Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder, Unable to Escape the Black Lotus Villain - Chapter 25

Ning Qi had just opened the door when she bumped headlong into a massive stuffed animal that had suddenly appeared.

“Ta-da! Welcome home, Xiao Qi-zai!”

With a smile that could charm anyone to death, Ning Zhizhe stood there beaming at Ning Qi, holding a plushie half as tall as a person.

If his fans saw him like this, they would likely scream and faint.

However, Ning Qi only stared expressionlessly at the somewhat childishly handsome man in front of her.

Is this really her brother?

He seems a bit immature.

Oh, right, Ning Zhizhe is only in his twenties. Even though he’s a Movie King, I guess it makes sense.

“Third Brother?”

Ning Qi called out, and she saw the smile on Ning Zhizhe’s face grow even brighter.

“Hey, Qi-zai! Are you hungry? Do you want to eat first, or go look at your presents?”

As he spoke, Ning Zhizhe turned to head upstairs. After all, the time he got to spend with Qi-zai was never very long; he had to make every second count.

“Mm, let’s eat first. I’m hungry. If I hadn’t been in such a rush to get back, I might have finished eating by now.”

With that, Ning Qi walked toward the stairs. “I’m going to change my clothes first. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Though Ning Qi’s expression held a hint of disdain, her words made Ning Zhizhe’s jaw drop.

Did he hear that right? Qi-zai actually wanted to eat dinner with him!

Excitedly, Ning Zhizhe wiped his face and pulled out his phone to start a video call, the smug expression on his face impossible to hide.

“What do you want? Don’t tell me you got scolded by Xiao Qi again.”

As soon as the video connected, Ning Zhixing’s teasing voice rang out. On the other side, though Ning Zhifeng’s expression remained cool, the schadenfreude in his eyes was barely concealed.

“Bah! What are you two talking about? I’ll have you know, I’m about to have dinner with Qi-zai. As for you two—go find somewhere cool to stay, I’m hanging up!”

Without lingering, Ning Zhizhe quickly ended the call and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Auntie! Quick, quick! Serve the food, serve the food!”

Finally, he sat at the table, glancing toward the stairs every few moments.

Ning Qi, crouched at the corner of the stairs, saw everything. She sighed softly and headed to her room.

This kind of familial love was something she envied, but she had to admit that this level of spoiling probably contributed to the original owner’s personality.

However, based on the attitudes of He Xuan and Ning Xuan, even if they doted on the original owner, they shouldn’t have allowed her to drag the entire Ning family into a feud with Mu Xin.

So, what was the real reason?

Ning Qi had long noticed something was off. The memories she inherited from the original owner only started after the arguments with Mu Xin. As for why the original owner went looking for Mu Xin, or what the specifics of Mu Xin’s accident were—and if there was a hidden story—she didn’t know. The hints provided by the book were far too few.

She even began to suspect if the “plot” she knew was fake.

And the key to solving this whole problem lay with Li Kan.

Ning Qi narrowed her eyes, a cold sneer in her heart. As expected, anyone who sticks to the male lead never ends up well.

When Ning Qi came downstairs after changing into casual clothes, Ning Zhizhe was already waiting with bated breath.

The moment he saw her, he beamed. “Qi-zai, come quickly! I specifically asked Auntie to make all your favorite dishes.”

He kept piling food into Ning Qi’s bowl until it was overflowing.

“Thanks, Third Brother. That’s enough, really.”

Ning Qi thanked him softly. She was still a bit overwhelmed by his intense care and didn’t know how to refuse, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Third Brother, I want to ask you something.”

“What is it? Just say the word!”

Ning Zhizhe was delighted. Qi-zai was actually willing to share things with him! When was the last time that happened?

“Um, it’s about Xinxin.”

Ning Qi said. She felt the memories left by the original owner were incomplete, but the Ning family, being so close to the Mu family, had to know something. She decided to test the waters with Ning Zhizhe.

“Xinxin? You mean Mu Xin? Weren’t you just saying how much you hated her a while ago? You even said you were going abroad to clear your head. How did you make up so fast?”

