Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder, Unable to Escape the Black Lotus Villain - Chapter 8

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t gained any advantage from Ning Qi.

The next few days were very peaceful. Li Kan did not come looking for Ning Qi again, and even Huo Qingqing hadn’t been seen for several days.

With nothing else to do, Ning Qi had to accept Teacher Mu’s academic guidance every day.

The students of Class 10, Grade 12, had already grown accustomed to this.

Whenever they saw Ning Qi’s messy hair, they knew she must have just crawled out from a pile of practice exercises.

Coupled with the fact that Ning Qi looked cool, was good-looking, and had a good temper, everyone liked her quite a bit.

“Finally finished. How about it? Am I amazing or what?”

Ning Qi handed a densely packed test paper to Mu Xin and breathed a sigh of relief.

If this were ten days ago, she never would have imagined herself sitting in a clean, bright classroom, patiently finishing a test paper that seemed both simple and difficult to her.

“So fast? You took three minutes less than last time. Very good.”

Mu Xin glanced at the time, a flash of surprise crossing her face.

Through their interactions over the past few days, Mu Xin felt as if she were getting to know Ning Qi all over again.

Even though it was the same face.

The personality, as well as the way she spoke and did things, were all different from before.

Could a trip abroad really cause such a massive change?

And most importantly, she found that Ning Qi had become smarter.

Just two days ago, Ning Qi knew absolutely nothing about the material in the books, but now she could apply what she had learned very proficiently.

“Alright, Qiqi, that’s it for today. There are extracurricular activities later.”

“Really? Thanks, Teacher Mu” Ning Qi, who had been somewhat listless, felt her eyes light up the moment she heard there were extracurricular activities.

While she didn’t hate learning with Mu Xin, doing problems every day was simply too stifling.

She desperately needed to move around.

“What, am I that strict?” Mu Xin laughed along, seeing her so happy.

“No, no, Teacher Mu is the best.” As Ning Qi spoke, she leaned over and gave Mu Xin a quick peck on the cheek.

Then she said, “Thank you, Teacher Mu.”

“Ning Qi, you… how childish!”

Having been hit by a sudden sneak attack, Mu Xin reflexively shrank back. Seeing the smug smile on Ning Qi’s face, she felt a bit frustrated.

“Tsk, is Teacher Mu blushing? I’ve seen best friends do this kind of thing too.”

In her past life during the apocalypse, Ning Qi had no friends, let alone family.

To maintain these sudden relationships, she had specifically gone online to ask others for advice.

Didn’t they say it was normal for best friends to hug and touch faces?

Besides, she and Mu Xin were such good “iron” best friends.

Mu Xin was left speechless by her words.

Thinking carefully, what Ning Qi said didn’t seem to have any issues. She didn’t know why her reaction just now had been so extreme.

“Fine. In the future… don’t do that again.”

“What did you say? Speak up a bit.”

Seeing the embarrassment on Mu Xin’s face, Ning Qi started playing dumb.

Mmm, the villain smells so good, and her skin is so nice.

She stared at Mu Xin with a beaming smile.

It wasn’t until she received Mu Xin’s “death stare” that she hurriedly withdrew her gaze.

Better exercise some restraint in the future; after all, her good sister was thin-skinned.

“Xinxin! I haven’t seen you in days, did you miss me!”

The bell had just rung for the end of class, and before Ning Qi and Mu Xin could finish packing, Huo Liuxue rushed in impatiently. Her eyes lit up when she saw Mu Xin, and she ran over to give her a big hug.

Ning Qi curled her lip and pulled the person off Mu Xin.

“A hug is enough.”

Why hold her so tight!

“?” Huo Liuxue looked confused as she felt herself being moved further away from Mu Xin.

“Ning Qi, I’m Xinxin’s best friend too!”

“Oh, we grew up together.”

“Is growing up together that big a deal!” Huo Liuxue huffed.

She had become familiar with Ning Qi by now.

Not intimidated at all, she bickered directly with Ning Qi, even appearing to enjoy it a little.

Watching the two of them bicker, Mu Xin felt somewhat helpless, but the upward curve of her lips showed she was in a good mood.

