Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 113: Relieved now that you’re by my side

Haoyu raised a brow at her, clearly amused. "So you’re just using him?"

Qingran zipped her bag shut with a little more force than necessary. "Not use. Collaborate. He knows things I don’t. And if we’re going to get through this, I need every advantage I can get."

"Right. Collaborate," Haoyu echoed, smiling behind the rim of his water bottle. "I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the part where he’s not your boyfriend but also clearly is."

Qingran shot him a look. "Don’t start." If Feng Yizhou heard that he would probably feel hurt.

Lotus, who had now curled up on the bed with his tail wrapped like a scarf around his nose, let out a loud sigh. [Humans and your feelings. So messy. This is why systems don’t date.]

Lingquan, still perched on the windowsill, gave a smug flick of his ear. [Not all systems. I’ve had many hosts who—]

"No"Qingran cut him off, standing up. "Don’t finish that sentence."

Haoyu snorted and flopped down into the chair by the desk, stretching his legs out. "You think he’ll have info on the outbreak? Or just more cryptic warnings and vague metaphors?"

"Oh, as long as I ask, he’ll give me but I try to avoid asking him for too much. He’s just getting us out of Chengdu to the capital."

Haoyu nodded, with how persistent Feng Yizhou was, he knew she would fall in love with him in no time.

"Got it. We should use that time to clean up the room. We don’t wanna leave anything behind.."

"..."

"Just back your things, they won’t care about our fingerprints.."

Haoyu nodded and started arranging his duffel bag and any other thing he found out of place.

Ding!

Qingran feel her phone vibrate, she brought it out and saw she had received a message from Feng Yizhou.

[Almost at the hotel, get your things. It’s earlier than schedule. I’ll explain when we meet each other.]

Qingran sighed and turned to the window "Lingquan, Yizhou is almost here, let’s finish up and go to the roof."

[Got it. I’ll make every trace disappear, just get yourself ready]

Lingquan leapt down from the window with a soft thud and padded silently to her side. He flicked his tail once, and with a faint shimmer, the air around them seemed to ripple.

[The room is clean. No digital trace, no scent. Even the heat signatures have been wiped. I’ve scrubbed all surveillance up to two hours ago. They won’t know who stayed here.]

"Perfect." Qingran muttered. As she gathered her things, luckily that packed light.

"Let’s move."

Haoyu pulled the room door open, but not before Lotus hopped onto his shoulder, tail curling around his neck like a scarf. [I’ll keep an eye out for any surprises on the way up.]

"Appreciated," Haoyu replied, almost used to the weight of a large Maine Coon cat muttering in his ear like some grumpy uncle.

They moved quickly, slipping into the narrow stairwell that led to the emergency roof access.

It was dusty and reeked faintly of mildew, but it offered a clear path without passing through the main lobby, a necessity if they were trying to avoid being spotted.

Halfway up, Qingran glanced at Lingquan, who was now trotting ahead with his usual regal poise. "Do you think something happened?"

[If Feng Yizhou is moving faster than planned, something shifted. Could be a leak, a breach in Chengdu’s containment, or someone discovered he was helping you. Either way, we’ll know soon.]

Qingran clenched her jaw. She didn’t like unknown variables. Especially not now.

They burst onto the roofto, the sun was still up high, shining bright but the air didn’t smell as fresh, unpleasant even.

At the far end of the roof, a sleek black aircraft hovered low above the concrete. It was nearly silent, its rotors dampened with tech she knew wasn’t standard issue. Stealth class. Government grade. He’d pulled serious strings to get it.

The side hatch opened, and there he was—Feng Yizhou. Dressed in a dark coat that caught the wind just enough to make him look like something out of a spy drama, expression calm but with an edge of tension in his eyes.

"You’re early," Qingran said as she approached, her voice even but questioning.

"I had to be." His gaze flicked behind her, checking Haoyu, then the cats, then back to her. "Get in. I’ll explain in the air."

Haoyu didn’t hesitate, climbing in behind her as Lingquan and Lotus leapt in with practiced ease.

As the hatch sealed shut behind them and the city began to fall away below, Qingran finally turned fully to face Feng Yizhou. "What happened?"

He didn’t look at her immediately. Instead, he adjusted the strap across his chest and checked if she was secured and then passed her a secure tablet.

"The capital was hit earlier than expected. Not by a full outbreak, but a little breach. One of the underground labs I guess." He looked up, his voice steady but grim. "It’s started, Qingran. The clock’s stopped ticking, it’s all beginning to unravel."

Qingran’s fingers tightened on the tablet. So it was worse than she thought.

Haoyu leaned forward in his seat. "What kind of breach?"

"Bio-level containment failure. The government’s calling it sabotage, but from what I’ve seen, they were never fully in control to begin with. Whatever they engineered—someone’s already using it."

Qingran swallowed hard. "How long until full exposure?"

Feng Yizhou held her gaze, quiet for a moment before answering.

"Four days. Maybe five."

She exhaled slowly, 4 days, that was how long she had to get the intel she needed.

Maybe the lab might have the intel on why the elite team had started the apocalypse.

"Got it. Still enough time." She passed him the tablet and sighed.

Had something happened? He usually greeted her with teasing, he was quite serious today.

"H-how have you been?"

Feng Yizhou as he reached for her hand, he brought it to his lips and gave it a kiss.

"Relieved now that you’re by my side, I missed you Qingran. You always smell so nice.."

"..."

"Really? What do I smell like?"

Feng Yizhou smiled, what did she smell like? He leaned in and whispered "My favorite flower.."