Xiao Ruobing cried unabashedly, tears and snot streaming down her face, not caring about her appearance.
"Ptui! What a downer!"
He Tiantian feigned disgust with a theatrical grimace and rudely spat, then abruptly changed her mocking tone, "Enough! Cut the crying already!"
"And you call yourself a ’rich and beauty’—crying like those village girls and shrews, same pathetic look!"
Xiao Ruobing’s crying halted momentarily as a gleam of realization flashed in her eyes.
It seemed she had caught onto something significant.
With that thought, Xiao Ruobing resumed her bawling.
Imitating what she had seen in rural melodramas, she even tried rolling around on the ground like a villager throwing a tantrum.
He Tiantian suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness.
The apocalypse arrived, societal order collapsed, and the elderly, women, and children—already vulnerable groups—suffered the most.
It was acceptable for the strong not to protect the weak, but tormenting them was just vile.
Unfortunately, the original character He Xiaotian was exactly that sort of beast!
The thought of the original character’s sins filled He Tiantian with an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
She understood every story needed a villain, but to play such a villain when one’s personal morals were still somewhat decent... wow, it was a feeling indescribable.
"I said, shut up already!"
Being a villain was vexing enough, but maintaining this character was even more disheartening.
A torrent of legendary curses sprang to He Tiantian’s mind.
Already depressed and forced to maintain her role, He Tiantian intensified her expression before Xiao Ruobing, "Your lover isn’t dead! He’s perfectly fine!"
Startled by He Tiantian’s bellow, Xiao Ruobing pulled herself together upon hearing "not dead."
She promptly suppressed her tears and sheepishly asked, "Is Gu Bei really alright?"
Could Scoundrel He really be this kindhearted?
"Of course, he’s alright! Why, little beauty, do you sound disappointed?"
He Tiantian continued to dutifully play the part of a villain.
She deliberately bent down, shoving the original character’s pig-like face close to Xiao Ruobing, with a sleazy gaze and an irritating tone, "If you’re not satisfied, I can take care of it right now—"
Fearing He Tiantian might act out yet again, Xiao Ruobing recalled the cat-and-mouse games He Xiaotian had played in the storage room multiple times before.
"No, no no, I’m not disappointed!"
"I’m so grateful to you, King He, thank you! Your overwhelming generosity is as vast as the heavens!"
In her urgency, Xiao Ruobing blurted out total nonsense.
He Tiantian: ... What the hell is ’as vast as the heavens’? Did Xiao Ruobing just mistake He Xiaotian for the Divine Dragon Sect leader?
If it wasn’t for Xiao Ruobing’s obviously agitated and ecstatic face, He Tiantian would think the beauty was doing it on purpose.
"Ptui! As vast as the heavens? You really think I’m uneducated?"
Although He Tiantian knew Xiao Ruobing didn’t mean it, she seized on the slip.
With eyes glaring and eyebrows arched aggressively, she snarled, "Cheap slut, let me tell you, I’ve read ’The Deer and the Cauldron!’"
"That so-called sect leader is nothing but a cuck!
"You dare mention ’as vast as the heavens’, are you suggesting I’m just like that damned cuckold?"
Xiao Ruobing was terrified again, her entire body trembling.
I didn’t mean it, I didn’t, I, I was just trying to flatter you, to win your favor!
Filled with misery and fear, terrified that her actions might affect Gu Bei, Xiao Ruobing was about to stammer an apology when He Tiantian, impatient, waved her hand dismissively, "Go! Beat it!"
"Everyone just get the hell out!"
"Take your lover boy and get out of here!"
Despite being aggressively dismissed, Xiao Ruobing felt unexpectedly relieved, "Really? King He, you’re actually letting us go?"
This couldn’t be another round of cat-and-mouse, could it?
Having been toyed with too often, Xiao Ruobing was dangerously paranoid.
"What, can’t bear to leave?"
He Tiantian again adopted the repulsive persona of a greasy, believable man.
Suppressing a gag, Xiao Ruobing quickly shook her head, "No! I’m, I’m taking Gu Bei and leaving now!"
He Tiantian feigned annoyance, curling her lip as she languidly stood up, deliberately slowing her movements while Xiao Ruobing watched eagerly.
A simple step aside, which shouldn’t have taken more than two or three seconds.
Yet He Tiantian took a deliberate two or three minutes for it, Xiao Ruobing’s expression nearly cracking.
Furious yet unable to protest, her indignant yet helpless demeanor amusing the mischievous "He Xiaotian" all over again.
"Haha! Ha ha ha, little beauty, don’t rush. I didn’t realize earlier that you were so impatient!"
While laughing uncontrollably, He Tiantian made faces at Xiao Ruobing.
Xiao Ruobing: ... Deep inside, she wished she could stab this beast to death.
But Xiao Ruobing dared not; she bowed her head and rushed into the small storeroom.
Seeing her fiancé bound and unconscious, she didn’t scream but hurriedly untied the ropes.
Then, clenching her teeth, she marshaled all her strength to help Gu Bei up, the two staggering and lurching their way outside...