Damn It! I Fell for the Hated Villainess Again! - Chapter 4

The atmosphere in the café was strange.

Like Zhang Ke, many students were awkwardly glancing at Jiang Yao, their acting stiff and unnatural. A few bolder ones secretly snapped photos with their phones, eager to be the first to post the next trending topic.

Jiang Yao, seemingly accustomed to this, didn’t even spare them a glance. Once her coffee was ready, she moved to take it.

Zhang Ke stood frozen at the entrance, finally getting a clear look at the “Great Demon King” up close. She really was like a princess descended from the clouds, a thorny rose.

Despite her alluring, flirtatious peach blossom eyes, they always held an aloof, mocking smile that made her seem unapproachable. Every gesture exuded an innate nobility and arrogance.

Zhang Ke watched Jiang Yao brush past her, her eyes glued to the girl’s retreating figure. Suddenly, it dawned on her: This isn’t some universally hated Great Demon King! This is a heavyweight vote in the Student Union elections!

Whirling around, Zhang Ke called out to Jiang Yao and hurried after her, taking two steps at a time. She forced a Yu Tanning-style business smile, trying to sound friendly. “Classmate Jiang, are you getting coffee for Tanning?”

Jiang Yao stared at her blankly, neither recognizing the girl nor understanding the point of her question. She tossed the question back dismissively, “Is there a problem?”

Zhang Ke quickly replied, “No, no. I’m Zhang Ke from the Student Union office. If Classmate Jiang finds it inconvenient to deliver the coffee early, you can give it to me. I’m heading to the School of Economics and Management anyway, so I can drop it off for her.”

“No need to trouble yourself,” Jiang Yao said coolly. “I’ll deliver it myself.”

With that, Jiang Yao turned and walked away, abruptly ending the awkward exchange.

Zhang Ke’s words caught in her throat as she watched Jiang Yao retreat, her face flushing crimson and then paling under the scrutiny of onlookers. Regret gnawed at her heart.

If she had known things would turn out this way, she should have insisted on being Jiang Yao’s roommate. Compared to Yu Tanning, Zhang Ke was more diligent, honest, and favored by the professors. With just a little more persistence, the Student Union presidency next term would have been hers for the taking.

Jiang Yao walked away with the cheap coffee, gritting her teeth and cursing under her breath.

If I’d known I’d be running errands for everyone, I would’ve just spent the extra money and ordered takeout for that bitch!

Jiang Yao was no pushover, no simpering doormat.

The reason she’d bought Yu Tanning coffee stemmed from that night when the woman had ripped open her bed curtains.

Jiang Yao had been discharged from the hospital three days prior. When she’d returned to the dorm in a daze, Yu Tanning had already moved in with her luggage.

For two nights, they’d coexisted peacefully, like water and oil. Jiang Yao had assumed things would continue this way—cheap and uneventful. She never imagined that on the third night, the bitch would reveal her true colors.

That night was dark and stormy.

Jiang Yao had drawn her curtains tight and buried herself under the covers, frantically working on design drafts to earn money. Being considerate and well-mannered, she’d deliberately avoided using her noisy stylus, relying instead on her fingers to tap the screen.

Before she could even worry about her delicate fingertips, Yu Tanning had ripped open her curtains and yanked off her blanket.

In the sole patch of pale light, cat-like eyes met fox-like eyes. Jiang Yao shrieked in fury, “Are you out of your mind?!”

Yu Tanning didn’t reply. She turned and adjusted the desk lamp on her own desk to its brightest setting, her voice flat: “If you need to work on your drafts, come over here. You’ll strain your eyes like that.”

Jiang Yao suddenly felt deflated. “You heard that?”

Yu Tanning chuckled softly. “No, I dreamt it.”

Jiang Yao’s anger flared again. “Dream of your own business, you busybody! You think I’ll thank you for this?”

Yu Tanning didn’t respond, instead walking to the other side of the table and pulling out her laptop. “You don’t look like you’re going to sleep anyway. Perfect timing—I have a paper due. If you’re not going to draw here, I’ll take the space.”

“Aww~ Such beautiful eyes… It’d be a shame if they turned into puffy goldfish eyes from staying up all night.” After a few crisp keystrokes, she murmured softly, her voice warm and magnetic.

Jiang Yao was defeated.

And so, under the small desk lamp, Jiang Yao and Yu Tanning sat on opposite sides, one wielding a pen, the other tapping away at a keyboard, both working until dawn.

