Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again! - Chapter 10

“Why aren’t you using velvet anymore?”

In the dimly lit dormitory, Professor Peng’s slightly surprised voice crackled through the Bluetooth earpiece.

Jiang Yao, fiddling with the thermochromic fabric Professor Lin had given her, replied, “I originally planned to use velvet for a gradient effect, but I got my hands on this amazing thermochromic fabric today. I was thinking about using the runway lights or other props to create a striking color contrast.”

Professor Peng pondered for a moment. “Thermochromic fabrics have too many limitations. If there really is a fabric that can achieve your vision, just the cost alone would be equivalent to a downtown apartment. Are you sure your family will approve of spending that much on a city-level competition?”

Jiang Yao recalled the stack of thermochromic fabrics in Professor Lin’s drawer, as if they were free for the taking, and exclaimed, “That expensive?!”

“Well, not necessarily. I don’t know where you got your fabric,” Professor Peng sighed. “But I’ve heard that the Yu Group is developing high-end thermochromic fabrics for haute couture, and their products are priced accordingly.”

“So, did you find some kind of alternative? If you can afford the cost of trial and error, then go all out.”

Jiang Yao stared at the fabric in her hand, feeling like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

This isn’t just a cheap substitute. I can’t afford to let go even a little.

As expected, all the Yues are detestable!

A certain Yue woman flashed through her mind, and Jiang Yao gritted her teeth in hatred. “Forget it. The performance of temperature-sensitive fabrics is too dependent on the environment. Let’s stick to Plan A!”

Professor Peng burst into laughter. “So even my beloved disciple has times when her purse strings are tight? Don’t worry, if you really want to try it, I’m willing to empty my pockets to help.”

“Professor! Absolutely not! It’s not about the price! I’ve thought it through carefully, and it’s better to play it safe and foolproof.” Jiang Yao exclaimed, horrified. She hated owing people favors, especially when it came to money.

She was naturally straightforward in everything except her sexuality, a woman of unyielding principles who would rather starve than borrow a single penny.

Professor Peng saw through her but kept his thoughts to himself. “Then do as you wish. If things get too tough, you can always lean on my shoulder.”

“What are you talking about? How could things get too tough?” Jiang Yao muttered. “I have plenty of money.”

Just as she finished speaking, her phone chimed with a payment notification.

Jiang Yao assumed it was some cursed video subscription auto-renewing, but she never expected it to be the final payment for that Hermes bag she had splurged on last month.

Jiang Yao’s hands trembled as she picked up her phone, her fingers digging into the screen. Refusing to believe it, she checked her bank balance several times, only to die a little inside each time.

Dad! Aaaaaaaah! My hard-earned five-figure savings! Gone! Just like that!

Thermo-sensitive fabric, my ass! Now I can’t even afford velvet!

Ha ha ha! How am I supposed to live like this?! I’ve skipped over, missed out on, borrowed from, suffered through, loved, fainted, endured, slept through, reflected in isolation, muddled through, laughed off, brushed past, missed face-to-face, forgiven petty offenses, and watched a thousand sails pass by the capsized ship! Fuck!

I want to go back a month and slap myself to death!

Jiang Yao! Would you die if you didn’t buy that bag? Answer me! Does your bank account have as many zeros as the ones at the Polytechnic University next door? Then why did you set up automatic payments? Answer me!

(Screaming) (Crawling forward in agony) (Grimacing) (Running forward) (Falling to the ground) (Crawling forward in agony)

After a kaleidoscope of rainbow-colored alpacas stampeded through her mind, Jiang Yao stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, her eyes refusing to close. All traces of sleepiness had vanished, and she had no desire to rush through her engineering drawings. She simply wanted to remain still, her “corpse” cosplaying as a human.

In a daze, she heard the long-dormant dormitory door creak open as a key turned in the lock.

Jiang Yao vaguely imagined the King of Hell arriving to collect her deceased savings. She sat frozen on her stool, like a statue, watching the door slowly swing open.

