The Villainess’s Darling [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 39

The first two weeks of the semester involved mandatory military training for both the Beijing Film Academy and Huada. Once the two weeks were over, Ning Xiao found time to visit Yun Can’er at the Film Academy. She discovered that Can’er had already made many friends; on the way to the canteen, numerous students, both male and female approached Can’er to say hello. Can’er handled it with grace, nodding and smiling back at them.

Ning Xiao felt a mixture of pride and a strange, slight bitterness. It felt like watching her own daughter finally grow up, establish her own social circle, and start a life where Ning Xiao was no longer her entire world.

She didn’t let her inner sourness show. Instead, during lunch, she said with an air of relief, “Seeing how much more outgoing you’ve become, I can finally stop worrying about you.”

Yun Can’er was busy peeling a prawn. Upon hearing Ning Xiao’s words, her hand jerked. The sharp head of the prawn pricked her fingertip, and a drop of blood immediately welled up.

Ning Xiao was startled. Seeing Can’er staring blankly at the blood without moving, she hurriedly stood up, moved to sit right beside her, and took Can’er’s finger into her mouth to suck the wound.

“How could you be so careless?” Ning Xiao said as she pulled the finger away. Seeing that the bleeding had stopped, she breathed a sigh of relief. “After we finish eating, I’ll take you to the infirmary to disinfect it and wrap it up.”

Ning Xiao helplessly curled her finger and gave Can’er a gentle tap on the forehead. “I just said I could stop worrying, and here you go causing trouble. Tell me, did you do that on purpose?”

Can’er’s fingertip felt like it was burning. She lowered her eyes and whispered, “No.”

The moment Ning Xiao had said she could “stop worrying,” a wave of sheer panic had crashed over Can’er. It felt as though Ning Xiao was preparing to let go of her hand and stop looking after her forever.

But just as Can’er was descending into despair, Ning Xiao had taken her injured finger into her mouth…

The sadness instantly vanished, replaced by something else.

“Ning Xiao, will there comes a day when you stop liking me?” Can’er’s beautiful dark eyes were filled with insecurity.

Ning Xiao was stunned for a moment before laughing. “You’re overthinking things. There’s no one I’d stop liking less than you.”

Can’er knew that the “liking” Ning Xiao meant wasn’t the same as the “liking” she craved, but hearing those words still made her heart soar.

“Me too. I will always like you,” Can’er said earnestly.

As Ning Xiao looked into Can’er’s eyes, she felt a swelling sensation in her chest, as if something was struggling to break through the soil. She quickly lowered her lashes, avoiding those overly bright eyes. “Alright, let’s just eat.”

She quietly took the half-peeled prawn from Can’er’s hand, finished peeling it, and placed it in her bowl. “Eat up.”

Can’er looked at the wound on her finger and then at the prawn in her bowl. She gripped her chopsticks tightly.

She had been peeling that prawn because Ning Xiao once mentioned she loved prawns but hated the effort of peeling them. Yet now, Ning Xiao was the one doing it for her.

She felt like she couldn’t wait any longer. Her birthday was still a month away, but she wanted to confess to Ning Xiao right now.

Ning Xiao was so wonderful. The mere thought of her potentially making new friends—or more—at Huada made Can’er drown in jealousy. These two weeks of military training had been an exercise in suppressed envy.

“Ning Xiao…” Can’er started to speak.

Ning Xiao looked up. “Mhm?”

Suddenly, a tall, handsome male student walked over. He greeted Can’er first before turning his gaze toward Ning Xiao. “Hello, I’m Can’er’s classmate, Jiang Yunyi.”

“Ning Xiao.” She shook his hand and gave her name. Since he was Can’er’s classmate, she felt she had to be polite.

Jiang Yunyi’s eyes were bright with interest. He sat down opposite Ning Xiao without invitation. “What’s your major? I haven’t seen you around before.”

“I’m at Huada,” Ning Xiao replied calmly. “I’m just here to visit Can’er.”

Ning Xiao was just as popular at Huada as Can’er was at the Film Academy; she was used to people looking at her like this. The only difference was that Huada students generally preferred studying to dating, and few were as bold as Jiang Yunyi.

“Wow, you’re at Huada? That’s impressive.” Jiang Yunyi took out his phone and shyly rubbed the back of his head. “Would I have the honor of adding you on WeChat?” He gave her a playful wink with his almond-shaped eyes.

It had to be said, the students at the Film Academy were all very easy on the eyes. Ning Xiao smiled and pulled out her phone to add him.

Jiang Yunyi knew when to retreat. After adding her, he got up to leave, flashing one last wink. “Let’s chat sometime!”

Ning Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. This teenager reminded her a lot of her younger cousin’s personality back in the real world; it was a bit nostalgic.

From the moment Jiang Yunyi started talking to Ning Xiao, Can’er had been enduring. She endured their conversation, she endured them exchanging contacts, she endured the wink, and she endured the way Ning Xiao watched him walk away…

[Ding! Female Lead’s Blackening Value has reached 100%! Congratulations, the host has unlocked the “Blackened Female Lead” plotline. Please decide the direction of the story: 1. The Female Lead breaks the law and is executed; the world collapses. 2. Fulfill the Female Lead’s wish: Date her; the world continues to function normally.]

Ning Xiao:

[Xiao Qi, is this what you call ‘deciding the direction of the story’?? Why are there only two options!]

The most important thing was that Option 1 wasn’t an option at all. How could she ever let Can’er reach that point? But dating her.

[Xiao Qi, even if I pick Option 2, I don’t have to start dating her this second, right? Everything needs a process…]

[Ding! As long as the host and the Female Lead confess to each other within three months, it counts as a success. Otherwise, in three months, the Female Lead will inevitably trigger Option 1, and the world will collapse.]

Fine. Can’er already liked her, and Ning Xiao had feelings for her as well. She had only been suppressing them. Now that she didn’t have to, completing Option 2 should be a piece of cake.

Ning Xiao naturally retracted her gaze and said to Can’er, “Your classmate is pretty funny. His personality is a lot like a cousin of mine.”

Can’er froze, the coldness in her eyes instantly dissipating. “A cousin?” She had known Ning Xiao for three years and had never heard of a cousin.

Ning Xiao nodded. “My mother’s sister married someone in the US and had mixed-race twins. We used to video chat in middle school, but we lost touch in high school.”

Can’er accepted the explanation for now.

[Xiao Qi, does my mom actually have a sister?]

The details of “Ning Xiao’s” family were provided by System 13579. Ning Xiao remembered them, but since she hadn’t seen this aunt or the cousins in three years, she had started to doubt the system’s intel. What kind of close relatives don’t contact each other for three years in the age of the internet?

[My mom is an emotional person. Why haven’t they spoken in years?]

[Ding! Your uncle-in-law was imprisoned for drug-related homicide. Your aunt cheated with a billionaire, divorced, and remarried. That billionaire then tried to orchestrate a takeover of the Ning family business four years ago. Your father saw through it, leading to a complete break between your mother and her sister.]

Talk about a dramatic backstory.

Ning Xiao turned back to Can’er. “Your birthday is next month. Do you want to go out, or just celebrate at the apartment?”

Upon hearing this, a shimmering light flashed in Can’er’s dark eyes. She looked down and said softly, “Let’s not go out. Just the apartment… just the two of us.”

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