After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 17

Shi Ji paused, her brain sluggishly recalling that there was indeed such an unfinished matter.

However, since she didn’t remember it anyway, she figured it was best to pretend nothing had happened. Why bother with a specific conversation? Besides, she was already annoyed enough—she had finally helped Lin-zi survive her eighteenth-birthday death flag, only for her to get mixed up with the villain now.

Adhering to her principle of “staying far away from the protagonists,” she stepped forward to leave, coldness in her voice. “I don’t remember. There’s no need to talk.”

Yi Yanbai suppressed the hurt in her heart. Steeling herself, she grabbed Shi Ji’s wrist, only to be frightened into letting go by the other woman’s icy glare. Yet, her face remained calm and indifferent. “I only wanted to apologize for tearing your clothes that day.”

Shi Ji: “…”

A few guests nearby began to glance their way. Annoyed, Shi Ji grabbed the sleeve of Yi Yanbai’s jacket and pulled her toward a less crowded area.

“What exactly do you want to say?”

Yi Yanbai looked away from the sleeve Shi Ji had just wrinkled. Meeting those eyes full of obvious impatience, she remembered Inmate 1064’s words.

‘If the other person doesn’t like you, you can play the victim.’ ‘A little force is fine, too. Just don’t give up!’

Her gaze gradually grew determined. She spoke slowly: “I want to apologize. I was in a bad mood that night and got drunk, which is why I kissed you, why I tore your clothes, why I…”

“Stop.” Shi Ji cut her off just in time, looking at her with confusion.

Why was this female lead acting so strange? Every word she spoke seemed tinged with a sense of sorrow. Was she having relationship issues with the “true heiress,” leading her to drink her sorrows away at Hongxun?

Tsk, tsk. How pathetic.

“Did you get dumped?” Shi Ji couldn’t help but ask directly.

Yi Yanbai was clearly stunned for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose so…”

Her phoenix eyes drooped slightly. Shi Ji actually detected a hint of dejection on that normally cold face. Rare sympathy stirred in her heart, and her anger dissipated somewhat.

“Forget it then. I don’t mind. Let’s not mention it again.”

“But I feel uneasy about it.”

“…”

Looking at the stubborn female lead—who seemed determined to pay her back somehow or never let it go—Shi Ji had no choice but to compromise. “Then consider it a favor you owe me, alright? I’ll come to you when I think of something I want.”

“Okay.” Yi Yanbai’s expression relaxed significantly. She thought to herself: As long as there is a connection, there will be more opportunities.

Shi Ji gave her a strange look, then turned and walked away quickly. “Don’t follow me anymore.”

Good grief, she thought. I’ve never seen someone so eager to hand out favors.

A waiter passed by with a tray of drinks. She grabbed a glass and downed it in one gulp, letting out a breath.

“Miss, that’s a very strong…”

The burning liquid hit her stomach and immediately flushed her face. Shi Ji placed the glass back on the tray and waved a hand dismissively. “I’m fine.”

She scanned the room and saw that Yi Yanbai had left, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. Remembering that Xu Linqiu hadn’t returned from the backyard yet, she decided to wait for her at the back door. She needed to have a good talk with her; it would be best if things could still be salvaged.

Today is just one disaster after another!

After waiting for what felt like ages without seeing a single soul, Shi Ji grew impatient. The back door led to a set of about a dozen stone steps flanked by tall, dense foliage. As she paced back and forth in her high heels on the damp bricks, she accidentally slipped and tumbled straight into the bushes.

After a short cry of pain, she hissed a curse. She was about to crawl out when she heard faint voices nearby. Her reflexes kicked in, and she immediately crouched back down.

“Where is Sister Linqiu? Didn’t I hear she was back?”

“Yu Shu.” A voice paused, filled with displeasure. “Are you still refusing to give up?”

Xu Judong’s voice matched her personality—soft and clear. Shi Ji recognized it instantly. As for the other person, Yu Shu, she was the female lead with the most screen time in the original novel—the kind, pure “white lotus.”

But why were these two together?

Shi Ji focused her attention, decisively crushing a mosquito on her leg that was trying to drink her blood. She heard the sound of a door closing. Yu Shu’s voice was quite different from her appearance—magnetic and mature.

“I just meant that now that Sister Linqiu is back, shouldn’t you be by her side? After all, you still love her and can’t forget her, can you?”

Shi Ji’s eyes widened. What does that mean? Is this forbidden love?! No, wait—they weren’t biological sisters.

But since she had arrived in this world, the plot had deviated wildly. The “True and False Heiresses” were only rivals in the entertainment industry; their true identities hadn’t been revealed yet. This meant that in Xu Judong’s eyes, she had fallen in love with her own biological sister!

