Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess-Chapter 81: Damn him. Damn him.

Qingran inhaled sharply, gripping the edges of the sink as if the cool ceramic beneath her fingers could somehow ground her, could somehow erase the fire still licking beneath her skin.

It didn’t.

No matter how hard she tried to will away the lingering heat of his lips, the way his tongue had tangled with hers in a slick, intoxicating dance, her body refused to forget.

Damn him. Damn him for knowing exactly how to kiss her, exactly how to pull a reaction from her that left her pulse racing and her body aching in ways she refused to acknowledge.

With a frustrated huff, she turned the faucet on again, cupped her hands under the icy stream, and splashed the water against her face.

The cold shock did nothing to chase away the images seared into her mind—his dark, hooded eyes, the smirk curving his lips before he had stolen her breath, the way his body had pressed against hers, solid and unyielding, like he was daring her to push him away.

She hadn’t. That was the problem.

Qingran exhaled harshly and grabbed a towel, rubbing her face with more force than necessary before tossing it onto the counter.

Her hands were still trembling, not with fear, not with anger, but with something far more dangerous—lust.

She clenched her jaw and stormed out of the bathroom, determined to bury herself under the covers and pretend none of this had happened. Sleep.

That’s what she needed. A reset. Tomorrow, she would wake up and forget about the way his lips had devoured hers, the way his fingers had pressed into her waist, the way her body had responded without hesitation.

But the second she collapsed onto the mattress, her body betrayed her.

Her thighs pressed together involuntarily, a sharp, pulsing reminder of how badly that kiss had affected her. Heat curled low in her stomach, stubborn and insistent, refusing to be ignored. She groaned, rolling onto her side and gripping the blanket in a tight fist.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to make her feel like this.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the memory away, but it only made things worse. It made her remember the way his tongue had slid against hers, slow and deliberate, the way he had tasted—hot, teasing, demanding. It made her remember the deep, approving sound he had made when she had kissed him back, the way his fingers had slid into her hair, tilting her head to take more, to claim more.

Damn him.

Damn him for making her want more.

Qingran woke up with a dull headache, a cruel reminder of the restless night she had suffered.

She exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples as she forced herself to sit up. No use dwelling on things that shouldn’t matter. What happened last night—what she let happen—was already shoved into the farthest corner of her mind, locked away where it belonged.

She got out of bed and moved on autopilot, going through her usual routine—cold shower, clean clothes, hair tied back into a loose ponytail. By the time she stepped out of her room, she was dressed for work, her expression calm and unreadable, as if nothing had changed. Because nothing had.

The scent of breakfast drifted through the air as she made her way toward the kitchen. Before she could even set foot inside, a small black shadow darted past her, moving with a feline grace that had long since become familiar.

Lingquan.

The cat casually trotted out of Haoyu’s room, his tail flicking lazily as he spotted her. His golden eyes gleamed with an unreadable emotion as he came to a stop by her feet, stretching out with an exaggerated yawn.

[You’ve got five people left to add to the save list.]His voice echoed smoothly in her mind, unhurried yet pointed. [The mission won’t complete itself, you know.]

Qingran resisted the urge to sigh. Right. The system task. The list she had been carefully curating, making sure every person she added was a strategic choice for survival.

[And] Lingquan continued, his voice taking on a more serious edge, [You have eighteen days left until the apocalypse countdown hits zero.]

"Yes i know. I will work towards finding those 5 people today."

Qingran flicked her sleeves, were they other noticeable people in her past life she could add to save list?

She went down memory lane, they had died in their arms it was hard to tell who was good or not.

"Thank you for protecting, they might not say it enough but without you we would have all be dead. And if I wasn’t so powerless I would have been of help to you. Sorry Qingran, we placed so much strain on your because we are too weak to defend our selves.."

Bai Shiyue was the bravest woman she had come across in the apocalypse, a mother that would do anything for her child, even to the point of giving up her life.

Qingran sighed, it wouldn’t be so bad to protect Bai Shiyue and her child all over again but the thing was how to find them.

Though they talked about their lives before the apocalypse, addresses were rarely mentioned.

"Shiyue did say, she used to work as a teacher for kindergarten kids. Maybe I’ll search her name up."

Qingran grabbed her phone and tapped into the search engine, typing Bai Shiyue kindergarten teacher. A list of results popped up, mostly old job postings and scattered mentions in school newsletters. She scrolled through the pages, eyes narrowing as she skimmed through each entry.

After several minutes of searching, she found a promising lead—a small kindergarten in the southern district where Bai Shiyue’s name was listed as part of the faculty. It wasn’t a confirmation that she still worked there, but it was a start.

Lingquan, perched lazily on the counter, watched her with sharp golden eyes. [You’re actually going to look for her?]

"Of course." Qingran locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket. "If she’s still in the city, I need to make sure she and her child are on the save list before it’s too late."

[And if she’s not?] Lingquan tilted his head. [It’s been years. People change jobs, move away. She might not even be here anymore.]

"Then I’ll find another way to track her down."

Qingran pushed back her chair, standing up with a determined air. If Bai Shiyue was still at that kindergarten, she wouldn’t waste time. The apocalypse was closing in, and hesitation meant death.