Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 34

“Ling Yu, you’ve gone too far.”

 

“Look at how many calls I’ve made to you. If Gu Qing hadn’t said you were okay last night, I would have already called the police.”

 

Xu Miao’s voice came from the other end of the phone, a mix of concern and scolding.

 

Ling Yu raised her hand to rub her aching forehead and glanced around the room.

 

It was an extremely simple bedroom in a spacious, open-plan apartment.

 

The floor-to-ceiling windows took up almost an entire wall. Ling Yu propped herself up on the bed, and as she sat up, the dried marks on her thighs were instantly visible.

 

Ling Yu awkwardly pulled her legs together, her gaze shifting to the messy bedsheets beside her.

 

The woman who had been lying there last night was gone without a trace. The bedsheets were already cold, which meant she had left right after.

 

Ling Yu felt a pang of mockery. Her body was extremely uncomfortable. It was the first time for both of them, and there was no gentleness. Not that it mattered.

 

And she hadn’t taken a shower afterward; she had passed out.

 

For Ling Yu, last night was definitely not a great experience.

 

Perhaps because she hadn’t gotten a reply from Ling Yu for a while, Xu Miao’s accusatory tone quickly became a cautious probe.

 

“Yu Yu, why aren’t you saying anything?”

 

“Your teacher told me. Where are you right now? I’ll come pick you up immediately.”

 

“Hello? Say something.”

 

Ling Yu bent over, picked up the pajamas Gu Qing had gotten for her last night from the clothes scattered on the floor. She untied the straps and loosely draped them over her shoulders.

 

She walked barefoot on the floor toward the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

 

On the other end of the phone, Xu Miao’s tone became more anxious, as if she were worried.

 

Ling Yu replied with a hoarse voice, “I’m fine, Sis.”

 

“What’s wrong with your voice?”

 

As soon as Ling Yu spoke, she realized that her voice was as hoarse as a rusty gong.

 

Embarrassment crept into her dark eyes as she remembered the scene from last night when Gu Qing’s excited tears rolled onto her lips.

 

She couldn’t possibly tell Xu Miao that her voice had become hoarse from what she did with that person.

 

Ling Yu lightly coughed and, instead of answering, asked, “Sister Miao, did Gu Qing call you last night?”

 

It didn’t make sense for Gu Qing to go to so much trouble. That woman always acted like it was none of her business.

 

After they had done what they did last night, she could just get up and leave, cold and without a care in the world.

 

Ling Yu couldn’t figure out why Gu Qing would have bothered to call Xu Miao to let her know she was safe.

 

After Ling Yu spoke, Xu Miao mumbled a few words in explanation: “You sent me such a scary text message yesterday. I was at the hospital, and I couldn’t leave Grandma. So I had to call you back. And it just so happened that Gu Qing was also at the scenic hotel last night. I was hoping she’d help me find you, but I didn’t expect…”

 

Ling Yu finally understood why Gu Qing had appeared so promptly last night.

 

By that logic, she did owe her a favor.

 

Xu Miao explained a few more things and said in a heartfelt tone, “Yu Yu, I actually think Gu Qing is different from what we usually think. She’s a good person. Otherwise, for something like last night, anyone else probably wouldn’t have gotten involved…”

 

Ling Yu lifted her eyelids and gave a listless “mm.”

 

She couldn’t quite grasp Gu Qing’s logic. Sometimes she felt like the woman was kind to her. After all, in their many encounters, Ling Yu never felt any malice from Gu Qing.

 

She even thought for a while that Gu Qing might be attracted to her body.

 

However, after what happened last night, Ling Yu no longer dared to have any sweet fantasies about Gu Qing.

 

If a clear-headed Gu Qing had given her a shower afterward instead of disappearing this morning, being heartless and remorseless…

 

Or if Gu Qing hadn’t callously thought about getting her a gigolo beforehand…

 

Ling Yu might have been moved by Gu Qing’s cold-faced kindness and help.

 

Countless facts told Ling Yu not to make any extra guesses about the woman, Gu Qing, otherwise the truth would be so embarrassing that she’d want to curl her toes.

