After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by a Crazy and Beautiful Villain - Chapter 31.1

Seeing that Song Linlin had apologized, yet could still manage to smile—a look that showed she knew she was wrong but had done it on purpose—Chi Qianning glared at her a few times, but ultimately gave up first and turned her head away.

Song Linlin also felt too ashamed to face her, so she could only lower her head guiltily, forcibly restrain her laughter, empty her mind, and silently chant for herself to forget what just happened.

However, contrary to her wish, the more she emphasized that she couldn’t dwell on it, the more her mind replayed the image of her grasping the other girl’s ankle. That pale, white foot was practically imprinted in her brain.

Song Linlin couldn’t help but let her gaze wander. She glanced at the mortified Chi Qianning, then shifted her sight down to the other’s feet.

Startled by Song Linlin’s actions just now, Chi Qianning had quickly pulled her foot away from the fingers, rapidly withdrawing it. Now, it was tucked inside her dress, with only a small portion exposed.

“No looking!” Chi Qianning sensed the gaze and immediately spoke to cut it off.

Song Linlin also retracted her sight and apologized again: “I’m sorry, I won’t look!”

The situation was truly awkward. Song Linlin felt her behavior was perverse; she suspected she might have taken the wrong medicine today. Ever since she spontaneously and inexplicably kissed Chi Qianning, things had been developing in increasingly strange directions.

She cleared her throat, attempting to do something to ease the tension. Remembering that Chi Qianning still had one shoe on, she coughed lightly and took the initiative to speak:

“You still have one shoe you haven’t taken off. Let me help you with it…”

No sooner had she finished the sentence than Chi Qianning curled up her knees, making it impossible for Song Linlin to reach her even if she wanted to.

“No need, I’ll take it off myself!” Chi Qianning flatly refused Song Linlin’s suggestion.

The previous episode was still vivid in her mind. How could she possibly let Song Linlin help her again? Who knew what strange words Song Linlin might utter next.

“Oh…”

Song Linlin sensed her resistance but was helpless. She had indeed been a bit perverse today, and it was probably better to calm down. She could only nod: “Alright then.”

However, even as she said this, her gaze lingered on Chi Qianning, with a trace of reluctance in her eyes.

Chi Qianning held her gaze for two seconds, then quietly turned her body. With her back to Song Linlin, she quickly took off her shoe. She usually did everything slowly, but today, she was surprisingly fast.

“So petty, she’s even hiding from me…”

Song Linlin squatted in place, watching the other’s back, drawing circles with her finger on the ground, and muttering under her breath. She didn’t expect the other girl wouldn’t even let her look.

Stuffing her socks into her shoes, Chi Qianning stood up directly, looked at Song Linlin somewhat stiffly, and said, “I’m going to catch fish now.”

“Mhm.”

Song Linlin nodded. After all that commotion, it was time to get down to business. After all, the sole purpose of coming out this afternoon was to catch Silver Flying Fish to exchange for sect contributions.

It was just that she was too incompetent; after all that fuss, she hadn’t even managed to snag a fish tail. It was truly embarrassing to admit. She was at the Golden Core stage, yet she couldn’t handle a few fish.

Now, she could only rely on Chi Qianning. She shouldn’t be as hapless as herself.

Since the other was helping her with a task, Song Linlin felt she should impart some of her experience and insights. After all, failed experience is still experience.

She lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then spoke again: “Be careful, the fish have a layer of faint liquid on their surface; they are extremely slippery and impossible to grip.”

“Also, they are very fast, and their body color blends almost entirely with the river water, making them very difficult to spot with the naked eye in the river.”

Chi Qianning listened absentmindedly. These weren’t major issues. They were just fish. She had even captured powerful demonic beasts; in comparison, catching fish would be much easier.

“I’m going.”

Seeing Chi Qianning clearly not intending to prepare further, Song Linlin looked down at herself. The contrast between the two of them made her look more like the one who was about to do manual labor. Chi Qianning, however, walked over with graceful composure. It was hard to imagine that she was about to go into the river to catch fish.

Song Linlin also got up, holding her bamboo basket, and caught up to Chi Qianning, saying, “Do you want to take this?”

