The Villain Has A Yuri Halo [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 9

“Why didn’t you go with her?”

The streetlights shone brightly in the night, making even the lonely lampposts look less solitary.

Li Ju spoke suddenly, her charming eyes glancing at Tang Qingqing before she closed them lazily.

Tang Qingqing could feel her exhaustion. She didn’t know what they had talked about in the study, but when she saw Li Ju again, her self-deprecating expression made Tang Qingqing’s heart ache.

“I’d rather be with you, Xiao Ju. You always make me feel safe. Haven’t you noticed how clingy I am?”

She spoke in a soft, gentle voice, like raindrops falling quietly in the still night—not loud, but lulling.

Tang Qingqing had never mentioned Tang Ping’s “love” for her in front of Li Ju, and she would never refuse Li Ju for Tang Ping’s sake. Her own suffering was hers alone. Even Li Ju, who lived under the same roof, could not truly understand. Bringing it up would only be a fuse that would ignite a conflict between them.

In some ways, they were kindred spirits.

Li Ju smiled, her brow relaxing. “No wonder people like to hear nice things,” she teased. “Tang Qingqing, you’re a little more tolerable today.”

“Just today?”

Li Ju couldn’t stand Tang Qingqing’s attitude of taking an inch and a mile. “I hate you,” she said, annoyed. “I didn’t despise you today, so you should be content. Don’t be too greedy, or you’ll capsize in a ditch.”

Tang Qingqing’s smile was sweet. She was genuine with Li Ju. Her eyes were curved like a crescent moon, and she was as soft and fresh as a small cherry blossom in spring, releasing her own beauty.

“I know. Xiao Ju hates me the most.”

Her laughter tickled Li Ju’s ears. Li Ju sat up, perplexed. “Are you sick? Let’s go see a doctor. This is starting to get weird.”

Tang Qingqing couldn’t hold back her laughter. “I’m not!” she said.

“I just told you I hate you, and you’re not even sad. You’re not even a little bit embarrassed. You’re just so happy. It makes me feel like there’s something wrong with me…”

Tang Qingqing found Li Ju’s serious expression more adorable the more she looked at it. She stopped laughing. “If I can’t be the one you love the most, then I’ll be the one you hate the most,” she said. “There’s no difference, right?”

Li Ju’s lips twitched. She wanted to slap herself. She had already told herself that Tang Qingqing was not a normal person. Why was she being so foolish and trying to argue with her?

“Don’t give me that nonsense,” she said coldly. “Just drive!” She closed her eyes and tilted her head, acting lazy.

Tang Qingqing smiled and remained silent, thoughtfully lowering the music volume and doing her duty as a driver.

You could say they were both a bit naive. During their entire conversation, neither of them mentioned Tang Ruru, the person who wasn’t supposed to be at the old estate.

The argument at the old estate was inextricably linked to Tang Ruru, which was why Li Mingyu had gone to Tang Qingqing to speak ill of Tang Ping.

“Auntie, maybe I should just go home? I’m afraid that when Uncle gets back, you two will argue about me again,” Tang Ruru said, pouring oil on the fire with her comforting words.

Tang Ping’s eyes widened in anger. “What are you scared of? I’ll protect you. Let’s see who dares to bully you!”

Tang Ruru was touched. She hugged Tang Ping. “Auntie loves me the most. I wish I was your daughter. I’m so jealous of Xiao Ju.”

“Don’t even mention that ungrateful girl. Li Ju is just like her father. Not an ounce of me in her! And that ingrate Tang Qingqing. She completely ignored my feelings and became Li Ju’s lackey. What a waste of all these years!” Tang Ping was frustrated, and she felt like everyone had wronged her.

Tang Ruru patiently tried to calm Tang Ping down. She knew Li Ju was the next successor and had always been jealous of her. But she never expected Auntie Tang to have no say in the Li family. Was it really necessary to have a huge argument just because she had brought her to a family dinner? Only Li Ju had spoken up and made everyone shut up.

“Auntie, should I apologize to Xiao Ju later? We had a pretty unpleasant argument about the dress last time,” she said hesitantly, unable to lower her pride.

Tang Ping rejected her suggestion. “Apologize for what? What’s wrong with me, her mother, asking her to do something for me? And how did she respond? I don’t even want to bring it up. I must have been a debt collector in my past life!”

Tang Ruru laughed awkwardly. She was the one who was suffering, so how did Auntie not understand what she was trying to say? If Auntie had just said a few good words for her, maybe Li Ju wouldn’t hold a grudge. Auntie’s words were always more effective than her own, right?

“Auntie, I…”

Before she could finish, the driver interrupted, because they had arrived. Tang Ruru had to hold her frustration in and wait for an opportunity to make Tang Ping apologize for her. She knew she wasn’t in the wrong; it was everyone else.

“Xiao Ju, do you want some warm milk tonight?”

Tang Qingqing watched the woman walk upstairs. She pressed her eyebrows together and shook her head.

What’s wrong? she wondered. She seems off.

“Hey, Tang Qingqing, get me a cup of warm milk.”

Tang Ruru pouted, looking at her adopted sister. She always treated Tang Qingqing like a maid. But this maid had a temper. She only listened to Li Ju, which almost killed Tang Ruru with anger.

