Chapter 33: “Wuu… It’s Me…”

“Sister Ruan Yuan.”

Linlin looked at her.

Ruan Yuan didn’t say anything.

She half-squatted down, bringing her eyes level with Linlin’s.

Then she reached out and pinched Linlin’s cheek.

Left side, one pinch.

Right side, one pinch.

Then the left side again.

Linlin: “…?”

This feeling was very familiar.

It was like she had experienced it somewhere before.

Her brain turned for a moment, and she remembered.

It was during the Little Red Riding Hood instance.

Back then, Ruan Yuan had also pinched her face like this to confirm whether she was really Bai Linlin.

And now she was doing it again?

“Stop pinching.”

Linlin pushed her hand away.

“It’s me. Aren’t we best friends?”

She rubbed her reddened cheeks, looking a little aggrieved.

“I just changed my appearance a bit. You really can’t recognize me?”

Ruan Yuan didn’t answer.

Her hand changed from pinching to cupping.

She held Linlin’s face with both hands.

Then she started rubbing it.

Rubbing it left and right.

Linlin’s face was kneaded out of shape, her mouth unable to close properly.

“Wuu… It’s me…” (Wuu… It’s me…)

“Finally…”

Ruan Yuan spoke, her voice a little hoarse.

“Linlin, it’s good that you’re okay.”

Linlin was stunned.

Ruan Yuan’s hands were very warm.

The way she held her face was gentle but steady.

The lingering fear of “I almost lost you” was transmitted through her palms.

Linlin stopped struggling.

She let her rub.

Even though she still couldn’t speak clearly.

After rubbing for quite a while, Ruan Yuan finally stopped.

Then she bent down, slid one arm under Linlin’s knees and the other behind her back. With a lift, she picked Linlin up in a princess carry.

Linlin: “…”

Why did both Ruan Yuan and Xiran like carrying her so much?

Was she some kind of limited-edition body pillow that everyone wanted to hold?

She didn’t struggle.

She had walked for nearly half an hour, and her legs were indeed a bit sore.

In her arms, A’Li adjusted its position, lying down on her stomach and finding a comfortable spot to curl up.

Ruan Yuan carried her through the gate, across the courtyard, and into the house.

Linlin gave directions along the way until they reached her bedroom.

The door opened.

It was pink.

Linlin: “…”

She knew from memory that this was her room, but seeing it with her own eyes was still quite a shock.

The aesthetic was far too consistent.

Ruan Yuan placed her on the bed.

The soft mattress sank in, and Linlin felt like her whole body was about to sink into the sea of pink.

She was just about to sit up.

A’Li moved.

The little fox crawled off her stomach, walked to the edge of the bed, and jumped down.

Then it circled to the foot of the bed, squatted down, and stared at Linlin’s feet.

Before Linlin could react.

A’Li extended its little paw and started pulling at her shoes.

One tug, two tugs, three tugs.

The shoes were pulled off and fell onto the floor.

Revealing her small feet wrapped in white socks.

After walking for nearly half an hour, her feet felt stuffy. The sudden removal of the shoes let cool air wrap around them—it actually felt quite comfortable.

No.

It wasn’t just comfortable.

A’Li had started again.

That little pink fox lowered its head, stuck out its tongue, and began licking her feet.

Linlin: “…”

From the memories she had recovered, this little pervert always did this.

Every time she came home and took off her shoes, A’Li would run over and lick her feet.

At first she thought it was some special way of greeting.

Later she realized that the little fox simply… liked doing it.

“A’Li…” she called out weakly.

A’Li lifted its head. Its amber eyes looked at her with an innocent expression.

Then it continued licking.

Only after licking for a good while did it stop.

It picked up the pair of removed shoes with its mouth, turned around, and trotted out of the room.

Linlin sighed.

“It’s going to put the shoes away,” she said. “It always does this.”

Ruan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her without speaking.

