I Turned Out To Be The Paranoid Villain’s White Moonlight - Chapter 27

The most moving words of love were always the ones spoken unintentionally.

“I’d be sad if you left me,” “Because you’re my wife,” and “There’s never been anyone else.”

She had to admit that Yu Wanqiao really knew what she was doing.

Zhan Yao paused. Several seconds later, she instinctively raised her eyes and looked around the room.

Yu Wanqiao appeared puzzled. “What’s wrong, Yaoyao?”

“Nothing,” Zhan Yao said. “I’m checking whether there are any cameras in here.”

There was no one else around, so why was she still pretending they were deeply devoted wives?!

“Do you think I was lying?” Yu Wanqiao quickly seemed to understand what she was thinking. Her beautiful brows drew together slightly. “I promise that everything I just said was true.”

“…”

That would be even more frightening, all right?

Yu Wanqiao’s words inexplicably made Zhan Yao feel a little embarrassed. Wife, spouse—this was only a plastic marriage that would end in divorce after three years. She refused to believe Yu Wanqiao would truly be that upset.

“All right, all right.”

“Weren’t we talking about Aunt Zhang?” Zhan Yao cleared her throat, eager to move past the subject. “Why did you bring me into it?”

“Use that time to think about how you can treat Aunt Zhang a little better,” she said. After being distracted by Yu Wanqiao, she had recovered considerably. “She’ll be leaving the old residence in another year, after all.”

Yu Wanqiao nodded gently. “I will.”

“Mm.” Zhan Yao checked the time and saw that it was already late. Although tomorrow was the weekend and she did not need to wake early, she could not delay her beauty sleep. “Then I have nothing else to say. You should rest early.”

With that, she stood and prepared to leave.

Yu Wanqiao called out to stop her. “Where are you going, Yaoyao?”

“Where am I going?” Zhan Yao thought the question was rather idiotic. “Back to sleep.”

Yu Wanqiao did not answer. She merely stared at her in silence.

Zhan Yao was left bewildered beneath her gaze. After several seconds, she seemed to suddenly understand something.

“Don’t tell me I’m supposed to sleep in the same room as you tonight?”

Yu Wanqiao paused. “…I believe so.”

“You must be joking!” Zhan Yao bristled. Their agreement had never included an option requiring them to sleep together. “Absolutely not.”

“Aunt Zhang only prepared one room for us,” Yu Wanqiao explained. “We present ourselves as lovers, so it would hardly be strange for us to stay in the same room.”

That was technically true, but Zhan Yao still shook her head.

“No.”

Yu Wanqiao smiled gently. “But didn’t you just tell me to treat Aunt Zhang better? You probably don’t want to trouble her late at night by asking her to prepare another room.”

“Besides, seeing me live happily has always been something she hoped for. It really wouldn’t be appropriate to let her see us sleeping in separate rooms on our first night back.”

“…”

That did make sense.

Why did she feel as though Yu Wanqiao had actually persuaded her?

Zhan Yao clicked her tongue. It was not as though she had never slept under the same roof as someone else. She had shared rooms with Ding Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yi before. They were all women, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. She would not even mind adding another bed for that puppy Cheng Yu.

But for some reason, when it came to Yu Wanqiao…

A moment later, Zhan Yao understood.

It was all because Yu Wanqiao had deliberately emphasized the word wife earlier. Although they were only plastic wives, their relationship was still not quite so innocent.

“I’m not doing this for you,” Zhan Yao declared firmly after a while. “It’s for Aunt Zhang’s sake.”

“Mm.” Yu Wanqiao did not say anything more. “Then I’ll thank you on Aunt Zhang’s behalf, Yaoyao.”

“…”

Why did that sound so strange?

Zhan Yao still felt she was suffering a loss. Yu Wanqiao ought to buy her several more handbags in exchange. An island would do as well. Even that piece of trash Xu Yingxi could afford to give one away, so it would hardly be difficult for Yu Wanqiao.

“What do you need an island for?” the system asked curiously.

“To admire,” Zhan Yao said. “I’m in a bad mood three hundred and eighty days out of every three hundred and sixty-five. Wouldn’t it be nice to go there, take a yacht out, and enjoy the breeze whenever I feel like it?”

“Besides, why does buying something require a reason?” she added as though it were perfectly obvious. “Do you think I’d be going there to play mahjong with savages?”

The system: “…”

All right. There was no need to continue. A poor working system like her would never understand this sort of happiness.

Zhan Yao sighed and was about to continue calculating what she should ask for when Yu Wanqiao suddenly stood.

She even stepped forward and walked directly toward Zhan Yao, gently extending a hand.

Yu Wanqiao was already considerably taller than her, and this position emphasized that advantage even further. Light fell from above, casting subtle shadows across her features.

