The Cold Heroine Turned Into a Yandere After Being - Chapter 12

The moment Mo Zhu heard Secretary Han’s voice, her instincts kicked in. She pulled back, breaking the distance between them, and felt a fleeting sense of absurdity for what she had almost done.

Ji Shubai was now fully awake. She recoiled, her back thumping dully against the elevator wall. Her lips were still tinged with a faint, rosy flush. She blinked rapidly, struggling to suppress the chaos swirling in her eyes.

“Move.” Ji Shubai looked away and gave Mo Zhu a hurried push, her voice tinged with urgency.

Despite the fact that her ears were red with panic, she insisted on maintaining that “ice queen” persona, acting as if she were worlds apart from Mo Zhu.

Mo Zhu wanted to say something, but thinking of the two people waiting outside, she swallowed her words.

When she finally stepped out of the elevator, Assistant Xiang and Secretary Han were standing face-to-face, looking incredibly busy with something. Both wore the professional masks of people who “saw nothing and know nothing.”

Seeing Mo Zhu emerge, Assistant Xiang acted as if she had only just noticed her. “President Mo, you’re back.”

“Is there something?” Mo Zhu asked.

“Secretary Han and I came to deliver the revised materials for tonight’s meeting, but we found you weren’t in.” Assistant Xiang handed over a thick stack of documents.

Mo Zhu took the files, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.

Secretary Han, having reorganized her composure, adjusted her glasses. “I sent you a message, but you didn’t reply.”

Mo Zhu hadn’t looked at her phone the entire way back. Pulling it out now, she realized the battery had died. No wonder she hadn’t received anything.

Just then, Ji Shubai stepped out of the elevator. Secretary Han hesitated for a moment before greeting her with polite confidence: “Hello, Miss Wen.”

Assistant Xiang’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. The moment the first syllable left Han’s mouth, Xiang’s elbow was already digging into her colleague’s ribs. Seeing that the damage was done, Xiang offered a stiff smile and articulated clearly: “Good evening, Miss Ji.”

Secretary Han looked dazed for a second, but realization dawned quickly. She had said the wrong thing. Knowing that explaining would only make it messier, she opted to shut her mouth immediately.

At the mention of “Miss Wen,” Ji Shubai looked up at Secretary Han, then shifted her gaze to Mo Zhu. The earlier panic had subsided, replaced by her usual cold indifference.

Mo Zhu looked at Secretary Han, who was now staring intently at the floor and wondered for a moment if she was a spy sent by a rival company.

To be fair, it wasn’t entirely Han’s fault. Her interactions with Mo Zhu were strictly corporate. Unlike Assistant Xiang, she didn’t keep track of the rotating door of people in the boss’s private life.

Assistant Xiang was spiraling into despair. She had actually warned Secretary Han on the way over, but the workaholic had been too busy replying to emails, letting non-work information go in one ear and out the other.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Ji Shubai brushed past Mo Zhu to enter the apartment.

After Ji Shubai left, Mo Zhu distractedly handled her subordinates, her attention drifting toward the figure opening the door nearby.

Ji Shubai was punching in the code. Her profile was thin and upright, her movements carrying her signature efficiency and aloofness as if the woman who had lost her composure in the elevator didn’t exist.

Mo Zhu didn’t invite her staff inside. They highlighted the key points of the documents and quickly took their leave.

Once they were gone, Mo Zhu prepared to head in. Standing before the door, she let out a long sigh, rubbed her brow, and bit her lip. A complex, unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes.

“System, what’s her current favorability?”

The female lead’s favorability toward you is now 4.

What a “lucky” number. After a whole day of effort, it had decreased instead of increasing. As the saying goes: the harder you try, the unluckier you get. That was her in a nutshell.

With a soft click, the lock disengaged.

Inside, Mo Zhu placed the documents on the entryway cabinet, her movements slower than usual. Her eyes instinctively searched the room and quickly landed on the silhouette standing by the kitchen island.

Ji Shubai was holding a glass of water, staring into it with intense focus. Her profile seemed distant in the dim light; only the slight tension in her shoulders betrayed her discomfort.

She looked up when she heard the noise, seemingly surprised that Mo Zhu was back so soon. Mo Zhu met her eyes, but Ji Shubai skillfully averted her gaze.

Mo Zhu paused. “I…”

At the same time, Ji Shubai spoke. “You…”

Their voices collided and then stopped abruptly.

“You first.” Mo Zhu finished changing her shoes and walked toward her.

But Ji Shubai fell silent again. Mo Zhu grabbed a bottle of ice water from the fridge and leaned against the door, waiting patiently for her to continue. The silence stretched on.

“About that ‘Miss Wen’ just now…” Mo Zhu thought it best to explain.

“I understand.”

“Hm?” Mo Zhu blinked. “Understand what?”

She hadn’t even said anything yet.

