Entangled with a Gloomy Creep in an Explicit Novel - Chapter 21.2

My friend! My best workplace partner! Once I leave, I will miss you to death!

Mu Qingfeng felt rather embarrassed instead. Even though his heart was racing with excitement, he only dared to reveal a shy smile.

“Then I will go rent a horse now. Just wait for my good news.”

“Mhm!” Watching his hurried silhouette, Jin Yongyi chased a few steps forward and shouted, “If you cannot find them, just forget it! You must return before five o’clock tomorrow evening!”

Mu Qingfeng ran forward, not forgetting to turn back and wave his hand at her.

Meanwhile, in a blind spot of the third-floor corridor untouched by light, a figure leaned lazily against the wall. Having listened to their entire conversation without a single ripple of emotion, the person let out a soft sneer before turning around to leave.

Calculating the time it would take for Mu Qingfeng to clear the city gates, Jin Yongyi finally feigned an expression of great urgency and sprinted up the stairs to the sixth floor to find Xie Fuyao.

Xie Fuyao expressed some surprise at seeing her alone. After scanning both sides of the corridor, she pulled her inside the room. First, she found a thick outer robe to drape over her shoulders, then poured a cup of warm water, carefully handing it into her hands.

Only after finishing these tasks did she ask, “Why have you come?”

She still utilized a respectful term of address.

Facing Xie Fuyao, Jin Yongyi had a stomach full of questions. However, completing the mission was the priority right now. After gulping down a cup of water, she rattled off a string of words without taking a single breath.

“Mu Qingfeng previously had a grudge with someone in the Night Realm. He just ran off to the Night Realm to help me find something, and I am worried he might face some danger. Can you go and chase him back?”

Xie Fuyao remained entirely calm after hearing this. Taking the empty teacup from her hand, she poured her another cup of water.

“It is fine. I have tested his strength; ordinary dangers cannot harm him.”

Jin Yongyi had completely failed to anticipate that this strategy would fail.

Having finally reunited with a long-lost younger brother, she ought to be worried about a recurrence of what happened during their childhood. Instead of keeping him tethered tightly by her side for supervision, how could she raise him with such a hands-off approach?

“You do not need to be overly anxious.” Xie Fuyao placed the teacup in front of a seat, her face bearing a solemn expression as she said, “If you have time, is it convenient for us to chat?”

Jin Yongyi’s anxious heart felt as though it were burning. She sat down before her while enduring immense psychological pressure.

“We can be considered companions who have faced life and death together, so there is no need to be so polite.” She flashed a friendly smile, “Furthermore, Mu Qingfeng and I are very good friends, so his sister is my sister.”

Xie Fuyao understood her meaning, and her tone softened considerably, “I simply wished to know, what is your relationship with Zhao Fuzhou?”

Jin Yongyi choked.

You do not care about your brother, so why are you bringing up an entirely unrelated person here?

The male lead’s charm was truly immense.

“Merely fellow travelers.” She knew deep down that in front of the female lead, she must absolutely avoid appearing close to the male lead, “Zhao Fuzhou is a highly capable and kind person. When I was in danger, I was fortunate enough to be rescued by him twice. However, I have also saved him once, so we can be considered even. If we are to part ways in the future, it will not be a difficult matter.”

Hearing the sincerity in her words, Xie Fuyao actually let out a slow sigh of relief, “That is good. If you ever need assistance, feel free to look for me and Brother Feng. As for Zhao Fuzhou, it is best to have as little contact with him as possible. In my view, this person is by no means as simple as he appears on the surface.”

How could Jin Yongyi fail to understand? This was a warning from the female lead. It was only because Xie Fuyao’s character belonged to the understanding older sister archetype that she could not bring herself to perform actions that violated her persona, such as telling the minor characters around the male lead to get lost. She could only phrase it differently, allowing her to understand in the gentlest manner possible.

