The Villain Has A Yuri Halo [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 54.2

Dawn broke, painting the sky with a pale, fish-belly white. Li Ju rose to prepare breakfast, determined to make the most of her remaining vacation days.

She hadn’t forgotten today was the day Mu Linglong was supposed to “leave,” as she had put it.

As she simmered silver ear mushroom porridge, she heard movement outside the door. Li Ju turned the heat down low and went to investigate.

Qin Peipei had practically memorized every detail of that door. She’d stared at it for hours last night, and its image had haunted her dreams.

Before she could even complain, her eyes widened at the sight of Li Ju. She stammered, pointing at Li Ju’s neck, “Sis, where did you get so wild last night? The battle scars are intense!”

The pale skin made the bite marks stand out even more, the faint red marks hinting at a passionate encounter.

Li Ju touched her neck, smiling casually. “What brings you here so early?”

“Sis, I’ve been blowing up your phone! Didn’t you notice? Were you even checking it?”

Li Ju frowned slightly. “I had some things to take care of last night and put my phone on silent. I fell asleep right after finishing and completely forgot about it. Sorry, I lost track of time.”

Qin Peipei gave her a knowing look, saying with a suggestive tone, “No worries, sometimes you just need to silence your phone, you know?”

“Want to come in for breakfast?”

“Sure, why not?”

They entered the courtyard one after the other. Qin Peipei’s eyes kept drifting to the marks on Li Ju’s neck. “Sis,” she said, a hint of concern in her voice, “was that bite a bit too rough? You should warn her not to do that again!”

Li Ju paused, then chuckled. “It’s nothing. I provoked her. Let her vent.”

Qin Peipei was surprised. She hadn’t expected Li Ju to be so indulgent about something like this. Curiosity piqued, she wondered who had done it.

The first person who came to mind was Mu Linglong.

Though Qin Peipei didn’t know the exact nature of Mu Linglong and Li Ju’s relationship, she had eyes. She’d always sensed something… off about the way those two women looked at each other.

Qin Peipei glanced up at the attic, finding it quiet. She considered asking about it but decided against it. Leaning against the kitchen doorframe, she grinned. “Sis, you’re looking quite domestic today. I might just get a little… tempted myself.”

Li Ju smiled faintly. “Stop teasing. Just tell me why you called so many times yesterday. What was so urgent?”

“It wasn’t exactly urgent,” Qin Peipei replied. “Just that Mu Rongguang nearly got… you know, taken care of.”

Li Ju raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned to Qin Peipei, pressing her for more details. “You said Mu Rongguang almost died?”

“Yeah, he was being followed and then chased down. Lucky for him, he managed to hide in the Black Market. Then he threw a bunch of jewels around, causing a riot as everyone scrambled for them, blocking the pursuers’ path. How many jewels does that kid even have? It almost makes me want to rob him myself!”

Li Ju quickly pieced together the situation. This hadn’t happened in the original plot. How had the male lead suddenly found himself being hunted down?

Here she was, diligently playing her role as the villain and pushing the plot forward with the female lead, while the male lead’s storyline was veering further and further off course.

This was unprecedented. The male lead’s plotline had collapsed before any other.

Could this unexpected butterfly effect actually end up killing the male lead?

“Sis, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m wondering if he’s dead.”

“Nope! Sai Xishi saved him. I was thinking of slipping Sai Xishi some money to let him die, but that woman pulled out half a sack of jewels—Mu Rongguang had bribed her in advance!”

Li Ju sighed inwardly, wishing Mu Rongguang had died. If he had, she wouldn’t have to act out the rest of her assigned plot. Since the male lead’s storyline collapsing had nothing to do with her, she had been diligently fulfilling her own plot tasks. If Mu Rongguang had unexpectedly died, she might have avoided Mu Linglong’s fatal strike.

“Still, even if Mu Rongguang didn’t die, he’s practically crippled now. His arm’s broken, you know,” Li Ju murmured, stirring her silver ear porridge. “I wonder which enemy he provoked this time.”

“Who knows? A Hai Xi native coming all the way here can’t mean anything good. Oh, speaking of Hai Xi, I just remembered something, Sister,” Qin Peipei said.

“What is it?” Li Ju asked.

“The Mu Clan that went bankrupt recently. I heard their only daughter died in a car accident. They didn’t even have time to rescue her—the car exploded instantly. It was terrifying. The whole family—three people—died in accidents. This… could it have been deliberate?”

Qin Peipei shuddered, shaken by the sudden loss of three lives. It was hard not to suspect foul play in the Mu Clan’s downfall.

Li Ju ladled the silver ear porridge into a bowl and said calmly, “The Mu Clan’s affairs are far beyond us ordinary folk. Don’t let your imagination run wild.”

Qin Peipei accepted the bowl of silver ear porridge with a nod, grinning mischievously. “I was just chatting with you, sis. The Mu Clan, rich for centuries, collapsed overnight. There’s definitely some conspiracy behind it. I’ll be careful and won’t mention the Mu Clan to outsiders. I’m just a merchant collecting old artifacts in the Black Market—I wouldn’t dare get involved in their affairs.”

She added thoughtfully, “Sis, you should be careful too.”

Li Ju’s smile deepened slightly as she nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Qin Peipei lowered her voice. “I didn’t say anything, okay?”

Li Ju urged her to take the food out quickly. There were still steamed dumplings to serve, and she needed Peipei’s help.

“Such a feast? Did you get up early to prepare all this?”

Li Ju replied meaningfully, “I upset Miss Mu yesterday. Making her something delicious today will keep her in a good mood, and that’ll make my day easier too.”

“Ooh~” Qin Peipei winked, seeing through the pretense but choosing not to comment.

