After Getting Bound to Both the Protagonist and the Villain at the Same Time - Chapter 6

Niu Qianqian froze.

She really was an adult now.

She had thought this time would be the same as always—just a slap on the wrist, at worst a disciplinary record. And even if the school actually put it into the electronic file, it would be wiped clean in six months anyway.

That was what the older “big brothers and sisters” who’d graduated told her. She’d never been afraid of punishment; being forced to read a self-criticism in front of the whole school was, to her, practically a badge of honor.

“If you can’t win, you go tattling to teachers and the police? Shameless! That’s not how the streets work!” Niu Qianqian strained against them, neck stiff, still struggling.

“I’d love to know what ‘streets’ you think you’re from.” Lin Chuyi’s voice was firm. She didn’t look much older than Niu Qianqian, but she spoke with absolute authority. “They’re cracking down on crime these days. As long as you’re not on the right side of the law, you’ll be swept out with the rest.”

Niu Qianqian never expected that she’d talk about “the streets,” only for the other side to talk about the law.

She was scared. Really, truly scared.

Outside the Office of Student Affairs, a swarm of students crowded in. With so many eyes on her, Niu Qianqian cowered, but she couldn’t afford to show it. “No! I’m calling my lawyer!” she blurted—the kind of thing she’d learned from TV dramas, where shouting for a lawyer magically solved everything.

“Sure.” Lin Chuyi raised a brow. “We’ll wait for your lawyer.”

Of course, no lawyer ever came. What arrived instead were her parents—furious, breathless, and livid the moment they heard she might have to pay compensation.

Niu Qianqian, normally so bold, was now a complete mess. Inside the office, she was being beaten black and blue by her enraged parents, howling and darting around like a trapped animal. But none of that swayed Lin Chuyi in the slightest: she wanted compensation. She wanted accountability.

The Student Affairs director was drenched in sweat, struggling to restrain Niu Qianqian’s furious parents while desperately trying to minimize the fallout.

The school already had a terrible reputation, accepting only students who had nowhere else to go. Anyone with decent grades or a family with even slightly better means would never attend a place like this.

To be honest, Shen Qing was someone they had lured in—using over ten thousand yuan in scholarship money and a waived tuition fee. A good kid, dragged down and ruined. They were anxious, but all their thinking revolved around “maintaining stability”—after all, Shen Qing’s academics weren’t that good right now either.

Lin Chuyi had no intention of watching the chaos any longer. She turned to Shen Qing.

“Why don’t you come home with me and rest for a bit?”

Shen Qing nodded, dazed.

She realized that the mountain crushing her had finally, truly collapsed.

It turned out the only way wasn’t mutual destruction. It turned out the person standing before her genuinely cared for her—truly wanted to help her.

It was a strange feeling, soft and precious, like being held gently in someone’s palms. Something Shen Qing had never experienced before.

Following Lin Chuyi, Shen Qing suddenly felt nervous.

She could smell the warmth in Lin Chuyi’s scent—gentle, steady—seeping slowly into her nerves, into her bones, becoming a part of her.

She’s such a good person, Shen Qing thought. So, so good.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be taken care of.” Lin Chuyi reassured her softly.

Those who had helped Shen Qing before weren’t entirely without good intentions—they simply stood on different ground. They couldn’t solve her problems, and they didn’t want trouble, so they offered endless “mediation,” hoping the issue would blow over.

But Lin Chuyi was different. She wasn’t afraid of offending anyone. She wasn’t afraid of trouble. She only wanted Shen Qing to have a better place to study and live.

“Ding. Villain-Cultivation System now bound.”

The CEO-style System 0927 abruptly appeared before both Lin Chuyi and Mengmeng, startling them out of their skins.

“That’s my host!!” Mengmeng jumped up. “Why did you bind my host?”

“There aren’t many who qualify,” 0927 replied coolly, maintaining its dramatic flair. “She’s experienced. So, I bound her.” It had its own strict criteria—it had tested countless people, but most failed.

“But—but what about my protagonist?” Mengmeng fumed.

“I’ll give double points.” 0927 was blunt and ruthless. Mengmeng immediately faltered. “B-but we don’t have room at home anymore,” it stammered, grasping at straws. “Right, there’s no space! And the apartment was applied for by the protagonist system, so she can’t move out, which means.”

“I applied for a unit across from yours. Same floor.” 0927 tossed a key into Lin Chuyi’s pocket. “Unlike the protagonist system, the villain system isn’t stingy.”

“But—but!” Mengmeng sputtered, then bounced onto a nearby tree branch to sulk.

“Come on.” Lin Chuyi coaxed her gently. “Even if 0927 didn’t show up, we were taking the little poor thing home anyway, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Mengmeng huffed, softening. It had already gone soft after learning about Shen Qing’s living conditions. “But our world has performance reviews—protagonists and villains have to compete somehow.”

“Didn’t 0927 say something about a lab project? As long as we guide things properly, we’ll reach the ending.”

“O-okay.” Mengmeng finally nodded. It had lent Lin Chuyi points earlier—if 0927 was offering points too, Lin Chuyi might pay back her debt faster and maybe even have surplus points to exchange for useful items.

