I’m A Scumbag Woman—I Flirt, But Never Marry [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 17

The small, fully renovated apartment had two bedrooms and one living room. It was clean, tidy, fully furnished, and ready for immediate occupancy.

Gu Shuofeng had squeezed time out of her workday to contact a real-estate agent. After leaving the office, she had come straight here to view the property.

Sure enough, the quickest way to find an excellent apartment was—

Choose only the expensive ones!

Gu Shuofeng viewed only this apartment before finalizing the contract. She didn’t even negotiate the rent. There was no need. She would live here for six months at most.

Both the agent and landlord were delighted. Once the contract was signed, payment and possession were settled on the spot.

Gu Shuofeng then returned to Chen Xiyao’s rented apartment.

She abandoned all the clothes and other belongings, taking only the essential documents and a fixed-term savings passbook she had found.

Chen Xiyao’s bank card contained only a high four-figure balance. After paying the rent, only a three-figure amount remained.

The passbook, however, contained six figures.

In the early twenty-first century, the average monthly salary in a first-tier city like Haicheng was still below two thousand yuan, while average rent cost only several hundred.

There was no legitimate way an ordinary migrant woman working in Haicheng could earn so much money within a single year.

Where had the money come from?

There was no need to say.

Chen Xiyao possessed excellent judgment and equally excellent luck. The first man she latched onto was Wang Jianfei, someone stingy toward his wife but extraordinarily generous toward his mistress.

Wang Jianfei never felt the slightest pain when spending his wife’s money. He especially enjoyed the pleasure of having a wife who worked tirelessly without complaint and a mistress who acted spoiled and coquettish.

Since the money had come from Wang Jianfei, it naturally belonged to Xu Tinglan.

Using it for Xu Tinglan was only proper.

Carrying the passbook, Gu Shuofeng leisurely went to the noodle shop opposite Xu Tinglan’s residential complex. She ate noodles while waiting.

Everything proceeded as smoothly as she had anticipated.

The person she was waiting for arrived. Gu Shuofeng coaxed her into the newly rented apartment, and after several live demonstrations over the phone, Xu Tinglan suddenly understood how such methods worked.

She even took the initiative to discuss their next strategy.

Ring—

The phone rang.

It was Wang Jianfei.

Gu Shuofeng gestured for Xu Tinglan to answer.

Her reassuring smile, gentle voice, and the hand she lightly placed on Xu Tinglan’s shoulder were all intended to help her relax.

“For your parents’ sake, believe in yourself.”

Xu Tinglan had been born into a scholarly family and received an excellent upbringing from childhood.

Lying had never formed part of her understanding of the world. She had almost never lied before and was terrible at doing so.

Now that her life had just suffered a devastating upheaval, something she already lacked talent for became even more difficult.

The phone was already ringing for the second time.

Xu Tinglan sat on the very edge of the sofa, her slender back held straight. Her eyes were lowered, and her expression was indifferent. Aside from the slight stiffness of her body, she revealed no emotional turmoil whatsoever.

Gu Shuofeng, however, knew perfectly well that Xu Tinglan’s mind had probably gone completely blank and that her heart was pounding so violently that even her eardrums throbbed with every beat.

It didn’t matter.

The first time was always unfamiliar. The second would become easier.

Gu Shuofeng moved the hand resting on Xu Tinglan’s shoulder down to her wrist. She gradually freed one of Xu Tinglan’s hands, whose knuckles had turned white from gripping the phone, and held it within her palm.

Appropriate contact with another person’s warmth could help someone relax.

Gu Shuofeng smiled faintly, her breath lightly brushing Xu Tinglan’s ear.

“Don’t worry. If you forget your lines, I’ll prompt you. Answer quickly. The call will disconnect if you wait any longer.”

Once the call ended, there was a chance Wang Jianfei would contact Professor Xu.

Even if that possibility was only 0.1 percent, Xu Tinglan didn’t dare risk it.

Without hesitating any longer, she pressed the green answer button.

Wang Jianfei’s furious interrogation immediately came through.

“Where the hell did you go in the middle of the night?!”

“I…”

“What do you mean, ‘I’?! Where are you? Hurry home! My head is killing me, and you’re still causing trouble! Get back here and find me some medicine!”

Gu Shuofeng saw Xu Tinglan sitting with her spine rigid, holding the phone and staring silently ahead.

Assuming she had forgotten her very first line, Gu Shuofeng hurriedly typed something into her phone’s notes and prepared to show her.

Before she could move it into Xu Tinglan’s line of sight, however, Xu Tinglan’s tense expression suddenly relaxed.

It was as though she had finally given up completely on this selfish and shameless man.

When she spoke again, her voice was calm and steady.

“I already told you inside the elevator that we need time apart to calm down. I won’t return for the time being.

“You should carefully consider what you did wrong. Once you’ve understood it, we can meet and talk.”

Bang!

