The Villainess Is Pretending to Be Sweet Again Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 44

The day after the annual party, Long Huaichang got up early and marked a check on the calendar on her desk.

Another day had passed. There was less than a week left until the New Year.

And only one month until she came of age.

Closing the pen cap, Long Huaichang pondered with delight what she should ask her sister for once she became an adult…

She wanted something that belonged solely to Nuo Yang.

Just as she was deep in thought, her phone on the bed suddenly rang. She turned around, picked it up, and answered with a “Hello,” immediately recognizing the voice on the other end.

“You picked up pretty fast today.”

Mu Jiazhao’s tone was calm as she asked softly, “You should be free these days, right?”

Long Huaichang paused. “What is it?”

“It’s about your grandmother,” Mu Jiazhao said. “You know she’s been hospitalized again. Her health is poor, and her mind isn’t clear either. These days, she keeps calling your father’s name.”

Long Huaichang pressed her lips together. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Long Huaichang, she is still your grandmother,” Mu Jiazhao replied. “Since New Year’s Eve is in a few days, I’ll send a driver to pick you up. Come celebrate at the Long family home.”

“I never said I was going.”

“Huaichang, I’m begging you. You saw her last time—your grandmother doesn’t have much time left. As a member of the Long family, just spend this one New Year with her.”

Thinking of the frail old woman, Long Huaichang glanced toward the door. Nuo Yang was still asleep, and there was no telling when she’d wake up.

“I’ll only make an appearance,” Long Huaichang said to Mu Jiazhao over the phone. “But after this, don’t ever call me again, and don’t ask me to come back.”

“Fine, I promise.”

After hanging up, Nuo Yang came downstairs yawning, her pink fluffy nightgown wrinkled—who knew how much she had tossed and turned last night.

“What’s going on?” Nuo Yang rubbed her eyes, still heavy with sleep. “I heard you on the phone first thing in the morning.”

“Nothing important.” Long Huaichang walked over and helped Nuo Yang down the last few steps. “I want to spend the New Year with you, sis. You still have to set off fireworks for me.”

Nuo Yang smiled sleepily. “It’s been ages since I last set off fireworks. We’ll do it together!”

Surely, that day would be lively.

———

On New Year’s Eve, Nuo Yang left early to buy New Year’s groceries at the supermarket on the next street. Before leaving, she didn’t wake Long Huaichang, so by the time she lugged her heavy bags out of the store, she was already regretting it.

She really should buy a car—and get a driver’s license first.

As she walked, she wondered why she hadn’t just bought an electric scooter as a temporary solution.

By the time she figured it out, she was already back in the neighborhood. She went upstairs, opened the door, and stepped inside in one smooth motion.

“Xiao Huai?”

Nuo Yang called out a few times, expecting the girl to come help her with the bags, but only an orange tabby cat came trotting over.

Guazi, probably smelling the fish, pawed at the plastic bags with his white mittens, making rustling noises.

Peeking around, Nuo Yang found the house empty.

Strange. Where was she?

After changing her shoes, Nuo Yang opened Long Huaichang’s bedroom door. The room was neat and tidy—but no one was there.

Nuo Yang searched the balcony and the second floor again, but their house wasn’t that big—how could someone just vanish into thin air?

Just as Nuo Yang was considering whether to call Long Huaichang, she spotted a note stuck to the refrigerator, written in Long Huaichang’s familiar handwriting:

“Sis, a classmate called me out to hang out. I’ll be back before dinner~”

Peeling off the note, Nuo Yang frowned in confusion. Weren’t all of Long Huaichang’s classmates busy today? Why would someone suddenly ask her out?

And why leave a note instead of calling?

Staring at the words, Nuo Yang felt a vague understanding dawn on her, yet somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Long Huaichang wouldn’t actually go.

The entire day passed with Nuo Yang cleaning the house, pasting spring couplets and “Fu” characters by the door, and hanging a small lucky pouch outside Long Huaichang’s room.

Though the dumplings she made looked terrible—soggy lumps resembling some unknown creatures—they were still the result of her hard work all afternoon.

