I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 10

She’s Angry

Is the Eldest Miss feeling jealous?

Shen Man had just arrived in the room and hadn’t even put down her schoolbag when Lin Shu arrived, full of anger.

With a CRACK!, Lin Shu threw her schoolbag onto the sofa, her fair little face filled with indignation, like a small cat entering a battle-ready state.

“Shen Man, I have something to ask you.” She stared with wide eyes, speaking with a forceful attitude.

Shen Man, a smile on the corner of her lips, put down her schoolbag and sat down gracefully.

Patting the sofa beside her, she said with a smile, “Eldest Miss, please speak.”

Auntie He heard the noise and came out from the kitchen.

Seeing Lin Shu’s one-sided state of swords drawn and crossbows bent¹, she cast a worried glance at Shen Man.

Shen Man returned an ‘it’s fine’ look.

Auntie He nodded, turned back to the kitchen, and closed the kitchen door on her way.

Lin Shu held her chin high, refusing to sit, looking down at Shen Man from above.

Her pair of almond eyes blazed with fire, and her rosy little mouth was pressed tightly together, forming a beautiful lip line.

This arrogant face, even when angry, was beautiful.

“How did you get to know that girl?” Lin Shu asked, her aura imposing. “The one named Yin Ruxu.”

Shen Man smiled, did not answer, and reached out to grasp that fair, tender wrist. With a gentle pull, she tugged the furious young woman onto the sofa.

Lin Shu was startled and let out a subconscious “Ah.”

The tilting of her body made her feel disoriented for a moment, and her fingers instinctively grabbed onto an object.

She steadied herself, came to her senses, and looked up, meeting a pair of eyes brimming with smiles.

Right now, she was hugging Shen Man’s arm with both hands, kneeling on the sofa, the entire weight of her upper body pressing down on that fair, jade-like arm².

The posture of her upturned head looked as if she were asking for a kiss.

Shen Man’s lips curved. Her fingers wrapped around the young woman’s slender waist as she lowered her head slightly.

Gazing at that pair of beautiful, flamboyant eyes, she said, her breath like an orchid³, “Is the Eldest Miss feeling jealous?”

Lin Shu’s heart tightened. In an instant, her whole body radiated heat, her little face burned scarlet red, and she subconsciously retorted, “Who’s jealous? Why would I be jealous of you?”

“That, I wouldn’t know.” Shen Man chuckled, tilting her head slightly.

From a distance, this posture made them look like they were kissing.

Lin Shu’s little face flushed with anger. She forcefully pushed Shen Man away, glared at her furiously, and warned, “You live in my house, I won’t allow you to bring back any of those not-three-not-four⁴ people.”

“I obey your command.” Shen Man replied with a smile, a teasing look in her eyes.

Lin Shu, infuriated by this nonchalant attitude, said again, “Don’t be all laughing and joking with me. If I find out you dare to bring anyone back, I will definitely kick you out.”

After she finished speaking, she picked up her schoolbag from the sofa and shouted towards the kitchen, “I’m not eating dinner.”

“Alright, Miss Lin.” Auntie He nodded carefully.

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Back in her room, the image of Shen Man smiling gently at that girl appeared in Lin Shu’s mind over and over.

At that moment, Shen Man’s smile was genuine, both sweet and charming, completely different from how she was with her.

Lin Shu grew angrier and angrier. She took out her phone and dialed Tan Kai’s number.

The call was quickly connected, and Tan Kai’s panting voice came through, “What’s up?”

“What are you doing?” Lin Shu frowned.

“I just finished playing basketball,” Tan Kai said, then tilted his head back and drank half a bottle of water in one go.

Lin Shu listened to the sound of water on the other end, waited for Tan Kai to swallow, and then said, “Do you know a girl named Yin Ruxu?”

“Heard of her. What’s wrong? Did she make you angry?” Tan Kai asked.

“No.” Lin Shu denied loudly.

“If not, then not. Don’t suddenly get so loud, my ears are about to go deaf.” Tan Kai laughed to lighten the mood. Hearing the anger on the other end of the line, he became serious again and said, “Yin Ruxu is the department flower⁵ of the arts major. She looks soft and weak, with a pair of misty eyes that even I, upon seeing, would feel pity for⁶. She’s the dream lover in many guys’ hearts.”

“I saw her once. To be honest, she’s not as good-looking as you. In that school flower⁷ competition, she came in third, more than a hundred votes behind you.”

Hearing the last sentence, Lin Shu’s mood improved a little, and a smile appeared on her face. “How do you know so much?”

“This is a secret among us guys,” Tan Kai said with a laugh.

Boys of eighteen or nineteen are at an age full of energy, and their conversations are mostly about games and girls.

They know crystal clear which major and which class has good-looking girls.

“Secret your head.” Lin Shu said with a huff, finally saying the sentence she had been wanting to say.

Tan Kai laughed good-naturedly and said, “Is there anything else? I’m going to play basketball.”

“Go on, go on.”

Lin Shu hung up the phone, her mood much better. She stood on the balcony, looking at the lush green trees outside.

A gust of evening wind blew by, brushing through her smooth, straight black hair.

The anger accumulated in her heart was blown to seven-sevens and eight-eights⁸ by the evening wind. Lin Shu stretched lazily and tucked her hair behind her ear.

A knock sounded on the door.

Lin Shu ignored it and continued to admire the scenery.

The knocking continued.

Lin Shu snorted, turned around, her slippers making a da da sound on the floor.

