ABFMV Chapter 15

Xu Linlang cried until her tears finally ran dry. That was when she heard Qiye’s voice in her ear:

“The beast is dead. It’s over.”

His words brought her back to her senses. Only then did she realize—she had been clinging to the deranged villain from the game, sobbing into his chest.

And she had gotten her tears all over him.

She might have survived, but right now it felt like she was still dangerously close to death.

Xu Linlang awkwardly pulled her hands back. “Sorry, I was just too scared…”

She forced herself to shift away from him, wincing at the pain, until she was completely out of Qiye’s arms. She remembered very clearly that, in the game, Qiye loathed physical contact with others. The last thing she wanted was to offend him further.

Qiye’s hand froze, but he didn’t stop her, letting her pull away little by little.

It was only natural—he had been the one to abandon her, so her lack of trust was normal.

He stood up and walked deeper into the cave. After a short distance, he sat down on the ground with one knee raised. “I’ll keep watch here. Rest easy.”

That left Xu Linlang a little stunned. The Qiye she remembered from the game would never act so kindly. He had always been ruthless, even to himself—let alone to others.

In his eyes, people fell into only two categories: useful or useless.

Is he looking out for someone else? Impossible.

And yet, here he was, offering to keep watch for her. Was he afraid more beasts might show up? But that wasn’t like him at all.

Where had things gone wrong?

No—maybe she had been wrong from the very start. The villain’s broken, twisted nature only emerged later. That didn’t mean he had been like that from the beginning.

In the game, Qiye had avenged the little beastman who once cared for him, and he killed Xu Linlang only because he despised her behavior.

Early on, even after enduring betrayal after betrayal, there had still been some purity in him—some kindness left for those who treated him well.

Now that she had crossed into this world, she was like a butterfly flapping its wings. Every action she took could change the course of events.

Which meant… the villain didn’t have to be her enemy. Maybe she could even befriend him. And then he wouldn’t follow the original storyline and kill her.

That thought sparked a little hope in her chest. Qiye looked fine now, and his attitude toward her wasn’t bad. That must mean the potion hadn’t harmed him—if anything, it had saved him.

Good. If the potion had actually hurt him, she would have spent the rest of her life drowning in guilt.

Maybe… maybe she could change the villain’s view of the world before he lost all faith in it.

With that in mind, her panicked heart slowly began to settle. Her body, however, had already reached its limit. Exhaustion dragged her under, and her head began to tilt as she drifted into sleep.

Just before it hit the ground, Qiye quietly moved closer and sat down beside her, letting her head naturally rest against his shoulder.

The night grew colder, and Xu Linlang unconsciously leaned further and further into him.

Qiye brushed against her hand—it was ice cold. No wonder she kept edging toward his warmth.

By the end, she had nestled her face into his chest, clinging to his body heat like she was starved for it.

Without a word, Qiye wrapped his wings around them both, building a small cocoon of warmth.

Only when Xu Linlang was sleeping soundly did he slip out of the cave. He remembered the ancient records mentioning herbs in the trial grounds that could work as painkillers and staunch bleeding.

Xu Linlang woke with a start from the pain. She had thought it was easing, but now it surged back all at once, jolting her heart into a frenzy.

Her leg throbbed badly. Sitting up was a struggle, and she didn’t want to move too much and disturb Qiye, so she quietly leaned against the wall.

She deliberately avoided looking at him, though he had been watching her the whole time.

Suddenly, Qiye stood, walked over, and knelt before her. He reached out, unwrapped the cloth around her right leg, and lifted the hem of her skirt.

Her skin was pale, making the blood-caked wound look even more grotesque—like her delicate leg had been split in two.

Qiye’s hand froze mid-motion.

The sudden gesture caught Xu Linlang off guard. When she saw him stop, she hurriedly pressed her skirt back down, not wanting him to see any more.

But his hand didn’t let go. In the struggle, her fingers brushed clumsily against his.

Flustered, she pulled away.

Qiye lowered his head, his expression shadowed in the dim light. His lips pressed together before he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Xu Linlang shook her head. “It’s fine.”