 

Even though she was so clear-headed, when she saw the empty room this morning, she couldn’t help but call Gu Qing a “scumbag.”

 

In reality, she wasn’t asking her to be responsible, but they should at least talk.

 

Not a single word of explanation, just getting up and leaving, being a scumbag so clearly and shamelessly.

 

Ling Yu couldn’t quite describe how she felt at the moment. She was sure she wasn’t angry because they both enjoyed it.

 

No one had an advantage. It was a level playing field.

 

But an inexplicable sense of desolation had sprouted in her heart, which Ling Yu had never expected.

 

She temporarily attributed this slightly strange feeling to her “first time” experience.

 

Ling Yu briefly explained the situation from yesterday to Xu Miao, of course, omitting the intimate details with Gu Qing.

 

“So you’re at Lawyer Gu’s place now?”

 

Ling Yu gave a low “mm.”

 

“You did it, Yu Yu,” Xu Miao’s tone was clearly more relaxed and playful. “Last time I suggested you be her sugar mommy, but I didn’t expect you to have even better tactics. Not only did you not spend a single penny, but you’ve moved right into her place… No wonder your voice sounds so hoarse. A one-night stand, I get it, I totally get it.”

 

Ling Yu gave a ridiculous laugh, not knowing what to say.

 

The “one-night stand” part wasn’t wrong, but the way it happened was definitely not as peaceful as Xu Miao imagined.

 

The sticky discomfort on her body made Ling Yu frown. She was barefoot and planned to take a shower.

 

Gu Qing probably rarely came to this place. The bathroom only had unopened body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes, and a toothbrush holder.

 

A layer of dust had settled on the counter.

 

Although all the items were neatly organized, it showed a sense of emptiness from not being used often.

 

Ling Yu was a little curious. On that night of pouring rain, did Gu Qing not even brush her teeth before going to sleep?

 

In the past, she would have continued to overthink.

 

But last night was a lesson. Ling Yu no longer wanted to deeply analyze Gu Qing’s intentions.

 

The overhead shower sprayed warm water, and the bathroom quickly warmed up.

 

The frosted glass door was soon covered in a steamy haze.

 

Water droplets trickled down Ling Yu’s slender neck, gliding over the shocking red marks on her body.

 

Ling Yu lowered her eyes slightly, inevitably witnessing the evidence of last night’s craziness.

 

In front of the sink was a large mirror.

 

Looking at her reflection, Ling Yu realized for the first time that her face had a certain attraction to perverts.

 

The woman in the mirror had a beautiful face, with eyes full of affection. Her features were pure but not naive, exuding an aura that was a mix of youthful innocence and maturity.

 

The water droplets on her looked just like a fresh, budding flower.

 

Ling Yu looked at the countless marks on herself in the mirror. She raised her hand and rubbed her face hard, scrubbing away the delicate allure of having been touched. After she was done, she waved her hand.

 

[I’m sorry.] 008 was a bit guilty. It opened its mouth, not knowing how to comfort her.

 

It carefully chose its words and cautiously comforted her: [Host, what’s done is done. Since you can’t change it, I suggest you look at the bright side.]

 

[Although your body was somewhat hurt last night, your side-character mission is 99% complete.]

 

The implication was that by sacrificing her body last night, she was close to completing her mission.

 

Ling Yu’s eyes narrowed. She raised her hand and turned off the showerhead, forcing a sarcastic smile: [Explain. What’s going on?]

 

If 008 hadn’t brought up the side-character mission, Ling Yu would have almost completely forgotten about it.

 

She had been a bit lax in her pursuit of Gu Qing recently.

 

Because as she had more contact with her, the Jiang Wei case got in the way, and she saw the cruel side of Gu Qing beneath her respectable exterior.

 

For Ling Yu, Gu Qing was like a beast that could snap her arteries at any moment.

 

To be honest, the system’s ultimate goal was for her to calm Gu Qing’s cruelty. It was like taming a beast. Through selfless dedication, she might become the next farmer in the fable of the farmer and the snake.

 

Ling Yu was defeated when she realized that none of her gentle gestures had been able to evoke the slightest emotion in Gu Qing.