She was naturally happy that Ning Qi could get along well with Huo Liuxue.

She tugged at Ning Qi’s clothes to interrupt them. “Liuxue, let’s go to the extracurricular activities together.”

“Sure, I came here to find you anyway.” Huo Liuxue nodded quickly, then turned back to tilt her chin triumphantly at Ning Qi.

Good grief, she’s actually getting cocky.

Just as Ning Qi was about to retort, she felt someone pull her.

She looked down to see Mu Xin watching her, with a hint of entreaty in her smiling eyes.

Ning Qi’s breath hitched, and she uncomfortably bit her lip.

“I won’t lower myself to a child’s level.”

Ning Qi said coolly, dropping the argument with Huo Liuxue.

There was no helping it; Mu Xin was playing foul.

She simply couldn’t refuse her.

It was practically toxic.

However, aside from Mu Xin, she had her own thoughts.

Although Huo Liuxue seemed a bit dim-witted, she truly gave her heart to Mu Xin.

In the plot, even when Mu Xin finally had nothing left, she stood firmly by Mu Xin’s side.

As a friend, she was truly beyond reproach.

So Ning Qi was very willing to be friends with her; she just couldn’t help being a bit playful sometimes.

I must be Mu Xin’s best friend!

Ning Qi laughed to herself, nursing her little schemes.

The three of them walked out together, chatting about recent interesting events at school.

However, it was mostly Huo Liuxue talking while Ning Qi and Mu Xin listened.

After all, two people buried in practice problems had no right to speak.

As they passed the tennis courts, they noticed a massive crowd gathered there, with occasional bursts of cheering.

“What’s happening?” Huo Liuxue asked curiously, craning her neck to look inside.

“Eh, isn’t that Long Xiang? Wow, that girl opposite him is so good.”

Huo Liuxue watched on tiptoe for a while, looking very interested in the direction of the court.

“Qin Yuyou is so amazing; she’s got Long Xiang to the point where he can barely fight back.”

“You should see who she is. In every school sports meet, as long as Qin Yuyou participates in an event, she’s always the champion.”

“I know that, of course, but this is too impressive. Isn’t Long Xiang on the school team?”

“As long as it looks good, it’s fine. Qin Yuyou is so handsome too. I feel like ‘Sisters’ have been so cool lately.”

The exclamations from the surrounding students drifted into the ears of the three girls. Mu Xin noticed that Ning Qi paused for a moment.

Thinking that Qin Yuyou had gone to see Ning Qi, she looked at Ning Qi and said, “Shall we go take a look too?”

“Okay.” Ning Qi was startled but agreed, then pushed Mu Xin toward the crowd. However, she didn’t notice a slight darkness in Mu Xin’s eyes.

Ning Qi had been daydreaming a bit.

She hadn’t expected to hear news of the “Third Male Lead” today.

Long Xiang was the third male lead in the book—though, of course, he wasn’t very important.

The reason Ning Qi remembered him was that this third male lead, in order to get jealous over the main lead, had gone to Mu Xin to show off and mocked her in front of many people.

But he didn’t seem to have much screen time later on; he was probably dealt with by the villain once she had grown in power.

Although Mu Xin eventually got her revenge, Ning Qi didn’t understand why the male lead’s growth was always smooth sailing.

He only needed to say a few flowery words and he would have everything.

Meanwhile, the villain had to experience all sorts of life’s misfortunes and setbacks before she could grow.

Lost in thought, Ning Qi arrived at the edge of the court.

The people around were surprised to see Ning Qi and Mu Xin. Some younger students from the lower grades looked at them excitedly.

So these were Ning Qi and Mu Xin. They were even better-looking in person than in photos.

“Hello, Senior.”

“Hello, Senior, you guys are so beautiful.”

Some of the bolder ones couldn’t resist coming up to say hello, leaving Ning Qi completely bewildered.

She smiled awkwardly and nodded while casting a questioning glance at Mu Xin.

Mu Xin only smiled, not telling her that she was currently very popular in the school.

As Mu Xin smiled, her bright and gentle expression caused another round of excited shouting from the surroundings.

The commotion also drew the attention of the two people on the court.

