Failed to Transmigrate, I’m Back Again - Chapter 18

The night air in the mountain villa had shed almost all its summer heat, replaced by a cool breeze carrying the crisp scent of leaves. Shi Shuwu’s silhouette appeared particularly slender against the backdrop of tree shadows.

Tang Wuyun, Bai Jin, and Pei Yinxi quietly hid behind her.

The gentle murmur of the stream, punctuated by the chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs, subtly masked their faint rustling movements.

“Why are we hiding?” Tang Wuyun whispered to her companions, her voice low and conspiratorial.

This makes no sense! Weren’t they supposed to confront Shi Shuwu about the tablet she was carrying?

Bai Jin cleared her throat and lowered her voice to match Tang Wuyun’s, then promptly shifted the blame. “Well, isn’t it because you were sneaking around spying on her in the first place?”

“We thought you wanted to follow her secretly.”

Tang Wuyun straightened her back and pointed a finger at her own face. “Where was I sneaking around?”

Am I some kind of obsessive fan?

I was watching her openly and honestly!

Pei Yinxi remained silent during their argument. After observing Shi Shuwu for a few minutes, she had a hunch: the tablet likely contained coordinates, and there must be something significant at that location.

What worried her most was that Shi Shuwu was moving closer to their earlier position, filling her with a growing sense of unease.

Or perhaps they had missed something there and needed to catch up.

Once Tang Wuyun and Bai Jin realized they no longer needed to be secretive, they stopped hiding. Their conversation drew the attention of Shi Shuwu, who was walking ahead.

Seeing that Shi Shuwu had noticed them, waved, and was approaching, Tang Wuyun suddenly felt awkward. She turned to Bai Jin and winked exaggeratedly.

I told her multiple times today not to follow me, and now I’m the one approaching her? What’s going on?

Tang Wuyun grabbed Bai Jin’s arm, trying to push her forward to speak with Shi Shuwu.

Bai Jin, who had been assimilated, protested that this was her first time playing the villain and she was too nervous to face Shi Shuwu’s questions.

As the two women continued to push each other back and forth, Pei Yinxi watched them with amusement.

Shi Shuwu had already reached them, yet they were still squabbling.

“You two…” Shi Shuwu drawled, pausing for a moment before asking, “Need something?”

She had originally intended to ask why they were here, but now it seemed they had come looking for her. After all, they had started pushing each other as soon as they saw her.

Shi Shuwu noticed the embarrassment on Tang Wuyun’s face.

How odd. Is Tang Wuyun actually feeling shy around me now?

Though not particularly welcomed or treated with impatience, Shi Shuwu felt that the current situation was already quite good.

Well, after spending an entire afternoon together, it’s only natural that Tang Wuyun’s attitude toward her would change.

Meeting Shi Shuwu’s questioning gaze, Bai Jin gave Tang Wuyun a forceful shove. “Oh, it’s nothing. This one just saw you and said she wanted to join you.”

Caught completely off guard by the sudden push—an utterly unexpected move—Tang Wuyun was thrust toward Shi Shuwu without any warning. She shot a look of utter shock at Bai Jin, her “backstabber.”

What kind of friend does that?!

Bai Jin offered her a polite, radiant smile, winking as if to say, You’re welcome.

But the romantic drama scene Tang Wuyun had imagined never materialized.

Shi Shuwu sidestepped the stumbling Tang Wuyun, avoiding being knocked over. Concerned about Tang Wuyun falling, she reached out to steady her, immediately releasing her grip once Tang Wuyun regained her balance. She even deliberately took a step back.

Her sense of propriety was impeccable.

Now Tang Wuyun won’t have any reason to look down on me, she thought.

Shi Shuwu genuinely disliked Tang Wuyun’s disdainful gaze; it made her uncomfortable.

Feeling rejected, Tang Wuyun fell silent.

Though Tang Wuyun knew Shi Shuwu disliked her and had endured countless rejections, seeing Shi Shuwu flinch away so quickly still sent her emotions spiraling.

Faced with this Shi Shuwu, who seemed to harbor no ill will toward her, Tang Wuyun couldn’t help but obsess over her every reaction.

She deliberately took an exaggerated step back, creating distance between them, and then offered a contrived apology: “I know you despise me. I didn’t mean to just now.”

Shi Shuwu: “……”

She gritted her teeth. This damned Tang Wuyun! Rules for the powerful, but none for the rest of us?

How utterly unreasonable!

Tang Wuyun had openly displayed her rejection and disdain today. Had Shi Shuwu said a word?

Yet when Shi Shuwu proactively maintained distance to avoid being despised, it was twisted into her despising Tang Wuyun?

Her crimson lips pressed into a thin, taut line as she glared at Tang Wuyun with dark, piercing eyes.

“Who exactly despises whom? Don’t you know the truth in your heart?”

