I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 45

“Why are you so disobedient?”

The late-night wind blew through Xun Fangyun’s long hair. She stared at the sobbing Mang Ke, then bent down and embraced her.

“Mmh…”

Mang Ke felt a sudden squeeze around her waist, and she was enveloped in a warm hug.

The warm body and familiar scent instantly shattered Mang Ke’s tear ducts. She clutched Xun Fangyun’s wine-red shirt, crying a snotty, tearful mess, as if she needed to cry out all her grievances.

“Why don’t you want to see me?” Mang Ke sobbed, clinging to Xun Fangyun’s clothes. “Before, you told me to go back, and I never said I would. Now that I’ve finally come, you want to chase me away! Am I a rubber ball, being kicked around by you? I want to see you too, and I want to be with you…”

Xun Fangyun held her close, listening silently as the other woman scolded her.

Mang Ke continued to whimper and scold her for a few more sentences, but her tone was too weak; it sounded less like scolding and more like pouting.

In the end, it was Xun Fangyun who unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled out a tissue to wipe Mang Ke’s face.

“Do you feel better?”

Xun Fangyun pulled her out of the car, continuing to wipe the corners of Mang Ke’s eyes with the tissue. Looking at her red nose and ears, she asked patiently, “If you cry any longer, you’ll attract the attention of the police.”

Mang Ke sniffed and remained silent.

Watching the person in front of her wipe her eyes with the back of her hand, Xun Fangyun sighed softly, stepped back, and said, “It’s too late. Come inside with me first.”

Opening the villa’s front door, the living room’s motion sensor lights automatically turned on. The entire room, top to bottom, looked exceptionally bright and modern.

The television also turned on automatically at Xun Fangyun’s gesture, broadcasting the late-night news.

Mang Ke walked into the house, intending to speak with Xun Fangyun, when she saw a strikingly patterned cat leap down from a cabinet above, flash past Mang Ke’s eyes, and immediately twine itself around the person standing in the living room.

Xun Fangyun reached out to stroke its small head. Only then did Mang Ke clearly see that it was an orange and white cat.

The cat looked quite small, only about three or four months old. It rubbed against Xun Fangyun’s palm and let out a soft, babyish meow, perfectly in its affectionate stage.

Mang Ke felt this scene was exceptionally familiar, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. It was just a sense of déjà vu that made her feel she had encountered something similar somewhere before.

Or perhaps, something comparable had resonated with her.

Xun Fangyun held the cat in her arms. The kitten clung to her, tilting its head to rub against Xun Fangyun, making Mang Ke feel a strange pang of jealousy.

“You sleep downstairs,” Xun Fangyun said. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll send you back to the company.”

Mang Ke blinked: “Why can’t we sleep together?”

Xun Fangyun: “…”

Mang Ke said, “In the first world, we were engaged. In the second world, we were married. Now, in this world, sleeping together shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Xun Fangyun: “…You are to sleep obediently on the first floor.”

Mang Ke was unhappy. She glanced at the guest room door open on the first floor, found it cold and cheerless, and didn’t want to go in.

Seeing her hesitant look, Xun Fangyun showed no sign of softening. After settling her into the guest room, she went upstairs to rest. Mang Ke was left alone on the first floor; even the cat had been taken upstairs by Xun Fangyun.

Mang Ke walked around the living room, bathroom, and kitchen in slippers, finding nothing that particularly interested her. She then leaned over the hallway railing, peered at the dark second floor, thought for a moment, but decided against going up.

Arriving at the guest room, she plugged in her phone to charge and prepared to undress for bed.

She took off her coat, draping it over a chair, along with her jeans and undershirt. After rummaging through the wardrobe for a long time, she only found one set of summer pajamas, whose size made it impossible to tell if it was for a man or a woman—it was likely left for guests.

After changing into the pajamas, Mang Ke sat on the edge of the bed. Her phone had already been charged at the company, so not much power had been wasted on the journey. It quickly showed 100% battery life.

The fully charged phone gave Mang Ke a deep sense of security. She unplugged it, placed it on the nightstand, and burrowed into the quilt, hugging the phone.

The cool quilt made Mang Ke shiver, but she quickly adapted to the cold environment, bolstered by her ‘righteous energy.’

Curling up her feet, Mang Ke unlocked her phone, planning to browse the web before sleeping.

As soon as she opened the phone, she saw a message notification—

Jia Yun: [Are you off work? Why didn’t I see you come out downstairs at the company?]

The time stamp was 9:30 PM, more than an hour ago.

Mang Ke thought back. She didn’t remember telling this person when she got off work; how did she know? And judging by the message, it seemed she had even waited downstairs for her.

Just as Mang Ke was unsure how to reply, swoosh—, another message arrived.

