The Villainess Is Pretending to Be Sweet Again Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 5

Nuo Yang stared blankly at the girl standing at the door, thinking that there were simply too many coincidences in this world.

She had first met Long Huaichang at a funeral parlor a month ago, and now they were encountering each other again in a rental apartment. It was undeniably too much of a coincidence.

Long Huaichang glanced at Nuo Yang and froze in place as well, seemingly surprised that they would meet here.

The real estate agent, who had been knocked to the ground, wobbled as he got up and cursed at Long Huai Chang, “What do you mean, your home? Your family hasn’t paid rent in half a year! Today, I’m kicking you out!”

Long Huaichang frowned but didn’t waste words on him. Instead, she turned to Nuo Yang and said, “Are you really sure you want to rent this place? It’s a haunted house—someone died here. You still want to live in it?”

Her words enraged the agent, who flew into a fury and looked ready to throw a punch. Seeing that things were about to escalate, Nuo Yang quickly stepped in to stop him.

“Sir, sir, calm down,” Nuo Yang said, grabbing the agent’s sleeve. “Let’s talk this through properly. I never said I wouldn’t rent the place.”

Long Huaichang blinked in surprise. “You’d still rent a haunted house?”

Nuo Yang glanced at her before turning back to the agent. “I’ll cover the rent she owes. But since it’s a haunted house, you should lower the price a bit.”

The tense atmosphere instantly turned strange. Both of them stared at Nuo Yang, unable to figure out what was going on with this woman.

Nuo Yang didn’t offer any explanation. She simply paid the deposit first and watched as the agent, rubbing the back of his head where he’d been hit, walked away. Only then did she let out a small sigh of relief.

Picking up the helmet from the ground, Nuo Yang walked over to Long Huai Chang.

Long Huaichang was slightly shorter than her and now looked up at Nuo Yang with confusion.

“We meet again. What a coincidence,” Nuo Yang said, handing the helmet to her with a smile. “Did you just get back from school?”

Silence was the only reply.

Nuo Yang felt awkward. She suddenly felt like some shady adult trying to lure a little girl with candy—except the “little girl” in question was eyeing her warily, looking like she had something to say but holding back.

Before Nuo Yang could say anything else, Long Huaichang took the helmet and said, “I’ll pack my things and leave.”

“No need,” Nuo Yang said. “You can keep staying here.”

Long Huaichang gave her a puzzled look.

“Even if you pack up and leave, you don’t have anywhere else to go, right?” Nuo Yang said to the girl in front of her. “I’ll help you pay off the rent you owe, so you don’t have to leave.”

Long Huaichang continued to stare at her without a word.

The girl’s coldness made Nuo Yang uneasy. She was naturally shy around strangers, and if she hadn’t known about this person’s future, she probably wouldn’t have spoken so much in the first place.

Now, the atmosphere between them had turned painfully awkward, and Nuo Yang was so flustered she was starting to sweat.

Long Huaichang watched as the woman in front of her nervously stared back. She’s the one paying, so why does it feel like she’s acting like it’d be terrible if I refused?

For the past month since returning home, she had been living in a daze. It was only this week that she started going to school again. Today, upon arriving home, she found the front door wide open and initially thought the house had been burglarized. Upon entering, she discovered it was actually a real estate agent showing the property to potential tenants.

Back when Long Huaichang’s mother was still alive, the rental agency had come knocking many times to demand overdue payments. Although the Long family was wealthy, Long Huaichang and her mother—being the illegitimate child and mistress—were practically penniless.

Not only that, but Long Huaichang’s mother was excessively concerned with appearances. She insisted on sending her daughter to an exorbitantly expensive elite private school, constantly reminding Long Huaichang that she was part of the Long family and must never disgrace their status.

Even in death, Long Huaichang’s mother only thought of herself, choosing an “honorable” way to end her life.

Clutching the helmet in her hands, Long Huaichang spoke softly, “Can I… continue living here?”

If the answer was no, she would likely end up homeless.

