These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy

“Well then, Lord Ethan, let’s leave this place.”

After completely incapacitating Tong Jialin, Rainie Bai turned and walked back to me, smiling gently as she extended her hand.

I stared at her, mouth agape, and dumbly blurted out:

“You were... way too amazing just now...”

Rainie gave a small wry smile and explained softly:

“That’s not it. It’s simply that, as a woman, I’m able to take the initiative when facing another woman. The other side tends to let their guard down, assuming I’m no real threat. That’s where my opening comes from.”

She waited until the right moment—when it looked like she was doing nothing, but the opponent had already boiled over with anger—and that’s when she struck.

“But those beans you threw, and the prayer beads—they were specifically effective against her, weren’t they? You must’ve been fully prepared before even getting here. That’s the kind of readiness it takes to win, right?”

Only someone who already resolved to win would prepare all that in advance, right?

I thought I was giving her a solid compliment, but Rainie didn’t look happy in the slightest. She responded in a calm, almost indifferent tone:

“To be honest... even with preparation, it was still risky. It’s incredibly difficult to hit a killer like her with an exorcism charm—they don’t exactly stand still like fence posts waiting to be tagged. It just so happened she was a woman. And to break a woman’s mental defenses, you only need to strike at what she fears most.”

I threw myself onto the ground, prostrated flat, both hands raised in reverence.

“Um... what are you doing?”

“I’m worshipping you.”

Seriously—I’d just witnessed something incredible...

Absolutely unbelievable.

I was in awe—kneeling, head down, worshipping your intellect!

Not only had she saved my life, she showed me what it meant to annihilate someone through sheer strategy and precision.

Goddamn... people like this really exist in the world...

I’d thought fighting a killer meant blood and chaos—that someone like her, a monster twisted by slaughter, couldn’t be taken down without a brutal, gory struggle. They’re sadistic, depraved, vicious even when facing death—more mad dog than person.

And yet... Rainie hadn’t even drawn blood. She subdued her cleanly.

While I’d nearly been turned into a blind, drooling wreck—she’d casually crushed a walking nightmare like it was nothing.

“Please don’t do that. A man’s knees are made of gold. With your status, you shouldn’t kneel before anyone.”

Rainie scolded me very seriously, and took my hand off the ground to pull me to my feet.

Then she let go of her stiff posture and gently guided me to walk in the opposite direction.

“Uh, wait—what about that woman?”

We were just going to leave her there?

I looked back toward Tong Jialin, who was still slumped in the middle of the road, soaked in her own shame.

She sat there like a broken doll, hollow-eyed, barely breathing. She was still alive, but there wasn’t an ounce of soul left. She looked like a vegetable.

So arrogant just moments ago—and now even her name had turned pitch black. No doubt about it: she’d fallen into true despair.

What kind of hopelessness does it take to reduce a person to that?

Maybe you only show that expression when you know, with absolute certainty, that your death is inevitable...

Rainie also glanced back—but her gaze was filled with disgust. She snorted coldly and said:

“You don’t need to feel sorry for her. That woman brought this on herself. The ghost that possessed her will devour her in the end. She’s killed dozens—this ending is just karma catching up.”

“I see...”

I didn’t argue. I wasn’t some saint who’d feel bad for someone who literally just tried to kill me.

Still... seeing someone crushed that completely—it would’ve stirred something in anyone.

There is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart... and hers had already died.

I shook my head and turned back—only to find Rainie quietly staring at my face, lost in thought. A bit self-conscious, I asked:

“Uh... is something wrong?”

Snapping out of it, she smiled again. She took my hand once more and started ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) walking with me.

“No matter how much time passes, you’re still the same you... I really am glad I got to see you again, and be by your side like this.”

Her words were a little hard to understand. Her eyes were full of nostalgia as she looked at me.

“By the way, you... who are you really?”

I sped up slightly to walk side-by-side with her, turning my head to ask the question that’d been gnawing at me.

Why does Rainie Bai act like she knows me? She trusts me deeply, and her name tag is blue. That means trustworthy.

“I’m Rainie Bai. You don’t remember me?”

“I mean, I remember you from the library... you were one of the people who studied there, right?”

“Yes, but we also met before that. Back when you first started martial arts training—our parents used to get together and play. Your little sister was there too.”

“Eh? That far back?”

Wait... back before second grade? That’s before Mom and Dad remarried. Before I met my stepmom.

After that, Mom said she didn’t want us to leave Cora alone at school, so Serena and I both transferred to the school Cora was attending.

“Before that, Serena and I went to a different elementary school. It was one of the few times in my life I had actual friends... so I remember it pretty clearly.”

Rainie Bai... Rainie Bai... Rainie... Bai...

