After Transmigrating into the Book, I Bent the Heroine O - Chapter 20

In theory, matters regarding the company’s girl group only required He Lingxing to provide the funding and sign the contracts; most details didn’t require high-level intervention.

However, He Lingxing had given specific instructions beforehand and visited periodically. Consequently, the project managers and mentors would contact her directly whenever something significant occurred.

Le Jiaxuan was the youngest, prettiest girl in the group. Although she was an Alpha, she possessed a face that was both “sweet and cool.” Her bright, cheerful personality made her very likable, and He Lingxing had a deep impression of her.

“How did she manage to break her leg out of nowhere?”

He Lingxing remembered that the group was about to start its first roadshow. Girl groups usually accumulate popularity through various promotions before their official debut; showing their faces to the public for the first time was a milestone for every member.

The group could, of course, perform without Le Jiaxuan, but for Le Jiaxuan herself, this was a devastating blow. Her popularity would lag behind by the time they officially debuted. Worse, if the injury was severe enough to prevent her from dancing for months, the consequences would be unthinkable.

The person on the other end explained the situation.

Meanwhile.

In a hospital ward filled with the smell of disinfectant, the slender girl was moved from the surgical gurney to the bed. Her crystalline, beautiful eyes were already brimming with uncontrollable tears.

A man in the adjacent bed was watching her curiously. His gaze wasn’t lewd, just surprised. Le Jiaxuan, usually the most social person, didn’t notice him at all. Her pale hands were clenched into fists, and she could barely stop her voice from trembling as she called out to the doctor:

“Excuse me… how long will it take for my leg to fully heal?”

“Fully?” The doctor paused, his tone sympathetic given her status. “You can get out of bed and walk in half a month, but you’ll need assistance or crutches. As for intense dancing, don’t even consider it for at least a month and a half. Don’t force it, or it could become permanent.”

A month and a half?

Even if it were only half a month, she would miss the roadshow. A month and a half would put her right at the official debut. Was she supposed to sit in a wheelchair for the promotional photos?

Fear, like a thicket of thorns, gripped her heart. Le Jiaxuan grabbed the bedrail and pulled herself up. The excessive force tugged at her wound, turning her face white with pain.

“Is there any medicine to make me heal faster? Any injection? Money isn’t an issue…”

“I’m sorry, little girl. Bone fractures don’t heal instantly; the only way to speed it up is rest. You shouldn’t get so worked up; it’s bad for the recovery.”

Le Jiaxuan’s mind went numb and blank. It wasn’t until the doctor closed the door and left that the sharp, throbbing pain finally reached her brain.

She had only been helping an elderly person cross the road. She was a split second too slow and was struck by a motorcycle that came charging out of nowhere.

The speed had been a blur. In the moment she was sent flying by that sudden, violent force, her strongest emotion wasn’t a primal fear of death, but a crushing worry about her injury.

What she feared most wasn’t dying; it was an injury that would prevent her from participating in the upcoming activities. The moment she hit the ground and felt the piercing pain in her leg, her heart wrenched harder than her body.

The olive branch fate had extended seemed like a gift, but the other side was a blood-stained blade. She thought joining this girl group would be the perfect start to her life, but an unfair accident had dealt her a cruel blow, forcing her to face reality.

Truly, she was exactly what her parents said—a useless waste, a burden who only wasted food. If the motorcycle had just killed her instantly, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt this much.

Her nails dug into her palms, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony in her chest. Her freshly done champagne-colored nails were pressed so hard they were about to snap. Le Jiaxuan stared at the empty white wall, her vision beginning to go dark.

A gentle, low male voice broke into her consciousness then, using a cliché opening: “Hello, is there anything I can help you with?”

After the girl politely declined, Murong Feng didn’t give up. He reached out and lightly tapped her shoulder with his knuckle. His warm voice was like a final straw offered to a drowning person—light, but enough to trigger a desperate desire for survival.

“If it’s a financial issue, I believe I have a way to help you solve your immediate problems.”

The sudden car accident of a debut-bound girl group member was a headache for the company, though not a total disaster.

Fortunately, the group hadn’t been formed through a public voting show yet; otherwise, the fans who worked so hard to “vote” for their idol would have caused an uproar. However, the silhouettes of the girls had already been released to build hype. Finding a replacement was now the top priority.

This was the standard handling method for most companies.

Lin Qingyan, the group leader and a close friend of Le Jiaxuan, was frantic with worry. The other members were anxious too, but they couldn’t blame her—Le Jiaxuan wanted to be on that stage more than anyone.

There were plenty of talented trainees who could fill the spot; finding a skilled replacement wasn’t the hard part—the difficulty was the lack of time to practice group coordination.

He Lingxing had already authorized the mentors and managers to pick a new trainee. However, she remained suspicious of the sudden accident.

The original script had very little detail on “He Lingxing’s” plotline. Lin Qingyan and Le Jiaxuan, who were destined to be part of the male lead’s harem, were mere cannon fodder characters with little screen time, and there was never any mention of a car accident.

This was a plot development that had appeared out of nowhere.

He Lingxing had the perpetrator sued, of course, but a drunk driving charge that didn’t result in death usually meant only a few years in prison—it could never compensate for the girl’s ruined future.

He Lingxing knew these girls practiced day and night just to shine on stage. But as a CEO, she couldn’t let emotions delay the group’s debut plan; she had to find a replacement.

Her sense of unease and gloom only deepened a week later when a new trending topic appeared.

The hashtag #Shu Minglan Mistress Scandal# had already snatched the third spot upon release. Driven by rapid clicks and marketing accounts fueling the fire, it surged to the “Number One” throne with a red “EXPLOSIVE” tag.

The Weibo post starting the fire was from a marketing account. It began with a long, sarcastic essay attacking Shu Minglan’s “National First Love” title before dropping the “hammer.”

A married male actor and a woman in a trench coat were seen in an ambiguous embrace outside a hotel. The slender woman was standing on her tip-toes, hooking her arms around his neck to kiss him passionately. They were so lost in the kiss they didn’t notice the paparazzi camera.

The person in the trench coat wasn’t wearing heels. Judging by the height difference and body shape—even through the loose clothing—it was clear. The camera was so clear that even the facial expression was visible. The person in the frame had their eyes closed in enjoyment, and that face was one everyone knew all too well: Shu Minglan.

She wasn’t the type of beauty that stunned you at first glance, but she certainly had the kind of face most people could never forget.

The internet exploded. Fans and passersby were tearing each other apart in the comments.

As the cursor hovered over the black-and-red “EXPLOSIVE” tag, He Lingxing gripped her mouse tightly.