After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Marked by the Beautiful Mad Villain - Chapter 22

On the way to pick up Su Yi, Su Mi took a moment to seriously reflect on her actions.

The biggest mistake was opening her mouth in the first place to offer Shen Han a ride home. Being a sycophant had become such a habit that it was truly hard to break.

Not that it felt particularly stifling—Shen Han was just a bit cold, and her face was admittedly easy on the eyes. Her boss from her previous life had been plain-looking, spoke with even more arrogance than Shen Han, and was far more petty. Compared to that manager, Shen Han was practically a saint.

Then again, what kind of car did a villain not have? Why did she insist on having Su Mi drive her?

As her thoughts hit a dead end, Su Mi scratched her head and gave herself a pep talk.

Comrade Su Xiaomi, think about the silver lining.

Since Shen Han was already in her car, if things went smoothly, she could just take her along to see Xu Nanqiao. Even though the villain would definitely go visit on her own—Shen Han cared about her that much—Su Mi was worried that Shen Han might say something out of line again, just like last time.

The villain had been pampered since childhood; her starting point was so high up that even if she spoke without malice, she might unintentionally hurt Xu Nanqiao’s sensitive heart. From that perspective, Xu Nanqiao’s persistent lack of favor toward the villain probably stemmed from exactly that.

Su Mi let out a sigh, feeling that for the sake of the mission, she was truly giving her all—she practically wanted to hold their hands and teach them how to date.

The thought flashed by and was quickly dismissed. Of course not; she was only relying on the knowledge the system had crammed into her head. In reality, she had zero practical experience—and didn’t plan on gaining any.

The drive was silent. Shen Han rested with her eyes closed in the passenger seat while Su Mi switched to autonomous driving and sent two messages to Xu Nanqiao.

Su Mi: President Shen and I are coming to see you in a bit?

Su Mi: Which hospital are you at?

This time, Xu Nanqiao saw them and sent back a location pin.

Xu Nanqiao: Just coming is enough, it’s nothing serious.

She didn’t show any resistance to Shen Han coming along either. Su Mi was overjoyed. Could it be that Shen Han sending people to take her to the hospital today had actually earned her some points?

Thus, she stepped on the accelerator of the sports car. However, the acceleration was too jarring even for her, so she hesitantly dialed it back a bit.

Su Yi’s nursery was located in a standalone clubhouse within the Su family’s residential area. Su Mi sped all the way there and executed a silky-smooth tail-flick park right at the entrance.

Though, that beautiful parking maneuver was entirely thanks to the optical computer’s intelligent control system.

Su Mi bragged, “Sister, was I fast?”

Shen Han slowly opened her eyes. With a gaze carrying a hint of exhaustion, she said raspily, “Given your driving style, for your next birthday, I’ll only consider gifting you a walker like the ones at Nanyuan.”

Su Mi: “Eh?”

She leaned in worriedly to check Shen Han’s complexion and eyes, which seemed fairly normal. Her breath nearly brushed against Shen Han’s face.

The latter closed her eyes and said, “You could get even closer.”

Su Mi let out an “oh.” This time, she realized Shen Han was being sarcastic. Not daring to say more, she obediently backed away.

She grumbled inwardly: Shen Han’s mood is like a barometer, constantly changing.

The two got out of the car. Su Mi swiped her optical computer for access and followed the waiter’s lead upstairs to the lounge outside the nursery activity room.

The lounge furniture was very child-friendly, filled with various small tables and chairs. The inner door led to the activity room. Su Mi leaned toward the door and peered through the observation glass, but she didn’t see Su Yi in the main area. The nursery had several rooms; perhaps Su Yi was playing in another one.

There was a sensor nearby. By tapping the optical computer, one could access the network to view the surveillance of every classroom. The waiter had already gone to notify the teacher inside.

Su Mi turned around. At some point, Shen Han had sat down in a chair near the edge. Her long legs were crossed under her suit skirt, and she leaned back with a sense of languid exhaustion—clearly a departure from her usual composed posture. She propped her elbow on the armrest, lightly massaging her brow.

This looked like…

Even a fool like Su Mi could tell something was wrong with such uncharacteristic behavior. A realization finally dawned on her.

Wait, is the villain motion-sick?

And she had just been jerked the speed settings on the optical computer back and forth…

Su Mi was startled. She walked to her side, leaned down, and asked with concern, “Sister, are you alright?”

Shen Han opened her eyes. Perhaps because it had been too dark in the car, Su Mi only now noticed that the villain’s eyes were bloodshot. The answer was obvious. Su Mi was speechless.

