Chapter 4
That hateful Ye Muyan!!!
Ruan Xin climbed into the car and angrily tried to fix her disheveled hair.
She turned to look at the scenery outside the window when a strange sense of emptiness and confusion suddenly washed over her. Whether it was her current situation or everything she could see, it all felt impossible to believe…
But yes, this was real.
She leaned back against the seat. Exhaustion left her unwilling to move, and the initial thrill of transmigrating had long since disappeared.
Could she still go back?
Ruan Xin asked herself.
Then again, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t.
She answered her own question, uncertain whether that counted as comforting herself.
Looking back on the twenty-something years of her life, she had encountered a few bumps along the way, but nothing truly devastating. Her family had always been stable too.
Her older sister had found a girlfriend, her parents were in excellent health, and they were even planning to move back to their hometown soon.
It seemed… there was nothing left for her to worry about.
Everything had been so ordinary, whether it was her or the rest of her family.
If she had to name something unusual, it would probably be her older sister and her girlfriend.
Back when they were students, Ruan Meng had been a complete bookworm. Although they shared the same parents, her older sister’s personality was the exact opposite of Ruan Xin’s.
Ruan Meng rarely spoke to outsiders. She was fine as long as she remained silent, but whenever she opened her mouth, she inevitably started arguing with someone.
Her entire youth had likewise been buried in books. She had been so quiet she might as well have been dead and never caused any trouble whatsoever.
Yet no one could have imagined that this strange and antisocial sister would one day bring a woman home and announce to the family with a smile, “She and I are together.”
As for her girlfriend…
She was beautiful and apparently came from a good background. She looked refined and cultured, but some of the things she said were inexplicably dramatic, as though she suffered from a severe case of chuunibyou.
Yes, the woman herself was dramatic, and even her name sounded like something from a fantasy novel.
Then again, perhaps only someone like that could accompany Ruan Meng in wearing Gothic Lolita fashion for the rest of their lives…
So what was Ruan Xin supposed to do now?
And why was she thinking about Ruan Meng?!
Aaaaaah! If that woman hadn’t sent her this novel, Ruan Xin never would have transmigrated into it in the first place!
She knocked on her head, internally descending into madness.
“Xinxin, you’re home?”
Before she could reach a conclusion, the car had already arrived at the Ye residence. Outside, a woman in her forties knocked on the window.
Ruan Xin studied her. If she wasn’t mistaken, this should be Auntie Huang, one of the household staff.
“Mm. Good afternoon…”
After stepping out of the car, Ruan Xin faced the luxurious mansion and found it strangely glaring.
Auntie Huang glanced inside the car before sighing worriedly.
“Xiaoyan didn’t come home again?”
Ruan Xin wasn’t surprised.
That sentence was practically Auntie Huang’s fixed NPC dialogue. She had originally been hired by Ye Muyan’s mother, and after Madam Ye’s death, she and the nanny had practically raised Ye Muyan.
Given their history and affection for each other, Ruan Xin had nothing to criticize.
Unfortunately, the original character hadn’t seen things that way.
As she entered the living room, Ruan Xin explained, “She’s already in ninth grade. She’s busy preparing for next semester’s exams.”
“That’s true…”
Auntie Huang nodded, then suddenly exclaimed, “Why do you feel even hotter than when you left this morning?”
Ruan Xin pressed a hand to her forehead and replied casually, “It’s not too bad.”
Auntie Huang looked surprised. This spoiled little girl usually whimpered endlessly over so much as a scraped hand. Why had she suddenly become so strong?
Had the fever muddled her brain?
After thinking it over, Auntie Huang said, “No, this won’t do. I need to call Mr. and Mrs. Ye.”
Just hearing those two mentioned gave Ruan Xin a headache. She didn’t want to deal with either of them, especially her mother.
That woman was no ordinary opponent.
When it came to pretending to be gentle, virtuous, and weak, she was the grandmaster.
Although Ruan Xin’s mother hadn’t managed to give Father Ye a child all these years, her attentiveness and talent for coaxing him had kept the man utterly bewitched.
“There’s no need.”
Ruan Xin hurriedly stopped Auntie Huang and imitated the original character’s considerate manner.
“Didn’t Mom and Dad go to a banquet in B City? They won’t be able to return anytime soon, so we shouldn’t make them worry.”
“Then I’ll call Doctor Zhang later.”
Auntie Huang felt sorry for her, and her voice unconsciously softened.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat, Xinxin?”
“The usual food is fine.”
Ruan Xin couldn’t taste much of anything, so she didn’t make any special requests.
Although Auntie Huang was closer to Ye Muyan, she also cared deeply about Ruan Xin. Dinner that evening was exquisite, complete with all her favorite desserts and fruits.
Consequently, despite claiming she didn’t want anything special, Ruan Xin ate three enormous bowls of rice.
Auntie Huang and several of the maids were horrified.
Ruan Xin herself didn’t think anything of it. Unlike the original character, she had always had a large appetite before transmigrating.
She had also been taller than the original character.
The moment she thought about height, sorrow filled her heart.
If she still had her original body, she would have pinned the female lead to the ground without letting her move an inch.
How infuriating!
Ruan Xin ground her teeth. From this day forward, she desperately wanted to grow taller.
…
That night, Ruan Xin took some medicine and lay on the soft, comfortable bed, gradually allowing her mind to drift.
First, she touched the face that looked about seventy percent like her original one. Then she felt her neck.
There was nothing around it, yet the pain had been undeniably real…
“Wait!”
Ruan Xin abruptly snapped back to her senses.
