The Villainess’s Darling [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 64

The bathroom door suddenly swung open from the inside. Yun Can’er looked over in a panic, only to see Ning Xiao walking out with her wet hair draped over her shoulders, wrapped in a bath towel.

Droplets of water trickled down from the ends of her hair, dampening her snowy shoulders and delicate, rosy collarbones. The crystal droplets didn’t linger, winding their way down and disappearing into the enticing hollows of her chest.

Yun Can’er stared blankly, her face flushing as she unconsciously swallowed.

Ning Xiao walked over and reached out to touch Yun Can’er’s forehead, asking worriedly, “Does your head hurt? Why is your face so red?”

Smelling the scent of Ning Xiao’s shower gel, Yun Can’er’s heart beat faster and faster. Her lashes trembled as she looked down. “I’m fine. Why are you showering in my bathroom?”

“The water heater in my room is acting up,” Ning Xiao explained. “Considering I brought you back yesterday, removed your makeup, and changed you into your pajamas, it’s not too much to ask to borrow your shower, right?”

Yun Can’er: It really was Ning Xiao who changed my pajamas!

She felt as if her entire body were on fire, a scorching heat racing through her veins.

Ning Xiao sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to tilt Yun Can’er’s lowered head up. She smiled. “We’re both women; what is there to be shy about?”

Yun Can’er’s eyes darted around, simply not daring to look at Ning Xiao, while she cautiously inhaled the sweet, fragrant air around them. “I’m not shy…” she explained weakly.

“Call me ‘Ningning’ again,” Ning Xiao said.

Yun Can’er: “!” She had only ever used that name secretly in her head—how did Ning Xiao know?

“What Ningning?” Yun Can’er asked, feigning confusion.

Ning Xiao let go of her, looking somewhat “dejected.” “Yesterday, when you were drunk, you kept calling me ‘Ningning.’ Was it not me you were calling?”

Ning Xiao’s eyes shimmered with a watery sheen, her gaze filled with such hurt that it made Yun Can’er look like a heartless, unfaithful scoundrel. The soft, warm touch had just vanished from her chin, and Yun Can’er was still getting used to the loss when she saw Ning Xiao looking like she was about to cry.

“Don’t cry!” she said hurriedly. “I just didn’t process it for a second. I was calling you.”

“Calling me what?” Ning Xiao pressed.

Yun Can’er turned bashful again. “Ning… Ningning.”

“Mhm,” Ning Xiao hummed softly. She took Yun Can’er’s hand. “I really like it when you call me that.”

Yun Can’er’s fingers curled. She kept her eyes down, too embarrassed to face Ning Xiao. “Then… I’ll call you that in private from now on.”

Once Ning Xiao was certain that Yun Can’er was indeed her lover from the previous world, she immediately formulated a plan to pursue her.

On the surface, they were still stepmother and stepdaughter. Because she still had to complete missions to earn points and return to the real world, Ning Xiao didn’t plan on breaking the plot’s progression just yet. She would reveal the truth when the time was right.

In the meantime, she would focus on nurturing their feelings so that when the truth finally came out, they could be together naturally and quickly.

Since Yun Can’er had been drunk the night before and still looked a bit pale in the morning, Ning Xiao gave her the day off.

Yun Can’er had never liked going to the office, but now that she suddenly didn’t have to, she didn’t feel much joy. Being home alone didn’t seem nearly as good as being by Ning Xiao’s side.

She walked Ning Xiao all the way to the door. When Ning Xiao turned to say goodbye and saw the lingering, reluctant look in the girl’s eyes, she teased, “Do you know what you look like right now?”

“Like what?” Yun Can’er asked listlessly.

“Like a little wife seeing her husband off to work, looking all pitiful because she wants to go with him,” Ning Xiao joked.

It hit the nail on the head. Yun Can’er’s face turned bright red. “No way! I’ve been dying for a break. Who would want to go with you!” She turned and ran back into the living room.

