After Being Bent by Reader

A few days later, Fang Qin came looking for Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan with a fish tank in hand once more. Then, in a solemn tone, she said, "I'm leaving for another business trip, so I'll have to trouble you two to take care of them for a few days."

"Don't raise them if you don't have the time to do so," Murong Shi said, giving Fang Qin the cold shoulder.

Fang Qin tacitly placed the fish tank and fish food at a corner. Then, she said, "I can't help it. My classmate is pregnant, and she keeps on worrying about letting her husband go on trips alone with his female assistant. So, she keeps on asking me to supervise her husband."

Xu Chuanchuan was currently washing the tangerines she and Murong Shi bought when they went out for dinner last night. When she overheard Murong Shi and Fang Qin's conversation, she left the bathroom and asked, "How is her husband's character?"

Fang Qin grabbed a tangerine from the fruit basket Xu Chuanchuan offered. Then, after taking a bite out of the unpeeled fruit, she said, "He seems like an honest person. He also obediently listens to his wife most of the time. Why? Are you afraid he'll bully me?"

Xu Chuanchuan wasn't very lucky as the tangerine she grabbed turned out to be a sour one. After biting half of it, she stuffed the remaining half into Murong Shi's mouth. Then, she said, "It doesn't matter whether you're acquaintances or strangers. As a woman traveling alone with a man, you should still be careful. If that friend of yours is so worried, she should just ask a man to accompany her husband. Why must she ask you?"

Fang Qin chuckled after hearing Xu Chuanchuan's complaint. Then, she said, "She would like that, but the problem is that apart from her husband, everyone else in the company is female."

"Oh, there's no helping that, then."

Murong Shi disliked tangerines. Apart from the half-bitten tangerine Xu Chuanchuan fed her, Murong Shi didn't touch any of the other tangerines. Then, while looking at Fang qin, she asked, "Where will you be going this time?"

"Don't tell me it's Shanghai again?" Xu Chuanchuan made a casual guess.

Fang Qin spat out the pits into the trash can, successfully evading the two scorching gazes searing her body. Then, she replied with a perfunctory grunt.

Xu Chuanchuan's eyes instantly lit up in excitement. "Really? Shanghai again?"

Fang Qin looked down, an unnatural look appearing on her face as she explained, "We went to Shanghai last time to sign a contract with a business partner. This time, we're going to talk about something else."

"You must be feeling very happy, then," Murong Shi indifferently said.

Rolling her eyes, Fang Qin said, "Business trips are exhausting. What's there to be happy about?"

While wiping the juice on Xu Chuanchuan's hand with a napkin, Murong Shi suggestively said, "You get to use this trip to meet a certain someone. Doesn't this match with your wishes?"

Xu Chuanchuan instantly understood what Murong Shi was trying to imply. So, she smiled and followed up, "That's right. Ange's is in Shanghai. You get to go and meet her again."

Fang Qin was rendered utterly powerless against Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan's joint assault. Looking away, she muttered, "I'm going there for work. Where would I find the time to meet her?"

"You speak as if you weren't there for work last time," Murong Shi said, sneering.

Murong Shi's words had rendered Fang Qin utterly speechless, and her face switched between red and white.

Looking at Fang Qin's twisted look, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly remembered the conversation she had with Ange last time. Then, she cautiously said, "I heard from Ange that you two haven't talked for a few days now. I tried to ask her why, but she kept on avoiding the topic. Weren't you two getting along fine before? Did you two have a falling out?"

"There's nothing going on between us, so what's there to argue about?" Fang Qin said, shrugging and pretending to be calm. "It's mostly because we don't have a common topic to talk about."

Xu Chuanchuan was stunned for a moment. Then, she asked, "Have you two not found a common topic yet?"

Fang Qin let out a groan upon hearing this question. Then, she evasively said, "We were getting along just fine a few days ago. We talked about a lot of things, but after our conversation reached a certain point, she suddenly started ignoring me. This situation continued for several days, and even until now, she is still ignoring the messages I send her. I don't know if it's she isn't logging into WeChat or doing it on purpose."

