The Villainess A Marked the Seductive Movie Queen - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: So Good

The momentary alarm was subtle; by the time Ruan Minxue’s fingertips reached the book, she had already returned to her usual composure.

With one hand gripping the spine, she ran the pad of her finger slowly down the edge of the pages. She glanced up; the girl opposite her had her head slightly lowered, quietly watching the book as if waiting for her to open it.

Ruan Minxue slid her finger into the seam and flipped it open to a random page. Seeing a date and weather recorded at the top, she realized it was a diary format and immediately closed it without reading further.

“Is this yours?” Ruan Minxue shook the diary slightly toward Liu Yitong.

Liu Yitong didn’t speak, only nodded. The metal tubes of the bite inhibitor on her face caught the light, creating a distracting shimmer. The girl’s naturally cool, delicate skin, confined behind such a harsh restraint, emitted a forbidden sort of attraction—though she was clearly unaware of it.

Ruan Minxue’s gaze swept over the white skin and silver metal, hardened for a second, then returned to the girl’s eyes. Her voice dropped slightly:

“Why are you here?”

The soft, clear voice carried a chill that made one snap to attention.

Encountering a co-star at a hotel specifically chosen for privacy wasn’t new to Ruan Minxue. Her world was full of manufactured coincidences; there were always people trying to disguise intention as fate. When she was in a good mood, she’d play along; when she wasn’t, a few pointed questions and a smile were usually enough to make the other person realize their acting was too poor to continue.

However, the girl’s “acting” was worse than expected. She heard her say:

“Because… I want to eat ice.”

Recalling the sharp, quick-witted exchanges during their earlier testing of each other, Ruan Minxue almost suspected the girl was deliberately being evasive. She didn’t press further, instead sending a few messages on her phone. After a brief back-and-forth with the general manager of Ti Amo, she saw the name “Shu Ran.”

Shu Ran.

Ruan Minxue remembered the name—a major fan of hers for years who had become quite distinguished lately. They had even crossed paths at family balls in a non-celebrity capacity.

Ruan Minxue looked away from her phone and back at Liu Yitong. The clouds of suspicion that had gathered over the past few days dissipated with the appearance of Shu Ran’s name. The reason someone would appear near her but keep their distance was now explained.

It was likely Shu Ran’s idea. Not the girl’s own intention.

But Ruan Minxue, by nature cautious and prone to overthinking, felt a faint, restless displeasure: Were those ambiguous avoidances I observed really just someone else’s instructions?

At that moment, Liu Yitong moved, sidestepping Ruan Minxue to walk forward. Her gait was unusual. Normally, the tall, long-legged girl walked with a brisk, imposing air. But now, she moved slowly, as if her feet were made of lead. Looking closer, Ruan Minxue noticed her coordination was slightly off. It seemed her earlier sitting under the wisteria was simply because she was resting.

“Where are you going?” Ruan Minxue asked.

Liu Yitong turned to look at her and said, “Buying ice.”

“…” She seemed quite serious about it.

Ruan Minxue’s sharp ears caught a flaw in the girl’s speech. She sounded a bit thick-tongued, like she was drunk, or like a poor actress in a period drama trying to play “childlike” with a lisp. Strangely, this performance didn’t irritate Ruan Minxue.

Usually, Ruan Minxue wasn’t amused by adults acting infantile. Liu Yitong’s current state was indeed a world away from her usual self—blunt, direct, and seemingly sleepwalking. But Ruan had seen sleepwalkers before, and they weren’t like this.

A relative’s daughter had once suffered from sleepwalking due to exam stress. The mother, being traditional, had asked Ruan to request a “Light of Wisdom” lamp at a Buddhist temple in her name. Ruan had seen the child then; a sleepwalker shouldn’t be woken for fear of a “nightmare possession,” they don’t speak, and they wander aimlessly.

Unlike Liu Yitong, who answered questions and had a clear destination.

Ruan Minxue pointed at the girl. “Do you know who you are?”

Liu Yitong looked at her and nodded.

Ruan shifted her finger. “Do you know who I am?”

Liu Yitong stared at her intensely. After a moment, she nodded again.

