I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 133

Lin Changqing's mind was now filled with "the plum blossoms bloomed twice," although this phrase didn't seem appropriate here.

He subconsciously said, "Excuse me."

Then he was about to close the door.

"Wait!" I called out to him.

Lin Changqing had already retreated. Hearing my voice, he poked his head back in awkwardly and looked at them. The blush on my cheeks and my slightly hoarse voice made his expression a little complicated. He coughed dryly twice, "Haha, that's not necessary, is it...?"

"You're overthinking it." I was a little speechless. I felt that Lin Changqing's face was just short of writing "I don't have that hobby," and I didn't know what he had imagined.

Lin Changqing nodded hesitantly, "Oh..."

"We were just playing around," Yuan Lan also stood up straight and explained calmly.

Lin Changqing completely believed Yuan Lan's words and was secretly hating his own strong imagination, when he heard the other person ask him familiarly, "A-Qing, are you here to play games with me?"

He immediately replied, "Yes, that two-player co-op game we beat last time. I saw that the story and levels were updated today, so I came to play with you."

"Sure," Yuan Lan agreed readily, then looked at me. "Does Little Xuechao want to rest? Or play together?"

I lifted my eyelids to look at him and said indifferently, "Isn't it a two-player game?"

Yuan Lan said with a smile, "I can watch you guys play."

I checked my physical condition. Although I was a little tired physically and mentally because of the fever, I was actually fine. After all, I had managed to pull off a slick operation all afternoon.

Moreover, my focus had been on Yu Ruolan, and I hadn't spent any private time with Lin Changqing yet. It would be fine to play a game together this time.

Actually, there was one more thing.

The barbecue Lin Changqing had brought over was too fragrant. Although he was standing at the door, the aroma was drifting crazily, and I could smell it from inside.

I said, "Then I'll play for a while."

"Okay," Yuan Lan said. "We'll go play in the next room."

Yuan Lan made a gesture to Lin Changqing to go first, then picked up the forehead thermometer Yu Ruolan had left behind. He glanced at the time on the bedroom clock. It was still a long time before I had to take the fever medicine. He then went to get the fever medicine and a kettle filled with water.

After getting these two things, he said to me, "Let's go."

I followed behind Yuan Lan to the room next to the bedroom.

The room next door should be an esports room. In addition to two computers with three monitors and high-end-looking esports desks and chairs, there was also a huge display screen embedded in one wall. In front of the display screen were two controllers, as well as a small coffee table and a set of sofas. The lighting in the room was also very well-designed, with gold and blue lights, which looked very atmospheric.

Lin Changqing wasn't sitting on the sofa, but was leaning against the small coffee table and the barbecue and beer that had already been placed on it. He was holding a controller and waiting for the game to finish updating.

Yuan Lan took a cushion from the sofa and threw it next to Lin Changqing, saying to me, "The floor is cold, there's no mat, you can make do with this."

He's quite good at taking care of people?

I inexplicably thought of the question Yuan Lan had asked me not long ago—

"Do you like people who can take care of you?"

He couldn't have changed his strategy, could he?

But I wouldn't be so easily won over.

I didn't say thank you and sat down on the soft cushion without any politeness, picking up the other game controller.

Yuan Lan didn't say anything either, just smiled, then poured the hot water from the kettle he had brought into a glass on the coffee table, only filling it halfway.

After pouring the water, he sat on the side of the coffee table, which was diagonally behind me.

The game just happened to finish updating at this time.

While manipulating the controller to select the number of players, Lin Changqing asked me, "Have you played this before?"

"No." I shook the controller in my hand. "I haven't used this either."

"Oh, it's normal not to have used a controller, this isn't very popular." Lin Changqing stopped pressing the controller and handed it to me. "Let me explain it to you."

He explained to me what each button on the controller was for, and then briefly introduced the game they were going to play.

This was a game that included role-playing, puzzle-solving, and level-clearing. The update Lin Changqing was talking about was a whole new chapter with a new story and 10 new levels.

After understanding, I nodded, indicating that I understood.

Lin Changqing entered the new chapter. While staring at the display screen to watch the story animation, he reached his hand behind him to the coffee table and first picked up a can of beer.

Just as I was about to turn around to get two skewers of barbecue, a skewer of roasted meat suddenly appeared in front of me. I didn't know what kind of mutated species it was, but it smelled heavenly.

