Chapter 6

With her hair still covered in shampoo foam, Tang Yiling answered the call.

Li Lan’s slightly cold voice came through the phone.

“I urgently need a document. Go pick it up, then bring it to my place.”

Tang Yiling let out an “Ah?” and pulled the phone away to check the time.

“Right now?”

Li Lan’s tone did not change in the slightest.

“Yes.”

Tang Yiling said nothing more.

After all, she had only signed [unauthorized copy]away her freedom that very day. Naturally, she had to perform well for the sake of her salary.

She hung up, quickly finished showering, and changed into fresh clothes.

“Qingqing, I’m heading out for a while!”

Tang Yiling turned around and happened to meet the complicated expression Qian Xueqing had not managed to hide in time.

She hurriedly explained, “No, no. That was my boss.”

“The student I tutor has an exam tomorrow and isn’t in a good state, so I’m going over to help her adjust.”

“I saved the name randomly. I’ll change it right now.”

Tang Yiling felt deeply guilty about how effortlessly those lies had rolled off her tongue.

But the final sentence was true. She really had chosen the contact name at random.

“Oh, so that’s it!”

Qian Xueqing’s slightly stiff expression relaxed.

“So she really is a ‘mommy’!”

It would have been better if she had not said that.

The moment Qian Xueqing finished speaking, Tang Yiling’s face suddenly turned red.

She practically fled through the door.

“I’m leaving now. We’ll talk when I get back.”

Tang Yiling ran out of the dormitory and stopped at the corner of the hallway.

She had to change Li Lan’s contact name immediately.

It was far too embarrassing.

Just then, the dormitory door opened again.

Chang Yurou came out and anxiously searched for her.

Tang Yiling copied the way the others addressed her.

“Arou, were you looking for me?”

Chang Yurou nodded and ran over.

“Yiling, are you having trouble getting used to living in the dorm?”

“I remember you once said you preferred living alone.”

“My friend happens to have an empty apartment. Would you like to stay there?”

Living alone?

Tang Yiling shook her head.

The former Tang Yiling had probably only left that impression because she had been the Tang family’s pampered eldest daughter.

She tugged lightly on Chang Yurou’s arm.

“The friend you’re talking about is Gu Feng, right?”

“No need. I’m perfectly comfortable in the dorm. I really do have something to take care of tonight.”

After saying goodbye to Chang Yurou, Tang Yiling continued running downstairs.

Behind her, she heard Chang Yurou mutter in confusion, “Huh? How did she know it belongs to Gu Feng?”

She had said too much again.

It seemed that playing the role of a fictional character truly required a high level of skill!

Li Lan had given her the contact person’s number.

Before entering the subway, Tang Yiling called them.

The other person was also on the subway.

They were probably afraid Tang Yiling would have to travel too far, so they were preparing to bring the document to the office.

The company was only two stops away from the university.

Tang Yiling successfully met up inside the subway station with an equally breathless coworker. They had seen each other that morning at the office.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Yan Zhenzhen.”

“This contract is needed tomorrow, but it’s missing President Li’s signature. We need to have it added.”

The contract had already been stamped.

Tang Yiling carefully put it away.

She introduced herself to Yan Zhenzhen as well, then paused before adding, “I’m President Li’s assistant.”

The return train had not arrived yet.

Yan Zhenzhen simply stood there and waited with Tang Yiling for a while.

“Her assistant?”

Yan Zhenzhen sympathetically patted Tang Yiling’s shoulder.

“Good luck. I graduated and joined the company a year ago, and you’re already the fifth assistant I’ve seen.”

Tang Yiling’s peach-blossom eyes widened.

She stared at Yan Zhenzhen in disbelief.

So Li Lan was actually that kind of person?

The novel’s unattainable white-moonlight heroine was secretly a shameless playgirl?

No wonder Li Lan had seemed so natural and experienced when proposing that agreement.

Yan Zhenzhen assumed Tang Yiling was worried about the job and tried to comfort her.

“Don’t worry. The assistant’s workload isn’t that heavy. President Li’s standards are simply too high.”

“And you’re still a student, right? President Li must have chosen you because you’re extremely capable.”

Everything she said sounded completely normal.

However, to Tang Yiling, there were far too many ways to misunderstand it.

What kind of standards?

How were they too high?

Her abilities?

Which of her abilities were supposedly so impressive?

The station announcement informed them that the train was about to arrive.

Tang Yiling seized on the next question like a lifeline.

“Then does President Li often ask her assistants to deliver documents at night like this?”

“Not really.”

Yan Zhenzhen shook her head.

“Unless it’s urgent, President Li never contacts employees after work.”

Tang Yiling nodded.

What else could she do?

She had already signed the agreement and accepted the living expenses.

The train entered the station.

The two waved goodbye.

On the way back, Tang Yiling roughly reviewed the plot that lay ahead.

According to the novel, the scene where she jumped from the library took place in early summer.

At most, there were only a little over eight months remaining until then.

In other words, even the worst possible outcome had a time limit.

As long as Tang Yiling survived this period, she could consider herself reborn.

With that thought in mind, her steps toward Li Lan’s apartment finally became lighter.

Unexpectedly, when she unlocked the door, an unfamiliar face appeared inside.

Tang Yiling said “Sorry” twice and retreated into the hallway.

Only after laughter came from inside did she realize that she had just opened the door with her own key.

The door opened again.

Li Lan stepped aside to let her in.

The unfamiliar woman was still leaning against the cabinet near the entrance, staring at Tang Yiling with a bright smile.

“My friend, Xun Banxing.”

Li Lan’s introduction was concise.

She turned toward Xun Banxing.

“Don’t you still have something to do?”

“Where did you find this little friend? She’s rather cute.”

