The Cold Heroine Turned Into a Yandere After Being - Chapter 26

I Need Miss Ji to Coax Me

Even though Ji Shubai had grown accustomed to Mo Zhu’s silver-tongued flirting, hearing those words still stirred a strange, inexplicable emotion in her heart.

Under the dim glow of the motion-sensor light, she noticed several strands of white fur clinging to Mo Zhu’s dark coat likely from the cat.

“I sent you a message,” Ji Shubai said. “I have things to do and won’t be coming back tonight.”

“What could be so important that you won’t even come home?” Mo Zhu pulled her a bit closer, looking down at her.

Ji Shubai was about to tell her to stop being unreasonable when she heard footsteps approaching from downstairs, accompanied by the muffled sound of two people talking.

She spun around, gripping the stair railing to peer through the gap between the flights of stairs.

Mo Zhu followed her lead, trying to get a look, but before she could lean over, Ji Shubai suddenly grabbed her hand and began pulling her up the stairs.

“Hmm?”

Ji Shubai’s palm was cool, yet her grip was incredibly tight her fingertips even dug slightly into Mo Zhu’s wrist. She didn’t have time to ask why Mo Zhu was here; her only thought was that they couldn’t be caught.

Before Mo Zhu could catch another glimpse, she was half-dragged, half-carried all the way up to the sixth floor.

Ji Shubai seemed to have left in such a hurry that she hadn’t even closed the door, which made it easier for them to slip inside.

Before Mo Zhu could even get her bearings, Ji Shubai shut the door behind them and continued pulling her further into the apartment.

“I haven’t changed my shoes,” Mo Zhu reminded her, remembering the woman’s obsession with cleanliness.

But Ji Shubai acted as if she hadn’t heard a word, pulling her straight toward one of the rooms.

Mo Zhu took the opportunity to glance around. Unlike the dilapidated exterior of the building, the interior was decorated in a modern, soft style that felt surprisingly warm.

Before she could see more, she was pulled to a bedroom door.

The moment the door opened a crack, Ji Shubai pushed Mo Zhu inside and slipped in after her. She shut the door behind them with a “thud” so fast it practically stirred up a breeze.

Ji Shubai leaned her back against the door, panting slightly as her chest heaved. Her other hand was still white-knuckled around Mo Zhu’s wrist.

Mo Zhu looked down at the pale hand gripping her, then up at Ji Shubai. She could clearly feel the woman’s hurried breath brushing against her chin.

“Miss Ji,” Mo Zhu lowered her voice, sounding slightly amused. “You’re acting like we’re having an illicit affair.”

Before Ji Shubai could respond, the sound of the front door opening drifted in. The voices and footsteps they had heard in the stairwell grew louder as they entered the apartment.

“Why was the door unlocked? Did we forget to lock it when we went out?” an older woman’s voice asked.

“I’m sure you locked it, Auntie. Maybe Shubai opened it?”

Mo Zhu recognized the second voice from the phone call earlier. Just as she was about to speak, a hand clamped over her mouth.

“Don’t make a sound,” Ji Shubai whispered. “Hardly anyone knows about this place. It would be impossible to explain your presence to my mother.”

It’s easy to lie about small things, but some secrets require a mountain of lies to maintain, and eventually, the truth always slips out.

Outside, Ji’s mother seemed nervous about the unlocked door. She walked quickly toward her daughter’s room, calling out, “Shubai? Are you in your room?”

“I’m here,” Ji Shubai called back, her head turned toward the door. She looked back at Mo Zhu and whispered, “Stay in my room for now.”

Looking at her, Mo Zhu realized Ji Shubai wasn’t going to let go until she agreed, so she nodded.

She started to open her mouth to speak, but Ji Shubai anticipated it and warned her again: “Not a sound.”

Mo Zhu had no choice but to shut her mouth. She followed the pressure of Ji’s hand to stand behind the door, but she forgot she was wearing high heels. When her feet hit the wooden floor, they made a distinct “thud.”

The sudden noise naturally caught the attention of those outside.

“Shubai?”

Ji Shubai kept one hand on the doorknob and looked at Mo Zhu, trying to convey a message with her eyes.

Mo Zhu leaned quietly against the wall. She raised a hand and tapped her fingers against her lips, signaling that she would stay quiet.

However, in Ji Shubai’s eyes, the gesture took on a completely different meaning. She looked at Mo Zhu’s eyes, which were always dancing with mischievous laughter, and took a deep breath.

Mo Zhu watched as the woman before her suddenly stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward.

A soft, fleeting kiss landed on her lips.

It was a tender, warm sensation that was gone in an instant so fast it almost felt like a hallucination.

