After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The off-road vehicles stopped thirty meters away from them.

The doors opened, and eight fully armed, yellow-haired, blue-eyed burly men escorted a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes into view. They approached the RV cautiously.

Looking out from the car window, Xu Man frowned slightly, unsure if these people came with ill intentions. “Xu Yi, get ready. If these people mean us harm, there’s no need to hold back.”

She generally did not start trouble, but she did not fear it when it came.

Above all, she had to ensure Zhou Yutao’s safety.

Xu Yi’s expression turned peculiar in an instant. He hesitated as if to speak but ultimately said nothing. He grabbed his weapon and called the other brothers to get out of the vehicle.

The newcomers noticed people in the RV, and vigilance immediately sharpened on their weary faces.

But upon seeing Xu Yi and the others, the handsome young man’s face lit up with surprise. He smiled kindly and signaled the burly men beside him to lower their weapons.

“Xu Yi, it’s actually you all.”

“Where’s Little Man? Is she okay?”

Xu Yi’s eyelid twitched. He responded vaguely, “The young lady is fine. Young Master Kang, why are you here?”

Wang Kang, the young master of the Wang family—the largest financial conglomerate abroad—was the young lady’s playmate from childhood and also the first male alpha she had ever liked.

The young lady had liked quite a few male alphas over the years, but only this one had ever reciprocated, and he did not think it was perverted for one alpha to like another alpha.

However, Wang Kang spent most of his time abroad, and with long periods without seeing each other, the young lady soon took a fancy to other male alphas and forgot about him.

But he had always kept the young lady in his heart.

Indeed, he would occasionally inquire about the young lady’s recent situation from them, but since her affections had always been elsewhere, they had never revealed any news to Wang Kang.

How had it turned out to be him, of all people?

Thinking of Professor Zhou, who had been so intimately involved with Xu Man lately, Xu Yi seemed to catch a whiff of a battlefield of jealousy.

Wang Kang said, “I came to find Little Man.”

“After realizing the apocalypse had begun, I feared she might run into danger, so I brought thirty people over right away.”

“I never imagined the situation would be far more severe than I thought. Besides the zombie virus, there’s this erratic weather… Only these few of my people remain. In short, it’s a long story.”

“But as they say, persistence pays off. I’ve finally found you all.”

“Come on, take me to see Manman. She’s in the vehicle, right?”

Wang Kang spoke as he quickly headed toward the RV.

“Young Master Kang, please wait a moment.”

Though the visitor was an acquaintance, given the current circumstances, Xu Yi dared not trust anyone lightly. After all, the traitor incident at Qingshan Hospital served as a stark example.

“I’ll check with the young lady first,” Xu Yi said evenly.

Wang Kang nodded in understanding and stopped in his tracks obligingly.

When Xu Yi returned to the vehicle to report, Wang Kang licked his chapped lips and said to the others with some embarrassment, “Do you have any extra water? Could you spare me some?”

With Xu Yi gone and Xu Er busy cooking without coming down, Xu San now took charge.

At those words, he nodded and signaled Xu Si to fetch some water.

Xu Si did not think twice and dashed back to the vehicle where Zhou Yutao was resting.

Just then, Zhou Yutao had woken up.

Xu Si immediately sidled up eagerly to tattle. “Madam Boss, the young master from the Wang family that the boss used to like has shown up. He says he wants to see the boss.”

If it had been Xu Yi and the others, they would not have brought up such old stories to Zhou Yutao.

Xu Si was different. He reported everything to Zhou Yutao first thing.

How deeply in love the boss and Madam Boss were—he had listened to all that noise for so long, and with the vehicle’s soundproofing not being great, how could he not know?

“Is that so?”

Zhou Yutao paused in her motion of supporting her waist, smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. “Since he’s here, I’ll take a look at what kind of people our Manman used to like.”

She knew she might not be the same person as before, but that did not mean hearing about her past romantic escapades would leave her unmoved.

Oh dear, Madam Boss seemed a bit angry…

Xu Si could not help but shiver.

But he was not worried. The boss and Madam Boss had been inseparable just moments ago. Madam Boss would not do anything to the boss.

