My Paranoid Girlfriend Asks Me to Be Her Kept Woman (Rebirth) - Chapter 29

“Hah—” Lin Xiaolu woke with a start. She had actually fallen asleep while waiting for Liu Chang.

In her dream, withered flowers and ruined willows lay everywhere, and bright red blood kept dripping down.

She shrank fearfully into a corner and saw someone committing murder, breathing heavily.

That person turned their head. Her eyes widened more and more, as if she had seen something unbelievable, and she woke up in fright.

The cold sweat on her back had not yet faded. Lin Xiaolu felt that these past few days, she had been living in a daze. The next moment, she could not remember what she had been doing the second before.

Feeling uneasy, she wanted to ask Liu Chang to come out and meet.

Liu Chang agreed readily and told her to book a room and wait for him.

Time passed bit by bit. Three hours had already gone by. No wonder she had fallen asleep.

Lin Xiaolu picked up her phone and opened the message interface.

The time still remained on their call screen. Liu Chang had not sent her any further messages.

She sat alone in the room for a while longer, but there was still no message.

Aggrieved, she sent one over. “Why didn’t you come?”

The other side quickly showed that a message was being typed, but no message was sent for a long time.

Then even the “typing” prompt disappeared.

The fear inside Lin Xiaolu intensified, as if something had broken free from her control.

She forgot Liu Chang’s warning and sent a call over.

The other side did not answer.

As if possessed, she called again and again.

Finally, someone answered.

“Liu Chang! Why didn’t you answer my calls?!” Lin Xiaolu exploded. She shouted crazily, “Why didn’t you come see me?!”

She seemed unable to control herself. “It was me! I was the one who created everything you have now!”

“You should listen to me!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Liu Chang’s tone was cold. Beside him, his agent snorted. “Go talk to her properly.”

“Cut off contact as soon as possible.”

Liu Chang nodded to show he understood.

Lin Xiaolu asked suspiciously, “Who are you talking to? Is someone beside you?”

Liu Chang said, “I’m almost there.”

The call was directly hung up. Lin Xiaolu was stunned.

She had never been treated so rudely by Liu Chang before.

Her mind seemed to clear in an instant, and she hugged her head, wailing.

How could she speak to Liu Chang in that kind of tone? Had she gone crazy?

She stood up in panic and paced around the room, thinking about how to apologize to Liu Chang.

It was her fault for being abnormal lately. She had to tell him not to be angry.

The door beeped twice, and someone opened it and came in.

Lin Xiaolu said in surprise and delight, “Chang! You came!”

Liu Chang avoided her hand and slammed the door shut.

“Ah!” A scream came from inside the room, then everything went quiet again.

Lin Xiaolu fell to the floor, looking at the man in disbelief.

Liu Chang let out a breath, took off his cap and mask, and loosened his wrists.

The usual smile hung on his face, but now that smile made Lin Xiaolu shiver from the cold.

“Chang…” Her voice trembled. “What are you doing…?”

Liu Chang split into a grin. “How does it feel to play me, hm?”

He bent down and clamped the woman’s chin, his knuckles squeezing Lin Xiaolu’s jaw heavily.

“Was it fun lying to me?”

“Chang…” Lin Xiaolu cried out in pain. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“You don’t understand? Hm?”

“Then I’ll make you understand.”

Several muffled sounds rang out again inside the room. Lin Xiaolu lay sprawled on the floor, already covered in injuries.

She cried softly, not daring to cry too loudly, only choking back sobs.

Liu Chang’s figure gradually approached again. She trembled in fear, but was lifted up. Then the man kicked her without the slightest pity.

Lin Xiaolu curled into a ball from the pain.

“You… why are you treating me like this?” Her eyes were wide open, filled with the madness on the man’s face.

Liu Chang sneered. “You don’t know?”

Lin Xiaolu wriggled and grabbed the man’s foot. Her face was swollen high, and there was blood at her lips. Using all her strength, she clutched the man’s pant leg.

