Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again! - Chapter 29

This time, Yu Tanning was being extra cautious, even more so than before.

She was terrified this might be a dream. She dreaded waking up to the cold reality of Jiang Yao having blocked her, hating her, and keeping her at arm’s length.

“Yaoyao, I’m sorry,” Yu Tanning said, breaking the silence.

Just as she was trying to figure out how to bring up the matter of the dress, Jiang Yao interrupted her tangled thoughts. “Why is Su Xiao your assistant? Isn’t she with Yu Ting?”

Yu Tanning looked up in surprise. “How did you find out about them?”

“Beijing City isn’t that big. Rumors spread like wildfire. I know about Su Xiao and Yu Ting, and I also know you’re Yu Zhang’s granddaughter and the young mistress of the Yu family.”

“Did Chairman Feng tell you?” Yu Tanning asked, nervously twisting her fingers under the table.

“Yeah,” Jiang Yao replied. “My grandmother said you’ve had a tough time in the Yu family and even advised me not to hold a grudge against you.”

Yu Tanning remained anxious. “What else did she say?”

“What else could she say? Just that the young mistress of the Yu family hid her identity to befriend me for the sake of the pharmaceutical cosmetics patent.”

“Ahem, but don’t hold that against me. My grandmother may be the chairman of Linrui Group, but I didn’t mention it because I ran away from home and built my career from scratch. Our situations are different.”

“I’m sorry for keeping it from you,” Yu Tanning said, letting out a small sigh and lowering her gaze. “Actually, when I negotiated the terms with Chairman Feng, I didn’t need to hide my identity. But my family is a complete mess, and I didn’t want any of that negativity to affect you.”

As Yu Tanning lowered her head, Jiang Yao noticed the fire fox pendant swaying slightly at her collar.

Her heart began to race uncontrollably again, her cheeks flushing. She quickly steered the conversation back to business. “Alright, alright, let’s not dwell on the unpleasant stuff. First, explain what’s going on with Su Xiao.”

Yu Tanning sighed deeply, thinking of the technicians who had been transferred after Su Xiao’s accusations. “Su Xiao was indeed in a paid relationship with Yu Ting. About two weeks ago, just after I secured investment for the project, my grandfather seized the opportunity to force me to hand it over to Yu Ting.”

Jiang Yao was genuinely shocked by the founder of the Yu family’s shamelessness. Her anger surged uncontrollably. “What the hell?! Where does that old geezer live? I’m gonna knock his dentures out!”

Seeing Jiang Yao’s long-dormant fiery temper flare up again, Yu Tanning felt a warmth spread through her heart and couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t be angry. The project is still mine.”

“It’s just that even though Yu Ting gave up taking over the project, he managed to get Su Xiao involved.”

“That day… I’m sorry. I really didn’t want Su Xiao to complain to Yu Ting, so I didn’t defend you as strongly as I should have.” As Yu Tanning spoke, her smile faded, her eyes filled with self-reproach. “I’m not a good friend. In that moment, I prioritized the project over you.”

Jiang Yao froze. “You weren’t doing it for…?”

Not for Su Xiao?

“Huh?” Yu Tanning thought she hadn’t heard correctly.

Jiang Yao quickly shook her head. “No, no, no! I misspoke.”

Her movements were as frantic as a rattle drum, a clumsy attempt to hide her true feelings. Her face remained stiff, but inside, she was overjoyed, barely managing to keep her lips from stretching into a grin that would reach her ears.

So it was about the project! As long as it wasn’t for Su Xiao or anyone else!

How could anyone so young not prioritize their career? Projects are what matter! If it were me, I’d focus on the project too! A career-minded person is good! Yes! They should always be career-minded! That way, they’ll never end up with Su Xiao!

Jiang Yao mentally made excuses for Yu Tanning, biting her lip to control her emotions. “What did Yu Ting threaten you with?” she asked.

“The day he forced Su Xiao into my project, he warned me that if Su Xiao suffered any hardship, he’d sabotage my project,” Yu Tanning said, pressing a hand to her forehead. “Some people at the company say he’s acting out of anger for his beloved, but he doesn’t really care about Su Xiao. It’s just another way to punish me.”

Jiang Yao’s fists clenched, and she wanted nothing more than to rush out and slash Yu Ting’s car tires.

But then she remembered how she had “wronged” Su Xiao so badly last week, and her heart leaped with anxiety. “What about last week? When I made Su Xiao pay compensation… Did Yu Ting retaliate?”

“It wasn’t your fault. Even without last week’s incident, Yu Ting would have found another excuse to strike.”

Jiang Yao knew Yu Tanning was trying to spare her guilt, but her heart felt like it was soaking in sweet water. Still, she persisted, “Don’t change the subject! What exactly did Yu Ting do to you?”

After a pause, she added softly, “Are we still friends? Is there anything we can’t face together?”

Yu Tanning froze, meeting Jiang Yao’s stubborn gaze. Something soft within her heart crumbled.

“We’re still friends,” she said.

For now, at least, she desperately wanted to reclaim this “friend” status she had lost and regained.

As Yu Tanning spoke, she slowly reached out, pausing just before her hand touched the back of Jiang Yao’s hand. Only when Jiang Yao actively flipped her palm to clasp Yu Tanning’s hand did the warmth from their joined skin spread through Yu Tanning, dispelling the chill that had been building up inside her.

