After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Because of this interruption, Zhou Yutao did not pick up that novel she had read a third of again in the time that followed.

Although Xu Man itched a bit for the plot that came after, she did not have the nerve to continue reading it in front of Zhou Yutao, so those few books still became their seat cushions.

Nightfall came quickly.

The bookstore fell into darkness, and the disordered breathing sounds all around became even more obvious.

Xu Man leaned against the wall, her upper and lower eyelids already starting to fight each other, yet she still did not dare to really fall asleep.

“Sleep.”

Zhou Yutao’s whisper came from beside her ear.

The two leaned against each other, almost able to touch one another with just a tilt of the head.

Hearing Zhou Yutao’s voice so suddenly made Xu Man feel less sleepy instead.

She opened her eyes. “I’m not sleeping. You sleep, Yutao.”

Zhou Yutao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Can’t sleep? Or does Manman have the reward on your mind?”

Xu Man thought of certain things, and her face grew hot.

Fortunately, nothing could be seen at that moment.

As for the matter of the reward, she had only mentioned it offhand and had not really expected to get anything from Zhou Yutao.

The reason she did not sleep was to guard against these people in the bookstore.

“I…”

Xu Man was about to speak when her lips got blocked by something warm and soft, carrying a faint peach scent, sweeter than candy.

It was Zhou Yutao’s lips.

Having kissed once made it hard for one to forget.

If this was the kind of reward, then Xu Man really wanted it.

She turned the tables on her guest, kissing deeply, relentlessly, somewhat fiercely, and Zhou Yutao even got kissed until her breathing grew rapid.

A good deal of their pheromones spilled out, and in a place like this, knowing full well it was not right, Xu Man still easily let Zhou Yutao draw away all her attention.

Fortunately, she still had a few points of reason left, so she did not follow the impulse in her heart. In the corner by the wall, no one noticed them either.

Two minutes later, Zhou Yutao put both hands against Xu Man’s shoulders and gently pushed her away, lecturing in a low voice.

“No matter how much you have the reward on your mind, you still need to rest well.”

“Tonight Qi Lin will keep watch, so next time you are not allowed to do this, you little pervert.”

Hearing this unusual term of address again made Xu Man blush a deep red.

But she really had no way to refute it. Just now, in her kiss-dazed state, she had indeed reached out to undo the buttons on Zhou Yutao’s clothes, only in this dark environment where nothing could be seen clearly, under the tension, she had not managed to actually undo them.

Xu Man thought that since she had already been pegged as a pervert anyway, she might as well go all in, so she mustered her courage and said in a low voice, “Yutao, could you give a bit more reward?”

“You wish. Hurry and rest.”

Zhou Yutao’s hand paused slightly as she straightened her clothes, and her voice cooled a bit.

All right.

Xu Man obediently closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing as much as possible.

She put one hand on her backpack, and with the other hand that was free, she tentatively wrapped it around Zhou Yutao.

Zhou Yutao did not resist and even took the initiative to lean her head on Xu Man’s shoulder.

At this moment, Xu Man also realized that Zhou Yutao was just using this method to make her rest.

But it was precisely this that stirred Xu Man’s heart up and down, unable to calm for a long time.

After all, her nerves had stayed taut for several days straight without any proper rest.

Smelling the faint peach scent, Xu Man finally fell asleep.

With the person she liked right by her side, she slept very soundly, without even a single dream in between.

She did not know how much time passed when Xu Man got woken by a burst of noisy clamor.

She lifted her eyes to look, and someone in the bookstore’s reading area had turned on their phone’s flashlight. The light beam illuminated their side.

A pale-faced young woman knelt in front of Qi Lin, clutching a bag of bread tightly and begging her bitterly.

“My little brother has not eaten anything for so long, and he is still sick. I did not steal your things on purpose.”

“Please, save my little brother.”

“You have so much food. Give some to my little brother. Please.”

The young woman looked somewhat familiar; she was the only one who had wanted to open the door for them when Xu Man and the others arrived at the bookstore.

Qi Lin let out a cold snort, her slightly dim gaze sweeping over the sneaky people hiding behind the bookshelves, then kicked the young woman away with one foot and aimed her gun at her, pulling the trigger right away.

With a bang, the young woman’s pleading voice came to an abrupt stop.

She died, collapsed in a pool of bl00d, eyes wide open in death.

The young woman had never dreamed that Qi Lin would really dare to shoot.

This time, Qi Lin had acted so fast that no one had time to stop her, startling even Xu Man who had just woken up.

“No one has ever taken anything from me without paying a price, except…”

Qi Lin said it offhandedly as she put away her gun and glanced at Zhou Yutao. “Our little Peach, little Peach, remember to pay me back for that Snickers bar.”

Her tone even carried a hint of playfulness, as if what she had just killed was not a person but merely squashed a mosquito.

The image of the villain from the book took on a truly concrete form in this moment.

Her beautiful features and the period of peaceful coexistence lately always made people subconsciously overlook that Qi Lin was actually a madwoman without any moral底线.

Thinking of how she had lately always gone against her, Tan Juan felt a chill run down her back. She silently withdrew the hand that had not yet managed to stop Qi Lin from killing.

Tan Juan retreated to Xu Man’s side and quietly poked her waist, blinking nonstop to hint.

Manman, we really have to run. Look, Qi Lin dares to kill others today, so tomorrow she will dare to kill us… Staying with someone like this is too dangerous.

Whether she did not get Tan Juan’s hint or not, Xu Man said nothing, only tightening her arm around Zhou Yutao a bit.

She had killed people too, but only because those people had tried to harm Zhou Yutao. If it had been her food stolen today, she probably could not do it like Qi Lin had.

