Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess

Though the gambling match had ended, this afternoon banquet wouldn't disperse so quickly.

After all, this was ultimately not a gambling den.

The gambling match between two Six Bureaus constables was more like entertainment, and besides that, it didn't affect the original function of this luxurious tavern at all.

The qin music flowed leisurely, song and dance never ceased.

Guests drank freely at their seats, whispering about world affairs and various powerful figures, and naturally they couldn't avoid gossiping about what had happened here today.

One of the gossip protagonists, Constable Sun and his companion, had left early.

Having already lost, staying here would only invite more humiliation.

But they had definitely lost all face.

—Look at them, they're like dogs!

Mu Qinglan sat in her wheelchair, quietly dining. Since revealing her talent to the little girl earlier, she had tried to speak less and maintained a bit more dignity.

The little girl came pattering back from the side of the pavilion and said to Mu Qinglan:

"Mu Mu, guess what I just went to do!"

"Pay the bill?" Mu Qinglan looked her over and said casually.

"Eh?" The little girl said in surprise: "How did you know? You weren't secretly following me, were you! Ew, Mu Mu is so scary."

Mu Qinglan rolled her eyes at her:

"You? It's just that I remember a certain great constable saying something about teaching me investigation, letting me experience it, and treating me to a meal when she brought me here."

Hearing this, Bai Yuyu's face reddened.

When she said she'd bring Mu Qinglan to investigate this morning, her tone was indeed confident, but who knew this kind of thing would happen? Really.

Little Miss Bai was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, she glimpsed the big iceberg Shen eating alone not far away, so she had an idea. Standing up, she waved loudly:

"Senior Sister, Senior Sister! I paid for you too, come eat together!"

Shen Yao was obviously stunned.

She hadn't expected that while she was quietly drinking alone, the topic would suddenly shift to her.

But she still silently got up and came over.

"Senior Sister, don't you think today's Mu Mu was very handsome!" The little girl winked and fanned the flames.

Hearing this, Shen Yao instinctively glanced at Mu Qinglan, then turned back and said coolly: "It wasn't you being handsome, what are you so proud of?"

"But she's your rumored girlfriend!" ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel⚑fire.net

Though the little girl had never thought the two were a couple, she quite enjoyed using this "rumored girlfriend" title to make a fuss.

Mu Qinglan's smile deepened.

Thanks to little friend Bai Yuyu for the assist!

Though she had two cute girls beside her and was even flirting with both simultaneously, this bad woman wasn't panicked at all, having her own pride as scum.

Shen Yao said: "If you keep looking for her every day like this, she might become your rumored girlfriend in the future."

Bai Yuyu grinned:

"That won't do. I need to work hard to level up and defeat Senior Sister later. I can't have any rumored girlfriend."

"Then what are you doing now?"

"I'm accompanying Mu Mu out to play! We already agreed on it."

"But I remember, didn't you come this time to complete the task Master gave you? Aren't you planning to do it?" Shen Yao asked puzzled.

The little girl shook her head foolishly and giggled twice:

"Aren't we eating now? Eating is important."

After winning the gambling match, the food tasted good again.

Shen Yao shook her head helplessly, feeling her junior sister was really unreliable, but still asked:

"Should I go back to the bureau with you? Sun Zhu cared so much about this thing, I suspect this matter might not be as simple as he said at the banquet."

"No need."

Bai Yuyu shook her head: "You should stay and protect Mu Mu. As for me..."

"I'll have a shadow servant accompany you back," Mu Qinglan interjected indifferently. "Miss Shen rarely comes out. Don't think about official business so much. After all, I'm also Miss Shen's rumored girlfriend." She glanced at Shen Yao meaningfully, emphasizing the words "rumored girlfriend."

"Right, right!"

Great Constable Bai nodded vigorously, lecturing in the manner of a little adult:

"Senior Sister should properly accompany Mu Mu. As for Master's task, Great Lord Bai will complete it perfectly!"

"...As you wish."

Shen Yao didn't dare look at Mu Qinglan and said glumly.

Since winning the gambling match, Bai Yuyu had maintained that excited appearance, as if the earlier excitement hadn't subsided.

After discussing the task with Shen Yao, she wanted to turn the topic back to Mu Qinglan.

She wanted to teasingly flirt with Mu Qinglan a bit.

For previously deceiving her into thinking she was a weak ninth-rank magician.