Jia Yun: [I went home since I didn’t see you. It seems the first day of being a girlfriend ended in failure. But I think I can pick you up after work tomorrow.]

Mang Ke: …

Why did she suddenly feel a sense of guilt toward her?

Turning over, Mang Ke moved her fingers to reply: [Glad you got home safely. I worked too late today, so I’m staying at a colleague’s nearby.]

Mang Ke thought defensively, The General Manager counts as a colleague, right? No problem.

The other party quickly replied: [Is that so? I saw a group of hoodlums wandering around on the way and was worried you might have run into danger. Since you’re at a colleague’s place, rest well. Tomorrow, I’ll mention to HR to stop scheduling overtime so late. It’s unsafe for girls to go home…]

Mang Ke didn’t read the subsequent rambling messages of concern. She only noticed the earlier line, ‘a group of hoodlums wandering around,’ and suddenly remembered Xun Fangyun looking in the rearview mirror more than once at the intersection. Mang Ke seemed to grasp something.

So, she was concerned about her?

I can comfort myself with that, Mang Ke thought as she drifted into a deep sleep, still hugging her phone.

Early the next morning, Xun Fangyun got up early.

She was dressed in black silk pajamas. The wide skirt and cuffs made the pajamas look more like a small evening gown.

She opened the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of ice water. Although the morning was chilly at ten degrees Celsius, Xun Fangyun preferred this stimulating method to wake herself up.

While drinking the water, Xun Fangyun glanced toward the guest room on the first floor.

She had expected Mang Ke’s presence here to keep her awake all night, but surprisingly, the girl was quiet the entire night, seemingly sleeping very deeply.

Was she really sleeping?

Xun Fangyun was curious. She put down her water glass and gently pushed open the door to Mang Ke’s guest room.

It wasn’t quite light outside at six o’clock. In the dim guest room, she could only see a figure lying in the bed, the quilt slowly moving with the rise and fall of her breathing.

Xun Fangyun walked quietly, slowly approaching the bedside. She saw that half of Mang Ke’s face was buried under the quilt.

The quilt rose and fell with her breaths; she seemed completely asleep.

Still sleeping.

Xun Fangyun crouched down. After watching Mang Ke for several moments, she couldn’t resist reaching out her hand.

The pad of her finger touched Mang Ke’s warm, soft cheek, causing Xun Fangyun’s heart to beat wildly again, bouncing erratically but without any pain.

Sensing someone touching her, Mang Ke instinctively rubbed against the finger stroking her, burying half her face into Xun Fangyun’s palm.

Warm, smooth.

Mang Ke’s skin was excellent. Xun Fangyun felt as if she were touching a soft egg, carrying a temperature that invited deeper thought.

Her heart, at this moment, was practically uncontrolled, leaping about wildly. Xun Fangyun felt like it was about to jump out of her chest—so intense, so fervent.

How long had it been since she last touched Mang Ke?

Xun Fangyun couldn’t remember. She didn’t know how long she had stayed in that blank world, nor did she remember how long she had been drunk in the snow-covered ancient capital.

Why did this woman come to her side time after time, giving her hope again and again?

Xun Fangyun’s eyes deepened. She knew Mang Ke liked her, liked her enough to want to be with her.

But…

If she stayed here, she would die.

Xun Fangyun closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the previous look of confusion was gone, replaced by determination.

She didn’t know how long someone like herself—an anomaly—could live. There was no need to drag someone else down.

She abruptly pulled her hand away. Mang Ke was instantly startled awake, shooting up in bed with a ‘whoosh!’

Pang—

“Ah—!!”

Mang Ke covered her head, looking at Xun Fangyun, who was similarly grimacing in pain on the floor. She asked confusedly, “Why did you hit my head?”

Xun Fangyun gritted her teeth, holding her forehead: “Who hit who?!”

Mang Ke thought for a moment. She couldn’t remember what she had just done, but after looking around, she asked with confusion, “Why did you come here and hit my head?”

Xun Fangyun felt this girl was determined to believe she had nothing better to do than come and hit her head this morning. She climbed back up, supporting herself on the edge of the bed, and grumbled, “I came to see if you were awake. If you are, get up, it’s time to prepare for work.”

Mang Ke let out an “Ah,” and said, “It’s only six something. Why do I need to get up now?”

Didn’t the company start at 9:00 AM? What was the point of getting up three hours early?!

Xun Fangyun glanced at her: “Go early, so people don’t get the wrong idea.”

With that, she turned and left the guest room.

Mang Ke rubbed her head, watching Xun Fangyun’s retreating figure, and couldn’t help but frown.

What was going on? She was clearly so caring yesterday, hugging and comforting her when she cried. Why had she reverted to her original cold self after waking up?

Mang Ke frowned and pondered. Could it be… that she really did mistake her for someone else?