After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Mountain Bumpkin

“I’m telling you, Tao Yuan, what’s wrong with you asking your brother to do some chores? He’s about to go enjoy life in the city, so when there’s no one to do the mountain work, don’t you come asking me. I’ve got to go to the card table…”

The skinny man didn’t get to finish his sentence before a woman’s scream erupted from the dimly lit tiled house. “Li Xiangdong! Did you take my money to gamble again?! Have you no shame?! We don’t even have enough money for our son’s school fees, and you still dare to go play cards?! I’ll kill you!”

Tao Yuan screamed, grabbing a stool and a table nearby and smashing them furiously at Li Xiangdong.

Crash! Smash!

The already fragile furniture splintered all over the floor, the sound jarring in the quiet village where the only other noises were the chickens, ducks, and geese.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors immediately gathered outside the door. A few middle-aged women shook their heads as they cracked melon seeds.

“Sigh, it’s a real shame Tao Yuan is stuck with a gambler like that…”

One woman rolled her eyes. “It serves her right. Who told her to take that kid, Tao Ning, with her when she married? He’s just an adopted brother, and a sickly one at that. Who is she trying to impress, protecting him like he’s the apple of her eye?”

Another woman immediately grew indignant. “That Tao Ning is such a good kid. He gets first place on all his exams every year and even won some big award in a math Olympiad. Now someone’s sponsoring him to study in the city. He’ll make a fortune one day after he graduates. I think you’re just jealous for your own son…”

“Hey—you?!”

“Auntie Liu, Auntie Zhang.”

Just as the two women were arguing, a clear, urgent voice interrupted them.

They both looked over. It was evening, and the setting sun was low in the sky, casting a faint orange glow on the boy who was running toward them. The light pierced through his faded clothes, highlighting his slender and upright frame, as well as the thinness of his neck and shoulders beneath his black backpack straps.

The shadow of a camphor tree by the door happened to fall on his cheek, creating a sharp contrast with his delicate, fair skin.

The boy’s full, rosy lips were pursed. The shadow moved with him, clinging to his high, refined nose. Further up, however, a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses obscured his brows and eyes, making it impossible to see his entire face.

His short, slightly curly bangs were matted against his forehead, a clear sign that the boy had rushed straight back from school. He was breathing in small gasps, his anxious eyes peering into the house, where the sounds of things breaking grew louder.

Auntie Liu, the woman who had just defended the boy,’s eyes lit up. “Ning, you’re back from school? My son Xiaoming got a sixty on his math test yesterday. Thank you so much for tutoring him! How about this? You help Xiaoming with some more lessons in a few days, and I’ll treat you to some apples, okay?”

The woman didn’t notice Tao Ning’s anxious gaze and continued to chatter on, hoping he’d tutor her son.

Tao Ning nodded and stood on his tiptoes to see what was happening inside.

The woman who had just been insulting Tao Ning immediately changed her tune. Not wanting Auntie Liu to get ahead of her, she quickly blocked the boy and said with a smile, “Ning Ning, why don’t you tutor my Li Hua too? My Li Hua is a smart girl! Especially in English! You can help her win an Olympiad award as well…”

“M-mm… okay…” Tao Ning replied in a low voice.

Just then, a voice that no one but Tao Ning could hear suddenly appeared.

“I’m worrying for you, you dummy. Why don’t you just refuse them?! They’re clearly taking advantage of you. Are you out of your mind?!”

When the voice spoke, Tao Ning froze for a second before responding to it in his mind with practiced ease. “They aren’t bad people.”

“They aren’t bad people so they can take advantage of you?”

Tao Ning thought for a moment and then earnestly answered the disembodied voice in his head, or rather, the system.

“This isn’t taking advantage. Both my sister and my books say that we should be happy to help others.” The boy’s lips curled into a shy smile. “Besides, I charge a fee.”

The system replied, “Fine, you little dummy. Now go check on your sister.”

Tao Ning gave a serious “mm” in his head. Taking a deep breath, he spoke to the women who were practically begging him to come home with them to tutor their kids. “Auntie Liu, Auntie Zhang, Auntie Chen, I…”

He didn’t get to finish before a sharp female voice cut in from the front of the house. “What are you all standing at my door for?! Are you going to let my brother come inside?! Go on! Go home, all of you!”

The sound of quickening footsteps grew closer. The women blocking Tao Ning’s path exchanged glances and then quickly left.

Tao Ning let out a silent sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have been able to handle the aunties by himself. He had just come back to his senses when someone grabbed his backpack. But the hand that held the heavy bag was a woman’s—thin, bony, and covered in calluses.

Tao Ning looked up, meeting a pair of clear eyes through his glasses. She was only half a head shorter than him and not tall. It was hard to imagine the voice that had been sharp enough to startle birds came from such a frail body.

Tao Yuan smiled.

“Ning Ning, you’re back?”

Tao Ning’s eyes curved into a smile. “Yes, sister, I’m back.”

Afraid that Tao Ning was hungry, Tao Yuan held his backpack and urged him forward, nagging him. “What are you doing back so early today? You should spend more time learning from Mr. Wang. You don’t need to worry about the chores on the mountain.”