Taking advantage of Long Xiang being distracted, Qin Yuyou delivered a powerful smash. The tennis ball flew toward Long Xiang’s wrist with a sonic boom.

Long Xiang was so startled his hand shook. Knowing it was too late to dodge, he was forced to drop his racket.

This meant he had lost the match, and lost utterly.

A cheer erupted from Qin Yuyou’s supporters.

“Qin Yuyou, you cheated!”

Long Xiang shouted, but Qin Yuyou only gave him a casual glance before looking into the distance at Ning Qi, who was standing beside Mu Xin.

After being crushed by Qin Yuyou in front of so many people and now being ignored by her, Long Xiang felt humiliated, but he didn’t dare cause trouble for Qin Yuyou.

After all, she had beaten him fair and square. If he caused a scene now, he would lose all his dignity.

He looked toward the area of the minor commotion and immediately spotted Mu Xin in the crowd.

After all, Mu Xin was very easy to recognize now.

A look of joy appeared on Long Xiang’s face as he walked over.

“Don’t you see people are competing? Don’t you know that causing a disturbance will affect others?”

Long Xiang spoke angrily, pointing at Mu Xin.

His eyes stared straight at Mu Xin, a flash of greed appearing in his gaze.

So beautiful. Too bad she’s just a cripple.

Long Xiang thought maliciously.

He wasn’t afraid of Mu Xin retaliating.

Although the Long family couldn’t compare to the Mu family, he didn’t believe the Mu family would still stand up for a cripple.

He understood the ruthlessness of great families very well.

Thus, he felt he had nothing to fear.

However, after he finished speaking, he realized the atmosphere on the scene was a bit off.

The people around him, especially those younger students, were all looking at him with anger and disgust.

“We have to yield to you just because you’re competing?”

Ning Qi had seen him long ago, and she hadn’t missed the malice in his eyes when he looked at Mu Xin.

“Who are you?”

Long Xiang looked at Ning Qi. She felt a bit familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her.

Ning Qi had cut her hair and changed her style of dress significantly.

Unless one looked closely at her face or was very familiar with her, it was truly hard to recognize her.

Ning Qi ignored him and turned her head to look at Mu Xin. “This isn’t my fault. You won’t hold me back, will you?”

???

Everyone had a question mark over their heads. What do those words mean?

A brilliant smile suddenly bloomed on Mu Xin’s face. Ning Qi felt as if the surroundings had brightened up.

“Mm.” Mu Xin beckoned. Ning Qi subconsciously leaned down, her eyes meeting Mu Xin’s.

“You definitely have a misunderstanding of me. Do I really control you that strictly?”

Mu Xin helped her tie the wolf-tail at the back of her head, complaining.

However, her tone was very soft and pleasant to hear.

This…

The melon-eating crowd felt that something wasn’t quite right.

But Ning Qi had already stood up and walked toward the court.

The wolf-tail behind her bounced as she walked, catching everyone’s eye.

“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you say you were very good at playing? I’ll play a bit with you.”

Ning Qi stood in the middle of the court, looking at Long Xiang, who was still stunned in place.

Whoosh—

Those who had been curious about what Ning Qi wanted to do now understood.

Ning Qi was going to challenge Long Xiang to a match.

As for the reason, there was no need to think; it was definitely because of Mu Xin.

Immediately, Mu Xin was flooded by the sounds of envy and jealousy.

“Please give me a dozen best friends like this!”

“Wuwu, why does my best friend only eat my food, drink my drinks, and sleep in my bed!”

“Senior Ning Qi, go for it!”

“Go, go, go! Sister is so handsome!”

The tall girl stood there in the center of the court, facing the light. Her silhouette fell clearly into Mu Xin’s eyes, making her daze off.

“This fellow is actually quite reliable. I forgive her.”

Huo Liuxue’s words brought Mu Xin back to her senses.

Reliable? Mu Xin pondered.

Ning Qi seemed like a different person lately.

But it was true; she seemed much more reliable.

However, the most important thing was the inexplicable sense of security about Ning Qi that Mu Xin couldn’t ignore.

She really is quite reliable, Mu Xin thought, the corners of her mouth curling up like spring flowers blooming.