Secretly Seducing the Third Female Lead Behind the System’s Back - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Treating Bai Chu-jie to Braised Beef Bones

“You didn’t drive, I’ll take you home,” Jiang Yisheng said, about to get up.

“No need, I’ll just call a cab,” Bai Chu quickly held her down, making her stay seated.

“Well, I’m heading home anyway,” Jiang Yisheng grinned. “Getting hospitalized for this kind of injury feels like such a waste of medical resources.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Yu Mushan lightly tapped Jiang Yisheng’s shoulder. She didn’t like hearing ominous words like “hospitalized.”

“Let’s go, Mom. Let’s see Bai Chu-jie off.” Jiang Yisheng looked up at Yu Mushan.

“Shengsheng is right. President Bai, don’t be polite, let’s go together,” Yu Mushan invited warmly.

Bai Chu had no choice but to agree. She nodded and naturally went to support Jiang Yisheng.

Jiang Yisheng happily held Bai Chu’s hand, deliberately leaning toward her as they walked.

There weren’t many people in the hallway outside the doctor’s office, but Bai Chu still kept her hand on Jiang Yisheng’s shoulder, carefully watching the floor for her.

Jiang Yisheng pressed her lips together, then slyly grabbed Bai Chu’s hand and slowly moved it from her shoulder to her waist.

Following behind them, Yu Mushan and Jiang Hang both covered their eyes—embarrassed for her obvious behavior.

But this time, Bai Chu noticed. She tilted her head in confusion and looked at Jiang Yisheng.

Jiang Yisheng realized she was being too obvious. She gave a couple of awkward laughs and quickly made up an excuse: “Um, I just thought… if you supported me at the waist, it might help relieve some pressure off my ankle. Might be good for it.”

Bai Chu accepted it without question and nodded, thinking it made sense.

She then gripped Jiang Yisheng’s waist firmly, genuinely trying to help.

Jiang Yisheng: “!!!”

Her eyes widened in silence, and her steps grew stiff.

The warmth through the fabric of her shirt burned right into her core.

She could even feel which of Bai Chu’s fingers was pressing harder…

What the hell, Jiang Yisheng, what are you even thinking?!

“Watch your step.” Bai Chu reminded her.

As she turned slightly, she caught sight of Jiang Yisheng’s ears—flushed red like they were about to bleed.

“Does your foot hurt a lot?” Bai Chu asked innocently.

“No… it’s just a little warm,” Jiang Yisheng answered solemnly.

“Oh, we’ll be outside soon. It’s cooler out there.”

As they stepped down the stairs, Bai Chu’s grip on her waist tightened, clearly trying to take more of her weight.

Jiang Yisheng bit her lip hard, and her ears turned even redder…

Outside the hospital, the four of them got into a car. Jiang Hang drove, Yu Mushan sat in the front passenger seat, and Bai Chu and Jiang Yisheng sat in the back.

Yu Mushan kept turning around to talk to Bai Chu.

“How old are you now, Xiaobai?”

“Twenty-eight,” Jiang Yisheng answered for her.

“Where’s your hometown?”

“Local,” Jiang Yisheng again answered.

Bai Chu gave Jiang Yisheng a glance and nodded politely at Yu Mushan.

“And your parents…” Before she could finish, Yu Mushan felt someone kick the back of her seat.

A sharp thump followed from the back seat.

Jiang Yisheng had kicked—but used her injured foot by mistake.

But the result was good: the topic was successfully interrupted. No one felt awkward or sad—except Jiang Yisheng, who was in pain.

This time it really hurt—even worse than the initial sprain. Jiang Yisheng almost teared up from the pain.

Both Bai Chu and Yu Mushan immediately looked at her foot in concern.

Jiang Hang, stuck in the driver’s seat, could only worry: “Sweetheart, what happened? Do we need to turn around and go back to the hospital?”

“I’m fine. Just bumped it a little,” Jiang Yisheng gritted through the pain.

“Are you sure?” Bai Chu frowned, clearly worried.

“I’m sure,” Jiang Yisheng answered firmly.

Jiang Hang drove them to the same mall where the two girls had gone shopping earlier. After saying goodbye to everyone, Bai Chu drove herself back to the office.

Now only the family of three remained in the car.

Yu Mushan immediately opened the back door and sat next to Jiang Yisheng, staring at her like she was trying to read her mind.

Jiang Yisheng looked guilty, her eyes drifting. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“You and Bai Chu?” Yu Mushan asked tentatively.

“Just good friends,” Jiang Yisheng said. Not because she didn’t trust her mom, but because Bai Chu was right—according to the storyline, she was supposed to like An Hao. And who knows when that stupid system might bug out again? The fewer people who knew, the better.

“Really?” Yu Mushan looked at her suspiciously.

“Of course it’s true,” Jiang Yisheng replied, lacking conviction.

“Then why’d you kick the seat when I asked about her parents? Bet you really hurt your foot doing that.”

“Mom.” Jiang Yisheng gently squeezed Yu Mushan’s hand. “Please don’t ask Bai Chu about her family again.”

“Why not?”

