After Becoming a CEO, I Ended Up With the Gorgeous Lunatic Villainess - Chapter 5

“Boss, are you alright?”

Su Zhi was startled by the sound of He Shu slamming the cabinet door and quickly looked at her hand. These glass cabinets were all custom-made and very sturdy. Slamming one like that could easily cause an injury.

He Shu’s hand was fine. It was her heart that hurt.

Her dream of taking a dog for a walk was not just shattered. From now on, that so-called walk was likely to turn into a nightmare. If the plot forced her to actually do something in this “dog walking” scenario… she could not even imagine the horror. She could never bring herself to go through with it.

Still clutching the cabinet door, He Shu was on the verge of tears. Just moments ago, she thought that if the story forced her to use any of the “tools” in this room, she would rather die.

Now, compared to whatever nightmare the dog-walking involved, those little accessories seemed like nothing.

Su Zhi noticed that He Shu had not replied, and her expression looked worse by the second. Her eyes were even turning red.

She stepped forward anxiously. “Boss, are you feeling unwell? Should I call Doctor Pei and have her come take a look?”

He Shu let out a bitter laugh. No doctor could save her now. If that twisted Doctor Pei came over, it might even speed up her demise.

Just as she was about to wave it off and say she was fine, the familiar notification rang out in her head.

“Xishan Villa, Scene One plot is about to begin. Please prepare the following prop and enter the designated location.”

He Shu checked the item prompt. She was supposed to choose an outfit from this room.

She already knew this scene from the book. It involved getting Cen Qianyi to change clothes. The other woman refused.

She had originally thought the plot was pretty simple. What she did not expect was that the real trap lay in the fact that Cen Qianyi was now locked in the “dog room.”

This was also her fault. She had terrible reading habits. Anything that looked like background description, she skipped. Earlier, eager to find out what the next plot point was, she only skimmed the dialogue and skipped the setting.

So now, she had no idea what this so-called dog room actually looked like. But just hearing the name was enough to conjure terrifying images of cages and chains in her mind.

“Boss?”

Su Zhi had still received no response. Growing even more puzzled, she followed He Shu’s line of sight to the door leading to the dog room. Was there something wrong with it?

Now that she thought about it, her boss had been acting strangely ever since meeting the person inside.

Could she have caught something from her? But Doctor Pei said it was just a common viral fever.

While she hesitated, He Shu finally turned to look at her. Her eyes were unfamiliar, her expression complex.

He Shu really was confused. Su Zhi looked normal enough. How could someone like her help a psycho with this kind of stuff?

She did not even seem remotely uncomfortable being in this room. She had not flinched when she mentioned putting someone in the dog room. Was she also a psycho, or was money enough to make people do anything?

Too bad she had not gotten far enough in the original novel to find any background information on Su Zhi.

Looking at the genuine concern in her eyes, He Shu simply pointed to the side.

“Pick an outfit.”

This was not the time to question why a loyal assistant might also be twisted. Survival came first.

The further she got in the story, the more she did not want to start over. If she had to go back to the beginning, she would have to do all these disgusting things again.

Su Zhi let out a breath of relief now that He Shu finally responded. She moved quickly to follow the command.

He Shu could not even look at the clothes on those mannequins. None of them covered anything properly.

Thankfully, the system did not require her to pick personally.

She continued staring into the cabinet’s glass. Just now, she noticed something strange. The face reflected in the glass looked like her, but slightly different.

“System, what’s going on? Why does this psycho in the book look like me?”

This body definitely wasn’t hers. The system had already said her original body had been cremated in her real world.

“Host, when a paper person is injected with your soul, it conforms to your features, except for specific descriptions in the novel that cannot be altered.”

For example, classic features like moles under the eyes, on the nose, behind the ear, or collarbone, or birthmarks shaped like flowers, moons, or stars. These details remained unchanged.

