Chapter 7: World One

Who the hell was spreading rumors outside that she and Mu Yixuan were lovers? Come out! She’d skin them alive!

She hadn’t expected to still be the subject of rumors even after being dead for ten years. Nian Zhi’an was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, Guo Yuzhen—who had offered her sincere blessings—bounced away happily. She hadn’t even had a chance to correct the girl’s mistaken impression.

When she saw the girl disappear at the end of the reincarnation path, the girl turned back, waved at her, and shouted loudly, “If you’ve got wedding candies, remember to burn some for me! I want to share the joy in my next life!”

“That’s a rumor! A rumor!” Don’t even think about it in your next life!

The girl clearly didn’t have Nian Zhi’an’s sharp hearing and eyesight. She only grew especially delighted once Nian Zhi’an had agreed, thanked her happily, and then vanished at the end of the reincarnation path.

Nian Zhi’an opened her eyes. Her face shifted from pale to ashen to ghostly white—a truly spectacular sight.

The Little System, aware that it had messed up, minimized its presence as much as possible, terrified of rubbing her the wrong way.

“System!”

【Here!】

“You…” Nian Zhi’an thought it over, but ultimately gave up on asking the Little System to investigate the matter for her. She was afraid it would only make things worse. “Forget it. Help me pack my things.”

【Sure thing!】

The Original Host didn’t have much. After packing up her clothes and such, everything just filled a single suitcase. Nian Zhi’an pulled the suitcase out of campus, drawing plenty of stares along the way.

The events from yesterday had clearly made her infamous. But right now, compared to all the gossip from the school crowd, she found that rumor—which had started circulating from who knew when—even more terrifying!

They weren’t even sparing someone who’d been dead for ten years. Weren’t they afraid she’d turn into a ghost and haunt them at midnight?

Mu Yixuan’s personal driver was already waiting. The moment he spotted Nian Zhi’an, his expression turned rather peculiar. This made her recall the girl’s blessings for a hundred years of harmony, and suddenly she felt deeply uncomfortable.

This Driver Uncle surely hadn’t heard some bizarre rumors too, had he?!

Back at the base of Mu Yixuan’s apartment building, the driver enthusiastically offered to help carry her luggage upstairs, but Nian Zhi’an—feeling eyes boring into her back—politely turned him down.

She stepped out of the car and lifted the suitcase from the trunk. Though it didn’t hold much, it had some weight to it. Yet Nian Zhi’an hoisted it effortlessly with one hand, as if it were a baby chick. Only after confirming she didn’t need his help did the driver finally drive off.

Bang! A suspicious figure wrapped head to toe in black—who knew where he’d come from—hurried forward. Whether lost in thought or simply not watching his step, he collided head-on with Nian Zhi’an.

She didn’t budge an inch, but the man—who towered over her by a head or more—went sprawling flat on his back.

Nian Zhi’an immediately reached out to help him up. But he clearly didn’t appreciate the gesture and started cursing up a storm. “Are you brain-dead? Standing in the middle of the road like a corpse! Can’t you get out of the way when you see someone coming?”

She had been holding his hand to pull him to his feet but promptly let go. The man crashed back down onto his rear.

This time, his hat and wig flew off together. His bald head gleamed in the breeze.

Nian Zhi’an narrowed her eyes slightly. This guy looked a bit familiar.

“Fuck!” the man snarled. “Do you know who I am? You, dressed in cheap rags, dare to mess with me?”

Oh!

That was the right vibe.

Who else but the Male Lead—who could single-handedly rack up half the criminal code—could spout lines like that!

【H-Host! Calm down, Host! We can’t kill the Male Lead. If he dies, this world is done for!】

If she killed the Male Lead right now, the world would collapse, and her goal would be achieved. How could she not be tempted by such a perfect opportunity?

The System watched her in horror. Though it had mechanisms to forcibly restrain its Host, they were mere tickles against a veteran, rebellious Executor like Nian Zhi’an. If she wanted to, this brand-new, barely-trained Little System couldn’t stop her in the slightest.