 

She chose the last option: to personally tear open her wound and then sew it back up with her own hands. Only if the pain was severe enough would she forever remember not to cross the line again.

 

So, Ling Yu had originally planned to face Gu Qing in her crazed state, to be decisive in confronting her wound and cruelly tearing it open.

 

However, her plan was interrupted by Jiang Wei.

 

She hadn’t even had a chance to do anything, and the mission bar inexplicably jumped to 99%.

 

To Ling Yu, this didn’t make any sense.

 

Ling Yu lifted her eyelids, hiding the absurd shock in her heart, and waited for the system to explain.

 

008 took a breath and repeated the mission progress from last night in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

[The host dedicated her body to the female lead, successfully making the female lead feel a pure and selfless devotion. Mission progress increased by 75%.]

 

[The host successfully stopped the female lead’s crazed behavior. Mission progress increased by 24%.]

 

[Total mission completion reached 99%.]

 

The corner of Ling Yu’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

 

So this was how you did it. As long as Gu Qing felt the devotion of her body, she would succeed.

 

Ling Yu laughed in anger and retorted: [According to that logic, to complete the last 1% of the mission, do I need to get with her again?]

 

008 was speechless.

 

In reality, Ling Yu’s mission difficulty was one level higher than any other host’s. She only had the mission objective and couldn’t get hints or future plotlines.

 

Simply put, she had to blindly figure out the mission on her own.

 

Because Ling Yu was a “wandering spirit” in this world, she was different from the chosen mission-takers in the main world. In the future, after she completed her mission, she would continue to live in this world until her natural death.

 

To prevent the host from knowing the future plot and thus ruining the world’s direction, the main system provided her with almost no plot assistance. And 008, as a companion system, naturally didn’t have the authority to know the specific details.

 

Ling Yu was already very familiar with 008’s capabilities.

 

The system had no ill will. If it wasn’t saying anything, it was because it really didn’t know.

 

Ling Yu decided not to press the issue. She slowly dried the water from her body and walked back to the bed on the red velvet carpet.

 

Her dress and underwear from last night were piled up by the bed. Although they were a bit dirty from wearing them for a day, in this situation, Ling Yu had no choice but to put them on to go out.

 

She bent down and hooked her bra with her finger.

 

When her eyes met it, her pupils suddenly contracted.

 

The recording button was gone. The recording button for which she had risked her life to get Jiang Wei to personally admit to his crime of rape was gone.

 

The room was empty. The only person who could have stolen the button from her bra was one person.

 

“Gu Qing.”

 

Ling Yu stared at the messy bedsheets. Last night’s evenly matched encounter felt like a joke.

 

It turned out that Gu Qing was willing to go to such lengths just to get the evidence in her hands.

 

Ling Yu’s dark eyes were filled with the coldness of a broken jade blade.

 

The dim light from the floor-to-ceiling windows shone down on Ling Yu’s face, casting a murky shadow. She suddenly curled her lips, grabbed her phone, and sent Gu Qing a text message.

 

[Where are you?]

 

Up until a week before the second trial of the Jiang Wei case, Ling Yu still hadn’t seen Gu Qing.

 

The latter had either vanished into thin air or was intentionally avoiding her out of guilt.

 

On January 13, Xu Miao gave Ling Yu some good news.

 

Xu Miao said excitedly, “Grandma is awake in the ICU. She looks pretty good.”

 

This was the best she had been since she was confined to her sickbed.

 

Xu Miao’s voice was a bit emotional. She said, “Yu Yu, come to the hospital when you have time. Grandma recognized me. She said she wanted to see you when she woke up.”

 

Ling Yu’s hand, which was brushing her teeth, paused.

 

The reflection of her face in the mirror instantly paled.

 

On the other end of the phone, Xu Miao was like a child crying with joy, chattering to her about the good news.

 

“Grandma video-called Grandpa this morning. Grandpa was crying like a baby.”

 

“I’ve never seen Grandpa cry. He’s such a strong man. He’s been tough his whole life, but when he heard Grandma call him ‘Ni Zi,’ his tears just started flowing uncontrollably.”