“The relationship between us… whether it’s Miss Wen or Miss Li, President Mo has no need or obligation to explain these things to me.” Ji Shubai drained the water as if it were a shot of hard liquor. “I’m going back to the room.”

She then added, “To get some things.”

Her belongings were in the guest room, so she was effectively telling Mo Zhu she was heading there.

Mo Zhu said nothing, merely tightening the cap on her bottle. Ji Shubai washed her glass, set it upside down to dry, and walked away. As she passed, she brought a faint breeze with her a scent of fresh fragrance mixed with the lingering, mellow aroma of red wine.

Mo Zhu reached out and caught her arm, looking at her sideways. “Miss Ji isn’t even willing to hear an explanation?”

“I simply feel it’s unnecessary. But if it’s your requirement, President Mo, then I am all ears.”

Mo Zhu let out a silent laugh. “Your temper certainly grows after a few drinks, Miss Ji.”

They remained in a standoff for a moment before Mo Zhu finally let go, allowing her to leave.

Mo Zhu stood still, listening to the soft sound of the guest room door opening and closing. That small sound seemed to put a temporary full stop to the chaotic, ambiguous interlude in the elevator.

Left alone in the living room, it was so quiet she could almost hear her own heartbeat. She set the water bottle down irritably. “Coaxing people is such a hassle.”

And when the person was Ji Shubai, it was twice the trouble.

She had an international conference in the middle of the night, so instead of going to bed, she took her documents straight to the study.

Once the meeting started, Mo Zhu leaned back in her chair, mindlessly twirling a fountain pen. Her eyes were on the data, but her focus was nonexistent. The people on the other end of the call were used to her style, until a glaring data error appeared in a team report.

She suddenly sat bolt upright, the pen clacking against the desk.

“Market share fell 5.7% quarter-on-quarter, yet you used year-on-year data to move the goalposts” Mo Zhu let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Has your team run out of competent people, or do you really take me for a fool?”

The person on the other end panicked visibly upon being caught. Mo Zhu didn’t bother with the frantic apologies and ordered them to continue. The atmosphere for the rest of the meeting was significantly more somber; everyone was on high alert.

By the time the meeting ended, it was deep into the night. Mo Zhu processed three urgent files in a row. When she finally stood up, the world spun. She gripped the edge of the desk, waiting for the vertigo to pass.

She suddenly understood why the original host of this body preferred to slack off. This level of work was a death trap.

Dizzy and exhausted, Mo Zhu left the study. She glanced at the tightly shut door of the guest room. Forget it. Whatever needed to be said could wait until she woke up.

She entered her bedroom, switched on the small nightlight, and went to wash up. By the time she came out, she was running on fumes. Her head felt heavy, and a sharp pain throbbed at her temples.

Mo Zhu practically crawled into bed with her eyes closed. As she pulled back the covers and lay down, her hand brushed against something warm.

The warmth was soft and vital, possessing the unmistakable curves of a human body. Her chaotic brain stalled for a moment. It wasn’t a plush toy, nor was it a fold in the blanket. This sensation was real.

She mumbled instinctively, “Who is it Xiao Ta—”

Before she could finish, the “heat source” she was touching stiffened violently.

Suddenly, a massive force slammed into her shoulder. Caught off guard, Mo Zhu was shoved right off the bed.

Falling onto the carpet didn’t hurt much, but it jolted her awake. She propped herself up with her elbows, staring at the bed in shock.

In the dim glow of the nightlight, Ji Shubai was propped up on one arm. Her long hair was disheveled, making her face look even paler almost cold. A trace of sleepiness remained in her eyes, but it was overshadowed by a flash of indignant shock and icy disbelief.

Detection: Favorability has dropped below 0. I have immunized you against one negative point penalty. Duration: 3 minutes. You have one final chance left. Please cherish it.

Mo Zhu pressed her throbbing temples. She realized now that the bedside lamp had been on the whole time; she just hadn’t noticed. Her physical discomfort and extreme exhaustion had stripped away her patience and kindness. The system’s warning only added to the frustration building in her chest.

She looked at Ji Shubai and suddenly remembered the unfinished kiss in the elevator. Anger made the memory vivid—Ji Shubai’s trembling lashes and the warmth of their shared breath.

Mo Zhu lunged forward, kneeling on the bed. She grabbed the back of the other woman’s neck and pinned her down. Her fingers sank into the hair at the nape of Ji Shubai’s neck, the grip firm enough to prevent any retreat.

The lamp cast a hazy halo around Ji Shubai. Only her eyes caught the light in the shadows, reflecting pupils that had suddenly constricted.

Mo Zhu’s thumb brushed the warm skin of her neck as she leaned in even closer. Her nose nearly touched Ji Shubai’s, her breath ghosting over the woman’s lips. Her voice carried a hint of malice.

“Miss Ji, why can’t you ever learn?”

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