After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 41

Xu Judong headed for the door to answer the knock. Yi Yanbai, appearing indifferent, stepped further into the hot spring pool. But just as the door opened, Shi Ji’s slightly embarrassed voice drifted in from behind.

“Can I soak with you guys?”

That single sentence caused Yi Yanbai’s foot to slip as she reached for the center of the pool. With a loud splash, she tumbled into the water.

The commotion drew everyone’s attention. Xu Judong frowned and asked, “Sister Yanbai, are you alright?”

After receiving a positive response, Judong bent down to pick up a small basket and said to Shi Ji, “Sister Shi Ji, you stay and soak here. I’m going next door.”

With Judong gone, the massive hot spring room was left to just the two of them.

Yi Yanbai rubbed her ankle, floating in the water, and hurriedly tried to wrap the discarded bathrobe around herself. But in her haste, her movements were clumsy. Before she could cover up, a warm hand supported her shoulder, trying to help her up.

That warmth felt even hotter than the spring water. Panicked, she brushed the hand away and rejected her: “Stay away from me.”

Shi Ji’s gaze shifted from Yi Yanbai’s furrowed brows to those cold eyes filled with blatant refusal. The woman’s long hair was plastered to her skin by the water, her lashes were damp, and her skin shimmered with a wet glow.

“I just saw that you might have twisted your ankle and wanted to help,” Shi Ji muttered.

Is it necessary to be that repulsed by me?

In that moment, an inexplicable surge of sadness made Shi Ji irritable and restless. Normally, she would never stick her face where it wasn’t wanted, but now she did the opposite. She firmly grabbed Yi Yanbai’s shoulder and used her own body to brace the woman into a sitting position.

In the nearly transparent water, everything was visible. Shi Ji glanced once and quickly looked away, her face burning. She couldn’t help but whisper: “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. Are you actually shy?”

Yi Yanbai quickly grabbed a towel to wrap herself, breaking free of the grip and backing away. “No. We are only in a marriage of convenience.”

She never once looked at Shi Ji. She was afraid that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stay heartless.

Watching her retreat to the furthest corner of the pool, Shi Ji bit her lip, a wave of anger rising from nowhere. Fine, it’s a marriage of convenience. I can’t wait to stay away from the protagonist anyway!

Since Yanbai didn’t want her to take responsibility, why should she keep trying? She’d just treat that night as a fever dream. Yet, the anger wouldn’t dissipate. She slapped the water helplessly and drifted to the edge.

She didn’t notice that no matter how comfortable the water was, her eyes never left Yi Yanbai.

The woman was leaning dejectedly against the edge, water reaching her shoulders. Her smooth, rounded shoulders were beaded with droplets. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, clouded with mist, but the chill within them remained. Her cold face was flushed, and from time to time, she bit her lip as if enduring something.

Shi Ji swallowed hard several times. A certain possibility suddenly exploded in her brain like a heatwave. She couldn’t help but stammer loudly: “Yi Yanbai, are you… are you mas—”

“I’m rubbing my ankle,” Yi Yanbai’s cold gaze swept over, successfully cutting her off. She quickly looked away again, but it only made Shi Ji more uncomfortable.

What on earth is in my head? How could I think she was doing ‘that’!

But she looked so…

Shi Ji kept staring, trying to cover her embarrassment with a clumsy explanation. “Right, I knew it. You’re just rubbing your ankle.”

Time ticked by. The heat from the water persisted, and Shi Ji’s mind began to wander. She looked at Yi Yanbai’s cold profile and couldn’t help but recall that night—the way she had cried under her, begging her to be gentler, the way she had hooked her legs around her.

She admitted it now: she had been wrong to say Xu Linqiu was the only one “lusting” after a body. It seemed she was now lusting after Yi Yanbai’s body, too. How did this happen? I must be going crazy.

The door opened. Yu Shu had guessed Shi Ji wouldn’t return, so the one entering had to be Xu Judong.

She smiled as Xu Judong closed the door and walked over with a cold face. Even the bathrobe wrapped around Judong looked like a fashion statement. Judong stepped into the water, sat down, and glanced over. “What are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing because Director Wei invited you to play the female lead in Qingcheng Mountain, and I know you’ll refuse. Coincidentally, I’m the other female lead. It’s a huge IP; without you, I’ll have a clear path to the top.”

“Stop with the reverse psychology. I don’t do television dramas,” Xu Judong sneered.

Yu Shu leisurely poured a handful of water over her shoulder, her lashes low, still smiling. “I know. I’m just telling you that if you refuse, you’d better find a good movie script quickly, or you won’t even see my dust. After all, the other candidate for the role is Lin Huanyu.”

Lin Huanyu was an A-list actress, but her reputation in the industry was terrible. She had once boasted that for every drama she filmed, she would sleep with her co-star. With her massive background and resources, she had never failed yet.

Xu Judong fell silent. She looked at Yu Shu again and caught the bitterness hidden behind the smile. A small actress with no background like Yu Shu… the price she had paid to reach her current status was unimaginable.

Xu Judong felt a pang of empathy. For a moment, the stifling steam in the room felt like it was drowning her.

“I’ll take the role,” Judong’s soft voice rang out. “Let’s see if you can keep up with me once I enter the TV market.”

Yu Shu looked up, unable to hide her joy. Fortunately, Judong wasn’t looking at her.

“Are you sure? There are kiss scenes~” Yu Shu curled her lips, her eyes curving.

