After Transmigrating, the Female Lead Went Dark (GL) - Chapter 4

Xiao Xinyue raised her hand and cupped Zhou Zhuying’s chin. The touch was light but undeniably intimate as she asked a question she had asked before: “Why won’t you look at me?”

Zhou Zhuying: “?”

She admitted the female lead was beautiful, but she couldn’t stare at her all the time, could she?

If anyone saw, they might think she was completely infatuated with the female lead’s beauty… She was, at most, only 80% infatuated.

But still, how self-absorbed must the female lead be to ask a question like that?

“Feeling guilty? Afraid to face what you’ve done?” Xiao Xinyue asked again.

Her voice, which Zhou Zhuying always heard as pure and cold, now carried a slight nasal tone. Zhou Zhuying knew she was being interrogated about the Xiao family massacre all those years ago, but she had nothing to say.

She wasn’t the author, she hadn’t read the original book, and she couldn’t have stopped the event from happening. All she could do was feel deep sympathy for the female lead’s suffering.

But who would sympathize with her, who had to take the fall for it?

“I’m sorry.”

Now that she was in the original owner’s skin, Zhou Zhuying felt she had to act the part and do what the original owner should have done, which was apologize.

She knew that a simple “I’m sorry” couldn’t make up for the sins the original owner had committed. She wouldn’t be surprised by anything the female lead chose to do to her next.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Xiao Xinyue did something completely unexpected. She suddenly wrapped her arms around Zhou Zhuying’s waist, pulling her into an embrace.

Zhou Zhuying: “?!”

This kind of punishment was indeed a slap in the face.

Was the female lead going to use the “embracing death” move like Overlord?

She waited for a while, but she wasn’t killed in the embrace. Instead, she felt crystal tears fall onto her shoulder.

The tears were cool and slid down her shoulder, leaving a tingling sensation. Her heart also felt a little flustered. Just as she was about to raise her hand to pat Xiao Xinyue’s back and comfort her, the female lead pulled away.

There were no tear stains on her beautiful face, as if the coldness Zhou Zhuying felt just now was an illusion.

Zhou Zhuying was confused, unsure if the female lead had actually cried.

Xiao Xinyue led her to the table and sat her down. Only then did Zhou Zhuying see a few dishes on the table, lit by candlelight. They happened to be all her favorites, including the braised lion’s head meatballs!

So she wasn’t going to torture me, but instead, it’s a “candlelight dinner!”

“Eat. It’ll get cold if you don’t eat now!” Xiao Xinyue sat across from her and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

The sudden turn of events made Zhou Zhuying wonder if this was her last meal.

But her stomach had been rumbling for so long that even if the food was poisoned, she would at least die with a full belly!

She began to eat happily, speaking without much regard for table manners. “Sweet and sour mandarin fish, lion’s head meatballs, tofu soup, fried rice—they’re all my favorite Huaiyang dishes! The Moshan Sect is in the central plains, so why are you eating Huaiyang cuisine?”

Xiao Xinyue gave her that strangely deep look again, as if asking what game she was playing.

Xiao Xinyue didn’t ask, only said, “I’m from Jiangdu.”

Zhou Zhuying had an “aha” moment. “Oh, right, right, I forgot.”

Bullshit. She didn’t know anything. She didn’t know why the Moshan Sect would hire a Huaiyang chef, nor did she know the female lead was from Jiangdu! After all, Meng Xiaoxiao wouldn’t be so boring as to mention the female lead’s hometown on her social media.

Xiao Xinyue didn’t seem to want to talk to her, so she just ate quietly.

After she was half-full, she asked, “Saintess sister, aren’t you eating?”

Xiao Xinyue’s patience seemed to have reached its limit. “What’s with this passive-aggressive way of addressing me?”

Zhou Zhuying thought: I’m only 18, and the female lead should be 20 or 21 since Meng Xiaoxiao mentioned that the male and female leads got married right at the legal age after they destroyed the Demon Sect and got their revenge. So, it was perfectly reasonable for her to call her “Saintess sister”!

