Chapter 19 Chapter 19: The 'Water' In The Bottle, Incredibly Crimson
Chapter 19: The 'Water' In The Bottle, Incredibly Crimson
The wind howled, the rain poured, and lightning flashed with thunder.
The rain had been falling for almost an hour, yet showed no signs of letting up. Instead, it seemed to be growing in intensity.
On the dormitory rooftop, Chi Xiao Cheng still sat beneath the rain shield, breathing weakly, her face pale. The constant emotional value notifications in her mind had been switched off because they were too noisy, leaving only the sound of thunder and rain in her ears. But the wind was too strong; even hidden beneath the rain shield, fine droplets were still blown onto her. A good part of her body was already wet, her thin T-shirt clinging ever more tightly to her form, revealing glimpses of her fair skin.
“System, how much time has passed?”
To make the act more convincing, she had thrown her phone from the 14th floor and no longer knew how long it had been since she hung up. Fortunately, she still had the System.
【About 20 minutes】
“By my estimate, Su Tao should be back at school by now.”
She shifted her body, exposing herself to the curtain of rain, letting the water soak her. It was already late autumn in November, and the temperature was far from warm. The rain at this hour was icy cold, and Chi Xiao Cheng shivered almost uncontrollably.
Even the System felt a pang of concern.
【Host, maybe let’s just call it quits? Or perhaps we can buy another pill with emotional value first? I'm scared seeing you like this】
“I haven’t even said much; what’s there for a system like you to be afraid of?”
【If you die, I'll be gone too! Besides, Host, are you absolutely sure you're not a yandere? Your actions scare me too】
“Aren’t you a villain system? Even if I went and killed someone, you should be cheering me on, shouldn’t you? I haven’t even done anything yet and you’re already scared; aren't you a bit useless?”
【QAQ】
Chi Xiao Cheng rolled her eyes. Once she was sure she was thoroughly drenched, she ducked back under the rain shield, curling up to preserve the last bit of warmth. Having completed the second step of her plan, she had already used emotional value to buy and consume a pill. However, the weakness of this body was beyond Chi Xiao Cheng's expectation; even after taking the pill, she still felt very frail. Her head ached terribly, felt incredibly heavy, and she just wanted to sleep.
But the female lead hadn't arrived yet, and the third step of her plan was the most crucial. Afraid she might collapse into unconsciousness from weakness, she forced herself to converse with the System. “To answer your previous question, I already said this is a yandere persona. If I’m going to act, I have to act to the extreme, otherwise, how will I trap the female lead?”
“Besides, how could a yandere have such clear awareness as I do? Most yanderes don’t even know they are one, right?”
“And thinking about Ye Liang’s expression this afternoon, and the hundreds of emotional value I just received, I feel like he wants to kill me right now. I absolutely must get more emotional value and keep the female lead in my grasp.”
Without the protection of the female lead’s halo, Chi Xiao Cheng truly feared something bad might happen to her!
From talking, it turned into talking to herself. She didn't know how much time had passed when the rooftop door was violently shoved open with a bang. An anxious voice rang out, “Xiao Cheng!”
Su Tao had arrived! She was panting heavily, holding onto the wall to keep herself from collapsing as her legs felt weak. After half an hour of cycling through the downpour and flooded paths, and unable to use the elevator due to a power outage, she had sprinted back and climbed all 14 floors in one breath, desperately hoping to see Chi Xiao Cheng in the hallway.
The iron door rattled wildly in the wind, making a clanging sound. Her formal dress was completely soaked, clinging to her skin with clinging droplets. Every step felt incredibly exhausting. Even so, she stepped outside, yelling into the wind, “Xiao Cheng, where are you?!”
There was no response from the rooftop, and Chi Xiao Cheng was nowhere in sight. But when she reached downstairs, she hadn’t found any "corpse" or ambulance either. Xiao Cheng must still be alright!
Just as she was about to search the rooftop, Su Tao suddenly heard a weak yet joyful voice. “Tao Tao, are you back?”
“Xiao Cheng?!”