Ning Xiao watched her disappear, her smile widening. She didn’t even deny the ‘little wife’ part. Did she forget, or is that how she really feels?

Ning Xiao arrived at the company on time, but when she stepped off the elevator, Yang Yuanqi wasn’t waiting for her as usual. When she entered her office, he was still nowhere to be found.

Coincidentally, an employee came in to deliver some files. Ning Xiao asked her to check if Special Assistant Yang was in his office. He wasn’t. The employee checked the punch-in machine and reported back, “President Ning, Special Assistant Yang hasn’t come in yet.”

It was already 9:10 AM. Yang Yuanqi had never been late before.

Ning Xiao had intended to ask him about Zhuang Yuzhen’s reaction after she and Can’er left the gala, but he hadn’t even called in sick. With both assistants absent, Ning Xiao found the morning’s work rather sluggish. By 9:30 AM, the staff reported they couldn’t reach him—calls went unanswered, emails unread, and WeChat messages ignored.

A thought crossed Ning Xiao’s mind: Could Yang Yuanqi have been with Zhuang Yuzhen last night?

If that were the case, being late was understandable. Two grown men, a little alcohol, a spark of passion—it would be like an old house catching fire, impossible to put out. Yang Yuanqi was probably still asleep.

At 11:00 AM, Ning Xiao called Zhuang Yuzhen. The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.

“Hello?” a groggy, gravelly male voice answered.

Ning Xiao: “Special Assistant Yang?”

Though his voice was raspy from a hangover, Ning Xiao easily recognized him.

“President Ning?!” Yang Yuanqi was startled. He checked the time and sat bolt upright, instantly wide awake. “I’m so sorry, President Ning! I accidentally overslept. I’m coming to the office right now!”

“Don’t worry, Special Assistant Yang. Just be here by 2:00 PM. We’ll count today as half a day of annual leave,” Ning Xiao said.

“Thank you, President Ning!”

“Mhm. I couldn’t reach you earlier. As long as you’re okay, that’s fine. See you this afternoon.” She hung up.

On the other end, Yang Yuanqi stared at the phone. What did she mean she couldn’t reach me? I picked up as soon as it rang.

Because of his job, he was highly sensitive to his ringtone; he could wake up from a deep sleep the moment it went off.

Suddenly, the mattress vibrated. A man sat up next to him, his lean, muscular arm casually draping over Yang Yuanqi’s shoulder. “Xiao Yuan, what are you doing with my phone?”

“Your phone?” Yang Yuanqi’s eyes widened.

“We have the same model, but the cases are different. You’re holding mine.” Zhuang Yuzhen pulled another phone from the side and handed it to him. “This one is yours.”

Yang Yuanqi took his own phone in a daze, only to find it was on silent. No wonder he hadn’t heard the calls. He replied to his messages, but then the realization hit him. He froze, and the phone slipped from his hand onto the bed.

Zhuang Yuzhen leaned against the headboard, checking work on his phone and glancing at him occasionally. Seeing him looking soul-shaken, he asked, “Xiao Yuan, what’s wrong?”

“I… I just answered a call from President Ning…” Yang Yuanqi said blankly.

Zhuang Yuzhen sat up straight, concerned. “What did she say?”

Yang Yuanqi looked at him, his face full of despair. “President Ning couldn’t get through to my phone, so she called yours… and I answered.”

Zhuang Yuzhen immediately checked his call logs. Sure enough, there was a record of a call with Ning Xiao. He felt a wave of annoyance, why hadn’t he been awake? He should have been the one to talk to her!

“Do you think President Ning will misunderstand…?” Yang Yuanqi worried.

Zhuang Yuzhen was debating whether to call her back. “Misunderstand what?”

“What do you think?” Yang Yuanqi said gloomily. “I just woke up and answered your phone. What does that imply?”

Zhuang Yuzhen finally understood. “Surely not. We’re both men; what could she possibly misunderstand?”

