After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, the yandere villainous heroine descends.

A gentle breeze brushed past the girl's eyelids, softly stirring the subtle ripples hidden in her eyes.

Gu Qingran looked at Shen Shuchou, who was a head taller than her, and pursed her lips slightly.

Her voice was barely audible, tinged with timidity yet brimming with stubbornness: "I...I just want to ask you something, could you...please don't send me away?"

Hearing the girl's trembling plea, Shen Shuchou felt an indescribable sense of annoyance welling up inside him.

Having gone through several lifetimes of reincarnation, he had long since seen through it all.

In every lifetime, there will always be a girl who appears quietly at a turning point in her destiny, with similar eyes, repeating a familiar beginning.

"Your affairs are none of my business. I don't want to know anything about you, nor do I want to answer anything you ask. Now, please leave."

In this life, Shen Shuchou was determined to completely sever all ties with the female lead from the past, his tone as cold as ice.

Gu Qingran lowered her head, her fingertips unconsciously curling up.

The cold and aloof demeanor before her was completely different from the tender and affectionate memories she held of the past.

But it was precisely this abnormality that, like a thorn piercing her heart, aroused her even more stubborn desire to explore.

No matter how much annoyance and indifference churned in Shen Shuchou's eyes, she remained standing still, not moving an inch.

Shen Shuchou felt a throbbing pain in his temples, and a sense of powerlessness crept up his spine.

He wanted to get as far away from this troublesome person as possible, and a cold killing intent even flashed across his eyes for a moment.

Almost instinctively, he wanted to kill Gu Qingran right in front of him, but if he actually did it, he would be completely bound to this trouble and there would be no way to escape.

Although the female lead in each life is an inescapable trouble, Shen Shuchou only wants to deal with one peacefully, and he finds any more entanglement too tiring.

Just as he was about to reluctantly tell them to leave again, he heard a series of light footsteps behind him.

Shen Shuchou turned around at the sound and saw a small figure standing not far away, rubbing his sleepy eyes and looking over in a daze.

Upon seeing that it was Tantai Chigu, the icy coldness on his face instantly melted, and a faint smile appeared between his brows and eyes.

The little guy had been asleep for two whole days since he swallowed that blood bead, and he had stayed by his side for two days without leaving for a moment.

I'm hungry.

Before Shen Shuchou could speak, Tantai Chigu's soft, sweet voice drifted over.

Shen Shuchou chuckled upon hearing this.

Having spent over a month with this little girl, the words "I'm hungry" were probably the most frequent thing he heard from her.

He showed no impatience whatsoever and replied gently, "Wait here for a moment, the food will be ready soon."

As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Gu Qingran still standing in the same spot.

Shen Shuchou pursed his lips helplessly, and the dismissal he was about to make changed his tone: "Fine, you can wait here for now."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the stove.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingran quickly looked up, and her misty eyes instantly lit up with joy.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She asked eagerly, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

"If you're really willing to help me, take a few steps back first."

Shen Shuchou, with his back to her, spoke without turning his head, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"and then?"

Gu Qingran stepped back blankly as instructed, a hint of expectation still lingering in her eyes, hoping she could really be of help.

Shen Shuchou then turned around, his face expressionless, and said in a calm tone, "Then open the door, leave this place, and go as far away as possible. Oh, and remember to close the door behind you."

Gu Qingran opened her mouth slightly, but the words that welled up to her tongue seemed to be frozen, and she swallowed them back down.

The light that had just shone in his eyes gradually dimmed, and his fingertips unconsciously clenched his sleeves.

Seeing that Gu Qingran remained unmoved, Shen Shuchou did not expect to be able to dismiss her with a few words.

I decided to ignore the immediate issues for now and focus on making something to eat for the little girl next to me.

Gu Qingran stood awkwardly in place, with the courtyard gate behind her, and the thought of escaping had already begun to stir in her heart.

But that inexplicable rebellious streak took over at this moment, making her prefer to endure Shen Shuchou's indifference rather than move an inch.

"Are you my food?"

A question suddenly rang out, soft and sweet like a child's, yet with an inexplicable strangeness.

Gu Qingran snapped back to her senses and looked in the direction of the sound, only to find that Tantai Chigu had already walked up to her side at some point.

He was looking up at her with his little face upturned, his eyes fixed on her, but there was no childlike innocence in his gaze. Instead, his eyes looked like those of a lurking little beast sizing up its prey.

The girl in front of her was only six or seven years old, but Gu Qingran didn't find her cute at all.

Those eyes were like cold, hardened glass, making her feel stiff all over, and a strange chill crept up her spine.

The word "food," in particular, floated lightly to her ears, yet it sent a chill down her spine, and a vague, inexplicable fear rose in her heart.

"I...no, I'm not your food."

Gu Qingran's voice trembled, with a noticeable stutter.

Upon hearing this, the young Tantai Chi Gu merely blinked slightly.

Those eyes showed no sign of backing down, clearly indicating they had no intention of letting her off the hook.

The next second, the petite figure suddenly leaned forward, almost touching Gu Qingran.

Her nose twitched slightly, her tone innocent like a child's, but her words carried a chilling coldness: "But you smell so good... I really want to eat you up in one bite."

The sudden approach made Gu Qingran's heart tighten, and she instinctively shrank back.

