What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH99

Chapter 99: Unable to Stand

Ling Lang frowned when he heard this.

What a lack of ambition.

After just a few seconds of being serious, Qiu Chao was right back to buttering people up. He never got tired of playing that game. Ling Lang had honestly thought the guy had made some progress, but he was exactly the same as before.

Ling Lang glared at him. “Speak properly. Listen to the words coming out of your mouth.”

“I’m just saying something nice,” Qiu Chao deflected lightly.

“You’re fully responsible for this mess,” Ling Lang retorted, his expression dark.

What the hell? He actually leaked the fact that Pei Xiqing was a zombie. It would be an absolute joke if word of this spread any further.

Ling Lang’s gaze shifted toward Xia Jingyu.

Xia Jingyu felt a sudden chill prickle the back of her neck. That icy wave of murderous intent had returned, though she wasn’t entirely sure who it was radiating from.

Qiu Chao sighed. “That goes without saying. I take full responsibility.”

Duan Xiaolin’s thin lips barely moved. “Are you suggesting you want to tell her that I killed Xia Jingyu?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Brother Duan, you’re twisting my words. I’m just speaking objectively here,” Qiu Chao said, raising his hands defensively. “Those two really are somewhat friends. I refuse to believe you didn’t know about their encounter at the church. If I could find out about it the moment I arrived, you definitely know. If she found out you executed her, she would be heartbroken.”

The man shot him a cold, indifferent glance and tossed the heavy pistol straight at him. “Then go and accept your punishment yourself.”

“Minor problem.” Qiu Chao caught the gun, popped the magazine to check it, and casually tossed the weapon over to Xia Jingyu. “Find a quiet place and figure it out yourself.”

Xia Jingyu was speechless. She hadn’t heard their hushed exchange a moment ago and was still furious with Qiu Chao’s flippancy. “I understand. Point taken,” she gritted out.

Without hesitation, she raised the gun, pressed the muzzle against her own head, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

It was a hollow, lonely sound. The chamber was empty; the only bullet that had been loaded was the one Qiu Chao had caught mid-air moments ago.

When she looked up again, Qiu Chao had vanished like a ghost. Only Duan Xiaolin remained in the cell.

His sharp gaze seemed to pierce straight through her, laying all her inner thoughts completely bare.

The man issued a calm, chilling warning: “This is the first time, and the last time.”

He was a man who never feared the consequences of his actions, even if they came at a massive cost.

Xia Jingyu trembled involuntarily and lowered her head in submission. “Yes, sir.”

She knew perfectly well that if it hadn’t been for Qiu Chao’s intervention, she would be a corpse right now. If Duan Xiaolin had truly decided to act, he wouldn’t have hesitated, and that bullet would have flawlessly penetrated her skull.

Completely oblivious to the bloody drama that had unfolded overnight, Pei Xiqing slept soundly. She woke up early the next morning and headed straight to the kitchen to cook.

There were several knocks at the courtyard gate throughout the morning, but she ignored them all. Judging by the voices, they were neighbors from the surrounding luxury villas. Showing up at her door so early meant they either wanted to stir up gossip or beg Duan Xiaolin for a favor, so she couldn’t be bothered to entertain them.

She had no idea when Duan Xiaolin would return. He had told her he would be back quickly, yet he hadn’t shown up all night. Things at the base must have been particularly tricky.

She decided to make dumplings. Just as she finished filling a steaming basket and lifted the lid, Xiaobai lunged forward, swallowing several of them in a single, greedy gulp.

Pei Xiqing grabbed a wooden rolling pin and chased the husky around the yard. “Stop right there! Spit them out! Ahhh, do you know how hard I worked to knead that dough?!”

As she spun around a corner, she slammed directly into a broad, solid chest.

Clutching her forehead, she stumbled backward, but a strong arm immediately wrapped around her waist, catching her.

Duan Xiaolin pulled her against him, hugging her from behind. He leaned over, resting his chin on her shoulder, and asked softly, “Is Xiaobai misbehaving again?”

“Yes!” she complained, breathless from running. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but the moment he sees dumplings, he acts like he’s lost his mind and inhales them! I made over twenty, and he just ate half of them in one bite!”

The man let out a low chuckle. “Let’s head to the bathroom first, then you can come back to sleep with me. I’ll help you make more later.”

Before Pei Xiqing could even drop the rolling pin, Duan Xiaolin effortlessly scooped her up and carried her into the house.

Ten minutes later, the air in the bathroom was thick with heat and a heavy, ambiguous tension.

Pei Xiqing’s clothes had been completely stripped away. She stood with her back to the man as fast, scalding water cascaded over her skin. He pressed against her from behind, the heat radiating from his body feeling even hotter than the boiling water.

After just one deep, lingering kiss, she was completely breathless. Panting heavily, she leaned against the sleek white tiles and asked softly, “Why did you come back so late this morning? Were you at the dungeon all night?”

She could sense he hadn’t wanted her to see him covered in gore, but the metallic scent was impossible to hide. If he hadn’t been in the water dungeon, he wouldn’t carry such a heavy, lingering smell of blood. There was even a faint, washed-away smear of crimson just beneath his eye. She had no idea what kind of chaos had gripped the base.

The man caught her two slender wrists, pulling them firmly behind her waist, locking them securely in his large hands.

Her legs felt weak. He trailed a series of burning kisses down her smooth back, making her shiver. It tickled so much she couldn’t bear it; she tried to wriggle away, but he simply held her down tighter.

After a long moment, he finally answered her. “Xiao Yue escaped.”

“Xiao Yue?”

If he hadn’t mentioned the name, she would have almost forgotten the male lead even existed.

“Are you going to send teams to hunt him down?” she asked.

She wasn’t actually surprised that Xiao Yue had managed to escape. He possessed the plot armor of a male protagonist, after all. What worried her was whether Duan Xiaolin would initiate a massive manhunt, cementing them as bitter enemies in the process.

“Are you satisfied with that outcome?” he asked smoothly.

“…I’m actually fine with it,” she mumbled.

He murmured, “I’ve been thinking about a certain problem for a while now.”

“W-what is it?”

“Someone at the base already knows your true identity, but it wasn’t Xia Jingyu who leaked the information.”

Pei Xiqing froze. She slowly turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. “Huh?”

She was completely caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic.

The man seemed to have pondered this extensively, running the calculations in his head multiple times before reaching a conclusion. “I tested Xia Jingyu. She doesn’t actually know the details. Someone else is fully aware of what you are.”

“So… you think it’s Xiao Yue?”

He frowned, his expression turning cold as his large hand pressed firmly against the delicate curve of her waist. “It is him, but at the same time, it isn’t. I’m actually a little curious about his real identity.”

Pei Xiqing was currently in an incredibly compromising and embarrassing position, yet the topic they were discussing was deadly serious. Biting her red lip, she forced herself to focus. “How could he have possibly known…?”

The moment the question left her lips, the memory of their last encounter at the church flashed vividly through her mind.

!

She knew it! Nothing good ever came from crossing paths with the male lead!

She lifted her head, about to voice her realization, but the man seemed to read her mind. He gently stroked her wet cheek, his grip shifting into a dominant, unyielding hold. “We’ve only just begun, and you already can’t take it?”

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