Running Away While Pregnant with the Villain’s Child - Chapter 19

Luo Xingran’s head was filled with so many questions that she completely overlooked the fact that she was no longer afraid of Pei Junzhuo.

As the group walked inside carrying food, Tan Nuannuo intentionally circled around to walk beside Pei Junzhuo.

“With you dressed like this, aren’t you afraid she actually likes ‘handsome guys’ and not you? What will you do if someone handsomer than you comes along?” Tan Nuannuo spoke with a relentless need to get to the bottom of things, and her words were quite merciless.

“Is that all you wanted to say? Someone else has said things far harsher than that. That person asked me directly: what if she only likes my appearance, or the masculine traits I’m projecting?”

Hearing Pei Junzhuo’s response, Tan Nuannuo’s pupils dilated in shock. That blunt? It was no different from stabbing a knife straight into Pei Junzhuo’s heart.

“Don’t tell me… Luo Xingran asked that herself.”

If Shen Yao were to ask her such a question, Tan Nuannuo felt she would be heartbroken. Yet, the person in front of her showed hardly a ripple of emotion in her eyes.

“Yes, she was the one who asked.”

Pei Junzhuo even let out a small laugh. Tan Nuannuo couldn’t understand at all what there was to be happy about.

“You think I should be hurt? No, no. Think carefully about whose perspective those words were coming from.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that look in her eyes or the tone of her voice for the rest of my life. She was like a child—completely at a loss—and the worry in her eyes was impossible to hide.”

“She even came up to me, grabbed my hand, and asked what kind of compensation she should give me if things really turned out that way.”

Pei Junzhuo couldn’t help but laugh, looking quite radiant.

“She’s such a fool. She was clearly thinking of me from start to finish, yet she still felt like she was the one who might end up being the heartbreaker.”

Hearing this, Tan Nuannuo realized that Luo Xingran was indeed considering everything from Pei Junzhuo’s standpoint.

However, if Shen Yao were to stand before her and worry about her like that… Just the thought of it made the corners of Tan Nuannuo’s mouth curl upward.

If I could hold such an important place in her heart… The thought alone kept the smile on her face.

“To be honest, I don’t care what method I use to catch her eye. Men’s clothing, women’s clothing, heavy makeup, or light—as long as she likes it and it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.”

Pei Junzhuo held food in one hand and lightly patted Tan Nuannuo with the other.

“When it comes to love, being a little… unscrupulous… is permitted, you know.”

With that, Pei Junzhuo quickened her pace to catch up to Luo Xingran, tenderly asking her what she wanted to eat.

After listening, Tan Nuannuo felt a sudden sense of enlightenment. Right, what does it matter?

As long as Shen Yao could focus her gaze on her, what did it matter if she did things that were a bit out of line?

In the past, when facing Li Dan, Tan Nuannuo felt nothing regardless of the tactics she used. But the moment she faced Shen Yao, using even a tiny bit of manipulation made her feel absolutely disgusted with herself.

That said, before employing any “tactics,” she certainly needed to ensure her own strength was a worthy match for Shen Yao.

Pei Junzhuo, of course, understood exactly what kind of person Tan Nuannuo was. From the beginning, she knew Tan Nuannuo wasn’t a “good person” in the conventional, law-abiding sense.

Tan Nuannuo simply needed someone to tell her how to act to be with Shen Yao.

Pei Junzhuo didn’t mind playing the “good person” here. With Tan Nuannuo pestering Shen Yao, Pei Junzhuo’s own life would be easier. Otherwise, every time she saw Shen Yao hovering around Luo Xingran, her mood would darken.

“Don’t get too close to me…” Luo Xingran was completely defenseless against this version of Pei Junzhuo.

When Pei Junzhuo dressed in a more feminine style, Luo Xingran really wanted to be close to her; back then, that closeness felt natural and beautiful. Now that Pei Junzhuo had suddenly changed her look, Luo Xingran felt her “aggressiveness” had spiked.

“Does Xingran think I look bad like this?” Pei Junzhuo lowered her eyes, looking somewhat dejected.

Was Luo Xingran the type of person who could just watch someone be sad?

Of course not. She couldn’t do it. With a face like Pei Junzhuo’s, even a slight frown was more than Luo Xingran could bear to see.

“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… the way you look now is so captivatingly aggressive that I can’t really control myself.”

Luo Xingran’s honest admission was, in Pei Junzhuo’s eyes, incredibly adorable.