—She was clearly already eighth rank!

Mu Mu, you deceived me so badly!

Though she thought this way, the little girl could understand her approach. After all, going from entry level to the Human Gate in just half a month was really too fast. If word got out, it would probably shock the world.

If she hadn't happened to encounter her in the Human Gate, she probably wouldn't know about this either.

But now, she was also someone who knew her little secret.

Hehe.

The question was how to tell Mu Qinglan about this surprise, since the little girl felt that Mu Mu probably hadn't discovered yet that she was that reliable teammate from the Human Gate ritual.

Mm, how about saying it like this? Miss Mu, you wouldn't want your secret to be known by others!

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Bai Yuyu spacing out for a long time, Mu Qinglan casually asked.

Bai Yuyu suddenly came back to her senses. Recalling the embarrassing words she'd just thought of, she blushed and quickly waved her hands:

"Secret, secret!"

"What secret?"

"Oh my, you're so gossipy, so annoying. I'll deliver the things first, you two chat!"

The little girl practically fled.

Beside them, a shadow servant also emerged from the corner and followed.

Watching the two figures gradually disappear in the distance, Mu Qinglan slowly turned back, her lips curving into a smile as she looked at the blood-red eyes of the big iceberg beside her.

Meaningful.

The two gazed at each other silently.

After a long while, Shen Yao couldn't stand it first and instinctively looked away.

Seeing this, the bad woman chuckled softly.

"You can only bully me," Shen Yao turned her head away, not looking at her.

"Don't say that," Mu Qinglan felt Shen Yao was really too conservative. "There's still Great Constable Bai, and that little assassin you caught some time ago."

"..."

Shen Yao's eyelids lowered slightly.

She felt the bad woman's face was really thick. Couldn't she hear that she was criticizing her? No, she definitely heard it, she just didn't care at all, and was even a little proud.

"But Miss Shen needn't worry. Using secrets to threaten—I've only done this to you alone."

Mu Qinglan smiled lightly in comfort.

Shen Yao was slightly annoyed. Was this something worth boasting about?

Speaking of which, it was strange. Shen Yao was normally the cool type, and ordinary events shouldn't shake her composure, but somehow, recently when getting along with the bad woman, her emotional fluctuations had grown larger and larger.

"My method of handling little Bai was just based on familiarity during this time, plus this sudden heroic rescue. But you guessed it too, didn't you?

Mu Qinglan said: "This gambling match was under my control from beginning to end."

"I could guess a bit, but I don't know how you did it," Shen Yao said softly.

"Simple. I went to find that courtesan and told her that if she didn't want her secrets exposed, she should obediently cooperate with my cheating… What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?

Mu Qinglan's expression seemed surprised.

Shen Yao stared at her directly and coldly, eyes unblinking: "Didn't you say you'd only used secrets to threaten me alone?"

"Oh, that matter."

Mu Qinglan chuckled, saying indifferently:

"That courtesan miss hardly counts as a person, at most an idle chess piece. She's not worth me spending any effort on. Only cute girls like Miss Shen are worth my careful planning..."

Mu Qinglan's lips curved slightly as she took her hand, saying mischievously:

"Miss Shen, could it be... you're jealous?"

"No."

Miss Shen answered quickly, her voice like broken ice hitting porcelain.

She had felt inexplicably annoyed just now, and being provoked by Mu Qinglan like this, she couldn't help but show it.

Then she felt somewhat irritated, annoyed that this bad woman wanted to flirt with everyone. Clearly when they first met, she was still that soft and weak little girl who needed protection.

'But she still needs my protection now.'

Shen Yao squeezed the white-haired girl's soft, boneless little hand, thinking to herself.

On the other side, Mu Qinglan introduced her earlier actions with interest.

Except for the Human Gate matter.

Without any concealment.

In her view, telling Shen Yao about all her planning for Bai Yuyu was not a minus but a plus.

After all, this was also a little secret between them!

The bad woman had little secrets with each little cutie, and different little cuties had different little secrets. This was very reasonable!

After speaking.

The bad woman even took the initiative to lean over, pitifully bringing her little face close to Shen Yao's eyes, pouting as she asked:

"Miss Shen wouldn't tell Bai Bai about what just happened, would she?"

Unbearable.

Shen Yao really couldn't stand her.

This awful creature, clearly she was confident that she couldn't possibly tell Bai Yuyu about this, which was why she spoke this way!

