Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again! - Chapter 21

“I’m warning you! Cut the act! My wife just called and chewed me out, saying everyone online is gossiping about me having an affair with you, you gay bastard!”

Behind the towering rocks, Jiang Yao followed the sound of the argument. She adjusted her phone’s camera focus and aimed it directly at Lin Sheng’s hypocritical face.

Old Han grew increasingly agitated, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a silver bracelet on his wrist. “I thought you influencers had some real talent, but you’re just a gigolo making money with your body! Disgusting! If you ever lay a hand on me again, I’ll dump you here and make you crawl back to the city yourself!”

“Who’s a gigolo?! Who are you insulting?!” Lin Sheng was furious too, but he still had the presence of mind to end the livestream first.

Oh, snap!

Seeing this, Jiang Yao knew Lin Sheng was about to say something his fans shouldn’t hear. She quickly zoomed the camera closer, waiting for this arrogant zero to fall into the trap she had carefully set.

Lin Sheng threw the livestreaming equipment aside and snarled, “Don’t push your luck! Do you even realize how much money I make from this CP? Just that one car ride alone earned me a net profit of three hundred thousand!”

Old Han, still furious, was momentarily stunned by the mention of such a sum. “Three hundred thousand? You’re pulling my leg!”

Lin Sheng sneered. “You’re such a hick. Those bitches love watching bromance and gay shit. They go wild over two men holding hands. Making money off them is easier than drinking water.”

“You think I actually like you? It’s just those women find your rough-and-tumble act novel! How much do you earn driving tours all day? Not even close to what I make in two minutes of streaming! There are tons of pretty boys begging to collaborate with me on bromance content. I suggest you better cherish this opportunity!”

Old Han gritted his teeth and slammed his entrenching tool into the ground. “Pah! I wouldn’t work with trash like you even if you paid me a million!”

Lin Sheng, used to being fawned over for years, never expected a lowly driver to reject him and call him trash. Enraged, he lunged forward, ready to throw a punch.

Jiang Yao carefully saved the recording and immediately sent it to Li An’an. Then, she stepped forward and shouted, “Hey! Mr. Show-Off Zero, stop right there! I’m calling the police if you don’t!”

The two men startled and turned to look.

Jiang Yao raised her phone’s camera again and strode forward over the gravel, her pink windbreaker gleaming like silver armor in the sunlight.

Old Han, seeing her as a righteous hero, quickly hid behind Jiang Yao for protection.

The midday sun scorched the agate beach, yet Jiang Yao felt a refreshing coolness wash over her, her heart brimming with satisfaction.

When Lin Sheng saw the camera in Jiang Yao’s hand, his face twisted in fury. He lunged to snatch the phone, but Jiang Yao sidestepped him with practiced ease.

“Damn it! You bitch! You dare film me?! Do you even know how many fans I have?!” Lin Sheng stumbled and fell, scrambling to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he swung a fist at Jiang Yao.

Having trained in taekwondo for years, Jiang Yao wasn’t intimidated by Lin Sheng’s showy muscles. She swiftly tucked her phone into her pocket and delivered a sharp kick to his abdomen, pinning him to the ground.

“Do you know what ‘reaping what you sow’ means?” Jiang Yao pressed her foot down on his wrist, the bodhi bracelet snapping with a brittle crack. “Aren’t you afraid of karma, making money by objectifying women?”

“You make money off women while insulting them? How dare you? You’re nothing but a high-end public toilet—filthy inside and out—strutting around with your lewd, shameless antics. And you have the nerve to insult your female fans? What, did you crawl out of the sewer, you two-faced creep? Even the sewer’s cleaner than you are—at least it doesn’t harbor parasites that bite the hand that feeds them.”

She smiled sweetly, but her words were sharper than the desert wind: “Oh, don’t get so upset. From now on, you should be called ‘Lin Gou’—’Lin Dog.’ After all, ‘dog-eat-dog’ and ‘fly-by-night’ are your true nature, aren’t they?”

“You! You cheap whore!” Lin Sheng clutched his stomach, struggling to sit up. “My team will make you pay for this!”

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” Jiang Yao said with a radiant smile. “Speaking of your team, they’re really something. They’re still protecting you even after you’ve been caught red-handed insulting women. I’ve been getting trashed online too—why don’t you tell your team to work for me instead? It’ll be better for their reputation than sticking with you.”

As she spoke, she pulled out her phone. Seeing that Li An’an had already exposed this pretentious zero, she smirked and shoved the trending topic “#LinShengInsultsWomen” in his face.

