Chapter Twenty-Six: Welcome to Dig Your Own Grave, Reincarnator (1/4)

Zhang Qingqing glanced at Li Yang walking beside her, her heart filled with disdain. The men she despised most in her life were those who revolved around women, their existence defined by the women they pursued. Li Yang, however, felt none of this. He thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent with Zhang Qingqing. Turning to her with a smile, he asked, “Qingqing, are we here yet?”

“We’re here,” she replied.

Zhang Qingqing cast a brief look at the lounge appearing before her. It was a school infirmary, a fixture common throughout Japan, though the locals preferred to call it a rest room. One often saw such places in anime—high school students feeling unwell during class, coming here to recuperate for a while.

Inside, there was usually a stunningly beautiful school nurse waiting for students to arrive. At Sakaki Academy, this place had become something of a tradition—a tradition that was not quite a rule. During the school festival, the infirmary was typically deserted. Or rather, it served as a free, undisturbed rendezvous spot for student couples.

“If only I could spend a night here with Zhang Qingqing, how wonderful that would be. I’d protect her, no matter what!” Li Yang stared at Zhang Qingqing’s back as she strode confidently into the room, his thoughts spreading like wild grass across his mind.

“Li Yang!” Zhang Qingqing dragged a chair over, glaring at Li Yang still rooted to the spot, and barked, “What are you standing there for? Give me the camera, now!”

“Oh, right!” he replied.

Li Yang’s round face brimmed with happiness. To do something for the woman he adored—there could be no greater joy.

“Hmph…”

Zhang Qingqing bent down and took the camera from Li Yang’s hands, carefully placing it atop the beam.

With a nimble leap, she landed on the floor, lifting her head to scrutinize the camera’s position. To ensure she could capture the disgraceful side of Makoto Itou clearly, she had paid a high price—enduring several unpleasant conversations with a few unsavory older men over many nights.

“Don’t just stand there, Li Yang. Lie down on the bed and see how it looks.”

Zhang Qingqing flashed a smile at Li Yang, who promptly scrambled onto the bed. Useless man, she thought, turning away with a cold smirk. She was the kind of person who never cherished things easily obtained.

No, more accurately, when it came to men infatuated with her, Zhang Qingqing felt an urge to use them and discard them afterward. Especially after entering this cycle world and encountering the man named Liu Mengchao.

His utter indifference toward her only fueled the fire of anger she felt toward men.

“Li Yang, lie on the bed for a bit. I’m going out to check on Makoto Itou,” Zhang Qingqing said as she walked toward the door. After only a few steps, she paused and turned back.

It wasn’t yet time to throw away this chubby fool; she’d wait until she got the main god points before tossing him aside like garbage. For now, he still had his uses.

This thought spun rapidly through Zhang Qingqing’s mind as she stopped at the threshold. Her steps light, cat-like, she crept toward her toy.

“Li Yang, don’t be angry,” she called, bending down and deliberately revealing a stretch of snowy skin at her neckline, her face radiant with a smile.

“No, no, I’m not angry at all! I’d do anything for you!” Li Yang’s eyes grew bloodshot with excitement. “As long as I can protect you, I will—no matter what, Qingqing!”

Qingqing…? Look at yourself—how dare you use that name? Zhang Qingqing masked her revulsion, gently tugging at Li Yang’s clothes like a devoted wife.

“So you must stay here quietly and don’t move. I’ll check on Makoto Itou and come back soon. Wait for me, okay?”

With that, Zhang Qingqing blew Li Yang a kiss and floated away toward where Makoto Itou was.

Qingqing!

Li Yang had no idea his mind was already under Liu Mengchao’s control. Those words, spoken with cold reading techniques, circled in his thoughts like an incantation.

“I’m not cowardly; I always have a plan, just waiting for someone to affirm me. Liu Mengchao affirmed my thoughts; he understands me. He knows I’ll protect Zhang Qingqing, no matter what!”

Li Yang closed his eyes, inhaling the lingering scent Zhang Qingqing left behind. His sweaty hand unconsciously slipped into his pocket, where Liu Mengchao had placed a sharp fruit knife.

“In others’ eyes, you’re a pushover, gentle and easygoing. But deep down, you’re not like that. When your bottom line is challenged, you won’t give an inch. Your courage is far greater than people imagine.”

Yes, courage!

Li Yang’s fingers brushed the blade, the sting making him feel braver.

“Qingqing, whoever tries to hurt you, whoever tries to possess you, I’ll protect you! I’m full of courage, overflowing with it!”

Li Yang had become a puppet. Yet the strings controlling him were strange: one end held by Liu Mengchao, the other anchored deep within Li Yang’s own heart.

He believed this was his truest desire, that he had never been so proactive in wanting to do something.

Inside the lounge, Li Yang guided himself step by step toward the direction Liu Mengchao had intended. Meanwhile, Zhang Qingqing—the first woman to encounter Liu Mengchao—began to wield the shovel in her hand, digging her own grave, burying herself little by little.

“Vivi, you little rascal. Why didn’t you answer my call when I phoned you? Such a naughty girl.” Zhang Qingqing teased Hua Weiwei with a girlish laugh, “I’ve already set up the camera in the lounge. Now we just wait for tomorrow night, when our dear Makoto Itou arrives. I hope he won’t be angry, but even if he is, I won’t care. From tomorrow night on, his life will be filled with nothing but despair.”

Zhang Qingqing paused, listening to the laughter from the other end of the line, and joined in, then spoke in a tone as if she had discovered something new, “Vivi, do you remember that otaku? Yes, the idiot who came into the cycle space with us. Please, as if I could ever like him. He used to always trail behind Liu Li, shrinking away, but today I realized…”

Her gaze suddenly chilled, filled with the cold-blooded malice of a snake.

“He actually dared to like me—like me, especially. I really want to see the moment he meets Liu Li. Then, I’ll create the opportunity for him to play the hero and rescue the beauty.”

“What hero to rescue the beauty?” Zhang Qingqing laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, tears streaming from her eyes. Swaying her hips like a seductive cat, she slowly and temptingly moved toward Makoto Itou in the distance.

“Of course, the foolish man who risks everything for a woman. I want to know if he’ll dare to kill Liu Li for me. After all, I’ll do my best to give him the chance. Just as I’ll help you tomorrow night—find Katsura, and together, we’ll kill her, then move on to the next world. Only the two of us, two women in the cycle world.”

Click…

The phone snapped shut in Zhang Qingqing’s smiling hand.

Now, Zhang Qingqing, filled with anticipation, moved toward her target.

Target: a man. A man chatting with another woman.

Makoto Itou!

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Ps: First, I must recommend Loli’s book, which is definitely written by a boy: [bookid=2556614, bookname=“Even Chuunibyou Must Save the World”]. However, it won’t update until the Lantern Festival, so everyone should urge him to post more~~~~

And now—wahaha—the big outbreak begins on the fourth day of the New Year! From now on, chapters will drop at midnight, 10 am, 4 pm, and 10 pm—a total of four chapters!

Absolutely true~

This is what the author calls a festival full of control, daily updates of ten thousand words~

And quietly—this celebration is for reaching 2,000 recommendation votes. So awesome!