However, she really wanted to say that she was mistaken; she was merely the male lead’s sidekick. Furthermore, her conduct as a sidekick had already been highly reserved. If she had transmigrated into a female-channel novel as the female lead’s maid, she would have wanted nothing more than to grovel on the ground and praise the beautiful older sister.

Just as another cup of water was finished, Jin Yongyi complied obediently, testing the waters once more by saying, “Sister Fuyao, are you truly not going to look for Mu Qingfeng? Although it is safe inside the Night Realm, I am afraid that those who hold a grudge against him might ambush him outside the area.”

“Very well, I shall go right away.” Xie Fuyao suddenly agreed with a brisk attitude.

Jin Yongyi had still been agonizing over whether she should exaggerate this fictional enemy further. Xie Fuyao’s sudden agreement left her somewhat bewildered instead.

“Next time, simply command me directly, there is no need to search for a reason.” As Xie Fuyao spoke, she extracted a packet of items from her sleeve opening. Opening it revealed two medicinal pills inside, “The poison within your body has not yet been neutralized. Once you consume the antidote, I shall depart for the Night Realm.”

Jin Yongyi nodded without hesitation, picking up one pill first. Xie Fuyao consumed the other, and the two swallowed the antidotes with water.

Xie Fuyao stepped closer to her, reaching out to fasten the buttons on her outer robe tightly, “Wear this back to your room, and be absolutely certain not to catch a cold.”

Until Xie Fuyao walked out of the door, Jin Yongyi remained completely frozen in place.

It had to be said that the female lead was simply too kind. Even though she knew she was lying, she was still willing to go along with her.

That phrase “next time, simply command me directly” struck a chord right in Jin Yongyi’s heart. Why was Xie Fuyao not the solo female protagonist? If she could choose, she would want to be Xie Fuyao’s sidekick!

The hour of eight in the evening had already passed, and the majority of people in Dingyuan City had gone to attend the night market, making the inn appear rather quiet at this time.

In order not to delay the mission time, Jin Yongyi sprinted downstairs to ask the shopkeeper if she could borrow the kitchen. The shopkeeper stated directly that since there were no customers in the shop anyway, she could use it however she pleased, even thoughtfully preparing the ingredients for her.

In truth, she was not someone who knew how to cook. When she was very young, her father had passed away. Her mother was unwilling to remarry, so she always felt she owed her the paternal affection she deserved. From childhood to adulthood, she had showered her with extreme love, never letting her touch any household chores.

Thinking about it this way, she seemed rather unaccomplished. After graduation, she had scraped by with a job paying thirty-five hundred a month. Now that an opportunity to strike it rich lay right before her eyes, she still slackened off from time to time, reluctant to perform this task or unhappy to do that one. But where could one find a job where everything went perfectly according to one’s wishes? Had she not known this principle long ago? With this money, she could live in a grand villa together with her mother, spending the rest of their lives entirely free of worries, which would be wonderful.

Jin Yongyi let out a sigh of relief. With her self-reflection concluded, she pulled out the aphrodisiac powder she had been clutching inside her sleeve all this time. Without a single moment of hesitation, she poured the entire contents into the bowl.

After processing all the ingredients and adding sticky rice flour to knead them into small pieces, she placed them in the steamer until cooked. Once cooled and shaped, she brought them up to her nose to take a sniff.

This was the only food she knew how to make that was actually edible: hawthorn cakes. She had heard from her mother that her father particularly loved to eat them. To prevent her father from going out to buy them every day, her mother had learned to make them herself for him. The image of her mother unable to suppress a smile while recounting how her father would hoard private savings just to purchase hawthorn cakes was deeply engraved in her mind. The first time she clamored to enter the kitchen was precisely to learn how to make hawthorn cakes.

Fortunately, the hawthorn tasted sour, so eating it should obscure the taste of the aphrodisiac powder.

Packing a full plate of hawthorn cakes, Jin Yongyi carried the tray to the third floor, gathering her courage to knock on the door of Zhao Fuzhou’s room.

The door was quickly pulled open from within. Zhao Fuzhou was not wearing his outer robe, and his hair appeared somewhat disheveled.