It was something she had specially paid for. The bamboo basket should at least fulfill its purpose of holding fish, or wouldn’t she have wasted her money?

Though the item wasn’t expensive, wasting money on it would still make Song Linlin feel bad for a while.

Chi Qianning merely tilted her head to look at it, then shook her head, not wanting to carry the thing. But seeing Song Linlin’s eager look, she said, “You hold this and wait on the bank.”

“Mhm, good!”

Song Linlin immediately agreed. It seemed her bamboo basket hadn’t been bought in vain, and she wasn’t completely useless, either. Even waiting on the bank counted as helping the other girl, right?

“Do you need to prepare anything else?” Song Linlin pressed.

“No need, this is enough.”

As Chi Qianning passed a low-lying tree, she casually snapped off a branch. The branch looked thin, and a little force could probably break it, but its only advantage was its length.

Song Linlin watched her actions and roughly guessed what she planned to do, yet she couldn’t help but be suspicious. That thing looked so thin; it felt like it would snap with a bit of force. Could it really pierce a fish’s body?

Curiosity arose in her heart, but to avoid being proven wrong, she swallowed her question and decided to quietly observe what happened next.

Chi Qianning walked toward the riverbank with unhurried steps. When she reached the edge, she told Song Linlin, who was following her, “Wait here.”

With that, she stepped into the fast-flowing river water. The weather wasn’t hot, especially in the mountains, but being exposed to the afternoon sun was still uncomfortable. Compared to being in this unsheltered, direct sunlight spot, Chi Qianning preferred to stay in the shade.

Ignoring whether the river water would dampen her skirt, Chi Qianning’s feet stepped onto the slippery pebbles at the riverbed. The cool river water flowed past her calves, bringing a hint of coolness to the afternoon.

Aside from being a little sunny, it felt more comfortable in the water than on the bank. Thinking this, she felt less resistant to the idea of coming down to the river to catch fish. She walked a few more steps toward the deeper part of the river.

Compared to Song Linlin, who had stood closer to the bank, Chi Qianning’s current position was undoubtedly deeper, almost reaching the middle of the river. The water was above her knees, and she was subjected to a greater impact from the fast-flowing current.

Song Linlin watched her from the bank. At first, she was slightly nervous seeing her continuously walk toward the center, but seeing Chi Qianning standing there steadily and completely unbothered, Song Linlin understood that her worry was completely unnecessary.

“Chi Qianning, can you see the fish in the river?” Song Linlin stood on the bank, holding her bamboo basket, and asked curiously.

Chi Qianning didn’t speak. She lowered her head and scanned the river surface once. Then, she raised the hand holding the branch and casually stabbed it in a direction.

Her movement was so relaxed that Song Linlin only thought it was an unconscious action. But when Chi Qianning raised her hand again, the branch—which Song Linlin thought would easily break—was already skewered with a fish whose scales shimmered silvery-white.

The branch had precisely pierced the fish’s neural center, so the fish didn’t struggle at all when lifted. Only its gills were still twitching, showing it was alive.

“Holy sh*t!”

Song Linlin was utterly stunned. Clutching the bamboo basket, she subconsciously stepped back a few paces. She stared wide-eyed at Chi Qianning, almost speechless: “This… this… you…”

Clearly, the other girl had shown with her actions that she could see the Silver Flying Fish in the river, and even saw them perfectly clearly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have so casually plunged the branch precisely into the fish’s neural center, immediately immobilizing these fast and slippery fish.

Was this fish an actor? How could it be caught so easily!

Song Linlin was a little doubtful of life. She had diligently worked hard for half the afternoon, yet caught nothing. But now, Chi Qianning had succeeded so effortlessly.

“You’re amazing…” Song Linlin could only say quietly.

Chi Qianning looked at the fish. Its body looked very slick—likely from that slimy liquid. She really didn’t want to touch it. Turning to Song Linlin on the bank, she said, “Why are you spacing out? Catch.”

With that, she lightly flicked the branch, and the fish slid off the end, flying toward Song Linlin’s direction.

“Whoa!”

Song Linlin snapped back to attention, shocked that she would toss the fish like that. If it fell into the river, wouldn’t all the effort be wasted?

