After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Sister, I’m not going any further,” Xu Man said, stopping in her tracks.

Tan Juan halted as well, leaning in to whisper to Xu Man about Qi Lin’s misdeeds. “You saw what Qi Lin did today, right? This time, she dared to steal Zhou Yutao’s medicine and shove it in my mouth. Tomorrow, she might just poison all of us.”

“Manman, are you sure you don’t want to kick her out?” Tan Juan pressed. “What if we face danger later and she pulls something again? How about this: once we pass the city ahead, we give her some food and water and tell her to leave.”

Her gut told Tan Juan that the way Qi Lin looked at her was off—something unsettling she couldn’t quite place. She was afraid of a repeat of today’s incident. This time it wasn’t feces, but who knew what it could be next time?

Xu Man saw right through her. “Why don’t you just stop provoking her, Big Banana? You’re scared she’ll come after you again, aren’t you?”

Qi Lin was still useful. If someone got a life-threatening injury like Wang Kang’s, she’d be the one to handle it. Besides, whether Qi Lin stayed or left wasn’t up to Xu Man. Zhou Yutao always brought Qi Lin along when researching the zombie virus antidote, and it seemed the two had reached some kind of agreement.

Tan Juan fell silent for a moment. In her mind, she thought, ‘Isn’t it just that I can’t stand Qi Lin’s nasty ways sometimes and can’t keep my mouth shut?’ If she could control herself, she wouldn’t be trying to convince Xu Man to get rid of Qi Lin. It was clear her friend wasn’t reliable on this front, so she’d have to figure it out herself.

As the two whispered, Zhou Yutao had already walked over to Wang Kang and performed a quick check on him. Xu Man’s earlier refusal to get close to Wang Kang put Zhou Yutao in a good mood. She didn’t make things too difficult for Wang Kang. Handing a bottle of medicine to John, she said, “Give this to Wang Kang. When he wakes up, tell him that if he keeps chasing after my people, I won’t be polite anymore. This is his final warning.”

Her eyes darkened, her killing intent unmasked.

John nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes, thank you, Professor Zhou, for letting it slide and saving our Young Master Kang’s life.”

Despite how badly Wang Kang had insulted Zhou Yutao before, she didn’t hold it against him and even saved him this time. She was truly magnanimous. Plus, her status didn’t seem like something they could afford to mess with. Right now, both he and Wang Kang seemed to depend on this Omega to survive.

Zhou Yutao nodded and turned to look at Xu Man. Seeing Tan Juan cozying up to her again, the pleasant expression on Zhou Yutao’s face vanished instantly. “Manman, are you tired? Let’s go rest. If Big Banana likes this car, she can stay here.”

She waved Xu Man over.

Tan Juan panicked. “No way, Sister Zhou! You and Manman should hang out with me, have some fun, and relax a bit. What if we enter the city later and all die there? You don’t know how nervous I am right now.”

She was genuinely worried. After all, Wang Kang’s miserable state was right there in front of them.

“Fine,” Zhou Yutao said, giving Tan Juan a steady look and smiling. “How do you want to play?”

Big Banana’s words were a bit off, but she had to admit, there was some truth to them.

Tan Juan’s eyes flickered. “Gomoku?”

She just wanted to talk more with Xu Man and hadn’t planned on playing anything. By suggesting a somewhat boring game, she hoped Zhou Yutao would refuse.

To her surprise, Zhou Yutao didn’t refuse. Instead, she looked at Tan Juan with interest and said, “Sure, I’ll play with you. The loser has to do something the winner decides.”

Wasn’t that just a game of Truth or Dare?

Tan Juan’s eyes lit up. “Deal!”

Truth be told, back in the day, she’d won the school’s gomoku tournament. The book never mentioned Zhou Yutao knowing how to play, so Tan Juan wasn’t going to hold back. On the surface, she acted reluctant, but inside, her little inner self was laughing maniacally with hands on hips.

What should she make Zhou Yutao do? Hmm, maybe have her chew out Qi Lin for her. Imagining that scene, Tan Juan couldn’t wait to start the game.

“Sister, don’t play this with her,” Xu Man said, clearly aware of Tan Juan’s sneaky nature. She frowned, shooting Tan Juan a warning look to rein it in.

She didn’t care if Tan Juan messed with Qi Lin, but if she targeted Zhou Yutao, that was a problem. Xu Man was genuinely worried that if Zhou Yutao lost, Tan Juan would make her do something outrageous.

Tan Juan glared back at Xu Man, her eyes screaming, ‘We’re just having fun, Manman. You’re being such a killjoy. You’re totally one of those people who ditch their friends for love. Shame, shame, shame.’

Xu Man pretended not to understand. “Sister, let’s go rest. This game’s no fun. Let Big Banana find someone else to play with.”

Zhou Yutao didn’t budge. “It’s fine. I only played it as a kid, but I don’t think I’ll lose.”

Hearing this, Xu Man grew even more worried. If Zhou Yutao wanted to play, there was no point in stopping her. Xu Man could only hope Big Banana wouldn’t go too far. If Zhou Yutao lost, maybe she could take the punishment for her. Worst case, she’d threaten Big Banana a little, Xu Man thought to herself.

