Chen Qing naturally noticed Su Mu’s little attempt to escape, so she directly channeled her Internal Energy to slam the open window shut.
“W-Wait a minute! I’ve been hauling these books for so long and even went with you to the Wild Wolf Gang. Even if there’s no merit, there’s still hard work. You can’t just discard me now that I’m no longer useful!”
Su Mu argued righteously with Chen Qing, trying to awaken some sense of morality in her heart.
However, she had severely underestimated Chen Qing’s jealousy. Normally, Chen Qing liked to tease and bully Su Mu.
But wanting revenge for her betrayal in the previous life was only a small part of it. More often, it was like an owner playfully toying with their little pet to add some fun to life.
Then along came Sister Shen, who had the Traitorous Shizun completely bewitched. Whenever she saw them, her face lit up with joy.
This stood in stark contrast to how she treated Su Mu—cowardly and foolish, full of resentment.
Although she knew it was partly because of her usual bullying, the moment Chen Qing saw this Traitorous Shizun being so chummy with another woman, she felt irritated and wanted to keep her tied to her side forever.
With a gloomy expression, Chen Qing drew closer and closer to Su Mu. Seeing Chen Qing’s icy glare that seemed about to drip with frost, Su Mu kept backing away.
It’s over, it’s over. What’s wrong with this damn Villain now? She’d only just gotten out of bed a little while ago—did that mean she was about to get pinned down and bullied again?
Imagining her tragic fate awaiting her, Su Mu’s little head started spinning frantically.
Back at the Wild Wolf Gang, this damn Villain had been perfectly fine. They’d only just returned to the inn, and her face had turned so dark.
The only variable in between was that “chance encounter” with Sister Shen and the others.
Could it be that she’d figured out Su Mu wanted to learn killing moves from Sister Shen to use against her?
At this thought, beads of cold sweat broke out on Su Mu’s forehead.
Aside from being pinned to the bed and tormented wildly by Chen Qing, what Su Mu feared most was Chen Qing discovering the rebellious thoughts buried deep in her heart.
She had personally witnessed Chen Qing killing without batting an eye. If she guessed Su Mu’s disloyal intentions, there would only be one outcome awaiting her.
Staring into Chen Qing’s sinister gaze, Su Mu was on the verge of tears.
She’s staring at me so terrifyingly—my guess must be right.
The thought that in the next second, she would become another soul slain by Chen Qing’s sword filled her with dread.
The spineless Su Mu went “thud!” and dropped straight to her knees on the ground.
Though her knees smashed painfully into the floor, Su Mu had long since been scared limp by Chen Qing’s terrifying glare.
She wouldn’t even notice the pain in her knees anymore.
“L-Little me absolutely has no rebellious thoughts! From now on, if you tell me to go east, I absolutely won’t go west. If you tell me to beat a dog, I absolutely won’t kick a cat. I-I’m just ordinary friends who are a bit closer with Sister Shen—little me definitely has no rebellious intentions!”
Su Mu’s smooth, practiced motions left the sullen Chen Qing momentarily stunned.
She hadn’t expected the Traitorous Shizun to beg for mercy so naturally. However, from Su Mu’s words, Chen Qing realized she had misunderstood the reason for her anger.
But Chen Qing didn’t bother explaining. Instead, she crouched down and cupped Su Mu’s soft chin with her palm.
“Just ordinary friends, yet you’re so intimate calling her Sister Shen?”
“I-I misspoke! She’s just Shen someone.”
The spineless Su Mu immediately changed her address upon seeing Chen Qing’s dissatisfaction with how she referred to Shen Ling.
At the same time, she silently grumbled to herself that she was only compromising temporarily. Once she had the confidence to take down this Villain, she’d definitely change it back.
“Then what should you call me?”
Seeing that Su Mu was no longer using the irritating “Sister Shen,” Chen Qing’s mood improved a bit. But she wasn’t about to let Su Mu off that easily.
“Ch-Chen… Sister Chen?”
Su Mu asked tentatively, though she secretly grumbled in her heart that Chen Qing had no shame.
Of course, she only dared to slander her silently in her mind.
Though hearing “Chen Jie” from Su Mu’s rosy little mouth was immensely satisfying to Chen Qing, it still wasn’t enough to content her.
The fingers pinching Su Mu’s chin tightened slightly, the icy tips digging into her soft, tender skin.
The delicate skin that could be pinched to yield water was now turning faintly pink from Chen Qing’s rough treatment.
“Th-Then how about another one?”
Seeing Chen Qing still dissatisfied, Su Mu’s little brain kept whirring frantically.
“Ch-Chen Beauty? Hiss~”
The moment Su Mu finished speaking, the fingers gripping her chin tightened even more.
Pinched to the point of pain, tears welled up in the corners of Su Mu’s eyes as she looked at Chen Qing with a touch of grievance.
But this pitiful, endearing little appearance only stirred Chen Qing to want to bully her even harder and see what expression she would make.
“I-I get it. You could’ve just said you weren’t satisfied and let me try another one. Why pinch me like this?”
Su Mu’s beautiful eyes resembled gems placed in clear water, shining with dissatisfaction toward the person bullying her.
But her cowardly and timid nature made her afraid to express it too obviously, so she only muttered carefully while continuing to think of ways to fool Chen Qing.
“I’ll give you three seconds. If you can’t come up with one, you’ll have to accept your punishment. Three, two…”
“W-Wait! I thought of one! The powerful, fierce, one-hit-kill, invincible, ruthless, beautiful bad woman!”
Put on the spot by the time limit, Su Mu blurted out every adjective she could think of on the fly.
But the latter few words unintentionally revealed a bit of her true feelings.
“Ruthless… bad woman.”
Chen Qing repeated Su Mu’s earlier words in a flat tone, but a chill seeped through her indifferent voice.
Chen Qing’s words made Su Mu’s body stiffen.
It’s over, it’s over. Her true feelings were heard by this damn Villain.
Su Mu’s heart filled with despair, even her panicked little eyes going dull.
Wahhh~ Looks like my wonderful life is about to end today.
However, Chen Qing’s reaction exceeded Su Mu’s expectations. Not only did she not immediately punish her, she even released the fingers pinching Su Mu’s chin and stood up from the ground.
“Organize these Bamboo Slips properly and tally up the Wild Wolf Gang’s headcount and assets.”
Chen Qing pointed at the Bamboo Slips Su Mu had placed on the floor earlier.
“Oh.”
Su Mu responded in a daze. She hadn’t expected Chen Qing to let her off so easily.
Could it be that she liked being called ruthless and a bad woman?
No matter what, she’d inexplicably brushed past the gates of hell and strangely come back.
She had to seize this opportunity and perform well in front of the damn Villain.
Su Mu got up from the ground, ignoring her bruised knees, and placed the Bamboo Slips on the vanity table, ready to sort them seriously.
But before Su Mu could show off her skills, Chen Qing plopped down on the wooden stool in front of the vanity.
Before Su Mu could react, Chen Qing yanked her into her arms, making Su Mu sit on her lap.
“Sort them while sitting on my lap. Once you’re done, I’ll let you go.”