Perhaps because she’d woken up too early, Nuo Yang lay contentedly on the sofa, admiring the spotless house, imagining how they’d eat dumplings and watch fireworks on the rooftop when Long Huaichang returned…

She fell into a deep sleep, only to be startled awake by the loud crackling of firecrackers.

Opening her eyes, she found the entire house plunged into lonely darkness, with only the neon lights outside filtering through the unclosed balcony curtains.

Something furry brushed against her face. When she reached out, a cat’s meow answered her touch.

What time was it?

Nuo Yang sat up on the sofa. Outside, night had fully fallen. After the firecrackers stopped, the silence became eerily complete.

Her phone screen blazed painfully bright before automatically dimming to its lowest setting.

8:49 PM.

It was almost 9 o’clock at night—why hadn’t Long Huaichang returned yet??

A growing unease settled in Nuo Yang’s chest. Without turning on the lights, she immediately dialed Long Huaichang’s number. The call went unanswered twice. On the third attempt, someone finally picked up.

“Where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?” Nuo Yang demanded angrily. Hadn’t they agreed to spend the holiday together??

After a pause, an unfamiliar voice replied, “Hello, Ms. Nuo. This is Assistant Mu.”

Mu Jiazhao’s assistant??

The voice continued, “The young miss is currently at the Long family residence. She won’t be returning tonight.”

Nuo Yang panicked, “Did you drag her back there?”

“She came of her own accord.”

“You’re lying!”

“There’s no reason for me to deceive you about this,” the assistant calmly responded. “Right now, the young miss is having New Year’s Eve dinner with the matriarch and other Long family members. After dinner, they’ll be watching the fireworks display.”

Shocked into speechlessness, Nuo Yang hung up but remained frozen in place.

She’d promised she didn’t like the Long family.

She’d sworn she wouldn’t go back.

Hadn’t they agreed to stay up together for the New Year? Long Huaichang had given her word…

Staring at the darkened screen, Nuo Yang felt her nose sting and eyes redden.

She’d never had much family growing up, and New Year celebrations had always felt hollow. As an adult, the holidays only grew lonelier. The reunion-filled festivals had become what she hated most in life.

She had thought meeting Long Huaichang would mean they could keep each other warm, but in the end, the other girl still had to return to her own family.

And rightly so—the Long family were terrible people, and Long Huaichang was just a little troublemaker. She should stay far, far away from them.

She really shouldn’t have softened back then and struck up a conversation with Long Huaichang. Wouldn’t it have been better to just enjoy being a wealthy woman on her own? But no, she had to go and provoke Long Huaichang, and now she was stuck in this miserable situation.

The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt. Nuo Yang reached out, scooped up Guazi into her arms, and grabbed the firecrackers she had bought that afternoon before heading out.

So what if she had no one to celebrate the holiday with? She had spent over twenty years alone—she could handle it.

Tucking Guazi into her coat, Nuo Yang made her way to the rooftop. The moment she pushed open the door, a gust of cold wind hit her, making her shiver.

Guazi, despite being well-padded, couldn’t handle the freezing temperature either. The poor cat whimpered and burrowed deeper into Nuo Yang’s arms, looking more like a frozen dog than a feline.

Bundled in her cotton coat, Nuo Yang sat on the rooftop bench and started throwing the firecrackers onto the ground, each one bursting with a loud crack.

Soon, her nose stung from the cold, and she rubbed it before murmuring to Guazi, “Little Guazi, it’s just the two of us celebrating now. Go on, pick which fireworks you want to set off—I’ve got them all here.”

Guazi only responded with muffled whimpers, curled up against Nuo Yang’s stomach, probably freezing.

Nuo Yang sniffled, her hands red from the cold, and set off all the firecrackers one by one. Before long, a pile of spent firework casings lay scattered in front of her.

Why? Long Huaichang had promised to spend the holiday with her, but then she just ran back home. She was a wealthy woman too—not as rich as the Long family, but she had more than enough to live comfortably.

Why? Why couldn’t she just stay by her side?

