I Don't Want To Fall In Love With The Heroine [Quick Wear] - Chapter 20

The warm, amber glow of a single lamp flickered by the bedside.

Bai Qian leaned against the headboard, a sobbing girl cradled in her arms. Helpless to do anything else, she simply held her, whispering gentle comforts for a long time, but Shao Zizhi couldn’t seem to stop.

The girl looked like a small, fragile creature stripped of all security. Her fingers gripped Bai Qian’s pinky with a white-knuckled intensity, her head buried in the older woman’s chest, her face a messy map of salt and grief. Between ragged, tuneless sobs, a few coherent words finally broke through.

Over and over, it was the same thing: “Bai Qian, I missed you so much.”

When the storm finally began to pass, Bai Qian pulled a tissue and tenderly wiped the tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes. Shao Zizhi looked up from her embrace, her eyes rimmed with red, and murmured a soft plea. “Bai Qian, kiss me.”

The request wasn’t refused. Bai Qian leaned in, her lips meeting the girl’s in a kiss that was meant to be brief and fleeting.

Shao Zizhi sniffled, her gaze dropping to where her hand was still latched onto Bai Qian. “I missed you so much,” she whispered again. “I was a good girl. You told me to focus on my acting, and I did. The director praised me today; she said I was better than she ever expected. I really did work hard… but the moment I got back to the hotel, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Her voice dropped lower, thick with a rising sense of grievance. She tried to restrain herself, her grip on Bai Qian’s hand tightening until it was painful, but the dam broke again. Her voice, cracked with fresh sobs, felt like an awl driven repeatedly into Bai Qian’s heart.

“I really, really… hic… I missed you so much, Bai Qian. I didn’t even dare look at my phone because I was afraid that if I saw your picture, I wouldn’t want to film anymore. I really did my best. Bai Qian, I was so good.”

With a soft sigh, Bai Qian took the girl’s chin and tilted her face upward. She leaned down to gently kiss away the hot tears still spilling from her lashes. “I missed you too,” she murmured. “That’s why I already bought my ticket. I was supposed to leave at seven tomorrow morning to come find you.”

Shao Zizhi froze. Hearing the woman’s soft laugh, she gasped, “Is that true? You aren’t lying?”

She burst into tears yet again, though this time, the heartbreaking fragility was gone, replaced by pure relief. “How long can you stay? Can you stay with me forever?”

“I haven’t booked the return flight yet,” Bai Qian teased. “It depends on your behavior.”

The girl planted a messy kiss on her cheek. “I’ll keep working hard! I promise!”

******

With the combined effort of the cast and crew, The Evil finished filming right on schedule. Shao Zizhi turned down the director’s invitation to the wrap party and pushed her flight back by a few days.

She took Bai Qian to see Country L’s famous Valley of Souls. That night, she insisted she was a lingering spirit from the valley and wouldn’t leave Bai Qian’s body until she had “collected enough yin energy.”

Bai Qian responded with clinical efficiency: she used a silk tie to bind the girl to a chair. “Miss Spirit,” she asked with a cold smirk, “are you still there?”

Shao Zizhi begged for mercy immediately, but the moment she was released, she dove back under the covers to try her luck again. Bai Qian ended the nonsense by booking a separate room and locking the door.

The next day, they visited a temple rumored to be incredibly efficacious, each buying a protection charm. In the dead of night, Shao Zizhi “woke” with a start, grabbing Bai Qian’s hand and trying to guide it somewhere restless while mumbling about “evil spirits” needing to be exorcised.

Bai Qian got out of bed, unwrapped a pair of new stockings she’d bought that day, bunched them into a ball, and made as if to gag her. The girl snapped her eyes open instantly and gave her a perfectly innocent smile.

Having failed twice to lure her lover into a night of passion, Shao Zizhi finally deflated. On their last day, she behaved herself, abandoning her clumsy little tricks.

