Arc 1.9

The Wicked Child of the Stepmother

Nian Zhen felt like no one could be more evil than Xia Yanjing. How is my acting not good enough? Clearly, everyone else had fallen for his innocent façade—everyone except Xia Yanjing!!

Infuriated, Nian Zhen continued eating. He kept his head down and stuffed food into his mouth, refusing to even glance at that vile creature, afraid he would blurt out a curse.

What part of my acting isn’t convincing enough?!!

The confidence in the outstanding acting abilities of Nian Zhen has been shaken. In the past, he’d crafted trap after trap to lure the male lead into his schemes, and everything had been going so well. But then Xia Yanjing had shown his true, terrifying nature. I’ve gone all out with my underhanded schemes—pretending to be helpless, feigning weakness to get bullied, turning around to paint the male lead as the villain. I’ve blatantly acted like I’m his little brother even though we’re not related at all, calling him “big brother” every chance I get, even worming my way into his friend group. I’ve even dared to touch him when I know Xia Yanjing hated people getting too close. I gave that evil stepmother every chance to slander and turn Chairman Xia against Xia Yanjing, to the point where his own dad raised his hand against him. The kind of person Xia Yanjing despises, someone like me—like a white lotus—must be that kind of person. Anything Xia Yanjing hates, I’ve done. Over and over, I’ve tested the limits of the male lead’s patience. I’ve been as vile as I could, making myself as detestable as possible... And yet that wretched evil god still sees right through me!!

[Ahem, he’s the God of Death, after all.]

The more Nian Zhen thought about it, the angrier he became. Alright, Xia Yanjing, you’re impressive for figuring me out. No wonder the level of hatred has stayed the same, not increasing any further. Not to mention, there's no sign of any darkness in your heart. By the time Nian Zhen thought of this, he wanted to get up and shake Xia Yanjing hard by the neck, asking him what he was going to do with him. The angrier Nian Zhen got, the faster his chopsticks moved, and as a result, most of the food on the table ended up in Nian Zhen's stomach.

Hmph, serves you right. I hope you don’t get to finish your meal, big brother. Stay hungry till the end of the school day!!

“This meal was delicious. Thank you, big brother.”

After saying that, Nian Zhen quickly walked away, paying no attention to Xia Yanjing's reaction afterward.

“Young Master…” the butler spoke uneasily, glancing at the food on the table.

But Xia Yanjing merely laughed, his lips curving in a satisfied smirk.

“My little rabbit sure has an appetite. Tomorrow, increase the portions. More meat, especially.”

After he finished speaking, he paused.

“And add dessert.”

“…Yes, young master.”

After school, Xia Yanjing showed up at Nian Zhen’s classroom to pick him up, demonstrating for everyone that the two brothers were perfectly fine with each other—hardly what the rumors suggested.

Nian Zhen, meanwhile, was absorbed in finishing his homework, not paying attention to his surroundings because he was rushing to finish it. Once he was done, he could go home and not have any work left, giving him time to read the new novel he had bought. It wasn't that he was hardworking.

The room fell silent as a shadow fell over his desk. Nian Zhen looked up to see Xia Yanjing standing before him, his face as cold as ever.

Why are you here? Despite his internal groan, Nian Zhen’s face lit up with a look of surprise, and he said happily, not able to hide it.

“Big brother…”

“Keep going.”

Xia Yanjing said coolly while sitting down beside Nian Zhen, who was nearly done with his work and decided to pause his performance for a bit, hunching over to finish his assignments instead. This meant he missed the sharp, ice-cold glance that his kind older brother was giving the owner of the bruises on his face.

“All done.”

Nian Zhen quickly gathered his notebook and pens into his bag. The male protagonist rose the moment he finished speaking, and Nian Zhen trailed after him. The curious gazes of their classmates followed them out, but one student remained with his head down, hiding his expression.

Dinner was an abundant spread. If there was one benefit to living in this villa with Xia Yanjing, it was the meals. The male lead had reverted to his usual cold and unapproachable self, his mood unreadable. Fortunately, the atmosphere remained calm.

Nian Zhen snuck a glance at Xia Yanjing. Too bad there was too much food to finish on his own, or he’d have made a point of eating it all. Would someone as prim and proper as Xia Yanjing really eat at the same table as some pitiful illegitimate kid trying to survive his overbearing stepbrother?

A month of this, and he was bound to put on weight, Nian Zhen patted his cheeks hesitantly. Just then, he saw the butler bring in a chocolate cake, his eyes lighting up.

It’s my favorite!!

"The chef’s been practicing new dessert recipes. So he’d love it if you, young master, and the young sir would be willing to try it…” The butler said, his face bright with a warm smile.

“I don’t like sweets.” Xia Yanjing frowned slightly, glancing at Nian Zhen.

Naturally, Nian Zhen accepted the dessert with pleasure. A special dessert by a chef like this—tasting them was a blessing in itself. Even if he died, it wouldn't feel like a wasted life.

Nian Zhen missed the faint smile that tugged at the male lead’s lips.

