I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 61

Worries Come True

I won’t allow others to bully my Shushu

Shen Man noticed that Wan Qing hadn’t appeared all afternoon.

She frowned in thought.

Lin Shu was organizing her textbooks.

Turning her head, she saw Shen Man sitting motionless and nudged her with an elbow. “What are you spacing out for? Class is over.”

Shen Man showed a faint smile and packed up her things.

“Manman, a full day of classes is so tiring.” Xia Ke yawned, fatigue in her eyes. “I’m not going to work on it tonight. We still have two days anyway, there’s enough time.”

“Okay.” Shen Man nodded, then looked at Lin Shu and said, “I have something to do. Wait for me in the car.”

“Got it.” Lin Shu slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and got up to leave.

Shen Man’s gaze was fixed on a spot in the classroom.

Once most of the people had left, she stood up and walked over to a girl who was usually on good terms with Wan Qing.

“Class Monitor, is something wrong?” the girl asked with a smile, holding her schoolbag.

“Why didn’t Wan Qing come to class?” Shen Man asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve seen her all afternoon.” The girl shook her head and looked around. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing,” Shen Man said, returning to her seat.

She took out her phone and dialed Wan Qing’s number.

She tried calling several times, but it went unanswered each time.

Shen Man lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and dialed the head teacher’s number.

The call was quickly answered. “Shen Man, what is it?”

“Teacher, Wan Qing didn’t come to class all afternoon. I’m a little worried she might have run into some trouble,” Shen Man said in a concerned tone.

“You don’t need to worry, she had to take care of something. You don’t need to mark her as absent for the afternoon classes,” the head teacher said with a laugh.

Shen Man detected the happiness in his voice and took the opportunity to ask, “How should I write down the reason for her leave?”

The head teacher thought for a moment and said, “Just write ‘personal private matter’.”

“Okay, I understand,” Shen Man said in a natural tone.

After hanging up with the head teacher, Shen Man’s expression darkened, and the trace of anxiety in her heart grew heavier.

She picked up her schoolbag and walked out. Just as she reached the doorway, a flash of spiritual light¹ went through her mind.

She stopped immediately and quickly called Xia Ke.

“Is this Shen Man? Xiao Ke is in the shower.” A gentle voice belonging to Yin Ruxu came from the other end of the phone. “Wait a moment, I’ll give the phone to Xiao Ke.”

A moment later, the sound of running water could be heard.

“Xiao Ke, it’s Shen Man’s call.” Yin Ruxu passed the phone in.

Xia Ke turned off the shower and took the phone.

Before she could speak, Shen Man asked in a serious tone, “Do you know where Teacher Flints is?”

“The teacher’s specific itinerary is confidential to avoid harassment,” Xia Ke said, then paused and asked doubtfully, “Why are you asking about the teacher’s itinerary?”

“Are you looking for him?”

“No. You get back to what you were doing,” Shen Man said and hung up.

She tried calling Wan Qing again, but it was still unanswered.

Shen Man put her phone away and walked to the car.

Lin Shu was sitting in the passenger seat, playing on her phone.

Shen Man got in and fastened her seatbelt.

“What took you so long?” Lin Shu complained with puffed cheeks, putting her phone in her bag.

Shen Man smiled faintly and started the car.

After leaving the school, she asked, feigning casualness, “Shushu, is your project finished yet?”

“Not yet. Wan Qing said she’ll give it to me tomorrow,” Lin Shu said.

“When did she say that?” Shen Man asked immediately.

“At noon,” Lin Shu replied, giving Shen Man a strange look. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You’ve looked like you have something on your mind this whole time.”

“It’s nothing.” Shen Man chuckled, turned on the music, and said in a relaxed manner, “Shushu, the creative idea for your project this time was all yours, right?”

“Of course. She was only responsible for some minor things,” Lin Shu said, raising her eyebrows proudly, the corners of her mouth curving into a happy smile.

“Have you discussed the core idea of the entire work with her?” Shen Man asked again, her tone perfectly calm.

“I told her the gist of it. How else could she handle the details?” Lin Shu pouted, giving her a look as if she were an idiot.

A glint flashed in Shen Man’s eyes, and her fingertips tightened on the steering wheel.

Based on her experience, Wan Qing had most likely already taken that project to see Flints Borg.

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The two returned to the house.

Auntie He cheerfully brought the dishes to the table and said with a smile, “Manman, Miss Lin, you’re back. Just in time for dinner.”

“Okay,” Shen Man responded with a light laugh, not a trace of anything unusual on her face.

After dinner.

Lin Shu lay leisurely on the sofa, eating fruit and watching a TV drama, occasionally laughing out loud at the plot.

Shen Man sat to the side, responsible for peeling the fruit.

“I want to eat strawberries,” Lin Shu said with a happy smile, her eyes never leaving the screen.

Hearing this, Shen Man passed over a plate of strawberries with the leaves removed.

“So sweet, this is delicious.” Lin Shu’s eyes narrowed happily.

