Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder, Unable to Escape the Black Lotus Villain - Chapter 16

Ning Qi didn’t know how long she had been asleep. She only felt a splitting headache, and it wasn’t until the various images in her mind faded away that she slowly regained consciousness.

In her daze, she felt something warm against her face. The comforting sensation cleared her mind a bit more.

“So thirsty,” she murmured. Before she even had the chance to take in her surroundings after opening her eyes, the dryness in her throat made her speak instinctively.

“Qiqi, you’re awake!” Mu Xin looked at Ning Qi in pleasant surprise. She hurriedly set down the towel in her hand and picked up a water glass, holding it to Ning Qi’s lips.

“Here is the water. Drink slowly.”

Ning Qi took the glass from Mu Xin’s hand and gulped down the entire contents. As the lukewarm liquid flowed down, she finally felt like she had come back to life.

She looked around and realized she was in a completely unfamiliar environment.

As for what time it was or what had happened, she couldn’t remember at all.

She only recalled being extremely angry because of Li Kan’s words. After giving Li Kan a severe beating, a violent headache had caused her consciousness to become blurred.

“Qiqi, how do you feel? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Mu Xin reached out to touch Ning Qi’s forehead, but Ning Qi suddenly flinched away. Mu Xin’s hand froze in mid-air, looking a bit lost.

After a brief pause, Mu Xin silently withdrew her hand and said with a smile, “Qiqi, are you okay? Do you still remember me? I’m Xinxin.”

Mu Xin spoke as if nothing were wrong, but her left hand, hidden inside her sleeve, was clenched tightly.

Something was very wrong with Ning Qi.

Was Ning Qi simply dazed from sleep, or was it…

Thinking of that possibility, Mu Xin’s expression darkened.

“Xinxin?”

Ning Qi spoke somewhat blankly as her thoughts finally converged.

Why had she been so angry?

As Ning Qi reminisced, Li Kan’s words echoed in her mind once more.

“The person who was supposed to be in that wheelchair was you!”

Right, she had hit Li Kan back then because of that.

She looked at Mu Xin and found the latter watching her with concern. Seeing her look over, Mu Xin’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Qiqi?”

Mu Xin called out softly, as if afraid a louder voice might startle Ning Qi.

“Mu Xin, of course I remember you.”

“Qiqi, you…”

Mu Xin’s eyes sank. Ning Qi had called her by her full name. Could it be…

Had she really turned back into the old Ning Qi?

Mu Xin felt it was a bit absurd that she had treated the Ning Qi before her return to the country and the Ning Qi of this recent period as two different people.

But another voice lingered in the depths of her heart.

She hoped that was the case.

“I’m sorry, I promised to accompany you for dinner.”

Ning Qi limply raised her arm, her face full of apology.

Mu Xin froze for a moment, then instinctively reached out to grab Ning Qi, pulling her into an embrace. Her tone was gentle.

“It’s okay. As long as you are fine.”

Mu Xin stroked Ning Qi’s scattered, dull short hair stroke by stroke, but her eyes were bright.

Qiqi was still that Ning Qi!

“Um, what happened to me?”

Ning Qi leaned into Mu Xin’s arms. The familiar light fragrance enveloped her, filling the sense of emptiness in her heart after waking from a long sleep.

Were the things Li Kan said important?

They were.

But Ning Qi understood there were more important things.

For example, Mu Xin. She couldn’t bear to leave Mu Xin.

She had grown accustomed to the faint scent she could smell just by being near Mu Xin, as well as a sense of fulfillment that came from nowhere.

Ning Qi fumbled and hugged Mu Xin back.

If what Li Kan said was false, then she didn’t need to care at all and could peacefully remain Mu Xin’s best friend.

If what he said was true—that ‘Ning Qi’ had harmed Mu Xin…

Then she would stay by Mu Xin’s side and let her remain happy and fortunate forever, staying far away from the so-called “plots” in the book.

She would live the life she wanted to live.

Ning Qi made up her mind, and her conflicted emotions temporarily settled.

Whatever happened, she would deal with it later.

“You’ve been unconscious for three days. Don’t you remember?”

Mu Xin felt the person in her arms burrowing deeper, and the smile on her lips became even more obvious.

How did it feel like Qiqi had become more clingy after a nap?

“Three days? That long?”

Ning Qi’s surprised voice rang out. She looked up at Mu Xin, and after the latter gave a definitive nod, she leaned back again.

“Then what about Li Kan? I only remember hitting him very badly.”

As she spoke, she felt a bit worried. After all, Mu Xin had been so serious when there was just a conflict with Long Xiang; this time, Li Kan was in much worse shape than Long Xiang.

She wouldn’t get a disciplinary demerit, would she?

