Page 4

Even less expected was that Tian Xianzi's personal disciple would suddenly push the door open and come in.

They had long heard that this young lady was willful and domineering. Yet now she had deigned to stick up for Pei Ji. What could this be called? It was definitely love!

A lovesick girl had lost her way in the sword path but found success in love. She had fallen head over heels for the unfamiliar boy who had defeated her, chasing him all the way to where he lived and unhesitatingly scolding the fellow disciple who had bullied him.

She had heard that heavenly darlings like this would fall for the people who defeated them. It seemed the stories really hadn't lied.

Nie Zhi was both shocked and terrified. In his head, he spun an entire tragic sect romance about Ning Ning pining for Pei Ji and never winning his heart. Yet Ning Ning herself, the heroine of this tale, knew nothing about it.

All she could think was, I'm doomed.

She had promised the system she'd do a good job with her mission, but right from the start, the plot had fallen apart so badly even its own mother wouldn't recognize it.

This wouldn't do.

When you promised someone something, you had to see it through. Even as a vicious supporting female character, she needed professional integrity!

"I didn't come here specifically to help you."

The original owner had met Pei Ji, so she couldn't use "I mistook you for someone else" as an excuse. Ning Ning gritted her teeth and forced out the words. From regret and embarrassment, the tips of her ears were burning.

Everything she'd said was true, but to the others, it sounded like something else entirely.

Seeing a flush of red on the girl's pearly earlobe, Nie Zhi trembled.

She blushed as she spoke, then hurried to distance herself from Pei Ji. One look and he could tell she was a classic tsundere. If she hadn't come specifically to help him, why had she said all that to Shen Anqiao?

Pei Ji's face was expressionless. Nie Zhi looked thoughtful.

Ning Ning sensed that something was off. Meeting the other boy's pitch-black eyes, still smoldering with hostility, she added indignantly, "Listen carefully. You only beat me in today's competition because I used less than half my strength. Don't get too pleased with yourself. I'll beat you sooner or later!"

Those were the words the original owner had said in the book.

But at this, Nie Zhi looked even more like he'd finally understood.

He'd thought Ning Ning had fallen for Pei Ji only after losing to him. But judging by those words, this young lady had already fallen head over heels for him.

To let that boy win the competition, she'd used only half her strength—half! For love, she'd even been willing to disregard Jianmen's honor. What a spirit of sacrifice and devotion!

As expected of a personal disciple. Even her pursuit of a man was so pure and unconventional.

If she found out that he, too, had once bullied her beloved terribly...

Shen Anqiao, who had Pei Ji's sword pointed at him, was already weeping bitterly. Afraid he'd suffer the same fate, Nie Zhi decided he'd better take advantage of the two of them flirting and get out of this den of trouble.

After a moment's thought, he lowered his voice and gave them a fawning smile. "Sorry for the trouble. Could I take my leave first?"

To make Ning Ning happy, he added, "The two of you are made for each other—a fine man and a beautiful woman. I can't help but envy you. If I stay here, I'm afraid I'll only get in the way of your growing closer."

He spoke with such heartfelt emotion, never realizing that this was the greatest possible insult to someone's professional ability. He was practically dancing through a minefield, yet his grin was bright as a chrysanthemum, as if he were about to fly up and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

Ning Ning was furious and aggrieved.

Please, could someone respect her status as a vicious supporting female character? Who wanted to grow closer to the male lead?!

Chapter 2

As a clever young woman who'd devoured all kinds of male-oriented, female-oriented, and certain other kinds of web novels, Ning Ning wasn't stupid. She immediately understood what Nie Zhi meant.

What she was doing really was easy to misunderstand. If she dug in her heels, she'd only make things look even more suspicious.

In the established plot, the original owner had insulted Pei Ji and then left. The situation was awkward now, and Ning Ning didn't want to stick around either. But to put an end to the male lead's unrealistic, self-indulgent fantasies, she added before leaving, "I really don't like you!"

Pei Ji looked at her...

All right, there wasn't a single expression on his face. His long, narrow phoenix eyes flicked over her coolly. His voice was cold as shards of ice, with a faint ember of killing intent still smoldering beneath it. "I never said you did."

Ning Ning choked.

Male lead, are you a dog? Would you die if you didn't snap back at me?

Now it looked like she was the one imagining things.

"And you two."

Pei Ji was as hard as a lump of iron. She wasn't foolish enough to kick it head-on, so she turned to the other two people present. "Don't you dare let your imaginations run wild!"

Nie Zhi nodded repeatedly, his expression saying, "Yes, yes, we understand. The young lady just likes to play around." His head bobbed like a lucky cat's paw. "Yes, yes, we absolutely won't let our imaginations run wild."

Ning Ning was about to die of frustration.

But she couldn't explain herself no matter what she said. She could only grit her teeth, meet Pei Ji's gaze, and deliver the final harsh line that the system had forced her to say—the vicious supporting female character's last line in the original novel. "We'll meet again. Just you wait!"

Ning Ning: ...

Even she felt that after all that, she'd come off as a tsundere young lady who was secretly in love with the male lead but too embarrassed to admit it!

In the original context, "We'll meet again" really did sound chilling. But coming from her...

Why did it sound like she couldn't wait to see her beloved again?!

Ning Ning was suffocating from this ridiculous misunderstanding. Without hesitation, she turned and left, neither waving her sleeves nor carrying away a single cloud, leaving three people with wildly different expressions in the dormitory.

Nie Zhi let out a dry laugh and timidly glanced at Pei Ji. "Looks like she's head over heels for you. Congratulations."

That young lady had left, but Pei Ji was still there like a mad dog. Nie Zhi felt he was done for.

Back during the entrance examination, Pei Ji had been nothing but a poor kid with weak spiritual power and demonic blood still lingering in his body. He had no money, no influence, and no strength, making him the perfect target for him and Shen Anqiao to vent their frustrations on.

The kid was something else. Even with barely any strength, every time they beat him, he'd fight back with everything he had, only earning himself an even worse beating. No matter how badly he was hurt, he never once begged for mercy.

He was like a wolf cub without claws or fangs, its eyes blood-red.