I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 81

A Gentle Kiss

But you just said I was the only one…

In the enormous living room, the sound of soft sobs could be heard.

A girl with delicate features lowered her head, her thick, curled lashes trembling as a single, crystalline teardrop slowly fell from her round eyes.

Shen Man’s heart softened.

She reached out and hugged the girl’s soft, delicate body.

Lin Shu seemed to have found her anchor.

She closed her eyes and leaned against Shen Man’s embrace with a sense of dependence.

Her tears fell silently, drop by drop, quickly soaking the front of Shen Man’s shirt.

Shen Man’s heart sank with them.

Lin Shu cried for a while, and her mood improved quite a bit.

She looked up at Shen Man and said earnestly, “In the past, I always had to fight all by myself. With you here with me today, I’m finally not some lonely, pathetic wretch anymore.”

As she spoke, a smile appeared on her little face.

The sight of the girl’s stubborn, smiling-through-her-tears expression made Shen Man’s heart ache.

She reached out, wiped the tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes, and said softly, “Shushu, you’re not alone. Besides me, there’s Auntie He and Xiao Ke. They both care about you a lot.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about…” Lin Shu interrupted anxiously, her pale, slender fingers gripping Shen Man’s shoulder tightly.

She rose onto her tiptoes and gently but firmly pressed a kiss to those red lips.

Shen Man’s eyes froze.

The moment Lin Shu went on her toes, she’d had a premonition, but her body hadn’t reacted in time.

The girl’s kissing technique was clumsy, her pretty little face full of concentration.

Shen Man watched the charming face so close to her own with cool eyes. Her fingers twitched, then fell to her side.

“Shen Man, you’re the only person in this world who’s genuinely good to me…” Lin Shu said in a small voice.

She hugged Shen Man tightly, the corners of her lips curling into a sweet smile.

A flicker went through Shen Man’s eyes, and her fingers clenched together.

After a long moment, she said in a heavy voice, “Shushu, in this world, Uncle Lin is the person closest to you.”

“I’m just a passerby.” Her voice was very soft, tinged with a helpless sigh.

Hearing this, Lin Shu pouted, aggrieved and angry.

“I say you are, so you are,” she said domineeringly. “You’re not allowed to talk back!”

Shen Man chuckled lightly.

She dotingly ruffled the girl’s hair. “Shushu, are you feeling better?”

Lin Shu gave an aojiao huff and turned her head aside.

Just as she was about to speak, the distinct sound of high heels came from behind them.

Shen Man turned and saw Feng Na’s figure, and a flash of nervousness went through her.

Her expression unchanging, she smiled and said, “Auntie Feng, what brings you here?”

“I was a little worried, so I came to check,” Feng Na said with a benevolent expression, her eyes full of warmth as she looked at Lin Shu.

Shen Man felt something was off. She took two steps forward to shield Lin Shu and said apologetically, “Auntie Feng, Shushu isn’t feeling well. We’re going to head out.”

“Alright.” Feng Na agreed with a smile, saying nothing more.

Shen Man’s elegant brows furrowed slightly as she turned to leave.

Lin Shu shot Feng Na a vicious glare before following.

The two of them walked away, one after the other.

Feng Na watched their figures disappear, the smile on her face slowly fading.

She took out her phone, and as she looked at the picture of the kiss, her eyes turned venomous.

Feng Na returned to the private room.

Her face was full of sorrow. She sat down, sighed, and said, “I tried to persuade Shushu to stay, but she wouldn’t listen to me and just yelled at me.”

“I really do think of her as my own daughter,” she said, on the verge of tears.

Seeing this, Lin Huai comforted her, “Lin Shu gets her temper from her mother. It’s the thought that counts. When she’s a little older, she’ll understand your good intentions.”

“I hope so,” Feng Na said, her face a mask of worry.

“Let’s have some cake,” Lin Huai said.

Feng Na nodded, took a bite of cake, then set it down with a heavy sigh, looking as if she had no appetite.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Huai asked with concern.

“I just can’t stop worrying about Shushu,” Feng Na said.

At her words, Lin Huai lost his appetite for cake as well. He looked at Feng Na and said, “What are you trying to say?”

Feng Na smiled smugly to herself, then said gently, “Darling, did you know? An internationally famous designer came to the school last time, and out of all those students, he took a special interest in our Shushu.”

“I have a suggestion. Let’s send Shushu abroad for advanced studies. In the future, she’ll definitely become a world-renowned designer.”

After hearing this, Lin Huai fell silent.

Feng Na leaned in, snuggling up to Lin Huai’s side, and said coaxingly, “I’m only doing this for Shushu’s own good. Look, she’s so rebellious right now. Maybe sending her abroad to study for a couple of years will help her mature a lot.”

“We’ll talk about this later. Let’s eat cake first,” Lin Huai said.

Feng Na knew not to rush things and said obediently, “Alright, let’s eat cake.”

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Shen Man felt a little uneasy.

As she drove, she kept glancing at Lin Shu in the rearview mirror.

Lin Shu noticed her gaze. She lowered her head and asked in a fierce tone, “What are you staring at me for?”

As she spoke, her little face turned red, and she looked out the window at the scenery.

“Shushu, did you notice how long Auntie Feng was standing there?” Shen Man asked seriously.

Hearing Feng Na’s name, Lin Shu snorted with disdain.

