Transmigrated as a White Lotus Heroine, but I’m Pursuing the Cold Villain - Chapter 15

Chi Jiheng walked upstairs to his bedroom, calling out as he went, “Go easy on the spice.”

His villa was large but only three stories high, with ten rooms and two living areas on each floor. This layout suited him well. The entertainment and gaming area was on the third floor, while his belongings and bedroom were on the second. The kitchen occupied the first floor, separated from the formal living room by front and back halls.

Having stayed up late drinking heavily the night before, Chi Jiheng now had a throbbing headache that made it difficult to think clearly.

Lin Qinglian nearly lost her composure, struggling to maintain a neutral expression. “Alright, I understand,” she managed to say after a long pause.

Why don’t you just eat yourself to death?

Lin Qinglian strongly suspected that Chi Jiheng’s excessive drinking had damaged his brain.

How else could he be dreaming again?

And was she the one causing it?

She actually enjoyed cooking, but no one ever appreciated her efforts. In the early days of their relationship, Chi Jiheng had once praised her cooking, but after that, he only ever drank her hangover soup and never touched any other dish she made.

Chi Jiheng squinted and scowled as he stumbled toward the dressing room, half-asleep. In his hazy state, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had forgotten something important.

What could it be?

After pondering for a while, he decided it probably wasn’t anything important and settled back down for a nap.

When he woke up and went to the dining room, he saw dishes still steaming on the table.

They must have just come off the stove. He could even see black smoke billowing continuously from the dishes, the steam rising in thick clouds.

Through the kitchen’s glass door, he could clearly see dense smoke swirling inside, with a fiery red glow shooting upward from the bottom of the wok, like a roaring dragon spitting flames.

It seemed to be treating the ceiling as its mortal enemy, determined to burn it to a crisp.

Chi Jiheng: “……”

A distant memory suddenly resurfaced.

Chi Jiheng: “I’ll have someone bring food to the house.”

Lin Qinglian emerged from the smoky kitchen carrying a plate of dishes. “Huh?”

Her watery eyes were filled with confusion, their lighter-than-average pupils shimmering faintly. A gentle smile still lingered on her face.

This was the result of Lin Qinglian’s painstaking efforts.

Otherwise, Chi Jiheng might have mistaken her excitement for malicious glee at poisoning him, causing her Capture Value to plummet and getting her thrown out.

However genuine her happiness was, Chi Jiheng’s words caused it to fade from her face.

Lin Qinglian: “Oh.”

Her disappointment stemmed purely from her inability to share her elaborate meal.

She cherished seeing others enjoy her cooking. For some reason, watching someone eat her food filled her with an indescribable sense of satisfaction and joy—a joy that surpassed even the relief she felt after taking her medication.

Chi Jiheng would never let that food pass his lips, no matter what!

Ever since that first time, when he had swallowed a mouthful of her cooking out of momentary pity, he had vowed never to eat it again.

The reason was simple:

The first time, Lin Qinglian had stir-fried a special mushroom dish for him. That very day, he ended up in the hospital after witnessing his sofa and table arguing.

Later, Chi Jiheng learned from the doctor that eating undercooked mushrooms could lead to poisoning, and that mushrooms should never be stir-fried with oranges.

If the doctor hadn’t told him, he wouldn’t have even realized there were oranges in the dish. He had merely picked out what looked edible from a pile of indistinguishable gray ingredients.

Later, Second Young Master Zhou, whose family had always maintained a decent relationship with Chi Jiheng’s, teased him about the incident for ages.

He joked that Chi Jiheng’s pet canary was probably trying to poison him before running off with someone else.

Chi Jiheng’s gaze settled on Lin Qinglian’s obediently upturned face. She looked at him with such focused intensity, as if he were her entire world.

A current of pleasure surged through his heart.

Impossible. She was his.

Run off with someone else?

Only over my dead body.

He’d rather his pet canary die in his own hands than fall into someone else’s.

A sudden chill ran down Lin Qinglian’s spine, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

Has the Male Lead’s dark confinement arc started early?

But when she met Chi Jiheng’s calm gaze, she thought, No, it shouldn’t be.

System, she mentally poked the System.

Only after receiving the System’s denial did she finally relax.

Life-threatening danger is acceptable, but becoming a mangled mess of limbs and flesh? That’s just too undignified.

Just as Lin Qinglian was about to respond, the doorbell rang.

Without hesitation, she declared, “I’ll get the door.”

As she walked through the corridor from the kitchen to the living room, she glanced at the video doorbell around the corner.

A woman in her thirties, wearing a vibrant red dress, stood proudly at the door. One hand rested on her stomach, while the other dangled a purse from a fingertip.

Lin Qinglian didn’t recognize her.

Staring at the dress, she was inexplicably reminded of someone else—someone who, in her opinion, wore red far better than the woman at the door.

Red dress, red lips, and striking features that seemed born for the color, like a bewitching enchantress. Red seemed to have been created for her.

As for the green she had mentioned that day, it wasn’t because the other woman suited green better, but because Lin Qinglian personally preferred it. As the representative of the entire company, her flamboyant spirit embodied Dianming’s very essence.

It meant that even with Dianming’s leader gone, under her leadership, Dianming would remain the same formidable force that made others tremble at its mere mention—perhaps even stronger.

This was her protective camouflage.

Lin Qinglian’s casual glance failed to notice the deep green glint in the woman’s eyes behind her.

So when the door opened, she was completely taken aback.

“You…”