Healing the Black Lotus Female Supporting Character (Transmigration into a Book - ABO) - Chapter 8

The feeling of someone kissing your fingers—was strangely intimate.

It felt like being licked slowly by a wolf. You couldn’t tell if the next second would bring a gentle nuzzle or a vicious bite.

Instinctively, Hua You tried to pull her hand back, but she was shackled in place by the overwhelming rush of pheromones. Her body stiffened, unable to move an inch.

Bian Chengyi’s pheromones were like the deep sea—bitter, suffocating, and infinite. They wrapped around her gently, silently, like a dark mist over an ocean at night, engulfing everything in its path. Life was born in its depths—and life could also vanish in its embrace.

Then, Bian Chengyi let go of her hand.

Hua You quickly drew her hand back. Under the moonlight, her fingers looked pale and cold, almost translucent.

She stared at her hand for a moment, dazed. Then, almost without realizing, she lifted it toward her lips.

Just as her fingertips brushed her mouth, Bian Chengyi caught her wrist.

Their eyes met.

A cold wind swept through, lifting their hair and breaking their line of sight. The atmosphere conjured by the pheromones thinned. It was as if Bian Chengyi regained a sliver of clarity first. She pulled her hand away and curved her lips into a faint smile.

“If you could always be like this… wouldn’t that be nice?”

The task progress bar surged to 50%. Hua You, acting as if nothing had happened, carefully asked, “Always like this… what do you mean?”

Bian Chengyi answered softly, “Nothing.”

Hua You looked puzzled. Bian Chengyi, used to treating her like a fool—whether in academics or in feelings—explained:

“You don’t have to force yourself for me… I mean, during this temporary mark, you don’t have to pretend.”

If you used to hate me, then just keep hating me.

You play your role, and I’ll play mine.

Dreams, if indulged for too long, can drive people mad.

It felt like the events of this single evening stretched across years. Too many impossible things had happened. And Bian Chengyi found the sensation too dangerous. She couldn’t tell if it was the temporary mark’s influence—or if she was genuinely losing control.

Meanwhile, Hua You watched the task progress bar begin to drop, falling all the way to 30% before finally stabilizing. She nearly panicked.

Of course. She still didn’t know how to deal with people.

Even pretending—she couldn’t pull it off properly.

Hua You felt a little wronged. She hadn’t even realized that her eyes were beginning to turn red.

From childhood to now, she had never had a really, truly close friend. And certainly no one she liked romantically. She didn’t know how to make others like her real self. She didn’t know how to connect with anyone. If God had assigned skill points, then all of hers had gone into academics—while her social skills were hopelessly under-leveled.

Getting people to like you—that was easy.

Getting people to like your true self—that was painfully hard.

Her thoughts were wild, boundless—she lived in worlds she built herself, worlds she ruled alone.

Her best friends growing up had been chess boards, Rubik’s cubes, Sudoku puzzles—the kind of things that never judged, never left.

And now… she couldn’t even manage to make someone like the fake version of herself.

How pathetic, Hua You.

Bian Chengyi leaned in, let out a quiet sigh.

“Don’t cry,” she said.

That small sliver of softness breaking through her usual cool, untouchable demeanor—just that was enough to make someone fall for her.

But Hua You was too caught up in the plummeting progress bar. She felt like the most failed hunter in the world.

“Does Sister Bian mean… you don’t like dealing with me?” she asked, carefully holding back her tears to speak the sentence in full.

“It’s you, not me,” Bian Chengyi replied.

Hua You shook her head, forcing the tears back with all her strength. With certainty, she said:

“That was before. It’s different now.”

“I’ll prove it to you—that there’s something beyond pheromones.”

I’ll make you fall for me.

I’ll become the kind of person you like.

Just… let me make it through tonight.

Hua You suddenly turned and bolted, her backpack swinging wildly behind her with every step.

Bian Chengyi straightened up and stood there silently, watching until Hua You’s figure disappeared into the distance.

“Twenty minutes, Bian Chengyi.”

Bian Chengyi bit her lip.

“You spent a full twenty minutes on a beautiful dream. That’s one long math problem. Ten English vocabulary words.”

She let out a self-deprecating laugh, a faint trace of bl00d blooming on the tip of her tongue.

That was her usual method—when she needed to calm herself down.

The next morning, Hua You walked into the classroom right as the bell rang for morning self-study.

Bian Chengyi, already seated, lifted her eyes slightly, observing without expression. Dark circles loomed under Hua You’s eyes, and her thick, tousled brown-black hair fell loosely behind her shoulders—clearly unbrushed in the morning rush. Yet her smile was still dazzling, like the summer sun breaking through a cloudy sky.

She cheerfully greeted the teacher, “Good morning, Ms. Xu!”

As she passed by Bian Chengyi’s desk, she paused for a brief moment—just a second.

Then, she turned her head—

Not toward Bian Chengyi, but toward Bian Chengyi’s deskmate, Fang Jinyu.

Fang Jinyu, surprised, froze mid-motion while flipping open her Chinese textbook for morning reading. Hua You glanced at her, gave a small smile—like she was covering for her own moment of distraction—and then casually continued toward her own seat.

Just like that.

Bright personality. Cute looks.

A humanities prodigy.

That’s all, really. Nothing more.

