The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 10

After closing the bathroom door, Yin Ya looked down at the jellyfish formed from spiritual power in her hand, feeling the question marks in her head multiply.

Could this be the Big Villain’s new surveillance spell?

But Cang Lanyan’s actions and words just now seemed more like a display of her power.

But if she was showing off, wouldn’t transforming her spiritual power into something else be more impressive? Why specifically a jellyfish? Just because I mentioned them earlier?

Weird. This is really weird. Her behavior is completely incomprehensible.

Yin Ya felt a headache coming on. As the author, she knew better than anyone what it felt like to be unable to understand the motivations of the characters she’d created.

As she fretted, the jellyfish in her palm remained lazily suspended, neither vanishing nor moving, as if it were asleep.

The soft and slippery sensation made Yin Ya involuntarily recall the recently concluded “Divine Punishment.”

Staring at the jellyfish in her hand, she rubbed its soft body with her fingertips. A sudden thought struck her. Biting her lower lip, she quickly pressed the jellyfish against her neck.

The familiar icy-cold, slippery sensation instantly assaulted her. Yin Ya shuddered violently, hastily removing the jellyfish and touching her neck. All her doubts were instantly ignited by rage.

Just this afternoon, she had been startled by a jellyfish blocking the bathtub drain. She never expected to be hit with a second scare so quickly.

What “Divine Punishment”? This was clearly the Big Villain using jellyfish to scare her! What kind of childish punishment is this?!

How could she have written such an immature villain?!

Yin Ya was so angry she wanted to storm into the bathroom and slap the jellyfish onto Cang Lanyan’s head. But she didn’t have the guts, so she could only grit her teeth and vent her anger on the jellyfish.

Remembering that “spiritual power jellyfish are harmless,” she focused solely on applying force, ignoring everything else.

Perhaps because its body was composed of spiritual power, the jellyfish felt like a slime—soft and slippery. She quickly squished it into various shapes, round and flat.

After enduring this torment, the jellyfish could no longer remain lazily sprawled. Its tentacles struggled to lift, attempting to wrap around Yin Ya’s fingers, but she gently flicked them away, causing them to tangle around its own other tentacles instead.

Satisfied with her little prank, Yin Ya smirked faintly and was about to continue teasing the jellyfish when Cang Lanyan’s voice suddenly called out from the bathroom: “Yin Ya.”

Her voice remained cool and detached, but upon closer listening, one could detect a subtle restraint and a slight tremble.

Startled by being called by her full name, Yin Ya instinctively uttered a soft “ah” and immediately stopped playing with the jellyfish. She leaned toward the door and asked, “Can I help you?”

This was the first time the Big Villain had addressed her by name; previously, it had always been “you” this and “you” that.

“I want to read,” Cang Lanyan said. “The book on the table.”

The only book on the table was a heavy, hardcover edition of Journey to the West. Yin Ya had to leave the jellyfish on the table and carry the brick-like book to the bathroom with both hands.

When Yin Ya opened the door, the Big Villain in the bathtub had already shed her True Form. Cang Lanyan, now back in human shape, had put on her clothes again, covering all the necessary parts.

Yin Ya didn’t ask why Cang Lanyan was bathing in her clothes. Mermen silk was renowned for being waterproof, so there was no need to worry about getting wet.

The beautiful and provocative sky-blue fish tail was gone, replaced by two snow-white legs quietly submerged beneath the water.

Cang Lanyan looked up at her, her thin lips parting slightly as she asked coolly, “You really like jellyfish?”

Yin Ya guessed that Cang Lanyan knew she had been playing with the jellyfish. The lingering anger in her heart suddenly gave her courage. Adopting an innocent and naive tone, she said, “Well, not exactly. Rarity makes things valuable, you know? I’ve never touched a jellyfish before, and the one you gave me is harmless. So I was just thinking…”

“Give me the book,” Cang Lanyan interrupted.

Yin Ya knew this meant the Big Villain wasn’t going to pursue the matter. She obediently shut up and handed over the book, stealing a glance at the Big Villain as she did so.

Cang Lanyan’s scales had completely faded, and the upturned corners of her eyes had lost some of their demonic aura. For some reason, they now looked slightly red, as if she had been crying.

Yin Ya suspected Cang Lanyan might be sensitive to the tap water. After a moment’s hesitation, she felt compelled to clarify, “There’s something I forgot to mention.”

“What is it?”

“The water we’re using has been specially filtered and is closely monitored,” Yin Ya explained. “The filtration process is complex and involves numerous chemicals, which can sometimes give it a strong odor. That’s perfectly normal.”

She paused. “If you’re uncomfortable with it, I can filter the water again using my home filter.”

Cang Lanyan remained silent, her gaze scrutinizing Yin Ya.

Yin Ya’s heart skipped a beat. What have I said now? Her newfound courage wilted, and she anxiously awaited a response.

“…You’re really quite peculiar.”

After a few seconds, Cang Lanyan lazily tossed out the remark, refusing to elaborate. She waved dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

Before Yin Ya could press for an explanation, the surroundings suddenly blurred. When her vision cleared, she found herself back in the living room.

What’s she up to now?!

