I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 32

She Must Accompany Me

Shushu is my best friend

In less than twenty minutes, Tan Kai’s expensive sports car stopped at the movie theater entrance.

It immediately attracted everyone’s gazes.

Tan Kai got out of the car, holding one umbrella open, with another in his hand. He walked up to Shen Man and, smiling, handed the umbrella over, “Was the movie good today?”

“It was alright.” Shen Man replied with a slight smile, opened the umbrella, and looked at Lin Shu.

Lin Shu walked over gracefully, a proud and confident smile on her small face.

Shen Man glanced at the envious looks from the crowd of onlookers, then turned her head to look at Lin Shu, and said with a light laugh, “Shushu, despite such heavy rain, you seem to be in a good mood.”

“Of course.” Lin Shu fiddled with her hair with a pleased expression.

Shen Man’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she tilted the umbrella toward Lin Shu.

Tan Kai opened the car door, and the two of them sat in the back together.

Lin Shu sat on the left, took a small mirror out of her bag, and carefully looked at her makeup, touching it up as she looked.

Shen Man sat on the right, her legs crossed, one hand propping up her forehead, silently watching Lin Shu.

In those calm eyes, no emotion could be seen.

After Lin Shu finished touching up her makeup, she felt a wave of coldness wash over her.

She turned her head and met Shen Man’s gaze. Her heart immediately ‘thumped’, and she asked with dissatisfaction, “Why are you looking at me?”

After speaking, she turned around, her back to Shen Man, and tidied her hair while looking in the mirror.

Shen Man’s expression darkened, and she said nothing.

She closed her eyes, leaned against the seat, and placed her crossed hands on her lap.

Tan Kai felt the atmosphere in the back seat was strange.

He glanced at Shen Man in the rearview mirror and, smiling to ease the tension, said, “Shen Man, do you play games?”

“What games?” Shen Man opened her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her face.

Tan Kai mentioned several types of games, including client games¹ and mobile games².

Shen Man nodded.

Tan Kai’s eyes immediately lit up, a trace of surprise on his handsome face. “Among the girls I know, very few like to play games. Seeing how seriously you study, I thought you only read books. I never expected you to actually play games.”

Shen Man gave a light laugh, tilted her head slightly, and said, “Do you all have some kind of misunderstanding about me?”

“Ah?” Tan Kai gave a slightly embarrassed smile.

Hearing this, Lin Shu’s expression froze for a moment.

She immediately thought of the question Shen Man had asked her at the movie theater.

She tilted the mirror a little to look at Shen Man’s expression in it.

That beautiful and gentle face, the corners of her lips curved into a very faint smile, and behind the smile seemed to hide a loneliness and solitude that was not understood by others.

The car suddenly fell silent.

Lin Shu put down the mirror, looked up, glanced at Shen Man, and looked as if she wanted to speak but stopped.

Shen Man noticed her small movements, leisurely uncrossed her legs, and asked with a smile, “Shushu, what games do you play?”

“She never plays games,” Tan Kai answered. “She can’t even tell the difference between mobile games and client games.”

Lin Shu immediately glared at Tan Kai and said stubbornly, “Even if I don’t know how, I can learn.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen Shushu so eager to learn,” Shen Man said teasingly, a knowing smile in her eyes.

Lin Shu being so proactive was entirely because of the male lead; even her original dislike for rainy days was diluted by the joy of going to the male lead’s house.

These past few days, the closeness and ambiguity she had created did not seem to have affected Lin Shu’s feelings of admiration for the male lead.

Shen Man’s brow furrowed slightly; inwardly, she felt things were a bit tricky.

Soon, the corners of her lips curved up, and her eyes revealed a look of high spirits and interest.

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Tan Kai parked the car at the entrance of Shao Qi’s house.

Beside them, a servant was already waiting, holding an umbrella.

The three of them entered the house, and someone immediately brought slippers, half-squatting to help them change.

Tan Kai and Lin Shu naturally enjoyed the servants’ service.

Shen Man smiled and said, “Thank you, I’ll do it myself.”

After she spoke, she took a step back and changed into the shoes herself.

