The Female Lead is Quite Unusual - Episode 25

Bai Yin did sleep a bit longer than usual that night.

Perhaps it was because Lin Wan had been too clingy during the day, draining her energy and leaving her no time to dwell on those vexing memories. Lin Wan had even been so clingy as to come over and tuck her in, leaving her scent lingering on the blankets.

Wrapped in this familiar scent, Bai Yin relaxed involuntarily and ended up sleeping over an hour longer than usual.

But the events of the day had been too bizarre and shocking. Even Bai Yin found her mind momentarily unsettled.

At three in the morning, Bai Yin opened her eyes in the darkness, her thoughts racing through everything she had recently uncovered.

She had actually known about Songhe Villa’s plan all along but had chosen to play along.

The villa’s surveillance system had “failed” because she had rerouted the feed to her own devices. That night, everything that happened in the villa was under her control.

The trip to Songhe Villa had yielded two revelations for her. The first concerning Lin Wan.

Before leaving for the villa, she had realized she was growing increasingly reluctant to part with Lin Wan. An unfamiliar feeling that made her instinctively wary.

Should she continue allowing Lin Wan to stay by her side with unknown intentions, or should she sever ties, use drugs to dull her mind, and keep her as a pet? Songhe Villa was her test for Lin Wan.

She had no intention of following Li Pei’s plan.

Instead, she had orchestrated her own scheme, pretending to leave Lin Wan behind while secretly manipulating everything from the shadows.

Over the years, she had witnessed countless schemes and betrayals. No matter how sweet the words, people always revealed their true colors in the end.

True to form, Li Pei panicked: she was as vain as ever, unafraid of murder but terrified of losing her baseless reputation.

Meanwhile, after Bai Yin left, Lin Wan was pulled aside by Bai Ru for a whispered conversation.

So, she really was connected to Bai Ru.

This was something Bai Yin had already known.

But Bai Yin didn’t understand herself. She stared intently at the image of Bai Ru leaning in to whisper into Lin Wan’s ear, her eyes narrowing, the sight unbearably grating.

After Bai Ru left, Lin Wan remained seated, but her gaze kept drifting toward the door, her longing expression growing more and more like that of the little dog that had once waited for Bai Yin.

Was she worried about her, or was she afraid of the impending attempt on her life?

Bai Yin scrutinized every shift in Lin Wan’s expression, her heart filled with a strange mix of satisfaction and pain. Her frown deepened. She realized she was growing increasingly reluctant to turn Lin Wan into a pet.

She wanted to keep Lin Wan by her side.

But she didn’t have a strong enough leash to bind her.

Bai Yin watched Lin Wan’s every move. How she went out to search for her, how she navigated Bai Ru’s schemes until that strange feeling inside her reached its peak.

She had originally planned to reappear only the next morning.

But Lin Wan’s attitude left her even more perplexed: she had told Bai Ru she was going out to look for someone, supposedly to avoid risks and stay out of prison. Yet after Bai Ru pushed her into the pond where there was no real danger. She could have simply waited until morning.

Most people, when faced with danger, instinctively prioritize their own survival. Just like during the car accident years ago. Bai Yin had initially had the strength to crawl out of the car, but Li Ruyue, severely injured, had reflexively clung to her, refusing to let go.

Even though she had already been disappointed in Li Ruyue, never had there been a moment as disheartening as that one. She allowed herself to sink into slumber, never expecting that little dog to wake her.

Li Ruyue had already lost her breath. She easily broke free from Li Ruyue’s grasp and crawled out.

But from that moment on, she felt as though she had transformed into a vengeful ghost clawing its way out of hell; devoid of joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, only watching everything with cold detachment.

Yet, why was Lin Wan in the surveillance footage struggling so desperately to crawl out?

Was her own life really that important to Lin Wan?

…

Bai Yin didn’t listen to what people said. She only watched what they did.

The nighttime surveillance footage was reduced to shades of black and white, yet Bai Yin felt that Lin Wan at this moment was more dazzling than ever before.

She stared, mesmerized, at Lin Wan’s tense face. Even though it was smeared with dirt, looking wretched and laughable, in Bai Yin’s eyes, Lin Wan was more captivating than she had ever been.

Bai Yin couldn’t help but recall every moment she had spent with Lin Wan. Always emotionally steady, always smiling, going out of her way to please her, seemingly capable of tolerating her no matter what.

She didn’t know what it felt like to have friends. Because of Li Ruyue’s control, everyone she had ever known since childhood had been screened by Li Ruyue. Li Ruyue had mapped out her path, even going so far as to have her phone modified—no messaging apps, only calls for communication.

She had been disconnected from her peers for far too long. The so-called “friends” were merely partners in profit.

Perhaps that was why she was so infatuated with Lin Wan. Lin Wan carried a vitality that someone her age should have.

