Transmigrated into a Villainess? I’m Going to conquer the Heroine!

After changing into her outfit, Tang Yuan stepped out of the room. Jiang Zi held a lipstick up to her lips, comparing shades. “Wifey, this color goes perfectly with today’s outfit.”

Tang Yuan’s anger had already faded by now. She tilted her face up slightly. “You do it for me.”

Jiang Zi had applied lipstick for her countless times before and was already an expert at it.

Since she didn’t hear Tang Yuan mentally cursing her out, Jiang Zi knew she wasn’t actually mad. See? They were a match made in heaven. After all, she had a wife who doted on her endlessly.

After making sure Tang Yuan ate a little breakfast, the two of them headed to the meeting spot with Dong Ling.

By the time they arrived, Dong Ling still wasn’t there. The two sat down and ordered their food first.

Half an hour later, with all the dishes served, Dong Ling finally arrived, taking his sweet time.

He had deliberately come late because of Tang Yuan’s late messages that morning as payback—only to walk in and see her already picking up her chopsticks.

“Tang Yuan!”

She turned her head. “Oh, you’re here? Let’s eat first. The food’s all here.”

Dong Ling: …

It felt like punching a pillow—completely useless.

Once they were full, they got down to business.

“Yesterday, I asked you about your relationship with Lu Shan’en and Chu Yu. You’re not doing business with them anymore, right?”

Dong Ling shot her an irritated look. “That’s business confidentiality. Why are you even asking?”

Tang Yuan offered him a kind reminder. “You might want to forget about keeping secrets for now. If you keep working with them, something’s going to happen.”

Dong Ling’s gaze sharpened, his casual demeanor fading. “What do you mean?”

“Just take my advice. In at most ten days, cut ties where you need to. Don’t get dragged into this.”

Dong Ling studied them both before finally locking eyes with Jiang Zi. “What exactly are you two planning?”

Jiang Zi, however, was completely absorbed in playing with Tang Yuan’s hair, twirling the silky strands around her fingers, utterly ignoring him.

Dong Ling scoffed. She looked like an idiot. Even if she were cured, she’d probably still be drooling.

Tang Yuan answered, “You don’t need to know what we’re doing. Just know that it’s best to stop any cooperation now. Play it safe. If you don’t want to ruin your connections, then just maintain a superficial relationship with them.”

Dong Ling turned to stare out the window. After a long silence, he suddenly spoke in a cold, unreadable tone. “So you really see me as part of your faction?”

Tang Yuan frowned slightly but didn’t say anything before he continued, his voice distant.

“Don’t say this like you’re doing me a favor.”

“You just want me fully on your side. When you make your move against them, you don’t want me as their fallback option.”

Tang Yuan fell silent for a moment. He wasn’t wrong.

When they eventually targeted Lu Shan’en, the more isolated he was, the better it would be for them.

There was no point hiding it. She admitted it frankly. “That’s part of it. But you know me—I wouldn’t be doing this if I weren’t absolutely sure of success.”

“Dong Ling, you’re smart. You know how to keep up appearances. I trust that you’ll figure out the best path for yourself. One day, you’ll understand that my warning wasn’t wrong.”

She wasn’t here to force him. That was all she had to say. After that, she bid him farewell.

As she and Jiang Zi stood up to leave, Dong Ling instinctively stood as well, calling out, “Tang Yuan.”

She paused, waiting for him to continue.

His back was straight, his voice unusually tight. “We’re still friends… right?”

Tang Yuan almost laughed. She thought he was about to say something dramatic. Instead, he was asking this nonsense?

She quirked a brow. “Your eyesight must be getting worse. When were we ever not friends?”

There was a phrase for this—blind and foolish. Perfectly suited for someone who would ask such a dumb question.

With nothing left to say, she and Jiang Zi walked out of the restaurant together.

Dong Ling sat back down, momentarily dazed.

In the car, Jiang Zi started the engine and glanced at Tang Yuan. “Do you trust him?”

Tang Yuan leaned back, rubbing her sore neck. “As long as he hasn’t lost his mind, he’ll pick our side without a doubt.”

After all, he had already made his choice before—back in that last side mission, when Chu Yu lost 10% of his friendship points.

Jiang Zi refocused on the road, her grip tightening slightly on the wheel.

No matter what feelings Dong Ling had for Tang Yuan, he needed to know that there was no possibility between them. He shouldn’t even dare to think about it.

A darker thought crept into her mind—what if Dong Ling was still under the influence of this world’s rules and ended up going back to Chu Yu’s side? If that happened, if he became their enemy, then Tang Yuan wouldn’t even have a sliver of friendship left for him—only disgust.

But Jiang Zi knew that wasn’t right. She didn’t want Tang Yuan to experience the pain of betrayal. She didn’t want to see her hurt or disappointed.

The best solution was to never cross paths again—to let Dong Ling disappear from Tang Yuan’s life completely.

If only Tang Yuan had only her by her side.

What a selfish thought.

Suddenly, the car’s navigation system blared to life. “A traffic accident ahead has caused congestion. Rerouting. New route successfully set.”

‘—Tang Yuan!’

Jiang Zi’s hands clenched tightly around the wheel, and she instinctively slammed on the brakes. Tang Yuan jerked forward from the inertia, only to be pulled back by her seatbelt.

An abrupt stop, right in the middle of the road.

Her heart was still racing when she turned to look at Jiang Zi. Her face was pale, her eyes vacant, and a thin layer of cold sweat covered her forehead.

Tang Yuan placed a hand over Jiang Zi’s, concern evident in her voice. “Sister? Are you okay?”

Jiang Zi snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice. She shook her head, still dazed, and continued driving along the new route.

Thankfully, the car was expensive, and the vehicles behind them had been at a safe distance. No accident occurred.

Still uneasy, Tang Yuan kept observing her. “Sister, do you want to pull over and let me drive for a bit?”

“I’m fine.” Jiang Zi forced a smile but didn’t dare meet her gaze. Her grip on the wheel was so tight her knuckles turned white.

Tang Yuan didn’t push the issue, but her clear eyes clouded with worry as she looked at Jiang Zi.

[Why does Sister seem so scared? What is she afraid of?]

[It can’t be jealousy over Dong Ling—I already cleared that up.]

[Just now, the navigation said it was rerouting… huh? Could it be that Sister is afraid of car accidents?]

[Has she been in one before? Is that why she reacted like this?]

Every single thought from Tang Yuan’s mind entered Jiang Zi’s ears. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, her chest tightened, and her heart pounded so hard it drowned out everything else.

That vision—it surfaced again. Tang Yuan, lying in a pool of blood.

It was too vivid, too real—like she had seen it with her own eyes.

But where had she been when it happened?

That voice calling out Tang Yuan’s name—it belonged to a boy in a white shirt.

And her?

Was that memory real? If it was…

Where was she when Tang Yuan had her accident?