After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Xu Man steadied herself, shooting a look at Xu Yi and the others, signaling them to drag Xu Si, the self-proclaimed genius, away.

But one by one, they acted as if they saw nothing. Some polished their knives, others stared out the window. When Lin Sha opened her mouth to speak, Xu Wu even waved a needle in front of her eyes. “Miss Lin, your eyes look dark. You must be sick. Let me treat you.”

In short, everyone seemed awfully busy, conveniently missing Xu Man’s pleading gaze.

Lin Sha, who had been about to curse Xu Man for being a shameless opportunist, swallowed her words.

It wasn’t that she feared Xu Wu’s threat. Earlier, Zhou Yutao had shaken her head at her.

Lin Sha instantly understood that her friend, despite her cold expression, wasn’t angry.

Only then did she recall that this was Zhou Yutao’s territory, protected by a state-assigned escort team. If Zhou Yutao didn’t want something, she had plenty of ways to handle these people.

With this realization, Lin Sha felt a bit more at ease.

Under Zhou Yutao’s ambiguous gaze, Xu Man wished she could dig a hole and bury herself.

“Xu Si, stop spouting nonsense and get out!” she snapped.

With no one helping her, Xu Man had to clear her name herself. “Yutao, I swear, what Xu Si said has nothing to do with me. He’s just crazy.”

No sooner had she spoken than Xu Si, instead of leaving, stepped forward, pressing the back of his knife against Zhou Yutao. “Yeah, I’m crazy. So, Professor Zhou, you’d better behave.”

“Sorry, Professor Zhou. There are things our boss is too shy to say, so I have to say them. There’s no free lunch in this world. If you want to borrow from us, you pay a price.”

“Go wait in that room for our boss. Don’t make me say it twice, or my knife might not be so forgiving.”

With that, he actually escorted Zhou Yutao toward the first room on the right.

He was a man of principle. He’d already scouted out that this was the master bedroom, where Zhou Yutao stayed long-term.

The commotion was loud enough to wake the students sleeping inside. They all came out, looking bewildered at the scene.

“Xu Si, what are you doing?”

“Don’t be reckless. Talk it out.”

“Let Professor Zhou go first.”

They say the apocalypse tests humanity the most, but no one expected Xu Si to lose it so soon.

Xu Man was startled too, terrified that Xu Si might actually hurt Zhou Yutao. “Xu Si, don’t do anything rash!”

Unbeknownst to her, Xu Si, standing sideways, was quietly asking Zhou Yutao in a fawning tone, “Madam Boss, how’s my performance?”

He wondered if he’d added a bit of fun to the boss and Madam Boss’s peculiar tastes.

Zhou Yutao subtly gave him an approving look before turning to Xu Man. “I understand Boss Xu’s intentions, but could you not be so impatient? Let me finish talking about the zombie virus first.”

Xu Si’s confidence surged. He answered for Xu Man, “Good call. Speak.”

“The zombie virus spreads through bl00d. It’s a virus that specifically destroys human brain nerves, with some body-enhancing effects. It’s highly contagious; within ten minutes, the human body loses rationality and is fully overtaken by the virus.”

“Symptoms include sneezing, fever, dizziness—somewhat similar to a cold.”

“The source of infection is still unknown, but it’s certain that without a host, the virus loses activity and is likely only present in humans.”

Zhou Yutao finished quickly, her gaze returning to Xu Man. “Boss Xu, please give me a bit more time. Once I develop an antidote, you can come.”

Her tone carried a hint of helplessness, tinged with compromise.

The students were furious, but with Xu Man’s people all around and Zhou Yutao still in Xu Si’s grasp, they didn’t dare speak up. Their murderous glares, however, were aimed at Xu Man.

Xu Man: “…”

In less than three days since the zombie virus outbreak, Zhou Yutao had uncovered this much information, proving her capability.

But now, this capable woman believed Xu Si’s words and thought he was acting on Xu Man’s orders.

Zhou Yutao might seem compromising now, but who knew if she was already plotting how to tear Xu Man apart. Perhaps one day, Xu Man’s head would end up on her dissection table.

After this happening time and again, even Xu Man didn’t believe she was innocent anymore.

Her head spun, and this time, she couldn’t steady herself. She collapsed straight to the floor.

She’d thought her earlier blackout was from anger at Xu Si.

“Boss…”

Xu Yi and the others, who had seemed so busy before, panicked instantly. Even Xu Si, forgetting Madam Boss’s orders, rushed to Xu Man’s side to support her.

Zhou Yutao’s face remained expressionless, but her unsteady steps as she approached Xu Man betrayed her inner panic.

Lin Sha, who had been silent, spoke up. “Peach, you said dizziness is a symptom of the zombie virus. She sneezed earlier—could she be infected?”

At that, the students’ faces paled, and they all took a step back.

“No way. The boss isn’t injured,” Xu Si retorted first.

Xu Yi, Xu Er, Xu San, Xu Wu, and Xu Liu looked equally skeptical, standing by Xu Man’s side without retreating.

At that moment, Zhou Yutao placed her hand on Xu Man’s forehead. “No fever. It’s probably just a cold.”

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Lin Sha still wasn’t convinced. “Then why did she faint? Peach, stay away from her.”

The students also urged Zhou Yutao, “Yeah, Professor Zhou, she was just threatening you.”

Zhou Yutao lowered her eyes, looking at the alpha who seemed even more docile with her eyes closed. She thought, fainting was likely due to physical weakness or being scared by her.