Wait! Now that the Demon Sect is destroyed, does that mean the male and female leads are about to get married?

The male and female leads’ wedding must be a big celebration for the Moshan Sect, which means the security will be weaker. Will I have a chance to escape then?!

Zhou Zhuying got excited. “Then what should I call you? Saintess?”

Xiao Xinyue felt a surge of unvented frustration. She exhaled. “Whatever.”

“Then I’ll still call you Saintess sister. It sounds better than ‘whatever.’”

Xiao Xinyue: “…”

She closed her eyes to rest. After a while, she issued a cold order to leave. “Go back when you’re done eating.”

Zhou Zhuying thought: Although the single cell in the dungeon is nice, it lacks underfloor heating. I was captured so quickly that I didn’t have time to bring extra clothes. I’ll probably freeze to death in that cell sooner or later. This is the female lead’s room, and it has a fireplace for warmth. I can try to get as much warmth as I can!

She slowed her eating, her movements a bit exaggerated.

Seeing this, Xiao Xinyue asked, “You don’t want to go back?”

Zhou Zhuying rubbed her hands like a fly. “Is this a question of wanting to go back? I just don’t want to leave you.”

Xiao Xinyue’s face changed, and she looked annoyed. “Is it fun to play games with me? Get out.”

Zhou Zhuying was most afraid of people who were moody. Although she could sometimes be tactless, she wouldn’t intentionally be annoying. Seeing that Xiao Xinyue genuinely didn’t want to see her, she wisely left.

As soon as she opened the door, the cold air rushed in. She shivered and scuttled away.

The candlelight spilled out from the room. Zhou Zhuying’s shadow grew longer and fainter. Only when she disappeared from view did Xiao Xinyue look away and rub her forehead.

A black shadow silently appeared outside the door. “She ran away.”

Xiao Xinyue picked up the cup from the table and poured herself a hot tea. “Did she get away?”

“She ran a hundred meters and was caught and brought back.”

“A hundred meters…” Xiao Xinyue’s expression was unreadable. After a while, she said, “Go see what’s going on in the kitchen.”

After running out of the courtyard, Zhou Zhuying looked back and then looked left and right, wondering: No one is watching me now. Can I take advantage of the dark, windy night to sneak away?

Even though the female lead is enchanting, she belongs to the male lead. I have a deep-seated enmity with her. Just because she hasn’t killed me yet doesn’t mean she won’t later.

What if one day she visits her family’s graves and, on a whim, decides to kill me to comfort their souls? Am I just supposed to wait for my death?

Zhou Zhuying didn’t want to die, so she ran in the opposite direction of the cell in the dark.

But she didn’t get far before she was discovered and brought back.

When the iron cell door closed, she was greeted by the two skulls on the black iron chair. Under the moonlight shining through the barred window, the dark sockets glowed red.

Eek!

Zhou Zhuying, pitiful, weak, and helpless, scrambled onto the bed and tightly hugged her thin blanket.

Fortunately, a cloud soon covered the bright moon, and the red glow from the skulls’ eye sockets disappeared.

Zhou Zhuying conducted a deep self-reflection. As a future scientist, how could she be superstitious? She should look at the strange phenomenon of the skulls with a scientific eye. For example, the eye sockets could be glowing because they contained some substance that produced fluorescence or phosphorescence.

Thinking of this, she quickly got down, picked up the chopsticks she used for dinner, and poked them into the skull’s eye socket. She found it wasn’t deep, so she used her finger to pry out a ruby the size of a glass bead.

“This chair is indeed finely crafted. They even considered such a detailed issue as ‘how to increase the deterrent effect of the skulls,’” Zhou Zhuying marveled and then put the ruby back.

The ruby was nice, but it was useless to her now.