“I love you so much. Why are you treating me like this?”

“Treating you like this?” Liu Chang grabbed Lin Xiaolu’s hair. “I originally don’t hit women, but you’re really asking for a beating.”

“Do you know?” He leaned close to Lin Xiaolu, madness flashing in his eyes. “My career is about to be ruined by you!”

“Ruined?” “How could that be?”

Lin Xiaolu clutched Liu Chang’s pant leg, tears and snot smeared all over her face. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t understand?”

Liu Chang patted the woman’s cheek. “Because of your plagiarism, I’ve been sued, do you know that?”

Shanhai’s second round of lawsuits had already arrived at Jianming, and Lin Yi’s copyright matter had implicated quite a few artists.

Among them was Liu Chang. Because Liu Chang had just released a song, someone dug up the fact that Lin Yi had once uploaded a song to a forum in the past. It was only because she had no fame that no one paid attention to it.

Now, however, it was different. Countless people flooded into that abandoned forum just to listen to the difference between the song Lin Yi had uploaded and Liu Chang’s new song, jamming the forum server until it crashed.

After listening, melon-eating netizens with even a little knowledge of music theory slapped their thighs! Well! Guess what? It could not be said that they were completely different. It was basically copied over with almost no changes at all!

Moreover, that forum ID had also been dug out. It was exactly the same as the online username Lin Yi had used when she was in school, basically confirming that it was Lin Yi’s account.

Afterward, Liu Chang continued being dug into and slapped in the face one after another.

Even the fragments he had posted on short-video platforms claiming to be his own creations carried traces of Lin Yi’s “creation.”

Lin Yi’s creative style was very easy to recognize. She usually liked to use a basic numbered musical notation motif in her works. Every song she made had the shadow of this motif. Netizens followed the clues and—goodness! This was really something! Lin Yi had only signed with Jianming for two years, but among Jianming singers who had released albums, five hugely popular songs had her shadow in them! Yet her name did not appear in the credits at all! They had simply grabbed hold of one fat sheep and sheared it to death!

Then thinking again of her taking the lead in suing Jianming over the contract issue—this was truly a bloody history of a talented young person being exploited by an unscrupulous company!

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. #BoycottPlagiarism and #GiveCreatorsJustice were jointly pushed onto the trending list by countless industry insiders. Jianming’s stock price plummeted like someone diving from a high platform, as shares were dumped one after another and bottomed out in an instant!

…

Liu Chang threw away what was in his hand as if tossing aside a rag. The woman fell heavily to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

She weakly raised her eyes and looked toward the man. Liu Chang put on his baseball cap and mask, standing at the door and leaving Lin Xiaolu only a resolute back.

“Let’s end it here.” “Don’t come looking for me again.”

The door slowly closed before the woman’s eyes. Lin Xiaolu lay on the floor and finally dared to cry out loud.

She lay there for a while before finally regaining strength. Swallowing the bloody foam in her mouth, she gritted her teeth and said, “Lin Yi!!!”

A sharp pain struck Lin Yi’s chest, and she collapsed over the desk. Little Zhao Zinuo was playing nearby. Afraid of frightening the child, she staggered and supported herself against the wall as she walked into the bathroom. She pulled open the clothes over her chest. The lotus stamen flickered with scarlet light, and the hatred element she had collected last time was also jumping restlessly, as if foreshadowing something.

The phone on the table in the room suddenly rang. Zhao Zinuo called out crisply, “Sister! Phone!”

Lin Yi answered weakly, turned on the faucet, and washed her face. Only then did she feel that twisted wave of pain pass.

After recovering a little, she pulled out a towel and wiped the water droplets from her cheeks before walking out and answering the phone.

Fan Texi laughed brightly on the other end. “You’re about to start working.”

Lin Yi lowered her eyes. “Has the copyright lawsuit request already been sent to Jianming?”