Nuo Yang was immediately delighted by the question. “Of course! You can stay here. I’ll book a hotel for tonight and look for another place tomorrow.”

Long Huaichang looked at her and asked, “Why move out? Didn’t you already pay the deposit for this place?”

“Well… that’s true, but—”

“Then this is officially your rental now.”

Long Huaichang’s dark, luminous eyes met Nuo Yang’s as she said, “I can take the small room downstairs. You can have the larger one upstairs.”

Nuo Yang was taken aback. In just a few years, this girl would grow to despise living with others.

Unaware of Nuo Yang’s thoughts, Long Huaichang continued, “I can’t pay rent, so I’ll make up for it by doing chores—laundry, cleaning, cooking… I can handle all of it.”

The words grew quieter as she spoke, weighed down by the humiliation of begging for shelter in what was once her own home. For someone as proud as Long Huaichang, this was a bitter pill to swallow.

Nuo Yang wasn’t the type to press hard bargains. Seeing the resolve in Long Huaichang’s expression, she recognized how much pride the girl had swallowed just to secure a roof over her head.

“In that case,” Nuo Yang said with a gentle smile, “if you’re offering to handle the chores, I won’t hold back.”

The warmth in Nuo Yang’s crescent-moon eyes struck Long Huaichang like a beacon in the dark—untainted by malice or hidden agendas. It was the purest smile she had ever seen, and for a moment, she was spellbound.

Perhaps for the rest of her life, she would remain captivated by that smile…

That evening, after an hour and a half in the kitchen, Long Huaichang emerged with two bowls of noodles.

By then, Nuo Yang was starving. She picked up her chopsticks without complaint, despite the broth’s watery appearance, and took a bite.

Nuo Yang: “…”

Removing her apron, Long Huaichang sat down awkwardly. “I know it’s terrible, but I really tried my best.”

A glance into the kitchen would reveal a trash bin filled with charred, clumped, soy-sauce-drowned, and other grotesquely deformed noodles—silently lamenting their fate.

Nuo Yang swallowed the tasteless noodles, not wanting to hurt the child’s feelings, and said, “It’s actually not bad, not particularly unpleasant to eat.”

Long Huaichang asked cautiously, “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Then I’ll serve you another bowl.”

“…”

In the end, Nuo Yang forced herself to eat two full bowls with pickles before watching Long Huaichang clear the dishes and head to the kitchen.

As she observed Long Huaichang standing obediently by the sink, washing the dishes, Nuo Yang found her more and more adorable the longer she looked.

Long Huaichang was naturally beautiful—her long black hair tied neatly behind her head, her dark, gleaming eyes fixed intently on the sink, appearing both serious and well-behaved.

Perhaps inheriting her mother’s grace, even at a young age, she carried a unique charm, looking both cute and alluring.

This stirred something in Nuo Yang. Such a pretty girl shouldn’t be doing bad things—she ought to live a peaceful, sweet, and stable life.

With several years before the main storyline would unfold, Nuo Yang still wanted Long Huaichang to have a good ending.

Even if she couldn’t win the female lead’s heart, at the very least, she should grow into a beautiful, ordinary person.

Perhaps because she was staring too intently, Long Huaichang glanced back at her, blinking as she asked, “What are you looking at?”

Determined to help little Long Huaichang turn over a new leaf, Nuo Yang straightened up and declared, “Oh, nothing. Just thinking about some things.”

Long Huaichang pressed her lips together. Strangely, she didn’t dislike Nuo Yang watching her—in fact, she quite liked having all of Nuo Yang’s attention focused on her.

“I still haven’t asked your name,” Long Huaichang said after finishing the dishes. “What should I call you?”

Nuo Yang smiled. “My name is Nuo Yang. You can call me Sister Nuo Yang from now on.”

“Nuo Yang… Sister.”

Long Huaichang looked up at her and grinned. “I’ll remember that.”

Though still young, Long Huaichang knew—this woman before her would become the most important person in her life.