Zhou Yutao changed into heat-resistant clothes and got out of the vehicle with Xu Si.

At that moment, Xu Man happened to come out. When she saw Zhou Yutao, she instinctively smiled at her and walked toward her.

Zhou Yutao turned her head away and silently sized up Wang Kang, ignoring Xu Man.

Xu Man touched her nose awkwardly but still thickened her skin to step forward and take Zhou Yutao’s hand.

What was this? Was she angry?

Had she not gone along with everything earlier?

Could it be that he had gone too far later on without realizing it, leaving Yutao uncomfortable and thus upset?

Thinking of how Zhou Yutao had lost interest afterward while she had clung to her relentlessly, Xu Man felt a pang of guilt.

Even now, she could still sense her own pheromones overflowing from Zhou Yutao’s gland. Back then, she had truly lost control, injecting far too much.

Xu Man had not yet realized the gravity of the situation. She merely thought to exercise more restraint next time.

Because at this moment, she had not yet recalled the character of Wang Kang from the book.

Tan Juan, who followed beside Xu Man ready to watch the drama, simply shook her head.

But with Zhou Yutao there, she did not dare get too close to Xu Man and thus could not remind her.

In truth, no reminder was needed. The moment he spotted Xu Man, Wang Kang bolted forward and introduced himself.

“Little Man, it’s been so long. Do you still remember me? I’m your big brother Wang Kang. You always said you wanted to marry me back then.”

“Thank goodness you’re safe. I’ve finally found you.”

Wang Kang was overjoyed and, for the moment, overlooked Zhou Yutao, whose hand Xu Man held.

The chill around Zhou Yutao deepened. “Big brother? I never knew Boss Xu had such a fine big brother.”

There was a distinct edge of gritted teeth to her words.

Since the two of them had gotten together, Zhou Yutao had always called her Manman. Whenever Xu Man heard the title “Boss Xu,” she sensed something ominous.

And that was exactly the case now.

Aside from Xu Er, who was still preparing food for everyone, the rest emerged from their vehicles.

At those words, everyone’s gazes shifted to Xu Man, making her feel prickly all over.

Where had she ever known this person? She was not the original body, after all. She felt truly wronged.

“I don’t know you. Don’t call me that. Stay away from me.”

Xu Man pushed Wang Kang away as if he were a venomous scorpion.

Wang Kang looked deeply hurt. “It’s only been a few years, and you’ve already forgotten me?”

“I know it was wrong of me not to stay by your side, but I had no choice. Little Man, how could you forget your big brother?”

As he spoke, Wang Kang’s gaze drifted downward and landed on the hands Xu Man and Zhou Yutao clasped tightly together. He looked utterly incredulous. “Who is this Omega? Little Man, didn’t you only like male alphas?”

That was precisely why he had dared to heed his parents’ arrangements and separate from Xu Man.

Because alphas and alphas had always repelled each other, and repulsion meant pain—whether physical or psychological.

So, generally, alphas could not accept being with another alpha.

He was the exception. He truly liked Little Man and had even worked hard to find a way for their alpha pheromones to blend.

Xu Man recalled Xu Yi’s earlier words, and her mind raced until she finally remembered the plot involving this Wang Kang character.

He was a villain too.

He had truly loved the original body. When he learned she had died because of Chen Xing, Wang Kang turned dark, and in the end, he even collaborated with Zhou Yutao solely to kill Chen Xing.

But as the protagonist, Chen Xing naturally would not die at the hands of a minor villain like Wang Kang. Instead, Wang Kang ended up killed by Chen Xing in retaliation.

If it had been the original body encountering Wang Kang, she would surely have been delighted.

But Xu Man’s mood grew heavy.

Wang Kang did love the original body, but his possessiveness ran extremely deep. Now that she was with Zhou Yutao, she truly feared he might pose a threat to her.

With that thought, Xu Man hesitated over whether to tell Wang Kang about her relationship with Zhou Yutao.

Zhou Yutao let out a cold snort.

Xu Man jolted to attention. “Girlfriend. We’re together. The one I like is an Omega.”

“What? You like Omegas now? She’s your girlfriend? What makes her worthy of you?”