The hotel was hosting a pool party that evening. Shao Zizhi, ever the social butterfly, dragged Bai Qian along. Without swimsuits, they felt out of place among the bronzed foreigners in their daring bikinis. Fortunately, there were plenty of activities to keep everyone distracted.

Bai Qian stepped away to the restroom. When she returned, she caught the tail end of a conversation between Shao Zizhi and a blonde man. As the man walked away, Bai Qian approached, her expression darkening. “Who was that?”

Shao Zizhi was holding a pale yellow cocktail. She took a sip before answering obediently, “Just a guy hitting on me. I told him I had a partner and he left.”

Bai Qian felt a flicker of jealousy, but she remained rational. Her eyes fell on the drink. “Did you get that yourself?”

Shao Zizhi shook her head. “That guy gave it to me. He said it tastes great and wasn’t too strong—perfect for a girl like me.”

Bai Qian’s face went pitch black. “Shao Zizhi, have I not told you? Never, under any circumstances, drink something a stranger gives you!”

Shao Zizhi looked utterly piteous under the scolding. “Zhang Chao isn’t even in this country. There are so many people here; how could anyone do anything bad?”

Bai Qian gritted her teeth. “There were plenty of people at the charity gala, and Zhang Chao still found a way, didn’t he?” Despite her anger, she couldn’t hide her concern. “How do you feel? Is anything wrong?”

Shao Zizhi found the overreaction a bit funny, but she knew it came from a place of love. She shook her head. “I’m fine, really. I promise to watch what I drink from now on. Bai Qian, don’t be mad at me, okay?”

“If there’s a next time, see if I ever talk to you again.”

After ten more minutes, Shao Zizhi grew bored and pulled Bai Qian toward the roof. “There’s a private hot spring room up there. I booked it earlier. It’s our turn now. Let’s soak before we sleep.”

The water was quite hot. Within two minutes, Bai Qian felt her face flushing. The girl, who had been resting quietly against the edge, suddenly leaned her head on Bai Qian’s shoulder.

“Bai Qian… I’m so hot.”

Bai Qian didn’t think much of it. “It’s a hot spring. Isn’t that the point?”

“But I’m really hot. My face is burning, my body is burning… I feel weird.”

Sensing something was actually wrong, Bai Qian turned to look. The girl’s face was an alarmingly deep shade of red. She reached out to touch her forehead and was shocked by the heat radiating from her skin.

As she moved to get out of the water, her hand was snatched. Shao Zizhi greedily pressed the cool, wet hand against her cheek, her eyes fluttering shut. “Bai Qian… so cold… it feels so good…”

Having been through this twice before, Bai Qian knew exactly what kind of torture Shao Zizhi was enduring. She cursed the blonde man to high heaven and then cursed the “plot.” This wasn’t supposed to happen.

There was no time for further thought. Shao Zizhi, driven by a desperate need, used the buoyancy of the water to glide in front of her. She began nipping at Bai Qian’s earlobe, murmuring, “Help me… Bai Qian, help me…” As she spoke, she reached out and gave the belt of Bai Qian’s robe a light tug.

Through the rising steam, a sea of white skin emerged. Bai Qian’s eyes narrowed instantly. Since the last “incident,” the most they had done was kiss. The long-buried desire surged back in a heartbeat. Shao Zizhi’s kisses moved from her ear to the corner of her mouth; she was like a desert traveler who had finally found water. She bit down on Bai Qian’s lip. “Bai Qian, help me. It hurts…”

The tension was suffocating.

Suddenly, a hand thrust between them. Bai Qian grabbed the girl’s chin, forcing their lips apart. Her eyes had regained their usual clarity. Her voice was calm. “Shao Zizhi. Stop faking it.”

The woman looked dazed, trying to pull her back in, but she wouldn’t succeed this time. Bai Qian fished the soaked, heavy robe from the water and draped it over the girl’s shoulders.

“I don’t think you realize,” Bai Qian said evenly, “that when you’re actually under the influence, the way you say my name is very different.”

