I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 4: Provocation
Kou Shuang’s impatience was largely because she didn’t want to be with Lu Renjia.
And a small part was due to her curiosity about Zheng Fenglin.
She had already witnessed the average attractiveness of this world, especially Song Muxue, who greatly impressed her. So, what about Zheng Fenglin, the male lead? Would he also be astonishingly handsome?
She wasn’t aware of Song Muxue’s inner thoughts. It was only in the taxi that she suddenly remembered this plot point felt familiar.
Although “Snow and Wind’s Gift to Me” began after Song Muxue returned from abroad, occasional mentions of the past allowed Kou Shuang to piece together events from middle school, high school, and college. For certain reasons, Kou Shuang had read this novel multiple times, which enabled her to ferret out “her own” experiences between the lines and create a timeline.
Back to Zheng Fenglin.
According to Kou Shuang’s memory, Zheng Fenglin did indeed act bravely during college, helping a citizen catch a thief and getting stabbed. This was something Song Muxue casually mentioned to Zheng Fenglin. There shouldn’t have been any major issues afterward, just an additional scar on his abdomen.
Kou Shuang recalled this detail and turned her gaze to Song Muxue.
Song Muxue turned to look at Kou Shuang, noticing her distracted expression. She waved a hand in front of Kou Shuang and said: “What’s wrong?”
Kou Shuang lowered her head and said: “Nothing.”
Song Muxue was slightly taller than Kou Shuang, and with Kou Shuang slightly hunched over at the moment, the height difference was even more pronounced. Song Muxue found herself very uncomfortable with Kou Shuang looking down like that; she always felt as if the other person was crying…
Was it because Zheng Fenglin was injured? She really did like Zheng Fenglin.
Song Muxue felt a little regretful. Why did she tell Kou Shuang about this?
It wasn’t that she feared Kou Shuang would cause trouble, but Kou Shuang genuinely looked too sad at the moment…
“Don’t worry too much, he’ll be fine,” Song Muxue cleared her throat, saying unnaturally.
“Mm, he’ll be fine,” Kou Shuang looked up, her tone calm.
She didn’t seem sad… So, was it her own illusion just now? Or could Kou Shuang really hide her emotions so well?
Today’s Kou Shuang seemed different from before…
The taxi quickly arrived at the hospital. The two quickly got out and found the ward according to the address given over the phone, only to discover that the surgery was already over. Zheng Fenglin was half-sitting on the hospital bed, waving at them. “Yo.”
Zheng Fenglin’s right arm was in a cast, and he was covered in various bandages, looking quite seriously injured.
Song Muxue and Kou Shuang walked over together. Song Muxue asked: “Did they catch the thief?”
She knew about his ideals, so she didn’t ask about his injuries first, but about the thief.
Kou Shuang didn’t speak, observing Zheng Fenglin from behind Song Muxue.
It wasn’t a big deal not to look, but when she did, she was very surprised. Because Zheng Fenglin was handsome, very handsome, even more handsome than Kou Shuang had fantasized in her youth! Serious, upright, filled with a soldier’s resolve and the glory of communism.
Kou Shuang on one hand praised the attractiveness filter of this world, and on the other, disliked how lacking her own imagination was—at most, she could model him after actors, but Zheng Fenglin clearly had an indefinable charisma that they lacked.
“They caught him…” Zheng Fenglin’s expression was somewhat puzzled, “But that thief was dressed better than me, yet still tried to rob a homeless man of a hundred yuan. I don’t know why.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yep.”
“People are all kinds of different. Since you wouldn’t do something like that, you can’t imagine the reason. Maybe there’s a big case behind it. Leave this to the police, and you focus on recovering, otherwise your summer internship in the grassroots will be ruined.” Song Muxue rarely spoke for such a long time, only to Zheng Fenglin.
But she also noticed Kou Shuang’s silence, which struck her as odd. Usually, Kou Shuang would chatter incessantly, showing off and being excited, whenever she saw Zheng Fenglin. Why was she so quiet today?
Song Muxue called Kou Shuang: “Speaking of which, summer vacation is coming soon. Kou Shuang, have you found an internship?”
Kou Shuang was startled: “Huh? What internship?”
“It’s junior year, you know, social practice. Xiaoxue is at a law firm, what about you?” Zheng Fenglin chimed in. According to the plot, he didn’t know at this point that Kou Shuang liked him, so their interaction was unhindered.
Law firm… Oh right, Song Muxue was a top student. It’s said she passed the bar exam in her senior year’s first semester, so finding an internship now would surely be simple. As for herself… Kou Shuang inwardly shrugged. She didn’t know if “Kou Shuang” had sorted all these things out.
Wait, in Kou Shuang’s resume, it mentioned interning as an illustrator at a particularly impressive magazine, so…
“Probably found one,” Kou Shuang said with some uncertainty.
“What kind of internships do art majors have?” Zheng Fenglin asked curiously.
“Illustration… galleries… or being a painter,” Kou Shuang answered vaguely, all referring to jobs “Kou Shuang” was confirmed to be taking.
She herself studied accounting; how would she know what someone studying art could do?!
It seemed she needed to catch up on things during her free time. If she didn’t understand anything, she’d be no different from an embroidered pillow (meaning, pretty but useless).
“Wow, a painter! That’s amazing!” Zheng Fenglin said in surprise.