Judging by the conversation she had with Ange a few days ago, it was obvious Ange was deliberately ignoring Fang Qin. However, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't figure out why her friend was doing so.

"What did you two talk about that night?"

"We just...had a casual chat."

"Then, she started ignoring you the next day?" Xu Chuanchuan found this situation incredulous. She kept on getting the feeling that Fang Qin was hiding something.

Unable to endure the pressure of Xu Chuanchuan's stare, Fang Qin excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she returned, she forcibly changed the subject and talked about something else.

Seeing that Fang Qin refused to elaborate on the matter, Xu Chuanchuan also tactfully stopped her probing.

Fang Qin didn't stay for too long, leaving the dormitory before the sky darkened.

After getting into her car, Fang Qin did not rush to drive away. While letting the air conditioner cool her face, she pulled out her phone and opened up her chat history with Fang Qin. Then, she focused her attention on the last few messages they exchanged.

Tang Xin: "How many girlfriends did you have before?"

Fang Qin: "Just one. We were together for three years, and I accompanied her to England. Afterward, she dumped me."

Tang Xin: "Three years. That's quite loyal of you."

Fang Qin: "Hehe."

Tang Xin: "Do you still have feelings for her now?"

Fang Qin: "I would sometimes think of her, but I know it's impossible for us. I can't keep being obsessed with the past, either."

Tang Xin: "Oh."

Afterward, the chat log turned into a unilateral conversation consisting of greeting messages from Fang Qin such as "Good morning," "Are you awake." and "Are you busy." Even Fang Qin herself found these messages to be annoying, let alone Tang Xin.

After receiving no replies for three days, Fang Qin gradually realized that Tang Xin was giving her the cold shoulder, so she tacitly stopped bothering the other party. However, Fang Qin couldn't help but wonder if Tang Xin was ignoring her because the other party had gotten bored with her or because she had accidentally said something wrong.

During the past few days, Fang Qin had checked the contents of their conversation and thought over her messages over and over. At one point, she had considered that her "I would sometimes think of her" had caused Tang Xin to misunderstand.

But didn't I also mention that I didn't wish to continue obsessing over my ex and that I wanted to look forward? Is this hint not obvious enough?

Apart from the intimate contact they shared that one night, they rarely communicated with each other. So, Fang Qin often found herself asking whether her obsession toward Tang Xin really was because of love or if she was just feeling guilty.

Regardless of the reason, Fang Qin was certain she wasn't fooling around. She had always been serious about matters concerning her feelings, and she wasn't afraid to put in the effort for a relationship. However, she couldn't help but feel anxious over Tang Xin's erratic attitude toward her.

...

After Fang Qin left, Xu Chuanchuan and Murong Shi still sat beside each other on the living room sofa.

While gnawing on a tangerine, Xu Chuanchuan tilted her head and muttered, "Do you think Fang Qin will go find Ange this time. She might not have said it, but I keep feeling that Fang Qin still can't let go of Ange."

"Of all the people she could've taken a liking to, she had to choose Tang Xin. She's definitely going to suffer in the future," Murong Shi ridiculed.

"What do you mean?" Xu Chuanchuan asked, sitting upright and looking Murong Shi straight in the eyes.

"Nothing. You'll just get upset if I say it."

"How would you know if I'll get upset without even saying it?"

Chuckling, Murong Shi said, "You might say that I'm biased, but in my opinion, Tang Xin is a cunning woman. Her words cannot be fully trusted. Fang Qin, on the other hand, is a straightforward person. So long as she finds someone she likes, she will pursue them without hesitation. Honestly, I'm a little worried for her."

Xu Chuanchuan felt a little dissatisfied with Murong Shi's evaluation of Ange. However, she chose to hold back her dissatisfaction to avoid having an argument. Then, she asked, "What are you worried about?"

