Transmigrated as a White Lotus Heroine, but I’m Pursuing the Cold Villain - Chapter 6

Fortunately, this time he didn’t turn and run.

Rao Jinqing remained as expressionless as ever. “What are you standing there for? We’re all waiting for you.”

Rao Songning awkwardly shuffled down the stairs.

After glancing around, he reluctantly chose to sit next to his sister, picking up his bowl and shoveling rice into his mouth.

The dishes today looked better than usual. The beef in the beef and potato stew was glistening and translucent, its aroma mingling with the earthy fragrance of potatoes. Each bite left a lingering savory warmth in his mouth and stomach.

After eating a few pieces, Rao Songning stopped picking at the potatoes. After all, they were his sister’s favorite.

While he devoured his meal, his sister hadn’t even finished ten grains of rice in her bowl. Yet she chewed each bite slowly and gracefully, her refined demeanor radiating contentment.

Once full, Rao Songning set down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and announced, “I’m off to class.”

Lin Qinglian slowly swallowed the mouthful of rice. “Do university classes really start this early now? That must be exhausting.”

Rao Jinqing replied, “I don’t know about university, but that’s how it is in the second year of high school.”

Lin Qinglian’s hand froze mid-air.

Fortunately, the movement was so subtle that Rao Jinqing didn’t notice. She resumed eating as if nothing had happened.

Lin Qinglian silently summoned the System in her mind.

The System materialized with a dazzling shimmer, circling her twice in cheerful excitement. What’s up? What’s up? Did you miss me?

Lin Qinglian: Can you tell me why Rao Songning is only in the second year of high school?

Um…

A small emoji appeared on the System’s screen: o>_

You never asked.

You never told me either. What do we do now?

The System’s voice grew fainter. Just… do what you can. Try your best? If it doesn’t work, we can switch mission targets, but he’s the most suitable. His family background is evenly matched with Chi Jiheng’s, so Chi Jiheng will better understand the feeling of loss. As for appearance…

Lin Qinglian ruthlessly cut off its power again.

After returning to the main system, the System grabbed the employee handbook and flipped through it repeatedly.

Still unable to find a solution for when a Host forcibly ejects it from a small world, it humbly sought advice from a senior colleague.

The senior colleague exclaimed in surprise, “I’ve never been kicked out of a small world by a Host before!”

System: 【(><)】*

After finishing their meal, Lin Qinglian stood up to clear the dishes. Rao Jinqing took the dishes and placed them in the sink. “Don’t worry about cleaning up. The housekeeper will take care of it later. Why don’t you go dry your hair?”

Lin Qinglian touched her hair, still damp.

She murmured, “I couldn’t find the hairdryer, and I didn’t want to move things around.”

Rao Jinqing: “I told you to make yourself at home. Why are you still so reserved?”

Lin Qinglian lowered her head.

Rao Jinqing’s gaze shifted from her face to her collarbone. The oversized shirt, even buttoned to the top, still revealed the pale expanse of her collarbone.

She subtly averted her eyes. “I’ll show you where the hairdryer is.”

Lin Qinglian: “Okay.”

So cute.

Rao Jinqing couldn’t resist gently tugging on Lin Qinglian’s earlobe.

The earlobe, already flushed, deepened in color, the redness spreading across Lin Qinglian’s cheeks until her entire face glowed with a rosy blush.

Lin Qinglian followed behind her in small steps, thinking she was whispering, “Sorry for the trouble. Thank you.”

Rao Jinqing turned around, smiling. “I should be thanking you. The meal was delicious. Besides, I’m the one who got you all wet. You don’t need to be so formal; I should be apologizing.”

She hadn’t smiled much that day. When she finally did, it was like snow melting, spring blossoms bursting into full bloom on the trees—astonishingly radiant.

Lin Qinglian swallowed hard, realizing she’d been so tense she’d forgotten to swallow. In that moment, a daring thought flashed through her mind: Could Rao Jinqing be my target?

But she quickly remembered the System’s warnings. Better not. The System was always nagging in her ear; it was starting to hurt.

Seeing Lin Qinglian’s expression, Rao Jinqing couldn’t help but smile again. Finally, she composed herself, reverting to her usual aloof demeanor, and led Lin Qinglian to one of the rooms on the first floor.

Lin Qinglian followed behind. “You should smile more often.”

Rao Jinqing remained silent.

Lin Qinglian suddenly felt that the task ahead seemed much easier.

The storage room was pitch-black. The two women walked so close that Lin Qinglian could even hear her own shallow breathing as she followed Rao Jinqing.

“Do you have a cold?” Rao Jinqing asked.

Click. The bright light flickered on.

Lin Qinglian instinctively squinted, but before she could blink, a hand covered her eyes.

The hand pressed against her face, cool and comforting.

Lin Qinglian blinked, her eyelashes brushing against the palm.

“Feeling better?” Rao Jinqing asked.

Lin Qinglian nodded slowly.

Rao Jinqing gradually withdrew her hand. Lin Qinglian blinked repeatedly, her overly sensitive eyes taking a while to stop fluttering.

Rao Jinqing let her hands fall to her sides, the lingering warmth in her palms quickly dissipating in the breeze.

Lin Qinglian stood before her, her cheeks flushed crimson, but her lips were frighteningly pale. She spoke softly, as if unaware of her own words.

“Thank you…”

Rao Jinqing gathered her things, preparing to take Lin Qinglian outside.

Just as she turned, a soft thump sounded behind her.

Rao Jinqing whirled around to find Lin Qinglian slumped on the floor. She stepped closer, knelt down, and gently patted Lin Qinglian’s cheek. “Qinglian.”

