After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Xu Man chose to obey Zhou Yutao, but she dragged her feet as she walked over. A one-minute trip took her three minutes, and she still hadn’t reached her.

Seeing Xu Man’s slow pace, Zhou Yutao simply got up and placed the laptop in her hands.

“Since it’s an important file, Boss Xu, study it carefully tonight. Make sure you finish it.”

“If you don’t, it might cause some trouble. Don’t you agree, Boss Xu?”

With that, she headed to the bathroom.

Wasn’t this another form of revenge? Xu Man thought.

Looking at the increasingly explicit content on the laptop, Xu Man felt the lightweight device suddenly weighed a thousand pounds. She wanted to close the video and destroy the USB drive, but recalling the veiled threat in Zhou Yutao’s parting words, she only muted the sound.

She crouched in a corner, obediently keeping her eyes on the laptop.

But as for what played next, Xu Man no longer registered.

The more she watched, the redder her face became, her heart racing faster, her mind filled with chaotic thoughts.

Like imagining herself and Zhou Yutao in those scenes…

No, she couldn’t think about it. If she wanted to stay alive, she had to stop. Xu Man kept hypnotizing herself.

Fortunately, the USB drive only contained one forty-minute introductory video. By the time Zhou Yutao finished her shower and came out, the video was nearing its end.

“Yutao, I finished it,” Xu Man said.

“Hm.”

Zhou Yutao paused, her heart skipping half a beat.

This alpha, curled up in the corner, looking at her so obediently—was she waiting to be petted?

“Finished? Then come to bed,” Zhou Yutao said, lowering her eyes to hide her emotions as she walked toward the bed.

!

Xu Man jolted, nearly dropping the laptop.

“No, I’ll sleep on the floor,” she replied quickly.

But as soon as she spoke, she regretted it.

She’d meant to say, “I finished, so can I leave now?”

Argh, today’s events, one after another, were overwhelming her brain.

“The floor’s so cold. If Boss Xu’s condition worsens because of it, guess who’ll be in trouble?”

“I’m an Omega. Surely Boss Xu wouldn’t make me sleep on the floor, right?”

“Or does Boss Xu really want to do what’s in the video, thinking something’s bound to happen if we share a bed?”

Zhou Yutao was already lying on the bed, yawning, looking tired. But her words were sharp, leaving Xu Man no room to argue.

Xu Man climbed onto the bed, stiffer than a zombie.

Thankfully, Zhou Yutao didn’t say anything more. She seemed exhausted, her breathing soon evening out as if she’d fallen asleep.

But after watching that video, with the peach fragrance constantly invading her senses, Xu Man couldn’t calm down for a long time.

This was fine, she told herself. Sleeping like this for a night, not touching Zhou Yutao, should prove to her by morning that she had no bad intentions.

Comforting herself, Xu Man eventually drifted off after who knows how long.

However, when she woke up in the morning to find Zhou Yutao’s bathrobe loosely open, herself tightly holding her, Xu Man’s expression cracked.

What was going on?

Was her sleeping posture that bad?

Did she undo Zhou Yutao’s bathrobe in the middle of the night?

Xu Man’s first thought was that something was wrong with her.

She didn’t suspect Zhou Yutao, as the novel’s setting gave her barely any romantic storyline. She was just a villain prone to turning dark.

What to do, what to do?

While Zhou Yutao was still asleep, she could quietly tie the bathrobe back and pretend nothing happened.

It seemed feasible.

Xu Man carefully moved her hand, placing it on the tie of Zhou Yutao’s bathrobe.

Just as she did, Zhou Yutao’s cool voice rang out. “Boss Xu, such energy. Undoing my bathrobe first thing in the morning.”

Xu Man: “…”

She didn’t know whether to pull her hand back or keep going.

She was screwed either way.

Before she could respond, Zhou Yutao quickly tied her bathrobe and got up. “Looks like Boss Xu’s illness is gone. Since you’re so energetic, take your medicine today and go train with Qi Rui.”

“Okay.”

Xu Man, who usually dreaded training, couldn’t wait to get out of there.

She hurried to the door, which opened easily this time.

As soon as she stepped out, several pairs of eyes turned to her.

She felt exposed, as if her subordinates knew everything that happened in the room last night.

“Where’s Xu Si?” Xu Man asked, her face heating up. She coughed lightly to mask her embarrassment, trying to sound angry.

“Deputy Captain Qi took him. We couldn’t stop him,” Xu Wu replied.

And Xu Si had eagerly gone along.

“What?”

Xu Man’s expression shifted slightly.

