I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 3

Saying One Thing But Meaning Another

Slender fingers lifted her chin

Shen Man followed Lin Shu back into the house.

This house was very large, over two hundred square meters, and decorated with great style. It had a four-bedroom, two-living-room, two-bathroom layout, facing south from the north, with excellent lighting and ventilation.

Shen Man couldn’t tell which room was hers.

She wore a smile on her face, following behind Lin Shu.

“What are you following me for? Your room is over there.” Lin Shu said with dissatisfaction, her raised chin pointing to the room on the right.

Shen Man smiled, extended a hand to block Lin Shu’s path, trapping Lin Shu between her body and the wall, leaned in close, and said in a low voice, “I just wanted to walk you back to your room.”

“I don’t need you to walk me.” Lin Shu refused loudly, her fair little face turning red against her will. “Move aside, I’m going back to my room.”

Shen Man’s lips curved, her head pressing even lower, the two’s lips almost touching.

Lin Shu felt her heartbeat accelerate uncontrollably. She widened her eyes, met Shen Man’s gaze for a few seconds, then uncomfortably turned her head away.

After a moment, she turned back angrily, staring at Shen Man, unwilling to show weakness.

Shen Man let out a breath, a smile appearing at the corners of her lips, and took the initiative to move aside. “Rest well.”

“No need for you to be so nosy.” Lin Shu huffed, her head held high and chest out, the little white shoes on her feet making ‘thump thump’ sounds.

Shen Man chuckled lightly and opened the door to her room.

The room’s furnishings were unexpectedly simple: a large bed, a vanity table, a wardrobe, and a small coffee table set.

The decor and design were both in a style she liked.

Shen Man walked a circle around the room and saw several books on the table, all of them professional design books.

She casually flipped through them, feeling a slight headache.

Her major in university was management. Her ability in design was mediocre, unable to be as outstanding as described in the books.

However, she could learn anew.

With her abilities, even if she couldn’t be number one, she wouldn’t be ridiculously bad.

Shen Man put down the book and sat before the vanity. On the table was a set of affordable skincare products and simple cosmetics.

A schoolbag hung on the edge of the wardrobe, containing a student ID, an ID card, and a household registration book¹.

Shen Man opened the household registration book.

It only contained her own information, which meant she was already an orphan.

Shen Man carefully memorized this body’s basic information.

She put away the household registration book, opened her phone, and carefully scrolled through the contact list.

There were quite a few people’s numbers on the phone, including those of the male lead and the second male lead.

Shen Man only glanced at them before skipping past, searching alphabetically to find a number saved as ‘Aunt’.

She noted down the number, opened WeChat², and entered the phone number, quickly finding her aunt’s WeChat account.

Looking through their chat history, the last conversation was at the end of last month.

In other words, her aunt did not know about this body moving into Lin Shu’s home.

Based on the existing information, Shen Man roughly figured out the situation.

She didn’t know why she had transmigrated into this person with the same name, nor did she know where the original owner had gone.

The only thing she could be certain of was that she had to live on properly.

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The sound of footsteps came from outside.

Shen Man opened her door and looked toward the entryway.

A middle-aged woman was changing her shoes.

She was slightly plump, wearing a loose-fitting short-sleeved shirt, and carrying groceries in her hand.

Judging by her attire, she should be the Lin family’s housekeeper.

The woman turned her head, saw Shen Man, and revealed a smile. “Manman, my daughter is sick, I need to go back and take care of her for two days. I’ve already spoken with President Lin.”

The woman’s attitude was polite and courteous, her eyes full of apology. “I’ll leave after making lunch and be back tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have to trouble you two to eat out or order takeout for these two days. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s alright, if you’re busy you should go now.” Shen Man said with a smile, glancing at Lin Shu’s room. “Everyone was celebrating the birthday and having fun all night yesterday. Shushu is sleeping right now, she probably won’t wake up until the afternoon.”

“Then I’ll cook the food and keep it warm, so you can eat when you’re hungry.” The woman said, carrying the groceries toward the kitchen.

Shen Man followed behind, leaning against the door and saying, “You should go see your daughter first. I know a little bit of cooking. When Shushu wakes up, I’ll cook for her.”

“How could I let you do that.” The woman put down the groceries, her expression wavering slightly.

“You should go.” Shen Man persuaded with a light smile.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then nodded at Shen Man gratefully. “Thank you so much. I’ll be going then. If there’s anything in the kitchen you don’t know how to use, just give me a call.”

“Okay.” Shen Man agreed.