Naturally, Xia Yanjing himself didn’t fully understand his own feelings. He only knew he wanted to keep Meng Zhenzhen close, to hold him firmly within his grasp so he could decide whether to keep him or discard him at will. Somewhere between love and hate, he wanted no one else near what was his. But first, he had to tame this little rabbit and make him obedient.

At the very least, he needed to remember who his master was…

[…]

Nian Zhen happily ate the dessert, completely unaware that the villain was planning to trap him. After finishing, he returned to his room in a cheerful mood.

Now that I’ve eaten, it’s time to use my brain a little.

System, let’s have a talk.

[Yes, Host?]

Where are the other villains? When are they planning to show up? Are they just going to let Xia Yanjing hog all the villain points like this?

[Um, Host, actually you and your mother are the other villains. Besides you two, there aren’t really any other big bad left.]

"..."

Nian Zhen thought of Aunt Du, who’d been so thoroughly tamed by that old man Xia, and he suddenly felt his future as a white lotus dim a little.

Is there any scheme I haven’t tried yet?

Nian Zhen pondered the question seriously, realizing that he’d done so many terrible things already: false accusations, two-faced acts, setting traps, manipulating others into misunderstanding the male lead, stirring up conflict between father and son, teaming up with the evil stepmother to bully... He’d done it all, really. And yet, the male lead remained unscathed. Damn it. Do I actually need to run him over with a car to get some darkness points out of this villain?

If this were a regular person, they’d be boiling over with hatred by now, their heart brimming with darkness and the desire to finally make this little white lotus pay.

How did what seemed like an easy mission get so complicated?

Is there any sort of help available, System?

[Yes, Host. There is.]

Oh, why didn’t you tell me sooner?

[Host, you hadn’t asked.]

“...” For the first time, Nian Zhen felt the overwhelming urge to kill his system.

[Ahem. Host, you have three starter skills to choose from. They are Mind Reading, Advanced Acting, and Persuasion. You may select only one skill.]

The acting skill was useless for Nian Zhen, and persuasion seemed too ordinary. What is this mind-reading skill exactly?

[It allows you to hear the target’s thoughts, but you can only choose one person. This skill will last until the end of this world.]

Perfect. With a cheat skill like that, if I can just hear what Xia Yanjing is thinking, I’ll know how to plan evil deeds, do things he hates, and keep needling him right where it hurt. That would certainly increase his inner darkness meter, hahaha.

Done. I choose mind-reading, and the target is Xia Yanjing!!

[The system is uploading the skill: 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%...]

Nian Zhen waited eagerly, almost jumping off the ground in excitement. While waiting, he paced back and forth, his face radiating villainous glee.

Xia Yanjing, big brother... you’re in for it now!!

[System malfunction. Re-uploading in 10 seconds. Please stand by.]

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

[Skill upload complete. Host, please touch the skill card to activate it.]

“…” Nian Zhen

Where is this so-called skill card? I’ve been waiting here forever, and I don’t see anything remotely like a card. System, you’re not playing with me, are you?

 You can't be this useless. Other systems I’ve seen are all top-tier. What can you even do?

[Host… I was created shortly before you died, remember? I don’t really know what I can do yet.]

“...”Okay, I was wrong for expecting too much!!

So where exactly is this card?

[Within the villa, Host. It seems to have randomly landed in an odd spot.]

Thanks. Really helpful. Just go do whatever it is you do.

Nian Zhen had a headache.  Why was it so hard to do evil? Why were all these obstacles constantly getting in the way? Why was his path to becoming the little white lotus so difficult?

The problem is, how do I search for that card without looking suspicious? Just casually strolling around the villa for no reason? And what if something worse happens? What if that card ended up in Xia Yanjing’s room…?

Nian Zhen thought this was highly likely. The ominous vibes around Xia Yanjing convinced him it could only be so. He blamed his defective White Lotus System, which seemed almost useless.

Meanwhile, as Xia Yanjing walked past Nian Zhen’s room, he spotted a small golden card lying on the floor.

He bent down, picked it up, and examined the word “Mind-Reading” printed on it. His lips curled upward as he thought of the fantasy novels he’d seen on the shelf in Nian Zhen’s room. This silly little card must be some leftover toy of Xiao Zhen’s. The card briefly emitted a faint glow, then dimmed again. Xia Yanjing flipped it over and realized that Xiao Zhen must have thrown it away, so he tossed it in the trash.

[...] The system, which had witnessed everything.

The mind-reading card had just activated in Xia Yanjing’s hands!!

The system barely held back from wailing. Originally, the card’s intended target was indeed the protagonist, but now that the protagonist himself had activated it, the host had become its new target!!

The system dreaded to imagine what would happen if Xia Yanjing heard its host’s inner thoughts and plots—and it certainly didn’t dare to inform the host that from now on, the protagonist would be privy to his every thought and scheme.

[...]

At that moment, the system heard the host calling.

System, where should I start looking for the mind-reading card? Kitchen? Living room? Maybe the garden?

[...]

Hey, why are you quiet all of a sudden? System, can you hear me?

[...]

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

[Alert: System signal malfunction. System is currently unavailable. Please try again later.] //Feigning death

“...” Nian Zhen