A heavy silence followed. The girl, her “trance” broken, splashed the water in frustration. “Bai Qian! You don’t love me anymore!” She looked piteous again. “We haven’t done… that… in forever. You’ve lost interest, haven’t you?”

Bai Qian truly wondered what went on in that head of hers. She looked back at the girl’s face, about to speak, but her gaze was pulled downward. The robe only covered half of her; the view was breathtaking.

The girl, completely unaware that she was more provocative now than she had been a moment ago, continued to grumble. “You think I’m not attractive anymore, even though we—mmph.”

The rest of her words were swallowed by Bai Qian’s lips.

“We have twenty minutes left,” Bai Qian whispered against her mouth. “I’ll be quick, okay?”

*******

The Golden Orange Awards were a grand affair. This year, they were live-streamed on Site B, allowing fans to experience the thrill in real-time.

Director Cheng Huan’s The Evil swept six major awards. Shao Zizhi and her co-star took home Best Actress and Best Actor without surprise. Watching the girl on stage, barely containing her excitement as she read the speech she’d prepared for days, Bai Qian felt a profound sense of pride.

An hour later, her phone rang.

“Bai Qian! Did you watch the stream?”

“I did.”

“Did you see me win?!”

“Mmh.”

“Then what are you going to give me when I get back?”

Bai Qian smiled. “I wasn’t sure what to get.”

“Bai Qian!”

“So… how about I give you a girlfriend?”

******

[World modification complete. Freezing world… 3… 2… 1.]

[World frozen. Extracting Guardian… 3… 2… 1.]

[Guardian extracted. Sealing memories… 3… 2… 1.]

[Memories sealed. Transporting Guardian to new world… 3… 2… 1.]

[Transport complete. Welcome, Guardian. Target: Change the fate of the Mermaid Lead who was skinned alive.]

*****

The moon was a sliver of frost shaped like a hook, hanging in a sky where dark clouds were slowly parting. It was a scene more beautiful than any painting. A light breeze skimmed over the misty blue sea, creating subtle ripples on the surface.

A massive ship approached the shore. Just as it was about to dock, the calm water suddenly erupted into a spray of fast-moving foam. A figure moved toward the beach under the moonlight—a person with thick, dark hair. With every rise and fall of her body, her exquisite features shimmered with an enticing glow.

As if being hunted, she suddenly sped up. The quiet sea vibrated with the sound of her movement. The shoreline was inches away, and just as the creature behind her was about to seize her, a clear, celestial voice rang out from the shore. It was a sound more beautiful than her favorite conch shells.

“Grab me!”

The person on shore reached out. The mermaid tried to lift her head higher, squinting to see her savior. The stingy moonlight only illuminated half of the woman’s face, leaving the rest in shadow. Even so, she was hauntingly beautiful.

Seeing her hesitate, the woman grew anxious. “Quick! Grab my hand!”

The creature of the deep instinctively reached out to clasp her, but before she could take hold, a sharp pain shot through her lower body. A blinding white light flashed. The agony of her tail being severed turned her world black, and she lost consciousness instantly.

She never saw the woman catch her. As the creature in the water lunged to strike, the woman expertly hauled her onto the sand. A bolt of dark magic missed them, hitting the beach and leaving a scorched mark that would never fade.

Bai Qian gathered the now-human girl into her arms. She didn’t run. As she suspected, the villain’s dark magic was exhausted, and since it couldn’t survive out of water, it could only circle the shoreline in a futile, frustrated rage. Its sinister eyes glared at the girl in Bai Qian’s arms, its mouth twisting into unidentifiable shrieks before it finally vanished into the depths.

Bai Qian didn’t leave immediately. She turned to look at the docked ship, catching sight of a certain hypocritical figure on deck. Her eyes narrowed coldly. Then, she looked down at the unconscious girl in her arms, her expression softening. She reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from the girl’s face.

“As long as I’m here, no one will ever take your scales again.”