Xun Banxing extended a hand toward Tang Yiling.

“You’re the first outsider I’ve ever seen inside Li Lan’s home.”

Tang Yiling subtly moved her hand backward and widened the distance between herself and Xun Banxing.

She asked, “You’ve never met any of her other assistants?”

She deliberately emphasized the word assistants.

Tang Yiling found that she did not particularly like Xun Banxing.

What did she mean by calling her an outsider?

Xun Banxing’s hand remained suspended in the air for a moment before she withdrew it.

She did not seem bothered and continued smiling.

“An assistant?”

“Li Lan probably wouldn’t allow an employee into her home.”

Xun Banxing glanced at Li Lan and stepped outside.

“I’ll message you once it’s taken care of.”

Li Lan nodded.

Then she returned to the sofa.

Two wineglasses sat on the coffee table, along with half a bottle of wine.

Li Lan poured herself another half glass and slowly brought it to her lips.

She was wearing an ink-wash-style robe tonight.

The lower hem had fallen slightly open, revealing a section of her straight, pale calf.

Tang Yiling stopped near the entrance, her gaze drawn toward it.

Li Lan sensed her staring and turned to look at her.

Tang Yiling had been caught red-handed ogling her boss.

To demonstrate her loyalty and enthusiasm toward her job, Read on BaiLianTalesshe placed the document on the side cabinet and hurried into the kitchen to retrieve some wet wipes.

She tidied and wiped down the coffee table, then washed Xun Banxing’s wineglass and returned it to the cupboard.

When she finished, she did not forget to pull out another wet wipe and hand it to Li Lan.

Li Lan raised her head and looked at Tang Yiling.

Then, unhurriedly, she wiped her palm, the back of her hand, and every individual finger.

Only after watching Li Lan throw the wipe into the trash did Tang Yiling hand her the document and a pen.

Once Li Lan had signed it, Tang Yiling opened the scanning app on her phone and sent the file to Yan Zhenzhen.

She had no classes tomorrow.

She could bring the contract to the office early.

Li Lan remained silent as she watched Tang Yiling finish everything.

“You’re very meticulous.”

Her words sounded partly like praise and partly like suspicion.

“You don’t seem like a university student. You seem like someone who has already worked in a professional environment.”

Tang Yiling did not know how to respond.

Li Lan had hit the nail on the head.

Tang Yiling truly was a chosen corporate wage slave who had been thoroughly tormented by work.

She put the contract away again and sat beside Li Lan.

“Yan Zhenzhen told me to do all of that.”

Li Lan did not say anything more.

She simply murmured, “Mm.”

The main ceiling light in the living room was off. Only two wall lamps were lit.

Through the enormous windows, which let in plenty of daylight during the day, countless lights from distant homes could now be seen.

Tang Yiling stood.

“Then I’ll head back to the university—”

Before she could finish, Li Lan had already grabbed her wrist.

“It’s late. You might as well stay here tonight.”

The room fell into an eerie silence once more.

Neither of them moved.

One sat while the other stood, locked in a silent standoff as they stared at each other.

Tang Yiling could not stop herself from questioning Li Lan’s true intentions tonight.

Had the document genuinely been urgent?

Or had it merely been an excuse to bring her over?

It was here this morning that she had signed that agreement.

Strictly speaking, even if Li Lan had directly ordered her to come over, she would not have been able to refuse.

It was simply that everything had happened far too quickly.

Tang Yiling had not yet adjusted to her new identity.

Approximately two minutes later, she sat down as though resigning herself to fate.

Li Lan lowered her eyes and picked up her wineglass with satisfaction.

“Would you like some?”

Tang Yiling shook her head.

She had barely ever drunk alcohol and had no desire to try it.

Li Lan did not ask again.

She held the stem of the glass between her fingers and slowly swirled it.

Every so often, she took a sip, her thoughts impossible to discern.

The two sat extremely close together, their shoulders touching.

Tang Yiling could smell the bitter-orange body wash on Li Lan’s skin.

Li Lan finished one glass and poured another.

Her alcohol tolerance was quite good. She showed no sign of drunkenness whatsoever.

She did not immediately continue drinking.

Instead, she draped one arm across the back of the sofa behind Tang Yiling.

That arm resembled a sinister snake lurking behind her, watching its prey.

Tang Yiling did not turn around, yet she could clearly sense Li Lan gradually closing in.

The feeling of passively waiting was deeply uncomfortable.

Even though Tang Yiling had mentally prepared herself to some extent, she still trembled slightly when Li Lan’s fingertips touched her earlobe.

Perhaps because the robe was so thin, Li Lan’s fingers carried a faint chill.

She lightly caressed Tang Yiling’s earlobe, almost as though testing her, gradually applying more pressure.

It tickled.

Tang Yiling shrank her neck, only to move even closer to Li Lan.

It had seemed to be the same that night.

Li Lan liked rubbing and pressing her earlobe.

Afterward, she would use her fingers to stroke Tang Yiling’s lips.

Tang Yiling felt as though she were a stuffed toy.

And Li Lan treated that toy like her own precious comfort object.

At this rate, Li Lan was probably about to exercise her rights as Tang Yiling’s financial patron.

But the storeroom that night had been completely dark.

Everything in the living room now remained clearly visible.

It felt rather awkward.

Tang Yiling was not yet mentally prepared to face it directly.

Her gaze fell upon the wineglass in front of her.

Would everything become easier if she were drunk?

Tang Yiling turned sideways and snatched the glass away from Li Lan’s lips.

Without thinking, she tipped her head back and poured the entire glass of wine into her mouth.

Li Lan looked at her in surprise and remained motionless for quite some time.

Sure enough, it was not long before Tang Yiling collapsed onto the sofa and fell completely unconscious.