“Yiyi,” he loved to call her pet name, drawing out the final syllable of the two words to sound incredibly clingy.

“I have been waiting for you all this time, thinking you had gone out to play with them and had completely forgotten about me.” Zhao Fuzhou curled his lips into a smile. Although the meaning of the words was filled with disappointment, his smile managed to bring out a hint of joy instead.

Jin Yongyi froze slightly, then obsequiously proffered the hawthorn cakes before him, “How could that be? They had some matters to attend to and went out for a while. I thought that you might not have eaten dinner yet, so I went to the kitchen to make some food.”

The tart aroma flooded his nasal cavity. Zhao Fuzhou lowered his gaze to inspect it for a long while before accepting the plate and stepping aside to let her into the room.

“Thank you for your kind intentions, Yiyi. However, the hour of eight has already passed, so it is no longer suitable to consume food. May I keep it so I can eat it tomorrow instead?”

“Tomorrow? Tomorrow will be too late!” Jin Yongyi spoke without choosing her words carefully, “Look at how hard I worked to make this for you, just take a bite right now!”

Zhao Fuzhou assumed a helpless expression, reaching out his hand to take one, but abruptly retracted his hand right as he was about to touch it, “Hawthorns stimulate the appetite, so it is best to eat them first thing tomorrow morning.”

This man was usually fairly easy to reason with, so why did he have to oppose her right at the critical juncture?

Jin Yongyi muttered a curse internally, pinching a piece of hawthorn cake and holding it right against his lips, “This is the very first time I have ever cooked. For you to disappoint my good intentions like this, when I was even planning to learn some new recipes to make for you in the future, since you are unwilling to eat it, I will not bother making it anymore!”

Although she spoke harsh words out of spite, the hawthorn cake remained pressed against his lips, bearing a determination not to stop until he complied.

“If you do not eat it, I am not leaving tonight!”

Jin Yongyi stood on her tiptoes, wanting to push the hawthorn cake into his mouth. She was so consumed by urgency that she overlooked the coldness lurking deep within Zhao Fuzhou’s eyes.

His gaze traced every single trace of ill intent on her face, yet a strange sensation of satisfaction diffused inside his chest cavity. He let out a soft laugh, parting his lips to take a bite of the hawthorn cake.

Seeing that he was finally willing to eat, Jin Yongyi almost leaped three meters into the air to celebrate, “Is it delicious? Do you want to take another bite?”

He nodded his head.

Jin Yongyi continued to feed him with a bright smile. A piece of cake that was by no means small was entirely consumed, with even the final bite being swept into his mouth. Ensuring that the portion size was sufficient and that the mission would undoubtedly count as completed, Jin Yongyi prepared to depart with a radiant smile.

“If you feel it is not enough, you can have at most one more piece. Eating too many hawthorns late at night is bad for the stomach.” She originally intended to carry away this plate containing the incriminating evidence. However, she snuck a glance at Zhao Fuzhou, and seeing that his expression showed no discomfort, she could not help but worry if the dosage was insufficient, leading her to offer a few extra words of caution.

“This item absolutely cannot be eaten tomorrow, so remember to throw it away. I will not disturb your rest any further, I am leaving now, goodbye.”

Jin Yongyi turned around and walked outward with rapid steps. Right as she sprinted to the main entrance, a loud bang echoed as the door slammed shut with immense force.

She froze in place with shock. Recovering her senses, she stepped forward to pull the door, but it remained completely motionless.

The back of her neck was suddenly touched by an icy hand, and her waist was encircled by the exact same sensation of coldness. Before she could let out a cry of alarm, her body was spun around completely, crashing into Zhao Fuzhou’s embrace. He leaned his body down close, and his lips subsequently pressed against hers.

Jin Yongyi’s eyes widened in shock, and she struggled with all her might inside his arms. Their lips were pressed tightly together, and amidst her panic, a burst of fruit acidity forced its way into her oral cavity.

“Mhm!”