Just as Bu Feiyan stood amidst the carnage, heart pounding with excitement and anticipation, convinced she had once again encountered the mysterious senior whoâd saved her before, Wang Haoran emerged slowly from the forest.
Her eyes widened in shock. âYou⊠Scumbag?! How is it you?!â
Wang Haoran smirked, a lazy confidence in his eyes. âWhat scumbag? I saved your lifeâtwice. Donât forget who you called Senior last time.â
Bu Feiyan froze, and in that instant, everything clicked. The mysterious savior who had haunted her thoughts wasnât some venerable old masterâit was Wang Haoran. Her mouth opened slightly as she stared, and after a beat, she muttered, âActually, itâs three times, if weâre being exact.â
She couldnât help but look him over with fresh eyes. She had always imagined that the person who saved her would be an elder, someone ancient and steeped in experience. But standing before her was someone younger than herself. Not only youngâdevastatingly handsome.
ăDing! Host reveals peak expert identity. Female Lead Bu Feiyan favorability +50. Current total favorability: 50 (Budding Affection)ă
ăDing! Host alters plot progression. Gained 1800 Villain Points. Lin Chen Protagonist Halo -90. Host Villain Halo +90ă
The systemâs notification surprised Wang Haoran at first, but the numbers made sense. A 50-point jump in favorability might seem exaggerated, but this was the result of multiple accumulated events.
Bu Feiyan wasnât like Ji Shuiyao, who could remain immune to charm value. With Wang Haoranâs appearance alone, she wouldâve already had a base favorability of 20. He had saved her once in the alleyway by sheer coincidence, and twice more since then. Even if he didnât remember the second time she was referring to, she clearly did.
Three rescues at 10 points each, plus the charm bonusâthat added up perfectly.
Now that she had confirmed Wang Haoran was the senior she had been searching for, her attitude shifted completely. Gone was the biting tone and righteous anger on behalf of her Seventh Sister. That matter? Forgotten. Left behind like dust on the wind. Partly because she wasnât the ungrateful type, but more importantlyâshe couldnât beat him.
With an almost reverent gaze, she stepped forward and asked in a soft voice, âSenior⊠how did you cultivate to this level? Can you⊠teach me?â
âI donât take disciples,â Wang Haoran said flatly, tone brooking no discussion. He had no plans to teach anyoneânor did he actually have anything to teach.
Disappointed but unwilling to give up, Bu Feiyan quickly added, âI wouldnât dare dream of being your disciple. I only hope⊠for a bit of guidance. Just a little!â
Seeing her persistence, Wang Haoran sighed and said, âGive me the short sword youâve strapped to your thigh.â
Her eyes widened. She was wearing loose pants, and the weapon had been carefully concealed. How did he know?
âYouâre amazing, Senior. But⊠how did you know it was there?â she asked, genuinely awed as she pulled the blade free.
Wang Haoran ignored the question. There was no way he could admit he saw it through X-ray Vision.
Taking the short sword, he made a simple motionâunsheathing it, then sliding it smoothly back into its scabbard. He tossed it back to her, expression inscrutable. âUnderstand now?â
Bu Feiyan blinked, completely lost. âNo⊠not really.â
Wang Haoran clicked his tongue, feigning disappointment. âThen your aptitudeâs just too poor. Go ponder it on your own.â
âYes!â she said earnestly, nodding like a student before a master.
Wang Haoran resisted the urge to laugh. Not only did she not understandâhe didnât either. He was just bluffing the whole thing.
From behind, Ji Shuiyao walked over slowly with a complicated expression. Her face was pale from the earlier shock, but now it was tinged with something elseâdoubt.
âYou and Seventh Sister⊠itâs really true?â she asked quietly.
Wang Haoran narrowed his eyes and shot a glance at Bu Feiyan.
This woman had spilled everythingâto the letterâabout his relationship with Qiu Qianwei. Now Ji Shuiyao had her guard up, which would make it much harder to âmaneuverâ her again unless her Favorability went up further.
Still, Wang Haoran nodded calmly. âYes. Iâm with your Seventh Sister.â
ăDing! Host triggers jealousy in Female Lead Ji Shuiyao. Gained 400 Villain Pointsă
ăDing! Host triggers jealousy in Female Lead Bu Feiyan. Gained 200 Villain Pointsă
Ji Shuiyao tried to smile. âSeventh Sister is so elegant, so gentle. You⊠make a good match. I wish you both well.â
Bu Feiyan stayed silent, but inwardly, a tinge of envy stirred. Only now did she truly understand why their Seventh Sister, perfect in so many ways, had fallen so deeply for this man.
Wang Haoran glanced at the corpses littering the area. âThis place isnât safe. We should leave.â
The plan to further seduce Ji Shuiyao would have to be shelved. For now. The next day, he took her back to China.
Bu Feiyan remained behind to clean up the mess. Aside from the eight elite Black Mamba assassins whoâd been wiped out, there were still other smaller fish to deal with. She would handle them.
â
Back home, Ji Shuiyao didnât contact Wang Haoran again. Lin Chen remained unusually quiet as well. During this time, Wang Haoran tried reaching out to Ji Shuiyao, but she refused to meet him, clearly keeping her distance.
He didnât force the issue. Instead, he took the opportunity to rest and recharge.
Before long, the new semester at Qingling University was about to begin. Students from across the country flocked to the campus.
Since Wang Haoran was a local, he didnât bother showing up early. He waited until the very last day of registration before making his way to the school.
At the campus gates, a reception area had been set up for new students, manned mostly by senior studentsâboth male and female.
As soon as he arrived and signed in, a group of senior girls descended like hungry wolves spotting prey. After a brief round of fawning, they personally escorted him all the way to the freshman dorms, reluctant to part with him even at the door.
Although Wang Haoran planned to live off-campus, such applications took time to process. For now, heâd have to stay in the dorms.
The room was a standard four-person unit, and the other three beds were already claimed.
All three of his roommates were Rich Second Gens.
Liu Huaâs family owned a restaurant empire, worth around 5 billion. Lu Mingâs family ran a massive chain of supermarketsâabout 3.5 billion. The last, Pang Zhihang, came from a seafood trading company, assets estimated at 1 billion.
With backgrounds like that, the trio naturally carried themselves with arroganceâwalking stereotypes of the disposable villain cannon-fodder template.
But Wang Haoran was no ordinary villain.
With a Villain Halo value of 3696, the sheer aura he radiated made lesser villains instinctively defer to him. The three quickly acknowledged him as their Big Brother, organizing themselves into ranks based on family wealth.
The dorm became a picture of harmonyâliquor flowing, laughter echoing.
Wang Haoran didnât mind associating with these arrogant scions. In fact, he welcomed it.
With their mocking attitudes and flashy behavior, they were bound to attract Protagonist Halos sooner or later.
And unlike before, Wang Haoran no longer needed to tread carefully.
He had grown powerful enough to take on multiple protagonists at once.