I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 60

Sitting Together

Reconciled

After dinner.

Lin Shu returned to her room.

Shen Man sat on the living room sofa, looking at a magazine.

Auntie He was clearing the dishes and said with a quiet smile, “Manman, I’m so happy that you and Miss Lin have reconciled.”

“Miss Lin also ate more tonight than she did the past two days.”

Shen Man smiled faintly.

Her slender fingers stroked the edge of the magazine as she flipped a page and said, “I’m sorry to have worried you.”

“Whether I’m worried or not is a small matter; it’s you two that are important.” Auntie He laughed happily. “You and Miss Lin still have more than three years to spend together. It’s inevitable that there will be some friction from time to time…”

“Auntie He, I’m going back to my room now.” Shen Man interrupted Auntie He, putting down the magazine and getting up to return to her room.

Auntie He looked at that tall, slender back, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Standing where she was, she muttered to herself, “Did I say something wrong?”

After thinking for a moment, she couldn’t figure out which sentence was wrong and continued clearing the dishes.

Shen Man returned to her room.

Leaning against the headboard with her hands clasped behind her head, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

The “more than three years” Auntie He mentioned was, in reality, less than three months.

Once Lin Shu left to study abroad, the plot of this book would be considered over.

Perhaps… she could return to the real world.

Shen Man’s fine brows knitted slightly, her heart in a bit of a turmoil.

Even more than that was the uncertainty about returning to the real world.

Her phone rang, the ringtone interrupting her thoughts.

Shen Man turned her head, saw the caller ID was ‘Xia Ke’, and answered, “Xiao Ke, what’s up?”

“Manman, I’ve thought of a design concept!” Xia Ke said excitedly.

“What concept?” Shen Man asked, her tone calm.

“Manman, what’s wrong with you? You sound so listless. Is something on your mind?” Xia Ke asked with concern.

“It’s nothing.” Shen Man chuckled, pushing aside her melancholy mood and asking with a smile, “What concept did you think of?”

Xia Ke was immediately distracted, saying excitedly, “How about we use flowers as our theme?”

“Spring is when a hundred flowers bloom. All kinds of vibrant flowers can best embody the beauty of spring.”

“Okay.” Shen Man agreed without a second thought.

Xia Ke frowned suspiciously. “Manman, how come you’re not offering any opinions?”

“You definitely have something on your mind!” she said with great certainty.

Shen Man had not expected her emotions to be so obvious that even the carefree Xia Ke¹ could see it.

She sighed and said in a worried tone, “I haven’t had any ideas for this project, so I can’t help but feel a little anxious.”

“Oh, so that’s what it is.” Xia Ke did not suspect there was another reason² and comforted her, “It’s okay, you still have me.”

“Then we’ll use this idea I came up with.”

“Alright,” Shen Man said happily, a smile in her voice. “Now I don’t have to worry anymore.”

Xia Ke laughed along with her and teased, “I always thought Manman was omnipotent, able to solve any problem with ease, no matter how difficult. I never thought there’d be something Manman couldn’t handle.”

Shen Man chuckled.

The two discussed the idea for a while and reached a consensus.

Shen Man hung up the phone and threw those worries of the man from Qi about the sky³ to the back of her mind.

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The teacher gave them five days for this project assignment.

Lin Shu finished it in three.

Now, only a few final touches were needed for it to be a complete work.

“Lin Shu, you’ve been working so hard for so long. Let me handle the final touches,” Wan Qing said with concern, handing her a cup of milk tea.

Just as Lin Shu was about to speak, her phone rang.

It was Shen Man.

The corners of Lin Shu’s lips curled up, and she waved a hand at Wan Qing.

Wan Qing nodded happily.

Lin Shu walked outside with her phone and asked with a smile, “What’s up?”

“Shushu, I need to ask you for a favor,” Shen Man said with a laugh.

“Go ahead,” Lin Shu said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her pretty face beaming with a cheerful smile.

“There’s a small problem with our design. Could you come over and give us some guidance?” Xia Ke’s voice came through the phone.

Lin Shu’s fine brows knitted together, and the expression on her face turned cold. “Put Shen Man on the phone.”

“We’re in Xiao Ke’s dorm room,” Shen Man said.

“Got it, I’m heading over now.” After Lin Shu said this, she straightened her collar and walked happily toward the dorms.

Shen Man was standing at the door.

The moment Lin Shu’s figure appeared in the hallway, she saw her and immediately walked over. “Shushu.”

“Two people can’t even get one design right,” Lin Shu huffed, the unconcealable pride showing between her delicate brows and eyes.

Shen Man wasn’t the least bit angry. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she praised, “How could we be as smart as Shushu?”

“That’s a given.” Lin Shu was pleased by the flattery.

She walked into the dorm room and glanced at Xia Ke.

Xia Ke immediately brought over a stool, made a gentlemanly gesture, and said dramatically, “Welcome Miss Lin’s great chariot’s arrival⁴, please have a seat.”

Lin Shu wanted to laugh.

She held it back, pursed her lips, and said, “Show me your work.”

Xia Ke hurriedly brought the design over to Lin Shu.

Lin Shu examined it carefully for a moment and pointed out the problems.

Xia Ke nodded repeatedly. “You’re amazing, you saw it so quickly. Shen Man and I studied it for so long and couldn’t find what was wrong.”

“She’s so dumb, how could she possibly find it,” Lin Shu said in an aojiao (tsundere) manner, picking up a pen and lowering her head to help with the revisions.

Shen Man leaned against the doorframe.

