I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 5: Righteousness
Kou Shuang agreed to Lu Renjia’s pursuit for rather frivolous reasons.
It was nothing more than being attracted to his good looks, and since Song Muxue suspected her of having ulterior motives, she might as well engage in a bit of flirtation and simply reject him if things felt wrong.
In reality, Kou Shuang would never be so casual. But this was just a book; Kou Shuang didn’t take the NPCs seriously. The main goal was to cling to Song Muxue’s “thigh” and dispel her doubts.
After saying “okay,” Kou Shuang brushed past Lu Renjia, attempting to return to her dorm.
But Lu Renjia stopped her, saying: “Hey? Going up already? Can I at least get your phone number?”
Lu Renjia’s eyes were sparkling, and he seemed quite happy. A fleeting pang of guilt crossed Kou Shuang’s mind. She pulled out her phone and said: “You tell me your number; I’ll call you.”
She didn’t know her own phone number and couldn’t remember it.
Lu Renjia rattled off an eleven-digit number, then said: “Alright, see you tomorrow!”
He ran off happily.
Kou Shuang felt an inexplicable weariness, sighed, and turned around, only to see Song Muxue standing silently a short distance away, watching.
Kou Shuang gave an embarrassed smile and said: “Let’s go up.”
Song Muxue’s expression was complex. She said: “Are you planning on him becoming your boyfriend?”
“He’s good-looking, I’m considering it,” Kou Shuang repeated what she had told Lu Renjia. Then, feeling that Song Muxue seemed unhappy, she added: “You said he wasn’t a good person before. What’s wrong with him?”
Song Muxue paused, then said: “You… just be careful. You can be friends with him, but be cautious about dating.”
After speaking, Song Muxue went upstairs first.
Kou Shuang looked at Song Muxue’s retreating back, somewhat bewildered.
Was she implying that Lu Renjia was a playboy?
••••
Lu Renjia might genuinely like Kou Shuang; he’d send her texts all the time. Kou Shuang didn’t take him seriously, busy cramming information about this world’s setting. She found that it was largely parallel to the real world, which made it quite easy to adapt to.
This couldn’t be helped, as it was a modern urban novel after all.
As for herself, Kou Shuang knew very little.
“Kou Shuang” was pretty good at painting, or so Kou Shuang vaguely understood without fully grasping it. She was a white, rich, and beautiful girl with many suitors and several casual relationships.
Kou Shuang felt a wave of exhaustion as she scrolled through WeChat… If only she had known she had so many backup options, she could have just picked any one of them to show Song Muxue. Why bother with Lu Renjia?
Lu Renjia became even more persistent, showering her with concern and even offering to escort her to and from school. Kou Shuang found it strange and asked him: “Song Muxue is so busy every day. Don’t you have anything to do?”
Lu Renjia said: “My internship and work are already arranged, and I don’t need to worry about exams. It’s already the second semester of junior year; I can do what I want, right?”
Kou Shuang had nothing to say and just let him be.
Speaking of internships, Kou Shuang remembered something very important. The social practice for the second semester of junior year was approaching. The school was strict, and it counted for credits; if she didn’t complete it, she wouldn’t graduate.
She meticulously checked various emails and messages, but found not a single internship offer email!
Kou Shuang felt a little frustrated; “Kou Shuang” hadn’t even taken care of what she should have, leaving her with a minor problem.
But she wasn’t panicking. Kou Shuang knew she was supposed to intern at a certain famous magazine as an illustrator. Although she didn’t know which magazine, she just needed to send her resume to relevant companies.
Kou Shuang spent a lot of time preparing and sending out resumes. Lu Renjia was somewhat surprised and asked her: “Your family is so rich, didn’t they arrange an internship for you? Do you still need to find one yourself?”
Kou Shuang tilted her head and looked at him: “How do you know my family is rich?”
She herself didn’t even know yet; she only knew that Kou Deqin and Song Muxue’s father had started a company together years ago and must have made a lot of money by now.
Lu Renjia paused and said: “Song Muxue mentioned it. Besides, everyone knows Kou Shuang, the rich and beautiful art student, right?”
“You already knew my name backstage? Is that why you asked for my help with makeup?”
Kou Shuang realized something was off at this moment. She remembered that day backstage, although Lu Renjia asked her name, she hadn’t directly answered. So… this was a deliberate pick-up attempt?
Lu Renjia’s expression turned very strange. He said: “I only knew the name but not the person; that day was the first time I connected the two… Hey, why are you only applying to magazines? Do you like magazines that much?”
Lu Renjia had been watching Kou Shuang while she was applying for jobs. He had been curious for a long time.
Kou Shuang nodded and said: “I must intern at a magazine.”
Because that’s what was written in the original novel.
••••
Kou Shuang had been busy sending resumes, looking for internships, and interviewing, so she saw Song Muxue less often and almost forgot she had transmigrated into a book. When she saw Song Muxue again, it was during an interview.
It was a large subway station with a lot of foot traffic. Kou Shuang had just exited when she heard a commotion not far away.
“Looks like they’re catching a thief?” “No, it’s a pervert, right…”
People around her whispered. Kou Shuang followed the sound and saw Song Muxue tugging at a man’s sleeve, her face serious, saying: “Don’t move! Delete the secretly taken photos!”