“Alright.” Linlin sat up cross-legged and tucked her feet under her skirt. “I’ll tell you what happened these past two days.”

Ruan Yuan nodded.

Linlin thought for a moment about where to start.

From being kidnapped by Lin Zhizhi?

From being dragged home by Xiran?

Or from those recovered memories?

Forget it.

There was too much.

She couldn’t finish even if she tried.

She took a deep breath.

“It’s a long story.”

“Then make it short,” Ruan Yuan replied quickly.

Linlin looked at her.

Make it short?

Fine.

Short it is.

“I was targeted by a pervert.”

She began, her tone flat.

“She controlled me, bullied me, stripped my clothes off, violated me, made me lose control of my bladder, held me while sleeping, and kneaded my chest all night. I only just managed to get released today.”

She finished and looked at Ruan Yuan.

Ruan Yuan looked back at her.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Ruan Yuan’s expression went from “I’m listening seriously” to “Did I hear that wrong?” to “Are you fucking kidding me?” to “What the fuck.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

Then opened it again.

“…What did you just say?”

“I made it short… and that’s the short version.”

Ruan Yuan took a deep breath.

Then another deep breath.

Then another.

It was like she was about to suck all the air out of the room.

“Who is that pervert?”

Her voice was pressed low, carrying a suppressed rage.

“Xiran.”

Linlin said.

“The boss of this instance. On the surface she’s a victim of bullying, but in reality she’s a control freak. She treats me as her possession, makes me ‘bully’ her every day, and then monopolizes me completely.”

Ruan Yuan stood up.

“Where is she?”

“What are you going to do?”

“Kill her.”

Ruan Yuan’s voice was as cold as ice, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

Her Linlin had been treated like this?

Stripped, violated, made to lose control, and having her chest kneaded all night?

The rage in her mind had already burned through the ceiling.

Right now, immediately, she was going to find that pervert called Xiran and tear her into pieces.

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Linlin hurriedly reached out and grabbed the hem of her clothes.

“Calm down!”

“I’m very calm,” Ruan Yuan said, sounding anything but calm. “Where is she?”

“You don’t know how strong she is!”

Linlin panicked.

“I saw with my own eyes how she dealt with Lin Zhizhi! You know Lin Zhizhi, right? That madwoman who called herself the ‘strongest bully’—Xiran crippled her with just a few nails! She didn’t even have a chance to fight back!”

Ruan Yuan paused for a second.

“I don’t know Lin Zhizhi.”

“If she got beaten then she’s just too weak. Calling herself the strongest bully? What a joke.”

“It’s not about being weak or not!”

Linlin refused to let go of her clothes.

“Her magic power is very strange—it’s invisible. You can’t see it or sense it, but the next second it can punch a hole right through your body! She can also restrain people, affect their minds, and… anyway, she’s terrifying!”

Ruan Yuan was silent for a few seconds.

“Linlin, I’m very strong.”

But Linlin really didn’t know just how strong a Level 22 player with an Estate was.

She had only seen a glimpse of Ruan Yuan’s power before entering the instance, but they had never actually fought.

What if… what if Ruan Yuan really could defeat Xiran?

As soon as that thought appeared, it was crushed by an even deeper fear.

Scenes from her memories flooded back.

Her whole body trembled, and cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

If Ruan Yuan failed.

If Xiran found out that she had tried to get someone to kill her.

Then what awaited her would be a “punishment” even more terrifying than what she remembered.

In those memories, the original Bai Linlin had only plotted to “kill Xiran” and was tortured to that extent.

But her?

She had actually gone and found someone to kill Xiran.

What would happen to her?

How would she be treated?

She didn’t dare to imagine.

“No.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but it was firm.

“You can’t go.”

“Why?”

“Because my task isn’t to kill Xiran.”

Linlin looked at her.

“My task is to investigate Xiran’s past and her obsession with me.”

“If she gets killed, what happens to my task? I’ll be trapped in this world forever!”