The Cold Heroine Turned Into a Yandere After Being - Chapter 19

A Gentle Bite

Ji Shubai’s answer was nearly drowned out by the boisterous noise around them, but Mo Zhu heard it anyway.

She looked at the woman before her. Ji Shubai’s eyes naturally slanted upward at the corners a feature that should have been seductive, yet was pressed into a haughty, lonely edge by her inherent coldness.

Coupled with that distant voice, she could trigger Mo Zhu’s emotions with effortless ease.

Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere between the two was off, a kind-hearted soul stepped in to smooth things over. “The bouquet is just a good omen. No one says it has to mean a wedding.”

“Right, right.”

After a moment of heavy silence, Mo Zhu let out a short laugh. She glanced at the bouquet in her hand and handed it back to someone who actually wanted it, saying with a beaming smile, “Here, for you.”

“Ah. th-thank you.” The person took the bouquet and scratched their forehead awkwardly, feeling as though they had just been handed a hot potato.

“Why are you all still standing here? Go take your seats.” Several elders, unaware of the hidden tension, saw the crowd lingering and hurried them along.

The guests, seeing that the show was over, began to disperse. Only a few remained trailing behind.

Mo Zhu walked ahead of Ji Shubai, but when she noticed the latter heading in a different direction, she suddenly spoke up.

“Where are you going?”

“My seat is over there,” Ji Shubai said, her gaze not shifting even a fraction.

Mo Zhu had been assigned to the table with the Mo family relatives, but since Ji Shubai was a last-minute addition, she had been placed out of courtesy at the table with Xia Yitian.

This version of Ji Shubai made Mo Zhu’s teeth itch with irritation. “Come with me to my table.”

She reached out to grab the other’s hand, but Ji Shubai dodged her.

Quite the temper she has.

Mo Zhu’s expression hardened. She took a step forward, closing the distance until her gaze was scorching, as if trying to see right through the woman.

“Even at a time like this, Miss Ji still thinks she can distance herself from me? Isn’t that a bit naive?”

Ji Shubai finally turned to look at her, but she didn’t speak. She simply turned back and continued forward, her pace so fast it seemed as though she were trying to shake Mo Zhu off.

Mo Zhu laughed out of sheer frustration for a second. She suppressed her impulses and followed.

By the time Mo Zhu arrived, the table was nearly full. Most of the people there were of her generation, and their families had business dealings with one another.

Ji Shubai, sitting among them, felt like a jarring, misplaced entity.

A few troublemakers had already begun trying to fish for information from her, using the earlier incident as an excuse. However, Ji Shubai’s total disregard for them was beginning to make them annoyed.

“Who do you think you are, putting on such an act?”

Mo Zhu pulled out the chair next to Ji Shubai and sat down. “What are you all talking about so happily? Count me in.”

The speaker froze upon seeing Mo Zhu, then smiled. “It’s nothing. Why did Little President Mo come over here?”

“I’m asking you—what were you talking about that was so happy?” Mo Zhu smiled at him, but her eyes were shards of ice.

The man finally dropped his playful smirk. “I just thought this lady looked unfamiliar and asked a few curious questions.”

“Does she know you? Who gave you the right to ask?”

The surroundings fell into an immediate silence. The people at the table exchanged glances, unsure of Mo Zhu’s stance.

Just moments ago, she had been so dismissive while holding the bouquet.

Even Ji Shubai was at a loss; she couldn’t figure out what this eldest miss was trying to do.

Fortunately, Xia Yitian’s appearance broke the deadlock.

“Why are you here?” Xia Yitian had just returned from the restroom. She prepared to sit down, only to find Mo Zhu had stolen her spot.

Mo Zhu looked up at her, and Xia Yitian’s eyelid gave an involuntary twitch.

“Go sit over there.” Mo Zhu gestured toward her own original seat.

“Who? Me?” Xia Yitian pointed at herself, her eyes wide. “Wait, that table is full of your relatives. I’m not part of your family. What does it look like if I sit there?”

“It looks like you’re lucky.”

Xia Yitian looked at the silent Ji Shubai, then back at Mo Zhu.

She was in a state of wanting to curse but holding it back. Date, go ahead and date! Look at them once they start dating, they both go mute. Their brains are broken.

In the end, Mo Zhu got her way and stayed beside Ji Shubai, while Xia Yitian had a staff member add an extra chair at the end.

Compared to the cheerful atmosphere of the surrounding tables, the vibe at Mo Zhu’s table was quite oppressive. It only lightened slightly when the newlyweds came around to offer toasts.

“Did you eat gunpowder today?” Xia Yitian whispered during the meal.

Mo Zhu took a sip of wine and replied with an air of mock seriousness, “That stuff is toxic. I can’t eat it.”

Xia Yitian reached a perfect conclusion: “…Crazy.”

Host, I haven’t received any negative score notifications so far! You seem to have actually succeeded. Would you like me to check the favorability level for you?

Xiao Ta’s voice was full of pleasant surprise, but Mo Zhu just thought it was incredibly noisy and told it to shut up.

Mo Zhu didn’t eat much during dinner, but she drank quite a lot of wine.

Ji Shubai, sitting beside her, did the same.

