Making Three Heartless Woman Go Crazy for Me - Chapter 26

The moment Qi Lanshi turned around, the “So many people!” meme flashed through her mind again.

Besides Bai Jiao, there were many new NPCs. Only Gu Jingshu had a name; the others were labeled as “Luan Hua’s childhood friends” or simply “Luan Hua’s friends.”

But Luan Hua herself was nowhere to be seen.

This was strange. The most important audience for this scene was missing. What was the point of Bai Jiao’s elaborate performance?

“Miss Qi, you…” Bai Jiao’s voice broke as tears streamed down her face, making her look utterly pitiful. “If you have any issues with me, you could have addressed them directly. Why do this now?”

“This art exhibition is my life’s work. This painting is my most cherished creation from over twenty years. Destroying it hurts me more than if you had killed me.”

Bai Jiao didn’t curse or rage. She simply wept, her tears falling like rain on pear blossoms—a far more sophisticated tactic than a direct outburst.

Qi Lanshi moved her lips, about to speak, when her phone vibrated with a message from Luan Hua.

Where are you?

“You’re still climbing through windows?”

“This is the second floor! Aren’t you afraid of breaking your leg?”

Qi Lanshi: “……”

She wasn’t really afraid.

No wonder Luan Hua wasn’t around—she’d gone to catch her.

Qi Lanshi found the situation somewhat amusing and chuckled softly. The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in outrage.

“You have the nerve to laugh? You have no shame whatsoever!” someone shouted angrily. “Do you even know how much Bai Jiao’s painting is worth? It’s worth more than your life!”

Qi Lanshi retorted, “That’s an understatement. My life is worthless; it’s hardly worth such a priceless work of art.”

This is the Mona Lisa!

As she spoke, her fingers flew across her phone, sending Luan Hua a message with her location and the words:  Something’s happened. Come quickly.

This game didn’t have a favorability system, but Qi Lanshi could still gauge her Target’s affection level through their actions.

Bai Jiao, the White Moonlight, couldn’t summon Luan Hua, but Qi Lanshi only needed to send her location, and Luan Hua would come.

Perhaps Luan Hua hadn’t realized it yet, but… at this stage of the game, Qi Lanshi already carried more weight than the White Moonlight.

Qi Lanshi’s current goal was to stall for time until Luan Hua arrived.

Her earlier remark about her “worthless life” had successfully silenced her critics, leaving the scene momentarily frozen, save for Bai Jiao’s soft, tearful sobs.

“At least you have some self-awareness!” the person who had defended Bai Jiao earlier said. “Knowing you’re unworthy, why haven’t you apologized yet? If you admit your mistake now, Luan Hua might spare you from legal consequences.”

“That sounds generous, but…” Qi Lanshi frowned. “I didn’t damage the painting. Why should I apologize?”

Her words sparked an uproar.

Qi Lanshi could clearly see the NPCs’ faces screaming: I knew this woman was shameless, but I never imagined she could be this shameless!

Bai Jiao also frowned, her face a mask of disappointment and grievance. “If you simply admit your mistake, I can overlook it. But Miss Qi… you’ve let me down so deeply.”

By this point, Qi Lanshi had become the target of everyone’s scorn.

The guests at today’s art exhibition had all been carefully selected by Bai Jiao, and the group surrounding her now were her most devoted followers. Standing at the center, she needed only a few tears and a few well-chosen words to corner Qi Lanshi, her rival, into an impossible situation.

This painting, this crime—she must confess to it.

The only troublemaker present, Gu Jingshu, found the scene unbearable. “I mean…”

Before she could finish, another voice cut in: “What’s wrong?”

At the sound of Luan Hua’s voice, the NPCs instinctively parted, clearing a path for her to reach Qi Lanshi unimpeded.

Luan Hua was thoroughly annoyed.

She’d only stepped away for a moment, and Qi Lanshi had already bolted out the window, causing her endless trouble.

The second floor is quite high, you know? If Qi Lanshi really wanted to get out, why didn’t she just contact me? It’s not like I was actually restricting her freedom.

Luan Hua had specifically returned to search for Qi Lanshi, only to find her hiding in the crowd, surrounded by people, yet completely ignoring her.

So annoying. Utterly infuriating.

Qi Lanshi always managed to irritate her with the most trivial things, even ruining her enjoyment of the art exhibition.

The more Luan Hua thought about it, the darker her expression grew. She stopped directly in front of Qi Lanshi, her face cold as she demanded, “What are you doing here?”

The NPCs, seeing Luan Hua’s expression, felt reassured.

As expected, Bai Jiao is still the most important person in Luan Hua’s heart, they thought. Look how furious she is! That substitute will definitely pay the price!

“Just wandering around out of boredom,” Qi Lanshi explained. “When I passed by, I saw that painting from afar and thought it was a masterpiece, so I came in for a closer look. But I’d barely glanced at it—I didn’t even touch it—when it suddenly fell.”

“You’re lying! You clearly did it on purpose!” NPC 1 snapped. “Luan Hua, don’t listen to her nonsense! This was Bai Jiao’s favorite piece—she’s even crying!”

Bai Jiao’s fingers clenched so tightly that her nails dug painfully into her skin, making her eyes redden further.

But Bai Jiao didn’t achieve the reaction she wanted.