Tao Ning lived in a deep mountain village where people made a living off of the lemon trees on the mountain.

“I need to worry,” Tao Ning silently picked up the other strap of his backpack. “It’s also the day brother-in-law comes back.”

Tao Yuan had married a gambler. He was out playing cards and drinking every day and only came back when he needed money. Tao Ning had discovered a pattern: Li Xiangdong came home at the end of every month. So for the past few days, Tao Ning hadn’t gone to the teacher’s house to study or helped anyone with tutoring. Instead, he came straight home.

Hearing his words, Tao Yuan paused, then gave a gentle, helpless smile. “You silly boy.” She glanced at Li Xiangdong, who had begun smoking in the house. A flash of anger replaced her helplessness, followed by guilt.

“Ning Ning, I need to talk to you about something.”

Tao Ning took the opportunity to hug his backpack. “Go ahead, sister.”

Tao Yuan’s voice got softer. “Li Xiangdong took the money for you to go to the city and gambled it away. Your nephew also has to pay his school fees soon. Your sister… I don’t have much money to give you.”

She sighed and continued. “Secretary Liu said some people from the city are coming in a few days. They’re very rich and need a guide for something. You’re the most promising person on this mountain, so I recommended you, and the secretary agreed. You can make a lot of money. But I didn’t discuss it with you beforehand… Will it get in the way of your studies? Will you be mad at your sister…”

When he heard her words, Tao Ning froze, and the system’s voice appeared in his mind again. This time, however, the voice sounded more like a machine.

“Ding dong! Congratulations, host, on unlocking your first plot mission—”

“Become the guide for one of your future men, Zhao Jingqun.”

Tao Ning fell silent.

The system had appeared in his mind not long ago, saying he needed to seduce three men, or he would disappear from this world. A voice appearing out of nowhere had startled Tao Ning, but he quickly decided that aside from his anemia, he was fine. He ruled out the possibility of a mental illness because he couldn’t afford a checkup and had to come up with his own conclusion.

Tao Ning didn’t dare to act rashly. At first, the thing that called itself the system would complain in his mind every day.

“What do you want, you poor, country dummy?! Can’t you say something to me?! This system is a product of an advanced cosmic civilization. Do you know how lucky you are to be able to talk to me?!”

“Stop doing your homework! Talk to me!”

Tao Ning pretended he couldn’t hear it and continued to bury his head in his math problems.

One day, the system suddenly said, “Fine, this system gives up. I don’t care if you don’t talk to me, you dummy, but you still have to go seduce those three men. Someone is coming tomorrow to sponsor you to study in the city, and when that happens, I’ll officially release the mission.”

Tao Ning continued to act as if the system didn’t exist and didn’t respond.

That is, until the next day, when the village secretary came to his house, happily shaking his hand. “Good job, kid! You’re going places! We’ve secured the money for you to go to college. A family from the city named Song wants to sponsor you…”

Tao Ning immediately froze.

So the system… was telling the truth.

From then on, Tao Ning began to talk to the system but continued to avoid the mission of “seducing three men.”

The system was confused. “If you don’t want to seduce men, then do you want to seduce women?”

Before Tao Ning could reply, the system continued in its confusion. “But according to human standards, there are very few people who are more beautiful than you. If you were to try to seduce a woman, you would fail a hundred percent. They would just treat you like a son.”

Tao Ning: “…”

He didn’t want to seduce anyone—not men, not women. He just wanted to study hard, get out of the mountains, and make money so Tao Yuan and his nephew would be happy.

But his resistance was ineffective because the system could block his five senses. If he showed any sign of resistance, the system would cause him to experience blindness, deafness, muteness, and other problems.

Once, the system took away Tao Ning’s vision. He was left in a daze, helpless, and Tao Yuan quickly noticed his abnormality. She held his face, asking him over and over what was wrong and begging him not to scare her. Tao Yuan’s voice was trembling as she spoke.

Tao Ning had rarely “seen” Tao Yuan cry, so it was the first time he had “spoken” to the system.

“I promise I’ll go seduce them.”

The system was excited when it heard this. “That’s more like it! We are a good civilization. After you succeed, we’ll heal your body. How does that sound?”

Tao Ning thought about it. To keep Tao Yuan from worrying and to have a healthy body, he weighed the pros and cons and agreed. Before he went to the city, he continued to live as he always had. He just didn’t expect the mission to come so quickly.

“Zhao Jingqun…”

Tao Ning silently mouthed the unfamiliar name. He wondered what kind of person he would be. Would he be hard to approach? His timid and introverted nature was one of the reasons why he didn’t want to seduce anyone in the first place.

When Tao Yuan saw that Tao Ning wasn’t speaking, she thought he didn’t want to do it. “If you don’t want to, Ning Ning, then I’ll find another way to get you the money to go to the city. I’ll go talk to the secretary…”

“No.”

Tao Ning looked at Tao Yuan, who always put him first, and said softly, “I want to, sister.”

“I’m willing to be their guide.”

Support