The woman put the groceries in the refrigerator, changed her shoes, and left.

Shen Man watched the door close, then turned and went back to her own room.

The pain from being drunk still lingered in her body, and coupled with last night’s vigorous exercise, now that she was relaxing, she felt both tired and sleepy.

Shen Man had a good sleep, and when she woke up, it was already four in the afternoon.

The evening sun shone in through the window, plating the vanity table with a layer of gold, like a dream or an illusion, making Shen Man feel a bit unreal.

After lying in bed for a while, Shen Man finally became fully awake.

She got up, planning to make dinner.

Shen Man opened the door, coming face to face with a delicate and pretty face filled with anger.

She curved her lips into a smile. “Shushu, what’s wrong?”

“Hurry up and cook, I’m starving to death.” Lin Shu said angrily. “If your cooking isn’t as good as Auntie He’s, I’ll kick you out.”

Her attitude was one of entitlement, bossy and imperious.

Shen Man, however, wasn’t angry.

Even she herself was surprised by this.

No matter how much she doted on her ex-girlfriends, she would never let them walk all over her.

And she had always liked gentle and pure great beauties; that type of beauty was docile and well-behaved, and wouldn’t be able to throw a ‘young miss’ temper tantrum like Lin Shu.

Shen Man opened the refrigerator.

She glanced at the food inside; there were both meat and vegetables, as well as some fruit.

She turned her head, looked at the person on the sofa, and asked, “What dishes do you like to eat?”

“I want to eat meat.” Lin Shu said loudly, lying down comfortably and starting to watch TV.

Shen Man took out potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, and meat, closed the refrigerator, and walked to the kitchen.

She had learned to cook at a very young age. Later, when she had money, she specifically hired someone to teach her for several months. Her skills were no worse than someone with a chef’s certificate.

Shen Man washed the vegetables and meat, then chopped the side ingredients like ginger, garlic, and chili peppers.

After marinating the meat with seasonings and letting it sit, she began to wash the rice and cook it.

Lin Shu listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen, turned off the TV, and walked toward the kitchen.

As if she were supervising the work, she stood to the side, staring at Shen Man.

She watched Shen Man’s long, slender, and fair hands holding that sharp, frightening kitchen knife, deftly slicing the potato into pieces in just a few moves, then rapidly cutting them into shreds.

Lin Shu could barely see it clearly.

In the blink of an eye, the perfectly fine potato slices had become a pile of pale yellow, thin potato shreds. When the sunlight hit them, they even had a hint of transparency.

Lin Shu was extremely surprised, just staring blankly as Shen Man finished cutting the vegetables, a look of amazement unconsciously showing in her eyes.

“How many points would you give my knife skills? Young Miss.” Shen Man asked with a smile, the last two words carrying a playful tone.

Lin Shu, as if caught in the act, immediately turned her head away, her face full of arrogance. “Just so-so.”

After she finished speaking, she stiffened her neck and left the kitchen.

Shen Man chuckled lightly, turned on the gas stove, and began to stir-fry.

The housekeeper, Auntie He, had bought xiaomi peppers³, green peppers, and large red peppers, from which it could be deduced that Lin Shu ate spicy food.

In twenty minutes, Shen Man had made three dishes and one soup.

Stir-fried pork with green peppers, and hot and sour potato shreds; she put a lot of chili in these two bowls of food to ensure they were flavorful enough.

The lettuce was plainly stir-fried, and there was also a bowl of tomato and egg soup that was also light.

Shen Man brought the dishes to the table and turned to scoop the rice.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Lin Shu quickly got up, glanced over, and her stomach growled against her will.

She swallowed her saliva, quickly washed her hands, and sat down.

Shen Man came out carrying two bowls of rice, placed one in front of Lin Shu, and said with a smile, “Young Miss, try my cooking.”

Lin Shu huffed, picked up her chopsticks, and gracefully picked up a piece of meat. After swallowing, she said with great reluctance, “It’s okay.”

Shen Man smiled without speaking, not exposing this statement of saying one thing but meaning another.

The two ate together.

Although Lin Shu had a bad temper, she was, after all, a rich family’s young lady. Her dining etiquette was very good; she chewed slowly and barely made any sound.

Shen Man occasionally raised her eyes to look at that arrogant and beautiful little face, unable to help but chuckle lightly.

This vicious female side character was beautiful, alright, but her little mouth was unforgiving, always finding fault with her.

In less than twenty-four hours, she had already been threatened three times.

To this day, she had never suffered this ‘grievance’ from anyone.