It came from diagonally behind me.

I followed the skewer in front of me and looked over. As expected, I saw Yuan Lan's smiling face.

"Don't you want to eat it?" Yuan Lan said, "I deliberately got you the non-spicy one."

I was just about to reach out to take it, but Yuan Lan moved the skewer away and didn't let me get it.

Then, Yuan Lan directly brought the skewer to my mouth, his gentle and lingering voice sounded: "Don't use your hands to get it. The skewer is oily, and if you play the game after eating, you'll get it on the controller. I'd better feed you."

I remained silent and turned my head to look at Lin Changqing, who was sitting on the other side.

Seeing this, Yuan Lan also followed my gaze.

Lin Changqing was holding a barbecue skewer in one hand and biting off the meat on it in large bites.

Although he had heard what Yuan Lan had said just now, Lin Changqing didn't expect the two of them to be looking at him. Now, suddenly being stared at by two pairs of eyes, especially those brilliant golden eyes that contained a smile, he suddenly felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

Lin Changqing: "..."

Ah this, what should I do, waiting online, it's urgent.

Lin Changqing laughed dryly twice, stripped off the remaining meat on the skewer in one bite, and at the same time, his mind was racing. Then he threw the skewer on the small coffee table, and said vaguely while chewing, "The oil on the skewer is quite a lot, hmm, my hands are covered in it."

No matter what, it's always right to follow the boss's words.

My gaze moved to the fingers Lin Changqing had just used to hold the skewer. There was indeed a greasy shine, but: "Then how are you going to play with the controller?"

Lin Changqing almost choked and said with a stiff smile, "Just... play with it oily?"

He wasn't sure what Yuan Lan wanted to do, but from his words just now, it was obvious that he didn't want me to get it myself. He couldn't just undermine his own boss, could he?

He was in such a difficult position...

I looked at Lin Changqing with a complicated expression.

Lin Changqing was still chewing the meat in his mouth, his face maintaining a slight smile, which was about to turn into a fake smile.

...He knew his answer was ridiculous, but what could he do!

At this moment, Yuan Lan chuckled and came to his rescue: "A-Qing, can you get a tissue?"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Lin Changqing scrambled up and ran out, as if a ghost was chasing him from behind, thinking to himself, why didn't you just say so earlier!

"Is this okay now?" Yuan Lan actively handed the skewer in his hand to me. "After you finish eating, just wipe your hands with a tissue."

At this moment, I really wanted to say to him directly: Big brother, why don't you change your strategy of pursuing people?

This method was so cheesy.

But in the end, I said nothing, took the meat skewer handed to him by Yuan Lan, and took a bite of the first piece of meat.

The skewer of meat was still warm. As soon as it entered my mouth, my taste buds tasted the very rich meat flavor of the mutated species. It was very chewy when chewed, lean, without a trace of fat, but it didn't get stuck in my teeth. Mixed with the barbecue seasoning, it was delicious.

"Haven't you had it before?" Yuan Lan's eyes were smiling.

I let out a "en," took another bite of the second piece of meat, and asked while eating, "What kind of mutated species?"

Yuan Lan's elbow was resting on the small coffee table, the back of his hand supporting the side of his face, his posture a bit lazy. He looked at me waiting for his answer and said, "You should have seen it, the Thousand-Eyed Python."

I thought of the appearance of the Thousand-Eyed Python and suddenly felt that I shouldn't have asked, it affected my appetite.

Thousand-Eyed Python, just by looking at this simple and straightforward name, you can guess that it is a python with thousands of eyes on its body.

Due to the mutation, the shortest length of a Thousand-Eyed Python is also 5 meters, and its body is fat, with its thick and fat body covered with densely packed eyes. Just one look is enough to make people with trypophobia feel nauseous and their scalp tingle.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be enough to make me lose my appetite.

All the eyes of the Thousand-Eyed Python would secrete "tears," which is a yellow mucus, which looks very much like the snot blown out after a cold.

Perhaps because the Thousand-Eyed Python's body is too fat and inconvenient to move, this mucus will help it move, reduce its friction with the ground, and increase its crawling speed, but it looks very unaesthetic, and the places it has crawled will leave a yellow snot-like mucus line.