Shen Han’s gaze was lazy and carried a hint of helplessness. “Finally realized it?” she asked calmly.

Su Mi let out an obedient, apologetic “mm.” She immediately raised her hand by her face as if taking an oath. “Next time I drive you, Sister, I’ll keep it perfectly smooth and steady. I’ll never drive this fast-accelerating sports car again.”

Having said that, she offered a fawning smile, trying to make amends. “Sister, should I get you a glass of water? What can you eat to stop the nausea from motion sickness?”

Shen Han: “Water is fine, thank you.”

Su Mi’s eyes sparkled. “Your business is my business, Sister! It’s what I should do!”

With that, she pushed the door open and went out. Refusing the waiter’s help, she fetched a full cup of water herself.

When she returned to the lounge, before she could hand the water to Shen Han, the door to the activity room opened. A short, doughy little ball of a child stumbled out, looking up at Su Mi. A milky, high-pitched voice cried out loudly, “Sis… Sister!”

It was Su Xiao Yi!

Su Mi’s eyes lit up. She placed the water cup on the table next to Shen Han and rushed over in a few strides. She picked up Su Yi and spun him around twice.

Su Yi let out a “woo-hoo,” squinting his eyes as they spun, clearly having the time of his life and giggling uncontrollably.

Setting him down, Su Mi gave her brother’s soft, fragrant cheek a big kiss. Su Yi tugged at Su Mi’s leg, pointing inside the activity room. “Play, play!”

The teacher explained from the side, “When you arrived, Xiao Yi was inside building blocks. He wanted to build a big house and hasn’t finished yet.”

“Oh! Okay.” Su Mi patted Su Yi’s little head and said with a smile, “Sister will play with you!”

Swept away by her brother’s cuteness, Su Mi carried Su Yi and dashed into the activity room.

The blocks Su Yi was using weren’t complicated. Su Mi sat on the floor of the playroom with him. After playing for a while, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and she belatedly realized:

It seems… I left the villain resting outside?

Even though she had provided water… and even though the lounge environment was great with good air circulation and waiters on call… and even though letting Shen Han rest there seemed like a good arrangement…

But… how could she forget the boss as soon as she saw her brother! This was an epic failure in her career as a lackey!

Su Mi took a breath, feeling instantly unsettled. Worried that Shen Han might lose patience and leave, Su Mi quickly helped Su Yi finish the blocks.

When she walked out of the activity room carrying her brother, she was relieved to find Shen Han still sitting there. She was looking down at her optical computer, one hand propping her head up, her hair tucked behind her ear as she tilted her head slightly.

The waiter was not around; the lounge was very quiet. Su Mi glanced at the water cup; more than half the water was gone.

So, drinking water helped… wait?

Why were there water stains on the table next to the cup, looking like spills? It couldn’t have been Shen Han, could it? Does motion sickness come with hand tremors? Unlikely.

And…

A wave of guilt hit Su Mi as she remembered that when her brother came out, she had seemingly placed the cup on the table quite haphazardly. At the time, it probably did splash a bit.

Fine, it really was her doing.

Heavens. What had she even done today?

First, Shen Han found that paper covered in Xu Nanqiao’s name, then she made Shen Han motion-sick with her driving, and now, she had splashed water while serving the villain and completely ignored her the moment her brother appeared.

Could she and this world really live to see tomorrow’s sun?

Su Mi tremblingly checked the Blackening Value. Fortunately, it hadn’t changed. But knowing this petty villain, she was definitely keeping a mental tally, preparing to make Su Mi’s life miserable somewhere else later.

Su Mi stifled a sob in her heart, walked over with her brother, and crouched down. “Xiao Yi, this is Sister Shen Han. Say hello?”

She tried to use her cute brother to invoke Shen Han’s mercy.

Su Yi babbled, trying to mimic her. “S… Han! Sister!” He couldn’t quite pronounce the “sh” sound yet.

The adorable moment of a child learning to speak instantly dispelled Su Mi’s internal anxiety. She let out a chuckle and looked up at Shen Han with a smile. The words she was about to say suddenly caught in her throat.

Shen Han’s complexion was still poor; she looked quite listless. Su Mi’s smile turned into unmistakable worry.

Witnessing this change in expression, Shen Han changed what she was going to say. Dispensing with the indirectness, she asked flatly, “Finally remembered there’s a living person here, did you?”

