I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 14

Giving Her a Gift

Don’t want to talk to you

Lin Shu had injured her foot and called her class teacher to ask for two days of leave to rest at home.

Shen Man went to school alone. Besides the peace and quiet, she also felt a trace of boredom.

After finishing a day of classes, Shen Man returned to the Lin family home.

She opened the door, and saw Lin Shu lying sideways on the living room sofa. Her injured foot was wrapped in gauze, layer after layer, looking like a zongzi¹. A small, soft, pink pillow was placed under her calf, holding her little foot up high so it didn’t touch any object.

Shen Man entered the house, changed her shoes, walked to the side of the sofa, and asked, “Is your foot injury any better? Have you applied medicine?”

“You weren’t here, so who was supposed to apply my medicine?” Lin Shu retorted, the corners of her eyes tilting up with a look of being perfectly justified².

Shen Man put down her schoolbag, stared at the gauze on Lin Shu’s foot, and her voice grew cold, “Didn’t I tell you to apply the medicine yourself?”

“I don’t want to!” Lin Shu refused loudly, wiggling her toes and looking at Shen Man with a tsundere air. “You’re the one who caused my injury, you should take care of me.”

Shen Man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Lin Shu turned her head away, her tone suddenly weakening a few degrees, “I don’t care, it’s your responsibility anyway.”

“Besides, you’re the class monitor, it’s also proper to care for a classmate,” she added again, lacking confidence.

Shen Man was speechless, with a trace of helplessness, and asked, “Where is the ointment? Who bandaged it for you?”

Lin Shu’s fair little face revealed a victorious smile as she jutted her chin towards the kitchen.

Auntie He walked out of the kitchen, the smile on her face strained. She said, “I helped Miss Lin bandage it. Miss Lin said her foot hurt and wouldn’t apply the medicine no matter what, insisting on waiting for you to come back.”

“The medicine is in the drawer under the television, I’ll get it for you.” Auntie He said as she walked over to get the medicine.

Handing the medicine to Shen Man, Auntie He had an expression of fearing blame and said again, “Miss Lin refused, I couldn’t do anything about her either.”

Shen Man nodded and took the medicine.

Auntie He breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.

Shen Man squatted by the sofa, opened the ointment cap, and her lips curved into a smile. She looked at Lin Shu and said, “Do you really want me to help you apply the medicine?”

“Of course, this was originally something you were supposed to do,” Lin Shu insisted, feeling a trace of danger but unwilling to show weakness.

Shen Man let out a light snort, a low voice coming from her throat, “If it hurts in a moment, don’t scream.”

Lin Shu was startled, and a pain shot through her foot.

The sound of ‘Ah’ resounded through the living room, even audible outside through the balcony.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts… Shen Man, be gentler, ah…” Lin Shu shrank her body, wanting to escape backward.

But that injured foot was held tightly in someone’s hand. It hurt when she struggled forcefully, and it also hurt when she didn’t struggle.

Lin Shu was in a dilemma³.

Her beautiful almond eyes quickly filled with a watery mist, forming round, sparkling teardrops that swirled in her eye sockets.

The light fell upon them, making them glitter.

Shen Man lowered her head, holding Lin Shu’s foot. She quickly unwrapped the bandage, then took the ointment and smeared it on Lin Shu’s foot, using the pads of her fingers to spread the ointment evenly.

“It hurts…” Lin Shu said, holding back tears, her voice pitiful⁴.

“It’s done.” Shen Man stood up, her smile beaming. She casually slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and asked with a smile, “Do you still want me to help you apply medicine?”

Lin Shu sniffled, the water in her eyes turned into anger, and she answered firmly, “This is what you are supposed to do!”

“You’re really stubborn,” Shen Man smiled, her delicate eyebrows raised slightly.

Lin Shu glared back, unwilling to show weakness.

“As long as you’re not afraid of the pain,” Shen Man said with a smile, heading back to her room with her schoolbag.

Behind her, Lin Shu made a ghost face⁵ at Shen Man’s back.

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After resting at home for two days, Lin Shu’s foot injury healed.

Tan Kai drove to pick up the two of them. He glanced at Lin Shu and teased⁶ with a smile, “If you hadn’t gotten better, Shen Man would have been exhausted, having to take care of you every day after class.”

“Exhausted from what?” Lin Shu pouted, glared at Shen Man with dissatisfaction, and said, “If you become a nurse in the future, you’ll definitely get complaints.”

“Thank you for your concern, Young Miss, I never thought about being a nurse,” Shen Man said with a smile, sitting in the back.

“What do you want to do in the future?” Tan Kai asked, taking the opportunity.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Shen Man answered with a placid expression, not planning to tell others her true thoughts.

“Anyway, as long as it’s not a nurse, it’s fine,” Lin Shu didn’t forget to make a sarcastic remark⁷.

Tan Kai defended, “Even if Shen Man becomes a nurse, she would definitely be the best nurse.”

Lin Shu snorted and shot him a white eye.

Shen Man didn’t argue, just gazed at the scenery outside the window.

Tan Kai drove to the school. A car came from another direction, scraping past his car as it entered the campus.

A flash of anger crossed Tan Kai’s face, and he immediately accelerated to catch up to that car.

“It’s Shao Qi, ye⁸! He actually came to class today,” Lin Shu shouted excitedly, sticking her head out to look at the car in front.

“That person just now was Shao Qi?” Tan Kai frowned, his tone unfriendly.

“Yes, ah, in the whole school, only he has that super cool sports car,” Lin Shu answered happily, hurriedly taking out a mirror to fix her makeup. “Tell me, does my makeup look good today?”