 

Xu Miao sighed with emotion: “Yu Yu, sometimes I hate my Second Uncle because of his bad intentions. He’s made the Xu family restless for all these years and made it so that Grandpa couldn’t even come back to see Grandma.”

 

Ling Yu didn’t interrupt Xu Miao’s happiness. She just threw away her toothbrush.

 

She grabbed her car keys and rushed out of the villa.

 

“This year is a great year, Yu Yu. Even if the Xu family is divided, Grandma made it through this year and will get better every day,” Xu Miao said. “Sorry, I was so happy that I forgot you had to work. Come over later. I’ll be here.”

 

Ling Yu closed her eyes and didn’t say anything.

 

She seemed to have a premonition of a certain outcome. In a calm and aged tone, she interrupted her: “No, Cousin. I have to come over. Now that Grandma is finally awake, I have to come over and take some credit right away.”

 

Xu Miao laughed and cursed: “Such a character.”

 

In this world, people sometimes have a final surge of energy before they die.

 

Grandma passed away at 10 p.m. She looked peaceful when she closed her eyes.

 

She held Ling Yu’s hand with one hand, and Xu Miao held her other hand.

 

Her wrinkled face was clustered like a chrysanthemum, the most beautiful flower of that winter afternoon.

 

Because of the shock, Xu Miao cried uncontrollably. She was held by her oldest aunt, who had finally arrived, and they cried together.

 

Old Mr. Xu sat in his wheelchair and said in a hoarse voice, “Mom, Ni Zi is home.”

 

Ling Yu couldn’t hold back. Tears welled up in her eyes.

 

All the descendants of the Xu family, except for the second uncle’s branch, were there, and they were all sobbing.

 

Ling Yu left the final farewell time for them and turned to walk back.

 

As she walked to the small garden outside the hospital to get some air, Ling Yu saw Gu Qing standing in a gazebo around the corner.

 

Gu Ting was pushing a wheelchair and stopped at her feet.

 

The young man’s voice was still rough and gasping, but his tone was sharper and more piercing than usual.

 

The way he looked at Gu Qing was no longer with the usual sticky adoration. Instead, it was an open and honest gloom.

 

“What’s the point of telling me all this?” In the cold wind, the young man’s lips were blue and trembling.

 

But Gu Qing’s face was devoid of any sorrow. She lowered her eyes and looked at the startled koi fish that had surfaced under the gazebo.

 

She hushed them, “Don’t scare them…”

 

The woman’s voice in the winter night was as plain as water, but it pierced Gu Ting’s heart like an ice pick.

 

The young man sat in his wheelchair and reached out, trying to grab Gu Qing.

 

But she just gave him a light glance and casually avoided his hand, which was now a sieve.

 

Ling Yu was a bit far away and couldn’t see the expression on Gu Qing’s face.

 

She could only hear Gu Ting’s hysterical cries.

 

He said, “Sister, you’ve revealed the truth about my dad’s death. You just want to cut ties with me and my mom, don’t you?”

 

“But you’re too naive. So what if a mole in the police force exposed my dad’s identity? My dad still died saving you…”

 

“You owe Gu Hongwei a life, you owe me a father, and you owe my mom a husband… This is a debt you can never repay.”

 

Ling Yu saw that Gu Qing was no longer standing still as she usually did. She curled her lips.

 

She leaned in and stared at Gu Ting with her deep blue eyes. But those beautiful phoenix eyes, while looking at the young man, seemed to be empty of any emotion.

 

In her eyes, Gu Ting was nothing.

 

Nothing could have been more humiliating than Gu Qing’s indifferent gaze at that moment.

 

Gu Ting seemed to have had a nerve touched by Gu Qing’s demeanor. He screamed hysterically: “To get this evidence, you’re even willing to defend a rapist?”

 

“Hahahahaha, what kind of bottomless monster are you! You were born with it…”

 

“So what if you get rid of me and my mom? You’re still walking step by step toward hell…”

 

••••

 

In the cold wind, Ling Yu heard Gu Qing’s calm and emotionless voice.

