Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 236: Let’s go lovers

Chapter 236: Let’s go lovers

Lingquan snorted. "Disgusting. You sound like a dog."

"I’m not the one ogling her in both cat and human form."

"I ogle everyone. I’m fair."

"Shut up," Qingran snapped from behind the divider. "You’re both disgusting."

They fell silent. A short, awkward pause.

Then Lingquan muttered, "Still got it, though."

"Lingquan."

"Okay, okay! I’m turned around. Nothing to see here except my wounded dignity."

A few minutes later, Qingran stepped out, changed. Her long dark hair was pulled into a low, messy knot again. Her clothes were simple, fresh cargo pants, a close-fitted black jacket, and clean boots.

Her movements were sharper now. Controlled. Determined. But the air around her had shifted. As if some invisible thread had been pulled too tight and now everything she did hummed with restraint.

Ruihuang looked at her and opened his mouth, but thought better of it.

She noticed. "What?"

"...Nothing."

"No, say it."

-_-

"Its nothing really.."

She gave him a look before dropping it.

"Let’s go. I need to move before my limbs stiffen again."

They headed to the door.

Ruihuang opened it first, checking the hallway.

"Clear."

Qingran lingered for a heartbeat, hand on the frame. Her eyes flicked back to the room.

That shimmer from the portal was long gone.

But the warmth on her palm, from his hand hadn’t faded yet.

They moved quietly, feet barely making a sound on the worn stairwell. The building was simple not tall, not crowded. It had only three floors, and they were out in less than a minute, slipping through the narrow exit into the now darkening the sky.

The city felt tense. The silence wasn’t peaceful; it was the kind that carried hidden eyes and unspoken danger. Qingran narrowed her gaze, checking rooftops out of habit.

"We’ll head to my place.." Ruihuang said, voice low. "It’s tucked out of sight, a bit far from here, but no one knows about it."

"Mhm.." she replied. "The longer we stay here, the higher the risk."

They didn’t move like normal people. All three of them had trained in their own way, Lingquan may have been a system, but in human form, he was graceful and fast, especially when he wasn’t trying to show off.

They took to the roofs first, Qingran moving fluidly, silently, the soles of her boots striking with precision. Ruihuang led them, calculating each jump and landing with an ease that showed he knew these routes well.

One building after another.

Up a rusted pipe.

Down the slanted edge of a dorm.

Across a low-hanging store roof.

Through alleys layered with dust and faded posters.

The city changed with every block.

Abandoned, reclaimed, then desolate again.

Qingran kept up, but she was breathing harder now. Her fists clenched tighter than usual.

Lingquan didn’t say anything yet, but he kept a few steps closer to her than he usually would.

She didn’t want to admit it out loud, but by the time they reached the last stretch, a stretch that had them walking again, finally descending from the rooftops into a street mostly buried in fog and ivy the black veins had crept farther.

They now covered both her arms.

From fingertip to shoulder.

Ruihuang noticed, of course.

He said nothing until they reached the old building tucked between a junked railcar and a ruined dry cleaners.

"This is it."

Qingran leaned against the wall for just a second. Trying to catch her breath, it was as though her heart had stopped working for a second.

But Ruihuang turned around immediately, eyes flicking to the blackness crawling up the underside of her neck.

"We need to get you inside."

"I’m fine."

"You’re not." he pressed.

"I can still walk, can’t I?"

Ruihuang didn’t argue. He just pushed the door open and held it for her.

Lingquan slipped past them both, already shifting slightly, his avatar shimmered for a second, ears sharper, the tips of his fingers glowing faint gold as if in preparation.

The apartment inside was small. A single hallway led into a low-lit space with a couch, a bed, and a kitchen that looked barely used.

But it was clean. And quiet.

Safe, for now.

Qingran dropped herself onto the edge of the bed, resting her arms on her knees.

She didn’t need to look at them to know the black veins had reached her collarbone.

The ache beneath her chest had grown into something heavier now. A stone lodged in her lungs.

Ruihuang turned from where he was locking the door. His jaw clenched when he saw her posture.

