Transmigrated as a White Lotus Heroine, but I’m Pursuing the Cold Villain - Chapter 33

So, this is what it feels like to be heartbroken?

Lin Qinglian pondered the meaning of heartbreak, a sudden bitterness rising in her throat and heart.

In that moment, she realized it was indeed true.

What should I do? she asked.

The neighbor sighed, looking at her with the exasperated gaze one reserves for a disappointing child. “You should try to win her back. But if you don’t want to, at least choose someone better. If she’s not good for you, move on.”

Lin Qinglian shook her head. “She’s a wonderful person. I think I made her angry. Do you know what I should do?”

Though she didn’t know the exact reason, Lin Qinglian felt certain that Rao Jinqing’s anger was her fault. Perhaps she had inadvertently offended her. Her intuition had always been remarkably accurate, rarely leading her astray.

The neighbor chuckled, perhaps reminiscing about her own youth. “My dear, taking the initiative is never wrong. When my old man was courting me, he brought me homemade meals every day after work. I didn’t like him at first, but one bitterly cold day, the wind was so fierce he was shivering, his face red with cold. I couldn’t bear to see him suffer.”

She paused, as if recalling the memory. “I said, ‘Let’s go back.’ He replied, ‘It’s okay, I’ll wait for you.’ There was nothing particularly special about it, but after that, I realized I’d somehow gotten used to him waiting for me. Later, I was even happy when he asked me out. Slowly, slowly, we eventually ended up together.”

Lin Qinglian saw happiness and longing in her eyes, emotions she couldn’t quite understand, yet she felt herself being infected by them.

She pondered, If I brought Rao Jinqing lunch every day…

She quickly reached a conclusion.

That day, both she and the lunch would be thrown out together.

A neighbor chimed in, “Honestly, boyfriends should just give in to their girlfriends. Why argue over such trivial things? Don’t spoil them too much.”

Lin Qinglian retorted, “My girlfriend is also a woman. She definitely wouldn’t give in to me.”

She genuinely believed Rao Jinqing would never yield. After all, Rao Jinqing was always so stubborn, cornering her whenever she had even the slightest advantage.

Rao Jinqing’s relentless pressure forced Lin Qinglian to apologize. Afterward, Rao Jinqing, feigning innocence, said, “So what if you were wrong? It’s not a big deal.”

“Anyway, you’re not a real woman…” The neighbor, who had been rambling on, suddenly choked mid-sentence, like a chicken with its neck wrung.

She stared at Lin Qinglian for a long moment, as if the words were only just now sinking in. Finally, she sputtered, “Good for you for having a partner. I haven’t even taken off my socks yet. I should get back.”

With a slam, the neighbor slammed the door in Lin Qinglian’s face and fled.

Lin Qinglian: “?”

What about the socks?

Back inside, she drew the curtains, letting sunlight flood the room. Only then did it dawn on her.

Oh, she wasn’t talking about socks. She meant because of my girlfriend.

The realization left Lin Qinglian’s already deflated spirits feeling even more hollow. It wasn’t that she craved others’ approval.

Rather, she longed for her relationship to be treated as ordinary. The neighbor had always seemed genuinely fond of her, often clasping her hand with sincere concern and asking if she’d eaten.

Lin Qinglian wished her neighbors would ask her the same questions they asked her daughter’s boyfriend: “Is she a good person? Have you two had any conflicts?”

She tidied up the apartment, which had been neglected for days and was now a mess.

Her mind drifted back to a bitterly cold day years ago, when an enraged Chi Jiheng had kicked her out of the house. Back then, her acting skills weren’t refined enough to deceive the perpetually furious Exploding Bear.

Hungry, she returned to her apartment, flicked on the lights, and hadn’t even had time to think about dinner.

A knock at the door startled her. Standing in the entryway, Lin Qinglian reflexively pulled it open.

The person at the door seemed surprised by her quick response. The bowl in their hand trembled, nearly spilling its contents onto the floor in a dramatic offering.

But Lin Qinglian, though momentarily stunned, reacted swiftly, catching both the plummeting bowl and the person before disaster struck.

The neighbor chuckled sheepishly, then held out the bowl. “Xiao Lin, I noticed you haven’t been eating much lately. I made an extra bowl of dumplings. Try some!”

Lin Qinglian numbly accepted the bowl of dumplings.

At that time, she hadn’t yet mastered the art of smiling at everyone, always responding with silence and blank stares.

She had wanted to say, “No need, I’ll just order takeout,” but the sight of the steaming bowl in her neighbor’s hand froze the words in her throat.

The neighbor didn’t seem to mind her awkwardness, sighing as she looked at Lin Qinglian’s frail shoulders. “Aiya, you’re so thin! You must be working too hard. Winter Solstice calls for a bowl of dumplings to keep your ears warm next year. Come on, try them.”