Moreover, this mucus has a very fishy smell. Just getting close to smell it will make people feel nauseous, completely covering the fragrance of the mutated species itself.

In short, two words, disgusting.

Although the Thousand-Eyed Python occasionally smells very fragrant when it has no mucus, for special ability users, every mutated species smells fragrant, and the time it has no mucus is too short. Even if the Thousand-Eyed Python is a little more fragrant, no one wants to eat it. After all, it is only a level 4 mutated species, and there are not a few level 4 mutated species found so far, so it is not necessary to eat it to level up.

It is hard to imagine what kind of mental state the first person to eat a Thousand-Eyed Python was in.

Could it be that they were too hungry?

At least on the "market," there is no Thousand-Eyed Python meat for sale.

"...Why would you eat a Thousand-Eyed Python?" I glanced at the meat skewer in my hand, and I couldn't see any trace of the Thousand-Eyed Python at all.

I just pretended that I didn't know and continued to eat after some mental preparation.

Hmm, it's really delicious.

Yuan Lan said with a smile, "I drew my prank slip, I needed to eat a Thousand-Eyed Python. It turned out that the meat was delicious after skinning it and gouging out the eyes, so I started to raise them specifically for eating. You should know that Little Yu feeds the mutated species raised by the Apocalypse Society every day, right? This is the last one Little Yu raised. Originally, three were raised, and the others have already been eaten. It seems that I can catch some new ones to raise."

I was silent for a moment, then said in a teasing tone, "Who was the 'warrior' who drew the slip?"

At this moment, Lin Changqing came back with two new packs of tissues, and he was quite fast.

"Here." Yuan Lan gestured to Lin Changqing with his chin, signaling me to look at him, and said with a teasing smile, "It's this warrior~"

Lin Changqing looked confused, "What's wrong? How did I become a warrior?"

I said, "The first person to eat crab."

Lin Changqing was still a little confused at first, but when he walked back to sit next to me, he also reacted. Thinking of the day he first ate the Thousand-Eyed Python, his face instantly turned green.

"Actually, I didn't want to eat it either." Lin Changqing said with a sad face, his dark phoenix eyes full of deep pain. "But the boss said that if I didn't eat it, he would control me to wear a bunny girl costume and dance in the largest open-air square in S City... I just chose the latter between social death and being disgusted to death."

One word, miserable.

But fortunately, the ending was good. The Thousand-Eyed Python was surprisingly delicious.

Yuan Lan smiled and exposed him: "But now you're the one who eats the most Thousand-Eyed Pythons. Shouldn't you thank me for helping you discover a delicacy?"

Lin Changqing: "..."

He said with a numb face, "Thank you, boss."

...

Lin Changqing gave me and Yuan Lan a pack of the two packs of tissues he had brought back. After opening it, both of us wiped our hands, picked up the controllers, and started playing the game.

Although it was my first time playing, I felt that the controls and puzzles were quite simple. I quickly led Lin Changqing through two levels.

"Is this really your first time playing this game?" Lin Changqing scratched the back of his head, looking at me with envy and jealousy. "The puzzles in this game are super difficult. I often get stuck when I play by myself, especially the first time I played, I was stuck to the point of ecstasy..."

That's why every time he played later, he would call Yuan Lan to enjoy the pleasure of crushing the puzzles.

I was biting a new skewer of roasted meat. Hearing this, I glanced at Lin Changqing and asked in a flat tone, "Is it difficult?"

Xiao 6 couldn't help but laugh and said in a low voice, "Host, you're being so humblebraggy!"

Lin Changqing was hit hard by the two words I had spoken indifferently. He clutched his chest and showed a look of despair, thinking to himself: What, am I the only one who finds the puzzles difficult?

His body tilted away from me and Yuan Lan, the corners of his mouth turned down, and he said faintly, "Damn it, I hate you two smart people."

At this moment, Yuan Lan's phone suddenly vibrated. He turned it off and said, "It's time to take your medicine."

It turned out that at some point, he had deliberately set an alarm for me to take my medicine.

I felt that Yuan Lan was doing this on purpose. The alarm was for him to see, to let him know how much effort Yuan Lan was putting into taking care of him.

Yuan Lan handed the fever medicine to me, then picked up the kettle he had brought from the bedroom and poured the hot water into the glass that had been half-filled with cooled water.