Lin Shu turned her head, glanced over, and said, “Shen Man, this is a rule set by Auntie Shao³. If you act like this, Auntie Shao won’t like it.”

Shen Man’s fine brows knitted slightly, but the expression on her face did not change.

“Guests are guests, no need to be so formal.” A middle-aged man walked out, smiling.

His figure was tall and well-built, and his face, which looked serious, was smiling amiably.

“Uncle Shao⁴.” Tan Kai and Lin Shu immediately greeted him with a smile.

Shen Man bowed slightly and said politely, “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. Thank you for your continuous care.”

“You’re called Shen Man, right?” Shao Yan⁵ asked gently, without any airs at all.

“Yes.” Shen Man maintained her smile, answering politely and courteously.

“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you all, my family’s Shao Qi has become much more lively recently. Finally, someone is willing to play with him,” Shao Yan said, a gratified smile on his gentle face.

The expression and tone with which he spoke gave people the mistaken impression that Shao Qi was unpopular.

In reality, it was Shao Qi himself who was aloof⁶ and refused to play with others.

“Uncle Shao, you’re too kind,” Tan Kai said.
“You all go upstairs first, I have to go pick up Shao Qi’s mother.” After Shao Yan finished speaking, he put on the jacket handed to him by a servant and walked out.

Shen Man glanced back, roughly understanding the dynamic of the male lead’s family.

A kind father and a strict mother.

Father Shao was the type of good husband who doted on his wife, and corresponding to that was the arrogant, rude Mother Shao who was always looking down on others from on high.

Shao Qi’s cold and arrogant personality was likely influenced by Mother Shao.

The three of them arrived upstairs.

A servant had already prepared hot tea and snacks.

Shao Qi was sitting in front of the computer desk, wearing headphones, and playing a game.

He heard the sound, looked up, glanced over, and then lowered his head again.

Tan Kai picked up a snack and put it in his mouth, walked over, stood behind Shao Qi to watch for a while, and said, “His current match will probably be over in about five minutes. You all sit for a bit first.”

Hearing this, Lin Shu sat down with an elegant posture, eating the snacks like a lady, glancing at Shao Qi from time to to time with a happy smile on her face.

Shen Man sat to the side, casually leaning against her chair.

Staring at Lin Shu, she said, “Shushu, you have something on your mouth.”

Lin Shu hurriedly wiped her mouth, then carefully took out her mirror to check. She pressed her lips together and said, somewhat vexed, “My lipstick seems to have faded.”

“No, it looks great right now.” Shen Man comforted her with a light laugh, picked up a piece of pastry, and bit off half of it in one go.

“Eating like that, your movements aren’t elegant at all.” Lin Shu said in a low voice, her brow slightly furrowed. “This is Shao Qi’s house, you have to pay attention to every word and action.”

“Pay attention to what? I don’t need to curry favor with the people here.” Shen Man laughed lightly, her expression nonchalant.

Lin Shu saw a trace of mockery in that carefree smile and her small face immediately flushed red with anger.

She turned her head away with a huff, not wanting to pay any attention to Shen Man.

Shao Qi finished his game.

He stood up, walked in front of the two of them, and asked in a cold voice, “Do you guys want to play a game?”

“Yes, can you teach me?” Lin Shu immediately stood up and asked happily.

Shao Qi’s brow furrowed, the expression on his face cold and indifferent, “I don’t teach newbies⁷.”

The smile on Lin Shu’s face froze instantly.

Tan Kai immediately said, “Lin Shu, come over here, I’ll teach you.”

Lin Shu unhappily lowered her head and walked over to sit down next to Tan Kai.

Shao Qi looked at Shen Man, his voice unchangingly cold, “I heard you can play games. I’ll play a round with you.”

“Alright.” Shen Man stood up with a light laugh.

Lin Shu watched helplessly as the two of them sat down and put on their headphones with almost synchronized movements.

Anger flared in her eyes. She pouted and propped her cheeks up with her hands.

“Lin Shu, what’s wrong?” Tan Kai asked.

“Nothing.” Lin Shu replied in a bad mood, glancing to the side again, feeling even angrier.

