Arc. 1.1 

The Wicked Child of the Stepmother

Nian Zhen was a 23-year-old actor, highly successful in his portrayals of ‘villains’ across prime-time dramas, series, and even movies.

His remarkable acting skills and innate talent made his villainous characters come alive, captivating the public’s hatred—or, at times, pity to the utmost degree. Every time Nian Zhen appeared as the villain, directors, leading actors, and others in the industry acknowledged his skill. The media had even dubbed him the ‘Superstar Villain,’ a title meant to honor his flawless talent in playing antagonists.

Another reason behind this nickname was that, despite always playing villains, Nian Zhen was a superstar in his own right. No one doubted his acting ability, and his status was akin to that of the entertainment world’s emperors or queens.

At this moment, Nian Zhen was dressed in a pristine white ancient Chinese costume. His jet-black hair draped to his shoulders, crowned with a golden guan. His brows were furrowed, his face raised with pride, and a mocking smile played on his red lips. His pitch-black eyes glared at a young man dressed in a black robe embroidered with dragons. This young man was handsome, with striking features and an intensely cold gaze.

Nian Zhen coughed up blood, raising his sword-wielding hand to his throat, and let out a mocking laugh.

“Xi Qing, you’ve forced me from every angle, wanting me to surrender. But you’ve clearly forgotten that someone like me would rather die than ever bow down to you!!”

Nian Zhen stepped back, now standing at the edge of a high cliff. Falling from here would surely mean certain death.

“You win. I’ve lost. I admit it. Xi Qing... I hate you!!”

Nian Zhen dragged his sword across his neck, catching a glimpse of the man rushing toward him in panic. Despite his imminent death, a scornful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. His body spun from the force of his sword slash, and then he let himself plunge backward off the cliff.

“Yi Xuan!!”

The wind howled, carrying away the agonized cry that faded into nothingness as Nian Zhen closed his eyes, drawing his last breath before his body crashed toward the ground.

“Cut!!” The director’s voice echoed.

Alright, now it was just a matter of waiting for the crew to pull him back up with the wire, and his role as the diabolical villain in this film would come to an end.

Nian Zhen opened his eyes, but before he could reorient himself, he heard screams of terror erupting from the film crew.

“Aaaaaah. The wire snapped!!”

What? Just now, what was that scream?

Realizing that his body was now plummeting toward the ground with alarming speed and no sign of slowing, Nian Zhen’s face went ghostly pale.

Damn it, I’m falling from over thirty meters up!!

There was no way a superstar like him was going to die like this.

Ding!! 

[White Lotus System has detected the host’s soul. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.] 

Ding!! 

[Host’s soul compatibility with the White Lotus System is 99.99%] 

Ding!! 

[Contract with host successfully established. Commencing transfer to the first mission world in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.]

Nian Zhen opened his eyes, suddenly finding himself lying on a bed.

Then, an AI voice sounded in his head.

[Awake already, Host? Hurry and check your mission details!!]

Still in shock, Nian Zhen had no time to process this before a flood of information poured directly into his mind.

As a superstar villain and an avid reader of novels—with thousands of stories under his belt, plus his industry experience—Nian Zhen came to a swift conclusion: he was definitely dead. And right now, he wasn’t Nian Zhen anymore.

He was now in the body of Meng Zhenzhen, the malicious white lotus character and wicked stepchild in the life of the male protagonist, Xie Yanjing.

“Alright, System, let’s get down to business. If I complete this mission, what do I get?” Nian Zhen asked the system.

[The Host can ask for anything—even to return to your original world. The system can even rewind time to before your death. Yay, yay, yay.]

The White Lotus System seemed rather innocent; Nian Zhen suspected it was a newly created system.

[How did the Host know?!!]

Nian Zhen’s lips twitched as a small, round, winged creature zipped around in front of him, looking alarmed.

System, you didn't even explain anything before throwing me into this world. This lack of professionalism is clearly the work of a newbie.

Nian Zhen thought to himself, and the system, hearing his thoughts, replied softly.

[Well, the system didn’t know. Seeing that we had 99.99% compatibility, it assumed explanations weren’t necessary.]

Nian Zhen’s lips twitched at this response, prompting the system to start explaining.

It was a subordinate of the God of Death, tasked with collecting fragments of its master’s soul that had dispersed into various male protagonists across different novel worlds. By finding a highly compatible host, the system would assign them to play a white lotus—an insincere villain who would torment the male lead. This would push the male protagonist to embrace darkness and ultimately take revenge on those who had wronged him, becoming the ultimate victor in life.

