Tang Hua's naturalness requires no embellishment.
It's like her clarity, which is completely opposite to her figure, so pure that it's baffling.
In Bai Xing's eyes, she even seems a bit foolish.
Clumsy and naive, but it doesn’t seem like an act.
"Could it be… she was genuinely lost just now??"
Bai Xing has tasted countless teas and evaluated hundreds of cups, already quite accomplished in the art of tea.
Having been taught by Su Ling, she can almost instantly distinguish between "strong tea," "light tea,"
and "plain water."
Now, seeing Tang Hua's natural behavior, which feels so absurd yet harmonious, as if "this is just how she is every day," Bai Xing can’t help but form a new judgment—
[She’s not a schemer.]
[She really seems like a succubus.]
[—The kind of pure succubus who has no common sense about the real world, holed up in a dungeon, never daring to venture into human society.]
Got it.
"The shame of succubi."
Bai Xing understands her better now.
Feels like, this time, she’s completely outmatched.
If Tang Hua were just a cunning woman, Bai Xing would still have a chance, as sincerity could edge out manipulation.
But now, Tang Hua’s every move is effortlessly natural.
This leaves Bai Xing utterly dazed, her vision blurring.
She wonders, can such a girl really exist in the real world?
She quickly does the math in her head—
Assuming:
Tang Hua’s cluelessness is one in a hundred,
Tang Hua’s pure yet alluring beauty is one in a thousand,
Tang Hua’s astonishing artistic talent is one in ten thousand,
Tang Hua’s perfect figure is one in a hundred thousand,
then the question arises: what are the odds of a woman who possesses all four traits existing in the country?
...
Defeat is the dominant feeling Bai Xing experiences throughout tonight’s steak dinner.
She had been confident of a one-sided victory.
Now, it is indeed one-sided.
Tang Hua ten, Bai Xing zero.
There’s no need for the kind of back-and-forth she had with Su Ling (who deliberately gave her some leeway out of respect for her brother);
facing Tang Hua’s purity and "naturalness," Bai Xing loses without a shred of doubt.
With that, the girl no longer holds back, eating and drinking to her heart’s content.
"Honestly, this restaurant isn’t bad,"
she even starts complimenting the dishes.
"As long as you’re satisfied,"
Lu Qing, sensing her discomfort, doesn’t press further. Instead, he methodically lays out the main topic for the evening:
"By the way, regarding the livestream account, as the guild leader and manager, I’ll temporarily take custody of it. Is that okay?"
He suddenly turns his gaze to Tang Hua, deploying a high-level tactic—"account retrieval."
"Huh?"
Tang Hua blinks, seemingly caught off guard.
On the other side, Bai Xing perks up, thinking:
"Huh? Is the senior going to take her account under his control?"
Doesn’t that mean the account now belongs to him?
Upon reflection, this means she’s no longer working entirely for Mebia but rather for the senior, no longer a mere "substitute."
From her perspective, originally, the account belonged to Mebia, and the livestream room was Mebia’s.
Mebia could log in whenever they wanted, and Bai Xing could only borrow the account during broadcasts, without full access.
Now, with the senior’s order, Mebia has to hand over the account, turning her "personal account" into a "work account," giving it a neutral status. This allows Bai Xing to gain more control, no longer feeling like she’s just borrowing it.
After a brief thought, Bai Xing feels much more balanced.
"Haha, the senior is right! The guild leader should take over the account! A work account is a work account, and a personal account is a personal account! Yeah, that’s how it should be!"
She fans the flames, quickly chiming in.
"Oh, okay…"
To her surprise, Tang Hua simply nods, not bothered at all.
As if she doesn’t care, she just picks up a napkin to wipe her lips, pondering:
"Sure, you can have my account. I don’t use Bilibili much, only logging in occasionally for tests. I also have Twitter, WeChat, QQ, and Xiaohongshu accounts. You can check them all. I haven’t been privately messaging any guys, and I’ve deleted all my clients. I’ve even blocked my family and colleagues. Hehe, do you want to see, boss?"
"????"
"..."
No.
This response not only shatters Bai Xing.
It crushes her completely.
Even Lu Qing feels an internal wound opening,
suddenly overwhelmed by a force from another dimension.
"..."
"..."
"?"
"Tang Hua, listen to me."
Lu Qing gently pushes her phone, its screen cracked like a spiderweb, and patiently explains:
"First, I have absolutely no intention of checking your social media accounts. That’s unnecessary. Second, I won’t restrict you from having normal social interactions or privacy… that’s not my role. Do you understand?"
Though he wants to add, "We’re just work partners, and borrowing your account is part of the job,"
he wisely stops himself, considering Tang Hua might not see it that way. He cuts his words short to avoid hurting her.
This is the art of language.
"I understand, boss. You didn’t force me; I wanted to show you myself."
Sure enough, Tang Hua smiles sweetly, saying, "See, I don’t have other friends. I don’t think I need any. But since you’re having me collaborate with her, I’ll have to add one more person. So, I need to ask for your permission. After all, you’re my boss. I should tell you everything I do."
She turns the screen toward Lu Qing, her dependence on him so intense it’s as if she’d die without him.
"..."
"..."
Lu Qing is defeated.
Speechless.
Bai Xing is also stunned.
At a loss for words.
She wonders, is she perhaps… unnecessary here?
How can Tang Hua be like this?
Even though she knows she’s not normal, she’s never encountered a woman this extreme.
She…
Did she just say she deleted her family too?
What’s going on? Is she all alone, wandering out there?
Is she a stray cat or something?
She looks like she’s in her twenties, but why is she so strange? Is she completely antisocial, never going out?
Yet, she still lingers around the senior’s doorstep like a stalker, unwilling to leave.
What’s her deal?
"..."
Bai Xing doesn’t know what to say. She only feels that the once-delicious steak now tastes bland.
No flavor at all.
And Lu Qing is even more confused.
Lu Qing had imagined Tang Hua’s "purity," but he never expected it to have mutated to this extent.
He secretly glances at the shattered screen,
and sure enough, it displays the WeChat friend list—
with only him in it.
No one else.
"I haven’t seen such an empty WeChat account since I first registered years ago."
It’s way too clean.
"Tang Hua, where’s your family? Do you live completely alone?"
Before he can ask, Bai Xing across the table can’t help but speak up.
"Yeah, my family situation is pretty complicated. They’re always forcing me to do things I don’t like. So, I came to the mainland. If it weren’t for the boss, I wouldn’t know how to survive. Hehe, so I only keep the boss in my friend list. That’s enough for me."
At this point, she suddenly looks at Bai Xing—
"From now on, there’ll be one more person—you. After all, you’re the most important person to the boss."
She gives Bai Xing a "friendly" smile.
"..."
For some reason.
At this moment, Bai Xing actually feels…
a little flattered.
...
...