When the Female Lead Cries, the Whole Game Is Lost - Chapter 2

Lin Yiren was stunned for a few seconds. Once she reacted, she was afraid Jiang Ning would change her mind. She quickly nodded, then tentatively tugged at Jiang Ning’s sleeve. Seeing that she didn’t object, she held her hand and led her toward her own car. Throughout the entire walk, she kept glancing at Jiang Ning, terrified that if she let go even for a second, the other woman might jump.

Jiang Ning looked at Lin Yiren with an ambiguous smile. She suddenly twisted her wrist, reversing their grip so she was the one holding Lin Yiren’s hand. Pretending not to notice the girl’s flushed ears, she chuckled softly: “You’d better hold on tight.”

Lin Yiren froze for a moment, then felt her heartbeat accelerate wildly. It felt like the whole world had disappeared, leaving only the person beside her and the soft warmth in her hand.

Even after getting into the car, Lin Yiren remained in a daze. She sat in the back seat, staring out the window the whole time without turning her head. Jiang Ning never let go of her hand, which made Lin Yiren’s face burn red. For a while, she didn’t know what to say.

“Regretting bringing me into the car already?” Jiang Ning knew Lin Yiren was just shy and deliberately teased her.

“No.” Lin Yiren shook her head quickly. To show sincerity, she even opened her big eyes and looked directly at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning didn’t hold back. She gently pinched Lin Yiren’s palm, deliberately teasing her until her entire face turned crimson before asking, “Then why aren’t you saying anything?”

Lin Yiren couldn’t admit she was afraid that if she spoke, Jiang Ning would realize they were still holding hands. She changed the subject instead: “Sister, my name is Lin Yiren. What about you?”

“A name is just a label. It sounds better if you just call me Sister.” Jiang Ning acted as if she didn’t see the flash of disappointment on Lin Yiren’s face. She looked down at their intertwined hands, her smile appearing somewhat insincere.

At least, that was how it looked to Lin Yiren—extremely fake.

But she also knew Jiang Ning wasn’t easy to get along with. The fact that she was following her home was probably just a momentary whim. Lin Yiren even suspected that if Jiang Ning got tired of it, she could leave at any time once they reached the house.

Pingjiang Bridge wasn’t far from Lin Yiren’s home. When they arrived, she found that everyone except her brother was still awake, waiting for her in the living room. Her heart warmed. She thanked the driver and led Jiang Ning inside while still holding her hand.

“Oh my, my precious daughter, you’re finally back.” Lin Yiren’s mother breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her. She took her daughter’s hand and spoke affectionately.

“I already told your mom you’d definitely come back tonight, but she insisted on waiting,” Lin Yiren’s father said with a straight face, pretending to be annoyed.

“Who is this?” Lin Mother looked curiously at the girl her daughter had brought home right after returning to the country.

“Hello, Auntie. My name is Jiang Ning. I happened to meet Miss Lin on the bridge and we started chatting. I ran into some trouble earlier, and fortunately Miss Lin helped me. It’s quite late now, so she kindly brought me home. Sorry for the disturbance.” Jiang Ning was respectful toward elders. She spoke calmly and unhurriedly, leaving a decent first impression.

It was indeed very late. Lin Mother didn’t ask too many questions and simply chatted for a bit before telling the two girls to go upstairs and wash up.

Lin Father’s expression remained serious the entire time. He watched Jiang Ning’s back with deep thought in his eyes.

Lin Mother didn’t follow business news, so she didn’t recognize Jiang Ning. However, Lin Father had met Jiang Tianci a few times before. After the incident, he had looked into the matter and found Jiang Ning familiar at first glance. Hearing her name just now helped him remember. Though her current demeanor seemed somewhat different from the rumors.

The original owner had taken over a business she knew nothing about and suffered a heavy family blow. Her personality, which had once been merely cold, had become expressionless and gloomy, sometimes even irritable. This caused her to lose many opportunities, and many people in the upper circles were not optimistic about her.

Although Jiang Ning had only said a few words, her bearing was noticeably different from the rumors. Lin Father glanced at the time and didn’t say anything, but he secretly remained vigilant.

Lin Yiren led Jiang Ning upstairs. Since her mother often invited people over to discuss theater, the guest rooms were always kept clean. The bedding and toiletries were all new. Lin Yiren chose a guest room close to her own and brought Jiang Ning inside.

Since Jiang Ning had no change of clothes, Lin Yiren gave her some of her own unworn clothes. The two didn’t talk much during the process. Jiang Ning sat on the bed, watching Lin Yiren move around the room, lost in thought.