Kou Shuang smiled and said: “Lawyers and police are all amazing! Song Muxue is about to pass the bar exam, right?”
Song Muxue was somewhat puzzled, looking at Kou Shuang: “How do you know I signed up?” After going to university, she hadn’t had much contact with Kou Shuang. This was arguably their first normal interaction.
Kou Shuang chuckled, trying to gloss over it: “A top student like you would definitely sign up and pass it on the first try. My family will rely on you for lawsuits in the future.”
It was a joke, with no malice. Song Muxue analyzed her tone and expression and found it even stranger.
The three chatted for a while. Song Muxue glanced at her watch and said to Zheng Fenglin: “If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss dorm closing. We’ll head out first. You take care of your injuries.”
Walking out of the hospital side-by-side with Song Muxue, Kou Shuang took a deep breath, then felt a bit melancholic.
Zheng Fenglin was very handsome, far exceeding expectations. Plus, he was her male god from her youth, Kou Shuang had thought she would fall for him…
But after meeting him, she realized Zheng Fenglin wasn’t her type. His personality was great, but she felt nothing.
The original Kou Shuang must have been under some kind of spell to be so obsessed with him… Good thing it was her now; no need to get tangled in a losing love triangle.
Thinking this, Kou Shuang casually said to Song Muxue: “You two are a good match. I wish you both a happy ever after in advance.”
To her surprise, Song Muxue stopped walking.
Kou Shuang turned back, puzzled: “What’s wrong? Did you drop something in the ward?”
Song Muxue hesitated for a moment and said: “You just said you wanted to find a boyfriend, why?”
“I heard the law department has many male gods. That cute host you partnered with the other day seemed pretty good.” Actually, Kou Shuang had already forgotten what he looked like.
“What about Zheng Fenglin?”
Kou Shuang was silent for a moment, finally understanding what Song Muxue truly wanted to say.
Song Muxue wanted to ask her: You clearly still like Zheng Fenglin, but you’re asking me to introduce you to a boyfriend. Are you hinting that I should give Zheng Fenglin to you? Is this indifferent act you’re putting on real?
Kou Shuang felt a headache coming on. Could it be that her performance all this time wasn’t enough to make Song Muxue lower her guard? She had so clearly said she didn’t want Zheng Fenglin, what was Song Muxue still suspicious about?
The Song Muxue in “Snow and Wind’s Gift to Me” had restrained emotions and an unspoken grace in her words and actions; her love and hate were well-hidden. Kou Shuang truly hadn’t expected the Song Muxue from three years ago to be so tiresome and possessive.
“He likes you, there’s nothing I can do about it. Are you going to give him to me? But sorry, I don’t want a man who’s been given away,” Kou Shuang retorted, then turned and walked away directly.
For some reason, Kou Shuang was a little disappointed by this Song Muxue. Not to mention that they weren’t truly romantic rivals. Even if they were, such a direct “provocation” was too lacking in grace.
On the way back, the two didn’t discuss the issue, but the atmosphere grew somewhat cold.
Song Muxue was uneasy about her own abruptness and Kou Shuang’s rebuke, unable to say anything. Kou Shuang, meanwhile, was lost in thought, pondering her own situation.
How long would this utterly realistic illusion last? Was this some new kind of holographic online game?
How long would she stay here? If Song Muxue maintained this vague distrust towards her, what was she to do?
Kou Shuang still planned to latch onto the female lead’s “thigh” (meaning, rely on her for support)!
Familiarize herself with this world, become more like “Kou Shuang,” and curry favor with Song Muxue. These were the three paths Kou Shuang had temporarily charted for herself.
Under the guidance of these three basic principles, when they arrived at the dorm entrance in the taxi, Kou Shuang got out first, then used her hand to cushion the taxi roof for Song Muxue, preventing her from bumping her head.
Song Muxue, being meticulous, noticed this detail and softly said to Kou Shuang: “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
As soon as they got out of the car, they heard a familiar voice.
Lu Renjia was leaning against the dorm wall. Seeing the two appear, he walked over, a gentle smile on his face, and said to Kou Shuang: “You’re finally back.”
“Why are you here?” Song Muxue asked.
“You two seemed very rushed when you left. I was a bit worried and didn’t have your phone numbers, so I had no choice but to be a little foolish and wait here by the ‘stake to catch rabbits’ (a Chinese idiom meaning to wait for something to happen by chance),” Lu Renjia said with a sincere smile.
“Isn’t it dirty leaning on the wall? I’ve seen people wipe snot on walls, you know,” Kou Shuang said.
“…” Lu Renjia’s smile stiffened for a moment, then quickly became gentle again: “Kou Shuang, you’re quite a joker.”
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll head upstairs,” Song Muxue said.
“If it’s convenient, could I have a word with Kou Shuang? There are still fifteen minutes until the dorm closes,” Lu Renjia looked at Kou Shuang.
“What is it?”
Lu Renjia looked at Song Muxue, his expression somewhat awkward, and said: “Can we talk alone? With someone else here, I feel a bit embarrassed.”
Kou Shuang suddenly realized, and said: “Are you asking me out? Do you want to pursue me?”
Lu Renjia’s expression froze for a moment, then he said: “Yes… Yes.”
He pulled out a rose from who-knows-where, his expression looking very serious.
Kou Shuang glanced at Song Muxue, then softly said: “Okay, you can try. I’ll consider it. Can we go upstairs now?”