But Bai Yin faintly sensed it wasn’t just that. As for what else it was, she couldn’t quite put it into words.

She had once scoffed at Li Ruyue’s obsession with Bai Jian. Li Ruyue had always known Bai Jian was no good, yet she could never bring herself to let him go.

But now, Bai Yin suddenly realized she had indeed inherited that part of Li Ruyue’s nature. Even knowing Lin Wan had ill intentions, she had gone from cold indifference to sinking deeper day by day.

She couldn’t see through the current Lin Wan, and because of that, she even began to entertain a sliver of hope: Maybe Lin Wan had truly changed her mind and no longer sought to harm her?

…

“If she really manages to climb out of that pool, then I’ll keep her by my side.” Bai Yin finally decided to stop tormenting herself and made up her mind.

A faint tremor ran through her body, an unfamiliar excitement surging through her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Lin Wan in the surveillance footage.

She watched as Lin Wan never gave up for a single moment; groping around, finding the indent left by the workers earlier, and inching her way up in the darkness.

When Lin Wan finally made it to solid ground, Bai Yin’s eyes widened, and a long-lost sense of joy surged through her. She even rose from her wheelchair without thinking.

Then, she sat back down, handed her phone to Butler Zhao, who had been standing by her side, mussed up her own hair, and suddenly laughed.

She couldn’t define what Lin Wan was to her. A pet, or something else but one thought burned fiercely in her mind at this moment:

“I want her.”

Bai Yin lowered her head and spoke, as if telling Butler Zhao, and also herself: “I want her to stay by my side.”

This was her outward display of acceptance. Because of her stance, Butler Zhao had changed his attitude toward Lin Wan during this time.

A small crack opened in her world, willing to draw Lin Wan inside.

Afterward, she pushed her wheelchair into the woods, wanting to see Lin Wan.

She deliberately made a bit of noise, almost able to picture Lin Wan’s nervous expression in the darkness.

“Lin Wan, is that you?”

After speaking, she faintly curved her lips, lowered her head, and continued in a voice only she could hear in the dark.

“Welcome to my world.”

Bai Yin hadn’t expected Lin Wan to suddenly faint later.

Lin Wan often called her delicate, but in truth, in this dog-eat-dog world, Lin Wan herself was the most fragile one.

After Dr. Wang arrived, she didn’t let him bandage Lin Wan’s wounds. Instead, she took the tools herself, carefully and meticulously cleaning the dirt from Lin Wan’s fingertips before dressing the injuries.

Bai Yin found it strange. This growing possessiveness she felt toward Lin Wan. She seemed to despise the idea of Lin Wan touching anyone else, wanting only those clear, bright eyes to forever gaze at her with a smile.

But Lin Wan’s attention often wandered to irrelevant people, leaving Bai Yin with a vague sense of frustration. Especially when it came to Shen Shen, Lin Wan seemed to pay him unusual attention. Though Lin Wan warned her to stay away from Shen Shen, she herself would watch him closely, even asking him to accompany her back to the banquet hall after leaving the woods.

What was so great about a man like Shen Shen, who only cared about profit?

The more Bai Yin thought about it, the more stifled she felt. Yet, out of concern for Lin Wan’s injuries, she found herself tolerating much more than usual, wanting this foolish woman to understand what true goodness really was.

Lin Wan, however, was quick to take advantage. Seeing that Bai Yin didn’t mind, she even started calling her “Yin Yin, my little treasure” in private!

Bai Yin always found the nickname odd, feeling awkward whenever she heard it.

But if Lin Wan wanted to call her a treasure, it was still better than treating someone like Shen Shen as one!

So each time, she pretended not to notice, indulging Lin Wan. Only to find her growing clingier by the day, even asking for kisses, hugs, and to be lifted up!

Bai Yin was currently a cripple who couldn’t even walk. How was she supposed to lift Lin Wan? But if Lin Wan wanted to kiss her, to hold her.

Bai Yin imagined the scene and found her throat suddenly dry. Maybe it wasn’t entirely impossible!

With this thought in mind, Bai Yin spent the entire day observing Lin Wan.

But Lin Wan seemed to have only been joking. She mentioned it once and then forgot, spending the day sweet-talking Bai Yin without taking any real action!

Meanwhile, Bai Yin, out of sheer frustration, ended up eating more than usual, leaving her stomach uncomfortably full by bedtime.

Fortunately, Lin Wan seemed to realize she’d done something wrong and came to coax her at night, offering to tuck her in.

Since Bai Yin had already accepted Lin Wan into her world, she was willing to be generous. So, she opened the door and let Lin Wan into her bedroom.

Lin Wan carefully tucked her in, wished her goodnight, and just like that, Bai Yin’s anger melted away.

