Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
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Chu Lingyi had noticed it more than once: Ruan Yao was incredibly sensitive. A mere caress on that delicate skin was enough to coax a broken, suppressed cry from those luscious lips.
His skin, pampered to such softness, would turn red from even the slightest pinch.
Crimson fingerprints layered upon the porcelain of his waist, gradually turning purplish where the pressure was greater. It was as if delicate white snow had been stained with scattered petals of a flamboyant flower.
It only served to fuel the dark fire in Chu Lingyi's heart.
Ruan Yao's doe-like eyes were wide, his pupils shimmering with layers of water, barely held back by the fragile dam of his eyelashes. One more tease and those cheeks, already flushed with shame, would be drenched.
Ruan Yao couldn't quite understand how a simple request to check a wound had escalated into this, where he was now holding up his shirt, allowing Chu Lingyi to 'examine' him at will.
Even Ruan Yao could sense that something was amiss.
The quiet, deserted grove under the moonlight was the perfect setting for something to happen in a book.
Ruan Yao struggled, kicking his legs, one of which landed squarely on Chu Lingyi's waist. Chu Lingyi caught it mid-air and pulled off his shoe.
The white sock was half-slipped off his pink toes, which curled up in a shy curve, trembling against the rough fabric of Chu Lingyi's uniform jacket.
Ruan Yao was a mess, his clothes disheveled, while Chu Lingyi remained neat and composed, looking as if he could go up on stage and give a speech.
Ruan Yao was both angry and anxious. He could only soften his tone.
His fingers, red and raw, clutched the corner of his shirt, which was tainted with a hint of suggestive silver thread. He softened his voice "I don't hate you anymore. Please let me go."
As soon as he spoke, the feeling of grievance that had been building up inside him surged to the surface, and tears streamed down his cheeks, leaving translucent, faintly pink marks on the white shirt.
His delicate nose and the skin around it were flushed an incredible shade of red, and his wet hair clung to his smooth forehead, making his already striking features even more pronounced.
Ruan Yao couldn't speak. He sobbed uncontrollably but dared not make too much noise, only whimpering like a kitten.
It was both endearing and pitiful.
Fortunately, Chu Lingyi hadn't gone completely mad.
Seeing Ruan Yao crying so pitifully, he stopped his hand from exploring any further into Ruan Yao's shirt.
He paused for about a minute, then very gently smoothed out the wrinkles on Ruan Yao's shirt, his tone laced with an unintentional tenderness as he coaxed the crying boy "Does it hurt?" It was almost as if the person who had reduced Ruan Yao to tears wasn't him.
Ruan Yao was both afraid and annoyed. Seeing that Chu Lingyi had finally stopped, he stiffly put on his shoe, forcing a smile as he looked away. "No, it doesn't hurt."
His words rang hollow. Tears still hung from the tip of his chin, and his red lips were bitten raw.
Chu Lingyi pinched Ruan Yao's soft cheeks, saying matter-of-factly "If you were smarter, you wouldn't have been tricked. Then who would dare to tease you?"
Ruan Yao opened his eyes wide, his eyes washed clean by tears. He glared at Chu Lingyi and said "Do you think I want to be stupid?"
Chu Lingyi was speechless for a moment.
A hint of a soft smile, one he hadn't even noticed, played on Chu Lingyi's usually frozen face. Defeated, he raised his hand in surrender. "Sorry, you're fine just the way you are."
Ruan Yao didn't even want to look at him. Huffing, he smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt that had bunched up around his lower abdomen and started to walk back to the classroom.
But as he took a step, Chu Lingyi grabbed his wrist.
"What are you doing now..." Ruan Yao turned around angrily, but Chu Lingyi quickly covered his mouth.
"Don't make a sound." Chu Lingyi quickly calmed down and looked into the dark depths of the woods with a heavy gaze.
Ruan Yao was startled for a moment, then heard a rustling sound.
A series of somewhat hurried and disorderly footsteps echoed in the darkness.
This wasn't the sound Chu Lingyi had made when he followed Ruan Yao earlier; it was someone else.
Cold sweat broke out on Ruan Yao's forehead.
Who was it?
Had they noticed them?
What were they doing here at this time?
The thought of someone seeing him in such a disheveled state, reduced to tears by Chu Lingyi, made Ruan Yao feel sick.
Could it be this unlucky? Ruan Yao thought nervously.
Chu Lingyi's expression was serious. He quickly determined the source of the sound and looked precisely at a small clearing deep in the woods.
It was the exact center of the grove, with trees growing in a circle around a central stone tablet. A small patch of grass surrounded the tablet, but it had been so long since it had been tended to that the weeds were now knee-high.
The stone tablet was brightly illuminated by the moonlight. Ruan Yao could clearly see a person standing in front of it.
Or rather, two people.
Opposite the person was a man whose entire body was hidden in the darkness.
