I Turned Out To Be The Paranoid Villain’s White Moonlight - Chapter 14

In the end, Zhan Yao showed great mercy and did not make Cheng Yu perform a handstand in front of everyone.

Cheng Yu was deeply moved, but she also felt that she could not go back on her word. She immediately changed tactics and said that, if Zhan Yao wanted, she could sing her a song using dog barks instead.

Zhan Yao: “…”

Could you please let go of your obsession with barking like a dog?

Yu Wanqiao had returned unusually early tonight, and the kitchen had already prepared dinner on time. Zhan Yao roughly calculated how much she had won that evening and decided it was enough, so she quickly ended the game.

“Stay for dinner,” she said, her voice carrying a rare hint of gentleness.

“No, no.” This was the first time Cheng Yu had been in such close proximity to Yu Wanqiao, and she was inevitably extremely nervous. She did not dare stay and disturb them any longer. “I’ll sort out dinner myself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhan Yao waved the bank card in her hand.

Cheng Yu: “…”

She had forgotten. Her pockets were currently even cleaner than her face.

“Come on.” Zhan Yao patted her shoulder, the corners of her lips slowly rising. “After this meal, I’ll send you on your way.”

It sounded as though she intended to execute her on the spot afterward…

“All right, then.” Cheng Yu blinked. Since things had come to this, she could only agree. Food was essential to survival; she could not exactly go outside and live on air. “Thank you.”

Before long, the three of them sat down at the dining table.

The servants soon began bringing out dish after dish, as though they were serving the Empress Dowager herself. Cheng Yu raised her eyes and glanced over the spread. There was Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Japanese food, Korean food, and French food.

The villa had only recently been purchased, and its owner had never lived there before. Although Housekeeper Yang had researched Yu Wanqiao’s preferences in advance, she had still instructed the kitchen to prepare as many varieties as possible.

After all, this was Yu Wanqiao’s first time dining at home. Naturally, they had to make it grand.

“Try some,” Zhan Yao said with a sigh.

She had never imagined that one day she would be restrained by the rules she had established herself. The kitchen had prepared so much food, and every dish and menu had to be shown to her for approval.

By the end, even Zhan Yao had grown impatient. “That’s enough. It’s fine.”

The servant did not dare neglect her duties and hurriedly explained, “President Yu suffered from stomach problems several years ago. Although they rarely trouble her now, she still needs to pay close attention to her diet. We already checked everything carefully, but we could only feel reassured after asking Miss Zhan to confirm it as well.”

Zhan Yao was so irritated that she wanted to curse whoever had created such an awful rule.

However, she soon remembered that the culprit was herself.

If Yu Wanqiao did not eat plenty tonight, she would be letting down all the time Zhan Yao had spent!

“You should eat too, Yaoyao,” Yu Wanqiao said.

She lowered her eyes, picked up the serving chopsticks, and placed some meat on Zhan Yao’s plate. Zhan Yao glanced over it and wondered how it could be such a coincidence that every piece was something she liked.

“Mm, all right.” Zhan Yao felt much better and returned the favor by placing several bites of food on Yu Wanqiao’s plate.

Cheng Yu quietly raised her head and glanced at them.

She had not even started eating, yet somehow she already felt full.

“…”

After dinner, Yu Wanqiao went upstairs early to deal with work.

Her attitude toward everyone else had always been cold, with Zhan Yao as the sole exception. Yet perhaps because Cheng Yu was Zhan Yao’s friend, she actually made polite conversation before going upstairs.

“I still have some work to finish, so please excuse me. Make yourself at home, Miss Cheng.”

“If you intend to leave later, I’ll have someone drive you home.”

Cheng Yu blinked and thought, It’s still so early. I wanted to play a little longer.

However, Yu Wanqiao had actually been courteous to her. Flattered, Cheng Yu thought for a moment and quickly responded warmly, “Please go and take care of your work, President Yu. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I came here in Yaoyao’s car today,” she said with a grin. “She can drive me home later. It isn’t that… far anyway.”

As Cheng Yu spoke, she instinctively trailed off.

She did not know whether it was her imagination, but Yu Wanqiao’s expression seemed to have darkened.

Had she said something wrong?

Terrified, Cheng Yu instinctively met Zhan Yao’s gaze. Where Yu Wanqiao could not see, her facial muscles strained as she silently pleaded: Save me! Save me!

The next second, Zhan Yao spoke as she wished.

“Mm, I can drive her home later. I happen to have something to do outside as well.”

“What do you need to do, Yaoyao?” Yu Wanqiao immediately asked. “It’s already dark. Why don’t I go with you?”

