After Becoming a CEO, I Ended Up With the Gorgeous Lunatic Villainess - Chapter 6

“I’m willing to put it on for you.”

The voice was hoarse and laced with an unmistakable tremor of panic.

He Shu’s heart fluttered in sync, her trembling gaze falling on the speaker, full of doubt and shock.

What was going on? In the original story, the woman had clearly refused to change clothes.

Why was she willing now?

What did I do? What made her change her mind?

Surely it couldn’t be that she was scarier than the original host and scared her into submission?

The person on the floor looked truly fragile and helpless, shrinking further into herself in confusion and fear. Her already pale face had lost all color, now white as paper. Her whole being looked like a scrap of paper caught in the wind, thin and desolate as she clung desperately to the smallest sense of security.

If not for the lingering aura of murderous intent around He Shu, she might have believed this girl was simply a pitiful little white flower, like one that had been battered throughout the night in a violent storm.

As their eyes met, those pale violet eyes filled He Shu with an instinctive sense of danger. She remained completely still and silent, calling out desperately for the system in her mind.

Cen Qianyi gazed at the silent woman watching her from a distance. To act more convincingly as a blind person, she avoided looking directly at her face. Instead, her gaze shifted just off to the side and landed on a curled strand of black hair resting on her shoulder.

That soft, limp lock of hair nestled in the hollow of her collarbone, its delicate texture highlighting the sharp lines of her clavicle.

Her old instructor once told her a dark joke: the most dangerous people are the ones whose bones look hard and hair looks soft. They carry deceptive exteriors and the coldest hearts.

Cen Qianyi was one of those people.

So was the woman before her.

She looked at the “clothing” in the woman’s hand, and her curled fingers ghosted a faint circle in the air.

Even though her muscles were still numb, if the woman got within one meter of her…

Her fingernail scratched across the lacquered iron chain, leaving behind a deep groove. The chain was black inside, but if that same mark had landed across someone’s throat, it would have blossomed bright red.

And by then, she would gladly wear that vivid red outfit, and scoop out a pair of eyes to fill the mesh holes.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you handing me the clothes?”

Cen Qianyi’s frightened, helpless voice snapped He Shu back to attention. She had been shouting for the system in her head this whole time, but it had stayed dead silent.

Once her focus returned, she noticed the murderous aura thickened around her. Those invisible “air blades” now crowded the room densely enough to trigger trypophobia.

“System, get out here right now! Can I turn off this Killing Intent Sensor Card or not?!”

Useless. All it did was let her sense that someone wanted to kill her. It could not even predict whether they would follow through with it. What was the point? Like she didn’t already know the woman wanted her dead.

“It will automatically expire once time is up. It cannot be paused while in use.”

The system finally responded, in that glitchy, barely-functional electronic voice.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re a system. What are you afraid of?”

Nothing. No answer.

He Shu was starting to lose faith in the thing. But she also didn’t dare leave the room to change clothes. If she had to start all over again, that would really suck.

Fine. If she had to give it, then so be it. She’d just wear it herself.

Worst case, she could close her eyes and not look.

He Shu started walking toward the woman.

She barely made it a few steps before second thoughts crept in. The plot had clearly deviated, and she had no idea what would happen next. Keeping her eyes closed the entire time would be far too risky.

She looked down at what she was wearing. It wasn’t like she had layers she could remove and lend to the woman.

Wait!

She suddenly remembered the white silk shirt she had on… and the extra outfit she had been rewarded!

“System, system, come out right now! The lab coat! Is that reward real? How do I redeem it?”

As soon as she asked, a selection panel popped up in her mind.

“One white lab coat. Retrieve now? Yes/No.”

Without hesitation, He Shu selected yes.

Fireworks exploded across her vision.

“You can retrieve it from any pocket.”

Right after the electronic voice spoke, a shrill alarm blared, followed by a giant red exclamation mark.

“Level 1 Warning: System rewards must not be seen by non-hosts. Violation will be treated as a breach of immersion, and the host will be erased and restarted!”