She opened the door, looked at the person outside, and said irritably, “What is it?”

Shen Man smiled, her arms crossed, her shoulder leaning against the doorframe. She asked with a smile, “Still angry?”

“Who’s angry?” Lin Shu retorted unhappily.

“Good that you’re not.” Shen Man smoothed her fur to soothe⁹, then paused and said again, “Why did you have such a big reaction when you saw me drinking milk tea with another girl?”

“I…” Lin Shu froze, her expression instantly turning cold. She said angrily, “I just can’t stand seeing you deceive other girls. Don’t you forget, you like women.”

The smile on Shen Man’s face vanished. The color of her eyes deepened, and the playful smile on her lips carried a sense of danger. “You seem to have some misunderstanding about les. Even if I like women, it doesn’t mean I like every woman.” [LP: I hate this assumption the most]

Lin Shu’s heart trembled. She felt a wordless sense of pressure, but she stiffened her neck¹⁰, refusing to back down. “I don’t care who you like.”

Shen Man smiled and turned to leave.

Lin Shu felt that her departing figure carried anger.

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Shen Man went to the living room and found a can of beer in the refrigerator.

It was leftover from Auntie He’s cooking.

Shen Man took out the beer and, with a BANG!, forcefully shut the refrigerator door.

Auntie He heard the noise and came out of her room. Seeing it was Shen Man, she laughed and asked, “Manman, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, my hand slipped,” Shen Man replied with a light laugh, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Auntie He felt an inexplicable shiver in her heart and didn’t dare to say more.

Compared to Lin Shu’s flamboyant and domineering fierceness, Shen Man’s type of coldness, which seeped out from her very bones and where her joy and anger were unclear¹¹, was far more frightening.

Shen Man carried the beer back to her room, the smile on her face gone.

That pair of eyes had turned completely cold.

Shen Man held the beer can in her left hand, extended her right thumb to press against the pull-tab, and with a hard tug, the pull-tab came off with a POP!, separating from the beer can.

The sharp edge of the can’s ring nearly cut her finger, but Shen Man tossed it away carelessly.

A few drops of beer beaded on the green can, splashing onto that cold face.

The chill of the beer rushed straight to her heart through the pores of her skin.

Shen Man tilted her head back and gulped it down fiercely.

Of one can of beer, half was drunk, and the other half flowed down her long neck and into her collar, soaking her clothes.

Shen Man was completely oblivious, her icy eyes bursting with endless rage.

Her left hand clenched with all its might; loud CRUNCHING sounds were heard incessantly.

The round beer can, like a punctured balloon, became flattened, squeezed into a twisted shape.

“She’s a monster who likes women. She was usually so gentle, I didn’t expect her to be so unbearable.”

“Yeah, to actually like women, it’s disgusting.”

“She deserved to die, saves her from corrupting others.”

“Manman, you can’t let her influence you, she’s a psycho.”

The words she couldn’t understand in her childhood echoed harshly in her ears.

The disgusted, mocking gazes of those people were as sinister as snakes.

Shen Man didn’t understand at that time why the usually kind and amiable uncles and aunties would show such terrifying expressions, using all sorts of unbearable words to mock someone who had already passed away.

Later, she understood, and she suffered the same treatment.

“Shen Man, you’re so disgusting, stay away from me.”

“You monster who likes women, go see a psychiatrist, don’t infect us.”

“Everyone, don’t play with her, you’ll catch her weird disease.”

The children of fifteen or sixteen, innocent yet cruel, repeated the words they had learned from the adults.

Shen Man’s heart, at that moment, turned completely cold.

That coldness, like falling into an ice cavern, the feeling of every pore on her body exuding a chill, was something she would never forget for the rest of her life.

That disappointing little town, she had never gone back since high school.

Shen Man closed her eyes, her body falling backward.

The beer bottle rolled on the floor, making a clattering sound, until it rolled to the corner of the desk and finally became quiet.

The dark night swallowed the last trace of light.

The room was plunged into complete darkness, where nothing could be seen, and nothing could be heard.

Shen Man lay there for an unknown amount of time. The clothes soaked by the beer had already dried completely.

She sat up and fumbled to turn on the light.

The room was instantly restored to brightness.

Shen Man squinted her eyes and raised a hand to shield them from the stimulating light.

A knock sounded on the door.

Over and over again, imperious and unreasonable.

Shen Man’s fingers lowered. She curved her lips, her face once again wearing that playing-with-the-world, not-reverent¹² smile.

She walked over and opened the door, “Shushu, what is it?”

“I…” Lin Shu paused, the corners of her eyes lifting as she said arrogantly, “Can’t I look for you even if I have nothing to talk about?”

Shen Man smiled and did not answer.

This smile stimulated Lin Shu, her face flushing red with both anger and shame. She said loudly, “After class tomorrow, I’m going to play badminton. Are you going or not?”

“The Eldest Miss’s invitation, how could I bear to refuse?” Shen Man lowered her voice, her eyes filled with a smiling expression.

Lin Shu snorted, her tone as proud and spoiled as ever, “It’s a deal, no backing out.”

“Okay,” Shen Man agreed with a smile.

Lin Shu turned and left.

The light from inside the room merged with the light in the hallway, and everything within sight was a field of brightness.

Shen Man stood in the light.

Gazing at that slender and graceful¹³ figure, the violent rage and darkness in her heart were buried once again in the deepest depths.

She curved her lips into a smile and gently closed the door.

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