Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 46: Is She Surrounded by Silly Sweethearts?

　　“Miss An, my young lady invites you.”

　　A maid dressed in the yellow robes unique to Jinshe Villa stood at the door and respectfully called into the room.

　　Moments later, the sound of light footsteps pattered from inside. A girl in a bright red dress dashed out, her steps light and full of joy like a dancing flame.

　　“Coming! I’m bringing some storybooks for Yanwan!”

　　She held several books in her hands, her face beaming with a radiant smile as she left happily with the maid.

　　Across a small garden, a young man in white robes sat beneath a covered walkway, quietly observing the scene.

　　He lowered his gaze slightly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the handle of his fan, a thoughtful expression on his face.

　　It was the day after they returned from the lantern festival. An Jiu’s attitude toward ‘Pei Ji’ remained the same as before—completely indifferent.

　　This was within his expectations, so he didn’t mind it much.

　　What did surprise Pei Ji, however, was that for some unknown reason, An Jiu and Jin Yanwan had suddenly grown close.

　　On their first day back at the villa after the lantern festival, Jin Yanwan personally brought An Jiu a variety of jewelry and gifts popular among women. She stayed in An Jiu’s room for quite a while before leaving reluctantly.

　　Having lived through this once already, Pei Ji naturally knew how things would unfold.

　　That seemingly delicate and helpless Miss Jin, who was the picture of frailty in everyone’s eyes, would soon commit an utterly shocking act—stealing a secret martial manual—and stun everyone.

　　In the previous life, An Jiu and Miss Jin never crossed paths. At that time, she was always clinging to He Ziqing, busy fighting with Lin Qingyan, and hardly ever saw Miss Jin at all.

　　Perhaps because he had changed some things this time, fate was shifting too.

　　There were only six days left before the manual would be unlocked. Jin Yanwan likely already had the intention to steal it. Her reaching out to An Jiu at this moment—what was her aim?

　　The thought of that woman possibly being naively manipulated made Pei Ji frown slightly, his expression darkening.

　　He turned his head slightly and instructed the servant behind him, “Ah Qi, assign someone to keep a close watch on Jin Yanwan. Report to me the moment she makes any suspicious move.”

　　Ah Qi replied, “I already sent someone yesterday per your earlier orders. ¹Sha Qi is stationed there now.”

　　“Good.” Pei Ji nodded slightly.

　　He returned to his room and picked up the medical book on his desk, flipping through it again. But today, the words seemed unusually difficult to comprehend. After a long time, he had only read two or three pages, and when he tried to recall what he read, his mind was blank.

　　The young man in white closed his eyes briefly. A moment later, he tossed the book aside and turned to ask Ah Qi, “Find out what she’s doing over there.”

　　Ah Qi grinned knowingly, fully aware.

　　He knew his young master was thinking about Miss An. The way he fidgeted restlessly—his thoughts were practically written on his face.

　　Without asking who ‘she’ was, Ah Qi briskly went to the window to send the message.

　　The Qiānshā Pavilion used a unique signaling system to pass messages.

　　Over long distances, they used owls; up close, the messenger would mimic a birdcall so perfectly it was indistinguishable from a real bird. Outsiders would never suspect it came from a person, simply assuming it was some forest bird. It was an incredibly covert method.

　　Moments after Ah Qi sent the signal, a black shadow landed silently at the window.

　　The person was dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit, face covered with a black cloth. From head to toe, he was shrouded in darkness—only his stark black-and-white eyes were visible.

　　Ah Qi had already put on a silver mask. His entire presence was now cold and sharp. In a low voice, he asked, “What was Jin Yanwan doing just now?”

　　The man in black didn’t move an inch. Like a wooden statue, his hoarse voice rasped from under the cloth, dull and emotionless. “Jin Yanwan woke up in the morning, drank a bowl of bird’s nest soup, took some medicine, then sent someone to invite Miss An over. After Miss An arrived, the two entered the study and read storybooks inside.”

　　“That’s all?” Ah Qi’s voice dropped, sounding dissatisfied.

　　The man in black replied, “There’s a maid beside Jin Yanwan with decent martial skills. To avoid being discovered, I did not enter the study—only observed from outside. Jin Yanwan made no suspicious moves.”