"The temperature should be just right." He also handed the glass to me.

I still didn't say thank you, and took the fever medicine with the warm water, then casually placed the glass on the small coffee table.

Yuan Lan used the forehead thermometer to check my temperature.

39.3 degrees, the body temperature has risen slightly.

Lin Changqing only reacted after seeing the number on the forehead thermometer and said in surprise, "Holy shit, 39.3 degrees? You have a high fever!"

He had always thought it was a small cold or something.

I nodded.

Lin Changqing subconsciously muttered, "Even a high fever doesn't affect your puzzle-solving?"

After saying that, he felt that his focus was not right, and said again, "Then why are you still playing games, hurry up and go rest!"

I immediately threw the blame, pointing at Yuan Lan and saying, "He invited me."

Yuan Lan blinked innocently, "But it was Little Xuechao's own decision to accept the invitation."

Lin Changqing didn't let them continue to blame each other, and showed a pained expression: "Boss is not being a human, and you don't cherish your own body either, hurry back and rest. If you want to play games, we can make an appointment after you get better. I still have two games that I haven't finished."

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned resting. Now that he kept mentioning it, I also felt a little tired and wanted to go back and lie down for a while.

In addition, Lin Changqing had taken the initiative to mention making an appointment in the future. I felt that I had gained enough from this trip, so I got up and prepared to leave: "Alright, I was just going to play for a while anyway. I'll go back and lie down first."

Yuan Lan also stood up and said, "I'll see you off~"

I said with a cold face, "It's just a few steps, there's nothing to see off."

He left after saying that.

After I left, Yuan Lan threw the cushion I had been sitting on back onto the sofa, moved to where he had been sitting, and pressed a beer can with one hand, pulling up the tab on it.

"I'll have one too." Lin Changqing also opened a can of beer. "It's more comfortable to drink beer while eating barbecue."

Yuan Lan brought the beer can to his lips and took a sip, saying nothing.

Lin Changqing also took a sip of beer, unable to contain his curiosity, and asked, "What's the situation with you guys? What are you up to, tell me?"

"Just as you saw." Yuan Lan took another sip of beer, his long eyelashes half-lowered lazily, and said slowly, "I'm trying my best to win him over, but his defense is too hard to break."

Lin Changqing showed a question mark face: "Win him over?"

You call that winning him over? At first glance, it looked like you were pursuing him.

Do you even know what boundaries are?

Yuan Lan lifted his eyelids to glance at Lin Changqing, as if he could see what he was thinking, and chuckled lightly, "Haven't you noticed, Little Xuechao is very eager for affection."

Lin Changqing asked with a horrified expression, "...What kind of affection? You want to offer yourself?"

"What are you thinking, don't misunderstand." Yuan Lan's golden eyes curved, and he explained with a smile, "I'm talking about friendship and kinship-like affection."

Hearing this, Lin Changqing let out a sigh of relief and clutched his chest, "You didn't make it clear, you scared me to death."

"He's actually very eager for these kinds of feelings, but he's also very conflicted and unwilling to accept others' affection, as if he's deliberately avoiding it. Only by breaking through his defense can you get into his heart." Speaking of this, he spread his hands and said helplessly, "But I also said just now, his defense is too hard to break, I really don't know what kind of person can break through his defense."

Lin Changqing was silent for two seconds, then said without fear of death, "Is it possible that you're just not good enough?"

"What did you say?" Yuan Lan showed an extremely brilliant smile, raised his hand and pressed lightly on Lin Changqing's shoulder, "I didn't hear clearly, can you repeat it again~"

Lin Changqing immediately changed his tune with great flexibility: "Boss, to break through Bai Xuechao's defense, only you can do it!"

Yuan Lan didn't take his bait and released the hand on his shoulder. With a thoughtful look, he drank a few sips of beer.

Lin Changqing asked with some curiosity, "How did you see all that just now?"

"Couldn't you see it?" Yuan Lan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lin Changqing: "..."

He felt that his intelligence was being mocked.

If he could see it, would he still need to ask? He was going to fight with a smart person like Yuan Lan!

"That's true." Yuan Lan's face showed a teasing smile, and he drawled out the end of his sentence, "You were just crawling on the ground that day, where would you have the time to observe Little Xuechao—"

Thinking of the scene from that day, Lin Changqing became angry from embarrassment, "Didn't you deliberately make a fool of me!"