Yu Tanning wrote her paper in complete silence, not even taking bathroom breaks or yawning. The rhythmic clicking of the keyboard formed a perfect white noise, allowing Jiang Yao’s inspiration to flow uninterrupted. Her focus was unusually sharp, and she delivered a burst of nine design drafts, earning nearly a thousand yuan. She felt exhilarated, completely refreshed, and utterly devoid of the fatigue that usually followed an all-nighter.

When Jiang Yao emerged after washing up, she saw the bloodshot veins in Yu Tanning’s eyes, like crimson vines. “You look terrible,” she exclaimed, as if seeing a ghost. “Have you never pulled an all-nighter before?”

Yu Tanning pushed herself up, dark circles under her eyes still smiling. “I often stay up late. Maybe yesterday’s paper was just too mentally draining. It’s nothing.”

Jiang Yao frowned. “Have you even looked in a mirror? You look like you could cosplay a corpse right now.”

“Really? Then I’ll ask around later about corpse extras.”

Yu Tanning seemed incapable of anger, shuffling into the bathroom to wash up.

Thinking about her own glorious victory the night before and the blissful morning without an 8 AM class, then glancing at Yu Tanning’s corpse-like appearance and her packed, prison-like schedule, Jiang Yao couldn’t bring herself to gloat.

She awkwardly offered, “Don’t push yourself. You should skip your morning class. You might faint in class, and everyone will think I’m mistreating you.”

Yu Tanning washed up quickly, the busy-bee buff kicking in, and her condition seemed to improve by a fraction of a percent. “It’s a four-credit major course. I’ll just tough it out and sleep when I get back at noon.”

Jiang Yao pursed her lips, making a grand decision to offer a favor. “What kind of coffee do you usually drink? I’ll buy you some.”

She added fiercely, “As payment for the desk lamp last night.”

Yu Tanning quickly applied some light makeup, glanced at Jiang Yao in the mirror, and chuckled, her voice languid. “Roommate, you’re so good to me.”

Jiang Yao nearly choked on her water at the saccharine tone, her fists clenching until they went numb. “Cut the crap,” she growled. “What. Do. You. Want. To. Drink?”

“The smoked coconut Americano from that cafe downstairs. Thanks, boss~”

What the hell is that? Is that even something a human drinks…?

Oh, right. Yu Tanning wasn’t human.

Never mind then.

Being non-human, Yu Tanning had to help her professor organize materials before $8$ AM. She was dressed and out the door by 6:30 AM, leaving Jiang Yao to deliver her coffee.

Driven by a strange sense of guilt, Jiang Yao didn’t refuse. Instead, she felt relieved by Yu Tanning’s efficient attitude. Her mood brightened instantly, and she grabbed her phone to browse delivery options worthy of her discerning palate. And that’s how she ended up at the cafe on the way to the library.

As she approached the School of Economics and Management, Jiang Yao slowly pulled herself out of her memories. Overwhelmed with embarrassment and feeling like a thief, she slipped into the building, too ashamed to take the elevator. She held her breath and bolted up the stairs.

Damn it! When have I ever been this humiliated?!

Humiliating herself by delivering takeout is one thing! But sneaking around like a thief? Anyone would think she was trying to poison someone!

Jiang Yao stormed up to the fifth floor, her anger blazing. She collided head-on with a swarm of students pouring out of the elevator.

Her lips twitched. She quickly lowered her eyes, clinging to her “if I can’t see them, they can’t see me” principle, and bulldozed through the “air” with ferocious momentum.

Many of the students exiting the elevator were from the Department of Finance, Yu Tanning’s classmates. Rushing to their $8$ a.m. classes, they hadn’t heard about the “coffee shop incident” that morning. Seeing the notorious “Demon Queen” Jiang Yao charging toward their classroom, they assumed she was about to confront Yu Tanning.

Every family has its own troubles, they thought. It’s best not to interfere.

Everyone held their breath, fearing for Yu Tanning’s fate.

But instead of a bloody showdown, Jiang Yao handed Yu Tanning a coffee, which Yu Tanning accepted with a beaming smile.

Even more shocking, Yu Tanning showed no fear of being poisoned. She immediately opened the cup and took a sip. “The coffee the boss makes always tastes better than what I buy myself,” she declared.

With those words, Jiang Yao was instantly transformed from a Demon Queen into a mere embryo.

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