What to Do, I've Been Targeted by the Villain Again [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 31

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Ji Tangmian retorted irritably, glaring at the other person with undisguised rudeness.

Yet the other party didn’t seem to take offense at her impoliteness. Instead, they smiled at her and considerately averted their gaze.

System: She thinks you’re just embarrassed.

Ji Tangmian: I really am a terrible person!

Exhausted, Ji Tangmian closed her eyes.

It was agonizing. Only Xu Sangning’s embrace could ease her suffering.

After driving for over two hours, they arrived at the mission site.

When forming teams, Xu Sangning had gotten her wish—she was paired with their intended target for this setup.

The man’s eyes flickered slightly when he saw Xu Sangning and Ji Tangmian assigned to his team, his expression clearly harboring ill intentions. He despised them both—one was lucky enough to live off others, while the other had been fortunate enough to awaken a rare healing ability.

He had always hated people blessed by fate.

…

Their six-member team was tasked with searching the pedestrian street near the shopping mall.

Qin Mo had initially wanted Ji Tangmian to stay with her, but seeing how unwilling Ji Tangmian was, she let it go.

Healing abilities were indeed useful, but Qin Mo was confident in herself. She didn’t think the absence of a healer would be a problem—after all, she had managed just fine before encountering Ji Tangmian.

She felt that relying too heavily on healers wasn’t a good thing, but she couldn’t be bothered to remind anyone. She wasn’t particularly kind-hearted, and sometimes, warnings like that would only be met with ingratitude.

After splitting up, Ji Tangmian played her part perfectly, waiting for the right moment before letting out a piercing scream.

Zombies from all directions immediately swarmed toward them. The team had divided into two smaller groups, and the other three members, spotting the danger from afar, turned and fled without hesitation.

The man shot Xu Sangning and Ji Tangmian a venomous glare, his lips moving as he muttered something too vulgar for Xu Sangning to bother deciphering. Noticing the telltale signs of him activating his ability, Xu Sangning acted first—shoving him straight into the horde of zombies before he could strike.

The man’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Xu Sangning. He struggled to get up, but her water blast sent him deeper into the zombie swarm, where the creatures quickly overwhelmed him.

Xu Sangning was slightly puzzled. Shouldn’t villains be more vigilant? Why had he been so shocked?

She checked the system log—the plot point had been successfully triggered.

One of the few perks of the apocalypse was that there were plenty of scum to use as human shields.

Xu Sangning glanced at Ji Tangmian beside her.

The girl was crouched with her arms over her head, trembling violently.

She was putting on quite the convincing act.

Xu Sangning calmly fended off the surrounding zombies, but the moment she sensed someone approaching, she feigned exhaustion.

Qin Mo’s team arrived just in time to rescue Xu Sangning and Ji Tangmian. She couldn’t recall how many times she’d saved Ji Tangmian by now—this time with an extra person in tow…

She swept a critical gaze over the two disheveled figures.

“Waaah, I didn’t mean to!” Ji Tangmian buried her face in Xu Sangning’s chest. “That guy scared me on purpose! He shoved a zombie’s head right in my face!”

“Hah, he knew you’d scream and still deliberately scared you? Asking for death?” Most people clearly didn’t believe it. The speaker rolled their eyes, “How many more people do you want to get killed? Next time, we shouldn’t bring Ji Tangmian along.”

“But no one died the last two times Ji Tangmian went on missions…” a girl in the vehicle said. “I think we can’t completely dismiss what she’s saying. Wang Cheng was never a good guy to begin with—who knows if he suddenly lost his mind?”

Ji Tangmian: ???

Ji Tangmian was stunned. She hadn’t expected anyone to speak up for her.

The others pondered this and actually found it somewhat reasonable.

Ji Tangmian buried her face in Xu Sangning’s arms and closed her eyes in despair.

OOC again.

Her character points were about to be completely deducted.

The system snickered gleefully.

“You two should stick with me,” Qin Mo said, glancing at Wang Cheng’s corpse as she passed by before looking at Xu Sangning.

The two exchanged a glance, Xu Sangning’s expression pure and innocent.

Qin Mo averted her gaze again.

She could tell something was off, but she had no interest in playing the righteous avenger.

No further issues arose after that. Though Ji Tangmian remained extremely timid, every time she was on the verge of screaming, Xu Sangning swiftly covered her mouth.

Ji Tangmian was still Ji Tangmian—just now with Xu Sangning as her mute switch.

The others finally understood why the previous team had insisted on bringing the two of them together.

This “package deal” had worked out remarkably well.

Xu Sangning’s abilities were also impressive, and after this mission, many people’s opinions of her changed.

She wasn’t just some useless, pretty face who freeloaded. The reason she didn’t go on missions before was probably because Ji Tangmian was too lazy to go and dragged Xu Sangning along to keep her from leaving.

Ji Tangmian, watching her character points rise: ?

The girl in the vehicle leaned toward her friend, glancing back several times. “See? I told you it was mutual pining. You all refused to believe me.”