She immediately held up her bamboo basket. Song Linlin was about to make a move when she suddenly realized that, judging by the arc of the throw, the fish would most likely land directly inside the basket.

Then, Song Linlin watched as the fish accurately flew into the basket. The previously empty container finally held a fish. Everything happened too easily. Song Linlin felt that even without her, it seemed to make no difference.

Damn it, I’ve been reduced to a mere spectator!

This feeling of coasting to victory was certainly pleasant, but this was her mission. If she ended up not helping at all, that would be too embarrassing.

Song Linlin was standing there wrestling with her thoughts when, not long after, Chi Qianning had easily speared another fish. The fish was once again accurately tossed into the bamboo basket.

“What are you daydreaming about?” Chi Qianning stood in the water, looking at Song Linlin on the bank. Seeing that the other girl was somewhat lost in thought, she couldn’t help but speak up to remind her.

“Ah… nothing.”

Song Linlin hugged the basket and pondered for a while before asking curiously, “Chi Qianning, how were you able to spear them so accurately?”

After asking, Song Linlin felt she had asked a stupid question. With how capable the other girl was, shouldn’t such accurate spearing be taken for granted?

Chi Qianning, however, looked at her strangely, frowned, and asked, “Were you trying to find them with the naked eye just now? Or just blindly relying on luck?”

“Uh…”

Song Linlin felt too embarrassed to admit it. She could only hug her basket and remain silent. She had done both of those things, and caught nothing, wasting her effort for half the day.

Chi Qianning naturally understood her expression immediately. She sighed softly. After so many instances of this, she was getting tired of criticizing her. “Your perception isn’t just for decoration. If you can’t see them, feel for them carefully.”

“Then I’ll come with you!”

Song Linlin placed the bamboo basket on the grass. Since Chi Qianning threw accurately, she didn’t need to specially wait there to catch them. So, she might as well go fish together.

“If we just leave these fish here, will they die?” Song Linlin suddenly remembered that live fish had a higher recycling price than dead ones.

The fish in the basket were currently immobile, but their gills were still moving, clearly indicating they were still alive.

Chi Qianning said calmly, “Just occasionally put the basket in the water for a soak. They won’t die from being out of the water for just a short while.”

Relieved, Song Linlin immediately stepped back into the water. She walked step by step toward Chi Qianning in the center of the river. However, the path was not as easy as she had imagined. The further toward the center, the greater the resistance from the water, and the water level kept rising.

Song Linlin had to stop and pull her trousers—which were already pushed up to her knees—further up, all the way to her mid-thigh. Her long pants had now become shorts.

She didn’t feel any embarrassment, but Chi Qianning found the sight unbearable. How could a woman expose her thighs for others to see?

“Song Linlin, do you think this is appropriate?” Chi Qianning scrutinized her and couldn’t help but ask.

“Why? I think it’s fine.”

It was the middle of nowhere, not in public. Song Linlin continued to approach her. To prevent the other girl from nagging her further, she said, “It doesn’t matter, no one else can see anyway. Right now, only you can see, can’t you?”

Ultimately, Chi Qianning pursed her lips and said no more.

Song Linlin finally reached the other girl, pulled herself up by Chi Qianning’s arm, and stopped to barely steady herself. The water current here was very fast, and the impact force was naturally strong. She truly wondered how Chi Qianning managed to stand so stably.

“Are there more fish here? Why did you insist on coming to this spot?” Song Linlin asked with some difficulty.

Chi Qianning shook her head and answered honestly, “No. It’s just that the water is deepest here, so it’s cooler.”

Song Linlin looked at Chi Qianning with a confused expression. This answer was beyond her expectation. She had thought the other girl came here because there were more fish.

It turned out it was because it was cooler here? What kind of answer was that…

“Chi Qianning, are you very hot?”

Song Linlin felt the weather today was just right. The temperature in the mountains was slightly lower than outside, and aside from the afternoon sun being a little strong and making it slightly hot, everything else was quite comfortable.

Chi Qianning shook her head. “I’m used to a cooler environment.”

“Alright.”

Song Linlin silently nodded. That made sense. She was so pale; she clearly didn’t get much sun. If she kept dragging her outside every day, she might get a tan.