The more she dwelled on it, the more her heart ached. Nuo Yang hugged Guazi tightly and began to cry. Her sobs mixed with the howling wind, sounding especially desolate in the night.

In the quiet of the late hour, the windows around her faintly revealed families gathered together, sharing New Year’s Eve dinners and watching TV. The streets were nearly empty, with only a few cars passing by under the dim glow of the streetlights—no one else in sight.

When Long Huaichang stepped out of the elevator, her legs were weak. It had taken her over two hours to run all the way back from the Long family estate.

She had only agreed to Mu Jiazhao’s request to visit an ailing relative, never expecting the entire family to pressure her into staying for the reunion dinner.

Long Huaichang was never one to be trifled with. Realizing she had been tricked, she calmly took her seat at the table—and then proceeded to cause a scene.

She didn’t hold back, throwing sarcastic remarks left and right, calling out every single person who had ever bullied her and her mother. Mu Jiazhao’s face had turned ashen, and Long Huaichang had almost laughed at the sight.

In the end, no one at the table ate a single bite. Long Huaichang didn’t stay long either—she turned and left.

But the Long estate was far from the city center, and her phone was nowhere to be found. She had no choice but to run the entire way back. Halfway through, she realized just how bad the situation was—this was the middle of nowhere. How long would it take to get home?

By the time she finally made it back, the apartment was empty, the door left wide open. Her heart instantly sank—

“Sister!!!!”

Without a second thought, Long Huaichang bolted straight for the rooftop. The moment she pushed open the door, the sharp scent of gunpowder from fireworks hit her. The wind up here was fierce, but it couldn’t disperse the lingering smell.

Long Huaichang was getting a headache from the pungent smell in the air. She waved her hand in front of her nose and turned her gaze to Nuo Yang, who was sitting on a bench hugging a bag of melon seeds.

“Sis…”

Long Huaichang hurried over, noticing the pile of spent firecrackers in front of Nuo Yang—she must have been sitting there for hours.

When Nuo Yang looked up and saw Long Huaichang, she immediately burst into tears!

“You finally decided to come back!” Nuo Yang sobbed, her voice trembling with emotion. “If you don’t want me as your sister anymore, just say it! Why lie to me? Do you think I’m easy to bully? Do you enjoy seeing me worry sick about you?”

“I’m sorry, sis.” Long Huaichang reached out and pulled her into an embrace, feeling how cold Nuo Yang’s body was. The moment they touched, Nuo Yang started shivering violently, making Long Huaichang’s heart ache.

“If you ever want to go back, I’d never stop you.” Nuo Yang clutched the white down jacket Long Huaichang was wearing, burying her tear-streaked face against her chest as she whispered, “Just say the word, and I won’t argue.”

“Sis…” Long Huaichang knew she was in the wrong. In the heat of the moment, she’d only thought about her own grievances and lashed out. It wasn’t until she left that she remembered someone was waiting for her at home.

She kissed Nuo Yang’s forehead gently and murmured, “The whole way back from the Long family, I kept thinking—what if I didn’t make it in time? What if you weren’t home waiting for me?”

“Now I understand.” Long Huaichang tightened her embrace. “Sis, I don’t think I can ever leave you.”

Today, she had officially severed ties with the Long family. Those status-obsessed relatives would never come looking for her again, which meant she’d been abandoned once more.

Yet this time, Long Huaichang was happy—because it meant she could stay with Nuo Yang forever.

Nuo Yang sniffled and looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes. After crying all night, she resembled a frightened little rabbit, her eyes swollen and pink.

“What time is it now?” Nuo Yang asked.

“Midnight.” Long Huaichang rested her forehead against Nuo Yang’s, gazing at her tearful face. There was something endearing about seeing her usually composed sister like this.

“Happy New Year, sis,” Long Huaichang whispered.

Outside, firecrackers erupted in celebration as thousands of households opened their windows to welcome the noisy arrival of the new year.

For Long Huaichang and Nuo Yang, this marked the beginning of a brand-new chapter together…