Thinking this, Ning Qi felt a bit of regret. She had been a bit impulsive.

But in that situation, she really couldn’t hold back.

“Lie down first, I’ll tell you slowly.”

Surprisingly, Mu Xin didn’t seem to have any intention of blaming her. She helped Ning Qi lie down and then began to talk about what happened over the past few days.

Crash! Shatter!

Inside a room, Li Kan angrily smashed a computer, the fire in his eyes nearly spraying out.

“Ning Qi, this is all your fault. I won’t let you off.”

His head was still wrapped in layers of gauze, and half of his face was black and blue; clearly, the injuries from Ning Qi’s beating hadn’t healed yet.

However, the most important thing wasn’t the injuries. It was that somehow, Mu Xin had taken evidence of his cheating to Li Xianzhao—his cheap excuse for a father.

Furthermore, she accused him of causing Ning Qi to fall into a coma. The Li family didn’t dare offend both the Ning family and the Mu family at the same time.

In the end, Li Xianzhao, full of bottled-up rage, took it out on him.

Not only did he give him a severe scolding, but he also confined him to this villa for a month.

Moreover, he had to go to the school to communicate regarding the cheating incident.

Clearly, Mu Xin didn’t want compensation; she did this specifically to torment him and vent her anger for Ning Qi.

As long as the news of his cheating spread through the school, he was basically disqualified from top-tier universities.

This would have a very large impact on his future competition for the family inheritance.

“You all forced me into this.”

He took out his phone, found a name, and dialed. The call was quickly connected.

“Hello, Qingqing, it’s me.”

“Pfft, you mean you went to the Li family to look for trouble?”

In Mu Xin’s room, Ning Qi lay on the bed, laughing non-stop.

She hadn’t expected Mu Xin to not only force the Li family to suppress the matter of Li Kan being beaten but also to have Li Kan grounded for a month. Furthermore, Li Kan’s Mathematical Olympiad results and awards would likely be canceled.

It could only be said that Li Kan had lost everything this time.

“But don’t go next time. The Li family isn’t a good place. Once Mom and Dad get back, they’ll naturally have a way.”

After laughing, Ning Qi pulled Mu Xin and exhorted her.

How dangerous it was for Mu Xin to go to the Li family alone.

She absolutely couldn’t let Mu Xin take risks in the future.

“Rest assured, I can take care of myself.”

“No, in the future, you must bring me along for things like this.”

“Fine, fine, fine. You’re hungry, right? I’ll go get you some food.”

Mu Xin laughingly agreed, her tone sounding like she was coaxing a child, but she felt very happy.

…

Mu Xin left the room. Peering through the crack in the door, she saw Ning Qi lying obediently on the bed and closed the door with satisfaction.

“She’s awake?”

A somewhat lazy voice came from behind. Mu Xin turned her head. Qin Yuyou was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Seeing the smile on Mu Xin’s face, she raised an eyebrow.

Ning Qi finally woke up; otherwise, if it dragged on for a few more days, she might have had to call her aunt.

Qin Yuyou couldn’t help but think of the scene that day when she saw Ning Qi swaying and collapsing onto Mu Xin.

It was the first time she had seen Mu Xin so nervous.

And even after the doctor’s examination showed that Ning Qi was fine, she had still insisted on bringing her home and had taken care of her for several days straight.

So, was Ning Qi really that important to Mu Xin?

“She’s awake. I’m going to get some food. You’ve worked hard these past few days. Why don’t you go in and talk to her? She’ll find out about our relationship sooner or later anyway.”

“Fine, you can’t even leave for a moment without worrying.” Qin Yuyou shot Mu Xin an ‘I understand you’ look and then pushed the door open to enter.

“By the way, those little girls at school haven’t been very well-behaved these past few days.”

Before entering, Qin Yuyou turned back and said a sentence.

“Mm, just petty tricks that can’t be brought to the table. Just pay more attention to those ‘dear’ cousins of mine.”

Mu Xin nodded indifferently, then operated her wheelchair toward the elevator.

“Yeah, true.” Qin Yuyou shrugged. Those little girls were indeed only capable of playing petty games.

However…

Qin Yuyou pushed open the door and looked at Ning Qi on the bed.

If Ning Qi knew someone was targeting Mu Xin at school, given her personality…

Those people would probably have a lot coming for them.

“Eh, why are you here?”

Ning Qi was resting with her eyes closed while waiting for Mu Xin to return. When she heard the door open, she thought it was Mu Xin.

As it turned out, it was actually Qin Yuyou.

Why was she at the Mu house?

Could it be that she had a very good relationship with Mu Xin and came over to play?

Ning Qi frowned, feeling a bit annoyed for some reason.