“Her parents passed away when she was very young.” As Jiang Yisheng said this, her eyes dropped. As much as she felt sorry for Bai Chu, she also seemed to be grieving her own childhood.

Yu Mushan didn’t say anything for a while after that.

When Jiang Yisheng looked up, she saw her mother’s eyes rimmed red.

“That girl must’ve had it really hard.” Yu Mushan now began to feel sorry for Bai Chu.

Jiang Yisheng pitied Bai Chu because she liked her. But what about Yu Mushan? With all she had achieved, surely she’d seen countless hardships—yet she still felt compassion for a child like that.

Suddenly, Yu Mushan hugged Jiang Yisheng tightly.

“For the sake of my precious daughter, I have to live well. I couldn’t bear for my girl to go through that much pain.” She rested her chin on Jiang Yisheng’s head, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.

Jiang Yisheng said nothing. She hugged her mother’s arm tightly and wiped away tears in secret.

If only you were really my parents.

…

That night, when Bai Chu got home, she opened her trunk—only to find it stuffed full of toys.

She had to make two trips just to get everything upstairs.

She arranged all the plushies neatly on her bed, from largest to smallest. She placed a magic wand in one toy’s hand and put a Lego set on the windowsill to build later when she had free time…

She greeted each plush one by one, shaking each of their hands like they were real.

It took nearly two hours. Finally, Bai Chu put her hands on her hips and smiled with satisfaction at the colorful, cluttered bed before heading to take a shower.

After showering, water still dripped from her hair. She gave it a quick towel-dry and gently took the music box out of its box, placing it carefully on her desk.

She turned off the lights and sat in the chair, rolling her throat a little before solemnly pressing the button on the music box with her fingertip.

The stage inside the music box was now the room’s only source of light. Bai Chu watched and listened to it over and over again.

“You’re this old and still freeloading off our family. What’s wrong with giving your sister one toy?”

…

“Twenty-eight is still a kid.”

Tears fell from Bai Chu’s eyes without warning—but her lips still wore a smile.

At twenty-eight, she was finally tasting what it felt like to be a child.

She lay on her desk, pressing the music box again and again. Though she usually feared wearing it out, tonight she wanted to be selfish for once…

At 11:59 PM, Jiang Yisheng was sprawled across her bed, covers kicked off who knows where.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

Jiang Yisheng woke up, groggy. It was a message from Bai Chu.

‘Happy birthday.”

She blinked in confusion. Didn’t Bai Chu already say that earlier today?

Then it clicked—she must’ve wanted to wish her again in the final minute of her birthday.

She frantically typed back:

“Ahhhhhhhh! Bai Chu-jie, how are you this sweet?!”

Bai Chu, lying among her plushies, smiled faintly at the reply.

She locked her phone and turned over, ready to sleep.

Suddenly, the phone buzzed again.

Thinking it was Jiang Yisheng sending something else, Bai Chu picked it up—but this time, it was another message from someone else.

“Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Birch Street Café.”

The smile on Bai Chu’s face disappeared instantly. She replied with a simple “Okay,” and any trace of sleepiness vanished.

Then she looked at the music box on her desk again.

Getting up, she pressed the button once more, then quickly jumped back into bed as the music began. She grabbed the nearest plushie, pulled the covers tightly around herself, and slowly closed her eyes.

…

The next day, Birch Street Café.

Across from Bai Chu sat a man wearing a face mask and a baseball cap. He spoke in a low voice:

“Based on your description and our investigation so far, the fire wasn’t an accident. It was likely arson.”

Bai Chu clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

“The fire started from the north and south ends of the house. But it’s been too long—we can’t collect any hard evidence on site.”

“So think hard. Did anyone in your family have enemies? Anyone you suspect?”

Bai Chu shook her head. Her parents were kind and decent people. She couldn’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt them.

“Send me your father’s company details later. I’ll assign more people to investigate.”

She nodded and pulled out a thick envelope from her bag, sliding it to him. “Thank you.”

He tucked it away and nodded. “I’ll let you know the moment there’s news.”

After he left, Bai Chu leaned back in her chair and exhaled a long, heavy breath.

She had long suspected that the fire wasn’t an accident—but having it confirmed still left her reeling.

Her thoughts were in chaos, like she was still trapped in the burning remnants of that day. The heat still scorched her skin and seared her heart.

Suddenly, her phone rang, startling her.

She answered automatically.

“Bai Chu-jie, are you busy? Wanna go have some braised beef bones with me?”

“I’m not hungry. Don’t really feel like eating.”

“Oh, that won’t do. Are you at the office? I’ll come pick you up.”

“I’m not at the office.”

Jiang Yisheng noticed her tone was off. She knew Bai Chu was avoiding telling her location, not wanting to be pressed further.

“Then… I’m at the milk tea shop below my office. Can you come get me instead?” Jiang Yisheng added softly. “I really, really want to eat hot, tender, flavorful braised beef bones on a cold winter day… with my Bai Chu-jie.”

She went on and on, piling on adjectives and silly little pleas, turning Bai Chu’s already chaotic thoughts into a complete mess.

“…Send me the location,” Bai Chu finally replied.