Lin Qinglian lay motionless on the floor, her eyes closed, her cheek burning with alarming heat.

She must have a fever, Rao Jinqing thought.

After observing her for a long moment, Rao Jinqing dialed a number on her phone, her hand resting against the wooden floor.

Warm, gradually cooling.

She touched Lin Qinglian’s cheek again—still burning hot.

What’s the difference between lying here and trying to cool her down? Rao Jinqing wondered.

Finally, staring at Lin Qinglian’s flushed cheeks, she helped her sit up.

Rao Jinqing guided Lin Qinglian to the sofa and retrieved a small, fluffy blanket from the storage room to cover her.

It took quite a while for the family doctor to arrive.

This wasn’t the doctor scheduled for duty this month, but the other doctor had called in sick, so the doctor who lived several miles away had rushed over.

As soon as the doctor entered, he saw the person lying on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, and the boss sitting upright nearby, typing on her keyboard.

After exchanging greetings, the doctor approached the sofa and gently pulled down the blanket covering the person’s face.

He took a thermometer from his medical bag.

A cold, clear voice came from beside them: “Thirty-eight point three degrees Celsius. I just took her temperature.”

The doctor replied, “It’s been a while. Let’s take it again.”

He shook the thermometer and handed it to the person sitting upright nearby.

The hand trembled slightly as it slowly closed around the thermometer. “Is the temperature gun not accurate?”

“Not really,” the doctor said. “It’s better to use the thermometer.”

Rao Jinqing paused for a moment. Seeing her expression, the doctor understood and remained silent.

Fortunately, Rao Jinqing quickly regained her composure and sat down next to Lin Qinglian. She lifted a corner of the blanket, raised Lin Qinglian’s arm, and slipped the thermometer through her slightly loose collar.

Lin Qinglian’s skin was incredibly hot, yet her skin felt soft and delicate against Rao Jinqing’s hand. Rao Jinqing hesitated for only a moment, then carefully tucked the thermometer under her arm.

Earlier, as Rao Jinqing leaned over, the two women had been so close that Rao Jinqing could feel Lin Qinglian’s breath ghosting against her cheek.

It was shockingly hot—as hot as her skin, Rao Jinqing couldn’t tell which was hotter.

When she finally withdrew her hand, her fingertips were burning hot.

Her hand gently landed on the sofa, curling slightly involuntarily. The crimson tips of her fingers trembled for a moment before the scalding heat quickly dissipated.

She clenched her hand, warmth rapidly gathering in her palm again.

Throughout this, the male doctor kept his gaze averted.

The villa had always been staffed by two doctors, a man and a woman, who took turns being on call and lived nearby. This month was originally the female doctor’s shift, but she had taken leave.

Rao Jinqing pondered whether she should hire an additional doctor to stay at the house permanently.

Glancing at the clock, she waited five minutes before withdrawing the thermometer. This time, she acted swiftly, having already loosened Lin Qinglian’s collar. As soon as she removed the thermometer, she immediately covered her with the blanket.

The doctor picked up the thermometer and checked the temperature.

He glanced at the figure completely covered by the blanket, even her face hidden.

As he packed away the thermometer, he began gathering the medication.

“Thirty-nine degrees,” the doctor said. “Don’t cover her face with such a thick blanket, or her body either. Let her dissipate some heat. I’ll prescribe some medication shortly.”

He took out fever-reducing oral liquid from his medical kit. “The patient is currently unconscious. Dissolve this in water and have her drink it first. Once she wakes up, give her these two pills three times a day, one of each. I’ve written the instructions on the label.”

Rao Jinqing nodded and accepted the medicine. “Mm.”

After the doctor left, Rao Jinqing folded the blanket down slightly, revealing Lin Qinglian’s flushed face, even the tip of her nose and eyelids were red.

Rao Jinqing pressed her finger against the tip of Lin Qinglian’s nose. The burning-hot tip instantly turned white, but as soon as she removed her hand, it flushed red again.

Lin Qinglian wrinkled her nose slightly as Rao Jinqing withdrew her hand, as if reacting a beat late.

Rao Jinqing’s mood lifted a little. The earlier encounter with those lecherous old men faded from her mind, replaced by a lighter feeling. She walked into the kitchen, feeling quite cheerful, and poured herself a glass of water.

The medicine dissolved instantly upon contact with the water, turning the entire glass a dark brown. A bitter aroma wafted from the cup, reaching her nose.

Rao Jinqing pushed the glass away slightly.

She helped Lin Qinglian sit up and gently shook her head. “Time for your medicine.”

Lin Qinglian’s eyes remained tightly shut, and she didn’t move.

Rao Jinqing had no choice but to pinch her mouth open into an “O” shape. With swift hands and keen eyes, she poured the medicine inside.

Immediately after pouring, she clamped her hand over Lin Qinglian’s mouth.

Good, she didn’t spit it out.

Rao Jinqing released her hand.

The next moment, Lin Qinglian’s face twisted in a grimace. Rao Jinqing immediately covered her mouth again.

Staring at Lin Qinglian’s tightly closed eyes, Rao Jinqing said coldly, “Don’t spit it out. If you do, you’ll be sweeping the floor.”

Rao Songning didn’t like others entering the villa, so he and Rao Jinqing took turns cleaning. This month, it was Rao Jinqing’s turn.

The woman with her eyes closed seemed to understand. She tilted her head, and the medicine slid down her throat.

Rao Jinqing slowly released her hand and gently laid Lin Qinglian back on the sofa while she remained limp and motionless.

Lin Qinglian lay perfectly straight on the sofa.

After about two or three minutes, she began to stir and shift, eventually sprawling out, hugging a pillow, and falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.