After Transmigrating into the Book, I Bent the Heroine O - Chapter 12

But I clearly spoke to her in such a nasty tone. Was Shu Minglan so lightheaded from the heat that she didn’t react?

Looking at the friendship value, which had already flipped into positive territory, He Lingxing scratched her soft chin, genuinely puzzled for a moment.

Come to think of it, in her previous transmigrations, she was always focused on her career. She dealt with either rugged, calculating men or women with hidden agendas—or she simply and decisively punched scumbags and “white lotuses.” Interacting with someone like Shu Minglan was a first for her.

He Lingxing was well aware that she wasn’t performing her role as a “villainous supporting character” very competently. However, as long as the other person hadn’t harmed her, she couldn’t bring herself to actively hurt them—especially using such underhanded methods to frame such a wonderful woman. Her conscience simply wouldn’t allow it.

The soft sensation of Shu Minglan’s fingertip pressing against her lips still lingered. This was He Lingxing’s first time having such intimate contact with someone; while washing her face, she had accidentally touched that spot a few extra times, feeling a strange sensation.

But she and Shu Minglan were both women, and there had been no pheromones at play at that moment, so He Lingxing felt she hadn’t been influenced. She quickly suppressed the odd feeling in her heart, dismissing it as a lack of familiarity with such gestures.

Now that her persona restoration was out of the “danger zone” and the heroine’s friendship value was increasing, everything was returning to her original plan.

As long as she became the heroine’s friend, she would have the chance to push her toward the male lead. The plan was designed to fit the rules, yet a sliver of dissonant displeasure remained in her heart, quietly planting a seed.

A few days later, Bai Xi—who had been uncharacteristically keeping a low profile and acting cautiously—suddenly received the thunderbolt of being fired by the company. Delivered personally by He Lingxing’s secretary was a formal lawyer’s letter.

Receiving a similar warning was the mentor, Wang Qianjiang. He had been recommended by Bai Xi to coach the girl group’s dancing; the two had a close private relationship, and now they were “grasshoppers on the same string”—sharing both glory and ruin.

An agitated Wang Qianjiang immediately called Bai Xi, hoping she could plead with He Lingxing on his behalf, only to receive the bad news that she had also been fired and sued.

The attempt at a peaceful discussion between the two over dinner somehow turned into mutual accusations. Eventually, Wang Qianjiang—who was supposed to pay for the meal—left in a rage. Bai Xi was forced to pay for both of them, fuming in the restaurant.

She had actively sent some of the young girls under her wing to Wang Qianjiang for his “amusement.” Although he hadn’t fully started his predatory behavior, their collusion would become evidence in court through the testimonies of those girls.

Regarding the girl group incident alone, the evidence didn’t quite reach the threshold for a criminal sentence, but the fines alone would be enough to cripple them.

More importantly, in the entertainment industry, one lives or dies by their reputation. No matter how rotten a person is privately, they must wrap themselves in a “good skin.” Once publicly sued, the two were basically saying goodbye to their careers in show business, and they would have criminal records as a starting point.

Bai Xi hated He Lingxing and Shu Minglan with a burning passion.

Especially He Lingxing. Previously, she seemed indifferent to internal affairs, but now, for some reason, she had suddenly begun a massive reshuffling of the management teams, kicking out anyone she found “muddying the waters.” She had even taken personal charge of the new project’s plans, leaving the Vice President with no room to interfere.

Punishing these two people wasn’t difficult; the real challenge was how to bring them down completely.

In the original book, Wang Qianjiang had acted with impunity due to his status as a famous mentor, eventually getting two young girls pregnant and settling the matter with money. Bai Xi had been his accomplice, oppressing artists and taking surreptitious photos of Shu Minglan in the bath to blackmail her, nearly driving her to depression. Ultimately, the male lead had sent them to prison.

He Lingxing, naturally, wasn’t going to wait for those things to happen before taking action.

As of now, Wang Qianjiang hadn’t dared to actually assault any female students, and Bai Xi had only taken candid lifestyle photos of Shu Minglan, though she had coerced and threatened other artists. He Lingxing simply took the time to gather the evidence beforehand and presented it all for the court to judge.

Manager Bai Xi and famous mentor Wang Qianjiang were eventually sentenced to 20 and 25 years respectively—though the storm of public discussion that followed was a story for later.

At the time, after organizing the evidence against them and taking advantage of Shu Minglan’s absence for filming, He Lingxing began personally overseeing the new girl group project.

She remembered that in the script, the company’s decline began here, directly caused by the poaching of the girl group’s two core pillars.

Due to the physical and aesthetic traits of Alphas, most Alpha girl groups on the market followed a mature and “cool” style. The new group He Lingxing was managing consisted of five girls, all of whom were Alphas, but they didn’t follow the mainstream, singular “Big Sister” (CEO-style) vibe.

The average height of the five girls was 172cm—standard for female Alphas—but their looks were distinct. Among them were an ACE (all-rounder) and a “Visual,” named Lin Qingyan and Le Jiaxuan respectively. These two were the ones He Lingxing favored most.

The ACE, Lin Qingyan, followed a “gentle older sister” route, while Le Jiaxuan had a “sweet-yet-cool” girl style. After debuting, they would each attract many fans and bring a new ray of hope to the precarious company.

In the original book, these two girls were also part of the male lead’s harem. Shortly after debuting, Lin Qingyan broke her contract with the company and ended up in the male lead’s bed.

However, at that time, the male lead already had Shu Minglan as his official girlfriend. Additionally, since idols dating is considered a “disqualification,” Lin Qingyan eventually became the laughingstock of the internet. Under the weight of cyberbullying, she committed suicide by swallowing sleeping pills.

The “Sunny Girl” Le Jiaxuan would also be entangled with the male lead for a long time, even going so far as to falsely accuse her original company to help him. Later in the plot, Le Jiaxuan seemingly became pregnant. An Alpha pregnancy is extremely rare, but since she was a minor cannon-fodder character, the story never even mentioned if the child was born.

When He Lingxing pushed open the door to the practice room, the beautiful, youthful smiles of the girls burst into her sight. No matter how many tragedies occurred in the original plot, at this moment, those smiles—bright as flowers—were sincere and radiant. Their clean eyes were full of longing for the future.

Standing closest to the door was the shortest of the girls, wearing twin tails. Upon seeing He Lingxing enter, a strange expression flickered across her features.