Chapter 15: The White Lotus

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Qiao Yuyan stepped out of the bedroom, barely exchanging a few words with Yu Qingmei before she and Jiang Yunxi were promptly ushered out. Half a piece of donkey meat sandwich still stuck between her lips, she stood at the doorway, locking eyes with Jiang Yunxi. Jiang Yunxi glanced at Qiao Yuyan and chuckled softly, taking the thermos from her arms. "Mom really has no patience—she didn’t even wait for you to finish eating before kicking us out. Hurry up and eat; once you're done, we'll head back."

Qiao Yuyan paid it no mind and simply sat on her suitcase, finishing the remaining half of the donkey meat sandwich. She had long grown accustomed to Yu Qingmei’s old-fashioned mindset—though she constantly worried about her children, the moment they arrived, she was afraid of wasting their time or causing them inconvenience. So each meeting was always rushed, and she hurried them out.

In a few bites, Qiao Yuyan finished her snack, grabbed her suitcase, and followed Jiang Yunxi back to the Huo family residence. She still stayed in her previous room. Jiang Yunxi came in behind her and handed her a shopping bag. "When I went to buy clothes for Mom this morning, I saw this nightgown. It’s the latest from that brand. Take a look and see if you like it."

The logo on the paper bag belonged to a luxury brand’s silk sleepwear sub-label. Qiao Yuyan eyed the bag with a creeping sense of foreboding. She took it, pulled out the nightgown, and sure enough, it was a pure white silk camisole nightdress, its intricate patterns matching the description in the document perfectly.

Without betraying any emotion, she folded the gown away with a smile. "Thank you, sister, I really like it."

"As long as you like it," Jiang Yunxi stood. "Go unpack your things. I’ll call you when it’s time to eat."

"Okay." Qiao Yuyan smiled brightly as she saw Jiang Yunxi out.

Once the door closed, her expression instantly turned cold. She glanced at the gown on the bed and snorted. The original story really knew how to disgust people—making the secondary female lead wear the sister’s gift to seduce the male lead.

By the time she finished unpacking, dusk had fallen. The sound of an engine approached outside, the car slowly pulling into the Huo family villa—it must be Huo Lingchen returning.

Qiao Yuyan opened the door to head downstairs but stopped at the staircase hearing her sister’s voice trembling with tears.

"Huo Lingchen! Use some reason! That’s my mother, my real mother. She’s hurt, and I’ve been taking care of her all day—what’s wrong with that?"

"I told you not to take care of Auntie," Huo Lingchen’s voice was icy, devoid of warmth. "But since you married into my family, shouldn’t your focus be on us?"

Qiao Yuyan frowned deeply. So once married, you can no longer care for your own family? Her aunt had a pension and didn’t need her sister to support her. What right did he have to say such things?

They’d been married for four years, yet Huo Lingchen still hadn’t changed his tune. He didn’t care about his mother-in-law’s injury, clearly showing he had no respect for her sister or her family.

Not wanting to overhear their quarrel, Qiao Yuyan returned to her room and shut the door.

No one mentioned dinner again that night.

Qiao Yuyan sat quietly in her room without turning on the light. Outside, the street lamps gradually lit up, and the moon hung in the sky, casting a soft halo that spread through the night.

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As night deepened, Qiao Yuyan donned the nightgown her sister had given her. The white silk slipped smoothly over her skin, shimmering faintly under the moonlight like a flowing river of stars.

She stepped into the moonlight and looked down at her shadow, her smile growing ever more gentle.

…

Huo Lingchen, just as described in the document, sat at the bar on the first floor, gently swirling a glass of whiskey. The rich aroma wafted faintly through the air.

Suddenly, the lights went out without warning. The dining room plunged into darkness, illuminated only by moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Frowning, Huo Lingchen glanced toward the power switch. A slender figure slowly emerged from the shadows and stepped into the moonlit area.

Upon seeing the visitor’s attire, his lips twitched almost imperceptibly downward, eyes full of disdain as he quickly turned his head away.

His wife’s younger sister was delicate and pretty, but her clothing left much to be desired.

She wore a neon tight T-shirt underneath a high-quality silk camisole nightgown, the hem of which was haphazardly tucked into a pair of jeans. The expensive nightgown looked like an unnecessary ornament on her.