Silence fell for a few seconds before Xu Judong let out a cold laugh. “That’s right. I still love my sister. So what? Weren’t your fans’ attacks on me last time enough? Do you want to take me down personally this time using this? Show me—are you recording this?”

“Stop it…”

Yu Shu, wearing a form-fitting long gown, let Judong feel around her dress, presumably searching for a hidden phone.

Xu Judong was clearly a bit drunk. She had thought that once Linqiu returned, her heart would suffer again, and she might even start taking those antidepressants. That was why she had pulled Yu Shu here to talk, only for them to start arguing again.

Yu Shu endured it, grabbing Judong’s hand. Even under the glare of those beautiful “autumn water” eyes, she didn’t let go. Finally, disappointment clouded Judong’s gaze. She spoke slowly, emphasizing every word: “Yu Shu, I treated you as a friend. I promised to apply for the same schools as you, and I even skipped cram school for the first time to help you earn money for living expenses. But what about you?”

“You secretly changed your major. When you clearly guessed I was in agonizing love with my sister, you weakly told me that you liked her too.”

“Later on, even though one of us was in the film industry and the other in television—not interfering with each other at all—you insisted on acting like a frail ‘green tea’ bitch every time we met at big events, tripping me up and making your fans hate me. Then afterward, you’d exploit my soft nature and sneak into my room at night to ‘comfort’ me.”

“Yu Shu, are you insane?”

“Or did you guess long ago that my sister would return, and you’re intentionally sucking up to me just to get close to her?”

“I’m telling you, no way! We are through as friends starting today!”

When drunk, Xu Judong was as talkative as ever. Yu Shu suddenly felt like laughing. She looked at Judong’s flushed cheeks and casually placed a hand on her waist to keep her from falling. She reached out and used her thumb to wipe away a stray tear from the corner of Judong’s eye, narrowing her own eyes as she spoke:

“I’m telling you this: I will like Sister Linqiu as long as you do. I’m going to compete with you for everything, and I’ll be tied to you forever.”

“You black-hearted white lotus!”

Xu Judong lowered her head and suddenly bit hard into Yu Shu’s exposed shoulder. She seemed to have even broken the skin, yet Yu Shu’s lips curled into a smile despite the pain. She gently stroked Judong’s hair, holding her head still, and said with a chuckle:

“I’m going to take a photo of this later for evidence. Tomorrow I’ll post it on Weibo, saying I ran into Miss Judong at a gala, and poor Miss Judong lost her footing and fell onto me, her teeth accidentally hitting my shoulder.”

“It’s all my fault for not catching Miss Judong in time, so I deserve the scar.”

“You…” Xu Judong looked up, dizzy with rage, only to have her head pressed back onto Yu Shu’s shoulder.

“Get some sleep.”

Yu Shu’s voice carried a hint of mockery that Judong could hear clearly. Gritting her teeth, Judong closed her eyes and stopped moving. Fine, I’ll sleep on your shoulder today and make it go numb!

Sensing that the breathing against her shoulder had stabilized, Yu Shu slowly pulled the other woman into her arms. She looked up at a few stars flickering in the dark sky, her heart filled with softness as she recalled their first meeting.

On her first day at Mingli Academy after getting in with top grades, she had been cornered by a group of girls in the restroom. They pushed her toward the sink, telling her that every student who got in “only on grades” had to complete a “hair-washing ritual” every day for the first month.

They turned on the faucets, each with a smirk on their face. Yu Shu was about to just endure it when a soft, clear voice suddenly broke in.

“What are you doing? Haven’t you seen my sister’s movie College Entrance Exam? I caught you once yesterday and I’m catching you again today. Go back and study hard, or I’ll send the photos to Sister Chenqing and make you do the ‘floor-sweeping ritual’ for a month.”

Once the crowd scattered, the fierce-looking girl immediately beamed a smile at her, her dimples deep.

“I heard you’re a genius at math. Can you help me review? The student council president is my neighbor sister; I’ll protect you from now on.”

Yu Shu had been stunned, then nodded. “Okay.”

But because she hadn’t eaten breakfast for days, she had fainted from low blood sugar…

The steps remained quiet for a long time, but Shi Ji couldn’t snap out of her daze. The mosquitoes—having bitten her legs until they were covered in red welts—buzzed incessantly, making her want to cry.

How did the plot end up this skewed?

It was bad enough that the “false heiress” liked Lin-zi, but now the “true heiress” liked her too, and they were turning against each other because of her. And on top of that, she was likely to be bitten to death in these bushes.

This is just beyond a disaster!

She scratched her legs frantically, but her phone suddenly rang, sounding jarringly loud in the silent night. At that moment, thinking of all the upheavals of the night, she suddenly felt like dying.

So, in her grief, she reached out and slapped two mosquitoes mid-air.