Xu Ziyan felt the flames of gossip burn fiercely within her, ‘Whoa! The back-stabbing brother is here!’
Fu Qiming’s face darkened immediately upon hearing this, and he glared intently at Li Dong who was walking over.
Li Dong was slightly chubby, always cheerful, and appeared gentle and harmless. He was usually the most easygoing and had particularly good interpersonal relationships.
His sudden appearance made the expressions of the three Fu family members turn somewhat subtle, but Li Dong didn’t find it strange. With such a big incident happening, of course there would be a commotion. Wasn’t it normal for them to look upset?
He visited the Fu family often and wasn’t the least bit reserved. He greeted them with a smile, “Hello, Uncle, Auntie. Having dinner so early? I was just thinking of asking Qiming to go out for a meal together.”
Seeing him act as if nothing was wrong, Fu Qiming almost snapped his chopsticks!
If everything Xu Ziyan said was true, how could Li Dong still laugh and joke in front of him like this after betraying him?
He sensed someone looking at him and turned his head to meet Xu Ziyan’s curious gaze. At this moment, he clearly realized that the person before him really wasn’t his Cheap Older Sister anymore. The original Xu Ziyan’s eyes always held mockery and malice, never such pure curiosity.
Fu Dongfeng, the head of the family, was the first to compose himself. He spoke up, “We have some family matters to attend to later, so we decided to eat early. Since you’re here, join us. Have a seat.”
Normally, upon hearing that a family had matters to attend to, one definitely wouldn’t stay. But Li Dong had come personally precisely because he was afraid something unexpected might happen. Of course he couldn’t leave, so he shamelessly sat down.
He glanced at Fu Qiming’s ugly expression, then at Xu Ziyan who was eating calmly, and guessed that this time, Xu Ziyan had gained the upper hand again, suppressing Fu Qiming. His expression relaxed considerably.
If Xu Ziyan had the upper hand, she probably wouldn’t reveal his affairs. After all, she would still need him to trick Fu Qiming in the future, and he could also use Xu Ziyan as a cash cow.
The servant brought out a few new dishes. Xu Ziyan kept her head down while eating, muttering to the system, ‘This guy really has thick skin and big nerves. But his scheming methods are quite effective. In the book, didn’t he constantly ask the Original Host for money? He also tricked Fu Qiming three times. His mind works fast, no wonder he always ranks first in the grade.
If I had a brain like that, I wouldn’t have had to wait until I was twenty-eight to get a promotion in my previous life.
Ah, forget it. My previous life was all bitterness and tears. This is the good life now.’
The three members of the Fu family immediately looked at Li Dong. Li Dong was reaching for food with his chopsticks, showing no strange reaction. It seemed he couldn’t hear Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts.
Fu Qiming wanted to believe his brother, but the inner thoughts he heard from Xu Ziyan also sounded very true. He couldn’t help but probe, “Li Dong, why are your dark circles so heavy? Didn’t rest well? Ran into some troubles?”
Li Dong touched his eyes, “Are they?” He glanced at Xu Ziyan and shook his head with a bitter smile, “It’s nothing, just that stuff with our studio.”
This meant the matter of the game being swindled away by Xu Ziyan. Li Dong was trying to confirm his story of being innocently deceived in front of everyone, pushing all the blame onto Xu Ziyan.
Xu Ziyan chuckled inwardly, ‘The dark circles are heavy because he always stays up late gambling online. The Original Host just paid off his debts for him, and he’s already racked up hundreds of thousands more. Addicts are truly terrifying.’
However, she was leaving after this meal. It wasn’t her concern anymore. She’d just enjoy the show. After all, she’d already said what needed to be said.
Xu Ziyan took a sip of soup, satisfied, and continued to taste the next dish.
Fu Qiming took a deep breath and said to Li Dong, “The studio pressure is too great. Let’s take a break for now. I’ll give you this year’s bonus first. Go out and have fun, relax. I’ll call you back to work when I have a new idea.”
The dividend he gave Li Dong wasn’t small. If Li Dong really had debts, he should accept the proposal and take the money to pay them off first. Who knew he would hear Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts again, ‘Li Dong definitely won’t agree, because he secretly set up a shell company to embezzle five million from your studio.’
Moved, Li Dong said to Fu Qiming, “I know you’re worried about me, it’s fine. Right now is the hardest time for the studio. How can I leave?
“Don’t worry, I haven’t been idle these past few days either. I’ve been looking for suitable partners for joint development to share the risk and reduce our pressure. Two look pretty good. They only need a few million in funding. I’ll give you the details once I’ve negotiated further.”
Fu Qiming’s expression froze. A few million, partners—it all matched Xu Ziyan’s inner thoughts.
Gritting his teeth, his voice turned cold, “A few million isn’t a problem. We just can’t afford another failure. The studio can’t withstand another blow.”
Li Dong said with full confidence, “Relax. Don’t you trust me to handle things? I wouldn’t bring anything to you if there was the slightest problem.”
Fu Qiming couldn’t understand. Wasn’t Li Dong afraid he would turn hostile after being tricked like this? Just for this money? Losing him as a friend? What was the difference between this and killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?