“If what that voice said is true, doesn’t that mean I could be in danger at any moment? How could there possibly be no men in this world who like the female lead?!”
“Ding.”
The moment she finished speaking, a voice suddenly explained, “That isn’t quite how it works~”
Ruan Xin’s heart leaped into her throat.
“You aren’t a system, are you?”
“That’s right, dear host! I just finished updating my voice pack~”
As it spoke, more than a dozen rows of data appeared before Ruan Xin, all designed in an overly cute shoujo style.
The first row displayed a white heart with a value of 100.
The second contained a black heart with a current value of 5.
After those came a red little devil, a purple gemstone, a green sapling, and various other colorful icons.
The system didn’t explain them one by one, but Ruan Xin instantly understood what everything meant.
Ignoring the other multicolored values, she asked, “The white heart represents my life, while the black heart represents the original character’s resentment. Is that right?”
“You can understand it that way~ Have you been thinking about how to fulfill the original host’s wish? Take what happened today, for example. Ye Muyan’s uniform was stained by those delinquent girls. How do you think her actions afterward affected the admirer who was watching her?”
Ruan Xin answered, “I’m guessing that boy doesn’t like assertive girls. He fell for Ye Muyan because she appeared quiet and refined. But he’s a coward, and everything Ye Muyan said and did in front of that crowd made her seem aggressive and overbearing to him.”
“That’s right~ However, there are several things I need to remind you about, dear host!”
“What are they?”
“First: These values can be exchanged for one another, except for the black-heart value.
“Second: The pain is only a warning. It will disappear as soon as you take action.
“Third: You must erase a male admirer’s love within twenty-four hours. When dealing with a supporting male character or the male lead, you will be given additional time. If you exceed the limit, black-heart points will be deducted. When the value reaches zero, you will receive a small punishment~
“Fourth: Favorability is not the same as romantic love, but erasing that favorability can still increase your black-heart value.”
Ruan Xin breathed a sigh of relief and lazily leaned against her pillows.
“You scared me to death. I thought I would die if I failed to fulfill the original character’s wish.”
“That’s right~ If your black-heart value reaches zero three times or falls into the negatives three times, you will lose your sanity and cut off your own head~”
“…”
A chill ran through Ruan Xin’s entire body, and she instinctively touched her neck.
“Why am I so miserable?”
She sprawled across the bed like a salted fish, feeling as though her entire life had turned gray.
“I’m a transmigrator, for goodness’ sake. Shouldn’t I be the protagonist in this situation? The least you could do is give me some kind of cheat ability.”
“That’s easily arranged~ ^_^”
Ruan Xin immediately perked up.
“Then let’s do it! Give me a cheat! I want the best one you’ve got!”
“And what will you offer in exchange, dear host?”
“Exchange?”
Ruan Xin froze.
“Cheat abilities always come at a price~”
Ruan Xin fell into deep thought. She stared at the various statistics in front of her, wondering what this body possessed that was valuable enough to exchange.
“How about its talent for dancing?” she asked after a moment.
There was no denying that this body possessed extraordinary talent in dance. Combined with the training she had received since childhood, the original character could have become the next principal dancer of Country E’s Royal Ballet if she hadn’t courted death by fighting the female lead.
Unfortunately, that talent was utterly useless in Ruan Xin’s present situation.
Ye Muyan was no longer the spoiled, brainless celebrity she had been before her rebirth. She was now an ancient martial arts master with supernatural abilities and a pocket dimension. She would eventually control the underworld, dominate the business world, and gather countless followers, experts, and handsome male confidants beneath her command.
What else could Ruan Xin do?
She obviously had to become stronger!
Was she supposed to challenge the female lead to an awkward dance battle atop the Forbidden City instead?
No. She couldn’t delay any longer! If she did, she would only end up getting slapped around by the female lead and having her foolish head rubbed again.
“What do you think? I’ll exchange the statistic represented by the golden ballet shoes,” Ruan Xin asked again.
“Of course you can~”
“I want the best cheat available! First of all, I need an incredibly strong body with plenty of power. I need to be able to fight like the female lead. Then I want a supernatural ability—preferably one powerful enough to let me pin the female lead to the ground and wipe the floor with her like a helpless rookie!”
“Ding!”
The system analyzed her request. After several seconds, it responded, “Understood! Superhuman physical prowess, complete mastery of ancient martial arts, and one complimentary supernatural ability~”
“Yes, exactly.”
Ruan Xin nodded with satisfaction, so delighted she could hardly contain herself.
“Your gift package has been delivered~ We hope you enjoy it.”
A purple gift box appeared on the screen.
Ruan Xin grinned from ear to ear and poked the box with one finger.
Pop!
Countless colorful ribbons burst from it.
Immediately afterward, she felt power flooding her body. Every time she clenched her fist, she could feel incredible strength coursing through it.
“One final reminder: Your supernatural ability will take several days to activate~”
“Got it.”
Ruan Xin answered dismissively. She felt as though she had been injected with pure adrenaline. A minor cold and fever couldn’t possibly stop her from punching and kicking at the air.
“I’m so strong!”
She flipped out of bed and punched the desk.
Crack!
The wooden desk shattered into several pieces.
Ruan Xin stared at the ruined furniture. Not only did she remain calm, but she also looked immensely pleased with herself.
What did she have to fear now?
The female lead was nothing but a weak little rookie!
“Hmph. You actually dared to hit me on the head…”
Ruan Xin grumbled to herself, planning to corner Ye Muyan again when they returned to school on Monday.
This time…
She would pin the female lead down and viciously rub her stupid head!
“Ding!”
Just as she was feeling triumphant, her neck began to hurt again.
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