Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 3:【Pei Ji's Current Favorability Towards You Is: -99】

　　

　　An unexpected situation occurred, and the system also froze:【Unknown error… System checking…】

　　An Jiu sat dazed on the ground, staring at the man in white in front of the temple, her mind a jumble.

　　This shouldn't be happening. There was no such scene in the book. How could a mysterious stranger suddenly appear?

　　The man in white seemed to be stunned as well, standing still for a while. 

　　An Jiu couldn't figure out the man's intentions. The man in white clearly wasn't an ordinary person; killing a weak woman like her would be effortless.  

　　She didn't dare make a sound, shrinking quietly into a corner of the temple, her eyes fixed on the man in white without blinking.

　　The man in white shifted his feet, taking a step forward. He raised his hand—

　　An Jiu's mind raced. She quickly pretended to be frightened and pale, trembling as she said, “Are… are you here to save me?”

　　In fact, she didn't need to act. She was genuinely terrified that the man in white would kill her. In a Wuxia world, killing someone was as simple as snapping one's fingers—it was commonplace.

　　Moreover, An Jiu vaguely sensed that the gaze behind the silver mask was extremely cold, devoid of warmth.

　　This person seemed to have a grudge against her. Could he be here for revenge?

　　What kind of enemies could Miss An Jiu possibly have?

　　An Jiu trembled as she thought, then she was surprised to notice that the aura emanating from the man in white suddenly changed.

　　The moment she spoke those words, the man in white paused, his raised hand slowly lowering.

　　“Mm,” the man in white spoke softly. His voice was gentle, a stark contrast to the intimidating aura he had exuded just moments before. It was as soft as water. “I happened to be passing by and saw a villain attempting to assault you. I acted hastily…”

　　He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, speaking slowly. As he spoke, his demeanor grew gentler.

　　In just two short sentences, he transformed from a ferocious beast about to devour its prey into a harmless young man.

　　The intense sense of danger An Jiu had felt vanished completely, as if it had been an illusion. The man before her was clearly gentle and upright. Even though his face was obscured, his voice alone gave the impression of a noble and virtuous gentleman, like a bright moon and gentle breeze.

　　An ordinary person would likely have been deceived.

　　But An Jiu didn't believe him.

　　Even when she was kidnapped by the flower thief, An Jiu had remained calm. She clearly remembered the icy coldness in the man in white's eyes when he first appeared.

　　This man in white had to be hiding something. He definitely knew her!

　　Just then, An Jiu heard a robotic voice in her mind:【The system has detected the target of the strategy. Do you wish to activate the favorability function?】

　　An Jiu: *Eyes widen in shock.*

　　The man in white walked towards her step by step, his voice soft and caring, “Don't be afraid, young lady. The villain has been subdued by me…”

　　An Jiu involuntarily stepped back, as if there were a ferocious beast in front of her. Then, quickly, she stopped under the man in white's gaze, which now held a hint of suspicion. 

　　Tears welled up in her eyes. Burying her head, she trembled, whispering, “I... I'm a little scared.”

　　The man in white walked to her side and kicked the unconscious flower thief to a distance. Then, he sat down not too far from An Jiu, softly comforting her, “Don't be afraid. I will stay here with you. It's late at night, and there's a storm raging outside. It's not safe to travel. Someone will surely come by tomorrow morning, and then you'll be safe.”

　　An Jiu mumbled a response, burying her face in her knees, curling up in a ball in the corner, looking utterly terrified.

　　The man in white didn't mind. For a frail young lady from a wealthy family to experience something like this, it would be strange if she wasn't afraid.

　　The girl's slender frame, huddled together, resembled an injured kitten.

　　She trembled subtly, as if desperately suppressing something—perhaps tears?

　　The man in white glanced at her, his mouth uttering soothing words, but his eyes remained icy and indifferent.

　　“Don't worry, I'm here. Nothing will happen…”

　　He didn't know that An Jiu was desperately suppressing not tears, but overwhelming shock and horror.

　　“System, who is he? Is this Pei Ji? How is Pei Ji able to stand?! Isn't he crippled?!”

　　“Useless system, get out!!! How am I supposed to capture him like this!!? I might as well just die!!!” An Jiu screamed internally.

　　 

　　The useless system remained calm, its cold electronic voice repeating,【Detected the capture target. Do you wish to activate favorability?】

　　An Jiu felt like she was going insane inside. No matter how much she poked the useless system, it remained unresponsive. She could only pinch her nose and say, “Just activate it quickly.”

　　【Ding—Target for conquest Pei Ji, current favorability toward you: -99.】

　　Even though she was mentally prepared, An Jiu still wished she could just die on the spot.

　　Fortunately, she had excellent mental resilience, and having experienced such an absurd situation as time travel, she had become somewhat numb to it all.

　　After the overwhelming shock, An Jiu quickly calmed down.

　　Her thoughts raced as she encompassed the plot from the book and the current situation in her mind. Countless clues came together, and she began to analyze them. After a quick brainstorming session, An Jiu arrived at a terrifying conclusion.

　　Whether it was right or wrong, she still needed to confirm it.

　　She poked the system in her mind, “System, come out, I have a question.”

　　【Host, please ask.】

　　An Jiu: “Do you know Pei Ji's date of birth?”

　　The system froze for a while before slowly reporting a string of dates.

　　Hearing the familiar date, An Jiu finally understood what was going on.

　　She had the original owner's memories, and the original owner's birthdate was exactly the same as Pei Ji's.

　　They were born on the same day, in the same month, and in the same year!

　　This single clue was like a thread, connecting everything together.

　　An Jiu took a deep breath and asked, “Why did Pei Ji appear here?”

　　This time, the system responded quickly:【According to system detection, an unknown deviation has occurred in this world's plot.】

　　An Jiu let out a cold laugh. “Unknown deviation?”

