After Being Bent by Reader

Two hours later…

Even though it was midnight already, the group chat was still bustling with activity. Needless to say, the topic of "Tycoon Shi bending the author" was still ongoing even now.

It wasn't good for an author's readers to pay too much attention to her private life, so Xu Chuanchuan panicked a little in this situation. However, if she were to appear in the group chat now, she would only cause another wave of messages to flood the group chat. So, she had no choice but to vent her frustration on Murong Shi.

"It's all your fault for messing around."

Murong Shi didn't think the readers would react so intensely, either, so she self-reflected for a moment. Then, she picked up a phone and gave a summarized answer targeted toward everyone's questions: "You can read the novel if you wish to know more about our story, so let's put an end to the discussions about my girlfriend and me. Any more and your Lord might get upset."

Another surge of messages appeared in the group chat as soon as "Passerby Shi" appeared.

—Tycoon Shi, you're still awake?

—Alright, alright, we'll stop discussing it. Lord, don't get mad. @I Love Malatang

—Don't get angry. We're just curious; we don't have any bad intentions. Lord, I still love you!

—I only have one question. Can I ask it? (Passerby Shi's reply: Ask away.)

Then, said reader asked: "Since you've long since gotten together with Lord, why did you leave the group before?"

Xu Chuanchuan wanted to laugh when she saw this question but dared not to. Then, she looked toward Murong Shi, wanting to know how the other party would answer.

The matter of herself getting kicked out of the group chat was embarrassing, so Murong Shi naturally wouldn't tell the truth. With a straight face, she replied: "My hand slipped."

"Pfft—" Xu Chuanchuan failed to hold back her laughter.

Fortunately, the girl who asked this question simply took Murong Shi's word for granted and didn't overthink it.

"It's getting late. Everyone—" Before Murong Shi could finish typing her message, a new message in the group caught her attention.

I Love Hotpot: "Hand slipped? What nonsense. Don't believe her. [Image]"

When Murong Shi opened the image and took a look, her complexion instantly darkened.

—September 17, Group Owner has removed Passerby Shi from the group.

This screenshot instantly overturned Murong Shi's excuse.

Xu Chuanchuan also saw the screenshot, and she couldn't help but hold her stomach and start laughing out loud, "Hahaha—"

—I just witnessed a real-time face-slapping.

—Tycoon Shi, how can you be so naughty? You clearly got kicked, so why must you lie?

—I'm even more curious now. Tycoon Shi, what did you do to get yourself removed?

—She must've done something bad!

—I believe the Lord's hand must've slipped. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

—Darling Shi: Can you all please stop talking?

…

Murong Shi: "..."

It was rare to see Murong Shi suffering a loss, so Xu Chuanchuan laughed herself to the point of shedding tears. However, less than three seconds later, Murong Shi suddenly tossed her phone aside and pounced on Xu Chuanchuan. Then, while tickling Xu Chuanchuan's soft waist, Murong Shi asked, "Do you find it funny?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong," Xu Chuanchuan pleaded for mercy while wiping her tears.

Murong Shi only released Xu Chuanchuan after torturing her for a while longer. With displeasure written on her face, she pulled up her lover's naked body and picked up the phone on the bed. Then, while staring at the group chat displayed on the phone, Murong Shi asked, "Is this moderator one of your readers as well?"

The person Murong Shi referred to was I Love Hotpot, the user who disappeared after leaving behind that incriminating evidence.

While pulling up the blanket to cover her body, Xu Chuanchuan waited for her breath to settle before saying, "No, that's Ange's sub-account."

Murong Shi's complexion darkened even further, her expression giving Xu Chuanchuan a scare.

Worried that Murong Shi would use her phone to remove Ange from the group, Xu Chuanchuan hurriedly stored her phone away and said, "Ange likes to play jokes, so don't take it seriously."

However, Murong Shi simply sneered and said, "I won't lower myself to her level."

Xu Chuanchuan sighed in relief when she heard Murong Shi's reply. Then, she yawned and said, "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep."

"Mhm."

Before going to bed, Murong Shi made a trip to the bathroom. After returning, she grabbed both their phones and plugged them into the chargers on the computer desk.

When Xu Chuanchuan saw Murong Shi standing in front of the computer desk for some time, she grew curious and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Linda emailed me. I'm sending her a reply," Murong Shi said without turning around.

"Oh, then hurry up."

"Right away."

After letting out another yawn, Xu Chuanchuan found a comfortable sleeping posture and closed her eyes.

…

They had to work in the morning, so Murong Shi woke up Xu Chuanchuan early in the morning. After changing into her work clothes, Xu Chuanchuan unplugged her phone from the charger. When she saw that she had an unread message, she unlocked her phone and checked it.