She couldn’t resist sneaking a dumpling on her way out. The sweet, fresh taste of the shrimp made her exclaim, “How can she even make cooking taste this good?!”

Qin Peipei sighed enviously. Comparing oneself to others could really drive you crazy.

It was thanks to Qin Peipei bringing the morning’s news that she got to enjoy such a delicious meal.

Before leaving, she smiled sheepishly and said, “Sister, next time I’ll bring you some of my grandma’s tonic soup. It’s so delicious! I didn’t even wash the dishes after breakfast this time, heh, I feel a bit guilty.”

Li Ju laughed and scolded playfully, “Just stay out of my sight, and I’ll be grateful. I’m on vacation these next few days, so I won’t be going to the Black Market unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Alright, I’ll let them know. They can find someone else to do the appraisals.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Li Ju squinted, basking in the morning sunlight. After so long without seeing the sun, its warmth felt especially comforting.

“Good morning, Sister Xiaoju!”

“Heading to school?”

Xiao Xue, munching on a fried dough stick, hurried past. “Yep, Sister Xiaoju! Gotta run, I’m almost late!”

“Okay, be careful!”

Li Ju’s smile was as gentle and warm as jade. Her long hair, braided into a thick plait, hung over her right shoulder. She wore an elegant, pale lavender dress that swayed gracefully as she moved.

She didn’t linger outside for long. She still needed to deliver breakfast to Miss Mu.

Mu Linglong ate the breakfast with relative satisfaction, showing none of the demeanor of a prisoner. She haughtily ordered Li Ju to fetch the books she wanted to read.

Li Ju reverted to her usual gentle demeanor, as if the domineering woman who had bullied Mu Linglong in the bathroom the night before had never existed.

“Alright, I’ll bring it to you later.”

Mu Linglong glanced at Li Ju’s abdomen and said awkwardly, “Did you apply medicine? There’s a medicinal smell.”

“No.”

Mu Linglong was speechless. Stubborn as a mule.

She huffed coldly. “Fine, it’s your pain, not mine.”

Li Ju noticed the candle was nearly burned out. She retrieved a fresh one from the storage cabinet and lit it. Mu Linglong felt like she was being marinated in the fragrant scent, her entire body saturated with the aroma.

“How did you learn about the Merman’s weakness?”

Li Ju smiled faintly. “Books record all sorts of things.”

Mu Linglong protested indignantly, “Cunning and treacherous humans!”

Li Ju replied modestly, “Thank you for the compliment.”

With that, she picked up the bowl and chopsticks, closed the door, and left Mu Linglong alone in the room.

The basement chamber was devoid of sunlight, and the only space to move around was this single room.

Anyone else would have frantically searched for an escape route, but Mu Linglong leisurely wandered around the room, dragging her weakened body.

Apart from her sluggish reactions due to her lack of strength, Mu Linglong was adapting surprisingly well.

She murmured absently, “This is a social anxiety paradise for me…”

No need to see humans, and humans even serve me.

This actually feels kind of nice.

She finally realized this, a testament to the potent effects of the Merman Tears’ fragrance, which had clouded her mind for an entire night.

But another thought struck her: today was supposed to be the day Mu Rongguang would take her away.

Forget it. Trapped here, what good would dwelling on it do? Would Li Ju ever let her go?

Of course not.

A ruthless woman like that would never set her free.

And that ruthless woman had already arrived at the attic. A knowing smile played on her lips as she gazed at the pot of white roses. After picking up the books Mu Linglong had requested, she turned to leave.

By sheer coincidence, Mu Linglong’s phone rang.

She calmly returned to the attic and answered the call.

Having already confined Mu Linglong to the basement, answering the call was a simple matter.

“Linglong, something’s come up. I can’t take you away today. But you must listen to me: kill that human as soon as possible. My identity can’t be exposed! If you can’t bring yourself to do it, use your ‘savior’ status to keep him placated until I can handle things personally. That human’s life must end! I’ll pretend your refusal the other day never happened, and I won’t tell Mother.”

“Alright, don’t be angry with me. Once we bring you back to Hai Xi, you can do whatever you want. Linglong, be careful. I’m hanging up now.”

Mu Rongguang, fearing Mu Linglong would argue, ended the call immediately after giving his instructions.

Li Ju stared blankly for a moment, then murmured to herself, “Mu Linglong really is too soft on me.”

A sweet smile bloomed on her lips, and genuine joy made her voice tender as she spoke Linglong’s name.

If she’s so kind to me, why won’t she let me stay?

Worry clouded Li Ju’s brow, her delicate eyebrows furrowing in melancholy.

Unable to understand, she could only sigh.

Lost in thought, she idly brushed her fingers against the white roses on her desk, their buds still tightly closed.

A tender thorn pricked her finger, drawing a bead of blood.

The sweet scent of her blood stirred a feverish heat within Li Ju. Her brow furrowed, her head throbbing as if something had been awakened by the drop of blood.

[“Mwahahaha! Great King A’Ci is back! And you, who told you to tempt me with your fingertip blood? I woke up halfway through my nap!”]

[“You nearly got me killed in the last world! How could you be so love-obsessed? You just had to try to rekindle things, and look what happened! I almost died! It’s the first time I’ve realized the female lead in that world was… off. Seriously, she was way off!”]

[“Wait, where are we? Parasite, don’t tell me you’ve started another mission already?”]

[“You lazy bum! You’re supposed to skip the small stuff and focus on the big plot points! Why are you starting a new mission now?”]

A’Ci’s endless chatter gave Li Ju a splitting headache. “What are you?” she asked.

[“Have you lost your memory again? This time, you’ve forgotten me?”]

[“What am I? I’m a beautiful witness! I’ve seen firsthand how you turned the plot into a yuri story!”]
[“Li Ju, you wretched human!”]

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