******

Bai Qian had been in this world for less than an hour. She had woken up at the original host’s desk, and her first act had been to rush here to intercept the “Hero Saves the Beauty” meet-cute. Fortunately, she had made it.

She filled the bathtub with fresh water and carefully lowered the girl inside. The girl, who had looked restless in her sleep, finally relaxed the moment she touched the water. Bai Qian knelt by the tub, taking the girl’s limp hand to wash away the fine sand clinging to her wrists.

She was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice the girl’s eyes slowly opening. They were a stunning amber, like pieces of thousand-year-old silk, appearing incredibly pure beneath the water.

Yu Shaoling blinked, confused about where she was. The memories of the shore came rushing back. She turned her head and saw the long-haired woman kneeling right beside her. A flicker of awe crossed her face. Realizing this was her savior, her expression softened into a shy, gentle gratitude.

Her pale pink lips parted to speak. In that instant, her amber pupils bled into a pitch black, like a dark mist. Within three seconds, they faded back to amber, though a trace of that darkness remained.

Bai Qian noticed nothing. She finished cleaning the girl’s right arm and was about to move to the other when an odd sensation hit her. Before she could identify it—Bang!

Yu Shaoling, now fully awake, shoved Bai Qian away with chilling indifference. Caught off guard, Bai Qian was sent sprawling backward.

“Ouch,” she muttered, her head spinning. She looked up in confusion at the mermaid who was now standing up in the tub. Yu Shaoling’s face was a mask of coldness, her eyes filled with an intimidating sense of loathing and disgust.

“******!”

(Who are you?!)

Her beautiful lips moved, but the words were a jumble of sounds Bai Qian couldn’t understand. Bai Qian was still reeling, but her first priority was getting up. She hated the vulnerability of looking up at someone like this.

She ignored the throb in her back and reached out to push herself off the floor. But the moment she moved, the girl in the tub raised a hand. With a flick of her finger, a bolt of white light shot through the air.

A numbing electric current pierced Bai Qian’s forehead, sinking into her skin. Her strength evaporated instantly, and with a dull thud, she collapsed back onto the floor.

Bai Qian was stunned. This was not the original plot. She was certain that the girl shouldn’t have been able to use her psychic powers until after the “hero” had imprisoned her in a basement. The power a mermaid regained after her tail transformed was lethal, with only one limitation: it couldn’t be used against a loved one. That was how the scumbag had eventually managed to strip her of her scales.

In the original story, the girl had been profoundly grateful to her savior. Why was she so different now? This cold, unfeeling attitude had existed in the original, but only at the very end. The scumbag’s experimental drugs had side effects, causing the girl to suffer from intermittent amnesia. When she lost her memory, she became exactly like the girl standing in the tub now.

Bai Qian couldn’t think of any other reason. “Do you have amnesia?” she asked tentatively.

Neither understood the other. Yu Shaoling’s brow furrowed deeper.

 “******!”

(Where is this? You filthy, low-class human, why have you brought me here?!)

Bai Qian realized then that their languages were as different as their species. She wisely gave up on the conversation. She tried to move her hand, but found she still had no strength. What kind of nightmare start was this?

Before she could think further, the girl’s expression shifted. It was as if she were being strangled. Her flushed face turned pale, and her steady breathing became heavy and labored. As her face began to turn a sickly blue, the girl used the last of her strength to follow a nameless instinct. She stepped out of the bathtub.

Hearing the splash, Bai Qian looked over. The terrifying change in the girl’s face sent a jolt of panic through her. “What’s wrong?”

She tried to sit up, forgetting her own weakness. Just as she was about to fall back again, a hand reached out and clamped firmly around her waist. The girl, her skin a bizarre mottled purple, pulled Bai Qian close while her other hand squeezed the woman’s chin in a grip like a steel vise.

Startled by the darkness in the girl’s eyes, Bai Qian tried to pull away. “What are you—”

The rest of her words were swallowed whole by the girl’s lips.

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