 

She whispered, “Gu Ting, I’m tired.”

 

“What do you mean?” Gu Ting’s eyes widened.

 

But Gu Qing seemed to have lost her patience to answer. She just gave him an emotionless look. Her long eyelashes lowered. She straightened up and turned her back, leaving without a word.

 

After walking for a long time, Gu Qing’s voice came from the darkness: “I’ve prepaid your and your mom’s medical expenses for fifty years.”

 

Ling Yu didn’t look at Gu Ting’s expression. Perhaps it was because Gu Qing’s figure gradually merged with the darkness, as if in the next second, she would disappear in a dignified manner, just like Grandma.

 

Or perhaps it was because of her anger at being played.

 

Ling Yu followed her. At the hospital entrance, she blocked Gu Qing’s way.

 

“Hey, we meet again.”

 

Ling Yu smiled brightly, meeting Gu Qing’s slightly surprised gaze.

 

After a brief moment of surprise, Gu Qing’s gaze wandered back and forth across her face, as if she was trying to find a clue that she was being followed from her bright, smiling face.

 

A moment later, Gu Qing nodded at her and greeted her politely and appropriately, “Hello.”

 

The smile on Ling Yu’s face froze.

 

Then she saw Gu Qing nonchalantly pull her gaze away, brushing past her shoulder.

 

It was as if a simple “hello” was enough to convey the polite and distant relationship between them.

 

Ling Yu was angry, but she was also shocked by the distant and indifferent expression on Gu Qing’s face. She felt that Gu Qing’s aura was very faint, just like the feeling Grandma gave her in her final moments.

 

So, the moment the other person brushed past her, Ling Yu quickly grabbed Gu Qing’s arm.

 

However, after countless successful attempts, this time the other person instinctively dodged her.

 

Perhaps it was her extreme disgust for Ling Yu’s proximity. Avoiding her had almost become Gu Qing’s natural habit.

 

Ling Yu saw the undisguised disgust in Gu Qing’s eyes.

 

Nothing could explain it better than her unconscious actions. Gu Qing had etched her open disgust for Ling Yu onto every inch of her body.

 

When disgust became an instinct, Ling Yu could no longer smile. She lifted her eyelids and looked at Gu Qing with the corner of her eyes: “What? Do you think I’m dirty?”

 

“You had a pretty good time that night, didn’t you?”

 

“Or were you just pretending that night to steal what you wanted from me after you took off my clothes? Lawyer Gu, you’re quite capable.”

 

Ling Yu approached Gu Qing step by step. She bent her knees and used the strength of her arms and knees to pull Gu Qing into a dark corner. She leaned in, propped her hands on the other person’s shoulders, and pinned the cold-faced woman against the wall.

 

She smiled and pressed her lips to Gu Qing’s earlobe: “Give me back the recording button!”

 

“Get lost.” Gu Qing was extremely annoyed by her proximity. She turned her head, pushed Ling Yu’s fingers away, and flipped their positions.

 

It was the first time Ling Yu realized that Gu Qing was just as strong as she was.

 

Ling Yu didn’t get angry; instead, she laughed: “What? Do you think you’ve won just by getting the recording button?”

 

Gu Qing didn’t say anything. She just stared at Ling Yu with her deep blue eyes that seemed to be filled with the salty taste of seaweed.

 

A moment later, Gu Qing suddenly covered Ling Yu’s eyes. She said in a hoarse voice, “You win.”

 

Ling Yu was stunned.

 

“Ling Yu.”

 

Gu Qing’s voice was a soft murmur in her ear.

 

Ling Yu’s vision was a complete blackness, but her other senses were incredibly clear.

 

She instinctively said, “Huh?”

 

Gu Qing’s lips suddenly touched her earlobe. Whether it was intentional or not, the woman’s cold breath was completely poured into Ling Yu’s ear.

 

Ling Yu suddenly felt a tickle in her ear.

 

But Gu Qing didn’t give her a chance to scratch. She said with her usual distant, cold voice, word by word: “You don’t have to worry about the Jiang Wei case anymore. Consider it the fee I’m paying you for your cooperation that night. That way, you’ve won.”