Wait—Bai?!

“Ah! I remember now! You’re Xiao Bai!”

She was my first friend. My first friend, ever.

We’d played together every single day from preschool through second grade.

She was that Xiao Bai!

But in my memories... Xiao Bai was this quiet, gentle little boy, right?

Did I misremember? Was she actually a girl all along?!

Wait, no—that’s not my fault! Our school uniforms were those generic unisex tracksuits. None of us had hit puberty. Xiao Bai talked super softly, had short hair like mine...

So I just assumed Xiao Bai was a soft-spoken little boy! Anyone would’ve made the same mistake!

“Eh, whatever. Let’s not dwell on the past. It’s not like Rainie Bai will ever know I mistook her for a boy all those years...”

“You always thought I was a boy, didn’t you? I remember how you used to drag me into the boys’ bathroom...”

“Uh... that...”

That explains why she always hid in the stall...

She couldn’t stand to pee... because she was a girl.

Holy crap, that’s so awkward...

“It’s okay. My hair was short back then. It was natural you mistook me for a boy. And since my body hadn’t developed yet, even when we changed clothes together, you didn’t notice a thing.”

“So embarrassing...”

Rainie Bai... so that’s why your title has the whole “reincarnating childhood friend” thing.

That explains it. That’s why you felt so familiar to me.

“By the way, why do you keep calling me ‘Lord Ethan’? You could just use my name—we’re childhood friends, right?”

“We’re not just childhood friends. In several of our past lives, you and I were bound together by fate. I still remember all of those lives. That’s why I’m here—to protect you.”

She said something outrageous so casually.

It took me three whole seconds to process it.

“Huh? Past lives—?!”

Great. She’s got a bad case of chuuni syndrome.

But wait... her title does have “Reincarnating” in it.

Is this really just a delusion...?

Besides, she uses charms and spells to fight actual killers. She’s clearly not normal.

“You probably don’t believe me. But whether you do or not doesn’t matter. I’ll protect you in this life regardless.”

This life... past lives...

She’s thinking on a whole other scale...

Maybe seeing my complicated expression, Rainie decided to spare me the headache. She smiled softly and said:

“Just think of it as a favor repaid. It’s something you’ve earned. Treat it like a free lifetime membership, and accept it guilt-free.”

“Treat you like a lifetime membership? And how exactly do I ‘consume’ this subscription? Where do I even start?”

Ugh. Why is my brain immediately going to lewd places?!

“Still... I really don’t remember ever doing anything for you...”

“You say it’s repayment, but if I can’t even remember what I did, how could I use that as a reason to accept it?”

Maybe I was being ungrateful, but I really couldn’t wrap my head around this kind of thing...

“We can’t relax yet. There are still four killers roaming this street. Let’s relocate first, Lord Ethan.”

“Eh?”

That was sudden.

She totally derailed the conversation.

Rainie clearly didn’t want to talk about this any further.

She held my hand in silence, and after weaving through a bunch of alleys, we finally emerged from a narrow side street.

“Still too late... The last exit’s already blocked. Until their internal conflicts settle down, we’d better lie low.”

“Conflicts? You mean... between the killers and Snowy?”

“Exactly. Once those killers sweep the other zones, they’ll find Tong Jialin in her broken state and conclude, ‘Snowy is hiding in the south.’”

“No! We need to warn Snowy! Even she can’t handle four killers all at once!” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“Wait—then let’s go find her! Snowy Jiang is my friend! She’s the one they’re targeting—we have to warn her!”

I shouted. I thought Rainie would agree right away and help me search for her, but—

What I got was a cold response.

“She... has nothing to do with me.”

“Huh?”

Rainie turned and looked at me, face serious, voice stern.

“There is only one person I must protect—and that’s you. As long as your safety is ensured, I will not interfere with anything else.”

“But—!”

“There’s no reasoning that’ll change her mind. She doesn’t even know Snowy personally. Asking her to risk herself for my friend is too much to expect...”

“Then I’ll go alone!”

“Let go of me! I’ll go find her myself!”

“That’s not happening.”

“Wh—?!”

Rainie cut off my protest and repeated herself, even more firmly:

“I already told you—my first and only priority is your safety. I can’t let you walk into danger. Snowy Jiang is their target. If you go to warn her, you’ll get caught in their conflict. And once chaos breaks out, I won’t be able to protect you.”

She was completely unyielding.

Her eyes were resolute—impossibly calm.

Just like me, when I’ve made up my mind—there’s no turning back.

“Even if I have to sacrifice everything—I’ll protect you.”

Her name tag might be blue, trustworthy like family—but the way she treated me...

If she saw me as family, it was probably like a little brother.

Or worse... a son.

Because this was way too overprotective.