Lin Chuyi took Shen Qing home. She had the key to the apartment across the hall, but she hadn’t set foot in it yet, and nothing inside was furnished. So, she brought Shen Qing to her current place first.

Shen Qing stepped into Lin Chuyi’s cozy little home.

There was clearly evidence of a second person living here.

At the doorway were two pairs of plush house slippers—one pink, and the other also pink.

But the pair Lin Chuyi had given her had been a brand-new set of dull gray slippers taken from the shoe cabinet.

In the kitchen, on the little shelf for cups, sat a blue specialty mug and a green one. The colors were different, yet the subtle symmetry between them created a kind of quiet, uncomfortable harmony—as if someone had arranged them deliberately in matching pairs.

And it wasn’t just the cups. Everything here seemed to come in twos, both intentionally and unintentionally. Even when Shen Qing entered the bathroom, she spotted matching toothbrushes and matching cups.

Did Lin Chuyi have a partner?

Or was there someone else quietly staking their claim over this space?

Shen Qing lowered her gaze, stepped back out, and sat down on the small sofa beside the dining table.

The sofa was tiny—barely big enough for two.

When Shen Qing sat down, if Lin Chuyi wanted to sit too, she’d have to sit right next to her. And unless Shen Qing scooted outward, their arms would end up touching.

Shen Qing should have moved a little.

But she suddenly didn’t want to.

Their arms brushed. In that moment of warm contact, something like a tremor rose from the depths of her soul—an electric, aching shiver that made her want to sigh.

For a split second, Shen Qing forgot how to breathe. She held her breath, as if doing so could freeze this moment forever.

Quietly, she inched even closer to Lin Chuyi.

Jiejie smells so nice.

“You’re Shen Qing, right?” Lin Chuyi asked.

“Mm.” Shen Qing nodded. Her face was pale, almost bloodless—like someone suffering from long-term malnutrition.

She barely spoke, but just sitting there silently made people feel a pang of sympathy.

And remembering what she had been through only deepened it.

Shen Qing sat obediently, a little tense, looking up with restrained caution.

Such a good kid.

Lin Chuyi’s eyes softened. “Here’s the thing. You’re in your senior year now. Focus on studying and aim for a good university. We visited H University this morning, remember? If you can get into H University, you’ll be able to live and study with us.”

H University was extremely competitive. Lin Chuyi knew that. But she wanted to give Shen Qing a goal—something to hold on to, something to motivate her.

“Us?” Shen Qing caught the key word. She shouldn’t have asked—but couldn’t stop herself. “Is, is someone else living here too?”

“Mm. Technically, you have another jiejie here,” Lin Chuyi said. “She’s also staying temporarily. If everything goes well with her matters, she should be able to move to a bigger place soon.”

Just staying temporarily.

Shen Qing felt something tight and fragile in her chest slowly loosen. She couldn’t even identify the mess of emotions bound up with Lin Chuyi—only that whenever she got close to her, her heart leapt uncontrollably, pounding with a quiet, thrilling excitement.

“I usually sleep out here,” Lin Chuyi continued. “She sleeps in the bedroom. So, I’ll avoid taking you inside for now. If you need to go in, we’ll have to wait until your other jiejie comes back.”

Shen Qing had no interest in anyone else’s room. She answered softly, her voice low and unenthusiastic.

“From now on, don’t worry about money,” Lin Chuyi said. “Part of it will come from the compensation from those people, and I can lend you some too. You can pay me back when you’re grown.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to be so polite. We’ll be family from now on,” Lin Chuyi said with a smile.

“And the other jiejie?” Shen Qing asked quietly. Her gaze lingered on the smiling curve at the corner of Lin Chuyi’s eyes, then drifted down to her lips. Her eyes lingered for a few seconds before she suppressed the aggressive, possessive edge in her heart. “Will that jiejie also see me as family?”

Lin Chuyi paused.

Right. The protagonist and the villainess weren’t supposed to get along in the original plot. Her decision to bring Shen Qing home had been pure impulse—she hadn’t discussed it with Gu Mian at all.

She hadn’t even asked her house’s “big baby” whether she’d accept a “little baby” suddenly joining the household. Bringing her home without warning, what if Gu Mian got upset?

She hadn’t thought this far earlier. Today had been chaotic, and she hadn’t informed Gu Mian she was saving the villainess—much less that she was bringing her home.

Gu Mian had gotten upset over a tiny matter before. She didn’t cry or make a scene, but she’d drawn a clear boundary, insisting Lin Chuyi sleep with her but refusing to let her coax her—so stubborn and yet so adorably pouty.

Thinking of Gu Mian’s sulky little mood, Lin Chuyi couldn’t help smiling.

But that night she hadn’t slept well. In her dreams, she’d felt like a tiny boat drifting on a burning ocean, something warm pressing against her. She couldn’t push it away, and eventually drifted into deep sleep.

But bringing someone home was no small matter.

Oh no. How was she supposed to explain this?

Lin Chuyi instinctively avoided Shen Qing’s gaze.

“Jiejie, if you bring me home, will the other jiejie be angry?” Shen Qing asked softly, her eyes dark and deep.