Chapter 3 - Taking Advantage When the Female Lead Is Desperate! Nothing Wrong with That, Right?

Chapter 3: Taking Advantage When the Female Lead Is Desperate! Nothing Wrong with That, Right?

According to Zhang Chen’s original plan for the manga storyline, the story’s timeline would begin in about thirty days. At that point, the first female lead, Xing Lingyun, one of the former Ten Yama Kings of the Demon-Slaying Division, had already been hunted down for a long time. Severely injured all over, her strength had plummeted to a lethal level.

Although a lethal-level demon was still terrifying, compared to her original identity as one of the Ten Yama Kings, and her post-corruption transformation into a nightmare-level existence, falling to the lethal level meant she had been weakened to the extreme.

Under such circumstances, the original male lead of the manga, Ye Fan, By a stroke of luck—or perhaps just sheer dumb luck, encountered the heavily injured Xing Lingyun!

Then, using his ancestral treasure, the Bagua Bronze Mirror, He saved Xing Lingyun’s life.

After that, he even helped her evade the pursuit of the Demon-Slaying Division, forging an unbreakable bond between them.

Zhang Chen knew Ye Fan’s growth trajectory well—after all, he was the one who created the story. Of course, before he transmigrated, the manga had yet to be published. It was merely at the initial conceptual stage, not fully refined.

“It’s common to add flowers to a brocade, but rare and most precious to deliver charcoal in the snow.”

Zhang Chen smiled faintly.

“Right now is precisely when Xing Lingyun has nowhere to turn. The Demon-Slaying Division will never give up on executing this traitor.” People are often most grateful to the one who extends a helping hand in their darkest hour.

Xing Lingyun might have fallen and become a demon, but unlike those mindless, born-and-bred demons, she was once human—and not just any human, but the strongest Yama King of the Demon-Slaying Division!

Even after she fell into demonhood, she still retained her original memories and intellect.

“Xing Lingyun still went soft in the end. Otherwise, unless at least two other Yama Kings joined forces against her, how could they have possibly wounded her?”

Upon hearing the news that his steward had gathered, Zhang Chen immediately made a decision. This opportunity must not be missed!

Now was the perfect moment to undermine Ye Fan and seize the first female lead, Xing Lingyun, for himself.

“Uncle Liu, have people closely monitor the situation over there. I don’t want to miss a single detail, no matter how minor!” Zhang Chen narrowed his eyes, his voice deadly serious.

Then, he added, “Also, tell our men to pay extra attention to the northern part of the city. If they see a lone woman who is exceptionally beautiful, they must take note.”

The steward found this strange but dared not question it. Even though over the past two days, he had noticed a significant change in his young master’s demeanor.

No longer was Zhang Chen constantly brooding with a dark face, nor did he erupt into hysterical fits of rage anymore. Yet he still nodded and responded, “Understood, Young Master. I will make the arrangements at once.”

“Remember, if you spot a woman matching my description, do not act recklessly. Report back to me immediately!”

Zhang Chen naturally wanted to find Xing Lingyun, but the timeline hadn’t yet reached the beginning of the story.

Even he wasn’t sure if Xing Lingyun had arrived in Jiangdong yet. After all, in the manga’s opening, Xing Lingyun appeared directly. But now, the timeline had advanced by about a month.

So… If she were in Jiangdong, where could she be hiding now?

If not for Uncle Liu’s intelligence that the Demon-Slaying Division’s Jiangdong branch had recently suffered heavy casualties, He wouldn’t have been so certain.

The steward didn’t dare ask too much, and the subordinates under him dared even less. To them, wasn’t it just about finding a beautiful woman? Although Zhang Chen had instructed them to search the northern slums of the old city, which was a bit unusual, they didn’t think much of it. They simply assumed their young master’s tastes had changed, and he wanted to experience a different style.

Meanwhile, Uncle Liu pondered in his heart,

The young master hasn’t been pestering Miss Lin Xi lately… Could it be that he has finally come to his senses and given up?

Lin Xi was none other than Zhang Chen’s fiancée. The eldest daughter of the Lin family in Jiangdong.

Lin Xi had been feeling uneasy these past two days. Even she didn’t know why. It was as if… Something was missing from her life.

At this moment, inside Lin Corporation, Lin Xi was staring blankly out of the window.

“Xiao Xi, did you fight with Zhang Chen?” A beautiful woman, who looked at most twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, gazed at Lin Xi’s dazed expression and finally couldn’t resist asking.

“Huh?” Lin Xi snapped out of her daze, her expression turning slightly awkward. “Who fought with him?”

The beautiful woman was Lin Xi’s mother, and also the current president of Lin Corporation—Xia Yanbing.

However, those unfamiliar with them often mistook them for sisters upon their first meeting. Seeing her daughter’s reaction, Xia Yanbing shook her head.

“You silly girl. Zhang Chen may have many flaws, but you can’t just keep acting willfully. That child is still quite devoted to you.”

“Mom! I don’t want to talk about this!” Lin Xi was annoyed.

Xia Yanbing sighed, “He hasn’t come to see you recently. Did you do something to make him angry again?”

“You’ve always been like this since childhood. And don’t think I don’t know your little schemes.”

Being lectured by her mother, Lin Xi felt wronged.

Though she did deliberately find someone to pretend to be her boyfriend just to provoke Zhang Chen, her only goal was to make the Zhang family cancel the engagement.

“If he doesn’t come to bother me, I’d be even happier. Finally, some peace!” Lin Xi pouted.

Seeing her like this, Xia Yanbing didn’t say much more, but she still felt worried deep down.

To outsiders, Lin Corporation and the Lin family seemed powerful, especially in Jiangdong, where they were on par with the Zhang family.

But in truth, the Lin family had long since declined. What remained was merely a hollow facade of prestige barely held together.

For this reason, the Lin family’s elders were desperate for external support.

It just so happened that Zhang Chen, the favored grandson of the rising Zhang family, took a liking to Lin Xi. This made the Lin family’s elders overjoyed. They immediately agreed, leading to the arranged marriage between the two great families.

However…

Lin Xi was very opposed to it.

“Sigh…” Xia Yanbing couldn’t bear to explain the harsh truth to Lin Xi.

After all, Lin Xi had been pampered since childhood, shielded from worldly hardships. If she ever discovered that, in the eyes of her own family—especially the grandfather who doted on her—she was merely a tool to save the family from ruin, How would she ever accept it?

“Mom, I don’t want to marry him! Zhang Chen is a total lunatic! He’s not a good person at all!” Lin Xi muttered.

But Xia Yanbing shook her head. “Zhang Chen may have many flaws, but that Ye Fan you picked is even worse.”

Hearing this, Lin Xi became defensive. It wasn’t that she liked Ye Fan—he was just a fake boyfriend she had hired. She simply felt that Ye Fan was cheerful and kind, and she was grateful that he agreed to help her.

“Mom! How can you be so prejudiced?!”

“Silly girl, you can’t judge people by appearances.”

At this moment, the so-called ‘lunatic’ Zhang Chen was sitting inside the director’s office of the largest hospital in Jiangdong.