Watching the confidence in the young woman’s eyes and her expression of flying spirit and color⁵, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

Even after being called dumb, she wasn’t angry.

“Lin Shu, after just a few simple strokes from you, it seems so much more suitable,” Xia Ke said happily, running over to Shen Man with the artwork. “Manman, look, isn’t it much better?”

“Mhm,” Shen Man nodded, looking at Lin Shu.

Their four eyes met.

Lin Shu unconsciously fiddled with her hair and turned her head to the side. “No need for thanks.”

Shen Man looked at that aojiao (tsundere) little face, a ticklish feeling rising in her heart, and said with a smile, “Thank you, Shushu. We really owe you this time. Otherwise, we might not have been able to turn in our homework at all.”

“Yeah, yeah, Lin Shu, you’re the best! I’m sure you’ll be chosen by Teacher Flins this time,” Xia Ke said admiringly.

Shen Man’s brow furrowed slightly. “How did you know Teacher Flins was here?”

“It’s kind of an open secret. A lot of students in our class know,” Xia Ke said. “But you don’t have to worry. With Lin Shu’s talent and ability, she’ll definitely be chosen.”

“Lin Shu, is your homework done?”

“Just the last little bit left. Wan Qing is working on it,” Lin Shu said.

“You gave the work to Wan Qing to do alone?” Shen Man frowned, her tone unconsciously becoming stern.

Hearing the accusatory tone in her words, Lin Shu stood up, displeased. “She and I are a team. So what if I gave the work to her?”

“I can’t be expected to do everything by myself.”

Shen Man immediately realized her tone was wrong and apologized, “That’s not what I meant. I was just worried your work would be plagiarized.”

“This is the result of a group collaboration. How could it be plagiarized?” Lin Shu retorted loudly.

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Xia Ke quickly stepped in to hit the round field⁶ and asked doubtfully, “Since this assignment is about whether we can get noticed by Teacher Flins, why did the teacher ask us to complete it in teams?”

“Wouldn’t completing the work individually be more convincing?”

“How would I know,” Lin Shu said, annoyed.

Shen Man remained silent.

She only knew the general outcome, not these specific little details.

“Maybe he’ll choose the best from the two,” Xia Ke guessed, and the more she thought about it, the more convincing the reason seemed. “Teacher Flins’s works have always centered on love, and the same work can have different interpretations.”

“Compared to the artwork itself, he values the artist’s heart more.”

Shen Man nodded.

This setup was actually to serve the female lead, allowing her to win through character and integrity in a situation where her design skills were lacking.

She couldn’t help but look at Lin Shu.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lin Shu frowned.

“It’s nothing,” Shen Man shook her head.

Wan Qing was just a minor character; she wouldn’t have the ability to mess with Lin Shu’s halo⁷.

“Is there anything else you need my help with?” Lin Shu asked in an aojiao (tsundere) manner, her gaze landing on Shen Man before quickly darting away.

“Nope, we’re good. Thank you, Lin Shu. You can go do your own thing,” Xia Ke said gratefully.

Hearing this, Lin Shu glanced at Shen Man.

“Shushu, thank you,” Shen Man said with a smile.

Lin Shu pouted and walked out with a haughty look.

Shen Man stood by the door, watching until her back disappeared.

“Manman, don’t just stand there. Let’s keep going. We won’t have time later since we have class this afternoon,” Xia Ke said.

Shen Man collected her thoughts and went over to help.

Before they knew it, the noon break was almost over.

Xia Ke tidied up a bit and said with a smile, “With Lin Shu’s help, things were so much easier for us.”

“Let’s buy her a milk tea to thank her.”

“Okay, I’ll go buy it,” Shen Man nodded.

“You go on ahead then. I’ll help you take your books over,” Xia Ke said.

“Thanks.” After saying this, Shen Man turned and left.

After buying two cups of milk tea at the shop, Shen Man walked toward the classroom.

She happened to run into Lin Shu on the way.

“Shushu, this is for you.” Shen Man handed one of the cups to her, a smile on her face. “Thank you for your help at noon.”

“It was just a small favor,” Lin Shu said smugly, the corners of her mouth unable to resist turning up.

She took the milk tea, immediately took a sip, and looked at the cup in Shen Man’s other hand. “Who’s that one for?”

“Xiao Ke’s,” Shen Man said.

“I thought you bought this specially for me, but it turns out you were buying for someone else too,” Lin Shu pouted, shooting Shen Man a sideways glance.

“I did buy it specially for you,” Shen Man explained with a smile. “Xiao Ke was mainly in charge of this project, and I didn’t help much, so it’s only right that I buy her a milk tea too.”

After hearing this, Lin Shu’s expression softened a little.

The two walked into the classroom.

Xia Ke waved happily and pointed to the empty seat in front of her. “Manman, your books are over there.”

Shen Man smiled.

She walked over, sat down, and placed the milk tea on Xia Ke’s desk.

Lin Shu stood where she was, looking around for a seat.

“Lin Shu, why don’t you sit here? I still have a few small questions to ask you,” Xia Ke said with a smile, winking at Shen Man.

Shen Man chuckled lightly, opened her textbook, and lowered her head to read.

A shadow fell beside her.

She turned her head and met Lin Shu’s gaze.

“Xia Ke told me to sit here. It’s not like I wanted to myself,” Lin Shu said, her face slightly red as she bit down hard on her straw.

A small smile played on Shen Man’s lips as she turned her head back to her book.

Xia Ke quietly asked Lin Shu for advice.

Shen Man looked up, scanned the room, and didn’t see Wan Qing.

A bad feeling instantly rose in her heart.

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