The Villainess Is Pretending to Be Sweet Again Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 10

Early the next morning, Long Huaichang woke up and instinctively reached for her phone to check the time.

Although this was her former home, things were different now. The room she currently lived in was originally a storage space, which she had tidied up, moving in a bed and a desk.

It wasn’t that Nuo Yang forbade her from staying in her old room—Long Huaichang simply didn’t want to. She felt that since she wasn’t paying a single cent to live here, she had no right to be picky.

At least she had enough self-awareness about that.

The small window in the room let in the colors of the morning sun, casting a long shadow on the floor.

Long Huaichang unlocked her phone and saw the 200,000 yuan Nuo Yang had transferred to her, unable to suppress a faint smile.

Had she scared her last night?

She rolled over in bed. Even after everything she’d said, Nuo Yang still sent her the money. It seemed she really had no ulterior motives.

Was it because she lacked charm…?

Long Huaichang got out of bed, casually sweeping her long black hair behind her as she stepped onto the floor.

Pushing open the door, the house was completely silent. She tiptoed around, checking every corner, but there was no sign of Nuo Yang.

When she reached the fridge, she spotted a small pink sticky note on the door, almost unnoticeable—

Nuo Yang: “I’ve gone to work. The money’s been transferred—remember to pay your tuition, or I’ll beat you up when I get home!”

In the bottom right corner of the note was a tiny, fierce-looking pair of scissors, oddly adorable.

Long Huaichang couldn’t help but laugh, pressing a finger to her lips before peeling off the note and setting it aside.

No matter how much she pretended to be strong, at this moment, she was still just a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old kid.

In a good mood, she grabbed a quick breakfast and, seeing the time, put on her school uniform and headed downstairs.

Since her parents’ deaths, Long Huaichang had forgotten what it felt like to smile. But because of Nuo Yang, she was starting to feel warmth again.

Though this woman had many strange quirks—like how she knew her name, her preferences, and why she always appeared whenever Long Huaichang had nowhere left to turn.

She was curious about all of it, but she didn’t dare dig deeper.

She was afraid that if she learned the truth, the bubble-like illusion would burst, leaving her with nothing.

For now, this was enough.

Today, in high spirits, Long Huaichang arrived at school right on time.

After parking her bike in the shed and straightening her clothes, she headed toward the school building—only to stop after a few steps.

Parked in the open space in front of the building was a black sports car.

Long Huaichang frowned slightly. She recognized the license plate—it belonged to the Long family.

Before she could guess who had come to the school, she saw a group of adults emerge from the building, surrounding one person.

That person was Long Yingjun.

And trailing behind him were the school’s administrators and higher-ups.

At that moment, Long Yingjun turned and locked eyes with her. The corner of his lips curled into a faint smile as he raised a finger to his brow in a mocking salute—“Long time no see, little sister.”

Long Huaichang felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, the bone-chilling cold seeping into her very core.

The man didn’t say a word, pretending not to see Long Huaichang as he turned and got into his sports car before driving off.

The homeroom teacher, about to head back, spotted Long Huaichang standing not far away and paused in surprise before saying, “Long Huaichang, come with me to the office.”

In the school office.

The air conditioning was set so low that Long Huaichang’s fingers began turning pale, her face devoid of color.

“Long Huaichang, you…” The teacher hesitated before continuing, “Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come to school anymore.”

Long Huaichang’s pale lips trembled uncontrollably as she asked hoarsely, “Why?”

“Because your tuition fees haven’t been paid. The school considered that you might be struggling to afford such a heavy financial burden, and for your sake, we’ve decided to process your withdrawal.”

“…Wasn’t the deadline the end of the month?”

The teacher pursed her lips and said, “Even by then, you wouldn’t be able to come up with the money, right? There’s no point in dragging it out.”

Long Huaichang stared at her intently without saying a word.

“Besides,” the woman continued, “Haven’t you been frequenting some inappropriate places recently? We’ve received some evidence. You’re still a minor—this kind of behavior is unacceptable. For the school’s reputation, we hope you’ll withdraw.”

Long Huaichang gave a bitter smile and said, “Is that so?”

Unable to pay tuition?

Visiting improper places?

Before, she might have believed it. But after seeing Long Yingjun’s smirk earlier, she knew these were just excuses to force her out.

The Long family never wanted to see her.

They’d probably prefer her dead on the streets.

That way, no one would be left to share the family assets.

The teacher said nothing more, only falling silent for a long moment before speaking again. “Go pack your things. Don’t come back tomorrow.”

————————

In the new media office.

Nuo Yang had just ordered takeout. A major news story had broken that morning, so everyone wrapped up early after pushing out the hot topic, waiting for the workday to end.

Colleagues in the office chattered away, pooling orders to save on delivery fees.

“Nuo Yang, want to get burgers?” Chu Kexin leaned over the cubicle divider. “They’re 70% off today~”

Nuo Yang smiled apologetically. “I already ordered earlier. You guys go ahead.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll ask the design team if they want any.”

After her colleague left, Nuo Yang picked up her phone and sent Long Huaichang a message:

Nuo Yang: Want burgers for dinner? There’s a place with 70% off—we could get two. What do you think?

She waited, but Long Huaichang didn’t reply.

Nuo Yang found it odd. The girl usually responded instantly whenever she asked about dinner plans. What was going on today?