“In this state…” Ruan Minxue remembered that sleepwalking children always had a guardian to prevent them from hurting themselves. “Why is no one with you?”

“Will you stay with me?”

Five simple, unexpected words. They passed by with the night wind in the corridor, making the flowers and leaves rustle loudly in the quiet night.

Ruan Minxue was now certain: Liu Yitong was either sleepwalking or suffering from something more serious. The girl who was usually so tight-lipped would never, while conscious, make such a request to her.

They stared at each other in the wind. Ruan Minxue’s silence seemed to make the other girl restless; she saw Liu Yitong take a step closer.

The light and shadow shifted across the masked girl’s face, the flickering darkness tracing her sharp bone structure. It was somewhat hallucinatory, like a hellhound taking human form, making the observer wary. Some would retreat out of caution; others would lean into it.

Ruan Minxue curled her lips and stood her ground, tilting her head slightly to meet Liu Yitong’s direct gaze.

However, Liu Yitong only took that one step. She didn’t move further, didn’t touch her, and didn’t rush her. She just waited calmly for a response. Her expressionless face actually carried a hint of… being “good.”

There is no contrast more captivating than a high-risk predator voluntarily retracting its fangs. Especially for Ruan Minxue, whose “tastes” were already “lethal.”

“Do you know how different you are right now compared to your usual self?”

The currently slow and clumsy girl either didn’t understand the question or couldn’t remember the answer. She tilted her head innocently and frowned, her expression looking slightly aggrieved.

Ruan Minxue let out a soft laugh. She stopped teasing the “child” and used her phone to message Lin Mengqi, asking what kind of illness could cause such symptoms.

Before she could finish typing, a hand with long, elegant fingers reached out and pressed firmly over the screen. The pale gaps between the fingers were illuminated by the phone’s light, making the bone and flesh visible. It was as exposed as the girl’s current state.

Liu Yitong stared straight at her and said:

“Stay with me.”

She seemed displeased that Ruan was distracted in her presence. It wasn’t a request; it was an order. Given their relationship and Ruan Minxue’s status, it was an affront.

Ruan Minxue didn’t mind. Instead, she smiled, tucked her phone away, and replied:

“It’s rare to see you so honest. Fine. I’ll stay with you.”

Liu Yitong didn’t know she was different. Rather, her instincts had been stripped back—not human instincts, but something more primitive.

No matter the cost, seek pleasure.

She felt a burning swelling in her mouth and needed ice to numb the pain; therefore, she had to get ice, regardless of how heavy and strange her body felt. She felt the diary was precious but belonged to someone else; having sensed its true “owner,” she was determined to return it. She felt that having this woman around made her happy, and her absence made her miserable; thus, she willfully demanded her company.

When she came out of the bar with a cup of ice, she felt a surge of joy because the woman had paid for it. The joy temporarily suppressed the pain in her tongue, making her reluctant to actually eat the ice. She just held it with both hands, her lips curved into a smile hidden behind the mask.

She heard Ruan Minxue say, “You only wanted this kind of ice? The rooms actually provide that service.”

This information was foreign to Liu Yitong. She looked at Ruan blankly.

Ruan Minxue chuckled. “Never mind.”

They walked back together. The fragrance of the garden and the coolness of the breeze were comfortable. The leaves rustled like whispers in a dream. Liu Yitong grew tired again after a short walk. She stopped moving, and Ruan Minxue watched her.

She thought Ruan Minxue was beautiful, so she stared back. When the woman smiled and said something, she didn’t hear the words, only noticed how beautiful her moving red lips were. She saw Ruan close her mouth with a silent smile and realized she might have been “disobedient” by not listening, so she tugged on her earlobe—telling her ears to wake up and get to work.

Finally, Ruan Minxue laughed again—a light, thin sound that the wind could blow away. But Liu Yitong heard it:

“I asked if you were tired and wanted to sit for a while.”

Liu Yitong nodded, then nodded again. It meant she heard, and it meant she was being “good.”

“So good.”

That last word startled the drowsy little donkey. It smelled the scent of a carrot on its forehead; no matter how tired it was, it could spin around a few more times.

A few steps away was a swing chair—a golden double nest tucked behind the flowers. Liu Yitong’s legs were aching; she hurried forward and sat down heavily. From her lower vantage point, she looked up at the slowly approaching Ruan Minxue, like a child waiting for an adult to come home.