Yuan Lan's face still had a smile, but it wasn't as teasing anymore. There was even a hint of seriousness in his eyes. He continued, "Of course, just one day's observation is not enough, it just gave me this idea. Plus, my subsequent interactions with Little Xuechao finally led to this conclusion."

Speaking of this, he complained in a coquettish tone, "Little Xuechao is so hard to understand."

Suddenly, his tone changed, and he asked Lin Changqing, "I asked you to investigate Little Xuechao's past before, have you found anything?"

"Please, it's only been two days!" Lin Changqing covered his face in pain, "I haven't found anything, really, nothing at all. Why don't you ask Mortar to check, I don't believe Bai Xuechao doesn't go online or use software to chat with others."

Yuan Lan said, "What I want to know won't be on the internet."

"Okay, I'll go and dig some more." Lin Changqing compromised in a second.

He drank a few sips of beer and after a while, he slowly said, "Lin Lang said that Bai Xuechao will die within four months."

Yuan Lan said gently, "To be precise, it's three and a half months."

"Only three and a half months, and you're still putting in so much effort." Lin Changqing's long, narrow black eyes looked at Yuan Lan who was drinking beer. He scratched his medium-length black hair with some conflict, until Yuan Lan put down the beer can, then he asked with a complicated expression, "Do you think it's worth it?"

"It is." Yuan Lan propped up his chin with one hand, and the other hand shook the can that had only a little beer left. When he spoke, the corner of his mouth was still slightly raised, with a gentle but somewhat creepy smile. "The more limited and limited edition something is, the more I like it."

Comparing Bai Xuechao to a limited edition item.

Lin Changqing didn't know what to say back.

Yuan Lan didn't care if Lin Changqing could say anything or not. He finished the little bit of beer left, flattened the can with his palm, and said to himself, "Isn't there a saying, 'drink today's wine today'? I feel very happy playing with Little Xuechao, and that's enough, I don't need to consider the future."

His handsome eyebrows and eyes curved into a smiling arc, with a hint of gentleness, but the words he spoke made people dare not think too deeply: "I've never met someone so smart and to my taste before. It's very likely that there won't be such an interesting person for me to play with in the future, so of course I have to play with him more in the limited time, no matter what we play, as long as I'm happy."

Lin Changqing silently lit a candle for me in his heart.

He felt that Bai Xuechao would be played to death.

Yuan Lan continued to talk to himself, with some annoyance, "It's a pity he doesn't want to drink my blood, otherwise, once he gets addicted, I'll have a one or two percent higher chance of winning."

Lin Changqing: "?"

Wait, you still say you don't want to offer yourself?! Latest content publıshed on novᴇlfire.net

Are you playing "cutting flesh to feed the eagle" or "sacrificing oneself to feed the tiger" here?

"But now I'm at a bit of a loss. I've tasted it once, and I feel he's very delicious." Yuan Lan raised one eyebrow and said in a low voice, "The one who got addicted has become me?"

Lin Changqing raised his hand tremblingly: "Um... if you eat him, there'll be nothing left."

Although he had a very scary and cruel method, he didn't dare to say it.

And he felt that Yuan Lan couldn't have not thought of that method. Since Yuan Lan didn't mention it, it meant that he didn't want to do that.

Suddenly, Yuan Lan clapped his hands together, making a crisp sound. A look of joy flowed from the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, as if he had thought of a brilliant or rather, a very suitable idea for him. He said in a light and cheerful tone, "When he dies, I'll eat him whole!"

Lin Changqing said with a blank expression, "...As long as you're happy."

After saying that, he picked up a skewer of roasted meat and took a bite.

Yuan Lan, on the other hand, opened another can of beer with one hand. Just as he took a few sips, he heard the door of this room being hit by something.

Both of them looked over instantly.

The door was only hit once and there was no follow-up, but a dull thud of something hitting the ground could be faintly heard from outside the door.

Both of them stood up, put down the things in their hands, and walked towards the door.

Lin Changqing's seat was closer to the door, so he reached the door first.

He opened the door and was so horrified by the scene outside that he gasped.

Only to see me lying weakly outside the door, my lips and chin covered in fresh red blood, and even more blood was constantly flowing out of my mouth, staining a small patch of the ground red.