Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 21

After being drenched in the rain, Ling Yu drank the ginger tea the kitchen auntie had made for her. Then she went upstairs to take a hot shower. She had planned to go to bed early, but her phone kept vibrating with text messages.

Professor Wu had sent her a series of messages, reminding her that all her coursework was finished. Before graduation, she had to submit an internship report and a graduation thesis. With less than six months until graduation, other students had already submitted their theses twice, while Ling Yu hadn’t even started. Professor Wu was worried about her being able to graduate on time. Although his words were tactful, he gave her a final deadline.

With this interruption, Ling Yu didn’t dare to sleep anymore. She had been so busy with Gu Qing for the past few months that she had completely forgotten she was a graduating senior. She hadn’t written a single word of her thesis. Ling Yu jumped out of bed, went downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee, and then opened her laptop to work on her thesis.

As a great writer, she had always maintained an average level of popularity with her novels, until her inspiration ran dry and people started questioning the quality of her writing. So, a thesis was no problem for her. A thesis that would take others months to write, she could finish in one night. Ling Yu’s fingers flew across the keyboard. The light from the screen reflected on her fair face, making her look especially focused.

Two hours later, she typed the last character. Ling Yu closed her laptop, and her phone rang again. This time, it was an unknown number. Ling Yu glanced at it and hung up. Three seconds later, the person called again. “Little sister, it’s Li Juan.”

Ling Yu lowered her gaze and looked at the time on her watch. She raised her eyebrows and asked casually, “It’s already 2 a.m. Why aren’t you sleeping? Are you working overtime?”

Li Juan said “no” three times on the other end of the line. Her tone sounded a little anxious. Ling Yu asked, “Is something wrong, Sister Juan?”

“It’s nothing serious. I just couldn’t sleep tonight, and my heart feels all messed up. I’m sorry for calling you so late, little sister. I really don’t have many friends I can trust here in Yuncheng.” Li Juan’s voice sounded a little dejected. It seemed she had mustered up a lot of courage to make this call. “If it’s not a good time…”

“It’s fine,” Ling Yu said, squinting as she interrupted her. “Coincidentally, I’m working on my thesis tonight and haven’t slept yet. Go ahead.”

“Oh, thank you, little sister.” Li Juan smiled bitterly. “You’re my aunt’s stepdaughter and you gave me so much money. Of course, you’re trustworthy. I didn’t really lack money before. My aunt must have told you that I’ve been in trouble recently.”

Ling Yu keenly sensed that something was off. “Tonight… is it because of that trouble you’re in?”

Li Juan smiled bitterly and said “yes.” “Have you heard about Jiang Wei’s case? My trouble is because of that.” Ling Yu didn’t interrupt her and hummed softly, signaling for her to continue.

“Little sister, I’m going to be a witness for that scumbag Jiang Wei in court tomorrow.” Li Juan’s voice was sad and hoarse, as if she had been crying. “I’m useless. My best friend’s body hasn’t even been laid to rest yet, and I’m not doing anything to clear her name. And now…” Li Juan’s voice trailed off.

Ling Yu wasn’t surprised that things had come to this point. The night she saw Gu Qing intentionally getting close to Li Juan, she knew there would be consequences. But even though she had guessed, she was still a little disappointed in Gu Qing. Ling Yu wasn’t a busybody. She didn’t expect Gu Qing to expose the truth in every case, but at the very least, she shouldn’t break the law and force Li Juan to lie.

Ling Yu narrowed her eyes and pulled at her lips. “Did she force you?”

Li Juan said, “She?”

“Gu Qing. She’s forcing you to go to court.”

After this sentence, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone. The emotion in Ling Yu’s eyes faded away little by little.

“No,” Li Juan said definitively. “It’s not her. It’s me… I have my reasons.” Ling Yu didn’t quite believe her because of the voice recorder. However, the next second, Li Juan’s voice sounded again. “Little sister, you must know that I was rejected tonight. It turns out I was just flattering myself. Gu Qing doesn’t like me.”

Ling Yu said, “Oh,” and comforted her. “It’s good that you found out early. That’s a good thing.”

“I was not resigned, so I asked her why she was so nice to me, calling and messaging me every day, making me misunderstand her intentions. Guess what she said.” Ling Yu, who was about to close the curtains, paused. “Hmm?”