Assuming she might be in class and hadn’t seen the message, Nuo Yang didn’t think much of it. But even after her lunch arrived, there was still no reply.

This was strange…

A sense of unease crept into Nuo Yang’s heart as she sent another message—

Nuo Yang: Or do you have something else you’d like to eat?

Nuo Yang: If so, you can tell me. I can pick it up for you on my way home from work.

Over an hour passed, but Long Huaichang still hadn’t replied.

The lunch break soon came to an end. Cheng Bai looked out the window and exclaimed, “Wow, it’s pouring! When did it start raining?”

Nuo Yang glanced outside—the sky had indeed turned gloomy with rain.

Chu Ke Xin also looked up and said, “Didn’t the weather forecast say it would be sunny today?”

Cheng Bai: “Maybe it’s just a passing shower?”

“Not necessarily. I just saw a yellow thunderstorm warning issued.”

“I didn’t bring an umbrella. What should I do?”

“You can come with me to the subway later. Besides, this rain probably won’t last long.”

The office buzzed with lively discussions. With most of the day’s work already done, everyone was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

After watching the rain for a while, Nuo Yang suddenly remembered something and picked up her phone to call Long Huai Chang.

Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off…

The cold, automated voice on the other end made Nuo Yang check the time—over three hours had passed since she last messaged Long Huai Chang.

What could possibly take more than three hours to handle?

A sense of unease crept over Nuo Yang. That morning, unsure how to face Long Huai Chang, she had simply transferred the money and left. Now, she realized she should have woken the girl up to talk properly.

Could it be… the kid took the money and ran away??

But it was only 200,000—surely not worth it??

After much deliberation, Nuo Yang grew increasingly worried. She asked Cheng Bai for time off, grabbed her bag, and headed downstairs.

Taking a taxi home, she found the house empty. She grabbed an umbrella from the closet and went to Long Huaichang’s  school.

The city’s most prestigious—and expensive—high school wasn’t hard to find. Soon, Nuo Yang stood at the school gates.

Peering around suspiciously outside, she caught the attention of a security guard who barked at her to come forward.

“What are you doing here?” The guard eyed her disdainfully. “No unauthorized entry.”

Nuo Yang quickly explained, “I’m a student’s guardian. I just want to check if she’s in school today.”

“Name and class?” the guard demanded.

Nuo Yang: “…”

Right… which class was Long Huaichang in??

Seeing her hesitation, the guard frowned. “Are you really a guardian?”

Shrinking slightly, Nuo Yang said, “I’m Long Huaichang’s  older sister. I’m not sure which class she’s in.”

“Long Huaichang?”

A student sitting inside the guard booth looked up at Nuo Yang. “You mean the Long Huaichang from our class?”

Nuo Yang turned to see a drenched student—likely taking shelter from the rain—sitting on a chair, school uniform removed, eyeing her curiously.

“That should be her,” Nuo Yang nodded. The surname Long wasn’t common here.

The student, using a small fan to dry the uniform, said, “She came this morning to get her things and left.”

“Left?” Nuo Yang was puzzled. “Why?”

The student frowned in thought. “Not sure. Heard from classmates that she couldn’t afford tuition, so the school processed her withdrawal.”

Nuo Yang grew even more confused. “Couldn’t afford tuition?”

She had just transferred money to the child this morning—how could there be no money for tuition?

And from what the student implied, Long Huaichang had arrived at school early, so she definitely hadn’t gone anywhere else.

Why was Long Huaichang expelled despite having money?

Nuo Yang couldn’t make sense of it no matter how hard she thought.

If in the original story, Long Huaichang was expelled for lacking tuition money, that would have been understandable. But this time, Nuo Yang had done everything to change that outcome—why was the result still the same?

She couldn’t figure it out, but she knew the priority now was to find Long Huaichang.

Returning home, the room was still empty. Nuo Yang searched the neighborhood but found no trace of her.

The entire afternoon passed with Nuo Yang scouring every corner, yet Long Huaichang was nowhere to be found.

No answered calls, no replies to messages. Only when night fell did Nuo Yang think of the cemetery in the suburbs. She hailed a cab and rushed there.

The dark mountain range loomed desolate in the night, the earthy scent unusually pungent.

Nuo Yang found Xiao Bailian’s grave—and there, crouched in a corner in her school uniform, was Long Huaichang.

She looked utterly wretched. Transparent droplets slid from the strands of hair clinging to her forehead, trailing down the bridge of her nose before splattering at her feet.

How long had she been standing here in the rain? To Nuo Yang, it seemed as if Long Huaichang was already halfway to death.

“What are you doing here?”

Nuo Yang crouched before her, heart aching at the sight of Long Huaichang’s pale lips.

“Why didn’t you turn on your phone? Why didn’t you go to school?” Nuo Yang pressed. “Your classmate told me you were expelled for unpaid tuition. Why? Is there another reason?”

Long Huaichang’s stiff expression flickered. She lifted her face to look at Nuo Yang, but no words came.

What was she supposed to do?

She had nowhere left to go. Who could tell her what to do now?

No one wanted her alive. Everyone had backed her into a corner—all because of her identity as an illegitimate child.

Never before had Long Huaichang regretted her existence so bitterly. Why had her mother even brought her into this world?

She truly wished she could just vanish from it all…