Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 28

Ling Yu turned and nodded toward Fang Jia, then allowed her foxlike eyes to travel over Jiang Wei.

He wore a well-tailored suit, but two buttons had been torn from his shirt, exposing a colorful fish-bone tattoo across his neck.

The tattoo was unusually elaborate. Black chains wrapped around the fish’s skeleton, while its mouth aligned directly with Jiang Wei’s Adam’s apple.

When Jiang Wei noticed Ling Yu looking, he deliberately pulled open the third button of his shirt.

The movement completely exposed the tattoo stretching from his neck to his chest.

Ling Yu tugged incredulously at the corners of her lips.

Beneath the glow of the setting sun, she casually glanced toward the end of the fish skeleton.

Her name had been clearly tattooed there.

The sight disgusted Ling Yu so thoroughly that she nearly lost her appetite for dinner.

Three steps away, Jiang Wei maintained a solemn expression as though waiting for her to ask about it.

Ling Yu gave him a strange sideways look.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Jiang Wei instinctively touched the goosebumps covering his neck.

Once he realized what she meant, his expression immediately darkened.

Meanwhile, Fang Jia had reached Ling Yu.

Ling Yu discreetly moved one step aside, placing some distance between them.

Then she addressed Jiang Wei.

“Why would I bother avoiding you? Who gave you that much confidence?”

The superiority of an utterly ordinary yet inexplicably self-confident man.

Ling Yu scoffed.

Every word she spoke today seemed packed with gunpowder.

The smile in her pitch-black eyes hovered on the verge of disappearing.

Resentment flashed across Jiang Wei’s face.

A savage scar extended from the corner of his mouth to his jaw. Now that he was furious, the scar tightened, making him appear exceptionally aggressive.

“Ling Yu, do you not understand who I am?”

Standing nearby, Fang Jia discreetly stepped forward, intending to shield Ling Yu behind her.

However, Ling Yu merely tilted her head and signaled with her eyes for Fang Jia not to interfere.

Fang Jia looked slightly surprised.

She had known Ling Yu for several years.

This was the first time she had seen that the little fox she always protected possessed more than watery laziness within her beautiful eyes.

There was also something wolfish.

Fang Jia shifted her gaze toward the young man from the Jiang family.

The tall, muscular man stood a head above Ling Yu. Combined with the scar across his face, his size made him look extremely aggressive.

Yet Ling Yu stood before him without losing the slightest momentum.

Fang Jia had initially worried that her little fox might be dragged away by Jiang Wei.

Now she was nearly certain that would be impossible.

Ling Yu repeated lazily, laughing instead of becoming angry:

“Your identity?”

When Jiang Wei stared back, she drew out her words.

“What identity could you possibly have? Are you a rapist—or a wealthy second-generation rapist?”

A faint line appeared across Fang Jia’s well-maintained face. It deepened as she smiled.

Not far away, Jiang Wei clenched his fists until his joints cracked.

He appeared so furious that he might become violent at any moment.

Fang Jia glanced at the thoroughly indifferent Ling Yu and sighed.

Then she stepped forward and stood between them.

She extended a hand toward Jiang Wei.

“Nephew Jiang, why haven’t you greeted Auntie?”

Fang Jia was thirty-five that year.

However, her seniority was considerable, her commercial instincts were outstanding, and she was a nationally recognized figure within their social circle.

Fang Jia frequently attended gatherings of every size.

Naturally, Jiang Wei knew her.

Her status and position were undeniable.

No matter how vicious Jiang Wei might be, he could not display a spoiled heir’s arrogance before Fang Jia.

He glared at Ling Yu before politely greeting Fang Jia as Auntie.

In Ling Yu’s eyes, Jiang Wei possessed nothing except money and a powerful father.

A rapist like him should have been brought to justice long ago.

Perhaps because of Li Juan’s earlier call, Ling Yu now felt disgusted by anyone carrying the surname Jiang.

She withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to fiddle with her phone.

In truth, she merely reread Gu Qing’s messages repeatedly.

008 sighed.

[Host, do you regret it? The image you sent the female lead was somewhat excessive.]

The emotion in Ling Yu’s eyes faded.

[I did it deliberately.]

008’s voice abruptly rose.

[What?]

[She said my harassment disgusts her as much as Gu Ting’s.]

Ling Yu’s lips curved bitterly.

[Daddy, what do you think she’ll do to me?]

008 did not understand and made a questioning sound.

After waiting a long time, Ling Yu lost interest in explaining.

Li Juan’s earlier call had genuinely disappointed Ling Yu.

She was disappointed in both Gu Qing and herself.

She had been excessively confident, firmly believing she could pull Gu Qing back.

But if Gu Qing’s hands were already stained with blood, was there any meaning in saving her?

A case whose outcome had already appeared certain had easily found a new opening through Li Juan.

Gu Qing’s capabilities had surpassed Ling Yu’s understanding.

Another possibility had even occurred to her:

Could the war Ling Yu deliberately provoked have enraged Gu Qing and caused her to behave even more violently?

If Gu Qing’s retaliation were directed at Ling Yu, she could naturally accept it.

