I Turned Out To Be The Paranoid Villain’s White Moonlight - Chapter 21

She had actually kissed the back of her hand.

Yu Wanqiao’s lips felt soft and warm. Although the kiss had been extremely restrained and controlled, Zhan Yao’s heart still instinctively skipped half a beat.

When she raised her eyes, she met Yu Wanqiao’s smiling gaze.

For some reason, the patch of skin Yu Wanqiao had kissed suddenly felt a little hot.

If she had known this would happen, she would never have acted along with her. She already knew this woman’s acting skills were even more outrageous than her own.

“Ahem.” Zhan Yao cleared her throat and raised a hand to smooth her hair. By the time she spoke again, her expression had returned to normal. “There’s no need to thank me.”

“I’m tired.” She turned and prepared to leave. “I’m going back inside to rest.”

“When will lunch be ready…” she asked as she walked with her eyes lowered. However, when she realized Yu Wanqiao had not followed, she stopped again and turned around with a puzzled expression. “What’s wrong, Wanqiao? Hurry and catch up.”

A breeze passed by, gently lifting several strands of her hair. Sunlight fell over her, making her entire figure appear to glow.

Yu Wanqiao raised her eyes and gazed at Zhan Yao’s back. For one fleeting moment, she had the illusion that all the ruin and desolation around her were rapidly being restored, and that the courtyard, silent for so many years, had finally come alive again.

Even her memories of the past began to merge with the scene before her.

She had heard those same words—“Hurry and catch up”—many years ago.

“…”

“Mm.” Several seconds later, Yu Wanqiao curved her lips into a gentle smile and answered.

“I’m coming.”

Yu Wanqiao still had to prepare lunch.

Because of work, she occasionally stayed at this residence. Her assistant therefore had fresh ingredients delivered every day and stored in the refrigerator in case they were needed.

Yu Wanqiao did not care much about food and preferred light flavors. To suit her tastes, most of the ingredients delivered each day were vegetables, with very little meat.

Unfortunately, Zhan Yao was an absolute carnivore.

Several seconds later, Yu Wanqiao closed the refrigerator again. “Is there anything you’d like to eat, Yaoyao? I’ll go out and buy it.”

Huh?

Zhan Yao looked at her in confusion. Couldn’t she simply have someone deliver it?

The temperature was rather high today. Although Yu Wanqiao seemed fine at the moment, there was no guarantee that her condition would not flare up again later. Zhan Yao would naturally be worried and have to accompany her.

But she had no desire to risk getting tanned merely to buy a few ingredients. Besides, she was already tired and hungry.

She could not help complaining inwardly that Yu Wanqiao did not know how to be considerate of her at all.

“There’s nothing in particular I want,” she said, sounding slightly displeased. “Just make something simple—”

Before she could finish, Yu Wanqiao spoke again.

“I remember that Fulailey recently released quite a few new designs. They’ve received excellent reviews. Would you like to go and take a look with me, Yaoyao?”

Hm?

Now that she mentioned that, Zhan Yao was suddenly no longer tired.

Fulailey also existed in the real world and had become extremely popular some time ago. Zhan Yao had been invited to several fashion shows back then and had immediately fallen in love with several of the brand’s dresses and handbags.

She had bought them, spending a considerable amount of money in the process. Young Miss Zhan had been terribly pained by the expense and had planned to wear them to show off at her next tea party.

But before she had the chance, she transmigrated here…

Had Yu Wanqiao not mentioned it, she would have forgotten all about it.

“All right, then.” This time, Zhan Yao chose to compromise. She glanced at Yu Wanqiao and said seriously, “Let me make this clear first. I’ve only grown tired of sitting and want to go for a walk. I’m not going there to buy dresses or handbags.”

“Mm.” Yu Wanqiao nodded. “I know.”

“As long as you understand.” Zhan Yao stood and began getting ready.

She had only just put on her shoes when she heard Yu Wanqiao ask, “Would you like necklaces and earrings too?”

Without thinking, Zhan Yao answered, “Of course.”

“…”

Several seconds later, she looked at Yu Wanqiao’s face. “I think I need to explain what I meant just now—”

“It’s all right.” Yu Wanqiao interrupted her, a faint smile in her eyes. “I was only asking casually.”

“No matter what you say, I’ll still buy them for you. I’m the one who wants to give you gifts.”

Zhan Yao loved that answer.

“All right.” She nodded. Since Yu Wanqiao was so eager to give her things, why should she refuse? Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes quickly curved. “Then thank you, Wanqiao~”

Her tone was clearly far better than before.

She resembled a cat that had successfully stolen a fish.

The two soon arrived at the nearby shopping center.

Zhan Yao had already forgotten why they had come. The moment they arrived, she headed straight for the Fulailey boutique and began buying everything she liked.

Since Yu Wanqiao was paying again, Zhan Yao felt she ought to let her participate. She soon carried a handbag over and displayed it in front of her.

“Does it look good?”

Yu Wanqiao nodded. “It does.”