From the moment Luan Hua appeared, her heart and eyes were fixed solely on Qi Lanshi. She hadn’t even noticed Bai Jiao weeping beside her.

Only when someone pointed it out did Luan Hua frown and turn to Bai Jiao, offering her a tissue.

“I’m so sorry this happened, but…”

Before Luan Hua could finish, a sob suddenly came from beside her. She turned to see Qi Lanshi crying as well.

One glance was enough to give Luan Hua a headache.

She lowered her voice and asked, “What are you crying about?”

“It’s so unfair! How can I not cry?” Qi Lanshi’s tears flowed without warning, like a faucet possessed. “That man said this painting is so valuable it could buy my life! How would I dare touch it?”

Luan Hua zeroed in on the key point. She looked up, and the man who had been shouting moments ago fell silent.

“Apologize,” Luan Hua said coldly.

The man’s instinctive reaction was faster than his brain could process. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

His groveling was so swift it nearly made Qi Lanshi break character.

Wiping the tears from the corner of her eye, she temporarily forced them back. She tilted her chin and demanded, “You claim I damaged this painting? Do you have any evidence? Is there surveillance footage? Did anyone actually see me do it? And why would I do something so stupid in public, knowing I’d get caught?”

Qi Lanshi now had the smug air of someone with powerful backing, her expression almost begging for a punch.

“Shouldn’t you be asking yourself that question, Miss Qi?” Bai Jiao retorted calmly. “It’s absurd to seek justification from others for your own actions.”

Seeing their goddess speak, another person joined Bai Jiao’s side, adding, “What else could it be? Of course, it’s because you’re jealous of Bai Jiao.”

The remaining voices chimed in, “A fake meeting the real deal—does resentment even need a reason?”

They expected to see Qi Lanshi’s composure crack, but she merely turned to Luan Hua and asked, “What do you think?”

Luan Hua: These people are so annoying.

But she couldn’t say aloud, Impossible. Qi Lanshi wouldn’t even willingly be my stand-in, let alone do something this stupid out of jealousy for Bai Jiao. She doesn’t feel jealousy, and even if she wanted revenge, she’d never resort to such a foolish method.

Luan Hua couldn’t explain further. All she could say was, “No, Lanshi wouldn’t do something like this.”

But her unwavering stance only reinforced the others’ perception that she was hopelessly infatuated with Qi Lanshi. To them, she was clearly blinded by love.

“Then let’s call the police,” Bai Jiao sighed. “The security cameras in this room are broken. We’ll send the painting directly to the police station for fingerprint analysis to see if Miss Qi’s fingerprints are on it.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Luan Hua with a complex expression. “This way, no one can accuse me of framing Miss Qi, right?”

Qi Lanshi remained silent.

Fingerprint analysis had been her next suggestion, but Bai Jiao had already anticipated it, demonstrating her thorough preparation.

“I never said you were framing her,” Luan Hua clarified.

“So you do think I did it,” Qi Lanshi’s tears welled up again. “Then call the police! If I’m guilty, arrest me. Better yet, throw away the key!”

“That’s not what I meant either…”

For the first time, Luan Hua felt her words were utterly inadequate, unable to convey even a single useful thought.

She genuinely couldn’t understand how things had escalated to this point in such a short time.

“I’ll investigate thoroughly and give you all an explanation,” Luan Hua said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “This is just a misunderstanding, nothing more.”

Bai Jiao squeezed her eyes shut.

Now that Luan Hua had made her position clear, nothing else mattered.

Bai Jiao’s sacrifice of the painting today had a simple purpose: to determine Qi Lanshi’s status in Luan Hua’s heart, and more importantly, her own.

She had her answer.

“It’s not necessary,” Bai Jiao said again, her voice heavy with exhaustion. “Let’s just call it a misunderstanding. I’ll repair the painting myself.”

One person took a step back, and Luan Hua breathed a sigh of relief. Then Qi Lanshi spoke up, “Yes, it’s fine. After all, the truth… doesn’t really matter anymore.”

With that, she pushed through the crowd, turned, and ran.

She ran surprisingly fast.

Luan Hua: “…?”

She stood frozen for three seconds before reacting, immediately moving to chase after her, only to be stopped by one of her childhood friends.

“Bai Jiao is right here! You’re going to chase after that imposter?” her friend exclaimed in disbelief. “Even if we take the most generous view, Bai Jiao’s painting was still destroyed, wasn’t it? You shouldn’t…”

“A painting, no matter how valuable, is just an object,” Luan Hua retorted, shoving her friend aside. “How can it compare to a living person?”

Qi Lanshi had a fiery temper and couldn’t stand being wronged. At the last banquet, after being humiliated for a brief moment, she had stormed off to the rooftop.

“She’s faking it! This is just a cheap trick—crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide!” her friend’s voice bordered on hysteria. “Gu Jingshu, what are you laughing at? Help me talk some sense into Luan Hua!”

Gu Jingshu refused to get involved. “What’s there to talk about?”

“Exactly! What’s there to talk about?” Luan Hua asked, her expression genuinely puzzled. “Why would she resort to such tactics only with me? Isn’t it because I’m different in her eyes?”

Her friend stared at her, speechless.

Damn it, this love-obsessed idiot is beyond saving!

Normal midnight updates have resumed.

Today, I suddenly realized I have over a thousand Nutrient Solutions and need to update more. Oh my god.