Chapter 23: Gave me a fright 🙏🥷

“This really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Lauren looked left and right, confirming no one was around, then stared down at the unconscious Li An in front of him.

He couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

“I’ll just carry her home like this. How great is that?”

He had never felt a mission go this smoothly.

There wasn’t even a single hitch along the way.

“Anne really did a good job this time. I didn’t have to waste any mental energy on shady schemes.”

Thinking about it, Lauren couldn’t help but sigh.

If only he had super strength too, then Anne wouldn’t have to take such risks, and their lives wouldn’t be so miserable.

Too bad—he didn’t have it!

Just as he was about to flip Li An over, her hand suddenly shot up and grabbed his calf tightly.

‘That scared me… 🙏🥷!’

Lauren tried to pull his foot away to escape the sudden attack, but he couldn’t break free from Li An’s strong grip. In an instant…

Actually, no.

“Geez, so you’re not dead after all!”

Well, not only was she not dead, she was full of life.

Anne, you couldn’t even win?

Lauren couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer force of her grip.

Even after he instinctively kicked her twice, she held on like a pair of iron pliers, even leaving a deep red mark on his ankle.

“Yes… I won!”

Li An lifted her head to face Lauren.

Even though her delicate little face was stained with dust and a bit dirty, she seemed very pleased to see the shock in his eyes.

She smiled and said to him.

“Lauren dear, you were wrong. Mages are better than warriors!”

‘Are you kidding me? When did I ever say that to you?’

‘Where are you getting these nonexistent memories?’

A flood of thoughts raced through Lauren’s mind.

But Li An didn’t give him a chance to think.

“If I hadn’t seized the opportunity and cast a Hypnosis spell, I’d have been beaten to death by that cat girl.”

Li An said this with exhaustion, as if she had been fighting all night and was truly spent.

“Thankfully, I woke up first.”

Her tone was clearly happy as she pushed herself off the ground, turned over, and lay flat on her back, staring up at the sky.

At the same time, she yanked Lauren down beside her, making him lie shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

Lauren thought about resisting, but he couldn’t activate his talent at all!

‘Damn, I ran into a passive domain expert!’

Li An’s innate passive talent included a silence effect on talent spells.

‘How did they come up with this kind of broken character? Did they throw balance out the window?’

‘Oh, right—she’s the protagonist. Then the player must be having a blast!’

‘Wait, that’s not right. I’m the villain!’

Lauren really wanted to cry.

With the protagonist’s strength this high, how were villains like him supposed to survive?

Every day since he transmigrated, Lauren was either being overpowered or on his way to being overpowered.

He was gradually getting used to it, his face expressionless through it all.

Today, a little blonde loli had him pinned.

She was so small, how could she have this much strength?

Was this the power of a beautiful girl in a game?

Lauren was both amused and exasperated.

Li An wrapped around him like an octopus, locking him in a starfish hold, keeping him pinned to the ground.

While pressing down, she leaned close to his ear and whispered.

“Lauren dear, do you remember me?”

‘Wait, are we that close?’

‘Why are you calling me so affectionately?’

Even though he thought that, he didn’t say it out loud.

“Uh… you’re the girl who was with Yuli yesterday, right? Why are you near my house?”

Since Anne hadn’t woken up yet, Lauren decided to stabilize the situation and not provoke Li An.

Seeing Lauren so close for the first time since her rebirth, Li An was a bit too excited.

She couldn’t help but pull him closer.

The first time in this life they were physically this close, Li An felt her heart pounding.

Sure, her actions were a little impulsive, but the result was good.

That sneaky cat clearly couldn’t outplay her.

Li An inwardly gloated.

Now, she had the advantage.

How should she greet him for the first time in this life?

As a mage, Li An could read minds.

She could sense Lauren’s inner resistance toward her—a stranger’s wariness and unease.

‘That feeling… it’s definitely Lauren!’

He clearly hadn’t reincarnated, she judged.

If he had reincarnated, he wouldn’t be reacting with such fear.

‘It’s fine. I’ll just conquer you again!’

‘In this life, we have a long time together. I’ll mold you into the person I like.’

‘And this time, we’ll be happier than ever. No one can stand in our way.’

‘I’m sure of it.’

Li An thought.

“So yesterday was our first meeting… Do you know my name?”

“No.”

Lauren lied, revealing that he had malicious intentions toward her.

Even if others didn’t know, how could Lauren, a player, not know Li An’s abilities?

He didn’t dare think too much in his heart, nor even dared to glance at her more than necessary.

But Li An could tell from his heart the most genuine emotion he felt—wariness.

‘That… is the taste of a lie!’

‘Lauren dear, you actually lied to me! How dishonest!’

‘How heartbreaking! You don’t want mommy Li An’s love anymore, do you?’

Honestly, Li An was a little angry.

‘Hmph, daring to lie to me!’

‘But ah, who am I? I’m your little angel. Even though you don’t know me yet…’

‘Since you’re not familiar with me, I’ll generously forgive you!’

‘Hmph, hmph o(￣ヘ￣o＃)!’

‘Now, let’s get reacquainted!’

Li An introduced herself.

“Hello, Lauren dear. My name is Lian Camilla. You can call me Lily, that’s my nickname!”

“Uh… okay, Miss Li An.”

“Hmph!”

Li An pouted, her little face looking a bit angry.

“Just call me Lily. Don’t be so distant!”

‘This name is from my childhood. I haven’t even told Yuli!’

She had always seen herself as the aggressor against Yuli, so why would she tell her a nickname like that?

But just thinking about how Lauren used to call her that in her past life made her want to correct him right now.

‘Ah, my OCD is kicking in! Hehe!’

“Alright… Lily!”

Lauren went along with it, thinking to himself.

Li An knew that when he said that, he wasn’t being sincere—he was just humoring her.

But that was fine.

She didn’t mind such a small imperfection, since they had only just moved past being strangers.

‘It’s okay. I generously forgive you.’

Li An thought magnanimously.

‘But just this once, you hear?’

“Lauren dear, don’t ever call me wrong again, or I’ll be upset!”

She added, as if warning him.

“You’re not the kind of mean guy who enjoys making girls sad, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Lauren answered immediately.