Ruan Minxue stopped in front of her, backlit. Liu Yitong couldn’t see her expression or read her thoughts. Animals only read emotions, not hearts. She only knew she wanted to sit, so she did. She knew there was an empty space beside her and wanted to share it with the woman, so she took her bound hands and patted the empty seat. When there was no reaction, she kept patting.

She heard the woman laugh, knew she was doing well, and felt happy. She saw the woman sit down, the cushion sinking slightly. The empty nest was suddenly full. Satisfied.

Liu Yitong continued to smile while holding the ice cup, but noticed that the cup, which had been so full it only made a hard rattling sound, now had gaps. The square ice cubes were rounding at the corners, and a bit of liquid had pooled at the bottom.

Her treasure was melting. It couldn’t be kept forever.

“Didn’t you want to eat ice?” Ruan Minxue asked. “Why aren’t you eating it now that I bought it for you?”

Liu Yitong became stubborn again. She stared at the cup and shook her head. She wouldn’t eat it. It couldn’t be kept anyway; if she ate it, wouldn’t it disappear even faster?

“Hmm?”

Hearing the questioning sound, Liu Yitong turned. Ruan Minxue was leaning slightly toward her, elbow on her knee, chin resting on her hand, observing her. Liu didn’t hide; she looked back directly. She thought the woman’s slender fingers were beautiful. She thought the way the woman stared at her thoughtfully was also beautiful.

Suddenly, Ruan Minxue seemed to understand. “If I want to eat it, will you give it to me?”

Liu Yitong’s heart gave a little squeeze. She looked down at the treasure in her hands. She liked the treasure; she liked the person beside her. She weighed the pros and cons and made a decision.

She held the ice cup out to Ruan Minxue with both hands. Giving what she liked to the person she liked.

“Giving it all to me?” Ruan asked.

Liu Yitong nodded.

“So generous?”

Liu Yitong shook her head.

Ruan Minxue fell silent. The smile at the corner of her mouth deepened slightly, then returned. She asked softly:

“Now that this ice is mine, if I want to share it with you, will you eat it?”

Without hesitation, Liu Yitong nodded vigorously.

The woman took the cup. Liu Yitong watched her fingers. Ruan’s finger traced the rim but didn’t open the lid. Instead, she reached out and tapped the side of her own face.

“Aren’t you going to take off the bite inhibitor?”

The ice cubes were wider than the gaps in the metal; they wouldn’t fit.

Liu Yitong shook her head. She couldn’t take it off.

“Why?”

Why? That was a hard question.

Liu Yitong frowned. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess; she couldn’t actively retrieve memories. She only remembered the command “don’t take it off,” but not the reason. But she had to answer the person beside her. She thought for a long time before remembering a word the other person had used.

So Liu Yitong replied: “Because… I’m not good.”

She heard a sharp intake of breath beside her, or perhaps it was just the wind through the leaves. It sounded like someone holding their breath. A silence followed, one that only a sensitive person could detect as turbulent.

The usual Liu Yitong would have noticed, but the current one couldn’t. She only heard Ruan Minxue ask:

“I think you are good. Can I take it off?”

Commands have a hierarchy.

For no reason at all, Liu Yitong was certain that her “factory default command” was not as high a priority as the command from the person beside her. She turned her body, braced her hands in the space between them, and proactively leaned her face closer.

Action instead of words.

With her head tilted up in a trusting, expectant little expression, it almost looked like she was asking for a kiss.

Looking at Ruan Minxue from such a close distance, Liu Yitong’s focus wavered. The woman before her was beautifully merciful, possessing a divine quality that didn’t seem to belong to the mortal world. But for a fleeting moment—perhaps an illusion—she witnessed the woman fall, like an immortal catching a glimpse of desire.

In the next blink, the beauty was back in the clouds. But that split second of vulnerability was enough to make Liu Yitong fall completely.

Feeling lightheaded, she saw Ruan Minxue lower her lashes. After a very long time, her fingers finally reached out. The fingertips that had touched the ice cup were slightly cool as they brushed against the snap-fastener behind her ear.

