After Being Bent by Reader (GL) Chapter 24

"Show us a kiss, show us a kiss—"

With someone taking the lead, the others also began merrily cheering for a kiss as well.

Kiss? Jiang Shaohua still treasured his life.

Instinctively ignoring everyone's urging, Jiang Shaohua chuckled and said, "No rush, it's just the start of the party."

Unfortunately, there was no way Jiang Shaohua's lively friends would stop just because he asked them to. Instead, they continued cheering and urging incessantly, rapidly increasing the anxiety within Jiang Shaohua. Only after seeing Murong Shi's indifferent expression did they halt their antics.

Jiang Shaohua's friends were a pack of scoundrels. After realizing that they couldn't find any fun on Murong Shi, they scattered and had their fun elsewhere.

Jiang Shaohua wiped away the nervous sweat on his forehead. When nobody was looking, he leaned into Murong Shi's ear and said, "I regret calling you here."

Murong Shi surprisingly didn't get angry at Jiang Shaohua's comment. Her eyebrows lifted slightly, she said, "You have fun, then. I'll be taking my leave."

"Hey, hey, hey—" Jiang Shaohua tried to stop Murong Shi.

Waving her hand, Murong Shi said, "I'm not joking. I am leaving. If they ask about me, say that I have something to do. You'll get to save your dignity that way."

Jiang Shaohua's face sank when he heard Murong Shi's words. "If my 'girlfriend' leaves less than five minutes after arriving, what dignity do you think I'll have?"

"You won't be able to have fun if I'm here, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Putting on a contemptuous smile, Murong Shi sent a glance at a certain dark corner of the room and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that woman is called Shuangshuang, right? How many girlfriends have you invited to your birthday party?"

Jiang Shaohua's face froze. He then timidly turned away, unsure of how to respond to Murong Shi's question.

Murong Shi knew that there was no need for her participation in this birthday celebration. She would only look like an unnecessary extra if she stayed here. After giving Jiang Shaohua a smirk, she calmly said, "Bye-bye."

"Do you need me to send you off?"

"No need."

After leaving the luxurious room, Murong Shi sighed in relief.

If Murong Shi were to be honest, she had a very subtle relationship with Jiang Shaohua. She, Jiang Shaohua, and another woman named Fang Qin, who was currently living abroad in England, grew up together since young. They knew each other's personality and secrets, and they physically and verbally attacked each other frequently. They had continued this relationship for more than two decades, and it was a miracle that they still hadn't cut off all ties with each other.

Initially, Murong Shi was the one who had sought out Jiang Shaohua to start a fake relationship. The two of them could take what they needed from each other, putting on an act in front of their parents to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Under her protection, Jiang Shaohua could play around without fear. Murong Shi herself could also avoid going on blind dates with unsuitable men her father had arranged for her.

However, Murong Shi knew she couldn't continue this act for very long because her father had already begun urging her to get engaged with Jiang Shaohua. Murong Shi had also once thought that if she could never find a suitable person, she might have to enter a "marriage of convenience" with Jiang Shaohua.

It was a disgusting and ironic thought.

While walking through the bright and colorful corridor, Murong Shi came across drunks, flirting men and women, and busy staff members. All sorts of music also leaked out of the various rooms lining the corridor, creating a cacophony in her ears. Stopping one of the waitresses, Murong Shi asked, "Where's the washroom?"

The waitress pointed at the end of the corridor.

After saying a "thank you," Murong Shi strode down the corridor.

A lot of glitter dust had gotten caught in her hair just now, so she needed to clean them out.

However, never had Murong Shi thought that she would encounter Xu Chuanchuan in this establishment.

When Murong Shi opened the door to the restroom, she frightened the person using one of the washbasins. The other party then lifted her head, revealing a pair of swollen, teary eyes.

Murong Shi was slightly stunned when she saw the pair of swollen, walnut eyes. After snapping out of her daze, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"Xu Chuanchuan" had a tear roll down her cheek as she looked at Murong Shi in confusion.

At this time, Murong Shi also noticed that the other party was dressed similarly to the waitress she asked for directions before, and she grew even more confused by this situation.

How tight for money is she to work three jobs?

After a longer observation, Muring Shi felt a little puzzled. The other party had makeup on and shared similar facial features to the Xu Chuanchuan she knew. However, when she took a closer look, she noticed that this person had a more childish face. This person also had baby fat on her face still, looking very much like a girl who had yet to reach adulthood.