A heavy crash came through the phone as Wang Jianfei kicked a table.

He instantly erupted.

“Get your fucking ass back here right now! Don’t force me to find you and turn your entire family upside down!”

“I’m not at home, nor am I at Zhi Zhi’s. You won’t find me.”

“Then where are you?! Tell me!”

“Where I am isn’t important. What matters is that I’ll leave Haicheng as soon as the sun rises.

“I haven’t gone outside to paint from life and gather inspiration in a long time, so I’ll treat this as a sketching trip. When I return, I hope we’ll both have sorted through our emotions and can sit down for a proper conversation.”

Wang Jianfei already had a stomach full of anger. How could he listen calmly?

Before she finished speaking, he shouted furiously, “You’re forcing me to visit your father, aren’t you?! If you don’t come back, I’ll go find him right now!

“I’m going to ask him how he raised such an excellent daughter—one who runs away from home in the middle of the night! If you make him so angry that something happens to him, don’t regret it!”

The moment he mentioned Professor Xu, Xu Tinglan panicked.

She instinctively tightened her grip on Gu Shuofeng’s hand. Almost simultaneously, Gu Shuofeng squeezed back with greater strength.

Xu Tinglan turned toward her.

Gu Shuofeng was already watching her from the side. Her naturally alluring eyes held an encouraging smile, seemingly possessing a magical power that instantly dispersed all Xu Tinglan’s unease.

Xu Tinglan calmed down and turned her gaze toward one corner of the coffee table.

“Fine. Go ahead. If my father truly becomes so angry that he ends up in the hospital, I won’t even need to do anything. Brother Zhang won’t let you off.”

“What did you say?!”

Wang Jianfei flew into a rage.

“You dare threaten me?! Say that again if you have the fucking nerve!”

She was no longer standing helplessly before him, allowing him to trample and hurt her however he pleased.

Xu Tinglan felt no fear.

“I’ll say the same thing no matter how many times you ask!”

Gu Shuofeng gently squeezed her palm.

Xu Tinglan understood her meaning. Gu Shuofeng wanted her to avoid confronting him too aggressively. It would be best to say something pleasant and pacify him for now, preventing him from becoming reckless enough to disturb Professor Xu.

However…

The lines Gu Shuofeng had taught her were somewhat nauseatingly sentimental.

She truly couldn’t bring herself to say them.

After thinking briefly, Xu Tinglan substituted several similar phrases.

“Jianfei, we’ve been together for six years. I don’t want this one incident to destroy everything so easily.

“You should calm down too. I won’t be gone for long—half a month at most. I promise I’ll return.”

Gu Shuofeng squeezed her palm again.

Understanding immediately, Xu Tinglan decided to end the conversation quickly and delivered one final reassuring line.

“There’s ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet. Take one tablet to ease your headache.

“Go to bed early. Even when I’m away, eat your meals on time and take good care of yourself.

“Good night.”

Without giving Wang Jianfei an opportunity to respond, she immediately ended the call and turned off her phone.

A cheerful shutdown melody played.

On the screen, one large hand and one small hand slowly joined together. The image looked incredibly warm—only for the words BYE-BYE to abruptly appear.

Bye-bye.

Yes.

It truly was time to say goodbye.

Gu Shuofeng could practically imagine Wang Jianfei flying into a rage yet feeling too afraid to cause genuine trouble for Professor Xu.

Satisfied, she released Xu Tinglan’s hand.

“We can discuss the detailed plan tomorrow. It’s already very late.

“You can sleep in the larger bedroom, and I’ll take the smaller one. I bought and replaced all the sheets and blankets today, so you can use them without worrying.”

Gu Shuofeng had genuinely spent the entire day and half the night running around. She was rather tired.

She released a long yawn and had just risen to return to her room when she heard Xu Tinglan suddenly whisper, “Thank you…”

What?

With Gu Shuofeng’s hearing, she naturally heard the words perfectly clearly.

She was merely surprised.

She checked the basic data.

It was understandable that Xu Tinglan’s Hatred Value toward her had decreased by ten points.

But why had her Affection Value risen too?

It had increased by only five points, but they had spent merely a few hours together. Shouldn’t Xu Tinglan observe her sincerity more carefully before casually developing affection toward her?

No matter how one looked at it, Gu Shuofeng was still the mistress who had interfered in her marriage.

A pure white flower protected inside an ivory tower lacked basic awareness of personal safety and possessed no instinct to guard against others.

That was both a good thing and a bad thing.

Gu Shuofeng exhaled softly and lowered her eyes toward Xu Tinglan.

She sat quietly at the edge of the sofa. Cold white light spilled down from above, leaving her as still as a maiden and as beautiful as a painting.

Even the sorrow lingering around her eyes and brows made it impossible to look away.

Gu Shuofeng had no idea what had short-circuited inside her mind.

Without warning, she blurted out something inexplicable.

“Perhaps… you should sleep with me instead.”