Her heart raced, waiting for her liberation.

But Ruan’s fingers just rested there without moving further. Unable to bear it, Liu rubbed her ear against the woman’s hand, earning a faint, ambiguous smile:

“I was thinking… maybe it’s better to unbind your hands and let you take it off yourself?”

Hearing this, Liu Yitong felt instinctively displeased. She raised her bound hands and, with a trace of transgression, grabbed Ruan Minxue’s wrist. Her knuckles pressed against the woman’s wrist bone. With an undeniable force.

Feeling no resistance from the wrist in her palm, Liu Yitong slightly relaxed her grip. The other woman didn’t pull away; using her restrained wrist as leverage, she proactively clicked open the small lock on the bite inhibitor.

The device didn’t hinder breathing, but when it was removed, Liu Yitong felt as if she could finally breathe freely. Her head felt light, and her mood became even more cheerful. She watched Ruan Minxue pick up the ice cup again and opened her mouth naturally, waiting.

Even Ruan Minxue tilted her head in slight surprise at the gesture. Liu Yitong didn’t see anything wrong with her behavior; she just kept her mouth open, waiting obediently. She didn’t realize how captivating her innocent, transparent display of desire was at that moment.

Ruan Minxue’s gaze followed the faint mark left by the leather on the bridge of the girl’s nose, down to the slightly parted lips. She saw the glistening moisture inside, the neat rows of teeth, and the tongue—which was an abnormal, deep scarlet.

Ruan’s brows twitched. She used the ice tongs provided by the bartender to reach into the girl’s mouth. Liu Yitong instinctively raised her tongue to taste it, but the texture was wrong, so she opened her mouth again.

Ruan Minxue had no desire to take advantage of someone in this state. There was no romantic intent; she simply used the tongs to gently move the girl’s tongue to the side. Liu Yitong shivered with a “hiss” of pain, but still let herself be handled obediently.

Crazy.

Ruan Minxue withdrew the tongs, her face calm while her mind cursed.

“No wonder your speech is blurred. How did you injure your tongue?”

Faced with the question, Liu Yitong tried to remember, but as expected, she could recall nothing. She answered honestly: “I forgot.”

The wound didn’t look like an accidental bite; it looked like a friction burn. Ruan Minxue smiled silently. The bite inhibitor, the restraints, the injured tongue, the ice she wouldn’t eat—these images made her feel that Liu Yitong was quite capable, far more “naughty” than she had imagined.

Ruan Minxue picked up a piece of ice and placed it in Liu Yitong’s mouth.

The girl held the ice, making silly hissing sounds from the cold. Then she heard the woman’s voice, previously so gentle, turn strangely cold as she stood up:

“Let’s go. I’ll take you back to your room.”

Her tone was the same temperature as the ice.

Liu Yitong didn’t know if she had done something wrong. She just stood up and followed Ruan Minxue obediently. Ruan Minxue did indeed know her room number, and she did indeed bring her to the door, but she stopped there.

Liu Yitong saw her stop a few steps away from the door, not approaching further. The intent to keep her distance was unmistakable.

Liu Yitong was unhappy. When a little animal is unhappy, it finds a way to make itself happy. She took out her key card and opened the door, leaving it wide open as she looked back at Ruan Minxue. Neither of them spoke.

She saw Ruan Minxue’s unreadable smile and heard her ask:

“Is there anyone else inside?”

Liu Yitong shook her head.

“Then go in,” Ruan Minxue said.

“…” Liu Yitong was reluctant. She spoke up: “You come in too.”

Ruan didn’t answer, only watched her with a smile that hid many things. Liu Yitong vaguely understood. Getting a fleeting inspiration from her other self, the girl added:

“I won’t close the door. You can leave whenever you want.”

To her surprise, Ruan Minxue seemed taken aback by the response. She actually said:

“Is that what you think?”

Liu Yitong was puzzled. Is that not what she thinks? Isn’t she afraid I’ll take advantage of her?

Ruan Minxue entered the room after all. She didn’t go deep, only passing through the foyer into the living area. She placed the ice cup and the diary she had carried the whole way onto the slate coffee table. When she turned back after putting the things down, she saw the girl blocking the foyer entrance.