Would Nian Zhi’an hold back her urge to get revenge on the Main System?

The Little System glanced at its backend monitor of the Host’s emotions. A glaring red exclamation mark stood out prominently.

【If this world collapses, the Antagonist will die too!】 The Little System clung to Nian Zhi’an’s leg, blurting out whatever came to mind.

Three seconds later, the alarm cleared.

【Huh?】

“Mr. Long?” Nian Zhi’an put on a look of sudden realization. “The former president of Long Corporation. Even after getting out of prison after a few years, you can’t go around doing petty theft. Otherwise, you’ll end up right back inside.”

“Who the fuck is doing petty theft? What the hell are you to talk to me like that?” Realizing she’d recognized him, the Male Lead—Long Chendong—yanked off his sunglasses to get a good look at whoever had dared provoke him.

“Oh, I get it. Mr. Long must be broke now that you’re out, right? At least prison gave you free meals. Out here, no food, no place to crash—it’s pretty pitiful. No wonder…” Nian Zhi’an mockingly wiped at nonexistent tears with her sleeve.

Long Chendong flew into a rage and lunged to strike, but his thick, burly arm was pinned down by the lightest press of Nian Zhi’an’s finger.

He struggled a few times but couldn’t budge her at all.

With a gentle push—Nian Zhi’an swore she hadn’t used any force—Long Chendong stumbled back several steps like he was faking an injury to scam her, then plopped down on his ass.

No way? With a brain like that, he still thought he could pull one over on her?

Nian Zhi’an in full aggressive mode was actually somewhat recognizable.

“Song… Song… Song Qi’an!” All the color drained from Long Chendong’s face, as if he’d seen an evil ghost.

No—it couldn’t be. She’d already died, pushed off the eighteenth floor by him and smashed to bits! He’d confirmed her mangled corpse with his own eyes. She couldn’t possibly come back to life!

Long Chendong rubbed his eyes furiously. It wasn’t her. The demeanor was similar, but on closer inspection, the face wasn’t quite the same—and she looked so young…

“You’ve got the wrong person, Mr. Long. Wasn’t Song Qi’an the one you pushed off the building ten years ago, killing her on impact? Who are you shouting for?” Nian Zhi’an squatted beside Long Chendong and poured oil on the flames, sending his barely-calmed heart racing back to his throat.

This was the secret Long Chendong had kept hidden all these years. No one knew—not even his wife.

He gaped at her, staring with bulging eyes as guttural “heh heh” noises leaked from his throat.

If that crazy bitch Mu Yixuan found out, the consequences didn’t bear thinking about. He’d covered his tracks so carefully—how could it possibly be exposed?!

Most importantly, where had this person come from? Why did she look so much like Song Qi’an, and how did she know about that incident!

Long Chendong had never believed in ghosts or gods, but in that moment, he suddenly felt like Song Qi’an had crawled up from hell to exact revenge!

“What… what the hell are you?” Long Chendong’s teeth chattered. “No, no—that must be it. A replacement cultivated by the Song Family, right? Heh, those bastards think they can use you to squeeze benefits out of Mu Yixuan. What a low-class ploy.”

Long Chendong stood up and fiddled nonstop with his clothes to mask his panic. He was always skilled at fooling himself.

“Your little tricks might fool Mu Yixuan, but not me. If you’re smart… get the hell out of my sight.” He jammed the wig and hat back on. Even the word “get” lacked conviction—all bark and no bite.

Nian Zhi’an watched as Long Chendong, feigning composure, wrapped himself up tight once more. As he brushed past her, she offered a “helpful” warning.

“Watch where you’re going.”

Not far off, there was a steep slope. Long Chendong hurried away, but even on level ground, he tripped over his own feet and went tumbling down the long incline.

“Pfft!” Nian Zhi’an couldn’t hold back her laughter.

The System heaved a huge sigh of relief. Good, good—the small world was safe!

