Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 13

His ex-girlfriend and his “white moonlight” were sitting together, eating peacefully. This was a scene Li Jun would never have imagined before. When he looked up, all he could see were the two women he had loved for so long. Li Jun’s heart pounded. In his mind, he was just a dining table away from a blissful life with both of them. So, he quickly forgot about the earlier unpleasantness.

“Yu Yu, are you cold? You’re not wearing enough clothes…” Li Jun’s attention shifted back to the easygoing Ling Yu to make his presence known. Outside, it was snowing heavily, and the weather was freezing. Ling Yu wasn’t wearing much for her interview, only a thick scarf around her neck for warmth. The restaurant had central heating, so she put the scarf on her shoulders. When she heard Li Jun’s words, she slowly wiped the oil from her lips with a tissue before giving him a look.

“I’m alright.” She didn’t look as delicate as her appearance suggested. The restaurant was heated. The interiors in Yuncheng were mostly covered with heating systems, so Ling Yu wasn’t cold. Aside from the short walk from the car to the restaurant, she was fine.

“That’s not good. After we eat, I’ll take you to the mall next door to buy some clothes…”

Li Jun’s problem was that he could constantly fantasize and then lavishly express his deep affection without any regard for others. Even if it caused problems, he would move forward regardless. Ling Yu put up with it for a moment, but she couldn’t help herself. “Are you really better? You seem even more unwell than you were three years ago.”

When she mentioned three years ago, Li Jun cautiously glanced at Gu Qing, afraid she would ask for details. He gave an awkward laugh, signaled the waiter to order, and changed the subject. This time, his gaze fell on Gu Qing, who was working on her laptop. “Can we really win the Jiang Wei case?”

Li Jun brought up a serious matter. Gu Qing didn’t even look up and simply said, “Mm.” Then she looked at Ling Yu. “The voice recorder. Give it back to me.”

Ling Yu smiled. She took Gu Qing’s hand and traced a pattern on her palm, speaking in a voice only they could hear. “My dear, you haven’t thanked me yet.”

Ling Yu didn’t plan on keeping Gu Qing’s item. Although she didn’t know why Gu Qing had recorded the courtesan’s conversation, it sounded like the voice recorder was important to Gu Qing’s case. Ling Yu never liked to cause trouble without reason. She saw that Gu Qing was only looking at her and didn’t seem to want to thank her. She was about to give her the voice recorder, as expected.

“Thank you,” Gu Qing said abruptly. She pursed her lips, as if she wasn’t used to saying the words, and looked away with her phoenix eyes.

Ling Yu was surprised, then she smiled.

Her phone rang at that moment. Ling Yu looked down at the screen. The caller was Yu Xin. She frowned, excused herself to Gu Qing and Li Jun, and walked to the restroom.

“Yu Yu, are you doing well in Yuncheng?”

“I’m alright. Auntie, is there something you need?”

“Your father must have mentioned it a few days ago. I have a niece in Yuncheng. Her mother died early, and she’s been on her own. She recently got into some trouble and doesn’t even have a place to live. Can you help me take care of her?”

Ling Yu raised her eyebrows. She had completely forgotten about the task Ling Taiguo had given her. Ling Yu laughed. “It’s not very convenient.”

Through the phone, Ling Yu could hear Yu Xin’s hurried breathing. “Why isn’t it convenient? You’re both girls. It’s better for you to live together so you can look after each other.”

“It’s precisely because we’re both girls that it’s inconvenient,” Ling Yu repeated.

“Yu Yu, I don’t understand,” Yu Xin said, pretending to be clueless. “You’re not a lesbian, are you? It’s perfect for you to live together. Besides, Juan can cook and take good care of you.” The implication was, “If you admit you’re a lesbian, I won’t pressure you. If you don’t, you can start a relationship with Juan.”

Yu Xin’s ability to become Ling Taiguo’s wife and stay firmly in that position wasn’t just due to her looks but also her expert-level manipulative skills. Ling Yu scoffed and remained unfazed. She said with feigned difficulty, “Auntie, it’s really not convenient. Your niece is a lesbian. You probably don’t know this, but she works at a club in Yuncheng every night, doing pole dancing… My dad has always been strict with me. If I were to live with her…”

Although the Ling family was new money, Ling Taiguo cared about his reputation. The matter of the family’s honor hit Yu Xin like a punch. She was momentarily speechless. Her sharp jaw tightened, and a hint of resentment flashed in her eyes. After a moment of silence, Yu Xin’s voice returned. This time, she changed the subject. “You’re such an independent child. You’ve been gone for so long and didn’t even call home to say you’re safe. I’m always at home worrying about you. What if you don’t have enough to eat or wear…”

Ling Yu didn’t reply. She let out a lazy yawn and opened the restroom door. Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many customers in the restaurant, and most of them were on the first floor. The women’s restroom was quiet and empty. Ling Yu switched to speakerphone, found a stall, and lifted her skirt to use the toilet.