“Great, Sister Zhou’s got the spirit! Let’s go to Lin Sha’s car now,” Tan Juan said eagerly, afraid Zhou Yutao might change her mind.

Lin Sha had a gomoku set she’d picked up on the road to entertain Xin’er. Tan Juan had seen it by chance. She’d been worried Zhou Yutao might have some trick up her sleeve, but since she’d only played as a kid, Tan Juan wasn’t going to go easy. She’d show no mercy.

Having been oppressed by villains for so long, Miss Big Banana declared she equally despised every one of them. Zhou Yutao had just screwed her over earlier—why shouldn’t she get some payback?

After returning to the rest area, Lin Sha had been staying with Xin’er in the same car as Zhou Yutao and Xu Man. Hearing that Zhou Yutao and Tan Juan were going to play gomoku, she froze, glancing at her friend with a questioning look. ‘Didn’t you stop playing gomoku at seven because no one could beat you?’ Even if she didn’t like Big Banana, this seemed like overkill. After all, she was still Xu Man’s friend.

Having been through so much together, Lin Sha had seen the bond between Zhou Yutao and Xu Man, though she found it a bit puzzling. But soon, she realized Big Banana was the one eagerly walking into a trap.

“Come on, Sister Lin, lend us your gomoku set! I can’t wait to spar with Sister Zhou,” Tan Juan urged, even before Zhou Yutao could say anything.

“It’s just a game, no big deal. Don’t ruin it, Manman,” she added, cutting off Xu Man’s attempt to intervene.

Lin Sha helplessly handed over the gomoku set from Xin’er’s hands.

“Go easy, don’t be too harsh,” Lin Sha said to Zhou Yutao, giving Tan Juan a sympathetic look after hearing about their bet.

Tan Juan thought the warning was for her. She laughed heartily. “No friends on the game board! No going easy. We’ve got to go all out, play at least three rounds, or it’s disrespectful to the opponent. Right, Sister Zhou?”

Confident in her victory, Tan Juan was already blocking Zhou Yutao’s escape routes.

“Sounds good. Miss Big Banana makes a lot of sense,” Zhou Yutao said, seeming very agreeable.

Lin Sha nearly burst out laughing. When Tan Juan glanced at her, Lin Sha coughed lightly, covering her mouth. “Want something to drink? I’ll grab it.”

Tan Juan: “Sprite.”

Zhou Yutao: “Water.”

Xin’er: “Auntie, I want coconut milk.”

“Sure, I’ll get it for you,” Lin Sha said, playfully tapping Xin’er’s nose. As she stood to leave, Xu Man said, “I’ll go.”

She knew which brand of water Zhou Yutao liked. They’d stocked plenty when gathering supplies. When Xu Man returned with the drinks, she saw Tan Juan on the verge of tears.

“You really only played gomoku as a kid? I don’t believe it!” Tan Juan cried. “You tricked me on purpose! I’m friends with Manman, and you’re deceiving me too? I’m done. You’re too good—who’d want to play with you?”

In less than three minutes, Tan Juan had lost a game and started throwing a fit.

Zhou Yutao didn’t let her off easily. “We agreed on at least three rounds. This is just the first. You lost, Miss Big Banana. Go get Qi Lin.”

Tan Juan protested, “You tricked me! This round doesn’t count!”

Lin Sha chimed in, “Peach really only played gomoku as a kid, but by seven, no one could beat her. I tried to warn you earlier, but you didn’t catch it.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

Xu Man’s lips curved up too as she handed out the drinks. “Big Banana, no cheating. We all heard the bet. Qi Lin’s in the car up front. Hurry up.”

She’d been worrying for nothing. Zhou Yutao, ever clever, wouldn’t lose at something like this. The book hadn’t mentioned anything about Zhou Yutao’s childhood, which was probably why Big Banana was so set on challenging her. Now, she’d bitten off more than she could chew.

Xu Man had to admit she was a bit amused, proud of having such an amazing girlfriend like Zhou Yutao.

“Fine, I’ll go. You really think I’m scared to face Qi Lin?” Tan Juan said, realizing she couldn’t weasel out. She stood up.

Zhou Yutao added, “Miss Big Banana’s always been bold. We all know that. I’ll give you two minutes. That shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?”

Truth be told, it was kind of tough. She’d just pissed off Qi Lin earlier, and now she was walking right into her hands. Who knew how Qi Lin would get back at her?

So devious. Too devious.

Xu Man could’ve picked anyone, but she chose this scheming Zhou person. With no other choice, Tan Juan steeled herself and headed to the car up front as fast as she could.

Qi Lin was lying on the sofa, eyes closed, resting flat on her back. It wasn’t clear if she was asleep.

“Sister Qi, are you asleep?” Tan Juan leaned in, tentatively calling out twice.

Qi Lin didn’t move. Asleep, she was absolutely stunning.

Tan Juan couldn’t help but sigh. ‘Such a beauty—why does she have to be a villain?’

Since she was asleep, Tan Juan figured she couldn’t be blamed. Giggling mischievously to herself, she grabbed a stainless steel basin, planning to cover Qi Lin’s head and bang on it with a spatula.

Just as she was about to act, Qi Lin’s eyes snapped open. Staring at Tan Juan’s odd movements, she said coolly, “What are you doing, Miss Big Banana?”