Under her neighbor’s gaze, Lin Qinglian clumsily retreated into her apartment, nearly tripping over her own shoes at the doorway.

The bowl of dumplings wasn’t particularly flavorful, but they were warm.

She glanced out the window. Compared to noon, the sky was now a deep, dark blue.

I do have feelings for Qing.

She’s my girlfriend, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

And she’s my neighbor, and there’s nothing wrong with that either.

Since she rarely came home, there wasn’t much trash. In no time, Lin Qinglian had swept the entire apartment clean.

Clutching the trash, she hurried to the door with the same rushed demeanor she’d had when she’d first entered, as if she couldn’t wait to leave.

The moment the door swung open, a short figure appeared in her line of sight.

It was her neighbor.

The neighbor startled badly, nearly dropping the items in her hands. Lin Qinglian quickly took them to prevent a spill.

The neighbor glanced around nervously before furtively pressing a cookbook into Lin Qinglian’s hand. “This is my husband’s favorite recipe book,” she whispered. “The dishes are delicious. You should try them.”

She paused, as if gathering her courage, before adding, “Whether it’s a man or a woman… if you love them, that’s all that matters.”

As the neighbor’s words hung in the air, Lin Qinglian felt the cookbook in her hand suddenly burn with an astonishing heat, nearly making her drop it.

The heat seemed to melt away the mask of polite conformity she wore. For a moment, she was unsure how to react to this kind neighbor. Should she smile warmly or offer a shy thank you?

Lin Qinglian was still puzzling over the situation when her neighbor said, “I need to go buy groceries now, dear. I’ll be off.”

Lin Qinglian nodded stiffly and mechanically.

The neighbor sighed inwardly.

Such a bright and clever girl, yet she’s become so dazed and confused over a little romance. Not good, not good.

As the neighbor turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something. She turned back and gently patted Lin Qinglian’s shoulder, who was much taller than her.

Lin Qinglian froze in place.

The warm hand brushed lightly across her shoulder, perhaps a bit hurried due to the height difference. Yet that warmth seeped into her shoulder.

This was an entirely new sensation, a foreign touch that left her bewildered.

If Rao Jinqing’s touch had left her flustered, able only to stare blankly up at her,

the neighbor’s touch sent a warm current flowing through her heart, spreading not just through her chest but reaching every limb and bone.

She couldn’t trace the source of this warmth.

So she silently ignored the sensation surging through her body, pretending it wasn’t there.

She carefully carried the cookbook into the house, changed her shoes, and reverently placed it on the table.

Did she really need this?

Though she didn’t understand it, she knew she held someone’s feelings in her hands.

This is so difficult, she thought. Trying to comprehend these unfathomable emotions is hard enough, but making a choice based on them is even harder.

She was trapped in a dilemma, not because of any external factor, but because there was now another person involved.

Lin Qinglian’s usual indifference meant nothing mattered. Everything was fleeting, passing before her eyes and gone. What was so difficult about that?

She had always found the concept of “decision paralysis” utterly incomprehensible. To her, every choice was the same.

But now that Rao Jinqing was involved, she felt a profound difference.

It wasn’t that she had never felt anything about her choices before, but rather that the things she had to choose between had always been insignificant to her.

After a long moment of contemplation, she raised her hand, her slender arm arching gracefully as she moved.

But before her hand could reach the cookbook, her phone rang.

It’s not that I don’t want to choose you, she told herself silently. It’s that even fate is telling me not to.

She picked up her phone to check her messages, then slowly set it down.

If there were a mirror in front of her, the hollowed-out reflection would reveal her death wish.

Lying silently on her phone was the surprise she had planned for him—her job offer.

Now it had turned into a shock.

She picked up her phone, then put it down, then picked it up again.

Her teeth unconsciously nibbled at her lip.

Hesitantly, she typed, “When can I resign?”

Just as she was about to retract the message, her finger hovering over the retract button, the other party suddenly sent a question mark.

I submitted your resume internally long ago. The company has already approved your application and assigned you to a new project. If you resign now, you may have to compensate the company for its losses. Your starting salary is 10,000 yuan per month, and it will increase with your tenure.

Lin Qinglian glanced at her empty wallet. Her savings were barely three digits.

A wise person knows when to yield.

Lin Qinglian quickly replied with a simple “Okay.”

The HR Manager typed nervously beside her, while their boss, whose beauty rivaled that of a celebrity, stared coldly at the screen.

The Manager felt inexplicably nervous under this arrangement.

“Boss, is this alright?” she asked.

The Boss glanced at her phone, offered no opinion, and turned to leave.

If I’ve sinned, punish me directly, not by making me slack off at work, get caught by the Boss, and then force me to lie!

Speaking of which, who is this young woman? What kind of influence does she wield?

To make the Boss personally stand guard like this…