Tan Kai didn’t answer, his expression was terribly grim.

Lin Shu turned to the back, looking at Shen Man, “What do you say?”

“Shushu is beautiful every day,” Shen Man answered with a smile.

Lin Shu, dissatisfied with the perfunctory reply, fiddled with her hair and put the mirror in her schoolbag.

The car in front stopped by the roadside.

Tan Kai also stopped the car immediately, got out, strode over, and stared down⁹ at the person in the car, “Don’t you know that overtaking to enter the campus is a very dangerous thing?”

Shao Qi’s expression was cold. He didn’t answer, and said in a cold voice, “Move aside.”

Tan Kai’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t move.

The confrontation between the two attracted many people to stop and watch.

Shen Man glanced at the crowd, the majority of whom were girls.

Those girls stood together in twos and threes¹⁰, discussing in low voices, but they weren’t discussing who would win or lose, but arguing over whose face value¹¹ charm was higher.

There were those who supported the male lead, and those who supported the second male lead. No one cared if these two boys would start a fight.

Lin Shu pursed her lips, revealed her most perfect smile, walked over, and tilted her head sweetly, “Shao Qi, good morning, ah.”

Hearing this, Tan Kai blocked Lin Shu’s line of sight and said in a cold voice, “This is a matter between us men. You and Shen Man go to the classroom first.”

Hearing Shen Man’s name, Shao Qi got out of the car, walked in front of Shen Man, took an exquisite gift box from his pocket, tossed it over, and said in a cold voice, “For you.”

The expression on his face was as cold as ever. After speaking, he left without turning his head back.

Shen Man subconsciously caught the box.

Instantly, all kinds of envious and jealous gazes were cast from all directions.

Shen Man raised her head and looked in Lin Shu’s direction.

She saw that pair of bright almond eyes filled with jealousy, her pearly white teeth¹² biting tightly on her tender pink lips. The bright smile had vanished, replaced by anger.

Lin Shu turned around angrily, carrying her schoolbag alone, and walked forward with her head down.

Tan Kai followed behind, asking in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”

“None of your business,” Lin Shu gritted her teeth, furious.

Shen Man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Holding the gift box, she gently tossed it upwards with her fingers, caught it, then tossed it into the air again, repeating this until a corner of the gift box knocked against her finger, only then did she stop.

Shen Man put the gift box into the side pocket of her schoolbag, reached out to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen on her cheek, and walked forward with an indifferent expression.

From time to time, various sounds of discussion drifted over from the surroundings. She was completely unconcerned.

Shen Man entered the classroom and swept her gaze around.

Shao Qi was sitting in a corner, lying on his desk asleep.

Tan Kai was acting as if nothing had happened, fooling around with the other boys in the class.

Only Lin Shu was sitting there, puffed up with anger. When her gaze met Shen Man’s, she snorted and turned her head away disdainfully.

Shen Man walked over, stood in front of Lin Shu’s desk, let out a laugh, and asked, “Why are you angry? Who provoked you?”

“What’s it to you?” Lin Shu turned her head, her attitude nasty, and said in a fierce tone, “I don’t want to see you, you stay far away from me.”

Shen Man’s lips curved into a smile, and she chose a seat furthest away from Lin Shu to sit down.

This class period, Shen Man had no mind to listen to the lecture.

That black pen in her slender fingers tapped on the paper again and again, drawing countless small black dots.

The ink marks smudged, staining the back of Shen Man’s fair and tender hand.

Shen Man was completely unaware, her pair of beautiful eyes staring ahead, seriously analyzing the current situation in her mind.

Even after a one-night stand with her, Lin Shu’s sexual orientation was still pen-straight¹³, her adoration for the male lead had not diminished in the slightest.

That time she drugged her was also out of dislike for her. This time, seeing the male lead give her a gift, she was even angrier, to the point of directly not wanting to acknowledge her.

In the original book, Lin Shu has many plots to frame the female lead. Being provoked today, it’s estimated she will begin her retaliation.

The pen in Shen Man’s hand stopped. She gazed at Lin Shu’s back, a smile full of interest appearing on her face.

As if sensing it, Lin Shu turned her head back, her eyes filled with undisguised dislike.

Shen Man returned a smile.

This smile was tantamount to a provocation.

The anger in Lin Shu’s eyes intensified. She clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth and snorted, then turned back around.

She secretly took out her phone and typed quickly.

Shen Man received a message, lowered her head, and opened it.

“Why did Shao Qi give you a gift? What is your relationship with him?” The cute font seemed to carry endless anger.

“I don’t know,” Shen Man replied with a smile.

“How could you not know? Why did he specifically give it to you? And it’s a ring!”

Shen Man paused, did not reply, and took the gift box out of her schoolbag’s side pocket.

With a light flick of her finger, she opened the gift box. Inside was indeed an exquisite ring.

There was also a small card, on which was written a line of text, “Classmate Shen Man, congratulations on becoming class monitor, I hope you will take good care of my family’s Shao Qi.”

The signature: Shao Qi’s father.

Shen Man’s brow furrowed slightly.
This wave of operation¹⁴ from the male lead’s dad, she couldn’t quite understand it.

Combining it with plot speculation, Shen Man thought that this was to promote the relationship between the male and female leads, and instantly understood again.

In the original book, there are villains, and naturally there are also assists¹⁵. The male lead’s dad is a powerful assist.

Shen Man rubbed the space between her eyebrows¹⁶, feeling a bit of a headache.

Her arrival had only changed her own feelings, but had not changed the plot and character setting of others in the original book.

Some things, it seemed she was unable to stop.

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