After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 18

After settling Ruan Yubai, Qing Ling finally entered the training ground.

Meanwhile, Ruan Yubai, fuming with indignation, clutched the Peter Rabbit plush in her arms, desperately wanting to ask just how old Qing Ling thought she was.

However, after taking a big sip of her mangosteen milk, Ruan Yubai had to admit the truth.

Qing Ling inside the training ground was vastly different from the everyday heroine.

It wasn’t about appearance or attire, but more about an intangible quality like aura. In short, the moment Qing Ling put on the full-dive helmet and connected to the optical brain to enter the virtual combat arena, the live broadcast screen reflected a completely different person.

The mountains after the rain were shrouded in gray mist. Qing Ling’s landing point in the virtual arena happened to be the edge of a cliff. Beneath her feet, countless termites were nibbling meticulously at her clothes, and just as they were about to touch her smooth skin, she brushed them off cleanly. After crushing them underfoot, she expressionlessly kicked the damp clump of soil off the cliff. As a vulture swooped down, her eyelashes didn’t even flutter. She had already bent into an agile half-arc in the air, using the tip of her foot to push off the ground. Without needing to brace herself, she twisted and turned, slipping into a cave in two or three movements.

When Ruan Yubai had read this part of the story, she found it thrilling. Besides exclaiming, “The heroine is so cool!” she even felt a bit eager to try it herself and take on the challenge.

But the reality unfolding before her eyes was far more heart-stopping than the few lines of description in the novel, enough to make Ruan Yubai, who was merely watching, tremble with fear.

The cave was pitch-black, with extremely low visibility. Even from a third-person perspective, Ruan Yubai couldn’t make out whether the cave was inhabited by venomous snakes or web-spinning spiders.

The young lady’s expression was stern and cold. A cut on her wrist, left from slicing an arrow shot at her with a rough tree branch, dripped with crimson blood. In an instant, it was swallowed by the sound of rain and slowly absorbed by the muddy soil.

But there was another sound, a faint hissing.

Ruan Yubai practically pressed her entire body against the virtual screen in the air. Even through the inorganic barrier, she could almost smell the sweet, metallic scent in the air.

Something was there!

Clinging to the ceiling of the cave was an enormous black mass, blurred as if pixelated. Ruan Yubai suppressed her disgust and held her breath, observing it for a long while.

“It’s a mutated flying fox!”

The flying fox had an extremely long skull, with flattened, recessed cheekbones, fan-shaped ears, and two grayish-brown stripes, making it look like a fox’s face magnified several times over. Its wings were a dull gray-brown, blending seamlessly into the dim environment. Its toes were coated with something indiscernible, dripping occasionally under the pull of gravity.

A flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, momentarily illuminating the gloomy surroundings. Ruan Yubai’s pupils contracted, and she used all her strength to stifle the scream rising in her throat.

It was a string of feathers from its prey, clumped together with blood like candied hawthorn on a stick. The different types of fur should have belonged to animals of different species, but now they were nothing more than a bloody mess, hidden beneath the flying fox’s coiled, elongated body.

Run!

At that moment, Ruan Yubai forgot all her earlier anger toward the heroine. Her eyes were fixed intently on the tall girl on the screen, who had her back turned to the blood-sucking flying fox. She wished she could leap into the screen to warn her.

At that moment, the enormous bat began flapping its wings, ready to hunt for new prey. Ruan Yu’bai instinctively closed her eyes, almost able to picture the female lead being torn apart and logging out of the game.

Unexpectedly, Qing Ling moved faster than she had imagined. The oil-soaked wooden stick instantly burst into flames, illuminating the girl’s blood-stained, composed face.

In an instant, the fire drove back the fire-fearing bat. With a swift twist of her other hand, Qing Ling revealed a gleaming dagger. Before the bat could angrily flap its wings and lunge at her, she swiftly closed the distance, her graceful figure leaving only a white streak in the air.

However, this blood-sucking bat was, after all, a creation of the virtual scenario. After losing one of its wings, it showed no intention of retreating. Instead, it grew even more frenzied, seemingly unfazed even as half its fangs were sliced off. Flapping its massive, foul-smelling wings, it swooped down, momentarily blocking the entire view of the mirror.

By the time the battle ended, Ruan Yu’bai’s face had paled several shades.