But what if it fell upon irrelevant people—particularly insignificant individuals like Li Juan?

What had they done wrong?

Ling Yu was furious today, but she had not sent Gu Qing that image impulsively.

Her purpose was perfectly clear.

She wanted to provoke Gu Qing.

She wanted to discover whether Gu Qing truly behaved as Gu Ting claimed—losing every moral boundary and killing people whenever her madness erupted.

If she did, Ling Yu would abandon the mission.

Even if she could no longer live out her natural lifespan, she could not drag a woman devoid of humanity, stained with blood, and stripped of conscience back to safety.

After all, there were only two quantities of murder:

Once and many times.

Yet unexpectedly, Ling Yu felt inexplicably irritated despite believing she would have no regrets.

Even though all the evidence indicated that Gu Qing was an unhinged lunatic without moral boundaries, some part of Ling Yu still trusted her.

Ling Yu urgently wanted to know the truth.

Was Gu Qing genuinely the sort of person who would disappoint her most?

Subconsciously, Ling Yu hoped she was not.

While Ling Yu remained lost in thought, her phone vibrated again.

This time, the message came from an unfamiliar number.

[Lunch-box Sister, my sister will be at the Xishan villa tonight. The address is Villa 113 in the villa district along Xishan Mountain Road. The passcode is 09623.]

[Please help me take care of Sister while she’s having her episode. Remember to visit after midnight.]

Ling Yu narrowed her eyes and immediately blocked the unfamiliar number.

At the same time, Fang Jia and Jiang Wei finished exchanging pleasantries.

Ling Yu did not know what Aunt Fang had told him, but he appeared considerably better behaved.

Before leaving, Jiang Wei gave Ling Yu a veiled look.

His lips moved soundlessly, forming two words:

“Li Juan.”

Ling Yu narrowed her foxlike eyes and met his provocative stare without flinching.

Her eyes were pitch-black and cold, like a broken blade against a jade face, radiating an icy chill.

They looked exactly as they had inside the dungeon that night.

Jiang Wei seemed to recall something unforgettable.

His face instantly turned red, while eager anticipation simultaneously shimmered within his eyes.

Fang Jia sensed something and frowned at the pervert.

“Nephew, you’ve been staring at my little friend for quite some time. Do you believe I don’t exist?”

Jiang Wei was startled.

His gaze moved several times between Ling Yu and Fang Jia.

Then the polite smile vanished from his face.

He stared silently at Fang Jia.

“Yours?”

Fang Jia nodded.

Jiang Wei appeared amused by his own thoughts.

The tension in his jaw relaxed, and he provocatively raised his chin toward Ling Yu.

“When Yuyu visited my dungeon, she certainly didn’t seem like a lesbian to me.”

At the mention of the dungeon, Fang Jia’s exquisitely made-up face abruptly stiffened.

“When I visited your dungeon, you didn’t look like a masochist to me either,” Ling Yu interjected from beneath lowered eyelids.

She ignored Jiang Wei’s rigid body, removed a fruit candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and tossed it into her mouth.

Back then, Jiang Wei had drugged Ling Yu and carried her into the dungeon like an unsuspecting young sapling.

After discovering his intentions and seeing the entire wall of perverse photographs, Ling Yu had beaten him viciously.

Unexpectedly, she had beaten a submissive masochist out of him.

Ling Yu spoke calmly.

Her foxlike eyes gave Jiang Wei a meaningful warning.

She had told Gu Qing that Jiang Wei must go to prison.

If Gu Qing used Li Juan to reverse the case, Ling Yu would use her own methods to reverse it again.

Yan Shu was not Jiang Wei’s only victim.

There were also all the women pictured across the walls of his dungeon.

Justice might arrive late, but it would never fail to arrive.

Ling Yu traveled to the banquet in Fang Jia’s car.

Fang Jia carefully examined her through the rearview mirror.

“Yuyu, how did you meet Jiang Wei?”

Ling Yu rested her head against the rear-seat headrest and raised her eyelids.

She uttered only three words:

“Ling Taiguo…”

Before Ling Yu could finish, Fang Jia immediately understood.

She had a good relationship with Ling Yu and naturally knew about the terrible things Ling Taiguo had done.

Fang Jia narrowed her eyes and stepped on the brake, stopping before a pedestrian crossing.

While they waited at the red light, she turned and looked indulgently toward Ling Yu.

Her voice softened.

“Yuyu, it’s been three months. Have you reached a decision?”

Three months ago, Ling Yu met Fang Jia for what she had assumed would be the final time.

The auntie she found exceptionally easy to talk with had told her:

“I love you.”

Ling Yu would have been lying if she claimed she had not been shocked.

She had spent considerable time among the playboys’ group. Although she was only pretending to be a playgirl, she understood everything she needed to know.

However, hearing about such things was different from Fang Jia attempting to become physically intimate with her on the spot.

Ling Yu rejected her decisively.

Aunt Fang told her that it did not matter.

She was willing to wait.

Perhaps because of her age, Aunt Fang displayed the poise and courtesy expected of a mature woman.

