In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

However, this isn't the first time Xie Qingyan has had problems. She seemed a bit off when Shen Qin woke up last time, and she looks even more abnormal now.

"Are you OK?"

Realizing this, Xu Shi thought for a moment and reached out his hand to her, "Why don't you go back to the cabin and rest for a while?"

Unexpectedly, Xie Qingyan reacted as if her hair had been bristled, and suddenly used her tentacles to push him away.

"Do not touch me!"

Looking up again, her eyes were now completely black.

There will be no knife

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 256 If you're going to use your abilities on me, then come on!

2023-09-06

Gan.

If the last time could be attributed to a delusion, this time, Xie Qingyan's unusual behavior was undeniably observed by Xu Shi.

Or rather, as everyone knows, Xie Qingyan has always been calm and rational. Even if things have changed now, she is definitely not the kind of person who would fly into a rage over a harmless joke... "How scary" really isn't a very targeted comment.

Given her suddenly dark eyes, it would be strange if no one could see anything wrong.

"you……"

Repelled by her aura, Xu Shi's expression turned serious.

"I……"

The woman seemed to suddenly wake up from a dream and calmed down, instinctively covering her face with her hands, unsure how to explain herself.

After a long silence, she finally managed to say, "I...I'm fine, don't worry about me."

After saying that, she hurriedly returned to the cabin as if fleeing in panic.

"Brother, what's wrong with her?"

Standing next to Xu Shi, Shen Qin put away her short sword, blinked, and asked.

Xia Wuyou did not come with them to the Imperial City this time. She and Jiang Chengcheng stayed on Silver Pine Island to help with the construction. The task of protecting Xu Shi's safety naturally fell to Miss Shen Qin. Anyway, the two places are not far apart now, and communication is more convenient. If there is any need, we can contact each other at any time. There is no need for everyone to crowd together.

And she was indeed a very competent bodyguard. When Xie Qingyan went berserk just now, she quickly stood in front of Xu Shi. If it weren't for the fact that the person opposite her was Xie Qingyan, she probably would have already slashed out with her sharp blade.

"..."

Xu Shi remained silent, gazing in the direction the dog woman had gone for a moment before turning to Ye Shanshan on the other side and asking, "Shanshan, you've been by her side these past few days. Have you noticed anything unusual about her?"

Little Curly Hair came along this time too—last time she stayed behind on Silverpine Island, but this time she was determined to see the sights of the Imperial capital.

As Xie Qingyan's loyal lackey, even though Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan's marital relationship was now officially established, she spent more time by that scumbag's side during this period—that's how it is for a personal maid. Xu Shi often had various things to do, not to mention that some scumbags have more than one pair of wings...

"No, no..."

Ye Shanshan also looked somewhat panicked; to be honest, that last scare had quite frightened her.

This is no longer the era of "Snake Ring" and "Prism" scheming against each other. Little Curly Hair came along this time not only to act as a bodyguard for her own director, but also to consider how to take her relationship with Xu Shi to the next level... Little Curly Hair never expected things to turn out this way.

This wasn't just an ordinary couple's quarrel, was it? She hadn't noticed anything unusual about Xie Qingyan before... but since Xu Shi asked, knowing there was something wrong, she started to think about it seriously.

"If I had to say something, it might be... that sometimes she locks herself in her room and won't come out?"

After thinking for a while, Ye Shanshan finally answered hesitantly.

If it weren't for what just happened, this wouldn't really be considered unusual at all—Xie Qingyan is a loner by nature and doesn't like to join in the fun. The last time she was forcibly dragged into a group of four was purely a punishment for her failed attempt to scheme against Xu Shi, not because she actually liked it. In fact, she's been grumbling about it a lot lately.

Apart from that, there really wasn't anything else that could be described as "strange".

"...Never mind, I'll go talk to her."

Xu Shi hesitated for a moment, then waved and followed.

……

Just as Ye Shanshan said, Xie Qingyan is currently locking himself in his room and refusing to come out. When he hears someone knocking on the door, he pretends not to hear and does not respond.

"Open the door. If you don't open it now, don't ever open it again."

Xu Shi stopped indulging her and his tone became stern.

"...Why are you being so fierce?"

After hearing what he said, it took a long time before the dog woman reluctantly opened the door a crack.

"Who started the fight? Is this a case of the guilty party accusing the innocent first?"

Xu Shi was both amused and exasperated, but he forced his way in, saying, "This is also a benefit of your new ability, right?"

"What nonsense are you spouting... No, that's not it."

Xie Qingyan was taken aback upon hearing this, but immediately denied it.

"No way? You're even guarding against me?"

Xu Shi sat down with a smile, but his tone was full of unquestionable authority: Don't even think about fooling me.

"...Whatever you say."

After a brief standoff, the fiancée lowered her eyes, clearly acquiescing.