He Shu had just found a pocket. There were none in her shirt, but her pants had one. She paused and looked up at Cen Qianyi.

It’s fine. She’s blind. She can’t see.

Cen Qianyi noticed the dark red shoes suddenly stopped moving. Her pale violet eyes flickered with irritation. One more step would have been enough.

From the smooth lines of her pants up to her halted posture, the woman stood with hands in pockets, towering over her with a strange… excitement?

He Shu felt like she had discovered something magical.

Her left pocket was like Doraemon’s bottomless pouch. When she reached in, it felt vast and empty, and her hand even felt a pulling force.

Something was being drawn into her grasp. She quickly spread her fingers, ready to catch it.

The sensation was exactly like summoning a divine tool in a fantasy novel.

Soon, she felt cloth in her hand, most likely the corner of a garment.

Too bad it wasn’t a magical item. Just an ordinary lab coat.

He Shu was about to pull it out when she saw Cen Qianyi looking up at her.

Their pale violet eyes met, and He Shu remembered the warning. Even though the woman couldn’t see, her expression still made her uneasy.

Without thinking, she spun around and ran into a corner, ducked behind a curtain, and finally pulled out the lab coat.

Holding the coat, she sprinted back to Cen Qianyi and threw it over her, letting the fabric drape across her head.

“Put it on.”

Who would’ve thought that reward she thought was useless would actually come in handy? For a moment, she even suspected it had all been planned in advance by the system.

But then she remembered how dumb the system was and dismissed the idea.

Cen Qianyi yanked the coat from her head and clutched it in her hands. When she realized it was a white lab coat, every part of her skin that had touched it felt like it was rotting away.

An ancient fear, buried deep in her blood, surged to the surface.

She hurled the coat away and roared at He Shu.

“Get out!”

He Shu blinked at the prompt that popped up in her head.

Back to the original plot?

She looked at Cen Qianyi struggling to curl up, attempting to hug her knees but barely able to move due to muscle paralysis. Her whole body trembled… He Shu couldn’t tell if she was acting or truly affected, or whether it was anger or fear.

Everything had shifted so suddenly.

Even though the plot seemed to be back on track, He Shu felt no joy.

What was that all about?

The system told her that she just needed to say her line to end the scene.

After a moment’s hesitation, she delivered the line that should have come long ago.

“Baby, a toy should know its place…”

The action prompt told her she could now leave, angrily.

But He Shu left with only confusion.

She glanced back before exiting and saw Cen Qianyi still trembling in that same position.

As the door shut behind her, the aura of killing intent vanished.

And just like that, the system came back online, its voice fully functional again.

“Ding ding ding! Congratulations, Host. Scene One of Xishan Villa completed successfully. Rewards will be distributed after the entire arc ends.”

Cheerful music played, but He Shu cut it off immediately.

“Forget the useless rewards. What was that? What happened with Cen Qianyi? What is wrong with that lab coat?”

“There is no quality issue with the system reward.”

He Shu was about to ask more when a lightning icon lit up in her mind.

“System recharging…”

What was going on? The system needed to recharge now? With what? Brainwaves?

No matter how much she yelled, there was no further response.

She slapped herself in the head in frustration just as Su Zhi came upstairs.

“Boss, are you okay?”

She looked He Shu over with concern, her gaze finally landing on the coat in her hands.

He Shu followed her line of sight and nearly forgot the chaos that thing had caused. She opened her mouth, then glanced back at the shut red door. She remembered that blind people supposedly had sharper hearing.

She led Su Zhi downstairs before speaking.

“What happened? I told you to pick out some clothes, so what exactly did you choose?”

As she scolded her, she tossed the coat back at her.

“Look at this. Can you wear this?!”

Su Zhi stared at the coat on the floor. She picked it up and began undressing.

He Shu jumped back, startled by her unbuttoning.

“What are you doing?!”

Su Zhi looked just as confused.

“Boss, didn’t you tell me to wear this?”

He Shu nearly choked. Had she really found someone even dumber than the system?