“Are you questioning my professionalism?” Judong didn’t even bother looking at her, closing her eyes to enjoy the soak.

“There’s a bed scene, too~”

Judong’s brow furrowed. “You talk too much.” Bed scenes are just camera angles anyway, it’s not like it’s for real.

“Lin-zi, are you guys done yet?”

It wasn’t until the voice came from outside that Xu Linqiu finally let the woman beneath her go. She turned and coughed to hide the rasp in her voice, calling back, “Give us a moment.”

“Okay.”

When she turned back, Yi Chenlan’s hands were still tied above her head. The haze in her eyes hadn’t faded; she was panting heavily, her chest heaving. Xu leaned in and kissed her cheek, coaxing her softly: “As long as you’re obedient, I promise that when your ‘sweetheart’ returns, I will leave you of my own accord.”

As if.

The woman was too exhausted to speak. She could only force out one word: “Heh.”

“Believe me or not, you’re not getting rid of me right now.”

Xu Linqiu didn’t care. She stood up, carried her into the spring water, untied her hands, and held her to prevent her from slipping. Xu knelt beside her and kissed her lips—a gentle, lingering web of affection.

“Let me help you wash. I promise that once we go out, I won’t mention a word about being married to you.” Xu’s other hand moved through the water, gently cleaning her.

Yi Chenlan’s gaze was skeptical and cold; she even bit Xu’s lip hard. Xu was unmoved and deepened the kiss instead. The faint metallic taste of blood mixed with the movement of their tongues made it even more intoxicating, until a controlled, beautiful sound finally escaped the woman’s lips.

Xu finished quickly and released her, teasing, “Such a big reaction?”

The woman stared at her with misty eyes. Xu carried her back to the bed, dried her with a towel, and dressed her piece by piece. She was infinitely tender, focusing intently even on the buttons. Throughout the process, the woman went from indifferent to humiliated, finally choosing to just close her eyes.

Once Xu had changed herself, she helped the woman up and held her to let her recover. “We’ll go out when you have your strength back.”

She opened a bottle of water and fed it to her. The woman drank it, teeth clenched. Xu leaned down and rubbed her face into the woman’s neck, intentionally sniffing her scent. “You smell so good.”

“Pervert,” Yi Chenlan hissed. A moment later, as soon as she regained her strength, she pulled away from the embrace. Despite her legs being slightly weak, she forced herself to walk toward the door.

Xu Linqiu followed, unable to hide a hint of disappointment. She sincerely hoped that when Qingqing recovered her memory, she wouldn’t be like this, or things would be very difficult.

The other four were waiting in the dressing area. When they saw ‘Yi Chenqing’ walk out first, her expression was the same as when she entered—except for her lips, which were visibly swollen.

Xu Linqiu followed, carrying the suitcases. Judong still looked a bit down. Shi Ji suggested everyone use the restroom before heading to the outskirts, and the group delayed a bit longer.

Outside, the production team noticed that the livestream audience hadn’t decreased; in fact, more people were joining and chatting. They checked the comments:

[User]: Did anyone notice Xu Linqiu and CEO Shi didn’t bring change of clothes in?

[User]: I need to see the first-hand footage of them coming out. See who didn’t change.

[User]: If they did change… well, we all know what that means.

[User]: Nooo! My Qiu-Ji CP!

[User]: Maybe a friend brought clothes? Or Xu Judong?

[User]: But no normal hot spring soak takes this long! Did they faint?

The camera shifted to the entrance as the six women walked out, their long hair slightly damp and their clothes neat. Under the lights, their skin looked pale and delicate.

[User]: Wait! Look at CEO Yi’s lips! It’s too obvious!

[User]: Let my eagle eyes check the others… why do they all look a bit swollen?

[User]: Look at Xu Linqiu’s lip—it’s actually cut at the corner. And she’s carrying CEO Yi’s suitcase!

[User]: What is happening?! (Crying)

[User]: Is she even a match for CEO Yi? Yi is the head of the Yi Corporation.

[User]: And who are you? Xu Linqiu is Xu Yun!

Outside the hot spring house, warm lights lined the streets. The sky was dark, with only a sliver of light remaining.

“Director, it’s dark already. You wouldn’t have the heart to make us girls stay in the wild, would you? There are wolves!” Shi Ji pleaded.

Beside her, Mu Yi looked at her with disdain, thinking to himself: She’s already married and still calls herself a ‘girl.’

“No, it’s the rules. At most, I can lend you a few flashlights.”

The staff handed them out. Xu Linqiu took one and gave Shi Ji a silent thumbs-up.

“So heartless,” Shi Ji continued to grumble, livening the atmosphere. “It’s just a tent, who can’t handle that?”

They were led to the adventure zone and chose a grassy patch near a small river. When the staff dropped three tent sets on the grass, Xu Linqiu asked the group if anyone knew how to pitch them. Everyone said no.

“I don’t.” “Neither do I.”

“I do,” Yi Chenlan said. She looked at Xu Linqiu and let out a cold, thin smile. “But there’s a condition.”

“What condition?” Xu Judong asked immediately.

“I want to share a tent with Xu Linqiu.”

Shi Ji couldn’t bear to watch. “Look at you, no humanitarian spirit at all. Pitching a tent requires a condition? Does that even count as a condition?”

“I accept,” Xu Linqiu smiled. But before her smile could even settle, Yi Chenlan spoke again.

“And…” She leaned into Xu’s ear, lowering her voice: “I want you to let me tie your hands and feet together. No resisting.”