Chapter 13: Stirring Up Conflict Is a Villain’s Favorite Hobby
Leaving behind the three bewildered and shocked people at the restaurant, Yi Ning walked down the road home humming a cheerful tune.
Her earlier gloom had been completely swept away by that performance.
Trying to gather dirt to use against her? People like that deserved to be hit hard.
Sure, it had been her fault from the start—but Yi Ning didn’t hesitate to pin the blame entirely on the Hero Association’s heroes.
So what if they didn’t do anything wrong?
She was a villain, after all.
Just remembering the priceless expressions on those three faces made her steps even lighter.
“But seriously, I was pretty bold back there.”
She thought that since she now had a girl’s body, kissing a man’s cheek shouldn’t make her feel anything.
That should’ve been the case.
But the moment she recalled the scene, Yi Ning’s snow-white cheeks turned a rosy red, the blush spreading all the way to her petite ears.
To provoke Ye Qin, she had deliberately leaned very close while kissing Lu Zheng—close enough to feel his breath, to catch the faint scent of a man’s body.
It hadn’t felt strange while doing it, but now? An unspeakable sense of embarrassment flooded her.
What had she even been thinking?
How could she shamelessly do something like that so naturally?
Fortunately, her reason soon retook the high ground.
Was this wave of indescribable shame… also a side effect of this female body?
Yi Ning slapped her face a few times, trying to shake off the strange mood, but it didn’t work.
That stubborn, lingering embarrassment wouldn’t go away.
I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.
Her light steps began to slow.
Back at home, Yi Ning tossed the clothes in her hands aside, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed on the sofa, motionless.
She had once thought becoming a girl might actually be a good thing.
After all, that inexplicable, recurring lust that used to bubble up in her male body had significantly diminished—very helpful for her research.
But now that she was living in a girl’s body, she realized it was more troublesome than she imagined.
Just today alone, her emotions had overwhelmed her logic multiple times. Not to mention the constant waves of strange embarrassment.
Of course, there were also small issues from unchanged habits conflicting with her new body.
Yi Ning sighed, trying to comfort herself: It’s just a matter of getting used to it.
Can’t exactly stop living just because your body changed.
She closed her eyes, intending to take a nap.
Beep—beep—
The washing machine on the balcony forced her eyes back open.
So annoying.
She rolled over and shut her eyes again.
Beep—beep—
The machine wouldn’t let up.
“(Profanity)!”
Yi Ning slapped the sofa and sat up with a growl, slipped into her slippers, walked to the balcony, and began hanging up all the freshly washed clothes.
After she finished, she returned to the sofa and glanced at the newly bought underwear tossed to the side.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to wash them too. After all, she’d been permanently hit by the girlification beam. She was going to live the rest of her life as a beautiful girl. She couldn’t just go commando forever. Wearing it was inevitable.
Running away won’t solve anything.
Once everything was sorted, Yi Ning flopped back onto the sofa and shut her eyes, ready for a proper rest.
RING RING RING
Her phone blared again.
“You [BLEEP]ing [BLEEP]! Who the hell’s calling me at this hour?!”
She furiously grabbed her phone.
It was Ji Ping.
Probably something about the organization.
Suppressing her anger, she answered the call.
After all, this was her dear son. As his “father,” she could be a little patient.
“Status report,” she asked calmly.
“What do you think? Same old.”
The brat clearly knew what she meant and still gave her nonsense.
Yi Ning was annoyed, but since she needed his help, she swallowed her temper and asked nicely, “What’s the boss say?”
“Well, at least she hasn’t come storming into D-City to demand an explanation yet.”
So… she was planning to do that at first?
Yi Ning massaged her throbbing temple.
After some hesitation, she figured it was better to rip the bandage off.
“What’s she doing now?”
“She went home to visit her parents,” Ji Ping replied, barely hiding a chuckle.
Home, huh?
Yi Ning made a firm decision—not returning to her hometown for at least six months.
The boss’s family had serious influence within the Evil Council.
They were one of the founding families. Without their funding, the boss wouldn’t even have a proper evil organization.
For the sake of her own life, Yi Ning would stay under the Hero Association’s protection.
“Okay, I’m going to sleep,” she said, ready to hang up.
“Wait—so you’re really not going to do anything about Xia An?”
“What about her?”
“She begged me to plead with you to change her back. She’s got two dates coming up, and with her current body, she can’t satisfy her girlfriends.”
“Let her come up with an excuse. Besides, she’s dating two people anyway—one lie gets her out of both. That’s efficient.”
“You’re cold…”
Ji Ping sighed, then dropped a bombshell. “She went and submitted your information to get you two new IDs. I heard she wants to change your name to something super cutesy and girly.”
“Let her. I’ll just go change it back later.”
Yi Ning clearly didn’t care.
“Right…” Ji Ping was disappointed by the lack of reaction. But he still had work to do.
“One last bit of info,” he teased.
“Spit it out or I’ll hit you with the girlification beam too. I’ll make sure our whole team is nothing but cute girls.”
Yi Ning wasn’t playing games.
Ji Ping instantly caved.
He didn’t want to end up like Xia An.
“It’s nothing big. The Free Alliance hiding near the border’s been stirring a little.”
“That bunch of rats? What could they possibly stir up? Stealing rations while the big guys fight?”
Yi Ning didn’t think much of them.
They called themselves the Free Alliance, but they were really just people who were unhappy with their current status in the Evil Council, angry at the truce with the Hero Association, or just outright sociopaths.
They spoke of “freedom,” but most of them used that as an excuse to do whatever they wanted.
“A few rats slipped through a gap in the Hero Association’s defenses while they were fighting in M-City,” Ji Ping said, snickering. “By now, the Association’s probably mobilizing to hunt them down.”
“Well, that’s rare. Who sneaks into Hero territory? Are they brain-dead?”
Yi Ning scoffed.
“Anyway, that’s all. Just a heads-up. I don’t think they’ll head to your city, and even if they do, I doubt they can handle you. But stay alert, just in case.”
Her friends’ sudden concern left Yi Ning feeling a bit… off.
“I got it.”
She waved him off and hung up.
“Running into the Hero Association’s turf… what are they even trying to do?”
She puzzled over it for a moment, then dismissed the thought.
Just like Ji Ping said, they probably wouldn’t come to D-City. And even if they did, she was confident she could beat them senseless.
She hopped off the sofa.
After being interrupted so many times, she wasn’t sleepy anymore.
Might as well take a shower and sleep in the lab tonight.