Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder, Unable to Escape the Black Lotus Villain - Chapter 6

Night fell, and the city lights began to glow.

Ning Qi’s family gathered together, chatting as they ate dinner.

He Xuan and Ning Xuan were very busy; they rarely had the opportunity to eat with Ning Qi on a regular basis. Their upbringing of Ning Qi could be described as a standard material-based education. They strove to satisfy her every material desire, and the result—as seen in the book’s original ending—was that the original host had been raised completely spoiled and crooked.

“Qiqi, you ran into Xiao Xin today, didn’t you?”

“Mm, Mu Xin and I are desk mates.”

Ning Qi nodded. She knew He Xuan hoped she would have more contact with Mu Xin. The two families were close, Mu Xin’s current situation was unique, and since the school was full of wealthy children, trouble was occasionally unavoidable. Having Ning Qi at school made the parents feel a bit more at ease.

“That’s for the best. I’ll say it again: you aren’t allowed to bully her, do you understand?” He Xuan added another reminder, looking satisfied with Ning Qi’s response.

Ning Qi curled her lip. “Mom, who exactly is your daughter here?”

Wait… are the Ning and Mu families really this close?

“What are you saying, darling? Your Auntie Qin Yue and I are best friends, and your father and Uncle Mu have a life-and-death bond. To us, Xinxin is just like a daughter,” He Xuan explained patiently, fearing Ning Qi might be feeling a bit slighted.

Beside her, Ning Xuan also spoke up: “Qiqi, our relationship with the Mu family is indeed very intimate. As your elders, we hope you and Xinxin can get along well.”

Ning Qi hadn’t expected the relationship between the two families to be like this. None of this had been mentioned in the book. It seemed the original plot contained many hidden details.

“I understand. I wasn’t overthinking it, I was just a bit curious,” Ning Qi said. If He Xuan hadn’t spoken up today, she might never have known.

“There’s more than that. Actually, you and Xinxin have the most fate. Did you forget? You were both born on the same day.”

“What?”

This time, Ning Qi was truly shocked. She and Mu Xin shared the same birthday?

If that were the case, things were even more inconceivable. If what He Xuan said was true, Ning Qi and Mu Xin should have been as close as biological sisters. Given the tight bond between the families, why would the original host suddenly target Mu Xin and even plot against her alongside the scumbag male lead?

Ning Qi felt a headache coming on. Why did a cliché campus romance novel have so many suspicious points?

“Qiqi, what’s wrong? Why are you dazing off?” He Xuan asked, seeing Ning Qi go blank.

“Ah, nothing. I just suddenly thought of something,” Ning Qi snapped back to reality. Fearing He Xuan would notice something was off, she quickly changed the subject. “Mom, I’m so tired today! Xinxin made me do practice problems all afternoon!”

Ning Qi took the chance to lodge a small complaint. However, He Xuan’s reaction was the complete opposite of what she expected.

“Well, that’s wonderful! Our darling is so smart. Just work a little harder, and when the time comes, we’ll find a way to get you and Xinxin into B University together.”

As He Xuan spoke, she exchanged a meaningful glance with Ning Xuan. Ning Qi could see the blatant approval in their eyes.

Ning Qi: “…”

Seriously, Mu Xin is definitely your daughter!

Feeling depressed, Ning Qi began stuffing rice into her mouth. Honestly…

So what if she’s a bit good-looking? So what if her smile is beautiful? So what if her grades are good? So what if…

Uh.

Ning Qi’s internal rant choked to a halt. Forget it; for someone capable of being the antagonist, it was normal to be excellent.

Ning Qi frantically polished off two large bowls of rice, making He Xuan and Ning Xuan’s eyelids twitch. Since when did their darling become such a big eater? Could she have been starving while she was abroad?

The Mu Household

Mu Xin, dressed in loose loungewear, sat at her desk reading a thick copy of Introduction to Economics.