“Of course. Luckily, you kept a backup. This time, the commotion is much bigger than the contract matter,” Fan Texi said excitedly. “Big names in the industry have already joined together to speak out and sanction Jianming’s improper behavior!”

“Lin Yi! You’re going to be popular!”

But Lin Yi was far less happy than Fan Texi. She asked, “What work do I have tomorrow?”

Fan Texi replied, “A talk show. Have you heard of A Date with Zheng?”

“They invited you as a guest and specially opened up an episode for you!”

Lin Yi held the phone and beckoned to the servant in the room, asking her to watch Zhao Zinuo. Then she stepped out of the room and onto the balcony, continuing to communicate with Fan Texi.

“I understand.”

Sister Zheng was well known in the industry, a famous host who had come from Central Television. She had hosted A Date with Zheng for over ten years, and her interview style was known for being sharp. There was basically nothing she dared not ask, and nothing she dared not say.

“Just go on boldly,” Fan Texi said. “I’ve already gone through the questions with them once. They won’t make things difficult for us.”

“Their director already contacted me just now and sent over the screened questions.”

“I’ll send them to you in a bit. Prepare yourself.”

“I’ll pick you up at nine tomorrow and take you to the TV station.”

Lin Yi’s expression was calm. These days, while staying in Sangzhu and taking care of the child, the pain in her chest had grown increasingly severe. Once, Zhao Qi had almost discovered it.

She discovered that she might also have some talent as an acting type, because she had somehow muddled through.

The more her chest hurt, the more serious the conflict on Lin Xiaolu’s side was becoming.

The peaceful life these days had not made her forget the sharp blade hanging above her head.

Fan Texi was still instructing her over the phone. “Get up early tomorrow. I’ll bring the makeup artist over and strive to have our first program appearance amaze everyone!”

She nodded in response and looked at the scenery outside the window, exhaling a turbid breath.

Would something happen tomorrow? A faint unease stirred in her heart.

After thinking it over, she contacted Wuming in her mind.

Wuming, are you there?

I am.

A voice transmitted in, but her mind felt empty.

Lin Yi felt it was strange. Where are you?

Wuming answered, The Sea of Fate.

Lin Yi. Wuming suddenly called. There may be changes tomorrow.

The rules have been stirred.

Someone has died.

In the Sea of Fate, I briefly glimpsed your future. Beneath the spire, the crowd flees, you&^#$!*

A string of garbled noise came through. Lin Yi uncomfortably clutched her head and shouted, “What are you saying?”

“Wuming!” “My head hurts so much!”

…

“Lin Yi?” Zhao Qi came out of the study and saw Lin Yi holding her head, looking as if she were in pain.

She accelerated the wheelchair and slid over.

Yesterday, she had already felt that something was wrong. Lin Yi had originally been sitting perfectly fine in front of the piano, teaching Nuonuo to play, when she suddenly went pale and ran to the bathroom.

After she came back, she also looked completely drained. Zhao Qi suspected Lin Yi might be unwell, but when she asked, Lin Yi said she was fine and would not let the doctor examine her.

Lin Yi was truly in so much pain that it was unbearable. Her brain felt as if it had been struck by an iron hammer. She squatted on the floor in distress, and it took a long while for her to recover. In her mind, she called out weakly, Wuming? Wuming, what happened? What’s going on?

“Lin Yi?” Zhao Qi touched Lin Yi’s arm and asked with concern, “Where do you feel unwell?”

Lin Yi revealed a weak smile and clung to the woman’s legs. “I might have caught a chill.”

Zhao Qi did not believe her. She stroked Lin Yi’s head. “When I have my examination later, I’ll ask the doctor to look at you too.”

Lin Yi gave a soft “Mm,” rubbing against the woman’s knees like a small animal.

Wuming did not answer her questions. The unease in her heart continued expanding. What exactly would happen tomorrow?