The Villain I Loved Has Broken Free and Transmigrated Out of the Story - Chapter 23
The moment the icy-smooth object touched her, Yin Ya’s eyes widened. Before her brain could process it, her body instinctively jerked back against the chair.
The sudden movement sent pain shooting through her back and head—Cang Lanyan had been sitting too close, and the abrupt motion caused their heads to collide hard.
Enduring the pain, Yin Ya tore away the spiritual power tendrils that were trying to advance further, clapped a hand over her mouth, and scrambled to her feet.
“What are you doing?!” she demanded sharply. “I’ve already told you, I have no improper intentions toward you!”
As she spoke, a bitter taste spread across her tongue, mingling with the flavors of chocolate and rum. But beneath it all lurked another bitterness, one that made her stomach churn—a medicinal bitterness, like seaweed-infused herbal medicine, both briny and acrid.
“Weren’t you waiting for my revenge?” Cang Lanyan pressed a hand to her forehead, where Yin Ya had struck her, her voice as calm as ever. “As you wished.”
“You…?!” Yin Ya was stunned by this answer, momentarily speechless, staring at Cang Lanyan in disbelief.
If the previous “Divine Punishment” could have been the Big Villain’s deliberate prank, what about this current “retribution”?
Who in their right mind would choose this method for revenge?!
She had a nagging feeling that something was off, but she refused to acknowledge the possibility, her frustration growing.
“If you insist on using this self-destructive method of ‘retribution,’ then I have nothing more to say!” She glared fiercely at Cang Lanyan. Seeing that all the spiritual power tendrils blocking her path had vanished, she dashed toward the bathroom, practically running.
Her mouth grew increasingly bitter, likely from the taste of the spiritual power tendrils. If she didn’t rinse her mouth immediately, that foul, fishy taste would make her retch!
She slammed the bathroom door shut, too impatient to even turn on the light. After rinsing her mouth with three full cups of water, the bitterness finally subsided, though a lingering fishy taste remained, still unpleasant.
Frowning, Yin Ya picked up her toothbrush and squeezed out a long strip of toothpaste. She brushed until her mouth was full of thick foam, swished it around for a while, then spat it out and rinsed. Finally, only the refreshing mint flavor remained.
After putting away her toothbrush and cup, Yin Ya leaned over the sink, taking a long time to calm herself down before pulling out her phone to text Cen Xiang.
[Has Fusheng Written Today]: Er Xiang! You jinxed me!!
[Er Xiang]: ???
[Er Xiang]: What’s wrong? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?
[ Has Fusheng Written Today ]: My Big Villain seems to have really become lovesick. Waaah! QAQ
Cen Xiang was clearly just as shocked. After a full half-minute of silence, Yin Ya finally received her reply.
[Er Xiang: Kiddo Ya, did she…?]
[Er Xiang: You know what I mean, right?]
Yin Ya sent an octopus emoji to let her figure it out herself, then asked, “What should I say later? Should I invite her to my place, or should we meet somewhere else?”
[Er Xian ]: There’s no way I’m going to your place!!! She even added three exclamation points. “Haven’t you been writing her backstory? Hurry up and put some restrictions on her!”
“I don’t know what to write!” Yin Ya exclaimed, typing three exclamation points in desperation. “What if she exploits loopholes again and steals my phone?”
“Just write something!” Cen Xiang urged. “Backup your files on your phone later. You have a spare, right? Worst comes to worst, I’ll give you mine. Just write something first!”
Yin Ya quickly exited WeChat and opened the settings document. After typing “Prohibit Cang Lanyan from interacting with Yin Ya,” her fingers trembled briefly, but she quickly added every profane and suggestive term she could think of.
Before this, she’d never imagined these words could be associated with her.
But recalling Cang Lanyan’s earlier actions, Yin Ya felt her breath catch in her throat. Taking deep breaths, she carefully added more details to the settings.
The minty freshness of her exhaled breath was the only thing keeping her calm.
Just as she finished typing and pressed save, a low chuckle suddenly came from behind her.
Yin Ya jolted, nearly dropping her phone. Turning around, she saw Cang Lanyan standing there, looking down at her.
When did she even come in?!
Cang Lanyan glanced at Yin Ya’s still-lit phone screen and asked mildly, “No improper thoughts about me?”
Yin Ya: “……”
She lowered her head, saw the “Saved” notification, silently locked her screen, and feigned calm as she tucked her phone into her pocket.
The Big Villain had both extraordinary vision and a photographic memory. Now, she was completely unable to explain herself.
But she had written down every intimate interaction she could think of. Surely the Big Villain wouldn’t have anything to hold against her now.
Gathering herself, Yin Ya asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on your condition,” Cang Lanyan replied, raising her hand.
Yin Ya guessed what she intended and instinctively retreated, but the bathroom was too small—she had nowhere to go!
Just as Cang Lanyan’s hand was about to touch her chin, an invisible barrier materialized between them.
“…It seems Your Excellency, God, is unwilling to confront your own heart,” Cang Lanyan said, withdrawing her hand. She gazed at Yin Ya with an enigmatic smile.
“Please stop calling me ‘Your Excellency, God’!” Yin Ya snapped, her face stiffening. The title was practically giving her PTSD. “I’ve told you countless times—I’m not a god!”
“If you’re not a god, how can you control my actions?” Cang Lanyan retorted. Before Yin Ya could answer, she added, “Why don’t you just add this rule?”
“Fine, I will!” Yin Ya didn’t know where her courage was coming from—maybe it was just pure anger at being caught writing backstory by the Big Villain herself. She pulled out her phone right in front of Cang Lanyan and typed into the document: “Cang Lanyan is forbidden from using any terms containing ‘god’ to address Yin Ya.”