Knock, knock. A knock came from the door, and a woman with a gentle temperament walked in carrying a glass of milk.

“Xinxin, it’s late. You still have school tomorrow.”

Qin Yue placed the milk on the desk. Looking at her somewhat silent daughter, a flash of heartache crossed her eyes. Mu Xin had been obedient and hardworking since she was a child, never giving her or Mu Hongsheng anything to worry about. Even after the accident, she had remained calm.

But in the end, she was still just a child not even eighteen years old. To suddenly encounter such a massive life change—how could they not worry?

“Mom.”

Mu Xin came back to her senses, her eyes a bit dazed. She had actually drifted off just now, not even realizing when Qin Yue had entered.

“Xinxin, what happened at school today?”

Ning Qi hadn’t told her family about the events at school, but because the Mu family was worried about Mu Xin, they had been keeping a close eye on the school’s activities.

Mu Xin picked up the warm milk and drank it in one go. The warmth spread through her, making her feel cozy all over. It felt a bit like the temperature of Ning Qi’s palm, Mu Xin thought with a small smile.

“It was nothing. Just some small conflicts. Ning Qi already settled it for me.”

“Mm, I was just asking. With Xiao Qi there, we are at peace.”

“You knew all along that Ning Qi would be in the same class as me?” Mu Xin arched an eyebrow. Her parents had clearly been making many secret arrangements.

“That’s right. I discussed it with your Auntie He. Since you and Xiao Qi are in the same class, she can look out for you for us.”

So that was how Ning Qi ended up in her class? Mu Xin wondered what Ning Qi’s reaction would be if she knew. The corners of Mu Xin’s mouth curled up.

“Yes. Ning Qi is quite good,” Mu Xin said, adding two words in her heart: For now.

Thinking of Ning Qi’s various differences over the past two days, a somewhat absurd thought appeared in Mu Xin’s mind.

Is the current Ning Qi still the same Ning Qi? Can a person really change this much in such a short amount of time?

Mu Xin shook her head, driving the strange thought from her mind. It didn’t matter. Regardless, she liked the current Ning Qi much better.

Today was the first official day of the semester, and Mu Xin arrived at school early. To her surprise, Ning Qi was even earlier. She looked at Ning Qi, who was currently sprawled on the desk taking a nap, and narrowed her eyes.

“Did you go out being a thief last night?”

As Mu Xin approached Ning Qi, she predictably smelled the camellia fragrance on her. Hearing the voice, Ning Qi listlessly lifted her head to glance at Mu Xin before slumping back down.

“If I said I stayed up late studying, would you believe me?” Ning Qi said with a yawn.

In reality, she certainly hadn’t been studying. She had done something else: she had meticulously pored over the plot in her mind many times, trying to find the original host’s motive for targeting Mu Xin.

But the result was nothing.

Ultimately, Ning Qi made a decision: she would change the life of the “Ning Qi” in the book.

Ning Qi squinted at Mu Xin, who had a faint smile on her face. At the very least, I’ll make sure Mu Xin lives her life well. Although Ning Qi didn’t fully understand how much Mu Xin had suffered to become the villain in the end—since the book followed the scumbag male lead’s perspective and mostly showed Mu Xin’s schemes against him—she figured things would be okay if Mu Xin didn’t have so many worries.

Ning Qi tried to imagine Mu Xin reaching the ending described in the plot. For no reason, a wave of irritability washed over her.

What a trash ending!

Tsk, it’s just a crappy book. Could it really stump me, Ning Qi? If I don’t like this ending, then things have to go my way!

“Pfft.”

Seeing Ning Qi talking nonsense with such a serious face, Mu Xin couldn’t help but laugh out loud, drawing looks from Ning Qi and the arriving classmates.

“Wow, she’s so pretty.” “Starting today, Mu Xin is my goddess!” “Mm, a sickly beauty is the GOAT!”

???