“Why can’t I be here? Not only am I here today, but I’m also here every day.”

Qin Yuyou was stunned by the question and spoke without understanding the context.

“What?!”

Ning Qi suddenly sat up from the bed, her eyes wide.

How could that be?

Wasn’t she Xinxin’s best friend? Why was Qin Yuyou here every day?

Ning Qi’s expression turned cold. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of hostility.

Uh…

Qin Yuyou looked at Ning Qi with a strange expression, as if she had seen something amusing.

Suddenly, she thought of what that chatterbox Huo Liuxue had told her.

Ning Qi and Mu Xin weren’t just best friends; they were clearly a nefarious young couple!

Previously, Qin Yuyou thought Huo Liuxue was overthinking it, but looking at it now, there really seemed to be something to it.

Tsk tsk tsk. Looking at Ning Qi’s appearance, she was clearly jealous.

But looking at the current situation, these two probably hadn’t thought about it in that way yet.

Qin Yuyou didn’t want to meddle in others’ business, but she hadn’t expected that Ning Qi would actually get jealous.

If Huo Liuxue saw this, she could probably mock Ning Qi for an entire day.

“I live here every day. Didn’t you know?”

“I…”

Ning Qi felt a blockage in her heart and didn’t know why, but seeing Mu Xin having a good relationship with someone else made her feel a bit sad.

Besides, how was I supposed to know you stay at Mu Xin’s house every day!

She was clearly showing off.

“Alright, I asked you to help keep an eye on her, not to tease her.”

Just as Ning Qi was preparing to throw off the covers and fight Qin Yuyou for three hundred rounds, Mu Xin finally returned.

She gave Qin Yuyou an annoyed glare, somewhat speechless. Since when had her cold cousin become so good at playing pranks?

After scolding Qin Yuyou, Mu Xin turned to Ning Qi with a gentle smile. “Have some porridge first. You can eat something else in the evening.”

As she spoke, she scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and fed it to Ning Qi’s lips.

Ning Qi opened her mouth and touched the spoon, but the next second, she suddenly pulled back.

She closed her eyes and lay back on the bed. “I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat.”

After saying that, she coldly turned her head to the side.

Mu Xin: “…”

Qin Yuyou: “…”

Mu Xin glared once more at the somewhat depressed Qin Yuyou, set down the spoon, and gave Ning Qi a tug.

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. She is my cousin. It’s perfectly normal for her to live here.”

While Mu Xin was coaxing her, she was also secretly laughing in her heart. She hadn’t expected Ning Qi’s jealousy to be so strong.

And seeing Qiqi get jealous over her made her feel a bit happy for some reason.

Mu Xin wondered if she was being a bit wicked.

“Cousin?” Ning Qi, who was wondering why she was so angry, snapped her gaze toward Mu Xin. After Mu Xin nodded, she looked up at Qin Yuyou.

“Yes, yes, yes. I’m her cousin, okay? Qin Yue is my aunt. You’re really slow.”

Qin Yuyou finally experienced what Huo Liuxue felt.

Young couples are so loathsome!

They’re already this biased now. If these two actually end up together in the future, will she have to pack her bags and leave this house!

How infuriating.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? But I really didn’t expect that.”

Qin Yuyou was speechless, but Ning Qi immediately became happy. So they were relatives.

She had thought Xinxin had another best friend who was closer to her than she was.

No way. She had to be the one with the best relationship with Xinxin.

Thinking this, Ning Qi took the bowl from Mu Xin’s hand and began to eat the porridge in large gulps.

She had to get better quickly to stay by Xinxin’s side!

Moreover, if she remembered correctly, a plot point from the book was coming up soon.

Ning Qi’s movement of drinking porridge slowed for a moment, which was noticed by Mu Xin, who had been watching her.

“What’s wrong? Is it not good?”

“No, it’s very good. I was just thinking, if Qin Yuyou is your cousin, doesn’t that make her my cousin too? Quick, call me ‘Cousin-Sister’.”

Ning Qi found a topic to cover up the thoughts in her heart. She knew that the matter of her knowing the plot should not be revealed yet. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mu Xin, but rather that such a thing was simply too magical to say out loud.

“What did you say!”

Ning Qi’s words finally made the calm Qin Yuyou jump. Just as she was about to have a proper argument with Ning Qi, she received a cold look from Mu Xin.

Her voice immediately dropped.

“Cou… Cousin-Sister.”

A wise woman doesn’t fight when the odds are against her. Two against one, she was clearly at a disadvantage.

She would endure for now.

Qin Yuyou thought to herself that there would always be a chance to get her revenge.

However, she didn’t expect that this was the closest she would ever get to that chance.