Three minutes later, the toilet flushed with a whooshing sound. Yu Xin’s insincere, subtly sarcastic words of concern finally stopped. She asked tentatively, “Yu Yu, what are you doing? Surfing? Oh, I know you’re an adult now and have your own ideas. It’s okay to do extreme sports with friends, but you have to be careful. Don’t do something like you did three years ago… Don’t worry, I won’t tell your dad… Oh, honey.”

The phone buzzed.

“Is Ling Yu doing extreme sports again?” Ling Taiguo’s furious voice came from the phone.

“Dad, I’m not.” Ling Yu walked out of the stall, took her phone out of her purse, and interrupted the couple’s self-indulgent act. She walked to the sink, placed her phone on the counter, turned on the faucet, and slowly washed her hands. The rushing sound of the water, as expected, infuriated Ling Taiguo.

“You’ve lost your mind! Do you think because I’m old, my ears are deaf? You’re the opposite of your brother. He’s only three, and he says ‘daddy’ so sweetly every day. And you? You’re twenty-three, useless, and always causing trouble… I asked you to take care of your cousin, and you went surfing. How did I raise such a useless thing?”

“Honey, don’t say that about our daughter. It’s all my fault… I wasn’t well a few years ago and didn’t raise Yu Yu properly. Take it out on me…”

The couple’s back-and-forth was like a well-rehearsed act.

Ling Yu finished washing her hands. The drama had reached its climax, and she smiled playfully. She deliberately lowered her voice and said sadly, “Dad, Auntie, I wasn’t surfing.”

“The thing that happened three years ago was so long ago. I’ve been so regretful. I’ve been so careful all these years, and I thought at least you’d trust me.” Ling Yu choked up, her voice sounding a little hoarse. “Will you even misunderstand me when I use the toilet now? Dad, if you can’t stand me, then just listen to Grandpa and kick me out.”

Ling Taiguo was at a loss for words. Yu Xin gasped in a panic. Kicking Ling Yu out before she was married would mean giving her half of the company shares. This was an agreement Ling Taiguo had signed with her mother. Now that Ling Taiguo had a child with Yu Xin, he would never agree to give half of his assets to Ling Yu.

Ling Yu smiled and lazily hung up the phone. A pop-up appeared on her screen to save the call recording. Ling Yu tapped “confirm” and saved the audio file. She then sent Yu Xin a video of her in the restroom.

After doing all this, Ling Yu opened the restroom door and walked out. She saw a person standing in the hallway a meter away. Ling Yu instinctively looked over. The woman had a cigarette between her fingers, and a slow stream of smoke swirled from her lips. The smoke gave her cold, beautiful eyes a hazy, ethereal look. This made her look even more like a goddess.

Ling Yu slowly glanced at her, momentarily confused as to why she was hiding and smoking by the public restroom. There were two cigarette butts in the trash can. As Ling Yu approached, the strong smell of nicotine hadn’t yet dissipated, which meant Gu Qing had been standing there for a while. It was a lot of cigarettes for a woman to smoke, even if they were thin ones.

Ling Yu instinctively frowned. The woman, whose eyes were half-closed, seemed to notice Ling Yu’s small gesture. She glanced at her, expressionlessly put out the cigarette, and threw the remaining cigarette butt into the trash can. The butt was crushed in her fingers.

Ling Yu looked at the crushed cigarette in the trash can and then at the “smoking area” sign on the wall. She immediately understood. Gu Qing was in a bad mood and had come out for a smoke. She wondered about the soundproofing of the restroom door. After thinking about her conversation with Ling Taiguo, she confirmed that she hadn’t revealed anything that would break her persona. So, Ling Yu felt at ease. She smiled and slowly walked up to Gu Qing.

“Hey, big sister.” Ling Yu’s foxy eyes curved. She brushed past the woman’s soft chest, expecting her to move away. But Gu Qing, who seemed to be deep in thought, didn’t move. Their heights were similar. Ling Yu’s soft chest brushed against hers, and for a moment, Ling Yu saw a fleeting ripple in Gu Qing’s icy blue eyes.

Of course, the feeling of the two bodies pressed together was slightly uncomfortable for Ling Yu herself. The previous times, Gu Qing had immediately pushed her away, but this time, the contact lasted for a full five seconds, and all the sensations were clearly registered in her brain. Ling Yu estimated that the woman’s chest, which was tightly covered by her meticulously buttoned shirt, was one cup size larger than hers.