Lin Shu’s chopsticks continuously picked up meat and potatoes. Her eyes were watery from the spiciness, yet she didn’t stop.

She didn’t even glance at that bowl of green vegetables.

Suddenly, a piece of green lettuce appeared in her bowl.

Lin Shu frowned, stopped her movements, and looked at the person who had given her the food, saying with dissatisfaction, “I don’t eat green vegetables.”

“You’re at the age where you’re still growing. You need to eat both vegetables and meat.” Shen Man said, her gaze falling on Lin Shu’s chest, and she raised an eyebrow.

Lin Shu defensively covered her chest with her hands, staring at Shen Man warily.

Shen Man chuckled lightly and shifted her gaze away, lowering her head to eat as if nothing had happened.

Lin Shu stared for two seconds, then picked the lettuce from her bowl and gave it to Shen Man. “I don’t need it.”

“You’re shorter than me.” Shen Man said flatly, and put the lettuce back in Lin Shu’s bowl.

Lin Shu’s sore spot was hit. She wanted to retort angrily, but after thinking for a long time, she forced out, “I’m lighter than you.”

“You are quite light.” Shen Man said with a smile, her gaze sweeping over Lin Shu’s chest. “It would be nice if you could grow a bit more meat.”

“None of your business. Big breasts, no brains.” Lin Shu said huffily.

Shen Man was noncommittal.

The phrase ‘big breasts, no brains’ was very suitable for the original book’s female lead.

In fact, when she heard her company’s employees discussing Lin Shu’s harmful schemes, she only found them childish and low-level.

She would absolutely not fall for them.

Only a female lead who had been forcibly ‘dumbed down’ and was foolishly simple would believe them.

Although Lin Shu was angry, she still frowned and ate the green vegetable.

She took a bite, and a crisp, tender feeling spread in her mouth. It was much more delicious than she had imagined.

Lin Shu couldn’t help but pick up another piece of lettuce herself.

The four bowls of food were eaten clean by the two of them.

Shen Man got up to clear the table.

Lin Shu lay down on the sofa and continued to watch TV.

Shen Man came out after washing the dishes and walked toward her room.

Lin Shu spoke up to stop her, propping up her head and saying while watching TV, “I want to eat fruit. Hurry up and cut some fruit for me to eat.”

This attitude was as arrogant as ever.

Shen Man let out a light laugh, opened the refrigerator, and asked, “What fruit do you want to eat?”

“What fruits are there?” Lin Shu fiddled with the remote control to change the channel, not even lifting her eyes.

“Apples, bananas, dragon fruit, and peaches.” Shen Man replied.

“A little of each, make a fruit platter.” Lin Shu said, her voice lazy.

Shen Man took the fruits and went back to the kitchen. She washed them, peeled them, cut them into pieces, and arranged them neatly by category on the fruit platter.

She was in a leisurely and carefree mood, cutting the red dragon fruit into the shape of little hearts, then arranging them on the platter to form a big heart.

Shen Man came out carrying the fruit and placed it on the coffee table.

She sat down on the sofa and picked up a piece of dragon fruit with a toothpick.

Lin Shu felt the sofa sink down a bit. She turned her head and saw Shen Man sitting by her feet.

She frowned subconsciously and said, “Just put the fruit here.”

“How could that be okay?” Shen Man’s lips curved into a smile, and she leaned in closer. “I must serve the Young Miss her fruit.”

Lin Shu instinctively sensed danger and sat up, moving back a step.

Shen Man continued to press forward, pressing her own body onto Lin Shu’s. Two slender fingers lifted Lin Shu’s chin, and she gave a suggestive laugh. “This is fruit I’ve carefully cut. I hope the Young Miss likes it.”

“I can do it myself.” Lin Shu said hurriedly, turning her head away, her lips pursed, her body tense as a wire.

“You really don’t need my help?” Shen Man asked with a smile.

“No…” Lin Shu shook her head like a rattle drum.

Shen Man released her hand, sat up straight again, swallowed that piece of dragon fruit herself, licked her lips with a look of pleasure, and looked at Lin Shu, saying, “Well then, remember to wash the dishes after you finish the fruit.”

Lin Shu nodded hastily.

Shen Man got up and left.

Lin Shu let out a sigh of relief.

A moment later, she realized, this was her house, why should she be afraid of Shen Man?

As Lin Shu ate the fruit, the more she ate, the more unbalanced she felt in her heart.

Her eyes looked toward Shen Man’s room, her mind thinking of ways to drive this annoying woman away.

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