The original He Shu was just a twisted side character. The author had not bothered with much appearance description. Coincidentally, the real He Shu had narrow, deep-set eyes, which matched the one line the author did include. So the resulting face looked quite similar.

Still, the features had been refined a little, likely to match the elite CEO persona. More mature, more striking.

He Shu felt no joy about that. She would rather have a completely unfamiliar face. Looking at this version of herself only made her feel more like the psychopath from the book.

“Boss, I picked something. Will this do?”

Su Zhi was quick. She had already chosen an outfit.

He Shu snapped back to reality and looked at the rose-red dress hanging over Su Zhi’s arm. The fabric looked substantial and intact.

She silently let out a breath of relief. It was a vast improvement over the barely-there items she had glimpsed earlier.

She took it and gave her loyal assistant an internal compliment: not too much of a psycho.

At least, less so than the original He Shu.

Suddenly, she understood why the three rooms were connected.

Imagine this. The boss gets out of bed, steps into this room to pick out “clothes” and “tools,” then proceeds straight into the dog room to “train the pet.”

The layout was fast, efficient, and absolutely deranged.

The thought gave He Shu goosebumps.

She turned to Su Zhi, who was patiently waiting for further orders.

“Stop calling it the dog room.”

Su Zhi did not understand the sudden request but agreed immediately.

“Alright, Boss. What should I call it then?”

“Pet room.”

A self-deceiving name for a bit of psychological comfort.

Though even that was barely anything.

Even if she called it Heaven, He Shu still would not want to go in.

After Su Zhi left, He Shu took ten deep breaths and prayed to every deity she could think of.

She even included her old pet, a Samoyed nicknamed the Smiling Angel.

Hopefully, her dog angel would bless her from the stars. This was the “dog room” scene after all. A dog angel should have the right expertise.

At the very last second of the countdown, He Shu closed her eyes, pushed open the door, stepped inside, slammed the door shut behind her, and covered her eyes in one swift motion.

The room was silent.

He Shu cautiously peeked through her fingers, opening a tiny slit.

She scanned from the right corner, not daring to take it all in at once.

The walls were a soft beige. The wallpaper was plain. The window behind the sheer curtains was a standard size. The curtains were a gentle grass green. All normal.

It looked like a regular bedroom. Nothing creepy yet. She finally began to exhale, only to suck the breath right back in when her eyes landed on the large iron cage by the window.

She inhaled too sharply and burst into a coughing fit.

She had known it. With a name like dog room, there was no way it would be completely normal.

After finally recovering, she wiped away the tears from her eyes. Her vision cleared, and she could finally take in the room.

The room itself was normal, even a bit cozy. The furniture was in warm tones. Even the large iron cage was painted beige and covered in plush toys.

At the center of the room was a massive round “dog bed,” shaped and colored like a slice of toast. It was twice the size of a regular mattress.

Cen Qianyi was curled up in it, looking tiny. She seemed to have just heard the noise and slowly opened her eyes. Her pale purple eyes were filled with confusion.

He Shu’s heart jumped. She cautiously raised her hand and waved, but Cen Qianyi didn’t react. Her gaze was unfocused.

Perfect. The Lan Ye No.1 drug had taken effect. She wouldn’t be able to see for the whole day.

Following the script, He Shu spoke.

“Hey, little blind girl. Awake already?”

The words had barely left her mouth when the air around her seemed to sharpen. Countless invisible knives of killing intent surrounded her. The tips felt so close, they nearly grazed her eyes.

Terrified, He Shu turned and ran. As her hand reached the door lock, a piercing alarm rang in her head.

“Escaping a plot scene is a serious violation. The character will be erased.”

She froze mid-step.

She had forgotten. The only reason she could run before was because that scene had already ended. During plot gaps, she had free rein.

Not now. This was an active scene.

Tears welled in He Shu’s eyes. The killing intent here was worse than what she had felt in the hospital. The air was freezing. It felt like she had stepped into an ice cellar.