Immediately after, Ji Shubai pulled back, turned the handle, and stepped out. She pulled the door shut behind her, but not before switching on the light for Mo Zhu.

“Mom, what is it?” Ji Shubai’s voice drifted in, sounding remarkably calm.

Mo Zhu stood alone behind the door, the cool, soft sensation still lingering on her lips.

The muffled conversation between the mother and daughter continued outside, but Mo Zhu couldn’t focus on any of it. Her mind was entirely occupied by that unexpected kiss.

She thought back to her own gesture and finally realized what had happened.

It seemed Miss Ji had completely misinterpreted her signal.

Outside, Ji’s mother asked suspiciously, “Shubai, was there a noise in your room?”

Ji Shubai’s voice was steady. “I just accidentally knocked something over onto the floor.”

Standing behind the door, Mo Zhu finally recovered from the shock. A meaningful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“By the way, I found the door unlocked. Did you open it?” Ji’s mother asked.

“Yeah. I woke up and saw you were gone, so I was going to look for you. I realized I forgot something and came back,” Ji Shubai explained.

“Auntie, it’s my fault,” a voice belonging to someone named Cheng Chen explained. “I came over right after my home visit. You said Shubai was resting, and since you wanted to go buy a few things, I went with you. I didn’t want to wake her.”

“Mom, remember to send me a text next time,” Ji Shubai urged.

“Alright, alright, I know. You and Cheng Chen go sit for a bit. You haven’t seen each other in years; you must have plenty to talk about.” Ji’s mother ushered them toward the living room.

The voices faded as their footsteps moved away. Once they were far enough, Mo Zhu could only hear the general rise and fall of their conversation.

Mo Zhu quietly slipped off her shoes and began pacing barefoot across the cool floor of Ji Shubai’s private sanctuary.

The room wasn’t large, but it was neatly arranged with light gray walls, a wooden desk, and a simple light blue bedding set. The duvet was currently tossed aside in a mess.

Ji Shubai must have been in a hurry when she woke up.

What drew Mo Zhu’s attention most were several cardboard boxes in the corner, appearing only partially unpacked.

She walked over and saw they were mostly filled with books and stacks of manuscripts. A box nearby contained several photo frames and trophies.

Driven by curiosity, Mo Zhu bent down and picked up one of the frames.

The Ji Shubai in the photo looked a few years younger, standing on a podium and holding a design trophy.

She was wearing a simple black gown with her hair swept up, revealing her slender neck.

Though her expression carried its usual cool detachment, there was an undeniable spark of confidence and brilliance in her eyes. Her lips were tilted up in a genuine smile one Mo Zhu had never seen before.

As she looked through the items, a photo stuck to the back of another one fluttered to the floor. Mo Zhu picked it up and saw it was a picture of Ji Shubai and another girl.

They were standing side-by-side. Ji Shubai’s smile was even brighter than in the trophy photo. The background was a studio named “Po Guang.”

This was likely the studio Ji Shubai had opened with her friend.

Mo Zhu recalled seeing a similar background before, perhaps when she was scrolling through Ji Shubai’s very sparse social media feed.

As she studied the photo, trying to read more of the story behind the smile, she heard a sound from outside.

Ji Shubai had been distracted since leaving the room.

She answered Cheng Chen’s questions with only half-interest.

While she was tidying up some items on the coffee table, she suddenly spotted several resumes.

Her expression shifted. She abruptly asked Cheng Chen, “Do you want something to drink?”

Cheng Chen blinked in surprise before nodding vigorously.

“They’re in the kitchen fridge. Help yourself,” Ji Shubai said.

Startled by the answer, Cheng Chen stood up. “Okay. Would you like something too, Shubai?”

“Yeah. Get me a bottle of lemon juice.”

Having sent her away, Ji Shubai walked into her mother’s bedroom.

Her mother was on the balcony bringing in the laundry. When she saw her daughter and the papers in her hand, her face changed slightly.

“Mom, didn’t we agree on this?”

Her mother’s movements paused. Her voice was gentle but firm. “I can’t just sit at home all day doing nothing.”

“No,” Ji Shubai said, her tone hardening. “You’ve only just started to recover. You aren’t fit to go out yet.”

“Little girl, I never wanted to drag you into this. You should be living a happy life. I don’t want this for you.”

“But we’re mother and daughter. We’re in this together.”

The air in the room grew heavy.

The two women stared at each other, a complex and suffocating emotion flowing between them.

Ji Shubai’s lips were pressed into a tight line, while her mother’s eyes were a mix of heartache and regret.

Having retrieved the drinks, Cheng Chen found no one in the living room and walked toward the open bedroom door.

Ji Shubai quickly composed herself, turning the papers face-down on a side table. Her mother silently gathered the laundry, preparing to take it to Ji’s room.

