Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 232: You saw me like this?

Chapter 232: You saw me like this?

"Because these two can, they’ll gladly die if the other one dies. They’re not afraid of pain...so how do you plan on going against a man who will defy fan and lay down his life?"

Ruihuang shook his head "I was only curious. I have no interest in her. Don’t worry I won’t come between them.."

Lingquan wasn’t satisfied with Ruihuang’s answer so he asked again.

"Can you lay down your life for the woman you love, Ruihuang?"

The question echoed.

Not just through the room, but into the space between memory and silence.

Lingquan didn’t look away. His gaze was steady, ageless, filled with the kind of stillness that came from watching civilizations rise and collapse.

Ruihuang exhaled slowly and walked toward the window. The thin curtains billowed inward, cool wind slipping through the cracks.

Outside, the moon was a dull white, distant and expressionless.

"If I say yes, would you believe me?" he said finally.

"That depends. Would you mean it?"

Ruihuang’s fingers tightened over the windowsill.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, his voice dropped low, almost inaudible beneath the swell of the music.

"...I’ve done it before."

Lingquan blinked, not expecting that.

Ruihuang turned his head slightly, his profile lit by moonlight.

"It wasn’t for a woman.." he said. "It wasn’t even for love, not the kind you’re thinking of. But I’ve laid my life down before. I remember what it felt like,the silence after your heart stops. The moment when everything slows down and all you think is, ’At least they’re safe.’"

His voice caught faintly. Just for a breath.

"And then I woke up."

Lingquan said nothing, progressing what Ruihuang was saying.

"I was resurrected by a contract. Not by choice. Not by miracle. Just... obligation. I don’t even know why I was given a second chance.."

He looked at Qingran again.

"She isn’t someone I’m chasing. She’s someone I respect. Someone who never asked for what she carries, but bears it anyway. And if I died for her, it wouldn’t be because I loved her like a man loves a woman. It would be because she deserves a world where she isn’t being hunted by monsters, or cultists.."

Then—

"I don’t need her to cry my name like a prayer. I just want her to live."

Lingquan lowered his gaze, quiet for a long time.

"...Then that makes two men willing to die for her..." he said eventually. "And one of them is the reason she keeps breathing."

Ruihuang looked back at him.

"She called for him in her worst moment," Lingquan continued. "That wasn’t a dream. That was instinct. Yizhou is her anchor. But even anchors can break. And if that happens..."

His voice faded. The wind picked up again.

Ruihuang finished the thought for him. "Then someone else has to hold the line."

He stepped away from the window.

"I’ll protect her until she doesn’t need it anymore. That’s all."

"And if she never stops needing it?"

Ruihuang stopped. His expression didn’t change, but something in his stance softened.

"Then I’ll stay until she doesn’t need me.."

The words settled like a promise.

Lingquan sighed and finally looked away.

"...You’re a difficult man to argue with."

"Haha... that’s my kind of person, didn’t you know that?..."

"I did.." Lingquan admitted. "But I wasn’t sure you still cared about people."

"I don’t." Ruihuang walked past him and crouched beside Qingran again. "But I’m curious to see her when she’s in her peak state and the kind of woman she is..."

Lingquan studied Ruihuang in silence.

"You speak like someone who’s already made their decision..." he said at last.

"I haven’t..." Ruihuang replied, gaze never leaving Qingran’s resting form. "But if I do... I won’t hesitate."

Lingquan gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

The wind outside sighed against the walls, as if sealing the unspoken pact between them.

Then...

Qingran’s brows knit. Her fingers curled tightly into the sheets, the rhythm sharp and sudden.

Her breathing hitched.

She woke violently.

In one breath she surged upright, eyes wide and disoriented. Her instincts kicked in before reason did.

Her arm moved fast fueled by muscle memory and pure reflex.

Her palm went for Ruihuang’s throat.

He caught her wrist mid-air.

Not forcefully. Just enough to stop it.

Their eyes locked.

Qingran’s chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. Her vision swaming in confusion.

The last thing she remembered was glass. Blood. Burning pain. And a face, one that wasn’t his.

"Let go!" she rasped, trying to twist free.

"Qingran..." Lingquan’s voice cut in, calm but unshakable. "It’s alright. You’re safe."

She froze.

Recognition bloomed slowly. Lingquan’s voice was familiar, like gravity pulling her back down to earth.

Ruihuang released her wrist.

She snatched her hand back, still breathing hard. "...What happened?"

"You were infected.." Lingquan said gently. "You almost didn’t make it. Ruihuang brought you back."

Her eyes snapped toward Ruihuang, giving him a fleeting glance.

He didn’t meet her stare directly. Just adjusted his stance slightly, more like a soldier awaiting orders than someone expecting gratitude.

"Why..." she swallowed, throat raw. "Why did you help me?"

Ruihuang finally met her eyes.

"I don’t believe in letting good people die if I can help it."

Silence followed after.

"That’s all?"

He held her gaze. "That’s enough."

Qingran didn’t know what to say to that. Her shoulders eased, barely, but her body still hummed with aftershocks. She looked down at herself, at the faint, dark lines still spidering across her collarbone.

"...I see it’s not gone."

"No..." Lingquan said. "We bought time, but it seems Fengya is the one with the cure.."

She touched the mark lightly. "Feels like it’s still trying to crawl back in."

"It is.." Ruihuang said. "But it’s slower now, thanks to Lingquan.."

Silence followed again.

Then softly, Qingran asked, "How long was I out?"

"Almost eight hours," Lingquan replied. "You were stable after 3 hours. The rest was your body resting. You’ve earned it."

She closed her eyes briefly, as if trying to piece together the hours she’d lost. "I remember... voices. Pain. Yizhou’s hand. Glass. I thought I was drowning in it."

Ruihuang’s jaw flexed and looked toward Lingquan. "You said it wasn’t a dream. That it was something deeper."

Lingquan gave a short nod. "The rot reaches into the mind. If she saw him, it’s because something in her needed to."

Qingran looked up sharply. "You saw me like that?" a question directed at Ruihuang.

"I helped you, isn’t that a enough sweetheart? You should be thanking me.."

-_-