I Don’t Want to Be the Heroine Anymore - Chapter 18

Mang Ke listened as Xun Fangyun chattered away face-to-face with her for a long time. Although Xun Fangyun was still as fierce as ever, Mang Ke inexplicably felt that she seemed to care about her more and more.

She wondered if it was just her imagination.

The doctor came again the next day. The power of money ensured his punctuality. After checking Mang Ke’s body and temperature, he instructed Aunt Liu to prepare lighter meals and then left with a polite farewell.

“Miss Xun has company matters to attend to today, so you should rest well at home.”

Aunt Liu brought a blanket to the sofa and said to Mang Ke, “What TV show would you like to watch? Or would you prefer to change the channel yourself?”

Mang Ke burrowed into the blanket, revealing only her big eyes. “I’ll do it myself, Aunt Liu. You can go attend to your own tasks.”

“Alright.” Aunt Liu handed her the remote and a cup of hot water, saying, “I’ll be doing laundry on the balcony. Just call me if you need anything.”

“Got it, Aunt Liu.”

Watching Aunt Liu carry a laundry basket toward the balcony, Mang Ke couldn’t help but yawn and curl up on the sofa.

The weather was sunny and bright, with sunlight streaming through the well-lit living room onto the sofa, making Mang Ke increasingly drowsy. After watching TV for a while and finding it unbearably dull, she decided to get up and find something else to do.

Just as she stood, the doorbell rang—someone was knocking.

Aunt Liu was busy with the laundry on the balcony, the rumbling sound apparently drowning out the noise at the door. Mang Ke thought for a moment and decided not to disturb her. It might just be a delivery person or the newspaper boy.

She tiptoed to the door and peeked through the peephole, spotting a woman in a denim jacket and a fisherman’s hat grinning cheerfully at her.

Yue Yin raised her right index and middle fingers to her brow in a playful salute and laughed. “Open up! I’m here to hang out!”

When Aunt Liu heard the commotion in the living room, she walked in curiously.

“Hello, Aunt Liu,” Yue Yin said, removing her hat and setting it aside. “Could you get me a glass of iced lemon tea, please? Thanks!”

Aunt Liu looked puzzled, but seeing Mang Ke standing beside Yue Yin without any alarm, she simply nodded and went to the kitchen.

Yue Yin plopped onto the sofa and patted the spot next to her. “Come sit here.”

“Uh… no thanks,” Mang Ke said, her gaze shifting nervously. “I’m fine standing.”

“You’re not a maid—why should you stand?” Yue Yin crossed her legs, propped her elbow on her knee, and rested her chin on her hand, smiling warmly. “You’re not fully recovered yet. What if you catch a chill?”

Mang Ke stared at her warily. Why did this “white moonlight” seem so… off?

Yue Yin’s rosy lips curled slightly. “We got along so well before. Why are you so afraid of me now? It’s not like I’ll eat you…”

Feeling it was rude to keep rejecting her kindness, Mang Ke reluctantly sat down on the adjacent sofa.

“Um…” Mang Ke said hesitantly, “Yunyun went to work.”

Yue Yin narrowed her eyes slightly, savoring the term. “Yunyun…”

Such an intimate nickname—had the two of them already…?

That couldn’t be. At this stage, wasn’t it supposed to be her making moves, Mang Ke suffering, and Xun Fangyun being oblivious? Otherwise, Yue Yin wouldn’t have come over to play the “other woman.”

But Mang Ke’s way of addressing her seemed so sweet, not like a distant form of address.

Yue Yin was very unhappy.

Pursing her lips, she said to Mang Ke, “I didn’t come to see her. I came to see you.”

Mang Ke nodded. “I know.”

You came to pick a fight with me.

Yue Yin seemed to sense some misunderstanding. Recalling the relationship between the two in the original text, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.

“I came to persuade you to leave Xun Fangyun,” Yue Yin said. “You two aren’t a good match. You even argue often. She’s not right for you.”

“But I’m different.”

Yue Yin said confidently, “I’m gentle, beautiful, rich, and most importantly, more caring and loving than Xun Fangyun.”

Mang Ke blinked. “Hmm, I know.”

Yue Yin looked at Mang Ke, her face slightly flushed. “Then you’ll leave Xun Fangyun, right? Give me a chance.”

Mang Ke nodded. “Should I go pack my things then?”

Yue Yin’s face turned red with excitement. “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

Mang Ke watched as Yue Yin’s eyes sparkled, feeling something was off for some reason.

Their thoughts were completely on different wavelengths, yet somehow their communication was so harmonious that by the time Aunt Liu brought out the brewed black tea, the living room was already empty.

Aunt Liu was puzzled. She set down the tea and searched the entire villa inside and out but found no trace of Mang Ke or Yue Yin.

How strange. Why did both of them disappear all of a sudden???

————

When Xun Fangyun received Aunt Liu’s call, she was still in a meeting at the company.

Xun Fangyun felt helpless. Why did she have to hold meetings for a bunch of cardboard cutouts who only knew how to say “yes”? No matter what she said, they wouldn’t understand. But if she didn’t work, she’d have even less to do.

Gradually, Xun Fangyun began treating this world like a sandbox game.

Since she had nothing better to do, she might as well play along. Maybe after she died, she could leave this place and stop wasting so much emotion.

A room full of expressionless, copy-pasted men and women in suits sat in the conference room. Xun Fangyun stepped out to take the call.

“What?”

Xun Fangyun frowned. “You’re saying Yue Yin came to the house and took Mang Ke away?”

Aunt Liu replied on the other end, “Yes, Miss Xun. We checked the surveillance footage. Miss Yue Yin took Mang Ke and left in a car. You should contact Miss Yue Yin.”

Xun Fangyun: “…I understand.”

After hanging up, she immediately called Yue Yin, who promptly hung up and turned off her phone.

Tossing her phone onto the sofa, Yue Yin tied up her long hair with a black hairband, revealing her elegant nape.

They were in a pool hall, but since it was early in the morning, there were hardly any customers.

Mang Ke watched as Yue Yin threw her phone aside and looked up at her in confusion. “Did Yunyun call you?”

Yue Yin smiled. “Let’s not talk about her for now.”

Mang Ke was puzzled. If the two of them, as love rivals, weren’t going to talk about Xun Fangyun, what else was there to discuss?

The dim lighting of the pool hall cast shadows over Yue Yin’s face, making her look somewhat gloomy.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” Yue Yin said to Mang Ke. “You took off all my clothes. Shouldn’t you… take responsibility for that?”

Mang Ke thought about it. She must have been referring to that time at the banquet when Yue Yin was drugged by a fellow guest.

“We’re both girls, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to take a look, right?” Mang Ke said. “Or do you mind this matter? Then I’ll apologize first.”

“If apologies worked, I wouldn’t have kept you here.”

Yue Yin extended her fair fingers, tracing Mang Ke’s chin as she smiled. “Anyway, your relationship with Xun Fangyun isn’t great. Why not stay here with me instead?”

Mang Ke: “?”

Yue Yin continued, “The assets under my name aren’t any less than Fangyun’s. Starting a relationship with me wouldn’t be a loss for you.”

Mang Ke remained silent for a moment before raising her head to look at her. “But… Miss Yue Yin, aren’t we supposed to be love rivals?”