The Cold Heroine Turned Into a Yandere After Being - Chapter 8

Are we going to sleep?

The original owner of this body must have truly disliked Ji Shubai during high school. She had discarded their only group photo almost as soon as she got it. In fact, it didn’t even exist in her lingering memories, proving just how little she had cared.

However, the system’s words only dampened Mo Zhu’s spirits for a moment. She quickly realized that since the photo was likely distributed to everyone in the group, her own loss didn’t mean others didn’t still have theirs.

Mo Zhu found a spot to sit amidst the cluttered storage room and began scrolling through her contact list.

In her memory, Xia Yitian seemed to have a copy of that photo.

After sending a message and waiting ten minutes without a reply, Mo Zhu’s limited patience ran out, and she called her directly.

When the call connected, the background noise on Xia Yitian’s end was incredibly loud, and her voice sounded a bit strained.

Mo Zhu tried to explain for a while, but the other woman couldn’t seem to hear her. Eventually, Mo Zhu simply shouted that there was a “dire emergency.” This time, Xia Yitian heard her clearly, but before she could say another word, the call was disconnected.

Not long after, Mo Zhu received a text from an unknown number. It was Xia Yitian using someone else’s phone, explaining that her own battery had died and asking where Mo Zhu was.

Thus, at two in the morning, the Mo family estate welcomed a guest.

The butler, forced to stay up late, led the visitor to the lounge where Mo Zhu was waiting.

“What happened? I charged my phone later and messaged you, but you never replied,” Xia Yitian asked anxiously the moment she saw her.

At that moment, Mo Zhu was lying back with her eyes closed, wearing a face mask. She opened her eyes at the sound of the voice.

“You’re here.” She sat up slightly. “Actually, I wanted to ask—do you remember that group photo the Student Union took back in our senior year?”

Though confused, Xia Yitian answered, “I think I remember something like that. Why?”

“Do you still have your copy?” Mo Zhu asked.

“How would I know? That was ages ago.”

Seeing Mo Zhu’s expression darken, she added, “But back then, my mom said she wanted to keep memories of my high school years, so she put all my photos into an album. But you know her—she has a shorter attention span than I do. I have no idea where that album is now.”

“Why are you asking about that photo anyway?” Xia Yitian was baffled.

“Oh, I just got a bit nostalgic. I wanted to revisit the ‘beautiful life’ of my youth,” Mo Zhu lied effortlessly.

” What?” Xia Yitian’s head was full of question marks. “So this is the ‘dire emergency’ you were talking about?”

Mo Zhu nodded unabashedly. “That’s right.”

Xia Yitian couldn’t help but roll her eyes and turn to leave. She had rushed over thinking something life-altering had happened to Mo Zhu, and it was just for this?

“Remember to find it for me when you get home. I’m in a hurry,” Mo Zhu called out to her retreating back. “As for that project your sister wanted you to handle, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Wait, that’s not what you said before!” Xia Yitian whirled back around. “Who exactly is in that photo that makes it so—”

She stopped mid-sentence, a realization dawning on her. She hesitantly uttered a name, “Ji Shubai?”

Thanks to the party tonight, she had remembered Ji Shubai’s name.

Xia Yitian had her own interpretation: “Are you actually serious about her?”

Mo Zhu neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.

“I can’t believe you—” Xia Yitian started to speak, but thought better of it. “Fine, I’ll look for it when I get home.”

Once Xia Yitian left, Mo Zhu peeled off her face mask, tossed it into a nearby bin, and headed back to her room.

Before she slept, the system’s voice suddenly rang out.

Host, are you really going to do this?

Creating fictitious emotional evidence to deceive, blackmail, or maliciously harm others is morally wrong and potentially illegal.

The bedside lamp cast a soft, warm glow. Mo Zhu’s voice sounded devoid of emotion as she replied, “But everything here is already a fiction.”

Moreover, in a sense, the person she was deceiving was herself.

The next morning, just as Mo Zhu sat down at the dining table, Assistant Xiang called. His report was brief: “President Mo, Ms. Ji has moved in. She didn’t have much stuff, and everything has been settled.”

Mo Zhu took a sip of her coffee, her finger tapping lightly against the rim of the cup. “Mm,” she hummed in acknowledgment.