Xu Xiangxiang had lowered her head in a panic and was wiping her tears away. When she heard Murong Shi's question, she lifted her head and asked, "Do you know me?"

When Murong Shi heard Xu Xiangxiang's crisp voice, she knew she had gotten the wrong person. However, she also felt strange about this situation. How could this girl look so much like Xu Chuanchuan?

Murong Shi lowered her gaze further and found an employee's tag hanging off the girl's neck. After seeing the words on it, she subconsciously muttered, "Xu Xiangxiang?"

"Huh?" Xu Xiangxiang was stunned.

Murong Shi shifted her gaze to Xu Xiangxiang and asked, "What's your relationship with Xu Chuanchuan?"

Revealing a surprised expression, Xu Xiangxiang said, "She's my elder sister. Do you know my sister?"

No wonder they look so much alike, Murong Shi thought to herself. She then pondered for a moment before answering, "We are colleagues."

"Oh." Xu Xiangxiang turned around, twisted the tap, and washed her face with water.

Murong Shi also made her way over to one of the basins and patted her hair. While doing so, she looked at Xu Xiangxiang's appearance reflected in the mirror, coincidentally catching the other party sneaking looks at her.

Xu Xiangxiang hastily lowered her head after getting caught in the act.

Murong Shi was never one to pry into others' businesses, but seeing the girl's swollen eyes, she couldn't help herself from asking, "Why are you working in such a place?"

The corners of Xu Xiangxiang's mouth twitched, and she stammered for a long time, unable to utter a word.

Murong Shi frowned.

Murong Shi had seen the filth in this place before, and she indeed didn't have any good feelings about this place. Although she wasn't thinking badly of Xu Xiangxiang, she couldn't help but be puzzled when she saw the other party's expression. She felt as if she had asked something she shouldn't, and the other party was too ashamed to answer her.

If she doesn't want to answer, so be it. We're not familiar with each other anyway.

At this time, another person opened the door to the restroom and shouted with a sharp voice, "Little Xu, the manager is looking for you! Why are you hiding here?!"

Xu Xiangxiang looked at Murong Shi anxiously. However, instead of saying something, she lowered her head and quietly walked toward the person calling for her.

A moment later, Murong Shi was left alone in front of the mirror. After calmly picking out the garbage stuck in her hair and fixing her hair, she leisurely walked out of the restroom.

When she exited the clubhouse, a gust of hot wind came out of nowhere, turning her hair into a mess.

Holding down her hair with her hands, Murong Shi made her way to her car. Halfway there, she came across Xu Xiangxiang again.

Xu Xiangxiang had changed back into regular clothing already, and she was currently having a heated argument with another girl. As the two girls were very emotional right now, they spoke without controlling their voices.

Murong Shi heard the other girl saying, "How long do you think it'll take before you can buy a new phone if you're only making 100 a day? That person is giving away a lot of money! So long as you sing a song with him, you can easily earn 200! Guards and cameras keep an eye on this place, so he won't dare do anything to you! What are you afraid of?"

Xu Xiangxiang knew what her senior said was indeed correct. Two hundred yuan for singing one song was indeed easy money. When Xu Xiangxiang finished singing, the man in question had also taken the initiative to pull out two red-colored bills. However, the man didn't give her the bills directly. Instead, he stared at her chest with a dirty gaze. He then extended his greasy hand in an attempt to stuff those bills into her…

This was the first time Xu Xiangxiang had entered the adult society in her life, so she was frightened to tears on the spot. Without even taking the money, she tossed the microphone aside, ran out of the room, and hid inside the restroom.

Even now, Xu Xiangxiang still felt a little fearful whenever she recalled the scene just now. With a flushed face, Xu Xiangxiang said in a trembling voice, "I don't care how much money he gives me! I won't do it! My mom and dad will kill me if they find out!"

"I'm not asking you to do that… Why can't you be more flexible?"

"Senior, thank you for introducing me to this work, but I've made up my mind. You can head back now."

However, the other girl didn't leave. Resting her hands on her hips, she said unhappily, "Xiangxiang, if it weren't for your good looks, I wouldn't have introduced such a good job to you. Do you know how many words I had to waste to introduce you to this job? If I hadn't begged the manager—"

"Alright, alright, I am very thankful to you, but I am not suited for this job. I'll...treat you to a meal some other day. You can also rest assured that I won't tell a soul about this."

"Why must you be like this?"