Ning Zhizhe had been busy with work and didn’t know the recent developments. He didn’t know Ning Qi and Mu Xin had reconciled, and he certainly didn’t suspect his sister’s soul had been replaced.

“Uh, well, there were some misunderstandings before, but I’ve thought it through. Xinxin has forgiven me too.”

Ning Qi scratched her head awkwardly. The things the original owner did were truly ridiculous, and now she had to take the blame.

“It’s good that the misunderstanding is cleared up. So, what did you want to ask? Actually, I don’t know that much.”

Ning Zhizhe seemed to sense her embarrassment and stopped pressing the issue.

“Oh, it’s about Xinxin’s accident. How much do you know about it?”

Ning Qi felt a bit nervous as she spoke. She still remembered what Li Kan had said. Could it be that the original owner was the one who caused Mu Xin’s accident?

“Hmm? Why are you asking about that?” Ning Zhizhe was surprised, but figuring they hadn’t told her much because she was young, he didn’t think too deeply.

“Since you were young at the time, we didn’t tell you. Mu Xin’s incident was called an accident, but Uncle Mu and Auntie Qin always suspected someone tampered with the car.”

“Someone tampered with it? Did they find out who?”

Ning Qi felt her hands and feet go cold, her voice trembling slightly. She was terrified Ning Zhizhe would say something related to her.

Ning Zhizhe gave Ning Qi a puzzled look. Why did Qi-zai seem so tense?

“Uncle Mu and Auntie Qin investigated, of course. Even the Eldest and Second brother looked into it. They did catch someone eventually, but he was just a scapegoat.”

“A scapegoat? So there was someone behind it?”

Ning Qi frowned. She hadn’t realized so much had happened to Mu Xin. As she thought, the original plot gave her far too little information.

“Yes. The one caught was a younger relative of the Mu family who was unhappy about Mu Xin being the heir. Mu Xin’s itinerary for that day was leaked to him by someone else.”

“Oh, I see.” For some reason, Li Kan’s face flashed through Ning Qi’s mind.

Could this have something to do with that scumbag male lead?

After all, the male lead’s goal in approaching Mu Xin was always to swallow the Mu family. It wasn’t out of the question that he orchestrated the accident, then used the opportunity to drive a wedge between the Mu and Ning families while getting close to Mu Xin himself.

The more Ning Qi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. In the original plot, the male lead did have such motives, though he was eventually discovered by Mu Xin and failed. It was just that the accident itself might have been linked to him too.

Ning Qi chatted with Ning Zhizhe for a long time. By the time they finished, it was 11:00 PM. After returning to her room and washing up, she lay in bed, unable to sleep.

The information she got from Ning Zhizhe wasn’t comprehensive, but combined with the book’s plot, she had a deeper understanding of this world.

Even though the male lead had repeatedly failed with her, he definitely wouldn’t give up. And she would eventually have to find out exactly what Li Kan meant.

It might be better to find an opportunity to clear things up and then deal with the male lead once and for all.

A cold glint flashed in Ning Qi’s eyes.

She pulled the covers up, still restless.

“Sigh, I’m actually having insomnia because Xinxin isn’t here.”

Ning Qi buried her face in the quilt and took a deep breath. It smelled nice, but it wasn’t the scent she wanted.

“Forget it. Get some sleep. I’m moving back tomorrow!” Determined, she forced her eyes shut.

…

After an unknown amount of time, Ning Qi felt a bit cold. She reached out for the blanket but felt nothing.

Annoyed, she opened her eyes, only to find herself sleeping in the living room.

“Strange, wasn’t I sleeping in my room? And it’s not even light out yet.”

Ning Qi wondered if she was still dreaming. Just as she was about to get up, her peripheral vision caught the TV, which was on.

“We interrupt this broadcast with a breaking news report. This morning, a sedan collided with a dump truck, resulting in three fatalities, including Movie King Ning Zhizhe and his driver. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation…”

“Impossible!”

Ning Qi cried out and bolted upright. Seeing her familiar room, she let out a long breath of relief.

Thank goodness, it was just a dream.

She drank a glass of cold water from the desk, gradually calming down.

Why did I have a dream like that?

She had just met Ning Zhizhe for the first time today; why would she dream of his death? Moreover, in the plot, Ning Zhizhe clearly…

Ning Qi’s eyes widened, her thoughts choking up.