Couldn’t she tell when someone was being sarcastic?

Even if she couldn’t, did she really have to start undressing without a word?

And this kind of outfit… She actually went along with it?

“You just do whatever I say?”

Su Zhi nodded matter-of-factly.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Su Zhi looked even more serious.

“Because you’re my boss.”

Brilliant. Work has fried her brain.

Su Zhi didn’t understand why He Shu was suddenly so mad. She had come upstairs for a reason.

“Boss, dinner’s ready. Want to eat?”

“Yes!”

She remembered a motivational quote she once read. Something like, “If you can eat even while crying, you’ll survive.”

She wanted to survive. Even if it meant crying through every bite.

Once they reached the dining room, He Shu lit up at the sight of a full table of dishes.

Incredible. Who could still cry after seeing this spread? It was luxurious. So luxurious. She was living the kind of life where even one person got eight dishes.

Her first meal in this new world, and she stuffed herself.

After dinner, He Shu took a walk in the villa’s vast garden to digest. The night breeze was soothing. Her home was the only one on the mountain, peaceful and private, with a clear view of the glowing cityscape in the distance.

It was so relaxing. If only Qianqian were here…

That dog had never known comfort since following her. The biggest garden they had seen wasn’t even half this size.

Thinking of her dog… He Shu’s thoughts strayed back to the person inside the house…

Forget the stroll. Better to go read the original novel. Today’s events were clearly not right.

What could have caused Cen Qianyi’s sudden shift in behavior?

He Shu returned to her room full of questions.

On the bright side, while the original host had some perverse tastes, her room was surprisingly normal.

The decor was soft and fresh, perfectly suited to He Shu’s taste.

She lay down on the bed and began to read the original novel more carefully.

She had skimmed it earlier in the car, but now she wanted to start from the beginning.

The story opened with the protagonist, Nie Wenyu, and her rise from rookie agent to commander in a special ops unit.

As He Shu read on, her eyes suddenly lit up.

Nie Wenyu’s first case after her promotion was a failed raid. By the time she arrived, the arms smuggler was already dead.

Nie Wenyu didn’t know who did it, but He Shu did!

It was Cen Qianyi. The assassin codenamed “Yi” was Cen Qianyi!

Of course. There really were survival tips hidden in books!

He Shu had an idea. If she found Nie Wenyu early and told her Cen Qianyi was “Yi,” she could get her arrested before things went south.

Genius!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. Now the question was how to find Nie Wenyu and convince her to believe it.

As she pondered this, she kept reading… and eventually fell asleep.

Maybe because she had died of exhaustion before, her sleep deficit was high. Or maybe the day’s chaos had drained her completely.

Either way, she soon fell into deep sleep.

Night fell. Xishan quieted, the animals retreating to their dens.

But some creatures lived for the night.

Cen Qianyi carefully opened her door. Her steps were light and soundless, like a cat’s.

Her muscles hadn’t fully recovered, so she had to lean on the walls for support. Pressing close, she crept along, using the moonlight to scan the room.

Her gaze swept over the mannequins. The outfit that woman tried to make her wear was on one of them.

There was more than one of these “outfits”…

Her eyes turned colder than the moonlight. She leaned on the glass cabinet and checked each one.

Plenty of variety… Cen Qianyi stopped at one in particular, a glint of metal flashing in her gaze.

She softly opened the cabinet and picked up a black leather collar. Tugging the attached chain, her lips curled slightly.

Wrapping the chain around her hand, she pushed forward against the wall and opened another door…

Moonlight spilled in, stretching her shadow long across the wall.

Her slim fingers curved into a sharp arc, slowly descending until they rested against the gently rising and falling throat.

One light slice, and the night would bloom red.

“Quit it, Qianqian.”

He Shu grabbed the offending hand at her neck, pulled the woman into a tight hug, flipped her over with a raised leg, and pinned her down in one fluid motion.

Smooth. Practiced.

“We’ll play tomorrow. Little pup needs her rest.”