"How long has it been spreading?"

She glanced up. "It never stopped..."

Lingquan spoke up from the kitchen counter, not looking at her. "She’s hit her second threshold. Fuck, it’s still spreading too fast."

Ruihuang stepped forward. "Second?"

"The first is when it marks the limbs.." Lingquan said, hands now glowing with steady gold. "Second is when it starts interfering with the organs."

"And third?" Ruihuang’s voice was sharp now.

Qingran answered instead. "There is no third. That’s the final stage. After that, the system can’t stabilize the body anymore."

A thick silence fell over them.

Ruihuang looked like he wanted to break something. Lingquan just kept calculating, as if trying to estimate how much time she had left.

"How long?" Ruihuang asked finally.

Qingran shrugged, too tired to give bravado. "Three days, maybe two if I push myself."

"You’re insane for even moving."

"I’m not dying on a mattress."

Ruihuang dragged a hand through his hair and turned away, pacing for a second.

Lingquan broke the silence again. "I’ll give her another pill in two hours. We can’t overload her system, so that’s the limit."

"Isn’t there anything else you can do?" Ruihuang demanded.

"I’ve already told you.." Lingquan said quietly. "Only 50% of my healing can be passed on. The rest is locked by the rules of the second chance..."

Qingran rested her head against the wall, exhaling. "It’s not about extending time. It’s about using it right."

Ruihuang turned to her. "So what’s the plan?"

Qingran smiled, they were going to pay a direct visit to the bitch that poisoned her.

"Give me all the pills Lingquan, I can handle the overdose. I just need as much time as I can when fighting her.."

-_-

"Okay, you might die today so I’ll give whatever you need. You’re going through a hell alot for your body to adapt to those pills though .."

Qingran, looked at Ruihuang what pain couldn’t she handle?

"Can I touch it?"

Lingquan shook his head, "You’ll will infect pills if you touch it."

Ruihuang took the pills from Lingquan’s hand, his brow twitching slightly.

"How am I supposed to...?" he began, glancing at Qingran.

Lingquan raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "You’ll have to mouth-feed her."

Qingran blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You can’t touch it. She can’t touch it. Her body will corrupt the pill before it even gets close. It has to go from someone else’s mouth to hers, directly."

Qingran’s jaw clenched. "Is that really the only way?"

Lingquan gave her a lazy shrug. "Unless you want me to do it."

"Absolutely not."

"Thought so."

She turned her eyes slowly to Ruihuang. He was already staring at the pill like it had personally insulted him.

"This is stupid," Qingran muttered, wiping a hand over her face. "Just—fine. Let’s get it over with. Don’t make it weird."

"I’m not making it weird.." Ruihuang said too quickly.

"Your ears are literally turning red."

"They are not."

"Lingquan, don’t say a word."

"I’m not even here.." Lingquan replied, turning his back dramatically, though his ears twitched with barely suppressed laughter.

Ruihuang brought one pill to his mouth, biting just the very edge of it. Qingran hesitated, staring at him like he was a landmine.

"Well?" he mumbled, voice awkwardly muffled. "You have to grab the other side."

She grimaced. "This is actually the dumbest thing I’ve done all week."

"Just bite it."

She leaned in. Slowly. So slowly.

Her lips parted slightly as her teeth closed around the other end of the pill.

And then...

She immediately flinched away. "Your lips almost touched mine!"

"That’s because your aim sucks!"

"I wasn’t aiming for your lips, pervert!"

"You think I want to kiss someone with rot crawling up their neck? It isn’t sexy!"

Qingran’s eyes narrowed. "Say that again and I’ll show you rot from my fists."

Lingquan, now comfortably seated on the couch and clearly enjoying himself, snorted into his sleeve. "Romance is alive and well."

"Shut up, Lingquan!"

"Okay, okay! Round two, let’s go lovers."

They tried again.

This time, they both leaned in, slower, more calculated.

The tip of the pill between them.

Qingran’s eyes were narrowed in focus. Ruihuang looked like he was counting the seconds backwards in his head.