“Heh, you’re finished. Thought you could make me look bad? Your own team will tear you apart now.”

The screen was flooded with comments from fans who had turned against him. The top-ranked fan who had once showered him with gifts had swiftly compiled evidence of his misogyny and pandering to men, even exposing chat logs where he accepted bribes from brands to smear their competitors.

Lin Sheng’s face turned ashen as he finally realized he had fallen into a meticulously crafted trap.

Jiang Yao watched him tremble, suddenly feeling utterly bored. Men like him, who climb to the top by trampling women, have less backbone than the sand in the Gobi Desert.

“Get lost,” she said, withdrawing her foot and disdainfully brushing off her shoe. “If you have any shred of decency left, go kneel and apologize to those two girls you incited the online mob against yesterday.” She turned her back on the humiliated influencer, leaving him with a cold, dismissive silhouette.

In the distance, the yardang landforms glowed golden under the sun. As dusk painted the Gobi Desert crimson, the group pitched their tents beside a grove of poplar trees. Old Han, having somehow procured a leg of mutton, roasted it over a crackling campfire, the meat sizzling and dripping with fat.

He poured a cup of camel milk and presented it to Jiang Yao with both hands. “Come, let’s toast our great heroine!”

Everyone marveled at how Jiang Yao had single-handedly taken down scum like Lin Sheng. Xiuxiu and Lanlan, in particular, had become Jiang Yao’s inseparable little shadows.

Da Cheng regretted not joining Jiang Yao’s takedown, ranting endlessly, “That trashy guy was so rude at the dinner yesterday! I always said there aren’t many decent gay men in real life! My niece reads too much BL fiction and thinks all gay men are handsome, successful businessmen. She even said she wanted to be a ‘gay wife’ someday! I nearly died of anger!”

The two younger sisters, who had once tried to apply yaoi novel tropes to real life, stared in shock.

Jiang Yao glanced sideways, signaling them not to overthink it. Yu Tanning, realizing she had spoken too hastily, quickly clarified that she hadn’t meant to imply anything. Without apologizing, she divided the agate stones she had collected that afternoon among her two sisters.

The mottled agate stones left Jiang Yao awestruck. Then, she suddenly remembered that she had been too busy tearing apart that pretentious jerk earlier to collect any agate stones herself!

Damn that pretentious jerk!

The lamb leg in her mouth instantly lost its flavor. Jiang Yao sprang to her feet and hurried toward the small stream near the tent.

She politely declined her two little “tails” from following, planning to search while video-calling Yu Tanning.

Yu Tanning must have been busy; she only answered on the second call.

The camera flashed briefly over peacock-patterned floor tiles before Yu Tanning appeared on screen, her hair slightly disheveled.

On the other end of the line, Jiang Yao crouched by the stream, her flashlight beam wavering across the murky water, her hair whipping wildly in the wind. “Yu Tanning! What were you so busy with? You didn’t answer for ages!”

There were no agate stones in the area beneath her feet, so Jiang Yao stood up to move to another spot. As she turned, she suddenly leaned close to the camera, her nose almost touching the screen. “Hey? That background wall behind you looks awfully familiar…”

It was gaudy and extravagant, just like her grandmother’s taste.

“I’m in the bathroom,” Yu Tanning said with a helpless smile, subtly leaning closer to the camera.

Jiang Yao didn’t think much of it. “Hang up. I don’t really want to watch you use the toilet.”

“What are you thinking, Boss?” Yu Tanning chuckled. “I’m just sneaking away for a little break.”

With that, she flipped the camera to show Jiang Yao her neat business suit and pencil skirt.

The sight of Yu Tanning’s fair, slender legs made Jiang Yao’s mouth go dry. She hastily averted her gaze and quickly flipped her own camera around. “Hey! I’m looking for agate stones here. If you’re slacking off, you might as well help me find them.”

“It’s so dark out here. Didn’t you find any during the day?” Yu Tanning asked.

“Don’t even mention the daytime,” Jiang Yao grumbled. “I ran into some woman-hating, flamboyant gay guy and wasted a ton of time dealing with him. I had to come back at night to search.”

Hearing Jiang Yao’s huffy voice, Yu Tanning realized she missed her even more than she’d thought. Her voice turned slightly husky. “Flip the camera back around. I want to see you.”

“Looking for agate!”

“Agate isn’t nearly as pretty as you are?”

Smooth talker!

“Ugh, you’re so cheesy!” Jiang Yao scoffed, but her fingers betrayed her, instinctively turning the camera back to herself.

