Chapter 69 – Hesitate and You Lose; Stay Soft and You’ll Give Her Away

“Oh my, oh my-“

“This was supposed to be a perfectly good pure-love story. Where did the NTR come from?”

A voice with a faintly teasing tone appeared in Zhao Xinning’s mind.

And it kept going.

“You never saw this coming, did you? Your precious Xi has been sharing a bed with another woman for ages.”

“What do you think? Have they done something even more outrageous?”

Trapped in pain and despair, Zhao Xinning clapped her hands over her ears.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up-“

But the voice remained crystal clear. After all, it wasn’t coming from the outside world…

“What, are you trying to be an ostrich? Bury your head in the sand and forget everything?”

“That won’t do!”

“You need to get it together!”

“Kill that vile woman named Shi Yu. Stomp that damned pest to death!”

In the dark bedroom, Zhao Xinning curled into a trembling ball. “Murder… I can’t murder someone. How could I possibly…”

“Oh? You don’t want to kill anyone? Fine, then hand Xi over to her on a silver platter.”

No!!! Zhao Xinning screamed soundlessly.

I’d rather die than hand Xi over to someone else!!!

Whenever Zhao Xinning sank into pain and despair, this voice would transform into the “Idea King” and offer her suggestions.

Right now was Zhao Xinning’s darkest hour. She had never felt such pain and despair before. She had no choice but to listen to what the “Idea King” had to say.

“Now that’s more like it. Xi is yours. She belongs only to you. How could you let anyone else have her?!”

“Besides, anyone with eyes can tell that Xi clearly likes you a lot too.”

“Didn’t she say you were her best friend?”

“As for how she ended up getting involved with Shi Yu… uh, even I have no way of knowing that. You’ll have to take action and find out the truth yourself!”

Zhao Xinning slowly calmed down and listened carefully to the voice.

“Good. You’ve calmed down,” the voice praised her slightly. “Although we still don’t know the truth, I can make one bold claim:

Xi definitely doesn’t sincerely want to be with Shi Yu!”

“It must be that pest Shi Yu clinging to Xi!”

“That’s why you need to take action even more. Exterminate the pest and save Xi!”

“Xi has already been ‘contaminated’ by that pest. Only you can save her. Only you can purify her.”

“Stop being so timid. It’s time to strike hard!”

Zhao Xinning was good at taking advice. Little by little, her soft, obedient side began to disappear…

“That’s right. I have to exterminate the pest. I have to purify Xi.”

Zhao Xinning suddenly remembered something.

“No wonder I smelled Shi Yu on Xi before. Back then, they were already…”

Sleeping together…?

“But Xi lied to me. She explained it away and said it was because of the body wash.”

“She lied to me to hide the fact that she was living with Shi Yu…”

“If she really thought of me as her best friend, she shouldn’t have lied to her best friend…”

Zhao Xinning sank into an emo spiral.

She even felt the urge to shake Lin Xi awake. Zhao Xinning wanted to ask Lin Xi properly what kind of relationship she had with Shi Yu.

And how did Lin Xi see her?

Was “best friend” just another lie too?

“The fire is already at your eyebrows, and you’re still getting emo?” the voice said forcefully. “If you shake Xi awake and confront her face-to-face, what will you do if you hear the answer you least want to hear?”

“Take good advice and you’ll eat well. Just listen to me. We’ll do this in two steps: kill Shi Yu, and purify Xi.”

In the dark bedroom, Zhao Xinning sat up, her eyes bright.

Having decided to take good advice when she heard it, she was going to get her act together.

As anyone who had ever killed someone knew, killing was easy; disposing of the body was hard.

Zhao Xinning had no idea how to go about murder or corpse disposal.

She certainly didn’t want to kill Shi Yu only to get herself arrested afterward.

If she went to prison, she wouldn’t be able to see Lin Xi anymore. That was absolutely unacceptable.

“What’s there to worry about? Don’t you have me here to give you ideas?”

The voice immediately offered a suggestion:

“First, you need to make thorough preparations.”

“You’ll need tools that are easy to use.”

Zhao Xinning instantly thought of a kitchen knife. Like Lin Xi, she was good at cooking, and she had plenty of confidence in her knife skills.

But the voice said, “No, no. A kitchen knife can only be a backup.”

“You need to buy a gun.”

A gun??? Zhao Xinning was a little surprised. Why would she need something like that???

The voice reminded her, “Because you don’t know what kind of person Shi Yu is. If Shi Yu is an ordinary person, a kitchen knife would be enough. But what if she isn’t?”

“So before you make your move, you have to investigate properly.”

“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.”

“That means you’ll need tools like listening devices and micro cameras. You can come and go from Xi’s home whenever you want. With those tools, investigating Xi and Shi Yu would be easy, wouldn’t it?”

Zhao Xinning nodded silently.

Besides listening devices and a gun, what else would she need?

The voice said:

“In addition to investigative tools and crime tools, you’ll also need rope, Sleepy Black Tea, and a rental place with a basement.”

Zhao Xinning thought about it. Yes. After successfully eliminating Shi Yu, it would be time to carry out the second step:

Purifying Xi.

If she wanted to purify Xi completely, rope, Sleepy Black Tea, and a rental place with a basement were indispensable.

Zhao Xinning had money. She could afford the tools and the rental.

The problem was, some of these tools weren’t that easy to buy.

“Z City’s black market has everything,” the voice said. “Haven’t Dark Realm Disaster incidents been happening more and more often lately? The more turbulent things get, the more active the black market becomes.”

“Go out right now. Wander around some empty streets and alleys, and you’re guaranteed to run into a ‘guide’ to the black market.”

Once decided, she acted.

Zhao Xinning quietly got out of bed, put on her clothes, and prepared to leave.

She checked the time. It was already past midnight.

She had heard that black markets only started trading after midnight. If she went now, the timing would be perfect.

“Good. Take action,” the voice encouraged her. “The sooner you move, the sooner you can take Xi back.”

Zhao Xinning put on her shoes and walked toward the door.

On the bed, Lin Xi was sound asleep. At that moment, she was dreaming. In her dream, she had run into the Mingwing Clan again and happily received one “Grilled Bird.”

While Lin Xi slept peacefully, Zhao Xinning resolved to carry the burden for her.

Her footsteps were very light as she slowly opened the bedroom door.

Before leaving, she looked back at the sleeping Lin Xi.

“Forget killing one person. For you, Xi, there is nothing I wouldn’t do.”

“Oh my, oh my,” the voice sighed. “You and Xi really are true love.”

“Pure love is invincible!”

Zhao Xinning swept away the pain and despair in her heart. She was very grateful to this voice for guiding her.

Hesitation meant defeat. Being soft and weak meant giving yourself away for free.

“Xi, wait for me. I will definitely save you perfectly and purify you properly.”

Click-

The door closed.

With determined steps, Zhao Xinning left the hotel.