Xu Ziyan saw his confusion. Normal people would be baffled. She couldn’t help but mutter to herself, ‘Of course he’s not afraid. He’s already connected with Ding Jie. Tricking you out of five million this time is just an appetizer. Next time, he and Ding Jie will set a trap together to lure you in. They’ll make you personally be optimistic about a project, prepare a huge sum of capital, and then he’ll abscond with the funds. He’ll make your capital chain break at the most critical moment, leaving you no time to recover, letting Ding Jie become the victor in competing with you, stepping on you to climb up, and completely destroy your mental state.’
Xu Ziyan clicked her tongue mentally twice. Ruthless, truly ruthless. Li Dong was also a venomous snake.
Fu Qiming suddenly felt nauseous. His most trusted brother had actually betrayed him like this, treating him like a fool. And for the past ten years, he had truly been played for a fool by such a person. How laughable!
Although there was no concrete evidence, the scale in Fu Qiming’s heart had already tilted completely towards Xu Ziyan’s side. He was almost certain Li Dong had betrayed him. He had a fiery temper, and suppressing it until now was his limit. He immediately slammed his chopsticks down, stood up, and was about to erupt.
“Xiao Ming! If you’re full, go back to your room. Home is not the place for you to throw a tantrum.” Fu Dongfeng scolded sternly, stopping Fu Qiming from questioning.
Since Li Dong was already connected with Ding Jie, they couldn’t alert the enemy. They should secretly gather evidence and find an opportunity to counterattack.
Besides, they couldn’t let Xu Ziyan know they could hear her inner thoughts. On the surface, Fu Qiming hadn’t yet reached the point of falling out with Li Dong.
Fu Qiming came to his senses, but he really couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Without a word, he ran upstairs and slammed his door shut hard.
Li Yunhui said, “This child, just has such a hot temper. Li Dong, don’t mind him. Keep eating.”
With things like this, how could Li Dong continue eating? He hurriedly stood up to take his leave. As he was leaving, he looked at Xu Ziyan peeling shrimp so calmly and felt a bit of admiration. Fu Qiming had just said “pressure is too great” and “can’t afford another failure,” grinding his teeth, clearly angry about the studio’s losses. Xu Ziyan, the instigator, actually had no reaction at all. Impressive.
Xu Ziyan was also quite impressed with Li Dong. Just after screwing Fu Qiming over, he could so calmly lay the groundwork for the next plan. His mentality was really steady. It seemed that after scheming against Fu Qiming for ten years, he already felt he had Fu Qiming completely under his thumb.
But she had already warned Fu Qiming. Surely Fu Qiming must have sensed something off about Li Dong just now, right? Look how furious Fu Qiming was because of him!
Speaking of which, why did the foster father stop Fu Qiming? Afraid it might be a misunderstanding that would harm their brotherly bond? That made sense. After all, all the bad things said about Li Dong came from her. Given the Original Host’s bad record, it was only right for the Fu family not to believe her. It wasn’t too late to turn against after checking Shenzhen City Prison and Li Dong’s financial situation.
That wasn’t her concern anymore. Xu Ziyan pushed the thoughts aside and focused on eating.
‘This crab meat is so fresh and sweet! I could eat a whole plate myself!!’
Li Yunhui scooped a large spoonful of crab meat for Xu Ziyan. “I think this is really delicious. Xiao Yan, eat more. It’s very fresh.”
Xu Ziyan was taken aback for a moment. She looked up and smiled at her. “Thank you.”
‘001, you know, how great would it be if I had a mother like this? My mother never served me food. If I tried to take a piece of meat, she’d hit my hand. All the meat was for her precious son. I only deserved leftovers.
If I didn’t finish my chores someday, I wouldn’t even get leftovers. I developed a stomach illness from hunger by the time I was sixteen.’
Li Yunhui’s hand paused, feeling a pang of heartache. She knew some people favored sons over daughters, but she couldn’t imagine how cold-hearted a mother would have to be to treat her own daughter like that.
001 also comforted Xu Ziyan, ‘Host, don’t be sad. That was all in your previous life. Her not liking you was her loss. You were so outstanding. As soon as you became an adult, you exposed their true colors, cut ties with them, earned your own money for school, and saved up for a down payment on a house within just a few years of working. You’re amazing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen you…’
‘Wait a minute! What did you say? You chose me? Didn’t you say souls were randomly assigned? Explain yourself clearly. So it was you who snatched me to play the Villainess? You harmed me?’ Xu Ziyan caught the system’s verbal slip.
001 stammered for a moment, its voice turning soft and cute, ‘Host, don’t be angry. New souls are indeed randomly assigned missions. It’s just that a batch of Villainesses in the book worlds had issues and urgently needed a capable person to save the situation. That’s why I was tasked with selecting a partner to bring over.
I chose you because I admired your ability! Really!
And other mission souls don’t get such good treatment. Only special taskers like you can receive rewards to continue crossing over. This is a benefit I fought for you.