Suddenly, her shoulders slumped. She sat up and looked at Shen Man.

Shen Man looked over, her eyes asking the question.

“My shoulders are so sore from working on this project these past two days. Give me a massage,” Lin Shu said with a natural expression, her soft voice carrying a hint of wanting to be pampered².

Shen Man smiled, stood up, and walked over.

Lin Shu immediately sat up straight and popped a strawberry into her mouth.

Slender fingers massaged her shoulders, the perfectly judged pressure gradually relieving the soreness.

The corners of Lin Shu’s lips curled up in a satisfied smile.

Auntie He came out after washing the dishes and saw the two getting along harmoniously.

She nodded at Shen Man and said, “I’m going downstairs to exercise for a bit. Call me if you need anything.”

“You go ahead. I’m here,” Shen Man said.

“Thank you for your trouble.” Auntie He smiled happily, changed her shoes, and went out.

Only the two of them were left in the house.

Shen Man leaned down, her warm breath falling beside the young woman’s ear.

Lin Shu’s ears turned red. She stiffened and turned her head, stopping her fruit-eating. “What are you doing?”

“I want to eat some fruit.” Shen Man chuckled, tilting her head slightly, her smooth cheek brushing past the young woman’s ear. “My hands are busy. You feed me.”

Lin Shu’s face flushed red. She casually picked up a piece of fruit and held it out, saying fiercely, “Hurry up and eat!”

“So sweet,” Shen Man said, taking the slender finger into her mouth, a gentle smile in her eyes.

Lin Shu instantly felt a rush of heat flare up on her face. She shook her shoulders and said with dissatisfaction, “You’re rubbing too hard, I don’t want you to do it anymore.”

“Alright. I’m going back to my room, then. Call me if you need anything.” Shen Man’s lips curved. She turned and walked toward her room.

Lin Shu pouted at her back and continued watching TV.

Shen Man returned to her room.

She pondered Wan Qing’s next move, the various possible outcomes, and how to deal with them.

After thinking for a long time, a confident smile appeared in her eyes.

With Lin Shu’s current naive personality, she probably couldn’t win against Wan Qing.

But she was different. No matter what tricks this little girl used, she could make her wishes come to nothing.

The person Flints Borg would choose as his disciple was definitely Lin Shu.

Moreover, it could only be Lin Shu.

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Shen Man slept a night full of confidence.

Early in the morning, she received a message from the head teacher saying that Wan Qing had requested leave for the morning classes.

“Okay, teacher,” Shen Man replied, her spirit clear and qi refreshed³.

At school.

Shen Man placed her schoolbag on a seat in the front row.

Lin Shu sat down next to her, laying her head on the desk to catch up on sleep.

Shen Man scanned the classroom and walked over to the girls who were Wan Qing’s roommates.

She glanced at her watch and asked with a smile, “Where’s Wan Qing? Class is starting in two minutes.”

“We don’t know either. She didn’t come back to the dorm last night,” one girl said.

“And she even changed into new clothes and put on exquisite makeup. She looked much more mature,” another girl added.

“She must have gone on a date,” a girl teased.

“I don’t think so. Who goes on a date carrying such a heavy schoolbag? It doesn’t look good at all,” someone retorted.

Shen Man listened to the girls’ chattering guesses, smiled, and said, “Alright, class is about to start. Let’s not discuss this topic anymore.”

“Okay, Class Monitor.” The girls obediently switched to other topics.

Shen Man returned to her seat.

Lin Shu propped her face up with her hands and glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “Class is starting and you’re still running around, laughing and fooling around with a group of girls.”

“Weren’t you sleeping?” Shen Man asked back with a smile.

“I…” Lin Shu’s face turned red, and she glared at Shen Man in annoyance. “You guys were laughing so loud, it was hard not to hear.”

“Is that so?” Shen Man chuckled, a knowing look in her eyes.

Lin Shu couldn’t win the argument and puffed out her cheeks, angrily rustling the pages of her book.

The smile on Shen Man’s lips grew wider. She reminded her, “Shushu, your book is upside down.”

“I did it on purpose!” Lin Shu retorted, her face red.

The bell for class rang.

Shen Man listened attentively, occasionally lowering her head to take notes.

Whenever she glanced to the side out of the corner of her eye, she would be met with a fierce glare.

She just smiled, unconcerned.

The morning classes ended.

As the class monitor, Shen Man had a student meeting to attend at noon. She looked at Lin Shu with some concern and asked, “Where are you planning to rest after lunch?”

“None of your business!” Lin Shu said with a cold little face, still angry about earlier.

“Alright then. Call me if you need anything,” Shen Man said.

Lin Shu ignored her and walked out with her schoolbag.

Shen Man looked at Xia Ke.

Xia Ke voluntarily stayed behind and asked curiously, “Manman, what’s wrong? Lin Shu isn’t a child. You seem so afraid that something will happen to her.”

“If anything happens to Shushu, call me immediately,” Shen Man said with a serious expression.

Xia Ke nodded repeatedly. “Okay, got it.”