The space around them seemed to shrink without warning. Zhan Yao inexplicably felt nervous and pressured as Yu Wanqiao drew closer and closer, until she could even smell the faint fragrance on her body.

“What are you doing?” Zhan Yao was startled and instinctively became defensive. “Yu Wanqiao, you—”

Before she could finish, Yu Wanqiao’s fingers passed in front of her face.

They did not touch so much as a strand of her hair. Yu Wanqiao merely opened the cabinet behind her.

“…”

Silence lingered between them for a while. Eventually, Yu Wanqiao was the first to speak.

“What’s wrong, Yaoyao?”

She lowered her eyes toward Zhan Yao, a faint smile seemingly hidden within them. Her voice was soft.

“Did I do something else to upset you?”

“I only wanted to take out a quilt,” she explained earnestly. “Sleeping directly on the floor would be cold.”

“Or did you think I was about to do something else?”

You did that deliberately, didn’t you? You absolutely asked that on purpose!

Everything tonight was abnormal, including the people. Zhan Yao raised her eyes to meet Yu Wanqiao’s gaze, both embarrassed and humiliated as she enunciated every word.

“I didn’t think anything.”

“The bed is mine,” she said. Young Miss Zhan never mistreated herself, regardless of who she was with. “I don’t sleep well, so don’t disturb me during the night.”

“Do you understand?”

Perhaps Zhan Yao was the only person in the world who dared make demands of Yu Wanqiao so rudely.

Yet Yu Wanqiao cooperated perfectly.

“I understand.”

“Good night, Yaoyao.”

To be honest, Yu Wanqiao slept extremely quietly. Had Zhan Yao not heard her low, steady breathing throughout the night, she might have assumed the woman had died.

As for Zhan Yao herself…

She sighed as a sentence inexplicably appeared in her mind—

【Have you ever seen the sun at five in the morning?】

She had genuinely remained awake until five.

Next time, even if Yu Wanqiao bought her an island, she would never agree to sleep in the same room again.

Unless the entire island was covered in mountains of gold and silver.

Diamonds would also be acceptable. She was not picky.

A jumble of thoughts surfaced in her mind. Just as she had done all night, Zhan Yao turned over again and finally managed to drift into a shallow sleep.

In her daze, she seemed to hear something behind her. Zhan Yao was too sleepy to turn around, but she could still sense someone approaching.

The person came closer and gently pulled the covers over her before bending down and sitting beside her for a while.

Zhan Yao instinctively felt that the person was watching her.

They remained there for a very, very long time—so long that Zhan Yao wanted to ask, What are you staring at?

But she was too drowsy. Her lips struggled for some time without producing a complete sentence. Instead, she released a soft hum and instinctively shifted closer.

She resembled an adorable, leisurely cat sleeping late.

Yu Wanqiao curved her lips and gently raised one hand. She had intended to touch Zhan Yao’s face, but perhaps she remembered something, because the hand never reached the place she truly wished to touch.

She settled for gently brushing Zhan Yao’s hair instead.

Then she whispered very, very softly, “Good morning, Yaoyao.”

“…”

By the time Zhan Yao finished washing up and went downstairs, it was already ten in the morning.

The old residence was exceptionally quiet. Only a few servants waited silently in the main hall. Seeing her come downstairs, they hurriedly brought her a lavish breakfast.

Yu Wanqiao was not there.

Neither was her father.

Zhan Yao was somewhat puzzled. Housekeeper Zhao happened to approach, so she turned toward her, intending to ask a few questions.

“Where is Mr. Yu?”

“Sir had some business outside,” Housekeeper Zhao replied respectfully.

“I see.” Zhan Yao nodded. “What about Wanqiao?”

“Miss Yu is upstairs.” Housekeeper Zhao instinctively glanced toward a particular room upstairs, seemingly hesitating over whether she should tell Zhan Yao.

However, after remembering Yu Wanqiao’s previous instructions, she decided Zhan Yao ought to know.

“Today is Madam’s death anniversary.”

“Miss Yu is in Madam’s room.”

Her mother’s death anniversary…

Zhan Yao paused. She had not known about it.

No wonder Yu Wanqiao had agreed to return to the old residence. Zhan Yao had been somewhat puzzled before, but now everything made sense.

Yet why had she chosen to remain alone in her mother’s room to mourn instead of visiting the grave?

“May I go and see her?” Out of courtesy, Zhan Yao felt she should ask.

“Miss Yu said no one was allowed inside,” Housekeeper Zhao answered. “But Miss Zhan is an exception.”

Miss Zhan was an exception.

That made her sound like someone special. Yet the longer she spent with Yu Wanqiao, the harder it became to distinguish which of her words were genuine and which were false.

Still, since Yu Wanqiao had already said that, she might as well go and check on her.

Zhan Yao instinctively sighed.

The tiny amount of sympathy she possessed seemed to have begun overflowing inexplicably lately.