She was far easier to get along with than Gu Qing.

She was gentle, intellectual, and considerate. She pursued Ling Yu like warm water slowly boiling a frog, remaining neither too close nor too far.

There was only one problem.

Aunt Fang appeared gentle, but she was exceptionally forceful deep inside.

Ling Yu discovered only later that her social circle had gradually narrowed since meeting her.

Aunt Fang did not allow her to have a girlfriend.

She did not allow her to have a boyfriend.

She did not even allow Ling Yu to make friends.

Even Xu Miao had once been suppressed by Aunt Fang.

Ling Yu was a free individual.

Her career and personality determined that her destination lay among the stars and the boundless sea.

On the day Fang Jia confessed, Ling Yu finally understood why her social circle had grown smaller.

That was why she left without hesitation.

Yet Fang Jia merely told her that she would continue waiting until Ling Yu agreed.

Now the woman in the driver’s seat looked at her with overwhelming gentleness.

Ling Yu moved her lips.

“I’m sorry.”

Disappointment appeared on Fang Jia’s face.

When the light ahead turned green, she gave Ling Yu a long look, pressed the accelerator, and sent the car speeding forward.

“Have you fallen for someone else?”

“What does it mean to like someone?” Ling Yu countered.

She believed she might never fall in love with anyone.

She preferred herself.

“No, Yuyu. You’ve changed.”

Ling Yu froze, a question mark gradually appearing in her eyes.

“In the past, you never instinctively created distance when I approached you.”

Fang Jia’s voice was somewhat low.

Women understood changes in other women better than anyone.

She ordinarily would not have blindly believed Yu Xin’s words.

Yet after only three months apart, the Ling Yu she believed she had protected had apparently been stolen directly from beneath her eyes.

Fang Jia knew perfectly well that Ling Yu had not liked women before.

Even if Fang Jia placed an arm around her shoulders, Ling Yu would merely frown and allow it to remain.

But when they met again, Ling Yu instinctively retreated the moment Fang Jia stood beside her.

That meant someone else had gotten there first.

At the possibility, Fang Jia’s face became dark and stormy.

Without revealing anything, she probed:

“When you like someone, you think about her whenever you have free time. Every day, you find every possible excuse to meet her.”

“You constantly test her boundaries. You naturally accept her approaching you, and even after performing all kinds of intimate actions with her, nothing feels strange.”

“That is what liking someone means.”

After every sentence, Fang Jia looked at Ling Yu through the rearview mirror.

Then she noticed a strange expression appear within Ling Yu’s foxlike eyes.

“Yuyu, you really have fallen for someone. Who is she?”

It was a statement.

Fang Jia was nearly certain that Ling Yu had fallen in love.

In the next second, however, Ling Yu laughed mockingly.

“According to that description, I suppose there is someone. But I use every method to meet her because I have ulterior motives, and I approach her because I want to fight.”

“If that qualifies as affection, then at least a hundred people meet your requirements.”

Fang Jia choked.

[…]

She carefully examined Ling Yu’s expression before amusement spread through her eyes.

She had probably overthought matters.

How could the little fox she had spent two years slowly warming fall for someone else in only two or three months?

The atmosphere inside the car became harmonious again.

When they approached the hotel, traffic became congested.

Many distinguished guests had apparently arrived that evening, leaving the valets overwhelmed.

Through the window, Ling Yu immediately saw Li Juan in a warm, mist-colored evening gown.

She held Jiang Wei’s arm as they entered the banquet hall together.

Fang Jia followed Ling Yu’s gaze.

“Yuyu, try to stay away from Jiang Wei for the next several days. Endure him a little longer. Soon, he’ll never possess this sort of glory again.”

Ling Yu looked surprised.

She slowly turned, a question mark appearing in her eyes.

Within the narrow car, Ling Yu’s moist foxlike eyes looked toward Fang Jia.

Fang Jia instinctively raised a hand to stroke her head, but Ling Yu reflexively leaned away.

Fang Jia’s hand stopped in midair.

She laughed awkwardly.

Suppressing her emotions, Ling Yu asked, “Aunt Fang, why will everything be fine after only a few more days?”

Fang Jia smiled and pointed toward several black-clad bodyguards mixed into the crowd.

“Don’t those people look familiar?”

Ling Yu swiftly looked over, then narrowed her foxlike eyes.

She turned toward Fang Jia in surprise.

“Is that…A-Da?”

A-Da was one of Fang Jia’s bodyguards.

Aunt Fang frequently invited Ling Yu to her home, so Ling Yu naturally recognized her trusted subordinate.

“Why is he here?”

Fang Jia seemingly did not want to explain in detail.

“Someone intends to move against Jiang Bochuan. A-Da is helping me repay a favor. The Jiang family is going to fall. That’s all you need to know.”

Her explanation seemed disjointed, but Ling Yu understood the essential information.

Her long lashes trembled, and she suddenly smiled within the darkness.

She had never expected another group to be targeting the Jiang family.

Sure enough, cause and effect moved in cycles, and retribution never failed.

Even heaven was helping them.