“President Ning kisses her little assistant, and the assistant is a woman,” Yang Yuanqi pointed out.

“The assistant is a woman?” Zhuang Yuzhen asked in surprise.

“Yes. You heard me right. So, same-sex relationships are probably quite normal to President Ning.” Yang Yuanqi scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “I have to shower. I absolutely cannot be late for work this afternoon.”

After he left, Zhuang Yuzhen hurriedly tried to call Ning Xiao back. He had clearly felt a shift in her feelings yesterday; if she misunderstood this, his chances of being with her would drop to near zero. As for that female assistant, he didn’t give her a second thought.

However, he couldn’t get through. Ning Xiao was already on another call. He kept trying, but her line remained busy until Yang Yuanqi had showered and dressed.

“Yuzhen, what’s wrong?” Yang Yuanqi asked, seeing his dark expression.

“Ning Xiao’s phone has been busy for half an hour. Who is she talking to for so long?”

“Our President Ning rarely makes calls,” Yang Yuanqi noted. “I think the longest I remember was maybe five or six minutes.” Then a thought struck him. “Could you have been blacklisted by her?!”

Zhuang Yuzhen stiffened. “She must have misunderstood our relationship. I’m going to the office with you this afternoon to explain.”

Yang Yuanqi, unaware of Zhuang Yuzhen’s crush on his boss, found it strange. “Even if she misunderstood, she wouldn’t blacklist you. She likes her own gender, after all.”

“You don’t understand,” Zhuang Yuzhen snapped irritably.

Yang Yuanqi rolled his eyes behind his back. Sure, I don’t understand, but you do. He tried calling Ning Xiao from his own phone to test it. It connected on the first ring.

“Special Assistant Yang, is something wrong?”

Hearing Ning Xiao’s voice, Yang Yuanqi froze. He was just testing; he didn’t actually have anything to say!

“President Ning, I…” Before he could think, Zhuang Yuzhen rushed over and snatched the phone.

“Xiao Xiao, it’s me, Yuzhen,” he said, his voice deep and soulful.

Yang Yuanqi watched in a daze. What is going on? Why is he talking to her so intimately? Didn’t they just meet yesterday?

Without Yun Can’er by her side, Ning Xiao found work incredibly boring for the first time. She desperately wanted to drop everything and go home to her.

After the call with Yang Yuanqi, she couldn’t resist dialing Yun Can’er.

“Ningning!” a cheerful little voice chirped from the phone.

It was clear that Yun Can’er missed her too. Ning Xiao’s heart softened. “Are you feeling better? Any discomfort?”

“Much better! I just spent half an hour in the gym~” Yun Can’er replied. She had been so bored at home that even short videos weren’t interesting. For some reason, she had felt like exercising, and standing on the treadmill made her feel like Ning Xiao was there with her.

They chatted back and forth for over an hour without realizing it. When it was time to hang up, Yun Can’er sounded reluctant to let go.

“Come to work this afternoon,” Ning Xiao blurted out. “Vacation canceled.”

“Really?!” Yun Can’er’s voice was filled with unmasked joy.

“Mhm. Come on over,” Ning Xiao said with a smile.

“Okay! I’ll change and do my makeup right now. I can still have lunch with you~”

“I’ll wait for you.”

Ning Xiao hung up, her smile deepening. It was right then that Yang Yuanqi’s phone called her back.

“President Zhuang, good morning,” Ning Xiao said politely.

Hearing her distant tone, Zhuang Yuzhen felt a pang of distress. “Xiao, President Ning. Yang Yuanqi and I are just college classmates. It’s absolutely not the kind of relationship you’re thinking of. Please believe me.”

“I believe you,” she said. Yeah, right. Sleeping in the same bed, answering each other’s phones, would normal college classmates be that intimate? However, the plot had to continue. Ning Xiao didn’t show a hint of her thoughts, her voice remaining gentle. “Yuzhen, I know you’re not that kind of person.”

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