Tang Wuyun turned her face away, refusing to answer.

Watching Shi Shuwu’s emotions visibly explode at Tang Wuyun’s provocation, Bai Jin was speechless with exasperation. She couldn’t resist snapping at Tang Wuyun: “You melodramatic drama queen!”

So, someone dodging a hug means they despise you?

Shouldn’t you listen to yourself for once?

What’s the difference between this and “I knew you didn’t like me”? Was Tang Wuyun trying to get Shi Shuwu to comfort her?

But you two aren’t even together yet!

Bai Jin deliberately called Tang Wuyun dramatic, hoping to reassure Shi Shuwu that Tang Wuyun didn’t mean what she said and that she shouldn’t take it personally.

If the person opposite her wasn’t Shi Shuwu, whom Tang Wuyun constantly thought about, Bai Jin would never have butted in.

Bai Jin genuinely never imagined she’d one day be worrying about Tang Wuyun’s love life.

Tang Wuyun, having been called dramatic, knew she was being unreasonable. She let out a low hum and fell silent.

Seeing Tang Wuyun’s attitude, Pei Yinxi rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

She walked over to Shi Shuwu and patted her arm reassuringly. “Don’t take it too hard. Just ignore her. She’s always been stubborn.”

Shi Shuwu took a deep breath and nodded, her anger gradually subsiding.

But Tang Wuyun, determined to make things worse, spoke up again.

“No, this has nothing to do with my temper. I’m just stating the facts, speaking the truth.”

Her words shattered the bridge Bai Jin and Pei Yinxi had built, delivered with a dejected expression that seemed to confirm Shi Shuwu’s supposed dislike for her.

Furious, Shi Shuwu lowered her head and began searching for a stick by the roadside, looking like she was about to beat Tang Wuyun.

Pei Yinxi quickly grabbed her arm, soothing her. “Calm down, calm down. You know she’s been acting crazy lately.”

Shi Shuwu’s breath caught in her chest, feeling that no matter what she did, it would be wrong in Tang Wuyun’s eyes.

Even if she repeated a hundred times that she didn’t discriminate against Tang Wuyun’s sexuality and didn’t find her disgusting, it wouldn’t matter. Tang Wuyun had already made up her mind and stubbornly refused to listen to any explanations.

“Forget it,” Shi Shuwu muttered, swallowing the curse that had risen to her lips. She turned and walked away, her anger and frustration burning within her.

Arguing wouldn’t solve anything, and reasoning with Tang Wuyun was equally futile. She shouldn’t waste her time here.

Seeing Shi Shuwu actually leave, Bai Jin gave Tang Wuyun, who was still pretending to be dead, a resentful shove. “Are you satisfied now?”

Tang Wuyun’s gaze remained fixed on Shi Shuwu’s retreating figure, silent.

Pei Yinxi sensed something was off. She cautiously asked, “Did you say all that on purpose? To provoke her? What reaction were you trying to get?”

Tang Wuyun finally spoke, “I wanted her to curse me. I wanted to see how she would curse me.”

She wanted to see if Shi Shuwu, in her anger, would reveal that look of disgust and call her disgusting.

She wanted to test whether this Shi Shuwu was truly different.

Pei Yinxi froze, exchanging a bewildered glance with Bai Jin. Something felt deeply wrong.

Before they could make sense of it, Tang Wuyun had already darted off to chase after Shi Shuwu.

Bai Jin scratched her cheek, utterly bewildered. “Did she just go to… coax her? Has she really lost her mind?”

This is so bizarre.

Pei Yinxi was equally perplexed. She found Tang Wuyun’s behavior increasingly incomprehensible.

“Maybe she just likes being tormented,” Pei Yinxi suggested.

Perhaps her masochistic tendencies are flaring up.

Otherwise, there’s no explanation.

Shi Shuwu heard footsteps behind her. Though she desperately wanted to see who it was, she frowned and quickened her pace.

Her stomach was churning with anger, and she had no desire to interact with anyone, especially Tang Wuyun—unless the latter was coming to apologize.

Tang Wuyun jogged up beside her.

Seeing it was indeed the same Tang Wuyun who had acted so provocatively earlier, Shi Shuwu’s anger instantly dissipated by more than half. She glanced at Tang Wuyun before averting her gaze, her face stiff and silent.

Tang Wuyun spoke awkwardly, “Why aren’t you yelling at me?”

Then, “Yell at me.”

Instead of an apology, Shi Shuwu received this absurd demand. Her fists clenched involuntarily.

She tried to ignore Tang Wuyun completely.

But Tang Wuyun persisted, “You really want to yell at me, don’t you?”

“I know exactly what you want to say.”

“But it’s okay. Go ahead and yell. It won’t hurt me at all.”

Shi Shuwu: “……”

She couldn’t fathom Tang Wuyun’s obsession with hearing her insults.