After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: A Fright

The thing Yu Yingxia feared most had finally happened.

She had known the day would come when her secrets would be exposed, but she never expected it to be so soon. From Yan Huaixi’s tone, she had clearly known for a while that Yingxia was drawing “improper” things. Regardless of how Yan felt about it, Yingxia had only one thought.

She wanted to run away from this world!

Yingxia lowered her head, her face flushing a deep crimson. She stared at the floor as if she could burn a hole through it with her gaze; if she could, she would have jumped right in and buried herself.

It would be fine if anyone else had found out—she could simply cut ties and act like it never happened. But the person who found out was Yan Huaixi, the woman she had to live with day and night!

Yan Huaixi had never seen her like this. She looked like a shy little rabbit trying to dig a burrow in a sandpit to hide its shame. Eventually, the urge to tease her further won out, and Yan let out a soft chuckle.

Hearing that laugh, Yingxia wanted to bury her head in the blankets. Wait… if she can still laugh, it means she hasn’t seen the most “fatal” drawings, right? Yingxia tried to comfort herself. As long as Yan didn’t know she had accidentally used her as the model for one of the main characters, she probably wouldn’t turn Yingxia into fertilizer for the garden.

“Master,” Yingxia’s voice was as weak as a mosquito’s hum. “At that time, I needed to earn money for your medicine and use Sister Yang’s connections to track the Tianqiu Sect. She only wanted those kinds of drawings… I had no choice but to take the job.”

“I have no intention of interfering with your hobbies,” Yan said, her breath grazing Yingxia’s ear as she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Unless… you drew something you shouldn’t have. For example… me?”

Yingxia panicked instantly. She snapped her head up, her eyes wide with the terror of someone whose guilt had been poked directly. Was it a coincidence, or did she know?

Seeing the fear in Yingxia’s eyes and how she instinctively recoiled from her touch, Yan Huaixi realized she had pushed the “scare” too far. She didn’t want Yingxia to fear her or distance herself.

Yan placed a hand gently on Yingxia’s cheek, her voice turning soft and reassuring. “What are you afraid of? You wouldn’t do such a thing, right?”

Her tone was like that of a senior advising a straying junior. For once, the villainess revealed genuine warmth and amusement without a trace of hidden anger. Yingxia’s panic slowly shifted into confusion. She doesn’t know? It was just a coincidence?

“Right,” Yingxia nodded, carefully tucking away the guilt in her eyes. It had been an accident; she wouldn’t dare use Yan as a model again the nightmares afterward had been enough.

Yan Huaixi stopped teasing her. “Draw what you like, as long as you don’t overstep. Even those drawings… while the Hehuan Sect has a history of using art to lure people into illusions, that path is unorthodox. It’s better not to learn it.”

Yingxia looked up, her peach-blossom eyes shimmering with a watery light that seemed to speak volumes. Yan felt her own heart skip a beat. Before she could say anything else, Yingxia spoke up.

“I understand. Rest assured, even if I had a hundred times the courage, I would never dare to have any ‘overstepping’ thoughts toward you.”

The finality in Yingxia’s voice caused a strange discomfort in Yan’s chest. The goal had been achieved—Yingxia would never dare have “other” thoughts but why didn’t Yan feel relieved?

The silence stretched between them until Yan broke it by changing the subject. “Have you decided? Do you want to try using brush and ink as your weapons? If you want to learn…” She thought of Yang Xunzhou, who was always trying to kidnap Yingxia. Forget it, I can teach her myself. No need to let Yang corrupt her. “…I’ll find some suitable techniques for you.”

“Thank you for going through the trouble for me,” Yingxia said. Her tone was polite far more polite than before. To Yan, politeness felt like distance.

Just as Yan was wondering how to bridge that gap, a knock came from the courtyard gate. Knock, knock, knock.

Having recently entered the path of cultivation, Yingxia’s senses were sharper; she heard it clearly. Yan, of course, heard it even sooner. The arrival of Yang Xunzhou broke the awkward tension.

“A-Sheng! Are you home?” Yang’s voice drifted in.

Yingxia’s eyes lit up. She wanted to escape the room, and Yang’s arrival was the perfect excuse. She scrambled out of bed, forgetting her body was still weak and her spiritual energy was depleted from overstaying in the Soul Realm.

“Slow down! Watch your step!” Yan called out. She was a bit annoyed by Yingxia’s excitement to see Yang, but she was more worried about her falling.

She wasn’t fast enough. Yingxia’s legs gave way, and she stumbled forward toward a stool. If she hit her head, she’d be bruised for a week.

Yan Huaixi lunged forward and grabbed her, pulling her back. But Yingxia was already off-balance; the sudden yank sent her crashing directly into Yan’s arms.

Thud! Yan’s back of the head hit the bedpost hard. She felt dizzy not from the blow, but from the sudden, soft contact on her lips.

By some freak accident of physics, they had collided in a kiss. Or rather, their lips had smashed together.

Yan felt a metallic tang; her lips had been split open. What a cursed fate, she thought. First the “medicine feeding” bites, and now this.

Yingxia froze, her eyes wide with shock. She couldn’t feel the softness of Yan’s lips because her own were numb and throbbing from the impact. But her memory betraying her, flashing back to the “sweetness” she had experienced while feeding Yan medicine in the past—and even the strange dreams she’d had while unconscious.

Yingxia scrambled to pull away, desperate to swear she didn’t do it on purpose. Especially now that Yan knew about her drawings, this “accident” looked incredibly suspicious!

But as she recoiled, she nearly fell off the bed entirely. Yan, still dazed, instinctively reached out and pulled her by the waist back into her embrace.

In that close proximity, Yan could hear Yingxia’s heart racing like a trapped bird. But beneath that frantic rhythm, she heard another sound, just as loud.

It was her own heartbeat.

Support After Transmigrating into a Book as Cannon Fodder, I Pampered the Villain