"I'm sorry, Senior. I appreciate your kindness, but it's late. I'm going back now, bye-bye!"

Afraid that her senior would drag her back if she waited for a second longer, Xu Xiangxiang revealed a panicked look and ran for the road.

Suddenly, someone behind Xu Xiangxiang shouted, "Xu Xiangxiang—"

Xu Xiangxiang's face paled from fright. However, when she turned her head around while running away, she found that the person who had called out her name wasn't chasing after her but standing still instead.

Why does this person look so familiar?

Oh, isn't she the person I met in the restroom? She's one of sis's colleagues, right?

That small company has such a beautiful woman working there? How rare.

Xu Xiangxiang's lust for beauty overtook her thoughts of fleeing momentarily, and she subconsciously stopped running away to take a few more looks at Murong Shi. By the time Xu Xiangxiang snapped out of her daze, Murong Shi had already caught up to her.

The dazzling neon lights behind Murong Shi made it seem as if her body came equipped with an aura of light. Xu Xiangxiang had to look up to get a full view of Murong Shi's face. Blinking her eyes in surprise, Xu Xiangxiang exclaimed, "You're so tall—"

These two sisters have very different personalities, Murong Shi thought. At the very least, Xu Chuanchuan would never dare to look at her straight in the eyes or make such unproductive comments in front of her.

Smiling, Murong Shi said, "I'm wearing ten-centimeter heels."

Xu Xiangxiang subconsciously looked at Murong Shi's feet. Stunned, she asked, "Don't you feel tired?"

Murong Shi shook her head and said, "I'm used to it."

While staring at Murong Shi with a mesmerized look, Xu Xiangxiang asked the question plaguing her heart, "If you're colleagues with my sister, what kind of work do you do in the company?"

After thinking for a moment, Murong Shi answered, "Miscellaneous work."

Xu Xiangxiang giggled when she heard Murong Shi's answer. "My sister is also doing miscellaneous work. She can barely cover her monthly expenses with the pitiful salary she earns. Yet, she always refuses whenever our parents yell at her to change jobs. I don't know what she's aiming at living so miserably every day."

Murong Shi mentally replied, Then you must not be aware that your sister is working a certain part-time job online. The money she earns from that job is not at all pitiful.

While observing Xu Xiangxiang, Murong Shi asked, "Are you still a student?"

"Mhm. I'm a freshman at S University."

"Are you working part-time here?"

Xu Xiangxiang's expression slightly changed when she heard these words. Awkwardly, she said, "Yes, I was thinking of earning some pocket money, but I didn't expect to come across such a disgusting event."

While Murong Shi couldn't figure out the exact situation solely based on the conversation she overheard between Xu Xiangxiang and her senior just now, she could roughly guess what had happened.

Murong Shi then swept her gaze across Xu Xiangxiang's swollen eyes and said, "You should look for a safer job when looking for work in the future. You're still a student, so you should avoid places like this. Nothing bad happened to you, right?"

Xu Xiangxiang's face flushed red in embarrassment as she shook her head in a hurry. She then said, "I won't ever come to this place again. By the way…can you not tell my sister about this? She's going to nag me to death if she finds out."

Murong Shi wasn't familiar with Xu Chuanchuan to such an extent. However, she didn't wish to reveal this fact, either, so she responded with a faint "Mhm." She then said, "I'll be taking my leave now. You be careful on your own."

"Okay, goodbye." Xu Xiangxiang left after waving goodbye to Murong Shi.

However, Murong Shi quickly noticed that Xu Xiangxiang was walking in the same direction as her, which was also the opposite direction of S University. Turning to the girl, she asked, "Aren't you going back to school?"

Shrugging, Xu Xiangxiang said, "My roommates are bound to bombard me with questions if I return now. I don't want to let them know about this place, so I'm thinking of going to my sister's."

Murong Shi remained silent.

Apart from having some baby fat on her face, Xu Xiangxiang had a thin body, a modest chest, and drooping eyes. As if she had suddenly remembered something unpleasant, the girl's footsteps suddenly grew inconsistent and heavy.

If comparing only their backs, Xu Chuanchuan and Xu Xiangxiang indeed looked very much alike.

Murong Shi quietly watched as Xu Xiangxiang's figure moved farther and farther away. Suddenly, she remembered the sight of Xu Chuanchuan reading out the bootlicking essay with an aggrieved look, and a thought came to her mind. She then asked aloud, "Where does she live?"