Miss Shen gave no answer, but her resentful little look revealed everything.

She just lowered her head and took a gulp of wine, unhappy.

After a long while, she said quietly:

"Are you so certain that Bai Yuyu will fall for your tricks?"

"Won't she?"

"...She probably will. She's probably already fallen for you, this bad thing."

Perhaps because she'd drunk a big gulp of wine, Shen Yao was unusually talkative, even bluntly calling out that Mu Qinglan was a bad thing.

Mu Qinglan shrugged, not denying it:

"I'm indeed not a good person, but my feelings for you are completely sincere… But Miss Shen got one thing wrong. For cheerful and outgoing people like little Bai, liking isn't easy. At most now it could be called being moved, having good feelings, and these good feelings need to be pursued while the iron is hot..."

Mu Qinglan smiled:

"Can Miss Shen help me?"

Scum! Too scummy!

Right in front of Shen Yao, brazenly asking: can you be my wingman to help me flirt with your good friend? How could there be such a bad person!

Shen Yao took another gulp of wine and ignored her.

"I'll take Miss Shen's agreement for granted. What a pity—if everyone could be as easy to handle as Miss Shen, how nice that would be." Mu Qinglan was still smiling.

Easy to handle?

Shen Yao stared blankly in place, clenching her fingers tightly.

Perhaps due to drinking a bit of wine, the big iceberg's originally cool snow-like cheeks showed a few enticing flushes, somewhat like whiskey on ice—cool and intoxicating.

She lowered her head slightly.

Her expression was somewhat dazed:

"I'm not easy to handle."

She was very serious, but with a bit of the silly attitude of someone who'd been drinking, repeating:

"I'm not easy to handle."

"Alright, alright," Mu Qinglan coaxed gently: "Miss Shen is the hardest to handle."

She smiled slightly in her heart. Not easy to handle? As long as the method was right, getting this big iceberg Miss Shen was just a matter of course.

But she wasn't in a hurry to argue.

Emotional matters should always be approached gradually. She wasn't rushing—could the iceberg beauty at her lips really run away?

However...

Mu Qinglan's eyes flickered. Did Shen Yao get drunk so easily?

This was just fruit wine, and she hadn't drunk much, yet she was already like this...

The plot never mentioned this.

It was also an unexpected pleasure. Mu Qinglan smiled. Next time if she wanted Miss Shen to be more honest, she could try getting her some wine to drink. She just hoped Miss Shen wouldn't do anything reckless under the influence.

She probably wouldn't...

Even after deliberately treating her differently these past few days, she hadn't said much...

Mu Qinglan lowered her eyes slightly, somewhat worried that the big iceberg might turn against her, instinctively glancing at the tea on the table corner.

Meanwhile, Miss Shen Yao at the center of events felt rather troubled.

Previously she'd heard several constables under her say that if you felt uncomfortable inside, drinking would help.

But after drinking, why did she feel more and more uncomfortable inside?

Perhaps she wasn't suited for drinking?

Shen Yao thought somewhat dazedly, her vacant expression penetrating through the surface of the thousand-mile iceberg, giving her a different kind of charm.

In this state, her thinking was much slower.

So she didn't notice at all that Mu Qinglan had left in her wheelchair and returned, only quietly immersed in her own world, maintaining just the simplest vigilance against external malice.

She hadn't forgotten her guard duty though.

Just...

"Would Miss Shen like a cup?"

Shen Yao tilted her head in confusion, seeing the bad woman holding a wine cup and looking at her calmly, her face seeming to carry a hint of provocation.

"..."

Shen Yao said nothing more, sullenly draining the wine before her in one gulp.

Gulp—

Shen Yao was confused.

They say bitter wine entering the throat makes the heart ache. This wine was a bit bitter, but drinking it, why did she feel more and more sober? Hm? This seemed like hot tea?

The big iceberg stared at her wine cup.

She felt like her heart had been struck hard.

Especially with Mu Qinglan's warm, soft, pale cheek leaning close, and those concerned eyes, making Shen Yao instinctively avert her gaze, her heart racing wildly.

She clearly knew.

Knew that everything this bad woman in front of her did might be an act.

But she just couldn't resist.

As if she were poisoned... an incurable poison, and she didn't want to cure it.

"I specially brewed it for you. Does it taste good?" The white-haired girl's smile was bright and warm.

"...Mm."

She said quietly: "It tastes good."