Arc.
1.10
The Wicked Child of the Stepmother
Not long after, Nian Zhen received a notification from the system: the skill card was no longer functional.
It wasn’t usable because it had malfunctioned beyond repair!!
Damn it.
I shouldn’t have expected anything from you, you useless excuse for a system.
[…] The system stayed silent, allowing Nian Zhen to curse it freely, too scared to respond.
The next morning, dressed in his school uniform, Nian Zhen made his way to the dining room, where Xia Yanjing was already seated.
The butler greeted him and set down breakfast in front of him.
Big brother, you look as handsome as ever today ~~
Nian Zhen thought, taking his seat and looking at the breakfast in front of him without noticing Xia Yanjing’s peculiar gaze.
Good food is the best thing in the world.
And eating with someone good-looking?
That’s a blessing.
Xia Yanjing glanced at Meng Zhenzhen again.
Why are you staring at me, big brother?
Do you see my true evil self?
Look at how fake I am, pretending to be all innocent and harmless.
I’m totally despicable, just like that greedy woman, Du, I call mother—I’m a chip off the old block, aren’t I?
Although this was his inner monologue, he greeted the male protagonist with a sweet voice.
“Good morning, big brother.”
Xia Yanjing gazed back at Meng Zhenzhen with a knowing look in his eyes.
Why are you looking at me like that, big brother?
Sure, you’re handsome, but it’s scary.
Wait, did I mess up my act somehow…?
Finally, Xia Yanjing averted his eyes, sipped his tea, and lowered his gaze, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
[…]
Nian Zhen relaxed and returned to his breakfast in comfort, thoroughly enjoying the service of the butler.
This was the epitome of comfort.
After breakfast, it was time to head to school.
Nian Zhen thought,
Lucky there’s no math today.
I’m exhausted, but I’ll have to pretend I’m paying attention in class—otherwise, how am I going to explain my good grades?
And that Aunt Du, honestly.
Her son’s out of the house, and she doesn’t even bother to call and check on me.
She’s too busy scheming to get her hands on other people’s wealth.
Not that it’s a surprise.
Even when I was taken in by the Meng family, she never cared once.
Just you wait, I’ll dig a hole big enough to bury you in.
A birth mother acting like a stepmother deserves some serious payback.
Xia Yanjing turned toward Meng Zhenzhen.
Without hearing his thoughts, he might have easily been deceived by that façade.
Meng Zhenzhen appeared to be a good, obedient, and charming child, always smiling brightly on the surface.
Interesting, this mother-son dynamic…
Big brother, when are you going to hate me so much that you decide to teach me a lesson?
You should take on that conniving stepmother of mine and the fake White Lotus who’s constantly provoking you.
And as for that scumbag father of yours, Chairman Xia—why don’t you rebel and take control of the family?
How dare he hit you over a few cheap tricks?
What a lowlife.
Whoever hurts you, you should crush them all until you’re the victor, the one they all look up to but can never touch.
I can’t wait to see the day that you rule over everyone, big brother.
“…” Xia Yanjing felt he might need to reevaluate his view of Meng Zhenzhen entirely.
[…] The system, which saw the hatred level decrease by 15%, didn’t dare notify the host of the change.
I’m seriously unlucky here.
I’ve done all these wicked things, and yet my dear big brother still isn’t angry.
Big brother, even if you do seem a bit evil sometimes, I really think you’re a good person.
Otherwise, how else could you withstand all the vile things I do?
So could you please, please just show a little rage, a little hatred toward me?
Enough that the whole world knows how much you despise me.
How am I supposed to keep up this white lotus act if you stay so cold and quiet, seeing through everything I do?
Tsk, tsk.
I’m running out of evil schemes here.
Why isn’t anything rattling you, big brother?
This is exhausting.
Next, that woman Du will definitely stir up some more trouble, and your rotten father will no doubt go along with it.
When are you finally going to realize just how evil everyone around you is?
But don’t worry—I’ll help you, big brother.
Heh heh.
[…] Meanwhile, the system watched the hatred meter fall even lower, while Xia Yanjing’s faint smirk hinted at his growing interest.
Big brother, keep watching me perform.
I’m sacrificing myself entirely just to expose the true faces of everyone around you.
Soon, you’ll know who’s a friend and who’s a foe!!
“Thank you for walking me to class, big brother,” Nian Zhen said sweetly before entering his classroom.