　　Ah Qi nodded. His voice was low and steady. “Go. Keep watching. Report back immediately if they do anything unusual.”

　　The man in black didn’t respond. In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

　　Pei Ji slowly stepped out from behind a folding screen by the window, where he had been hidden. Ah Qi removed his mask and chuckled, the intimidating aura around him disappearing in an instant.

　　Every time Ah Qi pretended to be ‘Xian Wuming,’ he would imitate his young master’s mannerisms and demeanor. That natural air of authority came out easily, and the effect was quite good—most assassins under their command were clearly afraid of him.

　　“Young Master, you heard it yourself. Nothing happened. They were just reading storybooks together. What are you so worried about?”

　　Ah Qi looked a little puzzled.

　　The young master didn’t mind when An Jiu played with Ming Yi, but now he was all tense over this Miss Jin?

　　In Ah Qi’s eyes, there was really nothing noteworthy about Jin Yanwan. He couldn’t understand why the young master wanted her monitored in the first place.

　　Pei Ji didn’t explain. He simply said,

 “You’ll understand in a few days.”

　　—

　　Meanwhile, in Jin Yanwan’s courtyard, faint traces of girlish laughter occasionally drifted through the air—clear and crisp, like silver bells.

　　In ancient times, the study was often considered a heavily guarded area, so windows were kept small to prevent thieves from prying them open and stealing valuables.

　　Sha Qi was hiding among the apricot trees outside the window, but the distance was too great—he could only make out the faint rustle of conversation, but couldn’t hear what was being said.

　　Inside, An Jiu lifted her eyes subtly, glancing toward the apricot grove.

　　It was late spring. The apricot blossoms had long since fallen. Now the branches were thick with green, not a single flower in sight.

　　In her mind, she asked the system, “System, are you sure the person outside can’t hear us?”

　　【Affirmative. Host, please do not question the system’s accuracy.】

　　“Heh.” An Jiu gave a cold little laugh in response.

　　The longer she knew this system, the clearer its nature became—quiet as a mouse most of the time, like a useless ornament, never offering help or reminders unless she demanded it. And even then, it would reluctantly dole out scraps of information.

　　It was just like some final boss villain—stingy to the core. She had said so many sweet words, pulled so many stunts, put in so much effort trying to gain favor, and yet the affection level had only gone up by 5 points.

　　Utterly miserly. A complete Scrooge.

　　“An Jiu, did you understand this book?”

　　Jin Yanwan’s gentle voice rang out beside her, pulling An Jiu from her thoughts. Her gaze turned complicated as she looked over.

　　She really hadn’t expected Jin Yanwan to invite her over today—not to hang out, but to show her a martial arts manual.

　　Yes, that martial arts manual. The one every sect in the martial world dreamed of.

　　She had already stolen it.

　　Apparently, after that little ‘chat’ with An Jiu the other day, Jin Yanwan had come to a sudden realization. That night, while everyone else went to the lantern festival and security at the villa had relaxed, she seized the opportunity and stole the manual.

　　An Jiu wasn’t surprised she’d done it. She’d already guessed Jin Yanwan would make that move.

　　What did surprise her was that Jin Yanwan actually wanted to share the manual with her.

　　When An Jiu asked her why, Jin Yanwan had a perfectly reasonable explanation:

　　“Father was going to share the manual with other sects anyway. One more person won’t make a difference. Besides, after our talk the other day, I already see you as a close friend. I think we’re the same kind of person—aren’t we?”

　　Jin Yanwan’s eyes sparkled with earnestness as she looked at her, full of warmth.

　　“I won’t be wrong about this. We’re alike. You’re ambitious too, just like me. So why shouldn’t I share this with you? You must need it too, right?”

　　An Jiu had no response to that.

　　Because Jin Yanwan wasn’t wrong.

　　The two of them did have some similarities.

　　But An Jiu still felt she herself wasn’t as… naïve.

　　Did Jin Yanwan really understand what it meant to possess a treasure like this?

　　Something so important, and she was so casually sharing it with someone she’d only known for two days. Was she really not a clueless sweetheart?