Ange: "Look at this person. She's threatening me. [Image][Sweat]"

Upon clicking on the image, Xu Chuanchuan found that it was a screenshot of a conversation between Ange and Murong Shi.

Passerby Shi: "I still have over 200 Moonstones on my account."

I Love Hotpot: "Big Sis, did you message the wrong person?"

Passerby Shi: "I heard I can give over a hundred point reductions with them."

I Love Hotpot: "..."

The timestamps showed that the conversation took place around 12:15 AM, just before they went to bed. Xu Chuanchuan realized that Murong Shi had lied to her about replying to Linda's email.

At this time, Murong Shi entered the room and urged, "What are you doing fiddling with your phone early in the morning? Hurry up and go wash up."

Turning around, Xu Chuanchuan got straight to the point and asked, "Don't tell me you're really going to give point reductions to Ange?"

In response, Murong Shi lightly chuckled and said, "No? Do I look so immature to you?"

You've always been immature, Xu Chuanchuan thought. Fortunately, her intense desire to live prevented her from saying these words out loud.

Meanwhile, Murong Shi gently caressed Xu Chuanchuan's cheek and asked, "She had the gall to complain to you?"

While looking at Murong Shi's "righteous" expression, Xu Chuanchuan said, "You had the gall to threaten her, so why can't she complain about you?"

"Did she badmouth me?"

"No."

"Let me see."

Then, Xu Chuanchuan handed Murong Shi her phone and showed her the screenshot.

After looking through the screenshot, Murong Shi smirked and said, "I'll let you read the full version."

"What full version?"

After grabbing her own phone, Murong Shi showed Xu Chuanchuan the conversation she had with Ange last night. To Xu Chuanchuan's surprise, there were two more messages not captured in Ange's screenshot.

I Love Hotpot: "Boss, I found some new resources recently. Should I send them to you?"

Passerby Shi: "Fine. Email them to me."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..."

Xu Chuanchuan never thought that her wild and carefree friend would compromise so easily. However, after giving it some thought, she found that it was a reasonable response. Even for an author of Ange's caliber, receiving over a hundred point reductions was something to be afraid of.

Though, after this incident, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but wonder how Ange managed to find all those nonsensical "resources."

Ever since Xu Chuanchuan deleted the folder of "resources" Ange sent her, Murong Shi had been grieving and complaining about her wastefulness incessantly. Now that she had received new resources, she eagerly dragged Xu Chuanchuan along with her to watch them.

The next night, the couple sat on the bed naked. While restraining the excitement within them, they placed the laptop between them and prepared themselves to enjoy the action movie Ange sent them. The moment Murong Shi pressed the play button, loud music blasted their ears—

"Baby gourd, baby gourd, seven flowers on a vine. Not afraid of wind, not afraid of rain. Lalalala~"[1]

"..."

"..."

If Murong Shi flooded Ange with point reductions this time, Xu Chuanchuan felt that Ange would well deserve it.

…

Fang Qin rented a large suite near the company Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan worked at. It had a living room, a bedroom, and a small kitchen. After learning of the news, Murong Shi brought Xu Chuanchuan with her for a visit.

"You don't have a lot of things," Xu Chuanchuan commented after taking a look around the suite. She even heard an echo of her voice.

Fang Qin wasn't wearing makeup today, so her face looked even paler than usual. Her voice also sounded a little weak as she said, "Most of my stuff is at home. But I don't want to see them, so I didn't even bother going back to collect it."

There wasn't much unpacking Fang Qin needed to do. After she dropped off her luggage, the three of them went out for food.

While waiting for the food to be served, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help herself from asking, "Are you still in contact with An…Tang Xin?"

Fang Qin faintly smiled and shook her head. Then, she looked down at the cup of water in front of her to hide the loneliness in her eyes.

Before Fang Qin left Shanghai, she had invited Tang Xin out for a meal through WeChat. She didn't hold much hope initially, but the other party had surprisingly agreed to her invitation.

The night before the appointment, Fang Qin had gotten so excited that she hardly got any sleep. Then, she woke up early in the morning, put on makeup, dressed in her best-looking clothing, and waited for noon to arrive.

Fang Qin was in agony as she waited for time to pass. When eleven o'clock arrived, she couldn't sit still any longer and sent Ange a reminder not to forget about their appointment.

When a reply came, Fang Qin opened the message with joy.

Ange: "Sorry, but something came up all of a sudden, so I can't have lunch with you anymore."

Fang Qin felt like someone had just poured a bucket of cold water on her when she read the message.

At the time, Fang Qin felt like she had just been played. Yet, she also couldn't bring herself to get angry. After all, she was the one who had violated Ange that night.

As for whether Ange's words were the truth or an excuse, Fang Qin didn't dare to verify them.

TL Notes:

[1]This is a children's song.

Link: shorturl.at/fmAQ1