Li Juan smiled bitterly to herself. “She said that she works late every night, and when she has time to make calls, it’s only late at night. The purpose is to make sure I’m still alive.”

Ling Yu made a clicking sound. “That’s a nasty thing to say.”

“I wouldn’t have believed it before, but tonight, little sister, I finally realized what kind of trouble I’ve gotten myself into.” Li Juan’s voice was filled with a sense of hardship, as if she had just remembered something. She sobbed, tilted her head back, and took a gulp of liquor.

Because she was drunk, her voice gradually dragged out into a long, sharp note. “Little people like us… we’re already used to taking loneliness as a belief and failure as a norm in life. But it wasn’t until today that I understood that it’s not enough to just be ordinary. We also have to be ordinary failures.”

Ling Yu frowned. “If someone is threatening you, expose them… Justice may be delayed, but it will come.” Ling Yu never tried to influence other people’s choices, so she didn’t try to persuade Li Juan. She just told her that there was more than one path in the world. The right path led to light, and the wrong path was rough.

This time, Li Juan was silent for longer than before. Ling Yu became impatient and simply held her phone and went to the window to get some fresh air. The Xu family’s old house was a villa that had been there for many years. A few years ago, Mr. Xu sent his eldest uncle to renovate the area around the villa for the old lady. They installed wall lamps outside the iron gate and notified the city to install road signs and streetlights on the more distant streets.

Ling Yu’s room was on the third floor. She looked out and was surprised to see a vague figure standing under a streetlight. From a distance, she couldn’t see the person’s face, but she could vaguely sense that she was holding a cigarette in her fingers, exhaling smoke from her mouth, and her eyes were looking up. She was leaning on a silver Porsche. Her back was to Ling Yu, so she couldn’t see her face. The night sky was pitch black. The rain had stopped at some point. The temperature had dropped late at night. Ling Yu’s hands were already red from the cold.

She glanced at the woman smoking. This time, the woman moved. She took the cigarette out of her mouth, turned her back to Ling Yu, and got into her car. Ling Yu thought it was just a passing driver who had a nicotine craving and stopped to have a smoke on the side of the road. Because the Xu family’s old house was in a villa area at the end of the winding mountain road, which was very long, drivers often got into accidents if they weren’t careful. A cigarette could help them stay awake late at night. There were many drivers like that.

Ling Yu looked away. The Porsche driver started the car and a trail of exhaust was released. The car quickly disappeared. She shrugged. It was too cold outside. Ling Yu turned and went back inside.

On the phone, Li Juan was probably even more drunk. Her voice trembled as she mumbled for a long time. She said intermittently, “I… I need money… Money is a good thing… Just pretend I don’t have any morals.” “Wah, wah, wah, Shu Shu, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Li Juan’s case was going to trial today. Ling Yu didn’t have the right to attend the hearing. However, because she had helped print and organize the case files last night, Sister Wang was worried that if Gu Qing and the others needed the files, she wouldn’t know where they were. So she asked Cai Dong, who was attending the trial, to take Ling Yu with him.

Ling Yu went to the courthouse with the criminal team from the Kaihe Law Firm early in the morning. Sitting in the firm’s bus, she looked around and pulled on Sister Wang’s sleeve. “Sister, why isn’t Lawyer Gu with us?”

Sister Wang shook her head. “She probably went to the courthouse early.” She paused, patted Ling Yu on the shoulder, and explained, “Don’t worry, Lawyer Gu is always strict with herself. This case is so important to the higher-ups, so there’s no way she’ll be absent.”

Ling Yu said, “Oh,” and asked, “The evidence is solid in this case. Can Lawyer Gu really turn things around?”

Sister Wang wasn’t happy to hear that. She frowned. “Xiao Ling, you haven’t been at our firm for long, so you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. Lawyer Gu has never lost a case. She’s a natural at this. Her ability to handle unexpected situations is unmatched in the industry.”

Ling Yu curved her lips, a hint of sharpness flashing in her foxy eyes. She said meaningfully, “Then I must observe the senior’s grace in handling accidents.”

Sister Wang didn’t understand the hidden meaning in Ling Yu’s words. After chatting for a few moments, she turned her head to gossip with the young people behind her.