Bat remains lay scattered across the ground, while Qing Ling’s pristine white robe had become a palette of blood and rainwater. A wound traced a delicate path across her jade-like cheek, which she slowly wiped away. Her clear, bright eyes suddenly turned toward the cave entrance.

These creatures, relying on echolocation, hid in the darkness. Only the occasional flash of lightning revealed their eyes, dark and bead-like, clustered tightly together like a bunch of grapes. They remained as still as statues, their ears alone slicing through the sound of the wind.

They were moving.

When Qing Ling finally removed her holographic helmet, she saw Ruan Yu’bai nearly slumped in her chair. The girl’s rabbit plushie had been squeezed into a triangular shape, and she looked utterly disheartened.

“Was it really that scary?” Qing Ling chuckled, tossing the empty milk carton from Ruan Yu’bai’s hand into the trash bin. She sat down beside her and rescued the pitiful rabbit. “This time, I disabled the use of mental energy. Next time, the scene won’t be so bloody.”

Was it just about the gore?

Sure, Ruan Yu’bai was a homebody, but she’d seen her fair share of horror movies. Not to mention, she was born into the Ruan family. Even before attending Laureus Academy, she had naturally been exposed to such holographic equipment.

Advanced holographic technology could simulate real-world environments with near-perfect accuracy sound, visuals, smell, touch, and even perception were indistinguishable from reality. Because of this, many people struggled to tell the difference between the virtual and the real, some even developing psychological issues. In extreme cases, individuals had chosen to end their lives due to the overwhelming suffering experienced in virtual scenarios.

Ruan Yu’bai had read about such cases in the news and sighed with pity, but they were strangers, after all. No matter how gruesome the scenes, they hadn’t shaken her like this.

The problem was that the one who had just endured that brutal slaughter was the female lead herself! Although no bats survived in the end, Qing Ling hadn’t fared much better. That ordeal was no less than torture.

Suppressing the urge to retort, Ruan Yu’bai frowned and asked, “How much did you set the pain sensitivity to?”

“Around forty,” Qing Ling replied, looking refreshed and even taking a sip of plum wine, in stark contrast to Ruan Yu’bai’s unsettled expression.

Ruan Yubai finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, though her brow remained somewhat furrowed. “That’s still quite high. For such scenarios, you should at least lower the pain sensitivity by eighty percent. You don’t have any masochistic tendencies, so why put yourself through this?”

Qing Ling smiled faintly and nodded, but didn’t mention that the forty percent wasn’t a reduction, it had actually been increased.

Without clear pain, how could she remind herself of everything she had been through?

But there was no need to say such things. After Ruan Yubai waved goodbye, Qing Ling handed her two boxes of medicine, reminding the girl to take them on time.

The moment Ruan Yubai disappeared from the training ground, Qing Ling’s eyes instantly darkened.

How could someone as adorable as her be worthy of Nan Zhudi?

Since there was no way to change Ruan Yubai’s feelings, the only option was to intervene in other ways.

Casually turning on the speaker, soft blues music drifted out. Qing Ling poured the remaining clear liquor into the sink, leisurely turned on the tap, and washed her already clean hands over and over until the backs of her hands were rubbed red, as if scrubbing away a sticky sensation clinging to her skin.

No one could emerge from such a twisted scenario unaffected even Qing Ling was no exception.

The only difference was her exceptional tolerance. The most valuable lesson from years of Qing family education wasn’t the wealth of theoretical knowledge, but the restraint ingrained in her bones.

Water droplets spread across the clean mirror. Qing Ling gazed at the composed young woman reflected within and smiled elegantly.

Whether dealing with the bats in the simulation or the other disturbances that had been troubling her lately.

The female lead might be calm, but that didn’t mean the supporting character destined to become the antagonist’s cannon fodder felt the same way.

It wasn’t until Ruan Yubai returned home that she realized, due to the intense situation, she had completely forgotten to record Qing Ling’s combat scenes.

What was it called when you lost sight of the main goal? She had gone through all that effort, and the fundamental purpose was to show it to Lin Yi!

Ahhh, she was such an idiot!

But it didn’t matter. From a certain perspective, the female lead seemed remarkably easygoing and hadn’t noticed Ruan Yubai’s little schemes. The next day, she invited Ruan Yubai again to observe her training at the practice field.

Naturally, the laid-back Ruan happily agreed. However, just as she had forgotten to record the video the first time, it seemed almost inevitable that she would forget later on as well.

But as the saying goes, walk the night path too often, and you’ll eventually run into the male lead’s older brother.