“…”

Following Housekeeper Zhao’s directions, Zhan Yao soon arrived outside the room.

Yu Wanqiao rarely spoke to her about her late mother. Zhan Yao knew nothing about what Mother Yu—or Madam Yu—had looked like, what kind of personality she possessed, or what she had experienced during her lifetime.

Even the original novel contained very few records about her. Her entire life could be summarized in a few brief lines—

Someone’s mother. Someone’s wife. Died young from illness.

Zhan Yao disliked that sort of description. She disliked reducing a person’s entire life to lifeless words even more. Rather than hearing about someone from other people, she preferred to experience their presence herself.

She was even somewhat curious about what kind of person could have given birth to a daughter like Yu Wanqiao.

After all, Yu Wanqiao did not resemble that scumbag father of hers in the slightest.

Zhan Yao paused and gently knocked on the door.

“Is that you, Yaoyao?” Yu Wanqiao’s voice came from inside several seconds later, as though she had expected her to come.

Zhan Yao answered, “…Yes.”

“Come in,” Yu Wanqiao said. “The door isn’t locked.”

Zhan Yao pushed it open and entered.

The room was somewhat different from what she had imagined. It was far cleaner and warmer. Mother Yu seemed to have favored French classical decor. The curtains, tablecloths, and paintings—every detail told anyone entering the room that she had possessed a distinctive personality and excellent taste.

But what captured Zhan Yao’s attention most was not the decor.

It was a photograph on the table.

The woman in the picture should have been Yu Wanqiao’s mother—a pure and unmistakable beauty.

Yu Wanqiao had clearly inherited every good feature from her mother. The difference was that Yu Wanqiao appeared considerably more somber.

Zhan Yao sat beside her.

“What time did you wake up?” She did not know what else to say. Young Miss Zhan had rarely comforted anyone since childhood, making today a genuine exception. “You were already gone when I woke up.”

“Before six, I think,” Yu Wanqiao answered. “I didn’t check the time, so I’m not certain, but it should have been around then.”

Her voice did not sound particularly different from usual.

Zhan Yao inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Good. After Aunt Zhang had told her so many stories last night about how timid and fond of crying Yu Wanqiao had been as a child, Zhan Yao had begun imagining that she was hiding here alone and secretly weeping.

“Have you eaten breakfast?” she asked after several seconds of silence.

Yu Wanqiao answered honestly, “I have.”

Silence settled between them again. Zhan Yao did not know what to say, and Yu Wanqiao clearly did not have much to contribute either.

After several seconds, Zhan Yao could no longer tolerate the atmosphere.

“Hurry up and say something to me.”

Her voice carried a hint of displeasure.

“For example, introduce me to your beautiful mother!”

Her tone sounded rather unreasonable and overbearing, but Yu Wanqiao understood that Zhan Yao’s gentleness was always hidden in the smallest details.

“…All right. What would you like to hear, Yaoyao?”

Zhan Yao was not entirely sure herself. “Anything. Just talk. I’m listening.”

After all, research showed that when someone was grieving, speaking about it was better than keeping everything buried inside.

“Mm.” Yu Wanqiao nodded and genuinely selected several stories to tell her.

The sunlight outside was pleasant. It passed through the sheer curtains and cast scattered patterns across the white walls. Yu Wanqiao already had a beautiful voice, and it became even more pleasant when she told stories.

Gradually, Zhan Yao began to understand her mother through Yu Wanqiao’s descriptions.

She had graduated from a prestigious university, possessed a gentle personality, knew how to play several musical instruments, and had received achievements and awards in many fields.

Compared with Xu Yingxi, Zhan Yao felt that this mother sounded far more like the protagonist of a story.

There was only one problem.

She had accidentally married Father Yu.

Scumbags truly ruined lives.

Zhan Yao sighed. Through Yu Wanqiao’s continued account, she learned that Mother Yu had also developed psychological problems before her death.

“She was always trying to die. No one could stop her,” Yu Wanqiao said.

The wounds of the past had formed scabs over time, but deliberately touching them still required courage.

“Her condition only improved slightly when she was with me.”

“My father cared greatly about appearances. He didn’t want an insane wife to become a stain on his life, so he suppressed all news of her illness. He confined my mother alone in this room and only allowed private doctors to treat her. She suffered terribly then, tormented day and night.”

“Once, I even happened to see her tied to the bed. Several people held down her arms and legs while they forcibly injected her and poured medicine into her mouth.” Yu Wanqiao paused for a long while. Only after taking a deep breath did she continue. “Unfortunately, I was too young at the time. I couldn’t do anything.”

Zhan Yao paused. “It happened… in this room?”

“Yes,” Yu Wanqiao answered. “In this very room.”

There was truly no sign of it.