Looking into Xu Chuanchuan's eyes, Murong Shi put on a serious expression and said, "If Tang Xin is as merciless as Fang Qin's ex, Fang Qin will probably lose her mind."

Xu Chuanchuan opened her mouth and thought to argue on her friend's behalf. However, she suddenly thought of something: Ange had dumped Fragrant Citrus before.

Moreover, that wasn't all Ange had done. To protect Xu Chuanchuan, Ange called out Fragrant Citrus on Weibo before. And because of this incident, many of Fragrant Citrus's fans had gone to Ange's Weibo and cursed her for being heartless. Some even cursed her for being an unfaithful person. It was fortunate that Ange had a sufficiently large number of fans. Otherwise, Fragrant Citrus's brain-dead fans would've long since drowned her in curses.

However, although Ange had a history of dumping someone, that person was the notorious Fragrant Citrus. Fang Qin was completely different from Fragrant Citrus.

After hesitating for some time, Xu Chuanchuan sighed and said, "After hearing what you said, I suddenly feel that the possibility of them getting together is very small. Not to mention, one of them is living in S City, while the other is living in Shanghai."

"Fang Qin is a person who can abandon her work and parents and move to England just to be with that woman. How can the measly distance between S City and Shanghai stop her?" Murong Shi said, shaking her head in disagreement.

Xu Chuanchuan stuffed a whole tangerine into her mouth, causing her right cheek to bulge. Then, with firm eyes, she said, "That's why we need to help them."

"What if Tang Xin doesn't like Fang Qin?"

Xu Chuanchuan was momentarily stunned. Then, in an uncertain tone, she said, "She should like her, right?"

"Should?" Murong Shi raised an eyebrow.

"From my understanding of Ange, if she's not interested in someone, she wouldn't even bother with them. If she doesn't like Fang Qin, there's no way she would talk to Fang Qin for so long."

"But she's ignoring Fang Qin now," Murong Shi added.

Xu Chuanchuan had no words to counter.

"But I also can't say for certain if she's pulling some kind of abandonment play."

Xu Chuanchuan became even more speechless after hearing this. Then, she found the biggest tangerine, stuffed it into Murong Shi's mouth, and said, "You're just being biased against Ange!"

Murong Shi did not deny Xu Chuanchuan's accusations. After taking her time chewing and swallowing the tangerine, she said, "I previously taught Fang Qin a method. I wonder if she used it yet?"

"What method?"

"Take a guess."

"..." Xu Chuanchuan grew irritated. "Forget I asked. I'm going to work."

"Why the sudden tantrum?" Murong Shi chuckled as she pulled Xu Chuanchuan back.

Xu Chuanchuan went with the flow and sat on Murong Shi's lap. Then, she wrapped her arms around Murong Shi's neck and pretended to be unhappy as she said, "Hurry up and say it. I'm a busy person."

"The two of them don't know each other very well. They also live completely different lifestyles, so it'll be difficult for them to find a common topic. That is unless they change their identities."

Xu Chuanchuan blinked her eyes in confusion, failing to understand Murong Shi's words.

Murong Shi didn't leave Xu Chuanchuan hanging as she continued, "I told Fang Qin that she could sneak into Ange's reader group while pretending to be a fan. Then, she could use the author-reader interactions to familiarize herself with Ange."

Xu Chuanchuan gaped in shock when she heard Murong Shi's words. "This is your bright idea???"

"Is it not good?"

"..." Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but recall the time "Passerby Shi" had played her for a fool. Her complexion instantly darkened, and she tried to headbutt Murong Shi. "How is that good?! I'll knock those stupid ideas out of your head!"

...

When Xu Chuanchuan eventually returned to the room and turned on her computer, she couldn't help but recall Murong Shi's previous words. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she visited jjwxc's website and searched for Ange's books.

If Fang Qin really employed Murong Shi's method, there was a high possibility she would rampantly make donations to Ange.