My back slammed against the cold courtyard gate with a dull thud.

A burning pain spread down her spine, and she clenched her sleeves, her breathing becoming erratic.

Gu Qingran felt her cheeks burning and was filled with embarrassment, realizing that she had been frightened to this extent by a little girl.

Although Shen Shuchou was fierce, he didn't seem to exude the same chill as the little girl.

She hurriedly looked up, her eyes filled with a sense of helplessness, and gazed pleadingly at Shen Shuchou, who was busy by the stove, hoping he would speak up to help her out.

But Shen Shuchou had his back to this side, and the firelight flickered on his profile, as if he were completely unaware of the commotion behind him.

In fact, he heard every sound in the courtyard.

In his view, perhaps letting Tantai Chigu scare away this troublesome fellow would save some trouble.

But he immediately dismissed the thought as soon as it arose.

Shen Shuchou's gaze shifted slightly, and Gu Qingran's figure appeared in his peripheral vision.

She was curled up on the ground, her head almost buried in her knees, her thin shoulders trembling uncontrollably, like a small animal that had been startled and curled up in a ball. She clearly wanted to raise her spikes for defense, but not a single sharp point could be revealed.

What made him even more amused and exasperated was that Tantai Chigu just stood obediently beside her.

Its dark, bright eyes stared unblinkingly at the trembling figure.

His little head would tilt from time to time, as if he were seriously pondering some difficult problem.

But not long after, a hint of undisguised disdain gradually surfaced in Tantai Chigu's dark eyes.

In her opinion, this food was far too cowardly. She even secretly wondered if she would become just as cowardly if she actually ate such a thing.

Just as Shen Shuchou was about to turn around, a faint sob, barely audible, drifted to his ear, carrying a suppressed grievance.

"Ugh."

He sighed helplessly, but in the end, he couldn't help himself.

The next second, he put down what he was doing and got up.

He strode up to Tantai Chigu, grabbed her by the back of her collar without a word, and pulled her aside: "Go back to your room."

The little girl initially twisted her body, unwilling to move, but then she remembered that this person was still carefully holding her belly.

She could only pout, stomp her foot reluctantly, and turn back to her room.

Shen Shuchou then turned to Gu Qingran, who was squatting on the ground, and said in a flat but somewhat distant tone, "Since you're scared, there's no need to stay here. Let's go."

"Who...who said I'm scared..."

Gu Qingran retorted in a muffled voice, her head still buried in her knees, her voice still carrying a heavy nasal tone.

"Aren't you scared?"

Shen Shuchou raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on her slightly trembling shoulders as he continued, "Then why are you crying?"

"I...I'll cry if I want to!"

She stubbornly argued, but her voice unconsciously softened.

"Alright, I really don't understand why you insisted on coming out in the first place if you were so afraid."

Shen Shuchou sneered, his tone tinged with impatience.

After saying that, he stopped looking at her, turned around and went back to the stove to continue his work. The firewood crackled, making his back look even colder.

Gu Qingran slowly raised her head, her eyes as red as cherries soaked in water.

Her lower lip was pressed so tightly it turned white, and her tongue tasted a salty bitterness—the tears that she hadn't been able to hold back from sliding down her cheeks.

She gazed at Shen Shuchou's retreating figure, her voice hoarse from crying, yet exceptionally clear: "Because... I want to see the outside world. I want to know if humanity has truly perished."

Shen Shuchou paused slightly, his back to her stiffening for a moment.

Then he spoke in a low voice, devoid of emotion: "The outside world is not a place for someone like you, raised in a greenhouse, to set foot in. Humanity... is not extinct, but it is as if it were."

"Why? Have you ever seen the outside world with your own eyes?"

Gu Qingran seemed to have grasped at a lifeline, her tone filled with an unyielding stubbornness.

"I've seen it."

Shen Shuchou's voice came from the stove, as calmly as if he were talking about something insignificant.

He had certainly seen it before; he had entered this world ten years ago.

Initially, she did not stay in this forbidden place, but a year ago, she chose to stay here and wait for Tantai Chigu to appear.

"What's it like outside? Are there many people? What kind of lives do they lead?"

Gu Qingran's eyes lit up, as if her previous timidity had been thrown to the back of her mind. She even raised her voice a few decibels, full of eager questioning.

"This is none of your business."

Shen Shuchou's voice remained calm.

"Then...can you take me out? I really want to see..."

Gu Qingran bit her lip, her voice filled with a cautious plea.

"That's enough!"

Shen Shuchou abruptly turned his head to interrupt, his eyes already covered with a layer of ice.

"Telling you this is the limit of my patience. You don't belong in the outside world; this is where you belong."

Looking into his eyes, which were as cold as ice, Gu Qingran couldn't finish her sentence and finally shut her mouth in frustration.

But a voice in her heart grew clearer and clearer: "Why... I'm clearly a human being, why can't I go out into the world? I just want to see what's wrong with that..."

The thought had barely formed when a chilling killing intent suddenly swept across the courtyard, like a cold blade scraping against the skin.

Shen Shuchou's eyes suddenly narrowed, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto the direction of the courtyard gate.

Just then, a gentle, refined voice came from outside the door, perfectly masking the murderous intent: "Is anyone home? I've come to pick up my sister."