I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 124

My Shushu

I don’t want you to get hurt

Lin Shu stood up and mocked her coldly. “You, this Madam Lin, shouldn’t you be at the hospital taking care of my dad? What are you doing here?”

At her words, Feng Na stormed into the office with a fierce expression and slammed the door shut.

“Your father’s life and death are still unknown¹, yet you’re in here flirting with a woman. Don’t you feel you’ve let him down?” Feng Na accused sharply.

Lin Shu listened, a disdainful smirk playing on her lips. “When my mom was lying in her hospital bed, wasn’t he also out flirting with a woman?”

“Madam Lin, I’m certainly not a Little Three.”² Shen Man added with a soft laugh.

“You…” Feng Na’s face instantly turned ashen with rage.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart. Her tone softened. “Lin Shu, now that your father has had an accident, we as one family should…”

“Who’s ‘one family’ with you?” Lin Shu cut her off bluntly, her eyes turning ice-cold.

Feng Na choked on her words. After a moment, she squeezed out a few tears and said pitifully, “Lin Shu, I know you don’t like me, but Xiao Jun is your blood-related younger brother³. You can’t be so heartless.”

“Heartless?” Lin Shu sneered. “He pushed Old Man Lin and turned him into a plant person⁴. Just telling him to scram was me showing mercy. Otherwise, your son should be in jail.”

“Besides, the inheritance Old Man Lin left you is more than enough to live well on. Are you still not satisfied?”

“How is that little bit of money enough for us to live?” Feng Na began to cry miserably. “Lin Shu, I’m begging you. You’re the one who calls the shots in the company now. You can’t possibly use all that money, so just give half to your didi⁵. He’s your blood-related younger brother…”

Lin Shu listened, utterly disgusted.

Shen Man smiled. “Madam Lin,” she reminded her, “as long as you’re a little more frugal, you won’t have to worry for the rest of your life.”

“What business is it of yours? You have no place to speak here!” Feng Na’s expression turned vicious as she snapped at her.

Seeing this, the disgust in Lin Shu’s eyes deepened.

She stared at Feng Na, making no effort to hide her loathing. “It’s my lunch break. Please get out, or I’ll have security escort you out.”

“Lin Shu, how can you do this to me?” Feng Na roared, her once-perfect hair falling into disarray.

Lin Shu ignored her and simply called security.

Two tall security guards arrived moments later.

“Please escort her out,” Lin Shu said coldly.

“I’m your Chairman Lin’s wife! If you dare touch me—let go of me…” Before Feng Na could finish, the two guards were already dragging her out in a pathetic state.

She scrambled to her feet, haphazardly straightening her clothes and hair, a venomous look in her eyes.

“Are you planning to drive that mother and son out?” Shen Man asked with a smile.

“In name, they’re still Old Man Lin’s wife and son. How could I possibly drive them out?” Lin Shu scoffed, leaning back comfortably against the sofa. “I just cut off their source of income,” she said smugly.

“Whatever kind of life they lived before, that’s the life they’ll have to live now.”

“It’s said that ‘from extravagance into thrift is difficult’⁶. Cutting off their money is probably worse than taking their lives,” Shen Man teased with a smile.

Lin Shu gave a cold heng⁷. “They’ve had more than a decade of a rich and noble life. I’m already letting them off easy.”

“True,” Shen Man agreed with a nod. She picked up the meal box from the table and asked with a smile, “What do you want for dinner tonight?”

At her words, Lin Shu finally snapped out of her daze. With a cold expression on her little face, she said, “Whatever.”

“Dinner at your place, or mine?” Shen Man tilted her head slightly, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

Lin Shu’s heart skipped a beat. She was silent for a moment before saying haughtily, “I have my own place. Why would I go to yours?”

“Alright,” Shen Man agreed with a smile, carrying the meal box out the door.

Lin Shu was left alone in the office.

She stared blankly ahead, her thoughts drifting to the lunch Shen Man had just brought. She couldn’t quite figure out what their relationship was supposed to be now.

After a moment, her heart tightened again. She picked up the phone and dialed the front desk.

“Director Lin⁸, how can I help you?”

“Shen Man… the person who just brought me lunch…” Lin Shu’s voice trailed off, growing quieter without her realizing it.

“She said she was Director Lin’s friend and was here to deliver a meal for you,” the receptionist replied carefully.

Hearing the word ‘friend’, Lin Shu pursed her lips. She was quiet for a moment before saying, “If she comes to deliver a meal again, let her use my private elevator.”⁹

“Understood, Director Lin.”

Lin Shu hung up the phone and returned to her work, her mood noticeably brighter.

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Shen Man drove to Lin Shu’s apartment.

She took out the key she had never returned and skillfully unlocked the door.

The apartment’s layout was exactly as she’d left it. Even the flowerpot on the balcony hadn’t been moved an inch.

Shen Man smiled faintly and opened the door to the room she used to stay in.

It was empty inside, containing only a simple bed and a cabinet, just as it had been before she moved in.

When Lin Shu got home from work, the familiar aroma of a home-cooked meal greeted her at the door.

Her heart leaped in alarm. She fumbled with her key, unlocked the door, and rushed straight for the kitchen without even changing her shoes.

“Shushu, you’re back,” Shen Man said with a gentle laugh.

Lin Shu froze for a few seconds before finding her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you say we were having dinner at your place?” Shen Man countered with a smile.

Lin Shu faltered, quickly explaining, “I thought you were going to make it and bring it over.”

“Isn’t it the same if I make it here?” Shen Man replied with a casual smile.