“Still awake? Not feeling well?” Yu Tanning wheeled her suitcase into the room, her brow furrowing slightly at Jiang Yao’s deathly pale face.

Oh, Yu Tanning’s back.

Ahhh! I haven’t even forgiven her yet! Why is she back?!

Jiang Yao jolted awake, reacting like a startled cat. She dove back behind her bed curtains as if fleeing a ghost, her entire body resisting any interaction with Yu Tanning.

Yu Tanning glanced at the tightly drawn curtains, understanding Jiang Yao was still giving her the silent treatment. With a sigh of resignation, she quietly unpacked her suitcase, occasionally glancing in Jiang Yao’s direction.

The sounds of zippers opening and closing and clothes being folded were particularly clear in the silent dorm room. Yu Tanning deliberately slowed her movements, finally catching a faint rustle as Jiang Yao’s attempt to play dead failed.

“Boss, why are you deliberately ignoring me?” Yu Tanning chuckled softly as she approached, pretending to press the “doorbell” on Jiang Yao’s bed curtain.

Jiang Yao was seething with a mix of anger and resentment, utterly unwilling to speak, especially to anyone named Yu. She clamped her mouth shut, feigning blissful oblivion.

Every muscle tensed, Jiang Yao felt a hand jab her waist through the curtain—an effect akin to a horror movie. She shrieked, leaping up with a desperate urge to strangle Yu Tanning.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

The curtain was yanked open to reveal a pair of fox-like eyes gleaming with amusement. “I pressed the right doorbell this time, Boss. Don’t I deserve a reward?”

Jiang Yao sputtered with fury. “I’ll reward you with a slap across the face!”

Oh-ho!

Yu Tanning hummed in acknowledgment, then forcefully tugged Jiang Yao’s hand, gently cupping it against her cheek as she looked up. “Is this how it’s done, Boss?”

The woman’s grip on her wrist was surprisingly strong. The more Jiang Yao tried to pull away, the more her palm pressed against Yu Tanning’s soft, cool skin.

The scent of cedarwood filled the air. Jiang Yao stared at Yu Tanning’s glistening lips, her body heating uncontrollably, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead.

“Could you stop?” Jiang Yao’s voice was slightly hoarse. “I’m a lesbian.”

“Ah, my apologies.”

Yu Tanning’s lashes fluttered as she slowly released Jiang Yao, thoughtfully smoothing out the rumpled corner of the blanket.

“If you’re scared, just move out sooner rather than later,” Jiang Yao said, exhaling sharply and turning away.

Yu Tanning straightened up, her gaze lingering on the flush at the corners of Jiang Yao’s eyes. A smile curved her lips. “Scared of what?”

Jiang Yao snapped impatiently, “I’m a lesbian! The kind who kisses women and sleeps with them! Are you three years old? Stop playing dumb! Aren’t you afraid I might get desperate one day and do something to you?!”

“Oh, is that so? Then I definitely can’t move out and let someone else have you.”

Jiang Yao: ???

“What?! Are you a lesbian, or am I?!”

Yu Tanning glanced at Jiang Yao’s flushed face and chuckled softly. “Boss, you’re so beautiful and have such a great figure. Even if you did something to me, I wouldn’t exactly be losing out, would I?”

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened in fury. “You’re a closet case, aren’t you?”

“Hmm? What’s a ‘closet case’?”

“Don’t play dumb! Are you a lesbian or not?!”

Yu Tanning smiled coyly. “I don’t know, actually.”

Damn it! Just end it all! This world with Yu Tanning in it!

Jiang Yao felt like she must have desecrated Yu Tanning’s ancestral graves in a past life, explaining why they clashed so fiercely in this one.

Furious, Jiang Yao flopped back onto the bed, half-dead. When she saw Yu Tanning inching closer, she grabbed a pillow and hurled it at her. Yu Tanning caught it effortlessly and settled down opposite her.

Moonlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, casting a soft glow across Yu Tanning’s porcelain-like profile.

“Boss, I’ve known you were a lesbian for a while now,” Yu Tanning said, her voice as gentle as the moonlight. “But that doesn’t change my desire to be friends with you.”

Jiang Yao muffled her voice from under the covers. “You’re such a creep, digging into my personal life like that.”

“All the information I gathered came through legitimate channels, Boss. This is my sincerity. I made this decision only after learning as much as possible about you and concluding that we’d be good friends.”

“Hmph, not enough sincerity,” Jiang Yao said, clutching the blanket tighter to her chest.

“What about this?” Yu Tanning bent down, picked up a gift box, and placed it beside Jiang Yao’s pillow. “I met the heiress of a major North American textile merchant during a competition and had this custom-made through her.”

The words “textile merchant” made Jiang Yao’s ears perk up immediately, but she forced down her curiosity and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m tired. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Having achieved her goal for the night, Yu Tanning didn’t press further. She drew the curtains around Jiang Yao’s bed and whispered goodnight. “Alright~ See you tomorrow, my dear friend.”

The bedside lamp clicked off, and the moonlight retreated, plunging the room into deeper darkness.

Jiang Yao lay stiffly, listening for any movement from the opposite bed. But Yu Tanning remained eerily still, as if she weren’t even alive. After enduring the silence for what felt like an eternity, Jiang Yao steeled her resolve, stealthily got out of bed, dragged the gift box over, and switched on her phone’s flashlight under the covers.

The moment Jiang Yao opened the gift box, a faint scent of cedar and leather drifted out. The dark walnut frame was carved with a bold Thunderbird totem, its edges gleaming with a mysterious warmth under the cold light of her phone.

Inside the frame, a lifelike kitten was pieced together from six distinct fabrics: its head featured the iconic Navajo wool blanket pattern, its ears were made of tanned deerskin from traditional Inuit boots, and its belly was crafted from soft Cherokee embroidered silk, adorned with blue stars and vines on a pink background. The edges were embellished with crescent-shaped strands of mother-of-pearl…

Jiang Yao took a deep breath and reached out to stroke the kitten’s tail, which was made of handwoven tassels. To her surprise, she discovered a line of tiny, hidden embroidery.

The silver-threaded, crookedly stitched words read: “Me and my kitty are the best in the world.”

No need to guess.

This hideous thing must have been embroidered by that wretched woman.

Jiang Yao stared at the embroidery, imagining someone frantically preparing for a business competition while clumsily stitching these words. Before she realized it, a ripple-like smile curved her lips.

Maybe… it’s not so bad after all.

As if hallucinating, a rustling sound came from the opposite bed.

Jiang Yao froze, her heart pounding. She quickly switched off her flashlight, pulled the blanket tight, and pretended to be asleep.

This time, she heard faint, shallow breaths—distant and quiet, they floated through the air until the first light of dawn.

The next morning, Yu Tanning woke up early for her usual 8AM class. After making her bed, she glanced at Jiang Yao’s bed—the curtains were still drawn tight. Is she still mad…? Yu Tanning lowered her gaze and quietly slipped into the bathroom. I’ll try to coax her later. She’ll come around eventually.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom, masking the presence of her prey. When Yu Tanning opened the door, a little thief cat was staring at her with wide eyes from behind the curtains.

Yu Tanning narrowed her eyes, but before she could speak, the little thief cat blurted out in a prickly, sarcastic tone, “What are you wearing? It looks awful.”

“I bought it during the business competition. Maybe it doesn’t fit right. I’ll get it altered,” Yu Tanning replied calmly, her lips curving into a knowing smile. “Are you over it now, my friend?”

Jiang Yao pressed her lips together, her gaze drifting to the framed painting by her pillow, determined to maintain her steely resolve.

“Change it now! I don’t have friends who wear ugly clothes!”

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