"Apologize," Wang Haoran said coldly.
"Did you hear him? Apologize, now!" Although Fan Jian did not understand why his boss wanted Xu Muyan to apologize, out of a lackey's instincts, he still bared his fangs and repeated it to her.
But the moment the words left his mouth, Fan Jian got smacked on the forehead.
"Boss, why did you hit me?" he asked, utterly confused.
"I told you to apologize to Xu Muyan. Also, don't call her sister-in-law from now on," Wang Haoran said.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? Apologize already."
"Oh." Fan Jian obediently bowed to Xu Muyan. "I'm sorry, Xu Muyan. I was wrong. I won't call you that again."
Wang Haoran looked at the stunned Xu Muyan. "That sister-in-law thing was just them teasing and egging things on. It has nothing to do with me. I won't let them call you that anymore. Whoever does, I'll smash his mouth in.
As for those rumors that I like you and am determined to win you over, I need to clarify something: they're fake.
We're in our senior year now, and studies come first. I really have no thoughts about dating for the time being, so don't overthink it.
All right, that's it."
With that, Wang Haoran walked toward the classroom without looking back, leaving Xu Muyan standing there in a daze.
Ding! You have changed one of the Female Leads, Xu Muyan's impression of the host. Affection has increased by 20. Current total affection: 10 (ordinary acquaintance).
Ding! The host has influenced the original plot's development and gained 200 Villain Points.
Just as Wang Haoran reached the classroom door, he heard the system notifications.
He was not particularly surprised by this.
The main reason Xu Muyan had disliked him before was those "rumors." On top of that, his lackeys had constantly teased her about it, calling her sister-in-law and the like.
Just imagine it: she was a young girl who had never dated before, so she was surely thin-skinned.
Since she only wanted to focus on her studies, she naturally found it troubling.
Wang Haoran himself had not done anything excessively unreasonable to Xu Muyan so far.
Now that Wang Haoran had made things clear and warned his lackeys not to call her whatever they pleased anymore—
Xu Muyan naturally would no longer dislike Wang Haoran.
The system's evaluation for 10 points of affection was "acquaintance," which counted as the level of goodwill between ordinary classmates.
As far as his current relationship with Xu Muyan went, Wang Haoran was now on the same starting line as the protagonist.
Besides the increase in affection, he had also gained Villain Points.
Wang Haoran checked his current status panel.
Host: Wang Haoran Combat Power: 89 Charm Value: 198 Villain Halo: 99 Villain Points: 300 Skills: None
"Hmm, I have 300 Villain Points now. Another 200 and I can unlock the System Shop. I wonder what'll be in there. It'd be great if there were something that could increase Combat Power," Wang Haoran thought expectantly.
Judging by how the protagonist had utterly crushed three opponents in a one-against-three fight, his Combat Power definitely had to be far above the average of 100.
And as the plot progressed, the protagonist's fighting ability would certainly become even stronger.
Wang Haoran could not even reach the average of 100 right now. In a direct single combat match, he would be no match at all.
Just as Wang Haoran was thinking this, he suddenly sensed a pair of eyes in the classroom watching him.
Deep within that gaze was a trace of hatred.
The owner of that gaze was the bottom-ranked protagonist, Chu Bai.
That name did not sound ordinary at all. He most likely had a Protagonist Halo.
Why?
Because the four great surnames of webnovel protagonists were Ye, Lin, Xiao, and Chu.
And Chu ranked fourth!
Wang Haoran could naturally guess why Chu Bai was looking at him with such hatred.
Fan Jian, Fan Tong, and Qin Shousheng had blocked Chu Bai's path after school yesterday.
Chu Bai surely thought Wang Haoran had ordered it.
But in truth, those three had acted on their own.
Still, Wang Haoran had no intention of explaining himself.
There was no need.
He was a villain. He and the protagonist were natural enemies.
"System, check all of Chu Bai's attribute data for me," Wang Haoran instructed.
Checking requires 100 Villain Points. Proceed?
"Yes!"
Although Wang Haoran had learned some information about the original plot from the system, it had been vague and general—things like how miserable his ending as a villain would be, how miserable his relatives' endings would be, how happy the protagonist would be, and so on.
After the Villain Points were deducted, Chu Bai's status panel appeared.
Protagonist: Chu Bai Combat Power: 155 Charm Value: 100 Protagonist Halo: 357 Skills Possessed: X-ray Vision
"Oh, so he was a protagonist with an X-ray Vision Ability."
Wang Haoran had initially felt pained over spending 100 Villain Points, but after obtaining this crucial information, he immediately felt it was worth it.
As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Now that he knew Chu Bai's Plot Device, dealing with him would become easier.
His Charm Value was only 100, just enough to reach the average. He had nothing more than a forgettable face.
Yet in the original plot, this guy had managed to hook up with so many beautiful girls.
That was completely unreasonable! Wang Haoran had an absurdly high Charm Value of 198, yet he did not even have a single girl.
That was outrageous! His Combat Power of 155 was impressive, though—half again as high as the average.
In the original plot, Chu Bai had relied on his outstanding Combat Power to pull off countless Hero Saves Beauty scenarios and win the hearts of beautiful girls.
But Wang Haoran really wanted to complain about that.
In this peaceful society, where were there so many thugs for Chu Bai to keep running into?
And it would have been one thing if he had merely succeeded in saving them.
Those girls actually ended up falling for Chu Bai because of it.
That was ridiculous.
In this money-driven society, being handsome and rich was what truly mattered.
Why should a forgettable-looking guy who could fight make girls fall for him just because he saved them once? Meanwhile, he was a rich second-generation heir with outrageous Charm Value, yet the female lead disliked him.
Why the hell?!
"System, if I spend money to hire someone to directly kill Chu Bai, what are the odds of success?" Wang Haoran steeled himself and decided to be more direct.
The target's Protagonist Halo points are relatively high. With the host's current Villain Halo points, the chance of success is close to zero.
Damn it, I knew it.
Wang Haoran complained inwardly, deeply dissatisfied, before saying:
"If the chance is close to zero, that means there's still a tiny chance, right? I can try, can't I?"
The system does not recommend that the host perform such an operation. With the Protagonist Halo protecting him, whenever he falls into grave danger, he will inevitably trigger a fortuitous opportunity. Not only will the protagonist resolve the crisis, but he will also become even stronger. This would be extremely disadvantageous to the host.
"The Protagonist Halo is way too damn overpowered." Wang Haoran was depressed.
Host, please do not be discouraged. You may continually weaken the Protagonist Halo by seizing the protagonist's fortuitous opportunities and taking the Female Leads' hearts and bodies, while increasing your Villain Halo points. You may then perform such operations.
"Looks like I can only steal his opportunities and girls step by step, shatter his Protagonist Halo. If I don't, there's only a dead end waiting for me."
Wang Haoran strengthened his resolve.
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