Su Mi: “…” So blunt.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she managed a sheepish smile. “It wasn’t on purpose… Look, isn’t Su Xiao Yi cute? Xiao Yi, do you remember Sister Shen Han?”

Shen Han looked down at Su Yi, who was biting his finger. Her expression didn’t change much, but she reached out and patted Su Yi’s round little head. “He’s grown so much.”

It seemed Shen Han had attended Su Yi’s one-month celebration; Su Mi remembered a tiny bit of that. She automatically interpreted Shen Han’s head-pat as a sign that her bad mood had vanished.

Squinting with a smile, Su Mi said, “Yes, children grow up so fast! Hehe, right now the two words he says best are ‘Sister.'”

Then she did a demonstration. Su Mi: “Xiao Yi, say ‘Sister’.”

Su Yi: “Sister!”

Both of them had equally brilliant smiles. Shen Han’s gaze swept over them and she remarked, “Your relationship with him is quite good now.”

That lukewarm sentence nearly choked the smile out of Su Mi. Was the villain suspecting something? She quickly checked with the system; her persona hadn’t deviated, so it was justifiable and explainable.

But explaining too much would make it seem like she cared too much, so Su Mi just gave an “mm” and glossed over it. “Xiao Yi is so cute, of course… Sister, shall we head back now?”

Shen Han nodded and stood up gracefully. Su Mi followed beside her carrying her brother. As they walked out of the clubhouse and the breeze hit them, the fog in Su Mi’s head cleared.

“After I drop my brother off at home… shall we go to the hospital to see Xu Nanqiao?”

According to the schedule Wen Zisu had sent earlier, he should have arrived home by now.

On the contrary, Shen Han appeared confused. “See what?”

Su Mi was stunned. “Her mother, uh, went to the hospital?”

Shen Han: “Fine.”

Su Mi: “…”

What’s with the attitude? You’re obviously the one who cares and wants to go the most! I’m your lackey who knows you inside and out!

Once they reached the sports car, Shen Han proactively took over the vehicle’s controls. Though she didn’t say anything nice—coldly mocking Su Mi’s driving skills and stating that if she had to sit through it again, she might choose to take back the car she gifted her—Su Mi didn’t believe it and just smiled.

“Sister, you’re the best to me. A great person like you won’t hold a grudge against a small person like me!”

Shen Han remained expressionless as she started the car. Su Mi sat in the back holding Su Yi, feeling a secret sense of satisfaction. The boss is driving me!

She could praise her as much as needed; this was a total win. In the future, she could tell everyone she met: “How did you know Shen Han drove me? You don’t know Shen Han? The one from the Shen Group… yeah, she drove, and I sat in the back”

She had originally wanted to put Su Yi in the deployable child seat in the back, but the moment the boy saw his sister, he became clingy and insisted on “sitting in the car-car” with her. Thus, Su Mi successfully ended up in the back seat.

From her vantage point, Shen Han’s movements in starting the car were fluid. She casually switched to manual driving mode. Her elegant hands hovered over the steering wheel; when she turned it, the gemstone ring at the base of her pinky would reflect light into the back, creating a spot of glare.

To pass the time during the drive and keep Su Yi from getting fussy, Su Mi held him and told him stories. Su Yi’s grape-like purple eyes immediately noticed the spot of light. His short finger pointed toward it. “Round!”

Su Mi: “What?” She looked up at the car ceiling, but there was nothing.

She jokingly pinched Su Yi’s cheek. “Sister is telling you a story, can you please listen seriously, Su Xiao Yi!”

As her gaze shifted back, it grazed the rearview mirror. She accidentally locked eyes with Shen Han for a second. When Su Mi looked away and continued the story, she realized the eye contact had happened and frowned slightly.

She felt the villain’s gaze just now was… strange?

Why did it seem almost… gratified? Does she like watching people amuse children?

In the driver’s seat, Shen Han calmly retracted her gaze. In the back, the girl was still vividly telling an old-fashioned fairy tale, her voice clear and full of energy. Shen Han had heard stories like that many times as a child. Perhaps because the story was too childish and the girl was trying so hard, it felt a bit amusing.

She let out a soft, mocking laugh.

Secretary Zhuang’s suspicion was indeed far-fetched; the girl was like this with everyone. It seemed Secretary Zhuang had no history with romance; perhaps she should give him a long vacation next time.

But it was also as if she were laughing at herself.

Casually switching the driving mode back to intelligent control, Shen Han closed her eyes. The story in her ears seemed to materialize into vivid yet dusty memories.

It felt like the intense headache of a mind on the verge of splintering.