008: [Host, what did you do?]

Ling Yu: [You’ll find out soon enough.]

[So you really did do something.] 008’s voice was a little desperate. [Why do you have to interfere with the protagonist’s decision? Noooo!]

She wasn’t interfering; she was pulling Gu Qing back. In Ling Yu’s worldview, even if she couldn’t tell the difference between black and white, she knew that a person’s bottom line couldn’t be crossed. The evidence in this rape case was solid. The deceased girl, Yan Shu, was only nineteen years old. Ling Yu had dealt with Jiang Wei before. In Jiang Wei’s dark room, an entire wall was covered with pictures of different female victims. Ling Yu had naively thought that paying him back in his own coin was the best punishment for Jiang Wei. But she hadn’t expected that more people would become victims.

Ling Yu looked at the cars going back and forth on the viaduct. This was the 21st century, an era of peace and justice. There were some mistakes that Gu Qing couldn’t make.

The trial was scheduled for 9 a.m. When the firm’s bus arrived, Gu Qing and Li Jun were waiting outside the courthouse. “Why is she here?” Gu Qing frowned. Li Jun followed Gu Qing’s gaze and saw Ling Yu carrying a briefcase, following behind Sister Wang.

Her black hair was tied into a bun, and she had air bangs. Her face was bare, and her skin looked like porcelain in the sunlight. She was wearing a work uniform, which made her look gentle yet a little playful. Li Jun couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.

Gu Qing suddenly turned sideways and threw the documents in her hand to Li Jun. “Does she look good?”

Li Jun was startled. He turned and glanced at Gu Qing, who had a strong presence and long, curly hair. He denied it reflexively. “In my eyes, you’re the most beautiful.”

Gu Qing said, “Oh.” “Did you eat fried dough sticks this morning?” Li Jun subconsciously shook his head. Gu Qing looked at him sideways, her gaze wandering to Li Jun’s lips. Li Jun was so shocked by the sudden, focused gaze that he couldn’t speak. He was both surprised and happy, and his heart was pounding.

Noticing the man’s expression, Gu Qing’s eyes flashed with disgust. She handed Li Jun a tissue. “Wipe.”

Li Jun said, “Huh?” and scratched his head. “?”

“Your lips,” Gu Qing said, raising her eyes. Her expression was calm. “They’re greasy.”

When Ling Yu walked over, she happened to hear the usually serious and unsmiling Gu Qing making a sarcastic joke. But her face was so expressionless that it was impossible to tell she was being sarcastic. She was insulting the other person without them even realizing it. Ling Yu couldn’t stand it anymore. She took two steps forward and walked in front of the two of them, handing Li Jun a business card. “Director Li, I didn’t expect a young person like you to have this kind of problem. I recommend you go to this beauty salon for a degreasing treatment.”

Sister Wang, who was next to her, couldn’t hold back and almost laughed out loud. She turned and saw Li Jun’s dark face and quickly pulled Ling Yu’s arm, hiding her behind her.

“Director Li, Ling Yu is young and doesn’t know the rules of the workplace. She speaks her mind. I’ll make sure to educate her. Please don’t overthink it. If she offended you, I apologize on her behalf.”

Li Jun’s face was dark. He moved his gaze to Ling Yu and met her black eyes. He thought to himself, What could I possibly overthink? Just as he was about to accept the apology, Gu Qing took a step and walked past his shoulder, entering the courthouse directly. When she got to his side, she said in a flat voice, “The trial starts in five minutes and thirty seconds. Don’t cause so much trouble.” The implication was that he didn’t have time to chat.

When it came to the case, Gu Qing’s words had absolute authority in the team. When she said that so casually, everyone fell silent. They lowered their heads and followed her into the courthouse.

Ling Yu stared at the back of her head and clicked her tongue. [She didn’t even say thank you. She really thinks I don’t hold a grudge.]

008 was tired of talking. It said weakly, [Host, don’t provoke the protagonist. Don’t go against the protagonist. Don’t stir up trouble. Please, I’m begging you.] It said “don’t” three times in a row. Seeing that Ling Yu was unmoved, it begged in a humble tone, [I just want to ship the couple. I don’t want to see a fight.]

Ling Yu curved her lips. [Then you can just keep dreaming.]