“What about the other design?” she asked.

Yu Wanqiao cooperated perfectly. “You look beautiful carrying any of them, Yaoyao.”

Naturally, Zhan Yao already knew that.

Proud as a peacock, she was always in her best mood while shopping. She waved her hand grandly and told the staff to wrap up every design and have them delivered to the villa as soon as possible.

Once she had finished shopping, it was time to accompany Yu Wanqiao to the supermarket.

In truth, Zhan Yao had rarely visited places like this before.

Young Miss Zhan knew which clothing brands were the most expensive, which car models were the best, where to travel during each season for the most luxurious experience, and what kind of dining and services every five-star hotel offered.

But she did not know how much peaches cost per kilogram, what time vegetables were marked down for clearance, or even that supermarkets sold clothes.

She walked over curiously and discovered that ninety-nine yuan could buy an entire outfit.

Zhan Yao was shocked.

Yu Wanqiao, by contrast, appeared far calmer.

Zhan Yao followed her along as she selected several kinds of meat, then turned to collect seasonings. Feeling somewhat nervous, Zhan Yao instinctively checked the prices.

Oh, they were acceptable. The quality appeared reasonably good.

At the very least, they were edible.

“How are you so familiar with this?” she asked curiously.

Over the past few days, everything Yu Wanqiao said and did had gradually overturned her previous understanding of her.

“I thought you wouldn’t come to places like this.”

Yu Wanqiao glanced toward her. “Why would you think that, Yaoyao?”

“You simply don’t look like the type,” Zhan Yao said honestly.

“Is that so?” Yu Wanqiao nodded gently. After a long silence, she continued, “But this was how I used to live.”

The past.

Zhan Yao had never known anything about Yu Wanqiao’s past.

As the villain of the novel, the author seemed interested only in describing what Yu Wanqiao had done and precisely how insane she was. There had been very little mention of why she had become that way.

The only thing Zhan Yao knew was that Yu Wanqiao’s mother had died long ago.

“Then why did you… uh…” She rarely found herself at a loss for words.

Although she was genuinely curious about Yu Wanqiao’s experiences, she did not know whether it would be appropriate to continue asking.

Seeming to understand her hesitation, Yu Wanqiao smiled reassuringly.

“It’s nothing that can’t be summarized in a few sentences.”

“My mother died when I was young, and my father remarried. His mistress and illegitimate son entered my family home together, while I was raised alone elsewhere. Apart from the minimum financial support required of him, I received nothing at all.”

“According to my father’s original plans, the businesses under Chuansheng Group were never supposed to belong to me. Several years later, however, I secretly uncovered certain events from the past—events that clearly could not be allowed to become public.”

“So I used them to threaten my father and force him to hand Chuansheng over to me,” she said softly.

“What happened to the mistress and the illegitimate son?” Zhan Yao asked.

“They’re abroad,” Yu Wanqiao replied. “Without my permission, they will never be allowed to return for the rest of their lives.”

“…”

Perhaps she had spent so much time with Yu Wanqiao over the past few days that she had gradually forgotten Yu Wanqiao was the villain.

Honestly, her actions were indeed ruthless. If one imagined being any of those three people, what Yu Wanqiao had done could undoubtedly be described as skinning them alive and tearing out their tendons.

For the mistress and the illegitimate son especially, it was nothing short of catastrophic.

But Zhan Yao had neither abandoned a wife and child nor destroyed another person’s family. Why should she force herself to empathize with people like them?

She only felt that Yu Wanqiao had done the right thing. Since she possessed the power, influence, and ability, why shouldn’t she make the people who had hurt her repay everything twice over?

“You did very well,” Zhan Yao finally said after a long silence.

“Don’t you think I went too far?” Yu Wanqiao stopped what she was doing and raised her eyes to look directly into hers.

“Not at all.” Zhan Yao shook her head, without the slightest hesitation in her voice. “If I were you, I would have made the same choice. Allowing them even the smallest measure of comfort or happiness would be an insult to all the pain and injustice I suffered.”

“Besides, I need to correct something you said,” she continued righteously.

“What is it?” Yu Wanqiao smiled, indicating that she was listening.

“What you did wasn’t threatening him, and you shouldn’t say that you forced your father to hand Chuansheng over to you.” Zhan Yao raised an eyebrow lightly. “You were clearly taking back what belonged to you.”

“How is that excessive?” She looked into Yu Wanqiao’s eyes, as though determined to drive every negative belief out of her mind. “That sounds unbelievably satisfying!”

Very few people had ever said anything like that to her.

No one except Zhan Yao.

Only Zhan Yao.

After a long while, Yu Wanqiao gently placed the bottle of seasoning in her hand into the shopping cart and answered earnestly, “You’re right.”

“We’ve bought everything. Let’s go home.” She then asked Zhan Yao, “Would you prefer roasted lamb chops or braised beef later?”

“Can’t I have both?” Zhan Yao glanced sideways at her.

Yu Wanqiao did not refuse.

“Mm. Of course you can.”