In the later stages of the plot, when the original owner returned to the country, there was no mention of the rest of the Ning family, nor any members of the Mu family.

The entire plot only revolved around three people: the original owner, Mu Xin, and the male lead.

Did that dream signify something? And was it related to the male lead?

“The male lead?”

Ning Qi gripped the quilt, muttering to herself.

It seemed Li Kan wasn’t as simple as he appeared.

However, Ning Qi wasn’t panicking now. As the saying goes, the unknown is what’s truly terrifying. But now that the male lead hadn’t grown into his full power yet, and she had already disrupted many of his plans, she just had to be careful of him acting out of desperation.

Then, she could easily take care of him.

Ning Qi licked her lips, her eyes sparking with excitement. She didn’t believe it—she had been a famous “lone wolf” in the post-apocalyptic world. Could she really not handle a scumbag who hadn’t even matured yet?

She was even becoming quite interested in the male lead’s secrets.

“I’ll strip them all away sooner or later.”

Feeling somewhat reassured, Ning Qi stared at the ceiling boredly.

Sigh, it was only 2:00 AM. There were still four or five hours until dawn, but she didn’t feel sleepy at all.

“Should I call Xinxin? But at this hour, she must be asleep.”

Ning Qi scrolled through her messages, staring at Mu Xin’s profile picture. It was a little rabbit Mu Xin had drawn herself, pouncing on a big grey wolf and biting its head with its large front teeth.

However, only half of the wolf was shown. As for the other half…

Ning Qi glanced at her own profile picture. A chibi version of the big grey wolf was lying on the ground with teary eyes, with that “ferocious” little rabbit on its back.

Ridiculous!

“I’ll just call for five seconds. If no one picks up, I’ll hang up.”

After hesitating for a long while, Ning Qi couldn’t help but press the call button.

She held the phone, counting the seconds in her head. But just as she reached “one,” the video connected.

“Qiqi?!”

Mu Xin saw the dazed Ning Qi on the screen and called out.

“Xinxin, you’re not asleep?”

Ning Qi didn’t expect Mu Xin to actually be awake. Was she having insomnia too? She raised an eyebrow, looking at Mu Xin, who only had her head peeking out from the covers.

“Ah, oh, I had some things to finish up late today. I wanted to get everything done so we could go out and play tomorrow.”

Mu Xin’s eyes flickered, and she inconspicuously scooted further into her blanket. Fearing Ning Qi would keep questioning her, she quickly added, “What is it, Qiqi? Could it be that you can’t sleep because you miss me?”

“…Who misses you? I was just afraid you couldn’t sleep.” Ning Qi said stubbornly.

Alright, she did miss Mu Xin a little. They had only been apart for less than ten hours.

“So Qiqi doesn’t miss me after all. I’m so sad; I clearly missed Qiqi so much.” As she spoke, Mu Xin pitifully rubbed the corner of her eye and sniffled, as if tears were about to fall at any moment.

“…Childish.” Ning Qi knew she was faking it, but she still went along with it. “Fine, fine, I miss you too. I miss you so much I can’t sleep.”

Ugh, so mushy. A month ago, Ning Qi never would have imagined she would say such things to coax someone.

Well, to coax a very beautiful girl.

Ning Qi felt that Mu Xin was becoming more and more beautiful. The pale face she first saw gradually gained color, the thin frame became more defined, and even her voice seemed to have more energy.

Ning Qi couldn’t help but feel a bit proud. My month of accompanying her in eating and drinking wasn’t for nothing.

Mu Xin was amused by Ning Qi’s awkwardness. Qiqi was always like this—clearly not used to doing these things, but as long as it was something Mu Xin wanted, Ning Qi was always willing to provide.

So, how could she easily give up on such a person, regardless of the unknown future? As long as this person was her Qiqi, she would never let go.

Mu Xin watched the screen as Ning Qi grumbled about her being childish. She smiled and tucked herself deeper into her rabbit pajamas.

Sleepiness finally began to wash over her.

She had thought that the scent of Ning Qi on the sheets would lessen her longing, but now it seemed she only wanted more.