The two didn’t exchange a single word until the banquet ended, looking for all the world like they were sulking at each other.

There was no moonlight tonight; the sky was exceptionally dark.

Xia Yitian didn’t feel right leaving these two drunkards alone, so she dutifully escorted them back to the villa.

Before leaving, she pulled Mo Zhu aside and asked hesitantly, “You don’t have a tendency toward domestic violence, do you?”

Mo Zhu frowned, bewildered. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Wow, Eldest Miss, next time you go out, remember to bring a mirror. Look at the way you’re looking at her—it’s like you want to devour her whole.” Xia Yitian practically wanted to applaud her.

On the other side, Ji Shubai had been standing against the wall by the stairs since they entered, staring fixedly at the two of them. Her gaze held no warmth.

Xia Yitian felt a chill down her spine. Thinking the temperature had dropped during the night, she said a few quick words and left.

After seeing her off, Mo Zhu returned inside and saw Ji Shubai still standing there like someone being punished. She paused, then changed direction and walked toward her.

“Assistant Ji, standing in the corner for a timeout?”

Ji Shubai slowly raised her eyes to look at her, then turned her face away a childish but silent form of rebellion.

Mo Zhu felt both amused and irritated. “You don’t want to talk to me? Who do you want to talk to then? Your dear senior?”

Ji Shubai pursed her lips and moved to walk past her. “Move.”

Those two short words were enough to ignite the emotions Mo Zhu had been suppressing all day. Instead of stepping aside, she moved closer, pinning the woman against the wall.

“Why should I move? I have to move for you outside, and now I have to move for you here? Who am I moving for?”

Her voice was very low, tinged with the slight huskiness of alcohol.

Ji Shubai knit her brows and tilted her head, avoiding the other’s scorching gaze.

Under the lights, her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyes. They trembled slightly, betraying emotions that were far from indifferent.

The cold, light fragrance on her body mingled with the faint scent of wine, swirling in the cramped space between them.

“You’ve had too much to drink,” Ji Shubai spoke again. Her voice was steady, yet it carried a grit that wasn’t there before.

“That’s all you want to say to me?” Mo Zhu leaned in, her breath brushing against the shell of Ji Shubai’s ear.

Ji Shubai’s lips pressed into a pale, straight line, her jaw tight.

She finally turned back to look Mo Zhu in the eye. Those cold eyes seemed covered in a thin layer of ice, but beneath the ice, a dark current surged.

“No.”

Her answer only fueled the reckless emotions crashing around in Mo Zhu’s chest. She looked at the lips so close to her own—lips that always spoke such cold words, almost never saying anything she wanted to hear.

At this moment, the alcohol and pent-up emotions finally breached the dam of her reason.

Mo Zhu suddenly raised her hand to cup the woman’s face, her thumb pressing lightly against the soft curve of her lips. Her voice was soft and slow.

“Miss Ji, do you have any idea how soft you actually are right here?”

As she finished speaking, a large shadow enveloped Ji Shubai’s face. Her pupils dilated suddenly.

A slight sting of pain came from her lower lip.

Mo Zhu had originally intended to use some force, wanting to make this person remember the feeling of pain.

But upon touching that cool, soft place, she couldn’t help but let the strength drain from her grip, changing the intended bite into a gentle nip.

However, in the next second, she was as expected pushed away.

The two stood facing each other, their breathing slightly uneven. There was a flicker of panic in Ji Shubai’s eyes.

Mo Zhu took two steps back, her heels making a dull thud on the floor. “I forgot. Miss Ji doesn’t seem to need me to be proactive.”

Hearing these words seemed to trigger a memory for Ji Shubai. The layer of ice over her eyes finally cracked.

Mo Zhu stared at her for a moment, then without warning, she turned and headed upstairs.

She was stifled by a ball of frustration a mix of wine, resentment, and a trace of grievance she didn’t want to examine. Her pace was naturally a bit hurried.

But just as she reached the midpoint of the stairs, about to step onto a small landing, all the lights in the house went out without warning.

Darkness, like a heavy velvet curtain, swallowed all the light in an instant.

Distracted by the sudden change, she lost her footing and accidentally bumped into the banister.

“Sss—”

Before she could check where she had hit, she heard a flurry of hurried footsteps from behind.

Mo Zhu turned around, but before she could react, she felt a figure—breathing heavily—rapidly approaching.

The next second, her wrist was touched by a cold hand, and she was knocked backward by the person’s uncontrollable momentum.

She stumbled back a step, instinctively gripping the other’s wrist, only to be immediately and tightly almost forcefully embraced.

“Mo Zhu?” Ji Shubai’s voice sounded in her ear. It was visibly frantic, a stark contrast to her usual cold stability.

In the darkness, when sight is stripped away, the other senses become piercingly sharp.

Mo Zhu could feel the rise and fall of Ji Shubai’s chest as she breathed. She could feel the slight itch of damp hair brushing against her temple.

She also heard it—

Between their pressed chests, two hearts were beating violently. The sounds overlapped.

In this tiny space, it was deafening.

Mo Zhu buried her cheek in the crook of the woman’s neck. The smile that had vanished slowly spread across her features again.

“Miss Ji, I recall that I’m the one who’s supposed to be afraid of the dark.”

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