“Don’t you still have work to handle?” Zhan Yao replied. “It’s fine. I can manage by myself. You don’t need to accompany me.”

Yu Wanqiao fell silent.

She soon parted her lips again, seemingly wanting to say something more.

However, Zhan Yao clearly gave her no opportunity. She crooked a finger toward Cheng Yu.

“Let’s go.”

Cheng Yu blinked. “But I haven’t finished playing…”

“What more do you want to play?” Zhan Yao said. “Go home and apologize to your parents.”

“Oh.” Cheng Yu did not dare protest. Fine, she would stop playing. “Let’s go, then.”

“Goodbye, President Yu.” Before leaving, she turned and greeted Yu Wanqiao.

However, perhaps it was only the lighting, but she felt as though Yu Wanqiao’s expression had grown even darker.

Twenty minutes later, Zhan Yao packaged Cheng Yu up and tossed her through the doors of her home.

After one day, Little Fool Cheng’s runaway plan came to a successful conclusion. Cheng Yu’s parents came outside to retrieve her, then warmly invited Zhan Yao inside to sit for a while.

“I won’t disturb you.” Zhan Yao shook her head, the corners of her lips lifting gently. She had always shown respect toward elders. “Thank you, Uncle and Auntie.”

“You should both rest early.”

With that, she quickly returned to the car and drove away.

It was already an hour later when she arrived back at the villa.

The moment she entered, she met the gaze of Yu Wanqiao, who was sitting on the sofa. The woman had clearly been waiting there for her.

“You’re back, Yaoyao?”

“Did you enjoy shopping?” she asked, her expression and tone having already returned to normal.

Zhan Yao looked at her. “Did you have someone follow me?”

“It was too late,” Yu Wanqiao quickly replied. “I truly couldn’t feel at ease with you outside alone.”

“Were you choosing a gift?” she asked again before Zhan Yao could answer. “Is it for one of your friends? You could simply leave something like that to Housekeeper Yang. If you don’t trust her judgment, I can ask my assistant to help you choose.”

“Or I could accompany you personally.”

She was unusually talkative tonight.

Zhan Yao paused. Instead of responding, she changed the subject.

“Wanqiao, something’s a little off about you.”

Yu Wanqiao froze. “…I was only worried about you.”

Her gaze and tone were far too sincere.

As Zhan Yao stared into her eyes, there was even a moment when she could not tell whether it was all an act.

“I’ll consider your suggestion next time,” Zhan Yao eventually promised after several seconds.

“But today was a special circumstance. Do you think I wanted to go there personally?” To dispel the strange atmosphere, Zhan Yao yawned and returned to her languid tone. “I could’ve spent that time getting my beauty sleep.”

“I only went because I had to choose a gift for you,” she said, placing special emphasis on the words “for you.”

Surprise flashed through Yu Wanqiao’s eyes. “For me?”

“Of course. To thank you for…” Zhan Yao faltered.

Yu Wanqiao had helped her with so much that she did not know where to begin.

“…taking care of me lately.”

“See whether you like it.” Zhan Yao handed her the gift bag.

Inside was an exquisite and beautiful women’s watch.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I bought one of the brand’s classic designs.”

“And I didn’t use your card,” she added, a hint of pride hidden in her voice. “I paid for it with the money I won playing mahjong.”

“Hurry up and say, ‘Thank you, Miss Zhan.’”

She had only been joking.

However, Yu Wanqiao seemed to take her seriously. The corners of her lips immediately curved gently upward.

“Thank you, Miss Zhan.”

“…”

That made Zhan Yao feel strangely awkward.

She was clearly the one who had told Yu Wanqiao to say it, yet when Yu Wanqiao actually did, Zhan Yao found herself unable to bear it.

You’re taking the act too far!

Still, being thanked did feel rather pleasant. Just as everyone wished to be needed, everyone also enjoyed receiving gifts.

Zhan Yao paused and decided that, if she was in a good mood someday, she would buy Yu Wanqiao something else.

“Would you like to try it on?” she asked.

She personally removed the watch from its box and lowered her eyes, carefully unfastening the strap.

The light fell across the watch face, making the tiny diamonds embedded within it sparkle. Zhan Yao admired it for several moments, thoroughly satisfied with her own taste.

She was looking so intently that she naturally overlooked the gaze of the person before her.

Otherwise, she would certainly have realized that the gentleness and concern Yu Wanqiao usually displayed were not even one ten-thousandth of what filled her eyes now.

Yu Wanqiao was not looking anywhere else.

She was only watching Zhan Yao intently as she fastened the watch around her wrist.