Yu Tanning watched her intently, her eyes narrowed slightly, filled with tenderness. Jiang Yao couldn’t meet her gaze, her eyes darting around nervously until they landed on the slightly open collar of Yu Tanning’s fox spirit shirt, revealing a hint of her collarbone.

Damn it…

The night air was cool, but Jiang Yao’s cheeks burned. She hastily lowered her head, sweeping the flashlight across the riverbank, only to accidentally illuminate her own flushed earlobe.

The moon’s reflection shimmered on the water’s surface, momentarily overlapping with the glint in Yu Tanning’s eyes. Jiang Yao recalled that day at the café, when Yu Tanning had looked at her with that same teasing smile, her cedar-scented breath ghosting over her burning ear.

No! No!

We’re just friends! Why am I still fantasizing?!

Jiang Yao couldn’t bear to think any further. She kicked a loose pebble at her feet, sending a splash of water erupting into the camera’s view.

“Stop messing around!” she snapped, her voice tinged with exasperation. “Help me find the agate! I can’t go back empty-handed, can I?!”

“Hmm, let me think…” Yu Tanning tapped her lip thoughtfully, her gaze suddenly sharpening. “It might be hidden in a crevice worn smooth by the river, or… wait…”

She paused deliberately, waiting for Jiang Yao to look up before drawling, “Or maybe it’s in the hands of a pretty little cat.”

“Yu Tanning! Can’t you be serious for once?!” Jiang Yao shouted, trying to calm her racing heart.

Yu Tanning feigned innocence. “Boss, why are you always thinking dirty? Look, there’s a cat-shaped rock on the left, with some sparkly reflections.”

I’m done with this sly fox spirit!

Jiang Yao used anger to mask her embarrassment, stomping through the water in a huff. To her surprise, she actually found a translucent desert agate.

Something I worked hard to find is always more precious than something bought in seconds.

Jiang Yao’s anger vanished completely, replaced by excitement as she held the agate up, turning it this way and that.

The agate shimmered under the moonlight, its iridescent colors swirling across her palm.

“There really is one!” Jiang Yao exclaimed, waving the agate in front of the camera. “Lucky you! I’ll get it polished into a pendant for you when I get back.”

Yu Tanning smiled, her gaze fixed on Jiang Yao’s eyes.

Those cat-like eyes sparkled, reflecting the cold light of the phone screen, even more dazzling than the agate itself.

That’s the gift I truly want.

For the first time, Yu Tanning found the May Day holiday dragging on.

The wind suddenly picked up, whipping sand against Jiang Yao’s face.

As she dodged the stinging grains, she caught a glimpse of Yu Tanning’s profile silhouetted against the overhead light on the screen.

Oh, wow…

Her slightly pursed red lips and those perpetually smiling eyes wer now brimming with an emotion Jiang Yao couldn’t decipher which made Jiang Yao’s heart skip a beat. She nearly dropped her flashlight into the river. Quickly turning away, she raised her voice a notch higher than usual. “Ugh, how annoying! I’ve been searching forever, and you spot it in the video in one glance?”

“Alright, I’m hanging up now. This video call is slowing down my agate hunt!”

Yu Tanning smiled and winked, then suddenly leaned close to the camera, almost pressing her face against the screen. “When you find it, I want to be the first person you share it with.”

The moment the call ended, Jiang Yao stared blankly at the darkened phone screen. That smiling face lingered in her mind, impossible to shake off.

In the distance, the poplar forest swayed under the moonlight. The night was so still on the riverbank that she could hear her own heartbeat. She touched her burning cheeks, her palm growing hot as well, like a tiny flame that made her feel weak all over.

I can’t fantasize about my friend!

Jiang Yao gritted her teeth and slapped her forehead, gripping the flashlight tightly as she continued walking forward…

A thousand miles away in Beijing City, Yu Tanning put away her phone and slowly pushed open the bathroom door.

The Linrui Group logo on the door explained why it looked so familiar to Jiang Yao.

Yu Tanning walked to the mirror to wash her hands. The cool water washed away the lingering warmth in her heart. Her lips curved downward as she slowly lifted her head to meet her own gaze in the mirror.

Greedy, hypocritical, domineering, insecure, sensitive…

Perhaps Jiang Yao was right to say they should remain just friends.

She longed for Jiang Yao to love her most authentic, most flawed self, but fear of loss forced her to cowardly weld a mask onto her face for the world to see.

She was a dark, timid coward. That was why they could only be friends now…

Her long, raven-feather lashes slowly lowered as Yu Tanning dried her hands and calmly returned to Feng Lin’s office.