The door was indeed not closed. But the girl indeed had no intention of letting her leave just like that.

Ruan Minxue laughed. “Truly wild.”

Wild?

Liu Yitong didn’t understand the evaluation; she assumed it was similar to “not being good.” She thought her happiness was making the person she liked unhappy, and that wasn’t good. So she compromised, taking a step aside to clear the path.

But now that she cleared the way, Ruan Minxue didn’t leave. Instead, the woman sat on the sofa.

The currently “silly” puppy couldn’t figure it out. Liu Yitong also returned to the hall and sat opposite Ruan Minxue. The two stared at each other without speaking. They weren’t close, but they were the only ones in each other’s eyes; their mutual presence was intensely exclusive.

Liu Yitong’s mind was still active, but her body was suddenly struck by exhaustion, more severe than the muscle aches she felt outside. It felt like invisible hands were pulling at her limbs, dragging her consciousness out of her body.

She vaguely smelled a faint scent of roses from the other woman. It grew from a light scent to a deep one, like the process of a rose blooming from a bud. At its peak, a bit of milky fragrance drifted from the heart.

A milky rose. A champagne rose.

Liu Yitong grew drowsy. her muscles began to slacken, and the gland at the back of her neck, suppressed for many years, gradually relaxed. A hyacinth scent, like vegetation and spring rain, began to seep out.

The fragrances intertwined, drawing them into a stupor where both mind and body were at peace. Liu Yitong closed her eyes and fell asleep.

At that moment, Ruan Minxue was messaging Lin Mengqi. Seeing the girl’s exhaustion, she took the opportunity to ask her old friend about the cause of these sleepwalking-like symptoms.

When she smelled the hyacinth scent, she snapped her head up, only to find that her own pheromones were even more concentrated in the air. Ruan Minxue brushed her hand over the back of her neck, feeling the thin, underdeveloped gland emitting a faint, high heat.

She suddenly realized: her custom suppressants had been out of stock lately, and because she was forced to reduce her dosage, her gland was unconsciously leaking pheromones.

She had released hers first. The girl’s hyacinth scent had been drawn out by her.

Ever since her abnormal differentiation, Ruan Minxue had been able to smell the pheromones of Alphas and Omegas. Ink, mint, plastic, apple… regardless of the type, every scent—whether pleasant or unpleasant—made her uncomfortable. It wasn’t a strong discomfort; it was more like the low pressure before a storm or a mild case of altitude sickness. The restlessness it brought to her heart made her frown in secret.

Could it be the imprinting effect?

The hyacinth scent emanating from Liu Yitong right now didn’t make Ruan irritable; it actually had a relaxing, aromatherapy-like effect. She put down her phone and watched the girl’s breathing grow long and steady, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere she created.

Ruan Minxue rarely felt relaxed enough to feel a bit dazed in front of others. She realized her body felt very comfortable. It seemed she could save on her medication for the next few days.

Ruan Minxue admitted she liked Liu Yitong’s pheromones. Of course, looking at the girl’s reaction, she obviously liked Ruan’s too.

Just then, a message from Lin Mengqi arrived. She said she had consulted a colleague and confirmed it was likely “Dissociative Fugue,” a serious psychological disorder. Common traits included complex behaviors like conversation and writing, with no memory of them afterward. And what Ruan described was a sleep-related variant.

Serious.

Ruan Minxue’s lashes stilled as her gaze fell on that word. It took a long time for them to flutter again.

She sat in the dual fragrance for a long while before standing up. Finding a velvet blanket in the storage cabinet of the familiar suite layout, she covered the girl with it. The girl was sound asleep and didn’t wake up.

Since it was serious enough to cause fugue states, she should have someone looking after her. Ruan didn’t know if the girl’s companion was away by chance, or if the girl had only just fallen ill and didn’t know her own condition.

Ruan Minxue walked out of the foyer, turning back to pull the door shut behind her. Before the gap closed, her last look was at the person on the sofa. The tall girl was curled up in the blanket—a small bundle, looking a bit lonely and a bit pitiful.

Ruan Minxue decided: I’ll find a chance tomorrow to talk to her.

Support The Villainess A Marked the Seductive Movie Queen