“Stingy hedgehog,” Cang Lanyan said, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“Sneaky, two-faced fox,” Yin Ya shot back without hesitation.
“What are you doing here?” Cang Lanyan abruptly changed the subject.
“Rinsing my mouth,” Yin Ya replied, turning on the overhead light as she put away her phone. “Your spiritual power reeks of fish.”
“Does it just smell fishy?” Cang Lanyan pressed.
“Not just fishy—it’s bitter and slippery too.” As Yin Ya described it, she involuntarily recalled the sensation, her brows furrowing in disgust. “Aren’t you supposed to be a Guardian God? How can your spiritual power be so… impure?”
“You flatter me,” Cang Lanyan said, flicking her finger toward the bathtub and turning on the tap. “Stand down. I’m going to bathe.”
“This is my bathtub,” Yin Ya said, striding over and turning off the tap. “You think you can just kick me out because you want a bath? What kind of logic is that?”
“If you want to watch me bathe, that’s fine too.” Cang Lanyan’s voice faded as she instantly teleported into the tub, plugged the drain, and slowly sank down.
“You… I…” Yin Ya was about to explode from sheer outrage. Before she could spit out a curse, a sky-blue fish tail whipped out of the water, knocking the faucet off.
Cang Lanyan draped an arm over the tub’s edge, tilting her head slightly. Her fish tail gently slapped the water as she glared provocatively at Yin Ya.
How dare she!
Yin Ya steeled herself, pulled out her phone, and stuffed it into a waterproof pouch on the wall. Then she glared at that fish tail.
The moment the tail flicked up, spraying water, Yin Ya lunged forward and grabbed it!
Caught off guard, the fish tail thrashed wildly in her grip, sending water splashing everywhere.
“Insolent!” Cang Lanyan roared. “Let go!”
Instead of releasing the tail, Yin Ya started picking at the fine scales covering it.
Even a cornered rabbit will kick at a hawk. Today, she was determined to show the Big Villain her mettle!
Unfortunately, the Big Villain’s scales were too tough. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pry them off. The fish tail was also slippery. Whenever Cang Lanyan struggled, Yin Ya nearly lost her grip and had to switch to holding it from above.
As she shifted her grip, Yin Ya suddenly pressed against a sunken scale. Before she could wonder about it, Cang Lanyan let out a stifled groan. In the next instant, the fish tail she was holding swiftly reverted to its original form.
Before Yin Ya could even react, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. The next moment, a powerful force had hurled her across the room. An unseen force suddenly supported her in mid-air; otherwise, she would have slammed into the washbasin and knocked herself out.
After Cang Lanyan forcibly teleported her to the living room, Yin Ya belatedly realized where her hand had accidentally brushed against. Her face flushed crimson, and all her anger was replaced by guilt.
Cang Lanyan’s violent reaction earlier… Yin Ya wondered if she had hurt her.
“Cang Lanyan…” She couldn’t help but walk toward the bathroom, intending to apologize. Suddenly, a sky-blue waterfall of water materialized before her, completely blocking the door.
Yin Ya froze, then quickly recognized it as a soundproof barrier. It seemed the Big Villain didn’t want to see or hear her for the moment.
She sighed and reached into her pocket for her phone to call Cen Xiang, but her hand met empty air. She remembered she had left her phone in a waterproof pouch before grabbing the fish tail.
With no immediate way to enter the bathroom, Yin Ya decided to change out of her wet clothes first.
Though she didn’t know where Cen Xiang wanted to meet, she changed into her usual clothes just in case. She also found her backup phone, charging it while writing an apology note to Cang Lanyan.
Even though the Big Villain had clearly started this, Yin Ya had still touched her. She absolutely couldn’t let the villain label her as a “lecherous pervert.”
*****
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Cang Lanyan fiddled with the palm-sized phone, trying to turn it on. But the message “Facial recognition failed” and a string of unfamiliar symbols made her frown.
How did that little hedgehog get such a complex artifact?
She casually tossed the phone back into its waterproof pouch. Her fingers twitched, and a translucent, crystalline tentacle slowly formed at her fingertips, its surface shimmering with an eerie blue light.
This was the second time. Had the poison lost its effect, or… was she simply incapable of killing a god?
Cang Lanyan parted her lips and placed the tentacle in her mouth.
The moment she tasted it, searing pain erupted on her tongue and rapidly spread, inch by inch, through her body.
A thick, crimson liquid dripped from the corners of her mouth, falling into the water. Feeling pain radiating from every part of her body, she rarely displayed such helpless frustration. Her hands swiftly formed a healing seal, commanding her wounds to mend themselves.
Does that little hedgehog really think it’s just bitter and fishy?
Fine. Human lives are so short. I’ll just wait for that day.
******
After finishing the apology note, Yin Ya checked the time and figured Cen Xiang should be arriving soon. She grabbed her backup phone, unplugged the data cable, stuffed it into her pocket, changed into her canvas shoes, and was about to tape the note to the wall outside the bathroom when she suddenly noticed the water curtain disappear on its own. It seemed like someone was standing behind the frosted glass door.
Yin Ya instinctively took two steps back, then saw Cang Lanyan walk out and casually turn off the light.
She noticed the Big Villain’s complexion looked poor, her lips unnatural, and her breathing uneven. She looked like she had just recovered from a serious illness.
…Did my casual remark really hit Cang Lanyan so hard?
“A-are you okay?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Not particularly,” Cang Lanyan replied, scrutinizing her with a critical gaze. “Going out?”
“Yeah, I’m going to buy some mint for you,” Yin Ya lied without batting an eye. “I should be back soon.”
“I’ll go with you,” Cang Lanyan said. “There are some things mentioned in the files I’d like you to show me in person.”