Qiao Yuyan approached Huo Lingchen and cleared her throat, adopting a coquettish tone, “Brother-in-law, why are you drinking alone here feeling down?”

Huo Lingchen acted as if he hadn’t heard, not even casting a glance her way, and took another large gulp of whiskey.

Qiao Yuyan remained unfazed, her smile unwavering as she recited her lines aloud, “Brother-in-law, it’s so late—why are you drinking alone like this? It’s really heartbreaking.”

Huo Lingchen continued to ignore her, just as the original story had written, offering no response.

Suddenly, Qiao Yuyan snatched the whiskey glass from his hand, her fingertips swiftly sliding across his palm.

Huo Lingchen felt a sharp sting in his palm but couldn’t see what had happened in the darkness.

Just as he reached to turn the lights back on, Qiao Yuyan’s gentle voice floated out: “Brother-in-law, please don’t be angry. Sister really is too thoughtless. You work so hard outside and deserve more understanding.”

“How can you say that about your sister?” Huo Lingchen immediately interrupted, ignoring the pain in his palm.

“Isn’t it true?” Qiao Yuyan’s voice softened further. “Brother-in-law, you’re always so busy you have no time for sister. Even though you don’t earn much, you work so hard—I can’t help but feel sorry. Sister stays home all day; how could she argue with you?”

The more Huo Lingchen listened, the more uneasy he felt. He stared straight at Qiao Yuyan, her innocent expression and words accusing his wife’s immaturity, but with an undercurrent of sarcasm directed at him.

Qiao Yuyan caught his changing expression and smirked inwardly, though her face remained innocent. She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, “Brother-in-law, though you’re no bigshot who can triple assets with a single deal, your diligence gives me hope—you’ll surely make a great success someday.”

Huo Lingchen could clearly hear the hidden meaning. His face darkened as he suddenly stood and slammed his hand on the bar. “You…”

But before he could finish, the sharp pain in his palm made him gasp and swallow the harsh words back.

He quickly went to turn on the lights and saw a long, deep cut bleeding profusely on his palm.

Qiao Yuyan widened her eyes, covered her mouth with both hands, and exclaimed, “Oh my, brother-in-law, your hand is injured!”

Huo Lingchen glared fiercely at Qiao Yuyan, recalling how she had snatched the glass. It must have been then that her nails scratched his palm.

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Qiao Yuyan acted as if nothing had happened, calmly pulling a crumpled band-aid from the tight pocket of her jeans and tearing it open to apply to Huo Lingchen’s hand.

Huo Lingchen pushed her away roughly, too angry even to utter a harsh word, and stormed upstairs.

Only after he disappeared from sight did Qiao Yuyan drop her affected expression and hum a tune as she returned to her room.

Leisurely, she removed the fine needle from her fingernail and placed it back into her suitcase.

Tonight, she intended to test the boundaries of the original story’s plot.

First, she layered jeans and a T-shirt beneath the nightgown; the world’s will showed no reaction, offering no forced corrections.

Then, during her confrontation with Huo Lingchen, she found that as long as she recited the original lines, the free-flowing barbs and quips afterward were not blocked.

With this, she gained confidence—the world’s will was not very intelligent, certainly less flexible than a simple-minded child, granting her much more freedom of action.

Whether she could influence the subsequent storyline remained to be seen in the next update.

For now, she had another task to complete.

She put on an internal GSC earpiece and connected to the team channel. As soon as she joined, the channel erupted with chatter, various topics overlapping.

Clearing her throat softly, the channel immediately quieted. She spoke in a low voice, “Aure, come help me with something.”

“On my way.”

“Shiyue, take control of the Huo family’s surveillance and cover for me.”

“Received.”

With Lin Shiyue’s technical support, Aure quickly infiltrated the neighborhood and crouched under Qiao Yuyan’s window.

Qiao Yuyan shed the decorative nightgown and climbed out the window, landing softly on the grass in the courtyard.

She turned and kicked the blond youth beside Aure, lowering her voice to ask, “Why did you come along?”

An Chen grinned, unwilling to admit he just came to stir up trouble.

He quickly shifted the topic. “Boss, I brought you something good.”

“What is it?” Qiao Yuyan raised an eyebrow, not bothering to scold him for acting on his own.

An Chen produced a small black box and presented it like a treasure. “It’s a subsonic wave emitter I just made.”