was like a luminous body standing among the crowd.

Rong Yu only took the elevator from the seventh floor down to the first, yet along the way, she already saw no fewer than three people approach Lian Langsheng.

There were both men and women, but Lian Langsheng waved them all away.

By the time Rong Yu got off the elevator and came out of the library entrance, she happened to see the fourth person lingering beside Lian Langsheng.

The magnificent woman’s face already showed a little impatience, but that person still refused to give up and kept speaking with a smile.

Until Lian Langsheng raised her hand and pointed in Rong Yu’s direction.

The girl beside her followed her finger and turned to look at Rong Yu. After looking her up and down, she glared at her, full of unwillingness, before leaving.

At that time, Rong Yu had already witnessed Lian Langsheng coldly and sharply rejecting other women on the grounds that she “did not like women.” She knew her friend did not like women. Being glared at felt inexplicable to her. When she walked to Lian Langsheng’s side, she could not help glancing in the direction the girl had left.

Curiously, she asked, “What did you say to her?”

Lian Langsheng raised a brow. Her eyes were full of laughter, and her voice was calm and gentle.

“I said I already have a girlfriend.”

What had Rong Yu said then?

She tried hard to remember.

On the surface, Lian Langsheng was gentle, but everything she had experienced over the years had long since made her cold to the bone.

As long as she wanted to, even the shrewdest businessman could not see the disguise in her expression.

But if she was too lazy to hide it, every sentence she said could stab someone until they had nowhere to run.

At that time, Rong Yu had just seen her make a young female teacher, who had come to confess with a red face, run away with reddened eyes. So she did not believe Lian Langsheng’s words at all and only thought she was joking.

She barely raised a smile and waved her hand with a laugh.

“You should tell the truth.”

She remembered the ancient mythological materials she had just found in the library.

“Unless her constitution is that of a merfolk and she can change sex. Otherwise, you don’t like women, so no matter how hard she tries, it’s useless.”

The moment she finished speaking, she saw the smile at the corner of Lian Langsheng’s mouth stiffen for an instant. Then the smile deepened, looking completely normal.

“Mm, indeed. What about you?”

“Me?”

The sunlight that day was somewhat dazzling. Rong Yu could not bear it and could only blink in panic, avoiding her gaze.

“I don’t like them either.”

The scene in her memory came to an abrupt stop, and she returned to the pitch-black darkness where she could not see her own fingers.

Rong Yu clearly sensed her ankle being wrapped by a damp, tight, powerful fish tail. The fin slapped lightly against the cold floor, and faintly, droplets of water rolled down.

The rich scent from the deep sea wrapped Rong Yu firmly. Cool air seeped into her breathing.

She could not see anything, yet she could sense the other girl drawing closer.

He Jiao seemed to have leaned right in front of her, her breath brushing against the tip of Rong Yu’s nose.

The faintly cool aura made Rong Yu’s whole body shiver.

When one could not see anything, hearing and touch became even more sensitive.

The damp feeling of the sea in the air grew increasingly strong. Rong Yu sucked in a breath and instinctively wanted to turn her head away, but by accident, she brushed against the other girl’s cheek.

This discovery instantly made her stop moving.

In a daze, Rong Yu seemed to touch a fish tail, cool skin, icy breath. It was as if she had been embraced by waves at the seaside.

Rong Yu’s heartbeat abruptly paused, and she could not help closing her eyes.

She finally understood why ancient texts used fish tails to refer to intimate acts. Although nothing had happened between her and He Jiao, the soft, damp warmth in the air, the faint coolness of being wrapped up, simply could not extinguish the impulse in her heart.

“Do you like it?” He Jiao asked softly.

That voice was almost exactly the same as Lian Langsheng’s.

Author’s Note:

For the locked part, check Weibo.