Following the sound, Su Tao was overjoyed to find Chi Xiao Cheng hiding beneath the rain shield. Her strained body suddenly relaxed. Her legs gave way, and Su Tao collapsed onto Chi Xiao Cheng, hugging her tightly, her voice choked with tears. “Xiao Cheng, it’s so good you’re alright!”
Tears, mixed with raindrops, streamed down her cheeks. Leaning on her shoulder, Chi Xiao Cheng felt the warm embrace, her lips curving slightly upward. Ah~ this embrace, so full of wholehearted love, truly felt so warm.
Though her heart held such feelings, her acting skills remained flawless. Worry and fear, accompanied by her weak sobs, surged towards Su Tao. “I… I’m sorry, Tao Tao, the 14… the 14th floor was too high, I didn’t dare to jump. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Hearing this, a pang went through Su Tao's heart. She knew Chi Xiao Cheng had misunderstood her words. But she didn’t blame her; instead, she felt remorse, realizing she hadn’t been clear and had almost caused Xiao Cheng’s death. Her heart filled with guilt, Su Tao took a deep breath, reached out to cup Chi Xiao Cheng’s face, and gently wiped away her tears with her thumb, saying:
“You don’t need to say sorry, it’s my fault. I wasn’t clear. All that matters is that you’re alright, Xiao Cheng, that you’re alright…”
Chi Xiao Cheng sniffled, her voice still a weak sob. “Tao Tao won’t blame me, will she? I… I’ve done so many wrong things before, and now I’ve even made Tao Tao worry. I…”
“Shhh!”
Su Tao’s slender index finger gently pressed against Chi Xiao Cheng’s lips. She lightly touched her forehead to Chi Xiao Cheng’s, softly saying, “How could I blame Xiao Cheng? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Xiao Cheng is already trying to change, isn’t she? We promised to talk tonight.”
Chi Xiao Cheng smiled through her tears, then reached out, a hint of panic in her movements, to fumble around beside her.
Su Tao asked curiously, “What are you looking for?”
“Water.”
“Water?” Su Tao didn’t understand what Chi Xiao Cheng was saying, then suddenly remembered something. “By the way, what did Xiao Cheng want to tell me when she asked me to come to the rooftop?”
“It’s for drinking water.” Chi Xiao Cheng fumbled around and finally found the bottle, carefully handing it to Su Tao. “During the day, Tao Tao gave water to Ye Liang, but wouldn’t drink mine…”
Su Tao paused, taken aback. Then, with a wry smile, she said, “Just because of this? Xiao Cheng, you really are…” Truly too silly. She hadn’t realized anything amiss with Chi Xiao Cheng; she just thought this bottle of water, from Chi Xiao Cheng’s perspective, was an apology to her. Why did it feel a bit like jealousy?
She took the bottle of water. It was too dark to see Chi Xiao Cheng’s expression, but Su Tao could subtly sense the other's expectant gaze. She said softly, “If I drink this water, then Xiao Cheng must be good and listen to me. Shall we go downstairs to the dorm first, okay?”
“Okay~”
Chi Xiao Cheng’s voice was exceptionally well-behaved, seeming softer than usual, with that slightly sweet and sticky quality unique to a loli. This made Su Tao think of Chi Xiao Cheng from middle school. Now, Xiao Cheng seemed to be reverting to how she was before.
She couldn't see clearly in the dark, but Su Tao easily twisted the bottle cap open. Her nose twitched slightly; the water smelled a bit strange. But she didn’t think too much of it. After sitting beside Chi Xiao Cheng, she tilted her head back and brought it to her lips.
Gulp~
A little sweet? Was it orange juice?
Suddenly, with a rumble, a blinding flash of lightning accompanied the thunder. As if to illuminate the entire dark world, the lightning dispelled the mist before Su Tao’s eyes, and the liquid in the bottle came into full view.
Su Tao’s pupils sharply contracted. Instantly, the raindrops hitting her skin felt like piercing shards of ice.
This was no water at all!
The liquid in the bottle was incredibly crimson.
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