Chapter 39.2

Half an hour later, Bai Manruo came out of the dressing room and followed Ji Jie to wait for someone at a coffee shop near the set. The person they were waiting for was the female lead of Deep in the Heart of the Sea. She was to coordinate with Ji Jie to put on a show today.

Looking at the Alpha who pushed open the door and entered, Bai Manruo sized her up quietly. This was Ji Jie’s love rival, Wu Shixi. She looked sweet and cute, clearly a little princess of her family. Her appearance was the same type as Ji Jie’s, but her personality was completely different from Ji Jie’s “troublemaking little demon” persona.

Ji Jie said this woman’s family had complex ties with the Xu family, so Xu Huanxin couldn’t reject her pursuit. They were currently in the process of getting to know each other, and only by making this Alpha leave voluntarily would it work.

Bai Manruo silently withdrew her gaze. No wonder I haven’t heard news of Huanxin lately; she’s being pestered by people—and two at once. She lifted her head and glanced at the fake-smiling Ji Jie; the one in front of her was the most persistent one.

She saw Ji Jie trying hard to mask her expression, but the “look of wanting to kill someone” couldn’t be hidden. For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit sorry for Huanxin. But Ji Jie was the boss’s niece, after all; she was definitely on her side.

Wu Shixi noticed Bai Manruo and Ji Jie as soon as she entered. She glanced casually at Ji Jie and finally fixed her gaze on Bai Manruo. She knew this Alpha; she had been on a variety show with Huanxin and had had a few half-true romance scandals with her. She was surprised when she heard she wanted to meet.

Wu Shixi sat opposite her, asking guardedly, “Hello, Miss Bai. May I ask why you wanted to see me?”

Bai Manruo smiled politely: “Hello, Miss Wu.” The two exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.

The anxious Ji Jie bumped her leg under the table, reminding her to get to the point. Receiving her meaning, Bai Manruo shifted the topic: “Miss Wu, I won’t beat around the bush. read the original at bailiantales.comYou should have heard of the scandals between me and Xu Huanxin.”

Hearing about the scandals, Wu Shixi felt a bit jealous but pretended not to care: “Sister Huanxin explained to me; it was just paparazzi fabrications.”

“You believe her?” Bai Manruo curled her red lips and gave a light laugh.

Wu Shixi frowned, questioning huffily, “What do you mean?”

“Look at these photos.” Bai Manruo took out the intimate photos Ji Jie had photoshopped earlier and handed them to her one by one. Because some of the photos were taken from real intimate photos of Ji Jie and Xu Huanxin, the photoshopped versions were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Being a young girl in the honeymoon phase of a crush, Wu Shixi felt waves in her heart upon seeing the photos. She angrily tossed them aside: “Even if she was once with you, so what? She belongs to me now.”

Bai Manruo shook her head calmly: “I’m not here to fight you for her. I’m here to warn you—leave her as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me, suffering double torture, both mental and physical. You won’t be able to escape even if you want to, and even if you do, the scars in your heart will never heal.”

“What do you mean? What torture? What did Sister Huanxin do to you?” Wu Shixi asked three times in rapid succession, already being led into the trap step by step.

Bai Manruo took off her jacket, revealing whip marks on her arm—the red scabs had already fallen off—and purple marks on her wrists that were clearly scars from being tied up.

Wu Shixi’s pupils dilated. It took a moment for her to understand what Bai Manruo meant. The twenty-year-old girl was clearly terrified. She shook her head in panic: “Impossible. Sister Huanxin would never do such things.”

Bai Manruo put her jacket back on, saying flatly, “There are marks elsewhere on my body. It’s up to you whether you believe it or not. I just don’t want you to be deceived by her appearance.”

Wu Shixi’s face was pale. Just as she was about to ask something, Bai Manruo preemptively explained her doubt: “If you want to ask why I’m telling you this, I can tell you for sure: it’s because of your background. The Wu family is a top-tier giant; I want to have a better time in the entertainment industry.”

Although Wu Shixi was trying to remain calm, the expression on her face betrayed her. Ji Jie gave Bai Manruo a knowing smile; the plan was progressing smoothly.

After seeing off Wu Shixi, Ji Jie patted Bai Manruo’s shoulder in satisfaction: “Thanks. If you ever run into my aunt’s love rivals, I’ll help you too.”

Bai Manruo didn’t take the joke. She touched the special effects makeup on her wrist; scaring such a naive girl left her with a bit of guilt.

Seeing her like this, Ji Jie pulled her along: “Oh, stop thinking about it. I’ll take you out for a big meal.”

Bai Manruo’s brow slowly relaxed, and she snorted: “I want to eat at the most expensive place.”

After a half-hour drive, Ji Jie took Bai Manruo to the Summit Hotel, the most luxurious restaurant in City A, where the minimum spend was over a million. Ji Jie handed her an elevator card: “I’ve booked a spot. You go first; I need to return a call.”

Bai Manruo looked at the restaurant’s design and closed her mouth in surprise: “Hurry up then.” She was afraid bailiantales.com she wouldn’t have enough confidence eating here alone.

Bai Manruo took the glass elevator, overlooking the entire City A. She thought Ji Jie had a conscience after all, choosing the most expensive place.

Reaching the top floor, Bai Manruo was so busy admiring the buildings that she didn’t notice someone at the elevator exit and walked right into them.

“Hiss, so painful.” Bai Manruo clutched her aching nose with a groan. At that moment, a familiar voice came from above: “Why are you here?”

Bai Manruo rubbed her nose and looked up. She was surprised to see Ji Yingqing. Thinking of what she had just done with Ji Jie, she gave a slightly guilty smile: “Miss Ji, what a coincidence.”