She climbed back onto the bed, rolled herself into a cocoon with her blanket, and muttered to herself, “When are these people going to give me water to take a bath? Even prisoners need to be hygienic, right?”

Suddenly, the melodious sound of a zither came from outside the window. The tune was serene and intoxicating, and she could tell the player was quite at ease.

Zhou Zhuying climbed up to the barred window and peeked out. She saw Xiao Xinyue sitting in the courtyard, playing the zither. A fantasy suddenly blossomed in her mind: In front of a withered tree, under the moonlight, Xiao Xinyue’s delicate hands pluck the zither strings, while she sits leisurely by a warm stove, brewing tea and singing softly…

Once this fantasy began, it couldn’t be stopped. She had already thought of names for her and the female lead’s children.

On that note, how many children should she and the female lead have?

After pondering for a while, Zhou Zhuying rolled back onto her bed. It’s better to just dream about it.

••••

Zhou Zhuying indeed had a good dream. Not only was it warm, but the female lead no longer appeared in her dreams to threaten to kill her. She slept soundly until morning.

She was only woken up by the loud clang of the cell door.

The prison guard bringing her food opened the door. His dark, angry eyes stared at her as if she owed him a fortune.

The guard had a sour expression as he brought her a set of toiletries and a steaming hot breakfast.

“Hey, did my two meals a day get upgraded to three?!” Zhou Zhuying was pleasantly surprised. The breakfast was crystal shrimp dumplings, taro cake, and soy milk.

The jump from Huaiyang cuisine to Cantonese dim sum was a bit big, but it suited her taste.

This also proved that the Moshan Sect was indeed the leading righteous sect in the world, embracing all people, with heroes from all over. How else would a single sect have chefs from so many different cuisines?

“Hmph. If you weren’t still useful, you’d only be eating a final meal!” the guard said resentfully before leaving.

Zhou Zhuying gave him a middle finger. He didn’t understand what it meant, but he knew it wasn’t a good gesture, and he slammed the door shut with a bang.

Zhou Zhuying didn’t take his words to heart because she knew very well that if the male and female leads didn’t want to use her for something, they wouldn’t waste food feeding their enemy.

Sometimes, being useful wasn’t a bad thing.

She got up from bed and found there was an extra blanket on her.

No wonder it was so warm last night.

Zhou Zhuying didn’t think too much about it. She picked up the wooden toothbrush curiously and examined it. “Isn’t the original author a bit careless? Where would a toothbrush come from in a martial arts world?”

But she was also grateful for the author’s lack of rigor. Otherwise, after transmigrating, she might have had to use a bamboo or clay shard to clean herself after using the toilet.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face, and then hurried to eat her breakfast before it got cold.

After a while, she heard footsteps outside and figured Xiao Xinyue had woken up. She clung to the iron bars and greeted her. “Good morning, Saintess sister. Have you eaten?”

Xiao Xinyue: “…”

Zhuo Zidan looked at the warm sun above them. “She always sleeps this late? I heard from Mixian that she’s always bothering you. How about I watch her instead?”

Xiao Xinyue said, “Elder Zhuo, you are busy. I can’t trouble you with these small matters. Besides, I want to see what kind of tricks she’s playing.”

Zhuo Zidan was a bit dejected. “Alright. But you always calling me ‘Elder’ is a bit too formal. After all, in this world, besides that Demon Venerable Lidang, you and I are the only cultivators from the Gancang Continent.”

Xiao Xinyue’s eyes flickered, and then she smiled slightly. “The sect has strict rules. As the Saintess, I must lead by example. How can I be the one to break the rules?”

Zhuo Zidan said regretfully, “That’s true.”

“I’ll go ask the Sect Leader for some more information.”

Once Xiao Xinyue left, Zhuo Zidan had nothing to do here and also departed.

Zhou Zhuying drank her soy milk and watched them discuss something in the distance. She had a feeling they were plotting against her.

Thinking about it, the soy milk in her mouth instantly didn’t taste sweet anymore.