Ji Shubai took the stack of clothes from her mother. “I’ll take these.”

Her mother gave her a long look before finally nodding. “Alright. I’ll go cut some fruit for you both.”

As her mother headed for the kitchen, Ji Shubai hurried toward her own bedroom with the clothes.

However, after a few steps, Cheng Chen caught up, trying to hand over the drinks but realizing Ji Shubai’s hands were full.

Inside the room, Mo Zhu moved away from the window and back to the door, identifying the two sets of footsteps.

One was light and brisk; the other was steady.

Their voices drifted through the door, muffled but recognizable.

“Shubai, have you and Auntie been living here all these years?” It was Cheng Chen’s voice, filled with an appropriate amount of concern. “I only realized how much the country has changed after I came back.”

“Mm,” was Ji Shubai’s characteristically brief reply.

“I used to follow your school’s social media account. I saw you won several major design awards. The headlines called you a designer with immense talent and soul.”

Ji Shubai replied dismissively, “It was just luck.”

After a brief silence, Cheng Chen spoke again, this time with a hint of testing. “With someone as talented as you, you must not be single, right?”

Inside the room, Mo Zhu arched an eyebrow, her finger absentmindedly tracing Ji Shubai’s smiling face in the photo.

Outside, Ji Shubai’s voice rang out again. “I’m not considering that right now.”

Mo Zhu’s gaze fell on a fountain pen on the desk. Its sleek metallic lines matched Ji Shubai’s minimalist and refined aesthetic perfectly.

“Really?” Cheng Chen laughed. “I remember so many people used to chase you back then. Someone even picked flowers from the neighborhood garden every day to leave at your door until the security guard caught him and gave him a piece of his mind.”

Ji Shubai didn’t answer immediately.

Cheng Chen continued, “Actually, back then I—”

Before she could finish, a sharp clack echoed from inside Ji Shubai’s bedroom, as if something had hit the floor.

The hallway fell silent.

A few seconds later, Ji Shubai spoke, her voice a pitch higher than before. “I left the window open. It must have been the wind. I’ll go check.”

Footsteps approached the door. Mo Zhu silently retreated into the shadows behind it.

The door was pushed open. Ji Shubai slipped inside and had just closed the door behind her when she was suddenly pinned against the wood.

Ji Shubai opened her mouth to speak but, remembering the person outside, immediately went quiet.

“Shush” Mo Zhu leaned in close to her ear, her warm breath grazing the skin. “You certainly have a lot of pursuers, Miss Ji.”

Ji Shubai’s body stiffened. She tried to move away, but Mo Zhu had her trapped firmly between the door and her own body.

“What are you doing?” Ji Shubai whispered harshly.

From outside, Cheng Chen’s voice called out with concern, “Shubai, is everything okay?”

Ji Shubai took a deep breath, trying to sound as calm as possible. “It’s fine. Just a pen fell on the floor.”

Her eyes were locked onto Mo Zhu, flickering with a mix of warning and helplessness.

Outside, Ji’s mother seemed to be calling for someone. Cheng Chen called back, “Shubai, Auntie is calling me. I’ll go check on her.”

Ji Shubai acknowledged her, and the sound of receding footsteps followed.

Mo Zhu looked at the door, then back at Ji Shubai. “Miss Ji, my presence is hard to explain to your mother, but what about the person out there? Is she easy to explain? And what was it she called you? ‘Chen Chen’? How intimate.”

“First of all, her surname is Cheng and her given name is Chen. Secondly, she was just a neighbor from middle school. She’s here today because she’s a middle school teacher now and was doing home visits nearby, and I happened to run into her on my way home.” Ji Shubai explained it all in one breath.

“Ah, so she’s the girl next door,” Mo Zhu said, zeroing in on the part she wanted to hear.

Ji Shubai sensed something off in the woman’s tone. “She moved abroad after middle school. We haven’t seen each other in years.”

“Oh, so it’s a reunion after a long separation,” Mo Zhu remarked.

Ji Shubai sighed. “Can you please speak normally?”

“That depends on what you do, Miss Ji.”

Ji Shubai was caught off guard for a second. By the time she realized what was happening, the words were already out: “Do what?”

A meaningful smile played on Mo Zhu’s lips. “Just like you did before.”

She spoke, but her gaze was fixed intently on Ji Shubai’s lips, her intention obvious.

“What do you mean ‘before” Ji Shubai cut herself off as a faint blush colored her face. She tried to turn her head to avoid Mo Zhu’s gaze, but a finger gently tilted her chin back.

Mo Zhu’s lips were nearly touching her ear, her voice a mere murmur.

“I’m not very happy right now. I need Miss Ji to coax me.”

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