What am I going to do with her? Whether she had her memories or not, this person was the one Pei Junzhuo had chosen.

“As I thought, you still don’t like me this way. But if I change back to my old look, you… you’ll be afraid of me again.”

“Does this mean there’s only one way left?”

Pei Junzhuo’s tone was sorrowful, yet her eyes held no actual grief.

Hearing this, Luo Xingran’s head dropped lower and lower. At the final sentence, she looked up at Pei Junzhuo with eyes bright as stars.

“What way?”

When Luo Xingran looked up, those eyes were exactly as they were in her memories—shining like the constellations.

“The only way is for me to disappear…” As Pei Junzhuo finished speaking bitterly, Luo Xingran reached out and pressed her hand over her mouth.

A fair, soft hand lightly pressed against her lips as Luo Xingran leaned forward. Pei Junzhuo caught the familiar scent of her fragrance and struggled to suppress the urge to let her smile widen.

She couldn’t let this “silly kitten” find out; otherwise, Luo Xingran would surely extend those velvet paws and give her a sharp swat.

A kitten’s strike might be adorable, but it still carried a bit of a sting.

“No, no… you can’t…”

The moment the words left her mouth, Luo Xingran felt she had spoken too hastily.

“There’s no need for that. After all, we’re friends.”

Listening to that dry, awkward explanation, Shen Yao didn’t even need to think to know that Luo Xingran had walked right into Pei Junzhuo’s trap.

“Sister Luo, let’s go play…”

Shen Yao was only halfway through her sentence when Tan Nuannuo stepped up beside her.

“Yaoyao, is there anything you want to play? Can I play with you? I’ve never been here before and I don’t know how to do anything…”

As she spoke, Tan Nuannuo reached out and gently tugged on Shen Yao’s skirt.

“You’ve never been here?” Looking at Tan Nuannuo, Shen Yao was reminded of her terrible family situation.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll show you around,” Shen Yao said with a grand wave of her hand, indicating she would take full responsibility for the fun.

“Then… should we bring Sister Luo along?” Tan Nuannuo looked deeply moved, gazing at Shen Yao as if she were her sole salvation.

Shen Yao was successfully captured by that look of pure reliance. She remembered Luo Xingran mentioning earlier that she didn’t know how to dance. Plus, the games she was about to play with Tan Nuannuo would surely be two-player games. She shook her head.

“It’s fine. She can play with Pei Junzhuo. I’ll take care of you.”

The bright, cheerful, and optimistic Shen Yao had one fatal weakness: she loved to play. Since she knew Pei Junzhuo wouldn’t do anything to harm Luo Xingran, she decided it was time to enjoy herself!

Seeing the two of them leave, Pei Junzhuo’s mood naturally brightened.

“Was Shen Yao just calling me?” Luo Xingran asked Pei Junzhuo in a daze, having been momentarily dizzied by her beauty.

The noise in the arcade was deafening, and Shen Yao’s voice had been muffled enough that Luo Xingran couldn’t quite catch it.

Pei Junzhuo leaned close to Luo Xingran’s ear and said, “She said she’s going to play with Tan Nuannuo, so the two of us should be a pair.”

Hearing the word “pair,” the temperature of Luo Xingran’s face threatened to rise again.

She stood slightly on her tiptoes, leaning into Pei Junzhuo’s ear in return: “Then… what do you want to play?”

The warm, familiar breath brushing against her ear made Pei Junzhuo feel for a moment as if she had returned to that summer.

The surging crowd pushed Pei Junzhuo and Luo Xingran closer and closer together. To prevent Luo Xingran from being squeezed away, Pei Junzhuo thought of a spot where the foot traffic wasn’t as heavy.

“Shall we go to the shooting gallery?” Pei Junzhuo circled her arms around her, protecting her space while tenderly asking for her opinion.

“Ah? Sure.” Caught in such close proximity, Luo Xingran was hardly in a state to judge what Pei Junzhuo was actually suggesting.

God help me, she thought. She was nearly unable to breathe because they were so close.

Wuwuwu… I’m going to be killed by Pei Junzhuo’s beauty. Now that they were closer, she noticed Pei Junzhuo was wearing a sports headband. Her hair was pulled back by the band, making her look even more striking.

Luo Xingran’s heart was pounding wildly, completely beyond her control.

By the time they finally reached the shooting area, the distance between them had narrowed even further.

Looking at Pei Junzhuo’s slightly messy hair, Luo Xingran could only think about how cute she looked.

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