The first time they met, Zhou Yutao had noticed Xu Man’s inexplicable fear of her. Back then, Xu Man hadn’t known about the drug Zhou Yutao had given her. This fear seemed to start when the students called her Professor Zhou.

“It’s fine. She’ll be okay after some rest,” Zhou Yutao said.

At the same time, Xu Wu finished checking Xu Man’s condition and nodded to the others, confirming Zhou Yutao’s words were true.

Xu Si finally remembered his task. He picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor and pressed it against Zhou Yutao again, saying fiercely, “Professor Zhou, take our boss to that room. You’re responsible for curing her. If she doesn’t wake up tonight, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Zhou Yutao: “…”

So dedicated.

Manman’s subordinates were truly entertaining.

Suppressing a smile, Zhou Yutao picked Xu Man up in her arms.

Xu Si’s eyes flashed with surprise. As he followed behind, he couldn’t help whispering, “Madam Boss, I didn’t expect you to be able to carry the boss.”

He didn’t mean to look down on Omegas; he just thought Professor Zhou, who looked like an office worker, wouldn’t have much strength. That’s why he’d said “carry” instead of “lift.”

He hadn’t realized how shallow he’d been.

Zhou Yutao glanced down at Xu Man.

She was light.

An alpha, yet with a body even Omegas would envy.

Weak. Too weak.

Training was definitely necessary.

Some time later, when Xu Man regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was a peach-like fragrance, slowly seeping into her heart.

Such a pleasant scent. She wanted more.

Struggling to open her eyes, before she could see clearly, something pressed down on her, carrying a rich peach fragrance, landing on her lips.

It felt like… a person’s lips.

Realizing this, Xu Man’s body stiffened, and she struggled. But this gave the lips pressing against hers an opening, prying past her teeth. She received a mouthful of something bitter, like medicine.

Instinctively, she tried to spit it out, but something soft pushed it back. In a tender, lingering exchange, Xu Man tasted a hint of sweetness amidst the bitterness.

The sweetness of peach fragrance.

The sensation felt familiar, as if she’d experienced it not long ago.

Startled, Xu Man finally opened her eyes and saw everything clearly.

The person above her was none other than Zhou Yutao.

And she was lying on a bed.

So, the one feeding her medicine just now was Zhou Yutao, and in a way only seen in novels or TV shows.

Danger!

The word flashed in Xu Man’s mind.

“Professor Zhou… Yutao, you…”

She could even see a trace of liquid on Zhou Yutao’s lips—whether it was medicine or saliva, she wasn’t sure.

Zhou Yutao’s slow, deliberate wiping of the liquid with her fingertip was so alluring it sent Xu Man’s heart into chaos.

Easily, it pulled Xu Man’s thoughts back to what had just happened.

At that moment, she realized the thing that had been entangled with her was Zhou Yutao’s tongue.

A blush crept from Xu Man’s neck to her ears, her heart pounding as if it might burst from her chest. Her mind buzzed, and she wished she could faint again.

What was going on? What had just happened?

She only remembered Xu Si going crazy over protecting their food, forcing Zhou Yutao to serve her. Then, her vision had gone dark, and she didn’t know anything else.

“You’re awake?”

Zhou Yutao picked up the bowl of medicine from the bedside table, saying ambiguously, “So, Boss Xu, should I keep feeding you, or will you drink it yourself?”

Xu Man hated taking medicine, but at that moment, she didn’t hesitate. “I’ll drink it myself.”

With that, she grabbed the bowl and downed it in a few gulps.

Zhou Yutao had probably been forced into this by that genius Xu Si.

With these incidents happening one after another, Xu Man didn’t even know how to explain herself anymore. Or rather, her explanations were useless to Zhou Yutao.

Thinking from another perspective, if someone kept doing this to her, she wouldn’t believe their words either.

This time, Xu Si had screwed her over again.

Lost in thought, Xu Man didn’t notice the fleeting smile in Zhou Yutao’s eyes.

When Xu Man looked again, Zhou Yutao’s face was expressionless. “Finished the medicine. Feeling better, Boss Xu?”

“Much better, much better,” Xu Man said, quickly getting up.

She was terrified Zhou Yutao would make her drink more.

“Alright.”

Zhou Yutao suddenly leaned closer, almost pressing against Xu Man. “So, Boss Xu, how do you want me to serve you?”

She was wearing a bathrobe, and at this angle, a lot was visible with a single glance.

Xu Man didn’t mean to look, quickly turning her head away, but she’d already memorized the glimpse of skin she’d seen.

She didn’t dare breathe, trapped on the bed by Zhou Yutao.

“Fine, Boss Xu wants me to take the lead, right?”

As Zhou Yutao’s hand moved to untie her bathrobe, Xu Man shouted, “Wait!”

At the same time, she grabbed Zhou Yutao’s hand tightly.

“Wait for what?”

Zhou Yutao feigned confusion, then seemed to realize something, her face paling slightly. “Does Boss Xu want to record a video of me serving you?”

“No, no, no!”

Xu Man broke into a cold sweat at the suggestion, but the word “video” sparked a thought.

“Actually, I just wanted you to look at something, Yutao. Don’t misunderstand. It’s something Xu Si gave me, related to the zombie virus,” Xu Man said, trying to sound serious and composed.

Something from Xu Si?

Zhou Yutao raised an eyebrow, stood up, and adjusted her slightly loosened bathrobe. “Then let’s take a look.”

She hadn’t really planned to have a sick alpha serve her; she just found Xu Man’s reactions amusing and wanted to tease her a bit.