Ugh, I’m so sick of classes already.
“…” Xia Yanjing.
At lunch, the white lotus, Nian Zhen, was ready for his next act.
He quickly pretended to accidentally run into Chun Long again, but this time Chun Long wasn’t alone—Zhou Han was with him.
Nian Zhen held a large book in his hand as if he had just borrowed it from the school library.
Chun Long, noticing him, hurried over to greet him.
“Zhenzhen!!”
Chun Long called out, prompting Nian Zhen to look back and pretend to be surprised at seeing both Chun Long and Zhou Han.
“Long-ge, Han-ge, what a coincidence.”
Nian Zhen greeted them with a polite smile, letting a subtle hint of unease color his expression.
“Zhenzhen, Yanjing forced you to do something again, didn’t he?”
Chun Long jumped right in, proving his status as the top two-faced friend, eager to take advantage of every chance to slander the main character!!
Nian Zhen pretended to be taken aback, quickly shaking his head in denial, avoiding Chun Long’s gaze. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Zhenzhen, don’t be afraid. We’re here, and Yanjing wouldn’t dare harm you with us around. Could you tell us what he did to you so that we can stop him from hurting you again?” Zhou Han said gently, coaxing him with a voice full of concern.
A clever attempt to extract information!!
Their words sounded so righteous and concerned.
But in reality, all these two wanted was to collect evidence that Xia Yanjing had done something wrong so they could pretend to be the good guys, all while stomping on my big brother with the backing of those who don’t know the truth.
Too bad they tried this trick on someone like me, Nian Zhen.
If they wanted information, they’d need to invest a bit more effort.
I saw that Chun Long was holding his phone, clearly trying to record our conversation.
How shameless, using such a low-level trick and expecting it to work.
If this White Lotus really said anything, he’d just become the scapegoat, easy pickings for Old Man Xia.
And those fake friends?
They’d get to play the part of noble protectors, bashing the protagonist as they please.
If things backfire later, they’ll just recant, claiming a misunderstanding with a sweet little apology, shifting every ounce of blame onto Meng Zhenzhen.
What a beautifully vile plan.
But Meng Zhenzhen has lived his whole life as a scheming, conniving White Lotus—no way these rich brats who haven’t seen the world could fool me like that.
“B…big brother, he didn’t do anything to me. He’s really been very kind…” Nian Zhen mumbled, a look of tension creeping over his face.
“Now, the family elder even had me move into the villa to live with him. Big brother’s the one taking care of everything for me…” he continued, his voice growing softer.
Chun Long and Zhou Han were stunned, understanding at last why Xia Yanjing had been escorting Meng Zhenzhen to and from class.
No wonder Meng Zhenzhen hadn’t dared to say anything.
He was probably terrified, since Elder Xia had placed his fate directly in Xia Yanjing’s hands.
Chun Long felt a twinge of irritation; he’d wanted to use this to ruin Xia Yanjing’s reputation.
He would need to come up with a new plan.
He exchanged a knowing glance with Zhou Han.
“Well, I’m glad Yanjing isn’t bullying you. Seems he’s even taking care of you now. Maybe we were just worrying over nothing, but if anything does come up, you know you can always come to us.”
Backtracking that fast?
How shameless, Nian Zhen cursed these rotten friends inwardly, though he let a look of shock and sadness show, as if he had wanted to say something but held back.
“…Okay.”
“Now, you should get going for lunch. We have some things to take care of. We’ll catch up later.”
Seeing that Meng Zhenzhen was of no use, the two scoundrels made a swift exit.
Just then, the male protagonist appeared with impeccable timing.
“Now that the performance is over, go get some food. What are you doing here?” His tone softened a little.
“…” Nian Zhen shot a glare at Xia Yanjing.
Big brother, I’m sacrificing myself for you.
Soon enough, you’ll see just how fake your beloved friends really are.
Honestly, there’s no one who cares about you as much as I do.
As the villain, it’s practically my duty to be scheming.
Just you wait—I’ll think of something devilish soon enough, and when I do, you’d better watch your back.
Xia Yanjing let out a faint sigh.
“Xiao Zhen, maybe try reading fewer novels.”
“…” Nian Zhen
Big brother… I swear, if I were a dog, I’d bite you right now.
This isn’t the first time.
(He seethed through gritted teeth.)
“…” Xia Yanjing.