After Ji Shubai moved in, Mo Zhu intentionally stayed away for a few days. She wanted to create an atmosphere where she was “coincidentally” absent, giving Ji Shubai the space to familiarize herself with an environment that was entirely foreign to her.

During this window, Xia Yitian managed to find the photo and delivered it.

Mo Zhu examined it closely.

In the photo, both Mo Zhu and Ji Shubai looked much younger than they did now. Following the Student Union’s hierarchy, they were standing side-by-side. Almost everyone else in the shot was smiling at the camera.

Only the two of them were different: one was expressionless, and the other had a forced, hollow smile.

After admiring the irony, Mo Zhu carefully cut the two of them out of the photo and tucked the snippet away.

On the third day, after consulting the system to time her arrival perfectly, Mo Zhu returned home early.

Ji Shubai’s shoes were missing from the entryway.

Mo Zhu walked into the house with a composed gait. She didn’t return to her master bedroom immediately. Instead, she headed straight for the study at the end of the hallway—a room she rarely used. This was the planned location for her “evidence.”

The room was already filled with her belongings, including many old items from her student days. It was a logical place for someone to find something “by accident.”

However, after testing a few hiding spots, she wasn’t satisfied.

Something this “important” being left in a study that clearly wasn’t used much seemed unrealistic.

After some thought, she decided to place the photo in her own bedroom instead.

Once everything was set, she left for the office and didn’t return until nearly midnight.

Pushing the door open, she found the house dim. Only the hallway light near the guest bedroom was on. Mo Zhu changed her shoes and put her things down without turning on the main lights.

Having barely eaten all day, she was famished. Upon opening the fridge, she unexpectedly found a sandwich carefully wrapped in parchment paper.

She leaned against the counter and took a bite. Behind her, she heard a door open, followed by the sound of light footsteps.

She turned around.

Ji Shubai had likely come out for a drink of water. She was wearing soft cotton pajamas, her long hair draped loosely over her shoulders. In the semi-darkness of the night light, she looked like a stray cat that had wandered in.

Seeing Mo Zhu, her steps faltered. Her gaze flickered to the sandwich in Mo Zhu’s hand. She pursed her lips slightly but said nothing, moving to fill her glass with water first.

Mo Zhu swallowed her food and stepped aside to give her space, her eyes lingering subtly on Ji Shubai.

The sound of the running water grew fainter as the glass filled up.

Sensing the gaze, Ji Shubai’s fingers tightened around the glass. She took a sip before speaking. “I didn’t know you were coming back today.”

As soon as she said it, it felt awkward. Mo Zhu didn’t need to report her movements to her.

Across the short distance, their eyes met briefly in the dim light.

Mo Zhu’s face broke into her usual, somewhat languid smile. “It’s my fault. I forgot to mention it.”

Ji Shubai frowned slightly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Mo Zhu fiddled with the edge of the sandwich wrapper. “Did you make this? I was hungry, so I ate it.”

“I bought it. I didn’t make it,” Ji Shubai answered honestly.

Mo Zhu nodded and continued eating slowly, quietly observing the profile of Ji Shubai’s face as she drank.

Ji Shubai was clearly uncomfortable with this late-night intimacy, especially with Mo Zhu. She took a few quick gulps of water, set the glass down, and whispered, “I’m going back to my room.”

“Mm. Goodnight,” Mo Zhu said, her voice a bit muffled by the food, making her sound more casual.

Ji Shubai nodded and turned to leave the kitchen’s shadows, heading toward the guest room.

After finishing her snack, Mo Zhu also returned to her room.

Once she had washed up and was sitting on the edge of the bed, she opened her nightstand drawer and pulled out the photo. She was pondering how to get Ji Shubai into her room “accidentally” so she could discover it.

Just as she was wrestling with the logistics, a knock sounded at the door.

There was no one else in the house besides Ji Shubai.

Mo Zhu slipped the photo back inside, gave the drawer a casual push, and walked toward the door.

When she opened it, Ji Shubai was standing there in a different set of pajamas—thicker material this time. Her long hair was still smooth, and her neck looked like cold jade under the dim light.

She kept her eyelashes lowered, the light casting soft shadows on her face, making her look exceptionally still.

“Today is the fourth day the contract has been in effect,” she paused, her voice clear and cool. “I’m here to fulfill my obligation.”

“Oh?” Mo Zhu’s tone carried a hint of a question.

Ji Shubai finally looked up. “Are we going to sleep?”