“Little Man, we’re the ones who are perfect for each other.”

“It must be her seducing you. You must be lying to me. I don’t believe it.”

Wang Kang’s face darkened on the spot.

Qi Rui and Zheng Rong could not stomach those words. Their Professor Zhou—what alpha would not be worthy of her?

If anyone in this world could end the apocalypse, it had to be Professor Zhou.

Even the highest status had to yield some respect to their Professor Zhou. Where did this male alpha get off saying such things?

“Wang Kang, is it?”

Qi Rui said with mild anger. “What goes on between Boss Xu and our Professor Zhou is their business, not yours. Mind your words.”

Truth be told, Xu Man felt a spark of anger too. Moreover, seeing the thin sheen of sweat already beading on Zhou Yutao’s face from the heat, she did not want to tangle with Wang Kang any longer.

“I fell for Yutao first. I don’t remember anything from before. I don’t like you either. Finish your water and leave quickly. You’re not welcome here.”

With that, Xu Man pulled Zhou Yutao back to their original RV.

“Hey, you haven’t explained things clearly to me yet. How can you just go back? You heavy-on-color-light-on-friends jerk,” Tan Juan grumbled, stamping her foot in frustration.

Though piecing together the plot from the book and Xu Man’s current identity, she could roughly guess some things.

But when it came to Xu Man being with Zhou Yutao—this future major villain—she was dying of curiosity.

That was the big villain with no romantic subplot in the entire book.

Once Xu Man left, the others naturally did not linger outside.

Wang Kang’s people exchanged glances. After a moment, the one closest to him spoke up. “Young Master Kang, what do we do now…”

Before he finished, they all caught a whiff of a rich, savory food aroma. Their eyes lit up.

“It smells so good, Young Master Kang. They have real food.”

“Since they’re people you know, let’s ask her for some.”

These past days of constant travel had not left them starving, but they had subsisted on instant noodles and compressed biscuits. It had been ages since they smelled something this delicious.

And with the weather growing hotter, they needed more water.

Wang Kang had still been wallowing in sorrow and fury, but the food scent tempted him sorely.

No matter the reason, he had no intention of parting from Xu Man just like that.

Hmph, that fox of an Omega—he would deal with her sooner or later.

While Wang Kang schemed to approach Xu Man’s RV, everyone except Xu Man and Zhou Yutao had already dug into the hot, steaming meal Xu Er had prepared.

There were steaks and seafood—quite the feast.

Everyone ate contentedly.

Xu San said, “Thanks to the boss’s foresight.”

Xu Liu added, “Yeah, to be honest, at the start, I doubted the boss.”

Tan Juan thought to herself, that was right—she and Xu Man had both read this apocalypse novel.

Xu Si chimed in, “Putting other things aside, I think the boss’s changes now are pretty great. It’s all thanks to our Madam Boss teaching her well.”

Everyone looked at Xu Si.

Xu Si blinked blankly. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you said it right.”

The group glanced up at the ceiling.

Then a trace of sympathy flickered in their eyes.

They just wondered how the boss was faring after Madam Boss had taken her upstairs.

Not that they did not know—Xu Si had secretly tipped off Madam Boss.

Xu Yi mourned silently for his boss for three seconds before saying, “Little Si, Little Liu, eat up quick. Once you’re done, relieve Little Wu and Deputy Captain Qi.”

Because zombies popped up now and then along the road, when they ate, they always stationed at least two people to watch the rest of the supplies.

This RV was the largest, divided into upper and lower levels. The group used the lower level for meals, while the upper held some supplies and could accommodate sleepers, though its space was smaller than below.

Xu Man lay pinned to the bed by Zhou Yutao, not daring to move a muscle.

She could clearly hear the sounds from downstairs and thus feared anyone below might hear noises from up here.

“Yutao, I have nothing to do with Wang Kang. You know that,” Xu Man explained carefully.

She was not utterly devoid of emotional intelligence, after all. She knew she should clarify things about Wang Kang, no matter what Zhou Yutao thought.

But Zhou Yutao’s face drew lower and lower until, finally, she leaned close to Xu Man’s ear. “Call me sister.”

Xu Man: “…Huh?”