After greeting her again, Feng Lin looked up from the pile of documents. “Yaoyao called you just now, didn’t she? That’s why you rushed out so abruptly.”

Yu Tanning nodded in acknowledgment.

Feng Lin continued, “Yaoyao’s been traveling in the northwest. She must have sent you lots of photos and videos. Could I see them? It’s been so long since she contacted me.”

Whether it was her imagination or not, Yu Tanning caught a hint of redness at the corner of Feng Lin’s eye.

She sighed inwardly, pulled up the photos Jiang Yao had sent, and handed them to Feng Lin.

Feng Lin quietly flipped through the images, her slightly clouded eyes growing increasingly moist.

“Yaoyao used to send me so many photos and videos when she traveled. But ever since she started university, we’ve grown more distant.”

Her trembling fingertips swiped across the phone screen. In the photos, Jiang Yao beamed, holding up a piece of dried naan bread; she struck a pose, scarf held tight against the wind and sand; her hem was splashed with water in a stream at Agate Beach, her hair windblown and wild.

Having shed the heavy cloak of familial obligation, Yaoyao was living a full and unrestrained life.

“I thought she wouldn’t be able to handle the hardships of life without me by her side…” the old man rasped, gently pushing Yu Tanning’s phone back.

“But what else could I do? The Linrui Group is my and my late wife’s life’s work. How could I bear to see our legacy die out?”

Yu Tanning gazed into the old man’s yearning eyes, remembering Jiang Yao’s hesitant expression when she spoke of her family.

She took a deep breath and said, “Chairman Feng, deep down, you know there’s a way to have both, don’t you? Before I came here today, I thought you might cancel the patent licensing agreement because of Classmate Jiang’s award. But after talking for so long, I realize you don’t blame me at all. I believe you’re willing to grant me the cosmetic licensing rights and also hope Classmate Jiang will join my antibacterial skincare fabric research project.”

“I haven’t known Classmate Jiang for long, but I can tell she cares deeply for her grandmother,” Yu Tanning continued. “If we approached her differently, I believe she’d be willing to contribute to the group’s endeavors. Classmate Jiang and I are good friends, and I have no attachment to the Yu family. If you grant me the patent authorization, I guarantee that all profits generated by Classmate Jiang’s contributions to the project will go entirely to the Linrui Group.”

Feng Lin paused. “So, Yaoyao would join your project as a designer. Would Linrui then focus on cosmetics or fashion?”

“Fashion,” Yu Tanning replied, sensing Feng Lin’s displeasure but maintaining her composure.

The office fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather clock. After a long moment, Feng Lin removed her glasses and wiped them. “Xiao Yu, why are you acting so immature all of a sudden? Are you trying to put my mind at ease?”

“If the project succeeds,” Yu Tanning countered, “I’m confident Linrui can acquire the Yu family and transform into a fashion industry giant.”

“Do you hate the Yu family that much?” Feng Lin asked.

Yu Tanning dropped the pretense. “Yes, I hate them. And all I want is the entire Yu family. I won’t covet a single thing that belongs to Classmate Jiang.”

Feng Lin sighed, a faint smile playing on her lips. She pulled a document from her drawer—the patent authorization letter, its gilded characters shimmering in the night.

“Xiao Yu, I’ve heard your recent dates haven’t been going well.”

Yu Tanning blinked, confused, and murmured an affirmative.

Feng Lin looked up. “You don’t like men, do you?”

Yu Tanning’s heart pounded, Jiang Yao’s face flashing repeatedly in her mind. She forced a smile. “Director Feng, I haven’t been in a relationship before. I don’t really understand these things.”

“There’s an old saying: ‘Even if you’ve never eaten pork, you’ve seen pigs run,'” Feng Lin tapped the table. “You don’t need to hide your preferences from me. If you like women, I’ll actually admire you more, for selfish reasons.”

As Yu Tanning signed the patent authorization, the old woman’s gaze sharpened like an eagle’s.

“Xiao Yu, the patent authorization is yours. Go ahead and develop your project with confidence. But there’s one condition you must remember—”

“I can barely tolerate Yaoyao designing clothes, but she absolutely cannot be with a woman who isn’t fully female. Understand?”

“You two need to maintain proper boundaries.”

At these words, Yu Tanning pressed the pen heavily against the paper, the stroke of the “Ning” character ending in a blunt, rounded hook.

Her forced smile was stiff as stone, her mind replaying the scene of her so-called grandmother catching her husband’s mistress…

Support Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again!