‘Yeah, right. What kind of benefit is that? Refuse to do bad things and your soul scatters. One misstep and you experience a variety of miserable deaths. I can’t handle that kind of benefit.’ Xu Ziyan was a bit angry. What decent person would want to be a Villainess?
This time, 001 apologized, ‘Sorry… I didn’t think you’d be unwilling. This is a world from a book, it’s all fake. I thought no one would mind. I didn’t consider human feelings. But we really can’t go back now…’
Xu Ziyan said seriously, ‘Then find some way to compensate me, a way to let me live. As for those missions, I’m willing to cooperate within the limits of what I can do. You find more loopholes for me like that fake death. When the time comes, it’s good for you and good for me. Everyone’s happy.
Or you figure out a way to apply for other benefits, negotiate with your superiors, see if you can adjust the mission direction. In short, since you chose the wrong person, you should find a way to make up for it. Isn’t that logical?’
001 was specifically created to resolve this matter. If Xu Ziyan’s mission failed, it would also be sent back for reworking. Therefore, it had to find a way to keep the mission going. Xu Ziyan’s words actually gave it a direction.
It assured, ‘Host, rest assured. I will try hard to find a way.’
Finding loopholes, exploiting gaps—there was always a way.
Since things were already like this, Xu Ziyan didn’t have much more to say. She asked, ‘You said a batch of Villainesses had issues. What issues? Where did the Original Host go?’
Li Yunhui and Fu Dongfeng exchanged a glance, their hearts lifting. No matter what, she was a daughter they had raised for twenty years. They still wanted to know what had happened to the original Xiao Yan.
001 replied, ‘Previously, the Book Repository management wasn’t strict. A batch of Villainesses awakened their self-awareness, learned of the plot development, formed a Resentment Collective, and almost destroyed the entire Book Repository. The higher-ups arranged for them to go purify their resentment. After purification, they will go live in peaceful worlds.’
‘Then they are so lucky, they don’t have to live their destined villainous lives anymore. That’s good. I hope I can be as lucky as them. System, it all depends on you.’
001 agreed readily, not daring to say more. Although Xu Ziyan’s tone wasn’t stern, it just felt a little scared and instinctively became obedient.
Actually, Xu Ziyan could guess why 001 chose her. In her previous life, she had cut ties with her family particularly ruthlessly. Even if the law didn’t recognize it, that family didn’t dare come find her. She was busy all day, didn’t have very close friends, donated to an orphanage but never went to see the children, talked only about benefits at work, appearing quite cold and heartless, and worked herself to death from overwork. Wasn’t that perfectly suited to come with the system to do missions?
One could only say the system didn’t understand human nature and didn’t understand her. A noble person loves wealth but acquires it through proper means. She wanted a lot and worked hard to climb up, but she wouldn’t take crooked paths or do bad things. Choosing her to be the Villainess was a mistake.
However, after struggling and climbing for so many years, she had long known there was no such thing as fairness in the world. Making a huge fuss demanding justice was useless. Getting actual compensation was what mattered.
Actually, even if she could reincarnate, after drinking Meng Po’s soup, she would forget everything. No matter where she reincarnated, she felt that would be a completely new person, not her anymore.
Now she could continue living with her memories. By any calculation, she was profiting. If she could really exploit loopholes and live forever, that would be hitting the jackpot!
In any case, now that she had a reason to tame the system, she would squeeze it for all it was worth to come up with a solution for her. Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it. Her anger was the kind that vanished after three minutes. Having been given a second chance at life, she was determined to love herself every single minute and second, and to believe that “everything that happens is for my benefit.”
In her past life, despite all the hardship, she had still managed to make something of herself. In this life, with such a high status and so many resources at her disposal, what was there to fear? No matter how bad things got, could they possibly be worse than her last life?
Fu Dongfeng and Li Yun Hui had initially been afraid that Xu Ziyan would be angry, upset, and start arguing with the system. They never expected her anger to come and go so quickly, as she happily continued eating. Seeing her eat with such gusto, they found their appetites returning as well, and without realizing it, they both ended up eating quite a bit more.
Li Yun Hui awkwardly put down her chopsticks. She never thought she could eat so much right after crying. Seeing this, Xu Ziyan hesitantly said, “Are you full? I… I still want to eat a bit more. I’m kind of hungry.”
Xu Ziyan wasn’t being greedy. It was just that she had suddenly realized the situation could still turn around—she didn’t have to die immediately. Her good mood had led to an even better appetite; she genuinely wasn’t full yet.
‘They won’t think I’m strange, will they? This feels a bit embarrassing. 001, should I keep eating or not? Maybe I should move first and have a midnight snack at the new place?’
Li Yun Hui hurriedly said, “You eat. I’ve always had a small appetite; this is plenty for me. You just fainted this afternoon, so you need to eat more to replenish your nutrients. If you want anything else, just tell the kitchen to make it. Take your time.” As she spoke, she piled more food onto Xu Ziyan’s plate.
Xu Ziyan saw that it was all her favorite dishes, which meant Li Yun Hui had been paying attention to her preferences. She felt a twinge of emotion. ‘Even though they were so heartbroken, they’re still looking out for me. I’m starting to feel a bit reluctant to leave.’