Lin Shu pressed her lips together, let out an indignant heng, and went to sit on the living room sofa.

Shen Man finished cooking and brought the dishes to the table.

Lin Shu stared at her slender fingers, her own small face tense. “You told the front desk you were my friend?”

“Aren’t we?” Shen Man raised an eyebrow. She leaned in close, and her long, dark hair brushed against Lin Shu’s cheek. “Or should I have said… classmate?”

The drawn-out syllable was laced with a subtle ambiguity, and her low voice was incredibly sexy.

A blush crept up Lin Shu’s face. “Do whatever you want,” she snapped.

Hearing that, Shen Man’s smile widened with pleasure.

After dinner, Shen Man cleared the table just like she always used to.

Lin Shu sat on the sofa hugging a cushion, her big eyes staring blankly ahead. She looked like a dazed and cute little hamster.

Once she finished in the kitchen, Shen Man came out. “Everything’s clean. I’ll be going now.”

“Oh,” Lin Shu replied lazily.

“Aren’t you going to see me out?” Shen Man asked, raising an eyebrow with a smile in her eyes.

“You got here by yourself, you can leave by yourself,” Lin Shu said in an aojiao¹⁰ way. She stood up from the sofa, looked at Shen Man, and announced fiercely, “I’m going to my room.”

Shen Man smiled knowingly and walked leisurely toward the door.

Lin Shu leaned against the hallway wall, watching until her figure disappeared from view.

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Shen Man got in her car and turned the key several times, but the engine wouldn’t start.

She pulled out her phone and called Lin Shu. “Shushu, my car’s having some trouble. Can I borrow yours? I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“Seriously,” Lin Shu grumbled, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. She complained under her breath as she headed outside.

She went downstairs and tossed the keys to Shen Man. “Be here early tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Shen Man agreed with a soft laugh, taking the keys and getting into the car.

“Drive safe,” Lin Shu instructed, her arms crossed and her expression cold.

Shen Man smiled and started the car.

The roads were a bit crowded at this hour.

Shen Man stopped at an intersection, waiting patiently for the red light to change.

The second before the light turned green, a small car suddenly shot out from a side street and slammed straight into Lin Shu’s car.

Shen Man’s vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

The car that caused the accident didn’t flee. A woman in expensive clothes got out of the driver’s seat.

She stared fiercely at the mangled front of the car.

A bystander immediately called the police.

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, the woman suddenly regained her composure, got back in her car, and fled the scene.

An ambulance arrived quickly and rushed Shen Man to the hospital.

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Lin Shu was sitting alone on the sofa when an inexplicable sense of unease washed over her.

The sudden ring of her cell phone made her jump.

“Excuse me, are you a family member of Miss Shen Man? She’s been in a car accident and is currently in emergency care at the hospital…”

Lin Shu’s mind went blank. She couldn’t process the rest of the words.

She raced to the hospital. As she stared at the light above the operating room door, her eyes began to burn.

Time ticked by, but Lin Shu had no idea how long she’d been waiting.

She hugged herself helplessly, consumed by the regret that she hadn’t asked Shen Man to stay.

If she had just said a single word, this tragedy never would have happened…

“Is Shen Man’s family here?” a doctor called out as he exited the room.

Lin Shu shot to her feet so quickly she nearly fell, steadying herself against the wall. “I’m here,” she said. “Shen Man, is she…”

The rest of her words were lost in a choked sob.

“The surgery was a success, and the patient has been stabilized,” the doctor said reassuringly. “But she’ll need to be monitored closely tonight. Please let us know if anything changes.”

Lin Shu nodded again and again. With red-rimmed eyes, she asked cautiously, “So… she’s out of danger?”

“Her condition is relatively stable, but she still needs to be observed,” the doctor replied.

“That’s good,” Lin Shu breathed, a wave of relief washing over her. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob.

Watching Shen Man lie in the hospital bed, Lin Shu’s tears began to fall silently.

She gazed at that pale face, whispering Shen Man’s name over and over again.

“Shen Man, I just want you to be okay. As long as you wake up, I’ll promise you anything,” Lin Shu cried, her eyes turning bloodshot.

“Really?” a weak voice whispered from the bed.

Overjoyed, Lin Shu’s tears began to fall like rain.¹¹

She collapsed onto the side of the bed, unable to stop herself from sobbing aloud.

Shen Man let out a soft, weak laugh. “I had a dream,” she said faintly. “In the dream, someone kept calling my name. She was crying so sadly… I wanted to wipe away her tears and tell her I was okay…”

Hearing that, Lin Shu only cried harder. “How did you get into an accident?” she asked between sobs.

“Feng Na was the one who hit me,” Shen Man said, a hint of relief in her voice. “She recognized your car. She just didn’t expect that the person driving it tonight wasn’t you.”

“You idiot,” Lin Shu sobbed. “I never wanted you to block a disaster¹² for me.”

“I couldn’t bear for my Shushu to get hurt,” Shen Man replied with a soft laugh, her eyes full of warmth.

Lin Shu froze. Wiping away her tears, she bit her lip and whispered, “I don’t want you to get hurt, either.”

“Well then, in the coming days, I’ll be counting on Director Lin to take good care of this patient,” Shen Man teased.

Lin Shu gave a firm “En.”

Shen Man gazed at her red, swollen eyes, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

While she was unconscious, her consciousness had drifted to a dark place, where it was being pulled between two opposing forces.

It was Lin Shu’s voice that had guided her back, leading her to wake up in this world.

Or perhaps, this was the ending that had been destined from the very beginning.

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