After how Xu Si treated Zhou Yutao, would he survive in her hands?

Sure, he’d caused her plenty of trouble, but he didn’t deserve to die for it. He was a living person who’d grown up with the original owner for over twenty years and protected her for days.

If Xu Si died, Xu Yi and the others would be devastated.

Xu Man turned back into the bedroom, just in time to catch Zhou Yutao changing. A glimpse of fair skin flashed by, leaving Xu Man flustered.

“Sorry, Yutao.”

Zhou Yutao remained calm, not pausing her changing. “Back so soon, Boss Xu? Something up?”

Xu Man: “Xu Si was taken by Deputy Captain Qi.”

Zhou Yutao: “Hm. And?”

Xu Man blurted out, “Can you spare his life? He’s one of my people. His offense against you, Yutao, is partly my responsibility. I can give you more supplies.”

He really didn’t deserve death.

Recalling how those who crossed Zhou Yutao in the book often ended up on her dissection table, Xu Man felt a chill.

Right now, all she wanted was to save Xu Si’s life, nothing else mattered.

Something new flickered in Zhou Yutao’s gaze as she looked at Xu Man. Finally, she smiled. “Fine, I’ll spare him. But the humiliation I suffered last night, Boss Xu, you’ll have to make up for.”

What a kind, adorable alpha, still unaware she’d been played by Xu Si.

The kinder the person, the easier they were to be bullied by bad women.

In the apocalypse, bad people were never in short supply. It seemed she’d have to strike first.

Zhou Yutao thought this without a shred of guilt.

“I’ll make up for it,” Xu Man nodded quickly.

Only afterward did she realize she hadn’t done anything too egregious to Zhou Yutao last night. Compared to the supermarket incident, it was much milder.

She was the one forced to watch that video. Zhou Yutao was the one who told her to get on the bed. As for the bathrobe, okay, that was her fault.

But Zhou Yutao was a villain. Being forced to do things she didn’t like, even if only verbally, might feel humiliating to her. Her reaction wasn’t surprising.

Xu Man optimistically thought, at least Xu Si’s life and hers were safe.

Unbeknownst to her, Xu Si was currently in the room where Qi Rui and his team stayed, eating and drinking heartily. After receiving a gold bar and a few vials of medicine from Qi Rui, he was grinning so wide his eyes nearly disappeared.

“Thanks for Madam Boss’s reward!”

“Please tell Madam Boss, as long as she and the boss are together, she can count on me. I’ll handle anything she asks perfectly.”

Qi Rui nodded. “Of course. I’ve never seen an alpha by Professor Zhou’s side. Boss Xu is the first.”

“You did well this time. Professor Zhou thinks highly of you.”

Xu Si was over the moon, immediately saying he could do even better and hoped Madam Boss would give him another chance to shine.

Hmph, his brothers called him dumb, but he wasn’t. Pleasing Madam Boss was the same as pleasing the boss, wasn’t it?

Look, he’d scored all this stuff in one go.

Madam Boss was even more generous than the boss.

Xu Man didn’t know that Xu Si’s obedience to Zhou Yutao stemmed from her apparent deference to her, which gave her subordinates the impression that Zhou Yutao was one of them—and the one calling the shots.

So, the boss’s words were important, but Madam Boss’s words were even more so.

Right after Xu Man finished her medicine, Qi Rui came over. “It’s still hailing outside, so today’s training will be indoors. Any issues, Boss Xu?”

Xu Man shook her head. “Deputy Captain Qi, is Xu Si still alive?”

Qi Rui paused, suppressing a laugh. “His life’s spared, but he’ll face some consequences.”

Alive?

Not only was Xu Si alive, he was thriving, probably chatting happily with the others right now.

This master and servant duo was too entertaining. No wonder they caught Professor Zhou’s eye.

Professor Zhou always liked interesting things.

Xu Man said thanks and followed Qi Rui to the gym on the first floor.

Good, good, good. As long as he wasn’t dead. Xu Si, that genius, deserved some punishment. It was even better if Zhou Yutao disciplined him for her—it’d teach him a lesson.

Training with Xu Man were the eight students.

The first day was just basic fitness training in the first-floor gym. But for a group of people unused to physical exertion, they were soon drenched in sweat, complaining about exhaustion and wanting to rest.

Xu Man, on the other hand, was fine. Compared to facing Zhou Yutao, she found sweating far easier.

But thinking about her promise to Zhou Yutao gave her a headache.

Make up for it? How?

Before she could think further, trouble erupted outside. Gunshots rang out.