Shen Man understood what that expression meant.

She looked straight ahead, her elegant brows knitted together, her fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel.

Listening to the tap, tap, tap, Lin Shu said fearlessly, “So what if she saw?”

“I’m not afraid of her!” she said, biting her lip, her eyes full of resentment.

Shen Man’s expression grew grave.

Lin Shu was simple-minded; she couldn’t possibly imagine the depths of malice an adult’s schemes could reach.

If Feng Na really had seen them kiss, then she would surely spare no effort to go after Lin Shu.

Right now, the only thing Lin Shu could rely on was Lin Huai’s affection, but unfortunately, Lin Huai was not a competent father.

Moreover, Feng Na was skilled at deception. Dealing with a girl with no experience of the world would be a piece of cake for her.

“Why are you so worried? Are you that scared of her?” Lin Shu demanded loudly, her cheeks puffed out in displeasure.

Shen Man shook her head helplessly and focused on driving.

Lin Shu tilted her head, looking at that calm, almost indifferent profile.

Anger bubbled up inside her, and she said, fierce on the outside but timid on the inside, “Even if I kissed you, it doesn’t mean anything. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Shen Man heard how her mouth was one thing, but her heart was another¹ in her tone and said with a smile, “But you just said I was the only one…”

“No talking! Focus on driving!” Lin Shu interrupted forcefully, her face beet red.

Shen Man saw the girl’s blushing face in the rearview mirror and sighed to herself.

She obediently drove on, not bringing the matter up again.

The two returned to the house.

Lin Shu stormed back to her room, her face a mask of fury.

Seeing this, Auntie He looked at Shen Man and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong with Miss Lin? She seems to be in a bad mood.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Shen Man said with a light smile, not wanting to say more.

Auntie He took the hint and didn’t ask again.

Shen Man sat on the living room sofa, her long, slender fingers toying with her phone.

She stared at the character for “Feng” in her contacts, her eyes dark and profound.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Shen Man jolted and sat bolt upright.

Seeing the caller ID was her homeroom teacher, a flicker of disappointment passed through her. “Teacher,” she said, “is there something I can help you with?”

“Shen Man, Teacher Flins is coming to the school this weekend. Have Lin Shu come in tomorrow,” the homeroom teacher said with a laugh, her voice full of unconcealed delight. “Teacher Flins thinks very highly of Lin Shu. He’s coming this time to formally accept her as his apprentice.”

“If Lin Shu is lucky, she might even be able to go abroad to study under him.”

Hearing the words “go abroad,” Shen Man’s mind went blank for a second.

She heard herself say “Okay” in a steady voice.

The call ended.

Shen Man sat on the sofa, her posture ramrod straight.

Her face was grim as she stared ahead, as if she were thinking, or perhaps thinking of nothing at all.

Auntie He passed through the living room.

She was startled by the sight of Shen Man’s frosty face, and the words on the tip of her tongue—”Manman, what do you want for dinner?”—were instantly silenced and swallowed back down.

Shen Man sat on the sofa for half an hour before standing up and walking to Lin Shu’s room.

She knocked, a smile already forming on her lips.

Lin Shu opened the door.

Seeing the fake smile on Shen Man’s face, she asked irritably, “What is it?”

“Shushu, I have some good news to tell you,” Shen Man said with a smile.

Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue.

“Teacher Flins is coming tomorrow,” Shen Man said, her eyes curving into crescents as she offered her congratulations.

Lin Shu just gave a flat “Mm.” “The homeroom teacher already told me. Teacher Flins also contacted me privately.”

Hearing this, Shen Man froze.

The homeroom teacher’s words “go abroad” echoed in her mind, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Lin Shu sensed something was wrong with her and frowned in confusion. “You’re acting weird.”

“I’m not.” Shen Man put on a standard smile, shook her head, and turned to go back to her own room.

Shen Man sat at her desk, looking at the calendar on it.

Time had flown by, and it was already June. The date of Lin Shu’s departure abroad in the original book was very near.

In the original plot, Lin Shu, as the villainess, had constantly framed the female lead in order to win the male lead’s love.

In the end, she couldn’t overcome the female lead’s plot armor and lost to her.

In the book, Lin Shu was betrayed by the masses and deserted by her kin². Having lost all face, she couldn’t stay in the country and was ultimately sent abroad by her father.

But this time, the plot had changed because of her arrival.

She had been constantly trying to break away from the plot, to change the male lead and the second male lead, but she had never once thought about changing Lin Shu’s ending.

In her plans, this version of the plot was supposed to conclude with Lin Shu going abroad.

But now, as that moment truly approached, Shen Man felt an indescribable frustration and pain in her heart.

She had always been one to devise strategies within a command tent³, calculating every possibility and holding everything in the palm of her hand.

But she had failed to calculate one thing: her own heart.

Shen Man closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath, trying to drive the strange emotions from her heart.

The instant she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with images of Lin Shu.

Whether it was her proud and smug smile or the way her cheeks puffed out when she was angry, it was all as if carved into her heart, impossible to erase.

Shen Man opened her eyes and looked at the lost and pained face in the mirror.

She pressed her lips together, the corners of her eyes turning down as her expression grew cold and sharp.

Lin Shu’s ending was predetermined from the very beginning.

She couldn’t change it, and she shouldn’t change it!

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