Ji Yingqing nodded, her gaze resting on the nose she was clutching. She spoke to the person behind her: “Go get a first-aid kit.”

“No need, no need.” Bai Manruo immediately let go and gave a smile. “It’ll be fine with a little rub.”

Hearing her words, Ji Yingqing pondered for a few seconds. She reached out and carefully rubbed the tip of her nose, asking with concern, “Does it still hurt?”

Bai Manruo was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly: “A little bit.”

Ji Yingqing’s fingers lightly stroked the bridge of her nose. Her cool fingers touched the smooth skin, and a ripple unconsciously rose in her heart.

A few seconds later, Bai Manruo spoke with slightly red ear tips: “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Ji Yingqing’s lips curled up slightly as she let go of the delicate skin. She glanced at the elevator card in Bai Manruo’s hand and asked, “Did Ji Jie bring you here?”

Bai Manruo lifted her head in surprise: “How did Miss Ji know?”

“Ordinary cards can’t reach the top floor. Ji Jie took my card.” Ji Yingqing said slowly. It seemed no matter what she asked, she would explain it patiently.

So Ji Jie had stolen the boss’s card. Bai Manruo took a deep breath in her heart. Ji Jie really is unreliable!

Bai Manruo took the card to return it for Ji Jie. Ji Yingqing shook her head: “You keep it. Come whenever you want in the future.” Her tone allowed no refusal.

Bai Manruo had no choice but to keep it. Suddenly, her stomach growled. Ji Yingqing gave a flat glance at the assistant behind her. The assistant immediately said, “Miss Bai, please follow me. The private room over there has been set up.”

Bai Manruo said thank you with a smile, then followed Ji Yingqing into the room for a meal. The assistant, seeing the boss was also going to eat, shrewdly took out her phone to send a group message: 【CEO Ji is busy; the meeting is postponed.】

Entering the private room, Bai Manruo took off her stifling jacket. She had just taken a sip of water when she noticed a deep gaze from across the table directed at her.

Bai Manruo touched her face, thinking there was something on it. She asked blankly, “Miss Ji, what’s wrong?”

The air was silent for a few seconds. The surrounding pressure suddenly dropped. Before Bai Manruo could speak, Ji Yingqing had already strode over.

She suddenly grabbed Bai Manruo’s wrist, carefully avoiding the wounds. Seeing the whip marks on her arm and the marks from being tied with chains on her wrist, a turbulent storm brewed in her eyes, and a terrifying murderous intent rose.

Seeing the boss show such a terrifying expression for the first time, Bai Manruo instinctively took a tiny step back. This small move fell into Ji Yingqing’s eyes, and the pressure around her grew even colder.

Ji Yingqing restrained the irritability deep in her heart, and her face softened a bit. Her stern gaze scanned the scars on the wrist, and she looked into her eyes: “Who did this?”

So it was because of this. Bai Manruo’s nervous heart instantly relaxed. She reached out to touch the wound on her wrist. Ji Yingqing’s brow furrowed, and she instinctively reached out to stop her.

Bai Manruo rubbed the purple scars hard. “It doesn’t hurt at all. These are just special effects makeup.” She slowly moved to the hand gripping her arm and patted it gently: “Miss Ji, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Seeing her action, Ji Yingqing’s stern gaze gradually softened. She touched the scars on Bai Manruo’s wrist, only feeling relieved after confirming the damage was indeed painted on.

Feeling the severe pressure dissipate, Bai Manruo lightened the atmosphere, rubbing her stomach and changing the [bailiantales.com]subject: “Miss Ji, I’m so hungry. Let’s eat first, okay?”

Ji Yingqing’s gaze slowly moved up from the wrist. She let go of her hand and nodded: “Mm.”

Bai Manruo immediately put her jacket back on to cover up the special effects makeup. She thought this little episode had passed.

However, while they were eating, Ji Yingqing gave Bai Manruo a deep look, her expression complex. After a few seconds of thought, she asked, “You have… this kind of hobby?”

?! As expected, I was misunderstood!

Bai Manruo immediately shook her head vigorously, waving her hands in a panic: “No! Absolutely not!”

But she was so anxious to explain that her panicked appearance looked like she was trying to cover it up, perfectly illustrating the saying “the more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed.”

Ji Yingqing stared at her face for a while and said slowly, “I misunderstood.”

Although the boss said so, her expression was clearly skeptical. Bai Manruo completely gave up struggling. At this moment, she intensely regretted agreeing to help Ji Jie. She had been royally screwed.

Silence followed. Bai Manruo ate quietly, and Ji Yingqing didn’t speak again. It wasn’t until the assistant’s knock at the door broke the silence that Ji Yingqing stood up to walk out.

Seeing the boss was going to handle work, Bai Manruo took this spare moment to slip into the restroom to clean off the unfortunate makeup. But the reason special effects makeup is so realistic is because the pigments used are special; ordinary makeup remover wouldn’t wipe it off.

Frustrated, Bai Manruo glanced at her arm and called Ji Jie. After a dozen seconds, it was connected. Bai Manruo asked with a deep frown: “Where did you run off to? The makeup on my arm won’t come off at all.”

Hearing the loud music on the other end, Bai Manruo’s anger flared up. She said huffily, “You actually went to party without telling me! I was waiting for you at the restaurant for ages.”

Ji Jie covered the phone and stepped into a stall, explaining: “I was going to find you, but I saw my aunt was there too, so I had to slip away.” She continued, “I’ll have someone send makeup remover to you. I’ll definitely treat you to a meal next time.”

Bai Manruo hung up, rubbing her brow in exhaustion. If she ever helped Ji Jie again, she’d be a total fool.

Ten minutes later, Bai Manruo received a call from the front desk to pick up the makeup remover. Seeing her clean arm, she finally let out a sigh of relief.