She shifted her leg back under her skirt, refusing to let him look at the wound again.

Having a man stare at the inside of her thigh like that was far too embarrassing.

But Qiye’s hand stayed firmly locked around her ankle.

The tug pulled at the wound. Because the cut stretched across both length and width, the scab broke open with the movement.

Xu Linlang sucked in a sharp breath, her leg instinctively tensing.

Qiye felt it. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly let go.

The moment he let go, Xu Linlang quickly pulled her leg back under her skirt.

Qiye remained half-kneeling, looking at the injury through the fabric.

Xu Linlang said, “It’s okay… it doesn’t hurt that much.”

Qiye took out the crushed herbs he had prepared earlier. “I’ll apply this to ease the pain.”

The words eased the pain, made Xu Linlang’s eyes light up, and she extended her leg again.

Qiye’s fingertip, firm yet gentle, brushed against her skin with the herbal mixture. The cool touch made her shiver slightly.

She lifted her gaze subtly and, from her angle, saw his Adam’s apple rise and fall with each breath—an elegant, powerful curve.

Only then did she notice how flawless his skin was, like polished white jade.

In the game, Qiye had always been described as “perfect,” and now Xu Linlang could almost raise her hands in agreement.

As she tried to focus on his beauty to distract herself from the tingling in her leg, she inadvertently met Qiye’s gaze.

Xu Linlang froze.

She almost wished she could consult Zhihu right there: Urgent! What do I do if the person I’m peeking at catches me?!

But there was no Zhihu here, so she awkwardly laughed and changed the subject. “This herb really works—it doesn’t hurt as much now.”

Qiye propped himself up, closing the distance between them slightly, a faint smile curling his lips. “What I just applied was the blood-stopping herb. The pain-relieving herb is still in my hand.”

Xu Linlang’s eyes widened.

She was completely flustered.

In Qiye’s eyes reflected a girl full of regret, his voice low and restrained. “You saved me. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

Author’s note:

The next book, I’m a Villainess Who Never Looks Back, is coming soon! Check the author’s page or search to follow.

[Gorgeous, arrogant, absolute beauty Empress × sickly, brooding young duke]

Jiang Qiao, a dethroned empress, spent her life imprisoned in a dungeon, hated and despised by everyone.

Her former lovers never contacted her again, let alone tried to rescue her.

Only after her death from poisoning did she realize she had been trapped in an interstellar R18 otome game all along.

The true protagonist was the perfect, white-lotus Mu Yu, the object of affection for every main male character—their “one and only,” the love of a lifetime.

And Jiang Qiao? She was just the villainous side character, stealing men from the protagonist.

The sweet, clingy “puppy” she doted on—he always called her “master,” guarding her day and night, but in reality, he spied on her for Mu Yu.

The gentle, steadfast childhood friend she trusted—he supported her unconditionally, but had long since fallen for Mu Yu, undermining her from within.

The decisive, ruthless general she admired—he fought and bled for her empire, but secretly conspired with Mu Yu to overthrow her rule.

…

They all despised her, mocked her, yet forgot—

Who had pulled him from the mud, restoring him from a slave to a position of honor?

Who had risked their life to retrieve the magical crystal guarded by the bug tribe, just to get the medicine to save him?

Who had defied the court and countless powerful factions to preserve his status?

…

In the end, only the darkly handsome, brooding duke she had once hated rushed to save her, only to die under the onslaught of rival forces.

They claimed she had used him as bait, a tool to eliminate the powerful Duke Luo.

Reborn, Jiang Qiao decided to embrace her villainous role fully, to deal with these selfish men and scheming women.

But one thought lingered: she wanted to see Duke Luo, the one who had once risked his life for her.

Little Luo Ya, the son of a disgraced minister, had been reduced to a servant in the palace. Other servants beat him and withheld food.

One day, starving, he sneaked into a room to eat some pastries from a tray.

He was discovered—but the soft, gentle girl in a little dress didn’t scold him. Instead, she ran over with more plates of pastries. “You must be starving! Eat these!”

He had thought himself worthless until a beam of light entered his life, showing him that there might be another way to live.