After visiting Lumos multiple times, Ruan Yubai realized that the slight discrepancies weren’t due to a disconnect between the novel and reality. Instead, the female lead’s training area had more than one entrance. Whether it was the warehouse beneath the dormitory or the hidden door in the laboratory, they were just a few among many locations.

This time, to avoid the hassle, Ruan Yubai didn’t bring her backpack, planning to take a shortcut to retrieve it after leaving Qing Ling’s training ground before heading home.

And so, she unfortunately encountered Nan Zhuge, who had just engaged in a temporary marking activity with an Omega from his class.

The classroom was filled with the thick, smoky scent of pheromones, mixed with a hint of something resembling spoiled, decaying milk, causing Ruan Yubai to immediately frown.

She knew that some students at the school sought thrills by engaging in primal behaviors in certain areas of the academic building, but she hadn’t expected anyone to be so bold as to act so brazenly right in the classroom.

Were they completely unafraid of the surveillance cameras?

The answer seemed almost inevitable. When Nan Zhuge saw the person entering, his initial panic to cover himself with clothing quickly turned into excitement as he recognized who it was. He half-embraced the girl’s shoulder and said, “Classmate Yubai, did you come here just for me? Are you also craving to be marked by an Omega like me?”

He licked his lips. “Don’t hide. I know you’re shy. I smashed all the surveillance equipment in this classroom, so no one will see no matter how wild you get.”

Ruan Yubai’s expression turned completely cold. “I have no such intentions toward you. Please let go.”

Why were the male lead and his brother so disgustingly natural at this? Was this some kind of racial talent?

“You might have fooled me before with that act, but you’re terrible at hiding it. You always come to Class A, sneaking around to flirt with me.” Nan Zhuge’s overpowering Alpha pheromones grew even stronger, almost instinctively suppressing her. He smirked triumphantly. “My foolish younger brother even claimed you actually liked him. Now I get it, you’re using him and the young lady as excuses to get close to me, aren’t you? You little!”

The rest of his vulgar words were lost in his increasingly low murmurs. With his pheromones leaking excessively, the Alpha’s rationality had yet to return. Smacking his lips, he leaned in to kiss her slender, pale neck.

As her negative emotions peaked, Ruan Yubai unexpectedly calmed down. She bent slightly, as if leaning into his embrace, and smiled sweetly. “Little what?”

Nan Zhuge’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. He had intended to force the situation but never expected a response. Enraptured, he stared at the girl’s face and replied, “Little.”

The second half of his sentence was abruptly cut off by the crisp sound of a red cylindrical fire extinguisher from the corner. In the last second before his consciousness faded, all Nan Zhuge could remember was the small hand gripping the object soft, pale, and seemingly boneless, perfect for holding and toying with, yet now mercilessly wielding a deadly weapon to strike him down.

All the pent-up pressure and helpless resentment of recent times finally found an outlet. Ruan Yubai’s cheeks flushed slightly, and her usually gentle eyes gleamed with a rare coldness. Seeing Nan Zhuge twitching on the floor, still struggling to get up, she didn’t hesitate to strike again. The metal met his skull with a sharp, resonant clang.

Damn novel plot, cursed male lead and his brother, brainless, cliché-ridden author! So you like building harems, huh? I hope you enjoy the company of beauties in the eighteenth level of hell!

If she couldn’t deal with Qing Ling, could she not handle this foolish Alpha?

The base of the fire extinguisher was now stained with a dirty red. Just as Ruan Yubai was about to swing it again, she suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway.

Acting decisively, she set down the fire extinguisher, dragged Nan Zhuge’s deadweight body like a slaughtered pig, and hastily concealed him in a blind spot. She was about to slip away via the staircase, which had no surveillance, when she spotted two figures strolling toward the end of the corridor.

“President, did you hear something over here?”

With no other choice, Ruan Yubai hid in a narrow corner, her heart pounding. As the figures drew nearer, she desperately mimicked the sound of a cat’s meow.

The person walking behind chuckled in understanding. “Oh, it’s just a stray cat. I must have misheard.”

Hearing the sound, the slender figure that had initially turned to leave seemed intrigued. Instead of walking away, it moved closer to the source of the noise. The platinum president’s cufflinks on its sleeve reflected a dazzling, luxurious gleam against the pristine glass window.

She remarked indifferently, “A stray cat? I didn’t hear anything.”

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