【This world’s protagonist is so weird. His Fortune… or rather, his Protagonist Halo, is super feeble. Nothing like in the book.】 As they walked, the System chatted with Nian Zhi’an and griped.

“Oh?” Nian Zhi’an glanced at it. “You sure?”

【Of course. I couldn’t possibly get this wrong. Wait, Host—why are you smiling like that? So creepy!】

“Nothing.” Nian Zhi’an’s smile shone brighter than the sun overhead. “I just suddenly think you’re kinda cute.”

This was the second time today her Host had complimented it. The System inexplicably felt a chill and a surge of unease.

Nian Zhi’an’s mood seemed genuinely much improved. Humming a tune, she dragged her suitcase into the apartment.

Meanwhile, in a certain corner outside an upstairs window, a red laser dot glowed steadily.

She settled temporarily into Mu Yixuan’s place. Meals arrived on schedule three times a day, but Nian Zhi’an didn’t see the apartment’s owner return even by evening. When she woke the next morning, Mu Yixuan had already left.

Nian Zhi’an glanced at the note left on the table. Mu Yixuan had written that breakfast was in the fridge and she should remember to eat it, and that she’d bring her little niece over at noon.

Nian Zhi’an quickly wolfed down breakfast, then frantically Baidu’d lesson plans and crammed.

A little after ten, she suddenly heard a piercing child’s scream from downstairs—crying and carrying on in a way that battered the eardrums.

Surely this wasn’t coming from…

Her new toy—er, the kid!

The child’s screams died down for a moment, then gradually grew louder until they stopped right at the door.

Nian Zhi’an opened the door and stood there with a warm smile. The moment the child saw her, her voice shot up another octave.

Mu Yixuan and her sister looked quite alike, and this child resembled her mother so much that if Mu Yixuan carried her out, no one would bat an eye at calling them mother and daughter.

Mu Yixuan had just set the little one down when the bear cub slipped away like an eel, darting toward the elevator without a moment’s pause.

Unfortunately for her, Mu Yixuan was even faster this time. She scooped the child right back into the house.

“President Mu, this must be little Mu Tiantian. She’s so cute,” Nian Zhi’an said with a straight face.

“I don’t want a teacher! I don’t want to stay here—I want to go home!” The child kicked and bit wildly in Mu Yixuan’s arms, a little tyrant through and through.

The girl was in elementary school after all, and she put up quite a fight. Mu Yixuan was on the verge of losing her grip when Nian Zhi’an stepped forward and took the child from her arms.

Mu Tiantian still tried to struggle, only to find that she could barely move anything except her neck—everything else was firmly bound.

“System, help me block out some of the noise.”

【No problem.】

With that, the child’s yelling became useless. Once she tired herself out, she finally quieted down.

A hint of exhaustion showed on Mu Yixuan’s face—who wouldn’t have a headache dealing with a kid like this? Nian Zhi’an’s unflappable demeanor, steady as a rock, earned her a bit more respect in Mu Yixuan’s eyes.

“I’m leaving this child in your hands. Tiantian, call her Teacher.”

“No way! What kind of stinky woman thinks she can make me call her Teacher?” The child was utterly defiant.

Mu Yixuan’s expression darkened, as if she were about to lose her temper.

“It’s fine if she doesn’t want to. Don’t get upset with her, President Mu—watch out for that headache of yours.” Nian Zhi’an played the part of a gentle, tolerant, and seemingly pushover young teacher to perfection. The child rolled her eyes so hard they nearly vanished into the back of her skull, already plotting in her mind to get rid of this teacher within three days.

“Don’t spoil her. If you’re not strict with her, she won’t listen at all.” Mu Yixuan rubbed her temples; her migraine seemed to be faintly stirring again.

“It’s no big deal—she’s just a kid.” Nian Zhi’an grinned cheerfully, though in her heart she thought: The kid’s still young, so of course I can’t go easy on her!

She would make this little brat learn exactly how she earned her reputation as the kids’ nightmare!