The fact that Jiang Ning followed Lin Yiren home meant she had decided to take the direct approach of getting close to the female lead. Although Lin Yiren seemed to know the original owner quite well and their relationship ran deep—which could be used to her advantage—there was also the risk of breaking character if she was too familiar. Unless the original personality was completely unacceptable, Jiang Ning usually avoided making the character OOC for the sake of completing the mission. Minor adjustments to make the personality more reasonable were acceptable, though.

After carefully reviewing the original owner’s life, Jiang Ning discovered that she actually had a boyfriend. They had started dating two years ago. Not long after the original owner returned to the country, he followed and signed with Jiang Tian Entertainment, where he had become one of their top stars. His unwavering support had deeply moved the original owner, who had given him plenty of resources.

Lin Xiao was good-looking, had a gentle personality, and a bright smile. Combined with his scholarly genius persona and the full support of Jiang Tian Entertainment, he quickly gained many fans. He also had strong self-control, stayed out of scandals, and had relatively clean public records.

At the time, Lin Xiao had been studying abroad. When he returned, he was supposed to be doing his graduation defense and had plans to pursue further studies at another prestigious university. He had even argued with the original owner about breaking up. His sudden return was explained as him coming back to help because he knew she was in trouble.

But this was exactly where the problem lay. After returning to the country, the original owner hadn’t told anyone what she was doing. Her overseas classmates all thought she had returned for a competition and was in seclusion with little contact. So how did Lin Xiao—who had no connections and never paid attention to outside matters—know about the Jiang family’s devastating crisis and that she was struggling alone?

Moreover, he had previously been very insistent on breaking up and couldn’t wait for her to disappear from his life. Now that she was in trouble, he suddenly rushed back enthusiastically. Jiang Ning didn’t believe in any “true love” nonsense. The original owner had simply been desperate and mistook driftwood for a life-saving straw.

Even if Lin Xiao was truly outstanding, given how the Chen family was eyeing Jiang Tian Entertainment hungrily, they would definitely create scandals to pull this person—who brought traffic and cash flow to the company—off the screen.

The original owner thought she had protected him well, but Jiang Ning didn’t believe Jiang Tian Entertainment still had such strong PR capabilities in that environment. Someone must have been protecting Lin Xiao, and the reason was most likely because they wanted the Jiang family’s assets.

So the question was: Did this boyfriend approach the original owner with ulterior motives from the very beginning, or was he bought off after the Jiang family’s downfall and was waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow?

Although there were many mysteries surrounding Lin Xiao, Jiang Ning felt extremely uncomfortable with the idea of a romantic relationship. She sent a breakup message from her phone and immediately blocked his number.

After taking the clothes Lin Yiren gave her into the bathroom, she came out to find that tomorrow’s change of clothes had already been placed on the bed. Jiang Ning looked at the underwear hidden at the very bottom with an ambiguous smile and raised an eyebrow at the size.

Not bad. The female lead has a really good figure.

Lin Yiren had no idea what improper thoughts Jiang Ning was having. Tonight’s events still left her unable to calm down. Fortunately, she had glanced out the window at that moment, giving her the chance to pull light out of the darkness.

When she first saw Jiang Ning, Lin Yiren had only thought she was taking a walk. She had told the driver to wait nearby. It was only when she saw Jiang Ning’s dangerous actions that she decided to intervene. Everything she said that night came from the feelings she had after Jiang Ning saved her back then.

Nothing is more precious than being alive. Death is eternal, and you would never again have the chance to see a better world or better people.

When Lin Yiren woke up from her memories, the sky was already bright. She opened the window, letting the moist morning air blow in. It seemed to have rained last night. The housekeeper was sweeping up fallen leaves and looked up to smile and greet her.

After washing up, Lin Yiren went to the guest room to check on Jiang Ning. She found her sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly waiting for her. She glanced at the time—it was only seven o’clock. She had thought Jiang Ning would still be sleeping after staying up so late.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Lin little sister.”

Lin Yiren wasn’t tall—only 1.6 meters—with a slender figure. She looked rather petite in front of the 1.7+ meter Jiang Ning. However, Jiang Ning calling her that was clearly teasing her for being a crybaby.

Last night, Jiang Ning had heard the system notification of points being deducted again, meaning that after returning to her room, Lin Yiren couldn’t control her emotions and had teary eyes once more. This realization left Jiang Ning somewhat helpless, and she slightly adjusted her plan again.