Having Played the Villain for Ten Years, I Came Back - Chapter 3

“Now, do exactly as I say,” Gu Chi instructed Wen Linyu. “If you can’t manage your facial expressions, then just turn your back to them.”

“Take him away. The usual rules.”

Wen Linyu followed the instructions to the letter. He didn’t look at anyone, and this time, he delivered his line fluently. Having finally done something right, he couldn’t help but let out a small, relieved smile.

Hearing his words followed by that smile, the people behind him all wore expressions of ‘As expected.’ It was that same old flavor the unpredictable, temperamental Boss. If anything, he had become even more of a pervert than before; at least in the past, he didn’t play psychological games with people on the brink of death.

But now.

The crowd watched with pity as the traitor’s face turned white as a sheet. The flicker of ecstasy in his eyes vanished, replaced instantly by utter despair. To give a man hope only to cast him into hell—it was cruel, truly tragic.

Once the matter was settled, the people in the room dispersed. It was nearly dinner time, but since Gu Chi was no ordinary human and didn’t require food, the butler didn’t take the liberty of preparing a meal without orders.

This was also something Wen Linyu wasn’t used to, but since the body felt no hunger, it didn’t seem to matter if he didn’t eat.

It was still early, and after returning to his room, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself.

Gu Chi watched as he opened his laptop, clearly intending to continue studying the course materials. The Demon Lord found him both incredibly stupid and yet, inexplicably, a little bit cute. “Aren’t you going to find out what the original owner of this body usually does at this hour?”

Wen Linyu hesitated. “That’s someone else’s privacy.”

Gu Chi laughed. “Someone else? Have you forgotten who you are right now? If you’re going to play his part, how can you act it out without understanding him?”

He was such a blockhead, unable to see reason. Gu Chi wondered how the boy had even managed to grow up; in several hundred years, he had never met anyone more “rule-bound” than Wen Linyu.

That one sentence from his teacher left Wen Linyu speechless. It was true—if he made no effort to understand Gu Chi, how could he play the role? Was he really going to rely on the tiny scraps of information provided by the system?

Gu Chi made the final decision: “Cultivate. Your performance today was pathetic. You nearly got finished off by a mere Golden Core.”

Wen Linyu gave his standard reply: “I don’t know how.” Even as he said it, he felt a wave of shame. He truly was useless, knowing nothing at all.

Gu Chi let out a soft snort. “If you don’t know, then learn. Do you plan on using ‘I don’t know’ as an excuse for incompetence forever?”

Wen Linyu bit his lip and lowered his head even further.

Gu Chi narrowed his eyes at the boy’s posture. Seeing him remain silent for a moment before turning back to his laptop, Gu Chi sneered.

How boring. He thought he had found an interesting toy, but it turned out to be a total waste who only knew how to escape and lacked any ambition. It was a waste of time. Just as Gu Chi disgustedly raised his hand, preparing to wipe out this eyesore, a gentle female voice drifted from the computer.

“First Lesson for Cultivators: Class, first we must understand—what is Spiritual Qi?”

It was a basic cultivation course with extremely high view counts and rave reviews online.

Gu Chi’s expression softened. The hand he had raised reached out instead to pinch the shivering yellow chick that had nearly been annihilated along with Wen Linyu. 998 didn’t dare move; it puffed out its feathers to maximum fluffiness, trying its best to make the Demon Lord’s petting experience comfortable enough to spare its tiny life.

Wen Linyu felt his teacher was right. If he didn’t know, he should learn. He wasn’t without the opportunity to study; this wasn’t his old world, and he wasn’t “Wen Linyu” right now. His habitual “I can’t” wouldn’t bring him any benefits in this situation.

Unaware that he had just been a hair’s breadth away from death, he listened to the online lecture with total focus.

There were many introductory courses and all sorts of strange livestreams online. Since he was ignorant of everything, he started from the absolute basics.

This body was truly top-tier. After studying all night without a wink of sleep, Wen Linyu didn’t feel tired at all. Instead, he felt more energized than ever. He was incredibly envious of such stamina.

He checked the time; it was already six in the morning. After meditating for a bit to clear his brain, he packed his things with renewed energy. He had several classes today; even if he couldn’t understand them yet, he planned to record everything so he would know what to do once he reached that level of cultivation.

As a high-level cultivator, Gu Chi’s body was already “pure” and required no washing, but Wen Linyu was still used to a morning and evening routine. However, in the bathroom, he still didn’t dare look directly into the mirror.

Gu Chi noticed this small habit and found it curious. “Why don’t you look in the mirror? Is he ugly?”

Wen Linyu shook his head. “No, he’s not ugly. It’s just.”

The Great Demon Lord, Gu Chi, was not only far from ugly but exceptionally handsome. He had a face that looked like a high-end game model—sharp brows, piercing eyes, and a defined jawline.