That’s how the incident of Li Ju falling into the pond had happened.

Tang Qingqing glanced at the scowling Tang Ping. Her eyes flickered with a troubled look. She lowered her head. “I’ll go get a cup of warm milk for Mom,” she said.

She ignored Tang Ruru’s request. If she wasn’t worried about Tang Ping’s nagging, she would have left a long time ago.

“Are you deaf?”

“What did I raise you for? Isn’t it because you’re more obedient and sensible than Li Ju? Now that you’re grown up, you don’t need me anymore? You can’t even hear what your sister says, and soon you’ll start ignoring what I say!” Tang Ping seemed to want to release all the anger she had accumulated. She vented all the frustration she had suffered at the old estate on Tang Qingqing.

Tang Ruru watched from the side. She sat on the sofa and crossed her legs, acting as if she owned the place.

Tang Qingqing’s hands were tightly clenched at her side. Her head was bowed, ready for the lecture.

The middle-aged woman’s angry, scolding voice was harsh and unpleasant. The crystal chandelier in the living room, which should have been sparkling, looked dulled by the hateful words.

Tang Qingqing sighed sadly, staring at the tips of her shoes, completely bored.

“Ms. Tang, I’ll give you three seconds to shut up. Your business has suffered so many losses. If I were to start a fire, would your family still have a place in this industry?”

Li Ju stood on the stairs, her eyes cold as she looked at Tang Ping. The exhaustion made her look even more severe.

Li Ju’s gaze rested on Tang Qingqing for a moment. “You’d better be quiet,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed. “If you keep arguing, I don’t mind becoming the daughter of a divorced family.”

Tang Ping was cornered. She was panting. Tang Ruru didn’t dare to let Tang Ping continue to go crazy. She got her tea and massaged her back. With a lot of soothing words, she managed to calm Tang Ping down.

Tang Qingqing smiled to herself and looked at Li Ju, but when their eyes met, Li Ju coldly looked away as if her help was just Tang Qingqing’s wishful thinking.

Her heart sank like a stone tied to a rope. It would only go down and never float back up. Tang Qingqing couldn’t help but pinch her palm, pretending that nothing had happened.

“I want warm milk.”

Tang Qingqing’s dim eyes lit up. She looked up at Li Ju, but only saw her back. But this time, she wasn’t sad. The stone in her heart was gone.

“Okay!”

Li Ju untied her hair as she walked. Her expression was dull, a personification of boredom.

It’s so annoying. She thought she should talk to her friend to get Tang Ruru to leave the industry and get married as soon as possible. She was ruthless. There was no point in targeting Tang Ping. She had to target Tang Ruru, the person Tang Ping cared about the most.

The door slammed shut, and the two women on the sofa flinched. Tang Ruru peeked at Tang Qingqing, who was in the kitchen. She found an excuse and snuck in, like a thief.

“Hey.”

Tang Qingqing could already smell her unpleasant perfume. She frowned in disgust. “What do you want?”

Tang Ruru craned her neck to look at the warm milk. “You’ve always loved serving Li Ju,” she said disdainfully. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Tang Qingqing had no time for Tang Ruru’s nonsense. “You’re here for the other thing, aren’t you?” she asked directly.

“You haven’t contacted me in a while. I thought you weren’t in a hurry anymore.” Tang Ruru couldn’t stand her high-and-mighty act. She’s just an orphan. No one would know her if she wasn’t raised by the Li family. But they had a deal, so Tang Ruru had to put up with it.

Tang Qingqing turned around. Her clear eyes made Tang Ruru feel a little scared. She pouted and whispered something.

When Tang Qingqing heard the man’s name, she accidentally knocked over the cup of warm milk. The hot liquid scalded her hand, leaving a red mark on her pale skin. She didn’t bother to clean it, as if she was punishing herself.

“Okay, I understand,” she said in a low voice.

Tang Ruru was dumbfounded by the scene. “So… what now?” she asked.

Tang Qingqing placed her hands on the counter. Her eyes were icy and menacing. “Can you please leave?”

Tang Ruru had never seen her like this. She had shed her aloof facade and her cold mask, revealing her true self.

She swallowed. After mumbling a complaint, she slammed the door on her way out.

Tang Qingqing looked at the milk on the counter. “Li Ju,” she sneered. “You have such bad taste.”

The sticky milk and the pain in her hand made Tang Qingqing feel incredibly sober. After a long silence, she made another cup of warm milk.

Tang Ruru, who had been watching her, saw the red mark on her hand. “She’s insane,” she said to herself. “She’s not even treating her wound, and she’s going to deliver milk to Li Ju.”

Tang Qingqing couldn’t hear her. She knocked on the door and waited for Li Ju.

When she saw Li Ju again, she had just gotten out of the shower. Her hair was wet, and a few drops of water slid down her shoulders.

“You took a long time.”

Li Ju’s lips were alluring, making Tang Qingqing feel flustered. Her perfume was a deadly poison.

Tang Qingqing smiled faintly. “If I was too fast, you wouldn’t be happy, would you, Xiao Ju?”

Li Ju stopped drying her hair and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“If I was too fast, you wouldn’t have time to shower. It’s better this way. After you shower, how about some warm milk? I added something delicious to it.”

Support The Villain Has A Yuri Halo [Quick Transmigration]