Only then did Shen Man feel at ease.

She picked up her schoolbag and walked toward the academic building where the meeting was held.

Along the way, she was still thinking about Wan Qing.

According to what the head teacher said, Wan Qing would be in class in the afternoon. She was very worried that Wan Qing would cause trouble for Lin Shu during the time she was at the meeting.

Shen Man rubbed the space between her eyebrows, and her pupils suddenly constricted.

She seemed to be overly concerned about Lin Shu.

Lin Shu herself wasn’t anxious about the matter, yet she was the one who had been worrying constantly.

Shen Man frowned, took out her phone, and switched it to silent mode.

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The meeting lasted for over an hour.

Shen Man’s heart and spirit were not at peace⁴ the entire time she was taking notes.

She restrained herself from looking at her phone several times.

After leaving the academic building, Shen Man thought for a moment and took out her phone.

The first thing in her call log was a missed call from Xia Ke. Five of them in total.

Shen Man immediately called back, an uncontrollable wave of worry rising in her heart.

Xia Ke answered in a second. “Manman, come to the garage quickly! Lin Shu is sitting in the car crying.”

Hearing her hushed voice, Shen Man’s heart tightened. She said hurriedly, “I’ll be right there.”

She hung up and ran over.

Xia Ke saw Shen Man’s figure from afar and waved.

When Shen Man got closer, she breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at the car. “Lin Shu is still crying. Nothing I say to comfort her works.”

“What happened?” Shen Man asked, panting, with fine beads of sweat on her fair face.

Xia Ke handed her a tissue and said quickly in a low voice, “Wan Qing gave the project to Lin Shu, but it was already ruined. Lin Shu got angry and scolded her a bit, and she started crying and knelt on the ground, begging Lin Shu for forgiveness. There were a lot of other students there at the time, and many of them were secretly blaming Lin Shu.”

“That girl is such a green tea⁵, and her mind is so malicious,” she said, fuming with anger.

Shen Man nodded.

She walked to the car and knocked on the window.

Lin Shu looked up and saw Shen Man standing outside.

She immediately wiped her tears messily with the back of her hand and turned her head to the side.

Shen Man opened the car door, sat in the driver’s seat, and gently closed the door.

She took out two tissues and handed them over, saying softly, “Shushu, wipe your tears.”

Lin Shu’s eyes blinked, and the tears she had just managed to stop threatened to fall again.

She lifted her head slightly, her eyes wide, stubbornly staring at the car’s ceiling to keep the tears from falling.

Shen Man’s heart softened.

She turned, leaned over, and gently wiped the teardrops from the back of Lin Shu’s hand with a tissue.

Lin Shu tried to pull away, wanting to retract her hand.

But the grip on her hand was very firm. After struggling twice, she had no choice but to give up.

“Are you here to laugh at me?” Lin Shu sniffled, her voice hoarse.

“I’m too busy worrying about you, why would I laugh at you?” Shen Man chuckled and reached out to rub Lin Shu’s head, saying softly, “I heard what happened from Xia Ke…”

“Are you going to mock me for not listening to your warning and getting schemed against?” Lin Shu bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

It was as if she would burst into tears the moment Shen Man said ‘yes’.

Shen Man suddenly felt a bit helpless.

She did have some intention of blaming Lin Shu, but seeing her crying so pitifully, she certainly wasn’t going to pour oil on the fire⁶ by provoking her at a time like this.

“Are you?” Lin Shu bit her lip, and crystalline tears streamed down her face.

“No, no, I never thought of blaming you,” Shen Man explained hurriedly, quickly pulling out two more tissues to wipe away the scalding tears.

Only then did Lin Shu stop crying. She sniffled twice, the tip of her nose red.

Shen Man breathed a sigh of relief internally and set the wet tissues aside.

Looking at Lin Shu, she adopted a heart calm and qi harmonious⁷ attitude and said softly, “Shushu, what do you plan to do now?”

“I’m going to design a new project, one that’s definitely better than hers!” Lin Shu clenched her fists and said indignantly.

Although the redness at the corners of her eyes betrayed her vulnerability, it did nothing to diminish the fighting spirit in them.

Shen Man smiled with satisfaction.

The proud young miss wouldn’t be defeated so easily. Even if she would hide away to cry, she was still a rose with thorns, one that could not be looked down upon⁸.

“Shushu, you don’t need to think of a new design. Just remake this one,” Shen Man said with a light laugh, her eyes brimming with confidence.

Lin Shu blinked, not understanding. “Why?”

“This is Shushu’s heart’s blood⁹. How can we let that kind of despicable person steal it?” Shen Man leaned over and gently hugged the young woman’s soft body.

Lin Shu’s heart tightened. She froze for a moment, then carefully hugged her back.

Smelling the pleasant scent beside her, her heart gradually calmed down.

“Will you help me?” Lin Shu asked, her soft, nasal voice tinged with grievance.

“Of course. I won’t allow others to bully my Shushu,” Shen Man chuckled, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

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