Chapter 12: Guess What?
With Ye Qin’s help, Yi Ning walked out of the restroom with a dead-inside expression.
She stood in front of the sink, staring blankly at the mirror.
I want to die.
It was already humiliating enough for her arch-nemesis to know about this. Now his teammates probably knew too—maybe even the branch chief.
Triple the shame.
Yi Ning was seriously considering destroying the world.
No joke.
Or maybe escaping the Milky Way on a spaceship. That wasn’t off the table either.
Too bad she had to shove all those thoughts down.
After all, she still had her three kids—well, one son and two daughters—back at HQ. They couldn’t lose their beloved “dad.”
Yi Ning turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face, trying to calm down.
“Here.”
Ye Qin handed her a face tissue.
“Thanks.”
Yi Ning wiped her face and tossed the paper into the trash bin.
Getting this kind of service from a backup hero who rarely ever went on missions… what a rare honor.
“And also… well, just… thanks, for that too.”
Yi Ning murmured a half-hearted thank-you and turned to head back toward Lu Zheng.
Originally, she had planned to use this embarrassing situation to get some leverage and boss him around a bit.
But now, all she wanted to do was curl up under a blanket in her dusty bed and disappear from the world.
Come to think of it, her bed was still covered in dust—she’d have to clean it first.
All motivation: gone.
Back to sleeping in the lab.
“Hold it!” Ye Qin frowned and grabbed Yi Ning’s arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She knew exactly where Yi Ning was headed—it’s just that she suddenly remembered something very, very important.
Miss Qiu Yu, the branch chief of D-City’s Hero Association, was still with Lu Zheng.
And with her and Yi Ning together, that meant both of the city’s official heroes would be seen hanging out with a supposedly “normal citizen.”
If they let Yi Ning walk up to him now, she would absolutely deduce his real identity.
“I just want to go home.”
Yi Ning sounded drained.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything bad.”
She pulled her arm free. “It’s after work hours. Nobody works after hours, right? I sure don’t.”
Ye Qin didn’t reply—she just gave Yi Ning a suspicious look.
Yi Ning sighed. “Do you have to look at me like that?”
“You mean like how I’d look at someone who just threatened to make the whole world run out of toilet paper after work hours?”
Yi Ning fell silent.
“T-That was just…” she fumbled for an excuse.
But it was too humiliating to explain. In the end, she mumbled, “Anyway, unless something really unexpected happens, I don’t act out after work.”
She raised both hands. “I’m a peace-loving person. Peace is great! Long live peace!”
Coming from a supervillain trying to conquer D-City, that was... rich.
But Yi Ning really hadn’t done anything.
She even paid rent and contractor fees on time.
Ye Qin sighed and held two fingers up to her eyes, then pointed at Yi Ning.
“I’m watching you.”
“OK, OK.”
Yi Ning waved her off and started walking toward Lu Zheng again.
Ye Qin blocked her instantly.
“The exit’s that way.”
“I just want to say goodbye to the person who treated me to dinner. It’s rude to leave without a word.”
“I can’t allow a supervillain to have any connection with a citizen of D-City.”
Ye Qin stepped in front of Yi Ning, blocking her vision completely.
Yi Ning looked up at the taller girl, thoroughly displeased.
She’d just been emotionally wrecked over her height—now Ye Qin was looming over her like a tower.
“I hate working after hours. If you back off now, I can pretend not to notice how rude you're being.”
She rose on tiptoes and pointed at Ye Qin’s nose—but even then, she was still noticeably shorter.
After a deep breath, she awkwardly stepped back down, pretending nothing had happened.
Ye Qin pressed the advantage, hands on hips, casting her shadow entirely over Yi Ning.
“I won’t let a citizen of D-City fall into your clutches.”
“You’re asking for a fight!”
If it were during work hours, heroes treating her like a punching bag was fair—she was a villain.
But right now? This was her private time.
And she wasn’t someone who used innocent people for her goals—thanks to how her parents raised her.
Sure, she sometimes threatened civilians when dealing with Pixel Mask, but that was just part of their hero-villain routine. She knew full well he could stop her.
She prided herself on keeping things fair.
So saying “I won’t let citizens fall into your clutches”? When she was dealing with landlords and repairmen, where were you?
But now that she is going after Pixel Mask…
Wait.
Yi Ning paused.
Ohhh. So that’s it.
She grinned wickedly at Ye Qin.
Resting a hand on Ye Qin’s shoulder, she leaned in and whispered into her ear:
“You’re worried I’ll figure out who Pixel Mask really is, right?”
Ye Qin instinctively slapped her hand away and stepped back in shock.
“Oh~ What a fun reaction,” Yi Ning said, covering her mouth with a chuckle. “Adorable.”
Seeing Ye Qin’s serious expression only made Yi Ning more excited.
She stepped in again and leaned in close:
“Curious how I figured it out? Actually... he whispered it right into my ear himself~”
She did hear it from his mouth. That counts as a whisper.
Yi Ning smirked.
“Don’t believe me?”
She gently pushed Ye Qin aside, clasped her hands behind her back, and skipped over to Lu Zheng and Miss Qiu Yu, who were mid-conversation.
“You—”
Before Lu Zheng could finish his sentence, Yi Ning grabbed his chin, shot Ye Qin a smug look—and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Lu Zheng: ?
Ye Qin: ?
Qiu Yu: !!!
Under the stunned, speechless gazes of all three, Yi Ning tapped her lips with two fingers and blew Lu Zheng a teasing kiss.
“I have some things to take care of, so I won’t keep you three.”
She winked at the dazed Lu Zheng and turned toward the exit.
As she passed by Ye Qin, she whispered in her ear:
“Guess~ how I knew his identity?”
Then, with a grin, she picked up her clothes and strolled out the restaurant door—leaving behind a dumbfounded Lu Zheng, a wide-eyed Ye Qin, and a completely devastated Qiu Yu, her world seemingly collapsing around her.