Reflecting on the day’s events and all the sweet words Lin Wan had whispered, Bai Yin couldn’t help but smile again.

But the night was still long. Rolling over in bed, Bai Yin felt for the first time that her bed seemed a little too empty.

What if Lin Wan were lying there too?

The thought popped into her head unexpectedly.

Bai Yin pictured it. When she couldn’t sleep, she could hold Lin Wan close.

That familiar thrill of excitement surged through her again.

Bai Yin pressed her lips together.

Bai Yin was completely wide awake now and no longer lying in bed. She activated the hidden mechanism behind the bookshelf.

Without glancing sideways, she walked inward, passing her experimental equipment, and finally reached the very last room.

Bai Ru, her eyes unfocused, was rolling on the floor.

She had no visible wounds on her hands, yet she kept screaming ‘it hurts’ hysterically.

Bai Yin’s second purpose for this trip to Songhe Villa was Bai Ru.

She had always found Bai Ru rather peculiar: the old Bai Ru was a vain little girl, but it seemed that three years ago, Bai Ru underwent a drastic change.

At first, Bai Ru tried everything to win her favor, but when Bai Yin paid her no attention, Bai Ru seemed to shift tactics and became intent on killing her.

Unlike Li Pei, who wanted to seize her wealth, Bai Ru’s murderous intent toward her seemed utterly baseless.

And no matter the time, the way Bai Ru looked at her was always bizarre like a hunter sizing up prey with complete certainty.

Bai Yin wanted to know what Bai Ru was really up to.

So she turned the tables, secretly bribing the person Bai Ru had hired to push her, instructing them to tell Li Pei that they had kidnapped Bai Ru and demand a ransom.

In reality, Bai Yin had brought Bai Ru here.

Dr. Wang was actually a specialist in psychiatry, the most professional psychologist. He willingly stayed here because he had discovered Bai Yin possessed formidable abilities but seemed to lack any sense of right and wrong, devoid of moral awareness. He wanted to prevent Bai Yin from committing something terrible.

Dr. Wang had hypnotized Bai Ru.

Bai Ru’s mental state appeared incredibly resilient, and only today had Dr. Wang finally breached her psychological defenses.

Recalling Bai Ru’s confession earlier that day, Bai Yin pressed her lips together again.

Bai Ru claimed she wasn’t actually Bai Ru herself but a member of an organization from a higher-tier world, tasked with seizing the fortune of this world.

There were many like her scattered across various worlds.

Each of them had a set time limit in their assigned worlds. Bai Ru’s was three years. She had to seize at least 15% of a world’s fortune within that time, or she would be declared a failure and face severe punishment upon returning.

This tasker had less than half a month left but still couldn’t reach 15%. She had given up on taking Bai Yin’s fortune and focused entirely on Shen Shen’s, but because of the world’s consciousness, Shen Shen and Bai Yin were fated to be together, making it impossible for her to seize much.

Only if Bai Yin died could she take more fortune.

With this in mind, she had tried to kill Bai Yin, planning to escape this world after seizing the fortune, which was why she repeatedly attempted to murder her.

Even though Bai Yin believed she was no longer shaken by worldly matters, she was still utterly astonished by this tasker’s words.

Yet the tasker’s words were not lies.

Bai Yin meticulously questioned her further before having Dr. Wang hypnotize the tasker again, making her hallucinate that her fingers were being burned.

She had pushed Lin Wan into the water. Now she should experience something similar.

According to the tasker, in half a month, she would leave, and the original Bai Ru would lose all memories from this period.

Bai Yin planned to wait until the tasker departed before throwing Bai Ru back.

After all, Li Pei cared too much about appearances. Even if Bai Ru went missing during this time, she wouldn’t dare make a big fuss about it.

As for the matter of her being the female lead, as claimed by the mission-taker.

The mission-taker kept insisting that she was destined to be drawn to Shen Shen in the future. Bai Yin detested this feeling of being constrained by something. Even if it was the will of the world itself.

She inquired about the process of seizing fortune from others, which turned out to be easier than she had imagined. Aside from methods she scorned, such as deceiving someone’s sincerity and admiration, another effective path was to grow powerful enough to trample all those who possessed fortune beneath her feet and defeat them.

By seizing 100% of the world’s fortune and possessing formidable abilities, Bai Yin would become a bug-like existence in this world, capable of doing whatever she pleased.

Bai Yin carefully noted the identities of all those who carried fortune and pursed her lips slightly.

In the past, had she seized all the fortune, she might have used her absolute power to utterly destroy this world she felt no attachment to.

But recently, she had been getting along quite well with Lin Wan. Suddenly, Bai Yin felt that living didn’t seem so bad after all, and she no longer wished to act on that destructive impulse.

Well, since she had nothing better to do, why not collect fortune for fun?