She had always known Qi Lin was the villain, but when truly facing this cruel scene head-on, Xu Man’s heart still could not calm down.

Zhou Yutao turned her head to look at Xu Man and said with unclear meaning, “What, does Manman have something to say?”

Xu Man shook her head.

Even if this moment seemed a bit cruel for the dead young woman, she also knew full well in the apocalypse what should be done and what should not.

Qi Lin had killed someone, but she had also successfully cowed those people lurking in the shadows who had been itching to act.

Did no one see how at this moment everyone had gone quiet?

The looks in those people’s eyes toward them were all filled with fear.

It seemed that in the short term, these people would not hit on their ideas again.

Zhou Yutao let out a light laugh, a different meaning flashing in her eyes.

Her Manman had finally grown up.

Zhou Yutao then said to Qi Lin, “Qi Lin, it was just one bag of bread, and you killed her. Was that not a bit cruel?”

No one had expected her to be the first to say something like that.

Xu Man looked at Zhou Yutao in surprise.

Tan Juan quietly nodded.

Yes, yes, Qi Lin this villain is really rotten through, worse than Zhou Yutao this future big villain. Anyway, the book did not say Zhou Yutao killed people at the drop of a hat.

“Is that so?”

Qi Lin walked up to Zhou Yutao, not sure if in mockery or praise. “I never expected our little Peach to have such a kind heart. I even thought we were the same kind of people.”

Zhou Yutao did not change expression. “Then you saw wrong. I am indeed a kind person. Fortunately I met our Manman, or I would have gotten killed long ago.”

She put slight emphasis on the two words “kind.”

Xu Man’s eyelid twitched involuntarily.

It was clearly praise for her, but she always felt something off about it.

Xu Man inexplicably recalled the fear that Zhou Yutao’s mention of “kind” had dominated her with before.

Qi Lin’s mouth twitched.

Kind?

Who was she spinning ghost stories for?

Just then, Tan Juan said in a small voice, “Exactly, exactly. You think everyone is as perverted as you.”

Qi Lin’s steps toward Zhou Yutao halted, and she turned toward Tan Juan instead.

That bloodstained bag of bread got left behind by the young woman’s corpse.

Qi Lin soon reached Tan Juan.

Seeing Qi Lin’s face full of murderous intent, Tan Juan reflexively covered her face, then very cowardly put her hand down again, tears welling in her eyes. “Pretty sister, you killed someone else, so you cannot kill me now.”

“You want to pinch my face, right? Go ahead and pinch.”

The matter of Qi Lin killing just now finally gave Tan Juan some scruples, so she did not dare to provoke her casually anymore.

This was someone who killed without blinking. If she could live, she still wanted to live.

Qi Lin’s eyes darkened, and her voice cooled a few degrees. “Weren’t you not afraid of death before?”

“I only came over to notify Miss Big Banana that your bread just got stolen by someone, so there is no breakfast for you tomorrow.”

The big banana who had provoked her without restraint made one disgusted.

The big banana who suddenly turned timid and shrinking likewise did not please.

Looking at the deeper fear in Tan Juan’s eyes, Qi Lin felt an unaccountable surge of displeasure in her heart.

No food—that touched Tan Juan’s bottom line.

She mustered her courage and muttered softly, “Why? Why is the stolen bread mine? All the food is with you. I could say it is your fault for not watching it.”

Qi Lin smiled without smiling. “Because I am perverted. Because I killed the thief. Because Miss Big Banana is very kind.”

Tan Juan: “…”

So why did this dog woman have such good ears?

She had just complained casually. What was wrong with being kind? She had upright morals, unlike Qi Lin who had done every bad thing.

The phone light dimmed, and the bookstore returned to the quiet of before nightfall. That dead young woman seemed forgotten by everyone, including the little brother she had mentioned.

However, not even ten minutes passed before several shrill screams rang out one after another in the bookstore.

“My bread, it is mine. You get lost.”

“Give me the bread, or I will kill you.”

Someone turned on their phone flashlight again and discovered that someone had died again.

Right next to the previous young woman, and among them was the young woman’s little brother’s corpse, while that bloodstained bag of bread lay in a middle-aged man’s hand.

But the bread did not stay in the middle-aged man’s hand for long; soon, two young men teamed up and snatched it away.

The middle-aged man died too.

The bookstore, which had still been fairly clean, suddenly turned bloody and chaotic.

Fortunately, no matter how these people fought, it did not reach Xu Man and their side.

“These… these people… they…” Tan Juan rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then quickly looked away.

She met Qi Lin’s阴暗 face right on.

“See clearly now, Miss Kind Big Banana?”

“Guess if the bread thief had lived just now, whether it would be us dying now?”

The幽幽 voice sounded like a devil’s whisper.

Tan Juan could not help but shiver, and after a long moment, she said, “Sister is so awesome, like a fairy descended to earth. How could she possibly die? So, can you give me food tomorrow?”

Qi Lin: “…No.”

Tan Juan fake-cried. “Then I can only eat sister’s hand.”

Qi Lin felt speechless for a moment.

But that earlier inexplicable闷气 dissipated a bit.

Xu Man felt very complicated inside. She leaned close to Zhou Yutao’s ear and whispered quietly, “Yutao, did you guess these people would do this?”

Zhou Yutao did not confirm or deny it and looked toward the window. “Manman, are you hot?”

Outside the window was pitch black, with no sound of any zombies, but the wind that blew in carried a wave of hot air.

Xu Man’s face changed, and sweat slowly dripped from her temple.

Yes, tonight was exceptionally hot.

By conservative estimate, it had to be over forty degrees, and the temperature rose faster and faster.