Scumbag A's Plan to Save the Heroine - Chapter 46

“Who are you?”

The morning sun had just risen, its rays streaming through the window into the sparsely furnished room. The girl in the formal gown frowned deeply, her usually impassive expression now filled with shock and confusion. To a casual observer, she might have appeared simply beautiful in her gown, her angelic face radiating purity. But a discerning eye would notice the slight tension in her delicate butterfly bones, like a wolf whose territory had been invaded, its gaze locked fiercely on its prey.

Anyone waking up to find an exact double standing in their tightly sealed bedroom would likely have screamed in terror, convinced they were witnessing a haunting.

“Who are you?” Ruan Ye’s voice trembled slightly as she asked, but she managed to maintain her composure, calmly assessing the woman before her.

“Who are you?” Ruan Ye repeated, her lips pressed into a thin line. This time, her tone was far less conciliatory. A palpable tension hung in the air, the scent of bl00d lingering between them—a silent psychological duel.

Without a close examination of their facial features, the two women could easily be mistaken for sisters, given their similar attire and figures. However, considering their overall demeanor, a mother-daughter relationship seemed more fitting.

The woman who had materialized out of thin air possessed a voluptuous figure and snow-white skin. She wore a black qipao with an air of refined elegance, devoid of any vulgarity. Her slender high heels were handled with effortless grace. Though her face showed signs of fatigue, suggesting she had rushed here, this only accentuated her aura of serene detachment—a composure cultivated through years of wealth and worldly indifference.

As Ruan Ye scrutinized the woman’s face, she froze, an incredulous thought striking her. For a fleeting moment, her eyes grew distant.

Compared to other girls her age who had developed normally, Ruan Ye’s figure wasn’t particularly gaunt. Yet, standing beside this woman, she appeared like a child struggling to appear mature, deliberately dressing like an adult.

Buzz, buzz. The vibration from the table drew Ruan Ye’s attention.

It was her phone ringing. Her clouded eyes instantly cleared, and she lunged forward as if grasping a lifeline, frantically pressing the power button.

The screen lit up, and Ruan Ye saw the message that was like a lifeline to her.

Zhi Qiu: I’m here to pick you up.

Zhi Qiu: I’m outside.

Zhi Qiu’s arrival loosened the taut strings of Ruan Ye’s nerves. She let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, her heart swelling with renewed happiness. She tilted her head back to re-examine the person standing before her.

The gray eyes were sharp, and Ruan Ye, with her keen sensitivity, quickly noticed the slight tremor in the person’s forearm.

So, this person is nervous too.

Ruan Ye glanced down at the time. There were still ninety minutes until the ball began. As a Noadon student attending the ball, she had to enter thirty minutes early to avoid clashing with the invited guests from society.

Realizing her opponent’s nervousness, Ruan Ye no longer felt at a disadvantage. She flashed a perfect smile and said in a gentle, conciliatory tone, “I’m an only child, and my mother died long ago in the war. Whatever reason you’ve come here for, could we discuss it tonight?

“I need to go to the Noadon ball now. My friends are waiting for me outside.”

After saying this, Ruan Ye turned to hurry toward the door, but before her hand could reach the doorknob, her cheek brushed against something icy cold.

Ruan Ye looked up to find the woman in the qipao had gracefully blocked her path, her cheek pressed against the woman’s frigid arm.

“Who is this friend of yours?”

These were the first words the woman in the black qipao spoke after barging into Ruan Ye’s home.

Ruan Ye frowned in confusion. Though she used high-quality foundation, a faint pink smudge remained on the woman’s arm.

Yet the woman’s first reaction wasn’t offense, but curiosity about who Ruan Ye was meeting. After a moment’s hesitation, Ruan Ye decided not to hide the truth.

Dressed in her elegant gown and meticulously made up, Ruan Ye’s voice turned sweet as she said, “Zhi Qiu.”

The moment she heard the name, Ruan Ning felt a sudden heat surge through her body. She instinctively reached for the black stud in her right ear, only to touch her cold earlobe.

Her body temperature plummeted even lower than before. After the initial feverish rush, she slowly regained her composure, and finally, Ruan Ning smiled.

A gentle smile that felt like a warm spring breeze.

A few seconds later, Ruan Ye heard the black-robed woman’s laughter.

Then her eyes widened as the laughter gradually turned into sobs.

Ruan Ning’s tears flowed uncontrollably, tracing paths down her cheeks to her neck, then following the curve of her qipao to seep into her body. After that, nothing could be seen.

Ruan Ye rubbed her eyes and saw the woman, who had been sobbing moments before, now wearing an expression of serene detachment, as if her tears had never existed. Yet Ruan Ye’s intuition told her that both the joy and sorrow the woman had shown upon hearing her name were genuine.

When had Ruan Ning last laughed from the heart? She remembered it was when the doctor said Light Brain therapy might be effective for Zhi Qiu’s condition.

What did a little risk matter? If it could help Zhi Qiu, she would willingly die immediately if that’s what it took. Desperate, she was willing to try anything.

Ruan Ning gazed at the girl before her, gently caressing her cheek with the tenderness one might show a beloved partner.

She knew this was just a piece of code, yet in this world, the girl was so lifelike, endlessly reenacting her original, impoverished, and frantic self.

Ruan Ning gently took the girl’s hand, leaned close to her ear, and whispered in a mysterious tone, drawing her step by step into her trap: “Ruan Ye, do you want to know the secrets of this world?”

“Do you want to understand why your tragedy repeats endlessly, as if there’s no escape? Do you want to break free from this relentless cycle of suffering?”

The voice pressed closer, and the woman’s indifferent gray eyes suddenly blazed with fervor, gleaming as if everything were unfolding exactly as she had foreseen.

Ruan Ye had grown accustomed to countless deaths, but this time, for the first time, she felt genuine fear. She stumbled backward, desperate to escape the siren’s alluring song, but the black-robed woman pursued her relentlessly, like a phantom.

In her panic, Ruan Ye’s high heel caught on the hem of her gown. The fragile silk tore in two under the heel’s sharp edge, and she lost her balance, collapsing to the ground.

The phone on the table rang again, this time with a call. But Ruan Ye had no time to think about Zhi Qiu or the ball. All she wanted to know was who this woman, who looked exactly like her, was—and how she knew her secrets!