All traces of the past had evidently been erased long ago. A father so obsessed with appearances had treated even the wife he married in his youth that way. Naturally, after her death, he would have whitewashed everything and restored the room into this peaceful, beautiful state.

Zhan Yao pressed her lips together, her disgust toward Father Yu deepening considerably.

After a while, however, she softened her voice and spoke with unusual gentleness.

“It wasn’t your fault. Your mother wouldn’t blame you.”

“Perhaps.” Yu Wanqiao nodded. Several seconds later, a bitter smile gradually appeared on her lips. “But she died in front of me.”

“That day, she seemed much better. She even specially invited me to visit her room. She told me the orange juice tasted delicious and asked me to try some too.”

“But there was medicine mixed into it. The dose probably wasn’t large, but it was enough to temporarily prevent a child from moving.” Yu Wanqiao looked toward the photograph on the table, her expression complicated and impossible to read. “Afterward… she took out a table knife she had somehow hidden away.”

Almost instinctively, Zhan Yao imagined the scene.

It would have been unbearable even for an adult. She could not imagine how the young Yu Wanqiao had endured it.

“It’s all right. It’s over now…” After an unknown amount of time, Zhan Yao finally recovered and gently patted Yu Wanqiao’s back.

Her voice was soft, as though coaxing a child, as though she wished to cross through time and comfort the small girl Yu Wanqiao had once been.

Yu Wanqiao understood what she meant and slowly curved her lips.

“Yes. It’s all over.”

“So many years have already passed. There’s nothing I still can’t let go of,” she continued, though it was unclear whether she was comforting Zhan Yao or merely speaking to herself. “After all, it was her choice.”

“She said she hadn’t died. The death before her wasn’t an ending, but a new beginning.”

Yu Wanqiao met Zhan Yao’s gaze.

“She said she had gone to a place that would make her happy.”

Zhan Yao’s eyes widened, and the movement of her hand instinctively stopped.

“Do you believe that?” she asked softly after several seconds.

This time, Yu Wanqiao remained silent for a very long while. Eventually, she finally spoke again.

“Perhaps I didn’t believe it before.”

“But now… maybe I do.”

Zhan Yao never completely understood what she meant. Yet she knew that Yu Wanqiao had not lied this time. Her gaze perfectly reflected the meaning she wished to convey.

“Host, are you all right?” After an unknown amount of time, the system spoke inside Zhan Yao’s mind with some concern.

“…I’m fine.” Only after hearing the system’s voice did Zhan Yao return to her senses.

Almost instinctively, she understood Yu Wanqiao’s decision. Rather than mourning before a cold gravestone, perhaps it was better to sit in this room filled with memories. Whether those memories were good or painful, they were still experiences she had once shared with her mother.

Zhan Yao said nothing else. She simply remained there, silently accompanying Yu Wanqiao for a very, very long time.

So long that she no longer knew what time it was.

Eventually, Yu Wanqiao stood.

Zhan Yao looked up at her. She had no idea what Yu Wanqiao intended to do, but instinctively asked, “Where are you going? Do you need me to come with you?”

Yu Wanqiao quickly looked over.

Their eyes met. Zhan Yao noticed that the sorrowful emotions had finally vanished from Yu Wanqiao’s gaze. At some point, she had returned to normal.

“To the bathroom,” Yu Wanqiao said after a moment.

“Would you like to come with me, Yaoyao?”

“…”

Had the atmosphere not been so inappropriate, Zhan Yao genuinely would have liked to tell Yu Wanqiao one word:

Get lost.

“I’m joking,” Yu Wanqiao quickly added. “It’s getting late, and lunch should be ready soon. Shall we go home after we eat?”

“Mm.” Zhan Yao replied irritably, not wanting to say anything else.

Then Yu Wanqiao suddenly stepped forward and gradually approached her.

After last night’s embarrassing incident, Zhan Yao knew she was probably reaching for something again. This time, she did not move away and merely remained seated, looking up at her.

Then… she saw Yu Wanqiao lower her eyes slightly.

Her eyelashes were long and dense, resembling butterfly wings. Her eyes were also beautiful, with clear, bright amber irises. Her nose was tall and elegant, while its tip was delicate. Her lips were perfectly shaped, rosy and lovely.

At that moment, countless adjectives appeared in Zhan Yao’s mind. Every one of them was complimentary, and every one suited Yu Wanqiao.

Until Yu Wanqiao moved closer and closer.

Then her lips touched Zhan Yao’s forehead, gently placing a kiss there.

Zhan Yao’s mind suddenly went blank. Every word that had been circling through her thoughts disappeared, leaving behind only Yu Wanqiao’s face.

Whether in her mind or before her eyes, there was nothing but Yu Wanqiao.

“I feel much better. Thank you, Yaoyao.” Yu Wanqiao smiled, her voice soft. “And thank you for keeping me company and caring about me today.”

“They truly… mean a great deal to me.”