The voice that came from behind her was even colder.

“Where is this place?”

He Shu turned around.

The woman was now fully awake and feeling around the mattress beneath her. Chains jingled around her wrists.

Cen Qianyi instantly recalled everything that had happened. She recognized He Shu from the hospital.

Clearly, this wasn’t a hospital anymore.

She looked at her hands. The cuffs were gone, replaced by a chain. It had been painted beige and was adorned with colorful plush toys.

A hint of confusion flickered in her eyes.

“It’s a fun place. I promise you’ll love it.”

He Shu delivered the line and observed Cen Qianyi. She was still weak, struggling to hold the chain, her eyes dazed.

Good. The muscle paralysis had not worn off. If it had, He Shu would probably be dead from that intense killing intent.

But that brought another question.

The system said the paralysis only lasted three days. Yet in the original novel, the two interacted much longer than that. Cen Qianyi was clearly moving again, but she hadn’t immediately killed He Shu.

Why not?

A horrifying thought hit her.

Had Cen Qianyi developed an addiction to being played with after those three days?

Was she… into it?

Was she really… a masochist?

The idea flipped everything upside down.

Maybe the reason Cen Qianyi wanted to kill her early now was because He Shu hadn’t hit her hard enough. Or licked her enough.

Once she considered this possibility, He Shu’s entire expression changed.

The next line prompt in her head interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

She pushed the idea away and returned to the script.

“I picked out a lovely outfit for you. Do you like it?”

Following the instructions, He Shu gestured toward the item in her hand.

“Oh, right. You can’t see.”

She let out a laugh as the script suggested. It sounded more like a sob.

“It’s alright. As long as I like it. Will you wear it for me?”

He Shu felt a breath of relief. This scene was easy. Cen Qianyi was supposed to refuse. She could then drop the line, “Darling, playthings should know their place,” and walk away.

Once it ended, she needed to check the original story to understand why Cen Qianyi had stayed with this psycho for so long.

If it really was because she enjoyed being dominated, then for the sake of survival, He Shu was willing to hit with all her strength.

“I like it. Dress me.”

He Shu froze.

She had been ready to recite the next line, but it vanished.

She blinked.

What did Cen Qianyi just say?

She liked it?

She wanted to wear it?

He Shu looked down at the dress and felt a surge of frustration.

“System, she’s off-script again! What now?!”

The long-silent system finally came online, its voice crackling like bad reception.

“Improvise.”

Then it immediately vanished again. The killing intent was too much for it.

He Shu wanted to cough up blood.

Improvise? She did not want to improvise. She just wanted to finish this scene and get out.

She glanced at Cen Qianyi.

Was her sleepwear uncomfortable?

To be fair, the slip dress she was wearing was skimpy. A lot of skin was showing. Maybe she was cold.

He Shu looked at the dress in her hands again. It had more fabric. It should be warmer.

She opened it up to get a better look and nearly choked.

Good grief. That assistant of hers. She had given her too much credit. Only a true psycho could pick something like this.

When she first received the dress, it had been folded. She had not seen the front.

From the back, it looked like a normal, form-fitting long gown. But the front… the entire chest area was sheer mesh.

It looked like a black fishnet stocking had been stitched on.

The holes were large enough to poke a pinky through.

“System! Can I go out and pick a different dress?”

“You are not allowed to leave the scene before it ends.”

“I am not escaping. I just want a different dress.”

No matter how she begged, the system stayed silent.

He Shu gave up and turned to Cen Qianyi again.

Those unfocused lavender eyes made her wish the woman could see, just so she could judge this dress for herself.

She figured it was better to be honest. Maybe it would convince her to refuse.

“This dress is kind of revealing. It doesn’t cover what it should.”

Not only did it not cover. It practically highlighted everything.

With a choked voice, He Shu asked, “Are you sure you want to wear it?”

“Yes. Dress me.”