Tan Kai sensed her unhappiness, moved a little closer, and asked, “Weren’t you very eager to learn how to play just now? Why have you stopped learning now?”

“I don’t want you to teach me,” Lin Shu complained in a small voice.

Hearing this, Tan Kai wasn’t angry. He thought for a moment and said, “How about this, we go watch them play, and you can first get an idea of how they control things.”

Lin Shu nodded, her little face puffed up.

The two of them walked over.

Tan Kai stood behind Shao Qi, and Lin Shu stood behind Shen Man.

“There’s someone ahead, be careful.” Shao Qi stared intently at the screen, his fingers nimbly manipulating the keyboard.

Shen Man made an ‘en’ sound and dispatched an enemy with relaxed and clean movements.

“Amazing, Shen Man, you could hit him from such an awkward angle,” Tan Kai said in admiration.

“Her skill is not bad.” Shao Qi praised affirmatively, his cold voice now holding a trace of the liveliness of someone his age.

Lin Shu stood to the side, completely unable to understand.

She pouted, bent down slightly, leaned close to Shen Man, stared for a moment, and asked, “Which one is you?”

A warm breath suddenly fell beside her ear.

Shen Man’s heart tightened, her reaction was a second too slow, and she failed to press a dodge key.

The character she was controlling was instantly hit by someone and fell to the ground.

“Move toward me, I’ll cover you,” Shao Qi said immediately, his handsome face turning serious.

Tan Kai watched this mistake and asked curiously, “Shen Man, what happened just now? With your skill, you shouldn’t have been unable to dodge that.”

“I was bitten by a little bug.” Shen Man replied with a light laugh, her fingers skillfully maneuvering the character to hide to the side.

Hearing this, Lin Shu glared at Shen Man with dissatisfaction, stood up straight, and stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Is there a bug?” Tan Kai was puzzled and looked around, “No, I don’t see one.”

“Perhaps I saw wrong,” Shen Man said with a cheerful smile.

“We won!” Shao Qi took off his mobile phone, shouted, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and picked up a water bottle to drink.

Shen Man’s expression was indifferent; she was not excited about winning the game.

She turned her head and glanced at Shao Qi.

The expression on the male lead’s face was no longer ice-cold. It carried the excitement and happiness of winning, making him look about the same as any boy his age who loves to play games.

Their gazes met.

A smile appeared at the corners of Shao Qi’s mouth as he praised, “You’re really amazing. If it weren’t for you this round, it probably would have been very hard to win.”

“Team games rely on cooperation. With just me alone, I probably couldn’t have won either.” Shen Man smiled modestly.

Lin Shu watched the two of them talking and laughing, and a surge of anger rose in her heart, along with a bit of sourness.

She pressed her lips together, looked at Shao Qi, then at Shen Man, a look of jealousy showing in the depths of her eyes, and said, “It’s just a game, winning or losing isn’t important.”

“To us guys, winning or losing is still very important,” Tan Kai retorted.

Lin Shu shot him an angry glare.

Tan Kai immediately turned his head to the side.

“Shen Man, I’ll compete with you for a round,” Shao Qi said, his cold face carrying excitement.

Shen Man nodded, glanced at Lin Shu, and said, “Shushu, you sit next to me, and don’t move around.”

For the last sentence, her voice lowered.

“Who wants to sit next to you?” Lin Shu huffed, pulled over a nearby chair, and placed it behind Shen Man.

She sat down, pouting, her little face covered with dissatisfaction.

Shen Man turned her head back, happening to meet Lin Shu’s gaze, and said with a smile, “Shushu, you don’t seem very happy?”

“What’s it to you!” Lin Shu retorted with an unfriendly tone.

Shen Man immediately smiled even more cheerfully, “I thought it was me who made Shushu unhappy.”

“You…” Lin Shu, as if her thoughts had been exposed, turned red with vexation. But with Shao Qi here, she could only force herself to hold back and not lash out.

Shen Man reached out, brushed aside a strand of fine hair that had fallen on her forehead, curved her lips, and smiled confidently, “Shushu, watch carefully how I win.”

As she spoke, her tone became low and husky, her words holding a double meaning.

