Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder, Unable to Escape the Black Lotus Villain - Chapter 5

Ning Qi and Mu Xin parted ways with Huo Liuxue at the stairwell; Huo Liuxue’s classroom was on the floor above.

On the way back, Mu Xin kept her head down the entire time, lost in thought.

At first, Ning Qi was a bit puzzled, but after catching a glimpse of the conflicted expression on Mu Xin’s face, she snapped out of it.

Adolescent girls—it’s normal for them to have a few things on their minds.

However, the book never mentioned Mu Xin having many worries. Could it be because of the male lead?

After all, characters in a novel are almost always dragged into some sort of connection with the leads.

Ning Qi’s heart tightened. She suddenly grabbed Mu Xin, her expression turning dead serious.

“Mu Xin, you absolutely cannot get into a premature relationship.”

She originally wanted to add, especially with a scumbag like the male lead.

But after a thought, now that she was here, if the male lead dared to show up…

She’d break his legs!

A good bestie has to protect her sister from scumbags!

Ning Qi finished her mental preparation, completely unaware that she herself might “spoil” one day.

“?”

Mu Xin looked up, completely bewildered.

Premature relationship?

What premature relationship?

Looking at the serious and nervous Ning Qi, Mu Xin wondered if she had imagined something strange.

“Qiqi, do you have too little homework?”

Mu Xin sat down in her seat, gave her a side-eye, and then started rummaging through her desk drawer.

“Who says?” The mere thought of homework gave Ning Qi a headache.

In her twenty-odd years, she had never seen such a thing as homework. Now, suddenly a student—and a high school senior about to take the Gaokao—it was simply making life difficult for her.

“I just saw you weren’t talking for ages.”

Ning Qi smiled, but when she saw what was in Mu Xin’s hand, the smile froze on her face.

Mu Xin rolled her eyes.

She wasn’t talking?

That was only because Ning Qi had inexplicably stolen her “first kiss.” And now she had the nerve to say she wasn’t talking. Did Ning Qi think everyone was as heartless as she was?

Mu Xin felt a sudden surge of unexplained irritation and thwack—she slammed a thick workbook onto the desk.

“I think your homework really is a bit light. From now on, after class, you’ll do exercises with me. Don’t worry, I have plenty more here.”

“Don’t do this, Xinxin. You look so beautiful when you’re not talking, really. How about we don’t do the exercises?”

Ning Qi had a bitter face, tugging at Mu Xin’s arm, trying to evoke her sympathy.

However, Ning Qi had no idea that a certain person who had developed a “wicked” streak was not someone to be reasoned with.

Unmoved by her pleas, Mu Xin simply flipped to the first page of the workbook.

“Start. Once you finish a page, I’ll explain the mistakes to you,” Mu Xin said with a smile.

She looked beautiful when she smiled, her eyes crystalline and her aura gentle. But to Ning Qi, that smile looked like a death warrant.

She just wanted to run.

Making a “slacker” (doubly so) do exercises and then having “Teacher Mu” check them? This was going to be the death of her!

“Xinxin, can we…”

Ning Qi pulled at Mu Xin’s clothes and leaned in close, her voice trailing off with a whine.

Despite her cool, “bad girl” outfit, she was currently acting like she was acting spoiled toward Mu Xin, trying to “act cute” to get a pass.

This time, everyone who noticed the commotion looked like they had seen a ghost. They whispered in small groups, their eyes darting back and forth between the two with strange expressions. It was as if they wanted to say something but were holding it in, eventually settling for exchanging meaningful glances.

Someone even secretly snapped a photo of Ning Qi’s expression and actions, thinking about posting it to the school forum later. It would definitely go viral!

They even had the title ready: The Loyal “Alpha” Bad Girl and Her Frail Little Wife~

Hiss… why was this actually kind of “shipping” material?

Ning Qi didn’t notice that people were starting to pay attention to her, nor did she know she would soon be the subject of a trending post. She was only focused on how to make Teacher Mu drop the idea of the exercises.

“Xinxin, we’re best friends. You know me, my grades are terrible.”

Seeing that acting cute wouldn’t work, Ning Qi tried to move her with emotion and reason.

“Qiqi, I know this is hard for you.”

Mu Xin grabbed Ning Qi’s hand, her expression conflicted as if she were troubled. Her lips trembled as she spoke: “But Qiqi, precisely because we are best friends—don’t you want to go to the same university as me? Do you really want me to go to B University all by myself?”

Mu Xin lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. She looked so pitiful, like a delicate flower that would shatter at a touch, inviting one to reach out and possess her.

Ning Qi felt a heat in her chest, and a strange sensation bubbled up inside her.

Damn it, that feeling again. Every time Mu Xin acted like this, she couldn’t refuse at all.

Ning Qi wondered if she was sick. She knew Mu Xin was likely faking it, but the words of rejection changed as they left her mouth.

“How is that possible? Don’t worry, I will definitely get into B University.”

“Mhm, I believe you.”

With that, Mu Xin smilingly pushed the workbook in front of Ning Qi and looked at her with bright eyes.

Uh…

Ning Qi choked for a moment, then shook her head in frustration. Her jumping wolf-cut hair brushed against Mu Xin’s face with the movement.

So itchy.

Mu Xin touched the spot where the hair had brushed; the air seemed to linger with the scent of camellia. It was faint, but Mu Xin could smell it clearly.

“Tch, I think you and that little Huo girl are the real best friends. You only dare to be bossy with me,” Ning Qi muttered, looking displeased, but her hands were honest as she picked up the pen and started working.

Mu Xin peeked over and almost laughed out loud.