Ning Qi curled her lip and tapped on the desk. “Go, go, go! What are you looking at? Stop looking!”

Ning Qi grabbed Mu Xin’s wheelchair and pushed her toward her seat. Unexpectedly, everyone laughed even harder. It seemed the posts on the forum were true. The “bestie-ship” is so ship-worthy!

Watching everyone whispering and glancing over, Ning Qi felt helpless. She sat down next to Mu Xin, gave her a small glare, and said, “No laughing!”

“Oh.” Mu Xin raised a hand to cover her mouth, her amber eyes looking at Ning Qi innocently. “I’m not laughing anymore.”

“You…” Ning Qi suddenly felt a bit dizzy. Why could this person do such a cute action with such a straight face? How was she supposed to stay angry!

Ning Qi frowned, deliberating for a long while before finally saying with a cold face, “From now on, you aren’t allowed to just smile at anyone.”

After saying that, she turned away, refusing to look at Mu Xin, though her slightly reddened ears betrayed her. Yesterday she had told her not to go around winking at people. Her smile was the thing that truly had massive destructive power.

At the same time, Ning Qi felt a bit strange. Why did everyone seem so surprised? Had Mu Xin never smiled before?

In fact, that was exactly the case. Although Mu Xin was always polite to people at school, she had no friends besides Huo Liuxue. This was due to her aloof personality. And after her injury, that sense of distance had become even more pronounced.

As Ning Qi was thinking, she felt a slightly cool hand grab hers.

“Well, my parents made me look like this, so you can’t blame me, right?” Mu Xin looked at her, finding this very amusing. Why hadn’t she realized Ning Qi was so fun before?

She moved her wheelchair a bit closer to Ning Qi, leaning down to whisper in her ear at a volume only the two of them could hear: “I’ll only smile for you in the future, okay?”

“Okay… we’re best friends, after all.”

The warm breath by her ear made Ning Qi feel a bit awkward; she felt her heart racing. It was faster than it had been after doing thirty sets of crunches this morning. This wasn’t normal.

“Why did you suddenly get so close?” Ning Qi shrank back, widening the distance between them.

“Is there something wrong? We grew up together; is it a problem to be close?” Mu Xin said intentionally, stifling a laugh.

Seeing her look so “of course,” Ning Qi didn’t know how to argue back.

“Then, I’m the older sister, you have to listen to me. Don’t get so close.” Ning Qi remembered He Xuan’s words and decided to try a different approach.

“Who told you that? Maybe I’m the older sister,” Mu Xin replied leisurely while taking out her textbook.

“I am.” “I am.”

The two of them suddenly began bickering like children. However, everyone could see that Mu Xin was calm and composed, while Ning Qi looked a bit exasperated. Clearly, she cared a lot about the title of “older sister.”

“What do you guys think they’re arguing about? Whoever is older is the older sister.” “You can’t say it like that. I think Ning Qi is more like the older sister; she’s so cool!” “Pfft, I admit she was cool yesterday, but I feel like she’s being played like a fiddle by Mu Xin.” “Hahaha, what’s the persona today? Gentle older sister and grumpy younger sister?”

Ning Qi and Mu Xin were already trending on the school forum. One reason was their incredible looks; the other was that the small details happening between them were being recorded. Some people were shouting about how jealous they were, tagging their own besties to come and “learn” from them.

However, as the parties involved, Ning Qi and Mu Xin didn’t feel much of anything. Mu Xin truly didn’t care, and Ning Qi simply didn’t know.

“Ning Qi, come out for a moment.”

Just then, a commotion broke out at the classroom door. Ning Qi followed the sound and saw Li Kan standing there with a dark expression.

“You don’t have legs? Can’t you come in yourself?”

Seeing Li Kan, Ning Qi’s expression instantly turned cold—a coldness that those around her could clearly feel. Seeing her icy face, everyone shared the same thought:

So, Ning Qi really does only have a good temper for Mu Xin.