“I don’t believe you’ll win.” Lin Shu pouted and gave a haughty huff.

Shen Man smiled, turned her head, put on her headphones, and stared sharply at the computer screen.

She changed her previously relaxed posture, her body leaning slightly forward, her whole person seeming to have entered a state of high alert.

Lin Shu watched from behind, clearly sensing Shen Man’s fighting spirit and caution.

She blinked her eyes, then looked over at Shao Qi, who also had the same serious posture.

“A duel between experts, this match is sure to be exciting,” Tan Kai said with a smile.

As an outsider, he unconsciously started to feel nervous. He looked at Lin Shu and asked, “Who do you think will win?”

“Of course it’s…” Lin Shu was saying, when she suddenly met Shen Man’s deep gaze. She immediately choked up, as if her throat was blocked, unable to speak.

She mumbled a few times, pressed her lips together, lowered her eyes, and looked at the tips of her own feet.

The match officially began.

Inside the quiet room, only the ‘da da’ sound of keyboard tapping could be heard.

Shen Man was fully focused, bringing out her best skill level.

Shao Qi also did not dare to relax, treating it with his full effort.

Tan Kai stood to the side, growing more nervous the more he watched, looking back and forth between their two screens and their actions.

Lin Shu couldn’t understand the game.

She could only see Shen Man’s long, slender, and fair fingers pressing rapidly on the keyboard, as if playing a fast-paced musical piece.

The movement of her dancing fingertips was very beautiful; if she were to learn piano, she would surely be outstanding as well.

“Shen Man, you’re truly amazing, you actually solo-killed⁸ Shao Qi! This is the game Shao Qi is best at, even I can’t beat him.” Tan Kai exclaimed in amazement, giving Shen Man a thumbs-up.

“Indeed amazing, to be able to position⁹ like that, I never would have thought of it.” Shao Qi praised, completely convinced by his loss.

Shen Man took off her headphones, let out a light sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from her palms with her hand, and looked back at Lin Shu, “Shushu, how was it?”

“You won, so you won, what’s the big deal.” Lin Shu said dismissively, lowering her head and not meeting Shen Man’s eyes.

Shen Man smiled lightly, relaxed her body, and leaned against the back of the chair.

Shao Qi handed over a bottle of water, his face slightly red, “In the future, can you come to my house to play games often?”

“No!” Lin Shu immediately stood up and loudly objected.

Shao Qi frowned, his expression cold, “Why not?”

“She must accompany me!” Lin Shu answered without thinking.

Hearing this, Shen Man took the bottle of water, took a sip, stared at Lin Shu with a half-smile, and licked the water droplets from her lips.

This action was very ordinary, but when done by her, it was sexy and alluring.

Lin Shu’s heart tightened, her face flushing slightly, and she said, lacking confidence, “Shen Man and I are good friends, we have to play together often, she doesn’t have time to play games with you all.”

After speaking, she looked nervously at Shen Man, “You tell them, isn’t that right?”

Shen Man smiled.

“Hurry up and say it, isn’t that right?” Lin Shu urged anxiously.

“Does Shushu really consider me a friend? I thought you really disliked me,” Shen Man asked back with a smile, her voice gentle.

Lin Shu keenly sensed the anger hidden behind the smile.

She was a bit confused, and under Shao Qi’s cold gaze, she braced herself and nodded, “I’ve never said I dislike you, I’ve always regarded you as a friend.”

“Then from now on, Shushu and I are good friends.” Shen Man smiled happily, walked over, and in front of the male lead and second male lead, wrapped her arms around Lin Shu.

She moved close, her lips almost brushing against that white and tender earlobe, and whispered ambiguously, “Shushu is my best friend.”

Lin Shu’s body stiffened, her earlobe, scalded by the hot breath, felt itchy.

She wanted to reach up and scratch it, but her hand was suddenly taken.

“Shao Qi, I’m sorry, I have to accompany Shushu, so I probably won’t have time to play games with you anymore.” Shen Man tightly held Lin Shu’s hand, their fingers intertwined.

Lin Shu struggled for a moment, but couldn’t pull her hand out.

She felt as if she had been schemed against.

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