“Yu Ting hasn’t let me off the hook,” Yu Tanning said softly, gripping Jiang Yao’s hand tightly. “He’s transferred all the key technical personnel from my project to headquarters and Wendou. Now the experiments can’t advance to the next stage.”

“Since your grandmother granted you the patent license, shouldn’t she also provide technical support? Why haven’t you requested more staff from Linrui?”

Yu Tanning shook her head, her thumb unconsciously tracing the lines on the back of Jiang Yao’s hand. “Linrui has launched several new projects recently, and it’s difficult to spare personnel with expertise in cosmeceuticals. Chairman Feng granting me the patent license was already a rare favor. I can’t disrupt Linrui’s progress just for my own sake.”

Jiang Yao frowned.

Her mother, Jiang Yiqiu, controlled all the group’s strategic projects. Jiang Yiqiu had always been conservative; how could she suddenly approve so many new ventures?

Could Qiu Yuanyuan be interfering?

Seeing Jiang Yao’s furrowed brow, Yu Tanning assumed she was struggling. She quickly added, “Besides, Yu Ting is watching me like a hawk. I approached a baby products company about borrowing their technical team, but Yu Ting blocked it, citing ‘risks of leaking the group’s technology.’ I can’t access external resources.”

“But don’t worry too much,” Yu Tanning reassured her, patting her hand. “If we can’t bring in outside help, we’ll train our own. I’m already preparing for the next round of intern recruitment, mainly targeting Beijing University and Polytechnic University. We’ll select promising candidates for the project team. We’ll take it slow, but we’ll make progress eventually.”

Seeing that Yu Tanning had a plan, Jiang Yao finally relaxed.

Her thoughts drifted to Yu Tanning’s project and the gift Yu Tanning had mentioned earlier. She asked with feigned nonchalance, “So, is there anything I can help with on your project?”

I’m being so proactive here. You’d better be smart and give me that gift again… Jiang Yao thought, biting her lip.

Yu Tanning, guessing her intentions, smiled. “Of course there is.”

She picked up her bag and pulled out the document again. The cherry blossom-pink sticky note had been rewritten, now adorned with pitiful little emoticons added to the original text.

And a single word: “Sorry.”

Jiang Yao’s heart pounded like a drum. “You… you’ve been carrying this around with you all this time?”

“Mm,” Yu Tanning said, pressing her lips together. “The document itself was secondary. This sticky note was what I most wanted you to see these past few weeks. I thought if we ever faced each other like this again, I had to give you this message.”

Jiang Yao felt even more ashamed. “I said such hurtful things that day. I should be the one apologizing.”

Gathering her courage, she met Yu Tanning’s gaze. “Yu Tanning, can you promise me that from now on, there will never be any secrets or hidden truths between us? Whether it’s your true feelings about me, or if you ever fall in love with someone else…”

Yu Tanning’s mind drifted momentarily.

No secrets, no hidden truths… If I revealed my darker side, would Jiang Yao still accept her?

Amidst her swirling thoughts, Jiang Yao’s voice cut through again. “Actually, there’s something I don’t think I should keep from you any longer.”

“What?” Yu Tanning snapped out of her daze.

“You remember this world is a novel, right?” Jiang Yao asked, her smile awkward.

Jiang Yao had wrestled with the decision to reveal that Yu Tanning was the main female lead for a long time.

She worried that knowing this would make Yu Tanning rush to get closer to Su Xiao, and she fantasized that this butterfly effect might alter the entire plot—especially if it changed the official pairing’s romantic arc.

Jiang Yao didn’t know what would happen after the confession. She had originally planned to break free from the predetermined ending on her own.

But now, she wanted to show Yu Tanning her complete sincerity.

Regardless of the outcome, she would bravely offer her true feelings, honoring their past friendship and the stirrings in her heart. She didn’t want to live with regrets.

Seeing Yu Tanning nod to confirm she remembered, Jiang Yao took a deep breath. “Actually, you’re the main female lead of this world. The reason I was so angry that day was because I discovered the novel’s official pairing for you is Su Xiao…”

Yu Tanning: … How did I become the main female lead again? And Su Xiao as the official pairing? Even Yu Ting would shake her head at that…

Yu Tanning pondered how to persuade Jiang Yao to see a doctor, but when her gaze met those wounded, cat-like eyes, guilt washed over her, making it impossible to speak.

She said awkwardly, “Yaoyao, I could never like Su Xiao.”

Jiang Yao replied, “I know you don’t like her now. But I’m afraid the power of the plot is too strong. I’m scared that one day you’ll hate me because of her. That’s why I impulsively said so many hurtful things that day.”

The cat-like girl lowered her head dejectedly. “Yu Tanning, I really want to know what you think of me now. Are you still friends with me out of old affection, or… do you genuinely want to be my friend?”

The steam rising from the cafeteria blurred the surrounding noise, leaving only the sound of their mingled breaths clearly audible.

Yu Tanning suddenly chuckled. “You…”

“Yaoyao, if this world really has a script, I’ll tear it up right here in front of you.”

“And,” Yu Tanning slowly tightened her grip, leaning forward, “if the power of the plot is truly that strong, what about you?”

“As the villainous supporting character, how do you see me, the main female lead?”

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