Chapter 129 – Whose Manga Is It?

A backup girlfriend???

Lin Xi was dumbfounded. How could someone as domineering as Shi Yu ever say something like that?

“Shi Yu, and you still claim you’re not unhinged?!”

“Wait, is my fan group really that terrifying?”

“They even managed to make you unhinged?”

“No, this won’t do. I need to get Xinning and Su Xiangxue to disband the fan group right away-“

“It has nothing to do with your fan group,” Shi Yu interrupted Lin Xi’s rambling. “I genuinely like you.”

Lin Xi: “???”

“Are you trying to mess with me? Is this some new trick? I’m not falling for it!”

“When we signed the Couple Contract, didn’t you swear you’d never like me?”

Shi Yu promptly denied it. “I didn’t. I’m not. Don’t make things up.”

Lin Xi wished she could replay the footage from back then for Shi Yu, but unfortunately, she didn’t have that ability.

“What happened to neither of us ever liking the other?”

“So I was only after your royalties, while you were after my body???”

Shi Yu: “…”

“Don’t put it like that. You’re going to make me blush.”

Lin Xi felt as though she’d been struck by lightning. Shi Yu could blush? An H-manga artist could actually blush?

Lin Xi came to a firm conclusion. “You definitely have some secret agenda. If I actually believe this confession, I’ll be the biggest dumbass in all of Z City!”

Shi Yu didn’t argue. “I know you don’t believe me. That’s okay. I’ll prove that my feelings are real. Of course, that will have to wait until Sister Lin repairs me and I can leave this hospital bed.”

“I was in the wrong before. From now on, you can do whatever you want to me. Ravage me to your heart’s content.”

“Shi Yu! So you really are still a pervert!” Lin Xi retorted to her face.

In Lin Xi’s opinion, if Shi Yu ever stopped being a pervert, then she truly wouldn’t be Shi Yu anymore.

“I accept your apology, but I’m not going to do anything weird to you.”

“And I’m not going to like you, either.”

“If you behave yourself, we can maybe be ordinary friends.”

“No problem,” Shi Yu said. “I’ve already prepared myself to be your backup girlfriend for the long haul. Go ahead and like someone else, or accept someone else’s confession. Either is fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m only your backup girlfriend.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Lin Xi couldn’t take it anymore. Flustered, she fled. “I’ve already told you what you need to know about Shuguang Technology. I’m leaving!”

“And don’t tell anyone else about what’s going on between us! I don’t want people thinking I’m a scumbag because of this whole ‘backup girlfriend’ thing!”

After leaving the basement of the Safe House and heading upstairs, Lin Xi took a deep breath. Only then was she sure everything that had just happened wasn’t a hallucination.

“What kind of magical realism was that?” Lin Xi thought back over the past.

Shi Yu had certainly picked on her all the time, but she’d also stubbornly stayed in Lin Xi’s home and refused to leave.

“She was the one who asked to sleep with me, and she was the one who proposed the Couple Contract…”

“So does that mean there’s actually the tiniest chance she really does like me???”

“Still, it’s far more likely that she’s planning to pull some massive stunt on me…”

Lin Xi decided she wouldn’t listen to what Shi Yu said. She would judge her by what she did.

Once Sister Lin repaired her and she could move around again, Lin Xi would see whether her true colors came out.

…

Lin Xi returned home with mixed feelings.

She opened the door and stepped inside.

“Master! Welcome home!”

Lin Xi hadn’t seen Thor at the Safe House, so she’d guessed that Thor was probably still making herself at home here.

But…

“Lu Yi, Qin Ling, you two are here again today?”

“Is this even my home anymore? Did I walk into the wrong place?”

Qin Ling said, “I came to teach you guitar, so don’t be ungrateful!”

“Uh, sorry, Teacher Qin. My mistake. I can’t believe I lumped you in with her too.” Lin Xi turned to Lu Yi. “What are you doing here too?”

“Waaah…” Lu Yi looked ready to burst into tears. “You said you liked Neko more than anything! You heartless player! You’ve already cast me aside for someone new, and now you hate me!”

“I don’t hate you,” Lin Xi hurriedly said. “I’m just saying, if you two are coming over, could you at least let me know first?”

“Every day when I come home, it’s like opening a mystery box.”

“So, Lu Yi, what are you here for?”

Lu Yi calmly replied, “I’m here to mooch food and a place to sleep.”

“You didn’t have to say it so bluntly,” Lin Xi grumbled weakly.

Lin Xi resignedly walked inside, only to let out a shriek.

“Aaaaaah!”

Sitting right on the living room table were all the girls’ love manga she’d hidden under her bed.

The last time Zhao Xinning stayed over, Lin Xi had stashed them under the bed to keep them out of sight.

If they were out here now, then Thor must have found them while cleaning!

Lin Xi whipped her head around and discovered that Thor, Lu Yi, and Qin Ling were all looking at her very strangely.

“Everyone, please let me explain-“

“Master, there is no need to explain!” Thor exclaimed excitedly. “I had no idea you possessed such interests. If you find yourself unable to restrain your desires, please feel free to take them out on me!”

“Stop treating me like some kind of pervert!”

Unfortunately, Lin Xi’s protest sounded painfully feeble under the circumstances.

After all, the manga had been found beneath the bed in her bedroom.

“Lin Xi, so this is the kind of person you are.” Lu Yi’s expression remained perfectly calm. “You want me to repay you with my body, don’t you? Fine. Tonight, I belong to you.”

Blushing, Qin Ling scolded, “Thor, Lu Yi, watch what you say! Have you no shame?”

At least one of them was normal. Lin Xi was immensely relieved.

But Qin Ling wasn’t finished.

“Lin Xi, if you like me, you can confess your feelings and chase after me relentlessly. Then you might have the tiniest chance of winning me over.”

Lin Xi was speechless.

She silently analyzed the situation.

Thor was trying to repay her kindness. Lu Yi wanted free food and a place to sleep. As for Qin Ling… she had probably only said something so ridiculous because she didn’t want to be left out.

And the catalyst for all of this was the girls’ love manga on the table.

All three of them must already think I’m a pervert.

There was only one way to turn this around!

Pointing at the manga, Lin Xi declared, “These aren’t mine!”

“They’re Shi Yu’s!”

Thor, Lu Yi, and Qin Ling all shook their heads, telling her not to lie through her teeth.

“You don’t believe me? Fine. We can contact Shi Yu right now and ask whether these are mine or hers.”

The fact that Lin Xi dared to contact Shi Yu convinced Qin Ling halfway. Lu Yi, meanwhile, believed her completely.

Lu Yi knew Shi Yu well and was aware that Shi Yu was an H-manga artist. “It wouldn’t be strange at all for Shi Yu to own things like these.”

She then turned to the other two. “Besides, Lin Xi is willing to contact Shi Yu. Given their relationship, there’s no way Shi Yu would cover for her.”

Qin Ling nodded in agreement. She also knew that Lin Xi and Shi Yu couldn’t stand each other.

Only Thor, the newcomer who knew nothing about the long-standing grudge between Lin Xi and Shi Yu, insisted that Lin Xi contact her and prove her innocence.

So Lin Xi made the call.

This was also the perfect opportunity to test Shi Yu’s attitude toward her and see whether she was willing to take the blame.

“Hello? Shi Yu? Those manga under my bed are all yours, right?”

“They have to be yours, right?”

All four of them, Lin Xi included, pricked up their ears to hear Shi Yu’s answer.