Since its master, the God of Death, was steeped in malice, it could only gather these fragments if the protagonist was corrupted. The system’s job was to cooperate with the host in targeting its own master—Ahem.

Nian Zhen wondered why, if the system’s boss was so evil, he didn’t just choose to be a villain directly. The system explained that the male protagonist was the most powerful entity in each world.

Nian Zhen had no interest in this so-called God of Death. What mattered was that the system could return him to his original world and rewind time to before his death. And even if the system was lying, he wasn’t dead yet and could now explore various worlds. If he had to die in the end, at least it would be an experience worth living for.

With that thought, Nian Zhen began to read the mission details.

This was like the plot of a typical trashy novel. His specialty.

The male protagonist, ‘Xie Yanjing,’ was the only son of Chairman Xie and a socialite from the An family. Predictably, it was a marriage of convenience. Once they’d produced an heir, his parents each went off with their new lovers, leaving the young Xie Yanjing to be raised by a hired nanny.

From the start, it was clear that if the male protagonist didn’t grow up with deep emotional scars, that would be the real shocker.

Later, the socialite mother from the An family died in an accident, and Chairman Xie remarried immediately—this time to a widow with a child of her own. That widow just so happened to be the biological mother of the white lotus character ‘Meng Zhenzhen,’ the role Nian Zhen was now assigned to play in this world.

Already burdened with the trauma of feeling unloved by his parents, the male protagonist fell into deeper despair as, upon his mother’s death, his father not only showed no sorrow but remarried without hesitation. The gloom surrounding the protagonist thickened by the day. Chairman Xia, more and more irritated by his son, was quick to dismiss him, while the new stepmother, who appeared sweet toward the protagonist in front of Chairman Xia, would secretly whisper to him that his father was planning on having new heirs, that he’d be cast aside, and that he’d never inherit a thing. She made her ambitions crystal clear.

Under this constant pressure, the protagonist rebelled intensely against his stepmother, leading to fierce clashes with his father. And then there was ‘Meng Zhenzhen,’ the innocent-seeming white lotus stepchild, who constantly feigned weakness and accused the protagonist of harming her, until everyone around them grew to despise his behavior. Chairman Xia, in turn, grew more and more disappointed in his son.

Abandoned by those around him, the protagonist fell into darkness completely, plotting his revenge on everyone who had wronged him. When society turned its back on him, his true love finally appeared.

Nian Zhen shook his head. How touching, true love arriving at the protagonist’s darkest moment.

But none of that had anything to do with a white lotus like him.

In fact, the role of Meng Zhenzhen, the white lotus, was crucial, because he was the one who stirred up all the hatred directed at the protagonist, pushing him to despair over everyone around him, filling him with enough hatred to rise up, seek vengeance, and emerge as the ultimate victor.

Nian Zhen got out of bed and walked over to stand in front of a large mirror. He had to admit, this body truly fit the part of a white lotus.

This appearance shared about seventy percent of his real face: large, light-brown eyes that looked wide and innocent, a small nose, thin rosy lips that seemed enticing. His figure was tall and slender yet curved in all the right places, with delicate collarbones, rounded shoulders, and fair skin tinged with a soft pink. His smile gave off a sense of tenderness. With a face this cute, there was not an ounce of masculine boldness about him. Looking like this, he was nearly impossible to see as a threat. Such a fresh-faced look—he really was a white lotus through and through.

If the original owner of this body had been genuine, then with this appearance he’d have had no trouble finding security and success. But, instead, the owner had been nothing but a pretender, insincere with everyone around him, and so he met a fate far worse than others in the end.

Even a low-tier villain like this white lotus character had looks this good—how attractive must the male protagonist be? Nian Zhen couldn’t wait to dive into this mission.

A knock sounded at the door. Nian Zhen went to open it and found Du Yao, the biological mother of the original owner of this body, standing there with a scowl, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

“What are you doing in here? It’s almost eight. Hurry up, get dressed, and come downstairs. Don’t keep the master waiting,” she said curtly, then spun on her heel and walked off.

“...” Nian Zhen.

Ah, so the next scene was breakfast in the dining room. The scene that would let everyone witness the depth of this family’s cruelty toward the male protagonist!!

Nian Zhen hurried to get dressed, adjusting his expression to look as ‘sweetly innocent’ as possible before heading out of the room.

A key scene like this couldn’t possibly go on without a white lotus like him. Wahaha.