Ling Yu stared at her chest for a while.

“Have you seen enough?” Gu Qing looked down at her, her tone flat. Her gaze was indifferent, and her phoenix eyes seemed to have a natural air of critical observation. Ling Yu felt like a ray of light was scanning her. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, Gu Qing threw the trench coat from her elbow at her.

A question mark appeared in Ling Yu’s eyes. She followed Gu Qing’s cold gaze and looked down. Her expression froze. She had been so busy with her online fight with Ling Taiguo that she didn’t realize a big glob of hand soap had gotten stuck to her chest. She wasn’t wearing much for her interview. Her scarf was off, and her coat was on the chair. The shirt she was wearing was tight. Now, a big glob of hand soap on her chest looked like milk.

Milk?

Ling Yu suddenly remembered something and stopped the hand she was about to use to reject the coat. She quickly unfolded Gu Qing’s trench coat and put it on. Looking at Gu Qing, she felt much better. She consciously took a step back, her foxy eyes curved like crescent moons, and she thanked Gu Qing sincerely, “Thanks for that.”

Gu Qing frowned, looking at her eyes thoughtfully. Then she nonchalantly looked away. She raised her hand and tucked a strand of her long, curled hair behind her ear. Gu Qing’s movements were too fast for Ling Yu to see the red earlobe, which looked like a drop of pigeon blood.

Gu Qing pursed her lips, a hint of an inexplicable sense of losing control flashed in her eyes. After a moment, she attributed this useless emotion to Ling Yu’s frequent seduction attempts. So, her gaze on Ling Yu was now filled with a hint of scrutiny.

“Thanks for what?” Gu Qing asked, in a calm voice. “The coat? Or for finally giving you a response?”

Ling Yu’s smile froze. “What do you mean?”

Gu Qing didn’t say anything. She looked over Ling Yu’s shoulder at Li Jun, whom she had sent away to the first floor. She pursed her lips. “Those who understand, understand.”

The woman was being sarcastic for some reason. She looked at Ling Yu as if she were a desperate, shameless sycophant. Ling Yu’s mood was already bad, and being treated coldly just made it worse. She let out a soft snort.

“Fine,” Ling Yu said. She grabbed the coat, took it off, and handed it back to her. “…How much is it? I’ll buy a new one to give back to you next time.”

“…” Their eyes met. Gu Qing’s eyes were as cold as a needle. She didn’t want to wear her coat, but she was fine with Li Jun buying her one?

Gu Qing scoffed with an intimidating aura. Ling Yu didn’t back down and met her challenging gaze. To be honest, there was no need to humiliate a woman who was nothing but pretty. If she didn’t like her, she didn’t have to.

They stared at each other for a moment. The time was so long that just as Ling Yu thought the other woman was going to hit her, Gu Qing lowered her long eyelashes and curled her lips. “Playing hard to get, Ling Yu? You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. You don’t need to make excuses to appear in front of me again. I’ve seen many people like you before.”

Gu Qing finished speaking and turned to walk away. After two steps, she stopped and looked back at Ling Yu’s chest. She caught a glimpse of the greasy man downstairs. Gu Qing narrowed her eyes. Annoyed, she walked up to Ling Yu.

“Li Jun is downstairs…”

Ling Yu said, “So?”

“The law firm doesn’t allow office romance. Especially not with the boss…” Gu Qing’s voice was very low. She pointed her finger at Ling Yu’s chest. “If you really want to stay at the law firm, I advise you to stop… of course, if you’re just having fun, that’s a different story.”

Ling Yu laughed. She looked at her with the corner of her eye. “But it seems even more inappropriate for me to wear your coat, big sister. Aren’t you worried that I have other intentions with you?!”

Gu Qing stared at her, her brows furrowed. Her face was covered with a layer of frost, as if she was too lazy to argue with her. She reached out and pulled the coat back onto Ling Yu’s shoulders with stiff movements. She quickly buttoned it up to the very top. After doing this, Gu Qing looked as if a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder had found relief. She let out a sigh and said slowly, “Isn’t this what you wanted? Just consider it a souvenir of your unrequited love.”

Ling Yu moved her fingers, holding back the urge to hit her. She looked up, and just as she was about to retort, Gu Qing suddenly lowered her eyes and looked at her. Her clear, glass-like eyes were bright. “Ling Yu, Li Jun likes you.”

It was a statement. Ling Yu was speechless.

She didn’t know how much Gu Qing knew. Ling Yu was a little worried about breaking her persona. She suppressed her emotions and gestured with her eyes for the other woman to continue. To her surprise, the woman just gave her a deep look and walked away.

[She’s crazy, right?]

008: [So sweet.]

T/N: She’s jealous ~