As she mused, Hua You returned to her seat, not noticing that Qin Jing had been staring at her the whole time—only turning away when she could no longer do so without drawing attention.

As morning reading began, Hua You—blessed with a nearly photographic memory—had no interest in repeating what she already knew. Instead, she propped her book up… and went to sleep.

Sleep deprivation was universal for seniors in high school. Lights out at midnight, and only six hours to recharge—it was far from enough. Especially with Pei Fei waking up at 5 AM to study again. Hua You inevitably woke twice each night, and sometimes couldn’t even remember what world she lived in. When she did get out of bed, stars would burst in her vision, and she could barely walk straight.

Morning nap during study period? Practically a necessity.

But unfortunately for her, today wasn’t her lucky day—the Dean of Discipline, Mr. Lu, happened to be making his rounds. And the first thing he saw was Hua You, blissfully asleep.

He sighed with barely contained frustration. “You—come with me!”

And that’s how a bleary-eyed Hua You unlocked the “Ten-Minute Tour” of the Dean’s office.

Mr. Lu looked at her with frustration, sighing as if pained by wasted potential.
“Hua You, do you even want to take the college entrance exam? Morning study is so important—how could you sleep through it? Morning time is the foundation of the day! And you… you made it onto the Chemistry blacklist again!”

“Ah—Chemistry!” Hua You finally seemed to snap fully awake. “I’m great at Chemistry! Don’t worry!”

Mr. Lu looked like he could cry. “See this? Totally sleep-addled.”

Standing beside him, Xu Laoshi—their homeroom teacher and also Hua You’s math teacher—looked a little embarrassed. After all, it was her student. She wanted to step in and defend Hua You, but then she thought of how carelessly Hua You usually treated her homework… and found herself at a loss for words. In the end, she could only say with concern:

“There’s a Chemistry quiz today. Maybe you shouldn’t take it. Go sit in on the remedial session instead.”

That was when Hua You realized just how serious things had gotten. She quickly softened her voice and pleaded:
“But Ms. Xu, it’s an odd-week Friday! We’ve got the science-based subject exams today—six of them! If I miss one, I won’t even be eligible for the overall red honor roll this round!”

At their school, odd-week Fridays meant exams in Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Even weeks were for the humanities—Chinese, Math, English, History, Geography, and Politics.

“You? Make the red roll?” Ms. Xu couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m just hoping you don’t end up on the black one again.”

But despite her words, there was a note of defense in her tone as she turned to Mr. Lu. “Let’s let this go. It’s the weekly exam day. She probably just stayed up too late studying. Let her go back to class.”

Mr. Lu glanced at Hua You—this pitiful-looking girl—and didn’t have the heart to push further.
“Hua You, if you end up on the Chemistry blacklist again, that’ll be five times. We’ll have to call in your parents.”

His tone softened. “Anyway, focus on the exam. Go get ready. Six subjects… that’ll drain anyone.”

Hua You caught the subtle care behind their words. She understood: these two teachers didn’t really think of her as a lost cause. They were just hoping—desperately—that she would turn things around.

She immediately nodded and said brightly,
“Don’t worry! I’ll do great on this week’s exam. I swear—I’ll flip both sides of the battlefield!”
That last line came with a cheeky grin.

“Ridiculous child,” Mr. Lu chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, alright. I’ll be waiting for good news. Off you go.”

Just as Hua You reached for the door, ready to leave, she was startled to see Bian Chengyi standing right outside.

No one knew how long she had been standing there, or how much she’d heard. Her expression was composed as always, her tone perfectly measured:
“Ms. Xu, I’ve finished morning reading. I came to pick up the Chinese exam paper.”

Mr. Lu was always pleased to see Bian Chengyi. “Ah, Chengyi! Here, Class Three’s papers are right here.”
Then, gesturing at Hua You, he added playfully, “And take this little sleepyhead with you while you’re at it.”

Hua You couldn’t hold back a laugh at that nickname. Her smile was as sweet as ever—eyes crinkled, cheeks puffed up slightly, dimples appearing, rosy and glowing.

Bian Chengyi used to hate that smile.

It had always seemed to carry mockery, even cruelty—aimed at her.

But this time, the smile was just simple embarrassment. Sweet, like a piece of candy melting on the tongue.

“I’ll take the papers, Class Rep’s not feeling well,” Hua You offered quickly, grabbing the stack.

The Chinese exam usually had two sheets, plus an answer booklet—thicker than most.

Ms. Xu, well aware of their usual tension, looked wary. “You? Helping? Just don’t start trouble. Hold those papers properly, you hear me? Or I will call your parents.”

“Got it!” Hua You responded cheerfully, scooping up the papers with practiced ease.

Bian Chengyi didn’t argue in front of the teachers. She simply nodded and gave a courteous goodbye to both.

But the moment they stepped out of the office—before they’d even taken two steps together—Bian Chengyi reached out her hand.

“Give it to me,” she said.

“Huh?” Hua You played dumb.

“The papers. Give them to me,” Bian Chengyi repeated flatly. The tenderness from the night before had vanished like a dream at dawn.
“I won’t say it a second time.”

Hua You checked the task progress bar again—still just over thirty percent, thankfully not back to zero.

She hugged the papers to her chest, stubbornly replying,
“No… you’re not feeling well…”

“Who told you that I’m unwell?”
Bian Chengyi came to a full stop, raising an eyebrow.