It was called “doing the work,” but it was basically blind-guessing the multiple-choice questions and leaving the back pages entirely blank. Moreover, as she worked, Ning Qi kept changing her posture until, before long, she was practically sprawled across the desk.

Mu Xin didn’t stop her; she just watched her work while planning how to help Ning Qi improve her grades.

Going to B University together? She was looking forward to it, too.

“Ning Qi, you smell so good,” Mu Xin said suddenly, drawing a confused look from Ning Qi.

She smelled good?

Ning Qi gave her a look that said, “What nonsense are you talking?” before burying her head back into the struggle with the workbook.

If you’re so good at saying nice things, why not just let me skip the homework!

As the bell for the end of school rang, the silent campus suddenly became lively.

“Qiqi, do you remember the mistakes I explained to you?”

At the school gate, before getting into the car, Mu Xin specifically turned back to look at Ning Qi.

“I remember, I remember! I’ll definitely look over them when I get back.”

Ning Qi, who had been looking listless, nodded vigorously and then gallantly helped Mu Xin into the car, terrified she would mention the homework again.

God knows how she survived today!

“Be careful on the road. See you tomorrow!”

“Mhm.”

Watching Mu Xin leave, Ning Qi wiped a non-existent bead of sweat from her forehead and sighed in relief.

It was exhausting. Teacher Mu had actually made her do two periods of exercises and spent another two periods explaining the mistakes. She felt more tired than if she had cleared out a whole nest of zombies.

“Since you clearly don’t like it, why do you do it?”

Ning Qi stood there for a while. After Mu Xin’s car was out of sight, she was about to head back when a curious voice came from the side.

Ning Qi turned to see a girl with a high ponytail, a slender build, and a heroic, handsome face. Those words had come from her.

“Are you talking to me?”

Ning Qi lowered her eyes. The lively, bouncy person from a moment ago suddenly became cold.

Qin Yuyou noticed the change in Ning Qi’s attitude and furrowed her brows.

“There’s no one else here.”

She stepped a bit closer and said, “You clearly hate studying, so why do you patiently do it? Mu Xin can’t really do anything to you.”

?

Ning Qi’s expression shifted. She looked at Qin Yuyou’s school ID. After seeing the class and name on it, she curled her lips playfully.

“Qin Yuyou?”

“Hmm? You know me?”

Qin Yuyou was stunned. Ning Qi’s tone made it clear she didn’t just recognize her from the ID; she must have at least heard of her.

“Mhm. Didn’t know you before, but I do now.”

Ning Qi seemed to think of something interesting, the corners of her mouth turning up.

Things were getting more and more interesting. Qin Yuyou was no mere passerby. She was a female supporting character in the book, unlike Ning Qi’s “cannon fodder” status. She had quite a few scenes between the male and female leads, though she often served as a stepping stone or a tool to make others look good.

“Watch out for Huo Qingqing and Li Kan,” Ning Qi suddenly said out of the blue, leaving Qin Yuyou completely bewildered.

What was there to be careful about with that idiot Huo Qingqing? As for Li Kan, he was somewhat capable, but that was it.

Qin Yuyou was a bit dismissive. “You’d worry about them?”

From Ning Qi’s performance yesterday and today, those two clearly weren’t her match.

To her confusion, Ning Qi simply shook her head. She obviously wasn’t going to tell Qin Yuyou that she just didn’t want her to be written out of the story too quickly. After all, having a female supporting character, a cannon fodder, a villain, and a heroine in one class… that was going to be exciting.

Of course, if Huo Qingqing came to pick a fight with Mu Xin, that would be another story.

“I just said it in passing, don’t take it to heart.”

Ning Qi didn’t want to say more and turned to leave. After two steps, she turned back.

“I really do hate homework, but I don’t hate being with Mu Xin.”

With that, Ning Qi raised her hand to brush the wolf-cut hair at the back of her head.

The tall girl in the deep blue school uniform had a clean smile, her tone carrying an imperceptible tenderness as the sunset glow fell behind her. It made her look a bit blurry, yet it made one unable to stop watching.

“Ning Qi? Truly an interesting fellow.”

Watching the distant figure, Qin Yuyou pondered Ning Qi’s words, her eyes deep. The rumored arrogant Miss Ning was… a bit different.

As expected, rumors are not to be believed.

When Ning Qi returned, the villa was unusually lively.

He Xuan was busy in the kitchen, while Ning Xuan, the helmsman of the Ning family, was wearing an apron, skillfully acting as an assistant.

“Old Xuan, why are you so clumsy? I’ve told you so many times, don’t put in onions or ginger—Guaiguai (Darling) hates them the most.”

“Oh, go get the mousse strawberry cake from the fridge. Guaiguai should be home soon.”

“Alright, alright, you go out. I’ll do it myself.”

He Xuan chattered and scolded, but Ning Xuan just did everything she said, nodding with a chuckle. The scene was indescribably warm and harmonious.

Ning Qi stood outside the door watching it all, suddenly feeling a sense of unreality.

Was this… her home?

“Guaiguai, you’re back! Come here, Mom bought your favorite cake.”

He Xuan turned and saw Ning Qi standing blankly at the door, and quickly spoke with a smile.

“What’s wrong? Why are you standing there like a statue? Did you have a bad day at school?”

Seeing Ning Qi silent, He Xuan got a bit nervous.

“Mom, I’m fine. I’m doing great.”

Ning Qi smiled, masking the emotions in her eyes. She reached out and took a big bite of the small cake on the table.

“It’s delicious. Thank you, Mom.”

When she turned her head, she secretly wiped the corner of her eye and then laughed.

It was good. Whether it was Mu Xin or her current parents.

This must be the life she wanted.