　　Was the villainess aura just some kind of dumb-sweet-girl magnet?

　　Ming Yi was one. Jin Yanwan was one. She was basically surrounded by them now!

　　An Jiu took a deep breath and ran her fingers over the page—then noticed something.

　　The ink on the pages was very fresh, and faintly damp.

　　Her brows twitched slightly. “This isn’t the original copy?”

　　Jin Yanwan shook her head, looking a little puzzled.

　　“Of course not. I copied it by hand last night and put the original back. If I took the real one, they’d find out as soon as the chest was opened. There are too many skilled people in the martial world—they’d trace it back to me eventually. Why would I do something so stupid?”

　　An Jiu: “…”

　　Okay, so you’re not a clueless sweetheart after all.

　　She cleared her throat and said casually, “There are a few parts I don’t understand. I’ll take another look.”

　　This martial arts manual wasn’t thick, and its wording was archaic and concise. Since An Jiu didn’t know martial arts, reading it was like navigating through fog—she couldn’t make sense of it and could only force herself to memorize it for now.

　　Fortunately, An Jiu had an excellent memory. Ever since she was little, she had possessed an eidetic memory. Once she learned something, she rarely forgot it. She only needed to read something once to memorize it, which was why she was hailed as a child prodigy and gained her grandfather’s favor at a young age.

　　As she read, An Jiu thought silently to herself.

　　In the original novel, it was mentioned that Jin Yanwan stole the manual two days before it was to be publicly revealed. She had been anxious and panicked, and coincidentally ran into the male and female leads that night. In her flustered state, she hadn’t managed to return the original manual in time.

　　Now, with An Jiu’s presence, the plot had twisted again.

　　Jin Yanwan awakened early, took advantage of the Jinshe Town Lantern Festival to steal the manual, and even returned the original to its place. In other words, the original plotline involving the theft had been completely altered by the butterfly effect!

　　The male and female leads’ moment of glory had vanished once again. An Jiu touched her conscience and felt a strange twinge of guilt.

　　In the original story, He Ziqing would already have made quite a name for himself in the martial world by now. But as things stood, the two of them were still working as guards for Jinshe Manor.

　　Apparently, they didn’t become guards purely out of righteousness—Jin You was also paying them handsomely.

　　For the protagonists of a novel to end up like this—tragic!

　　But then she thought about her own ending and silently withdrew her hand.

　　Rather than pitying the leads, she should probably be worrying about herself. After having her fate read by the Shen Suan Wuming, An Jiu wasn’t completely unaffected. Deep inside, she felt a growing sense of urgency.

　　She was going to die—but when? How? Would she complete her mission before then?

　　These were all pressing questions.

　　And with the Demonic Sect’s attack approaching, she needed to start preparing ahead of time.

　　Just as she was lost in thought, Jin Yanwan brought over a writing set and said to her, “An Jiu, I prepared paper and ink for you. You can copy a version to take back.”

　　An Jiu had just reached the last page. She lifted her head and let out a long breath, then slowly closed the book and gave a slight smile. “No need. I’ve memorized it all.”

　　Outside the window, in the tree, Sha Qi once again heard the bird’s call that signaled him.

　　He glanced into the room where the two girls appeared to be reading a storybook together. After a brief silence, he lightly pushed off the branch with the tip of his foot and vanished into the air. The apricot branches swayed slightly, and two green leaves fluttered to the ground.

________________

Glossary:

¹‘Sha Qi’ (杀七) is a name, and it can be interpreted literally as:

杀 (shā) — means ‘kill’ or ‘to kill’

七 (qī) — means ‘seven’

So 杀七 can be translated as ‘Kill Seven’ or ‘Killer Seven’, depending on the tone of the story.

In wuxia or cultivation stories, names like this are often used for assassins, secret agents, or shadow guards, especially if they're part of a numbered group (like a squad of killers named Kill One, Kill Two, etc.).

Given the context where he's spying and hiding in a tree, Sha Qi is likely an assassin or secret operative working under someone powerful (probably Pei Ji/裴寂). His name reinforces his cold and lethal role in the story.

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