　　She was clever and already guessed where the glitch was.

　　Pei Ji had never met her before, so why was his favorability towards her -99 upon their first encounter? It was as if they had known each other for a long time.

　　The plot hadn't even begun, yet Pei Ji could walk freely and even possessed martial arts skills.

　　All evidence pointed to one conclusion: Pei Ji had been reborn.

　　Time travel had already happened; reincarnation wasn't unusual.

　　An Jiu was calm, even calmer than when she had first transmigrated. Because she felt like she had found a way to complete her mission.

　　As long as there was a solution to a problem, it wasn't a problem at all—this was An Jiu's consistent life principle.

　　An Jiu silently curled her lips into a smile and asked, “System, do you know why Pei Ji came here?”

　　Before the system could answer, she added with a light chuckle, “Because I am the cure for his poison.”

　　An Jiu didn't know when Pei Ji had been reborn, but she guessed it hadn't been long, because the sound of his footsteps had been quite distinct when he approached.

　　There's a rule in Wuxia novels: the more skilled in martial arts someone is, the lighter and quieter their footsteps.

　　An Jiu slowly calmed her thoughts and began to organize her ideas.

　　For some reason, Pei Ji had been reborn.

　　In his past life, Pei Ji had already obtained the secret martial arts manual and likely memorized it. That's why he was now able to heal his broken meridians and start practicing martial arts again.

　　Currently, Pei Ji only had the poison left to resolve. To cure himself, he would stop at nothing.

　　The reason he rushed to the dilapidated temple was likely because he was worried that the flower thief would violate An Jiu's virginity.

　　Given Pei Ji's sensitive and suspicious nature, he habitually kept everything under his control. Even if the plot showed An Jiu unharmed, he would still come and check in person to ensure that everything was on track.

　　He probably originally intended to knock her unconscious, but she discovered him.

　　Then, An Jiu's reaction prompted him to change his mind.

　　The book mentioned that to use the Twin-soul Gu, the woman must willingly participate. How does one make a woman willingly endure pain and sacrifice her life for him?

　　An Jiu said with certainty, “He wants to play a love game with me. He wants me to fall in love with him.”

　　【If he uses the Love Gu on you, you'll fall in love with him. What's the point?】

　　The system, notoriously slow and inefficient, now demonstrated an unexpected sharpness of perception.

　　An Jiu narrowed her eyes, smiling meaningfully. “Have you forgotten? He used a Love Gu on Lin Qingyan, but it failed. Don't you think he might have some psychological trauma because of that?”

　　System:【……】

　　“Alright, I don’t have to worry about my safety anymore. Not only will he not let me die, but he'll also go to great lengths to protect me.” An Jiu licked the corner of her lips, and in the darkness, her beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement. “Since he wants to play with me, I'll play along. Let's see in the end who wins and who loses.”

　　Should I say it? She really enjoyed this kind of challenging game.

　　The trembling girl slowly ceased her shivering, as if she had finally come back to her senses after the initial terror.

　　She cautiously lifted her face from her arm, and in the deep night, her features were obscured. Only her tear-filled eyes shone, reflecting a light from an unknown source, clear and bright like water.

　　“S-savior, for saving my life today, I, a humble woman, have no way to repay you... I wonder where you live, and what your name is, so that I may visit your home in the future.”

　　The girl's voice was soft, perhaps still slightly choked from crying.

　　Delicate and lovely, she was endearing.

　　The man in white paused. His back was to the temple entrance, his entire face hidden in the darkness, further obscured by a mask, making it impossible to discern his expression.

　　Only a vague feeling remained: he seemed to be sizing her up.

　　After a moment, the man spoke softly, “I am merely a wanderer, with no fixed home. Today's act was trivial, no thanks are needed. As for my name... you can call me Fei Yi.”

　　Fei Yi... wasn't that a reference to Pei Ji?

　　An Jiu lowered her eyes, before she could respond, she heard a system prompt:【Pei Ji's favorability towards you has decreased by 1, currently at -100.】

　　An Jiu: “???”

　　Okay, understood.

　　The big villain doesn't like the pitiful little white rabbit act.

　　With that, An Jiu couldn't keep up the weak and fragile persona.

　　Before, she had been sweet and gentle to save her life. Now that she understood she wasn't going to die anytime soon, and that Pei Ji would have to pretend to coax her, at least until he found the Twin-soul Gu, she would live safely. An Jiu's mood immediately lightened.

　　The moment her mind relaxed, she felt the cold around her.

　　This dilapidated temple offered no shelter. It was early spring, with a thunderstorm raging outside, and the wind occasionally blew in, bringing with it the cold, damp air of the spring night.

　　“That,” An Jiu sniffed, rubbing her icy arm, and habitually tilting her chin, her tone unconsciously carrying a commanding air, “Fei Yi, I'm a little cold. Could you please make a fire?”

　　Both An Jiu and the original An Jiu had lived lives of being served, so their speech always had a commanding tone.

　　The book mentioned that Pei Ji disliked An Jiu's spoiled personality. Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the system notified her of another point drop in favorability.

　　An Jiu wondered, “System, can favorability go to -101? Isn't there a limit?”

　　【Favorability has a maximum score of 100, but negative scores are unlimited.】

　　An Jiu was speechless.

　　But despite Pei Ji's -101 favorability towards her, on the surface, he spoke softly, “It was my oversight. I don't have any fire starters with me. If you're cold, why don't you wear my outer robe?”

　　Seeing the man take off his robe, clearly inwardly disgusted with her, yet having to pretend to be gentle and considerate, An Jiu felt a sudden thrill of satisfaction.

　　This is what you call, the oppressed rising up!

　　Instead of conquering the second male lead, why not let him conquer her?

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