A circle of empty space had formed around the dispute. Song Muxue stood there isolated but resolute, looking delicate but exuding the aura of a female warrior.
The man held a selfie stick in his hand and yelled: “What evidence do you have?!” while trying to pull his arm free.
Combined with the trembling girl in a miniskirt on the other side… everything was clear.
The man was strong. With a swing of his arm, he broke free and pushed Song Muxue to the ground.
The next second, the selfie stick in the man’s hand disappeared. He turned around and saw another girl operating something on the screen.
“Robbing someone’s stuff in broad daylight, does a young lady still have any shame?!” the man said furiously, reaching out to snatch the camera back.
Kou Shuang dodged, quickly deleting several photos, and said: “Taking pictures under a young lady’s skirt is shameful, isn’t it?”
“You!” The man raised his arm, about to strike.
The girls involved were all delicate, but the man was burly. Passersby exclaimed: “Why are you hitting people?!”
“He’s hitting people! The peeping tom is hitting people!” Kou Shuang, seeing things go south, shouted while hiding behind a righteous passerby.
“You snatched my camera and invaded my privacy! Why can’t I snatch it back?”
At the same time, Song Muxue had already gotten up from the ground, her demeanor neither humble nor arrogant, her words clear and her emotions calm: “According to Article 42 of the ‘Law of the People’s Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security,’ those who peep or secretly photograph others’ privacy shall be detained for not more than 5 days or be fined not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days, and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan. Kou Shuang, you shouldn’t have deleted it; that was evidence.”
Kou Shuang held up the camera and said: “It’s not all deleted, and it can be recovered.”
The man’s face turned red. Knowing he was in the wrong, he couldn’t speak.
Kou Shuang held up the camera, snapped a picture of the man, then took out the memory card and handed it to the girl who was secretly filmed, saying: “The evidence is in the victim’s hand, and your photos are too. Whether to report it or not is up to the victim. As for you, get lost. Go home and wait for the police summons.”
The man slunk away, and the onlookers dispersed one by one.
The girl who was secretly filmed looked gentle and weak. At this moment, she hugged her arms and whispered: “Thank you…”
She was probably startled.
Song Muxue looked at the girl, then at Kou Shuang, and said: “Be careful on the subway. Remember to protect yourself.”
“Mm…”
Kou Shuang clapped her hands, feeling disgusted even touching the pervert’s camera. “Song Muxue, you really need to be careful… Usually, with Zheng Fenglin by your side, it’s fine for you to act righteously, but don’t try to be a hero when you’re alone.”
Despite saying this, Kou Shuang knew that Song Muxue was just such a person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be kindred spirits with Zheng Fenglin, nor would she be a righteous lawyer, forever fighting against evil.
According to Song Muxue herself, this was something her deceased parents taught her, word by word, action by action, through their own example. Justice had been etched into Song Muxue’s character.
Thinking this, Kou Shuang also knew her advice was useless. She could only sigh and continue: “At least learn some self-defense… What if something really happened?”
This kind of thing wouldn’t be uncommon when Song Muxue became a lawyer at twenty-four or twenty-five.
Song Muxue’s expression was somewhat complex. She said: “Thank you for your concern, I’ll be careful.” She then asked: “What are you doing here?”
Kou Shuang replied: “Social practice, interviews, illustrating for a magazine.”
Song Muxue hadn’t seen Kou Shuang in a long time and didn’t know her recent situation, whether it was her studies, work, or relationships. She gazed at Kou Shuang for a long time, finally unable to resist asking: “How are things with you and Lu Renjia?”
“Just so-so. Still seeing. If there’s no feeling, I’ll reject him in a few days,” Kou Shuang said indifferently. She looked at Song Muxue, unable to guess what kind of answer the other person wanted from her.
Song Muxue pursed her lips, her expression unreadable. Instead, the secretly filmed girl, who had been ignored by the two, suddenly chimed in: “You… you know Lu Renjia?”
“You too?” Kou Shuang asked.
“We’ve interacted,” the seemingly timid girl said: “You’re Kou Shuang, right? I’m Sun Jiawen, we’re in the same department. Are you also here to interview at Wanxiang Magazine? Let’s walk together.”
Kou Shuang was a little surprised, not expecting to meet someone she knew here. She quickly said with delight: “Sure!”
The three chatted as they exited the subway, now at the exit.
“We’re going out of Exit 2, what about you?” Sun Jiawen asked Song Muxue.
Song Muxue pointed in the opposite direction and said: “Exit 1.”
Sun Jiawen then waved at Song Muxue, smiling: “Then we’ll part ways here. Thank you!”
Sun Jiawen intimately linked arms with Kou Shuang and walked forward. She seemed like a very simple and delicate girl.
Song Muxue suddenly opened her mouth and called out to Kou Shuang: “Kou Shuang.”
Kou Shuang turned back: “What’s wrong?”
Song Muxue pursed her lips and said: “Remember what I told you. Be careful.”
“You’re the one who needs to be careful! Go learn Taekwondo!” Kou Shuang smiled and jogged towards the escalator.
Song Muxue watched their retreating backs, her expression unclear.
If she remembered correctly, Sun Jiawen had only spoken up and recognized Kou Shuang after hearing them discuss Lu Renjia, yet her words implied that “she had recognized Kou Shuang long ago.”
Kou Shuang, be careful who you make friends with.