Transmigrated as the Betrothed of the Yandere Villain

Chapter 85

“Lying down all afternoon has made me feel much better now.” Zhong Ning said, “But the doctor told me to look at my phone less, so I didn’t check it.”

“Have you finished handling the matters at your company?”

Xie Shiqing replied cautiously, “More or less.”

She carefully felt her way to the edge of the sofa, bumped against the sofa leg with her toes, then carefully sat down.

Zhong Ning took her hand and guided her to sit a little further forward.

“In the afternoon, I thought about it very seriously for a long time. I felt that asking you to suddenly share some of your secrets must be very difficult for you, so I had the butler prepare this.”

She took out an octopus toy, placed it in Xie Shiqing’s palm, and guided her to touch it. “This can be turned inside out. On one side, the head is smooth, and on the other side, there’s a little hat.”

Xie Shiqing’s hand was held as she flipped the octopus, feeling the soft little edge, clearly different in shape from the other side, making it easy to tell apart.

“Being honest is not an easy thing, and it’s even harder for you. Sometimes, you might unconsciously hide things, saying words that don’t match what you truly feel.”

Zhong Ning’s voice was unhurried and steady, like a gently flowing stream.

“That’s when you can use this. If you say something that doesn’t align with your heart, just turn the octopus around, letting the side with the hat face outward, and then I’ll know.”

“It can be used in many situations. For example, when you’re unhappy but don’t want to say it and pretend everything’s fine. That’s alright. I won’t force you to talk. You only need to turn the plush over.”

“We’ll take things step by step, alright?”

The little octopus plush was about a circle larger than a palm, soft to squeeze, and even without seeing it, one could imagine by touch that it was a very cute little thing.

Xie Shiqing held a few of its chubby little legs, listening to Zhong Ning’s calm, clear words in her ears.

But a thought suddenly came to her mind: She hadn’t kissed me today.

Every time she came home, there was always a kiss.

Today there hadn’t been one.

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Zhong Ning’s room, according to her preference, was decorated in a style that was completely out of place with the rest of the villa.

It used a lot of warm colors—orange-yellow, sky blue, grass green, beige—each looking cozy and very cute.

On the windowsill, there were several pots of flowers and plants, cute and round succulents. A row of soft cushions and plush toys was placed on the sofa, handmade building blocks were arranged on the counter, and even the cups were covered with cartoon stickers.

Some said that the decorating style of one’s living environment could accurately reflect a person’s inner state, and in fact, there was some truth to this.

Those who liked warm tones mostly had a soft heart.

Xie Shiqing was blind; she couldn’t see any of this. Yet every time something new was purchased or a new ornament was added, the butler and Zhong Ning would tell her about it—the former was reporting, the latter was sharing.

They would go on and on, describing the shape of every little thing, its color, how it felt in the hand, as if determined to become her external eyes and lead her into their shared space.

Xie Shiqing held the octopus’s short, chubby legs. Her tone was carefully controlled to sound natural. “Thank you, Ning Ning, for thinking about me like this. I will definitely make good use of it.”

She paused for a moment and then deliberately lowered her voice to sound like she was acting spoiled. “You started talking about this as soon as I came back, but you haven’t given me a kiss yet.”

The knuckles of Zhong Ning’s fingers resting on the back of her hand twitched, but she didn’t pull her hand over. She simply maintained her half-reclined posture and spoke softly. “I still feel a bit unwell today. Let’s keep it in mind, and I’ll make it up to you another day, alright?”

Another day.

Not tomorrow.

Xie Shiqing’s heart abruptly sank.

“It’s alright. The doctor told you to rest well. Then… do you want me to help you to the bedroom to lie down? It’s late now, and there will be cold wind coming in by the window.”

“I want to lie here a while longer and look at the stars. In a bit, I’ll ring the bell to have them come in and help.”

Xie Shiqing struggled to keep her expression fixed between worry and guilt, but inside, her emotions were churning wildly.

Forcing herself to hold on, she said, “Then I’ll sit with you for a while.”

But what she received was rejection.

“No need. You’ve been working hard, and it’s almost your usual bedtime. Go back, wash up, and get some rest.”

She rejected me.

She rejected me.

Xie Shiqing had never heard any words of refusal from Zhong Ning before. She hadn’t known that such a polite, gentle rejection could hurt this much.

And this refusal came from the person she believed to be the kindest and softest in the whole world, which made it sound colder than any other rejection.

“Alright.” She took a light breath, forced her lips to curve slightly, and thoughtfully reminded, “Remember not to lie there too long.”

She didn’t know whether her expression had betrayed anything, whether Zhong Ning had seen it, or even whether Zhong Ning had actually been looking at her.

She stood up and took two steps toward the door when she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

“Shiqing,” Zhong Ning said, “you forgot this honesty octopus.”

Xie Shiqing’s stiff back turned around. She was well aware of her feelings at this moment—her expectations dashed, disappointment, dejection, even a bit of panic and grievance.

The palm-sized plush was handed back to her.

The honesty octopus—when speaking contrary to one’s true thoughts, it could be turned to the side with the little hat.

Could she flip it over? Did she really want to flip it over?

The plush’s dense, fine fur brushed against her palm. Xie Shiqing gripped it tightly, so hard that her knuckles turned white.

“I almost forgot.” She smiled.

Taking the toy, she walked step by step out of the room without saying anything more.

The door opened and closed again, and the lock made a soft click. Zhong Ning watched Xie Shiqing’s back the whole time, but her expression was vacant. Her mind was equally blank. She was only watching out of habit, without any other thoughts.