“Even if it is mutual pining, Chen Yumiao, get a grip. I know you love shipping, but at least pick a decent pair,” her friend retorted, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not like there’s much else to do in the apocalypse.”

“Alright, fair point.”

The two turned to look again, stared for a few seconds, then turned back.

At noon, they found a shop to rest in, pulling down the rolling shutter for safety.

Everyone sat on the floor, but Ji Tangmian, ever meticulous about comfort, sat on a chair with a soft cushion provided by Xu Sangning. Towering slightly above the rest, she stood out conspicuously—not that Ji Tangmian minded the attention at all.

Xu Sangning, who preferred to stay low-key, kept her head down, only looking up when Ji Tangmian spoke to her.

“The love story of a social butterfly and a socially anxious wreck,” Chen Yumiao whispered.

“More like the love story of someone with shame and someone shameless,” her friend quipped sharply.

Chen Yumiao: …

Sigh. These days, finding a little entertainment to pass the time in the apocalypse was really tough.

After this mission, the others began paying more attention—intentionally or not—to Xu Sangning and Ji Tangmian’s dynamic.

They soon realized these two lived an unusually cushy life.

While everyone else was out killing zombies, these two were still asleep.

Xu Sangning used to be diligent, training in the mornings, but now she’d stopped—slowly aligning herself with Ji Tangmian’s habits.

They usually slept until noon, then headed to the exorbitantly expensive restaurant at the base for a meal before idly wandering around, taking photos.

Occasionally, Xu Sangning would accompany Ji Tangmian in treating the wounded, or Ji Tangmian would join Xu Sangning in water distribution to earn money. As night fell, they would return to the pricey restaurant for another meal.

This lifestyle was enough to make anyone’s heart ache.

Since eating at the restaurant every day was still a bit too much for Ji Tangmian’s budget, they decided to cook for the next three days.

Originally, they had planned to go grocery shopping together, but when morning came, Ji Tangmian simply couldn’t get out of bed. So Xu Sangning had to go out alone.

As she left, Xu Sangning felt a pang of emotion. Before, no matter where she went, Ji Tangmian would always follow. Now, she wasn’t coming along.

Her mood was complicated, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

Truly, human emotions were still too difficult for a digital lifeform to grasp.

Not long after Xu Sangning stepped out, she was stopped by someone.

She took a few steps back, putting distance between them, and eyed them warily.

“We mean no harm. It’s just… don’t you think you’re wasting your abilities with what you’re doing now?”

“No,” Xu Sangning replied, staring at them. “I’m perfectly satisfied with my current life and have no desire to change it.”

With that, she sidestepped them and walked away.

“Xu Sangning…”

“Stop prying into my private life with her. Thanks,” Xu Sangning said flatly.

The group opened their mouths but ultimately fell silent, exchanging glances.

Xu Sangning found it ridiculous.

Why were there so many busybodies? She distributed water every day—wasn’t that contributing to the base? What did they mean by “wasting her talent”? She alone could supply water for half a building now.

She suddenly recalled a world where people had pressured her to get a job. Back then, she owned hundreds of rental properties, earning nearly a million a month just by lying around. She had even hired people to handle tenant requests.

But some nosy tenants, seeing how young she was, insisted that not working was a waste of her education. They claimed even a 3,000-yuan-a-month job was better than her passive income. When they realized she wouldn’t budge, they tried setting her up on blind dates.

Whenever they ran into her, they’d urge her to marry and have kids, even arranging “chance encounters” with their sons. Xu Sangning found their confidence baffling—what made them think a few staged meetings would make her interested in their sons?

These people just couldn’t stand others living comfortably.

So, the following year, when renewing contracts, Xu Sangning raised the rent for those gossipy tenants. After they moved out, she lowered it back down.

On her way back from grocery shopping, Xu Sangning ran into another group trying to persuade her to take on missions.

She decided that next time, she’d bring Ji Tangmian along. When Ji Tangmian was around, these people never dared approach.

Xu Sangning hurried home and opened the door to find Ji Tangmian scrambling out of the kitchen in a panic. “You’re back so soon?”

“What are you up to?” Xu Sangning asked curiously.

She set the groceries on the table and tried to step past Ji Tangmian, but the latter immediately spread her arms to block the way.

“No, you can’t look. I’ll handle lunch today—go rest,” Ji Tangmian declared.

Xu Sangning stared at her. “You know how to cook?”

“Of course I can!” Ji Tangmian pushed Xu Sangning away. “Go play somewhere else. Don’t come over here, and no peeking either.”

“Oh.” Xu Sangning responded, sitting on the sofa as she watched Ji Tangmian return to the kitchen—even going so far as to sneakily close the door behind her.

Listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, Xu Sangning unconsciously curled her lips into a faint smile.

So the reason she didn’t go out with me was to prepare a surprise?

But is today some special occasion? Why prepare a surprise?

Xu Sangning counted the days—was it to celebrate that she only had forty-four days left to live?

Picking up the book from the coffee table, Xu Sangning moved to the balcony to read by the natural light.

How very…anticipatory.