Chapter 20: Deadline
Lu Zhiyin’s strength gradually depleted, and she lost the ability to struggle.
She stood firm and looked coldly at Leng Qing Qiu.
“What, not struggling anymore?”
With a hint of amusement in her tone, Leng Qing Qiu took Lu Zhiyin’s hand and led her into a dark alley nearby.
This sudden turn of events reminded Lu Zhiyin of the scenes she sometimes saw of female students being dragged into alleys by perverts.
She closed her eyes, trying her best not to think of the worst.
Her heart must remain calm; it was always important to stay calm, no matter the situation.
Once inside the alley, the sight became completely black. Lu Zhiyin couldn’t see Leng Qing Qiu’s movements or figure, only hearing the rustling sound of fabric as they moved.
Leng Qing Qiu pushed Lu Zhiyin to the rear of the alley and stood in front of her, blocking all her escape routes.
“… Lu Shiyu… You, you look a lot like someone I used to know.”
Slightly composing herself, Leng Qing Qiu softened her tone.
“I liked her, and she needed to rely on me. She promised to be with me… but she left without a word.”
Speaking of the person she cherished in her heart, Leng Qing Qiu’s tone grew heavy.
“I miss her so much…”
“Enough, what do your affairs have to do with me?”
Leaning against the cold red brick wall behind her, Lu Zhiyin interrupted Leng Qing Qiu’s sentimental ramble.
“…”
Leng Qing Qiu fell silent and felt in her pocket.
“You are exactly like her, in your face, hair, voice, and even your figure. I need you to play her, to pretend to be my girlfriend. You’re short on money, aren’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be working odd jobs here. Sign a contract with me and become a replacement for my lover. I can give you money, and then you won’t have to work yourself to death; you can focus on your studies.”
If she could, Leng Qing Qiu preferred not to break the law. She tried to sign a patronage agreement with the person in front of her.
She thought, not many young students would dislike money, right? In this terrible world, this terrible city, who knows how many people long to be taken care of, earning a lot of money just by lying in bed.
Moral corruption had made people almost devoid of shame.
Leng Qing Qiu had been doing some small business lately; she wasn’t short of money, and moreover, the money she had now was obtained through legal channels.
“… Idiot, are you out of your mind? I have two hands and two feet, I can earn money myself, why would I willingly degenerate and become someone’s substitute? I don’t need to be taken care of by anyone, nor do I want to be anyone’s plaything. We are just strangers, stop bothering me. Now, move aside, or I will definitely call the police and have them send you to jail.”
Lu Zhiyin scoffed at Leng Qing Qiu’s proposal. She took two steps forward, pushed at Leng Qing Qiu’s shoulder, and tried to squeeze through a gap to leave the alley.
“…”
Leng Qing Qiu didn’t budge.
Lu Zhiyin’s verbal attack made her inexplicably sentimental. The person in front of her was, after all, not the same as the girl in her memory. Those who have left are gone and will never return.
In her memory, her lovely childhood friend was always gentle and soft, but it wasn’t a big problem. She would train this person’s personality to be what she wanted.
She definitely would.
Closing her eyes slightly, Leng Qing Qiu pushed Lu Zhiyin away. She took out her phone and found a video she had recorded to threaten her childhood friend.
“You don’t have the option to refuse.”
Declaring the fate of the girl in front of her, Leng Qing Qiu showed her the item in her hand. She had deliberately turned on the speaker, and the lustful pleas and moans in the video reached Lu Zhiyin’s ears.
“……”
Lu Zhiyin’s pupils contracted, and her body stiffened for a moment. The girl in the video was undoubtedly her.
Her thoughts gradually drifted back to the past, and Lu Zhiyin recalled memories from when she was still very naive, having only recently arrived in this world, feeling lost about everything. She had been drugged at a bar.
Thinking of that time, Lu Zhiyin inevitably recalled the bits and pieces of her interactions with Leng Qing Qiu.
Those painful days had temporarily smoothed out Lu Zhiyin’s rough edges.
Her throat moved slightly, and Lu Zhiyin found it difficult to speak.
“… I know the protagonist in the video isn’t you, but your faces are identical, aren’t they?”
Seeing Lu Zhiyin stunned speechless, Leng Qing Qiu seemed to have the upper hand.
She put away her phone, grabbed Lu Zhiyin’s shoulders with both hands, and pushed her against the wall.
“Lu Shiyu. If I post this video on the internet and the campus forums, your campus life will be ruined, won’t it?”
Leng Qing Qiu leaned her face close. Lu Zhiyin couldn’t see her face even though they were uncomfortably close in the dark alley.
It was fine this way; she didn’t have to see the incongruous expression on the girl’s face, and she could completely treat the person in front of her as the childhood friend from her memory.
Everything could remain as it was, unchanged.
Leng Qing Qiu twitched her nose, sniffing the pleasant scent of the girl.
“… Mm…”
With a low groan, Leng Qing Qiu felt pain and took two steps back.
Lu Zhiyin bit her lip fiercely, not holding back at all. If Leng Qing Qiu hadn’t retreated quickly enough, she probably would have lost a piece of flesh.
“Peh… Pervert.”
Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t accept Leng Qing Qiu’s overly intimate actions.
She pursed her lips and quietly waited for Leng Qing Qiu’s next reaction.
Tonight, her mind was in turmoil. Even though she tried hard to calm down, she was ultimately helpless.
Indeed, if Leng Qing Qiu uploaded that video, Lu Zhiyin’s reputation, which she had built up on campus, would be completely ruined.
While fearing for her future, she also found Leng Qing Qiu’s love ridiculous.
She loved her past self, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been successfully “conquered.” However, she used the unflattering video of the person she loved to spread rumors and threaten someone else like this?
Lu Zhiyin smiled silently, and as she smiled, she started crying.
She couldn’t escape Leng Qing Qiu; she had underestimated this person’s bottom line.
“……”
Leng Qing Qiu remained silent. In the dark alley, she couldn’t see the girl’s tears.
She wiped the blood from her lips and shook her hand.
“Think about it yourself. I’ll give you three days. After three days, I’ll be waiting for you at the restaurant where you’re working part-time. If you don’t come, I’ll upload your video.”
“Also, don’t think about calling the police. It’s just a threat, not a serious offense. The police won’t prioritize it. Even if they do handle it, I’ll only be detained for a few days. After I get out, your campus life will be ruined.”
Leng Qing Qiu spoke as she slowly backed away.
“Think carefully, would you rather have your reputation ruined, be despised by everyone, and be treated as a slut, or be obediently taken care of by me and earn money lying down?”
Leng Qing Qiu thought that threats were threats after all. She couldn’t always be polite. Overly polite criminals could easily be underestimated. Thus, she said some harsh words.
After speaking, Leng Qing Qiu left the alley, leaving Lu Zhiyin alone to weep silently.
The overwhelming pressure made her unable to breathe.
“How can I ever get rid of them, get rid of this garbage world…”
She knelt down, covering her face.
She couldn’t hold on anymore.
Had she truly become strong? Or was that strength just a way to deceive herself?
She didn’t know, she really didn’t know.
She felt like she was about to crack, to split into two, three, or even more people.