He seemed to be very wary of this deserted grove, keeping his entire body immersed in impenetrable darkness. Ruan Yao could only see a bloodless, bony hand extending from the darkness.
He seemed to be holding something, which made the other boy very wary.
The boy who was illuminated by the moonlight was someone Ruan Yao recognized. It was Yang Xiyu, the gossipy boy who often approached him.
Ruan Yao's eyes widened. He felt like he was witnessing something extraordinary.
Chu Lingyi, afraid that Ruan Yao would make a sound, kept his hand over Ruan Yao's mouth and whispered in his ear "Don't speak"
Ruan Yao blinked rapidly, signaling that he understood.
However, Chu Lingyi didn't let go, but pressed down harder.
"This guy is so annoying" Ruan Yao thought for the hundred and eighth time. He held onto Chu Lingyi's hand with one hand, while also unable to control his curiosity and peeked from behind the tree trunk at the stone tablet.
Yang Xiyu looked agitated. He clasped his hands together and begged the man in front of him, seemingly pleading for him to give him the thing he was holding.
Ruan Yao couldn't see exactly what the man was holding, only that it was probably a photo.
The person on the other side spoke in a way that Ruan Yao found familiar.
His speech was slow and unhurried, as if he were a machine without emotions. He said something to Yang Xiyu, and Yang Xiyu looked desperate.
Ruan Yao mentally overturned his previous assumptions. He thought that since the person had such a good temper, how could he possibly do something like secretly threaten a student?
Yang Xiyu shook his head, his voice suddenly uncontrolled. He said loudly "Please, I don't want to do this!"
The man on the other side coldly refused his plea.
Ruan Yao only vaguely heard words like "deserved it" and "retribution."
Yang Xiyu seemed very panicked, as if he knew he couldn't escape. He stood stiffly in place, gritting his teeth and spitting out each word.
"Don't think I don't know what you think of Ruan Yao!"
Startled to hear his name, Ruan Yao exchanged a surprised look with Chu Lingyi. Chu Lingyi seemed a bit troubled, as if blaming Ruan Yao for causing trouble.
Ruan Yao was indignant. He thought "How could I have provoked him when I don't even know who he is?"
With his mouth covered by Chu Lingyi, he couldn't speak, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
Chu Lingyi felt a sudden wet and tingling sensation on his palm where he was holding Ruan Yao, like a bolt of lightning had shot through his heart.
Ruan Yao proudly gave Chu Lingyi a defiant look.
Chu Lingyi pursed his lips expressionlessly and whispered in a voice only they could hear "Do you believe me if I told you I could..."
The rest of his words, which were too outrageous, were drowned out by the rustling of the night wind.
Ruan Yao's face stiffened.
After what had just happened, he knew that Chu Lingyi was definitely capable of doing it.
He condemned Chu Lingyi with his eyes, and was about to make more noise when he heard Chu Lingyi say again "Shhh, don't move"
Yang Xiyu became more and more agitated. He pointed at the figure in the shadows and spat "Who are you to judge me? Do you think I don't know what happened back then? Didn't you stand by and do nothing? What's the point of you doing this now?"
"If you have the guts, come and find me. Why don't you go find Lin Xuan? He's caused so much trouble, but you're just a coward who bullies the weak. If you want to judge us, you're not worthy!"
"You better go to hell and join him!"
The man on the other side, who was being pointed at by Yang Xiyu, remained calm. Yang Xiyu was about to continue scolding when he saw the object in the man's hand and immediately fell silent.
When Ruan Yao saw what the man was holding, his blood turned cold.
It was a very sharp scalpel, gleaming in the moonlight.
Ruan Yao's fingers, which were gripping Chu Lingyi's, were as cold as ice. Chu Lingyi pulled Ruan Yao closer to him and whispered softly "Don't be afraid"
Ruan Yao's voice trembled.
"Save... save him" he said, panicked and helpless, clutching Chu Lingyi's fingers. "He's going to die"
Chu Lingyi nodded and pressed Ruan Yao's head against his chest, blocking his view. "I know"
He watched as the man approached Yang Xiyu step by step. Yang Xiyu seemed to be stunned by the sudden appearance of the knife, his legs weak, unable to run away.
In the split second before the knife reached Yang Xiyu, Chu Lingyi cleared his throat and called out loudly "Yang Xiyu! Are you there?"
"Yang—Xi—Yu—"
He told Ruan Yao to stay hidden behind the tree and walked straight towards the stone tablet.
He pretended to be a good student looking for someone, even circling around a few times in confusion, as if he couldn't find anyone and could only call out his name loudly: "Yang Xiyu, where are you? Don't skip self-study! Old Gu is calling for you!"
The man immediately retracted the scalpel. Ruan Yao couldn't see his face, only a tall figure quickly disappearing into the overlapping shadows of the trees.
Yang Xiyu seemed to be in shock.
Only when he saw Chu Lingyi's figure emerge from the bushes did he grin and burst into tears.
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