"If that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Hearing her say that, Xu Shi showed a "I knew it" expression, and his tone inevitably carried a hint of reproach.

Actually, there was no need to ask Ye Shanshan; this was something that should have been expected long ago—the drastic change in temperament and the darkening of the eyes were, frankly, a very simple question.

Complications of superpowers.

Since he has acquired new superpowers, how could he possibly escape this topic?

Not to mention that this is an S or even S+ level ability that is achieved in one step, it would be strange if there were no side effects at all.

However, Xu Shi had only activated the ability that had already been transplanted. He was also fully aware of what kind of complication Shen He's "United We Stand" was. Most importantly, that complication was not a big deal for him, so he subconsciously ignored the problem.

"I……"

Xie Qingyan felt a little guilty upon hearing this, "This is my own business, there's no point in you worrying about it..."

"Oh~ this is about me~"

Xu Shi snorted coldly, then parroted a sarcastic remark, "So, you're handling this all by yourself? Has the problem been solved?"

Upon hearing this, the woman became even more guilty and turned her head away, not daring to look at him.

Obviously not. If it had been truly resolved, the incident wouldn't have happened.

"So why be so stupid and stubborn?"

Xu Shi took her hand and said very seriously, "No matter what, I'm your man, right? What's the meaning of this? You didn't even tell me when something happened? Do you think I'm incompetent and can't help you?"

He doesn't deny that he can be ruthless when it comes to girls, but that's only before he's finished winning them over. Once a relationship is officially established, he certainly won't sit idly by if any of them have any problems.

Take Xia Wuyou for example. Since he promised to help heal Xia Ke'an, he was determined to do so. As for Lin Yue, no matter how he treated her before, he truly helped her fulfill her long-cherished wish after she submitted to him as her master, building the perfect Sin City in the heart of the little assassin sister.

Is this what they call male chauvinism? Thinking about this, I couldn't help but mutter a complaint to myself.

However, he doesn't think it's a bad thing. What's wrong with keeping your word?

Even though we're villains, it doesn't mean we should distance ourselves from such excellent qualities.

What? Shen Qin?

Stop yelling. We agreed that one of the siblings would die and the other would live. Now, little Shen He's grave is overgrown with weeds, but Miss Shen Qin is still living happily.

Isn't this also a case of keeping one's word?

"No, it's not..."

Xie Qingyan retorted softly, "What are you thinking... I, I just..."

She just didn't want to rely on Xu Shi for everything.

This has a lot to do with her personality—she's always been used to handling everything on her own, whether it's her career or anything else. So even now, when faced with this problem, her first reaction is definitely not to ask anyone for help.

Not to mention that she is fundamentally different from others—like Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng, the seeds in their bodies have taken root and sprouted, completing the closed loop, so they naturally become dependent on Xu Shi and obey him in everything without any problem. That's how it should be.

But that woman is different; she doesn't have that relationship to rely on, so of course she won't get used to it so naturally.

To be honest, she's about the same as Su Lin and Tang Shuang in this respect.

On the other hand, Director Su had served his young master since childhood and had always been grateful to Xu Shi. Governor Tang, on the other hand, naturally had no estrangement from Xu Shi due to the complications of that strange superpower.

It seems that things are not the same as before—on the contrary, due to the various disagreements in the past, even though Xie Qingyan risked his life to save Xu Shi once, he still prefers "not to trouble him".

She used to lock herself in her room, trying to figure out if she could solve the problem herself. Although it's said that a doctor can't heal himself, she's still an authority in this field.

"So now? Are you willing to share with me?"

Xu Shi was well aware of her little scheme, but he didn't expose it. He simply continued to ask calmly.

Of course, it was less of an inquiry and more of a command. It was a clear message: if you can't solve this by yourself, why are you stubbornly refusing to talk about it? Are you waiting for the disaster to strike before you're happy?

"...Since you want to hear it, then I'll tell you..."

The woman paused, then turned her head away, feigning reluctance.

But she was actually a little happy inside, because after all, that scoundrel was worried about her.

From this perspective, being cared for by him isn't so bad, is it? Or perhaps this is how it should be between spouses and lovers? They should face any difficulties together... instead of just bickering, teasing, and having sex. That's called a friends with benefits, a very abnormal relationship.

She probably never expected that this change in mindset would occur in this way.

Or, to put it another way, if there was still a thin veil separating the two, it was now naturally torn away.

Of course, the most important thing right now is her new complication.

Through Xie Qingyan's explanation, Xu Shi gradually understood the problem—her complication of copying ability seemed to be a kind of mental erosion.

In her own words, after regaining consciousness, strange whispers would occasionally echo in her mind. The immediate feeling was that they made her extremely irritable, but the deeper impact was that these whispers seemed to be devouring her, attacking her consciousness.

"Is this so..."

After listening to her story, Xu Shi seemed to be deep in thought.