The Big Villain’s cryptic comment and strange behavior left Yin Ya with more questions than answers. She returned to her desk and was about to resume petting the jellyfish when she realized it had vanished.

Did the Big Villain retract her spell?

How stingy! She had me so worried, yet she wouldn’t even let me play with the jellyfish a little longer.

Good riddance. Now I don’t have to waste my energy on a jellyfish.

As Yin Ya thought this, her anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. She plopped down in the swivel chair Cang Lanyan had just vacated and opened her phone to check her messages.

With the new school year approaching, the class group chat had started flooding with documents over the past few days. Yin Ya opened the chats she’d silenced one by one, checked the unread messages and notifications, and filled out any forms she found.

After finishing, she was about to lock her screen when a WeChat notification popped up.

[Er Xiang: Hey, kid, I miss you QAQ]

[Er Xiang: I’m planning to visit you early!]

The two short messages made Yin Ya grip her phone tightly. She quickly typed out a rejection, then deleted it, realizing the tone was too forced and would clearly reveal she was hiding something. She pondered a plausible excuse that wouldn’t arouse her childhood friend’s suspicions.

Before she could finish crafting her response, Cen Xiang sent another message.

[Er Xiang: Kid? If you’ve been kidnapped, just blink!]

[Er Xiang: What’s going on? You’ve been typing for ages and haven’t even responded!]

Yin Ya immediately stopped typing, nearly calling her childhood friend to cry about it!

There was no actual kidnapping, but it felt almost as bad!

Thinking of her friend’s safety, Yin Ya eventually sent a wildly implausible excuse that, if applied to herself, would make perfect sense.

[Has Fusheng Written Today: To be honest, I plan to finish the novel before school starts.]

[Er Xiang: ??? But haven’t you been stuck on the plot lately?][“cat_shocked.jpg”]

[Has Fusheng Written Today: Yes, exactly! Because I’m so stuck, I’m planning to go into seclusion and focus on writing.]

[Has Fusheng Written Today: “onethinginmyheart.jpg”]

[Er Xiang: I understand! I’ll check in on you after school starts. “here’saflower.jpg]

[Er Xiang: Eat well, don’t stay up too late, stay warm, and don’t catch a cold with the changing season. Love you!]

[Has Fusheng Written Today: Love you too!]

*****

The winter sky darkened early, and before Yin Ya knew it, night had fallen, the room dimming. The lingering glow of dusk reflected off the glass skyscrapers, slowly sinking behind the western mountains.

After replying to her childhood friend’s message, Yin Ya let out a long sigh. With only a few days of vacation left, her gaze drifted involuntarily toward the bathroom.

The day was already half over, and she still hadn’t figured out how to properly interact with the Big Villain. Instead, she had managed to anger her, and her own mood was growing increasingly foul.

And this was only the beginning.

Yin Ya usually liked to take a bath when she was feeling down, but today the bathtub was occupied by Cang Lanyan. She needed to find another way to unwind.

She hadn’t finished the napa cabbage she’d bought a few days ago, which was still sitting in the refrigerator’s crisper. Yin Ya took out the remaining cabbage, filled a basin with water, and began washing each leaf slowly, one by one.

By the time she finished washing the cabbage, night had fully fallen. The skyscrapers outside the window began their synchronized light show, and the honking of cars during rush hour was loud enough to reach even the 22nd floor.

Yin Ya turned on the light, peeled a potato, and abandoned the grater, instead cutting the potato into thin strips with a knife. She arranged them in a bowl and soaked them in cold water to wash away the starch.

Her stress relief methods were varied, and preparing ingredients was one of them.

When the rice cooker button popped up and the meatballs were bobbing in the cabbage soup, Cang Lanyan finally appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“Why are you cooking yourself?” she asked.

“Takeout is too heavy. I wanted something light for dinner tonight,” Yin Ya replied, stirring the soup as she added a spoonful of salt. “Would you like to try some? But I didn’t make much today, and my cooking skills can’t compare to professional Culinary Cultivators.”

Cooking had completely calmed her anger, allowing her to now calmly invite the Big Villain to dinner.

Yin Ya even thought that even if the Big Villain said “it’s bland” later, she probably wouldn’t even care.

Why was she getting mad at the character she wrote? Cang Lanyan’s strange personality was all her own creation.

“It’s fine,” Cang Lanyan said, then left the kitchen.

Yin Ya turned on the exhaust fan, stir-fried some spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and ladled out the meatball and cabbage soup. She carried the two dishes into the living room.

This rental apartment didn’t have a dining table. Since she lived alone, she usually ate at her computer desk or the coffee table.

The computer desk wasn’t big enough for two people, so Yin Ya put the dishes on the coffee table, then went back to the kitchen to get two bowls of rice and wash two sets of chopsticks, which she brought over as well.

As she placed the utensils, Cang Lanyan was still reading. She had already read more than half of the thick Journey to the West. It looked like she was very interested in this story of demon suppression and the quest for scriptures.

“Dinner’s ready,” Yin Ya said absentmindedly.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she belatedly felt a wave of nostalgia and familiarity. She remembered how she had just been calling Cang Lanyan “the character I wrote” while talking herself down, and her face flushed slightly.

When she lived at home, her mother would always urge her to eat dinner.

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