“Just what?” Gu Chi asked.

Wen Linyu muttered, “Too scary. I don’t dare look.”

Gu Chi was amused to the point of anger. Scary? “Look at me! You must look. You’re playing a villain; what kind of nonsense is it if you’re too afraid to even check a mirror?”

“Teacher,” Wen Linyu had no rebuttal. He had to admit his teacher was right, but: “I’m afraid.”

Gu Chi snorted coldly. “Look anyway. Look until you are completely used to this face.”

Thus, Wen Linyu was forced to face himself in the mirror for one minute. That one minute was his absolute limit. Gu Chi’s appearance was so different from his own that looking at the person in the mirror felt like Gu Chi was staring right back at him.

He rarely made eye contact with anyone for that long. By the time a minute passed, he was shaking uncontrollably, and all the color had drained from his face.

Gu Chi frowned. This little waste had quite a few psychological hang-ups.

998 added weakly, “It looks like a stress response. psychological issues.”

Seeing the Demon Lord remain silent, 998 breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he was just annoyed, not disgusted enough to kill them yet.

Wen Linyu came out of the bathroom and caught his breath. Hearing no further reprimand from his teacher, he also felt relieved. The butler hadn’t prepared breakfast directly but asked if he wanted any. After hesitating, Wen Linyu ultimately declined.

Gu Chi saw all of this. Once Wen Linyu was in the car, he asked, “You used to be an ordinary person and haven’t achieved ‘Inedia’ fasting. Don’t you want to eat?”

Wen Linyu blushed slightly. “I do.”

Gu Chi: “Then why didn’t you say so?”

Wen Linyu whispered, “It’s too much trouble for others…”

Gu Chi couldn’t understand. “You’re afraid of troubling others, so you wrong yourself? That is his job; why do you find it troublesome? You put everyone else first—where do you rank yourself?”

Wen Linyu opened his mouth but found no words.

“Truly foolish. You don’t even have a sense of self,” Gu Chi said with disdain. “You’re worse than a puppet.”

Was I scolded? The first thing Wen Linyu felt wasn’t anger, but guilt. Had he failed again? For the rest of the ride to school, his teacher didn’t speak another word. Was he disappointed?

Wen Linyu felt uneasy. When he reached the hundred-step staircase in front of the teaching building, he once again chose to walk up.

Gu Chi saw his slumped shoulders and dejected appearance. His brows knitted together. “While climbing, you can circulate that basic cultivation technique you learned last night.”

When the voice appeared, Wen Linyu’s posture seemed to perk up instantly. He offered a small, shy smile and replied obediently, “Okay, Teacher.”

Gu Chi was slightly stunned. He felt a strange, unfamiliar sense of achievement. Not bad; this was actually quite interesting.

With his mood improved, he began chatting with Wen Linyu again. “Yesterday you didn’t take the elevator because you didn’t want to spend his money?”

Wen Linyu answered while circulating his technique and climbing. “Mmh, yes.”

He wanted to say he was afraid of causing Gu Chi trouble, but he suspected his teacher would scold him again if he said that.

He didn’t say it, but Gu Chi understood anyway. He sneered. “You think not spending his money means you aren’t causing him trouble? Since you’ve taken over his body, you should do everything in your power to represent him perfectly. That is how you avoid causing trouble.”

“Not spending money? Hah, what a childish thought. You think being frugal is a favor to him? No. People will just think the Great Demon Lord is so poor he can’t even afford an elevator or a meal.”

Wen Linyu was stunned. It was true—he was acting based on his own mindset, but Gu Chi wasn’t that kind of person. He did these things thinking he was helping, but he wasn’t truly looking at things from Gu Chi’s perspective.

Wen Linyu felt as if he were on the verge of touching something a layer that had been imprisoning his very self.

When he entered the classroom, he saw Brother Xin and the others, who had arrived even earlier than he had. They hadn’t expected him to show up so early again, and the fat on their faces literally shook with nerves.

They still plucked up the courage to come over and greet him, swearing repeatedly that they wouldn’t say a word about yesterday’s events. Their lips were sealed.

They also expressed deep repentance for their arrogant, death-seeking behavior from the previous morning.

Wen Linyu felt uncomfortable and could only manage a soft, “It’s okay.”

Hearing his gentle tone, Brother Xin’s smile looked more painful than crying. What a total psycho, he thought. Clearly so brutal, yet loves to act all soft. But they were too terrified to speak up. After bowing and scraping for a while, they fearfully chose seats in the very front row.

They were never sitting in the back again for as long as they lived!

“Hmph,” Gu Chi snorted again, asking, “Why do you think those few followed you yesterday?”

Hearing the question, the answer already surfaced in Wen Linyu’s mind. “Because. I looked like I was easy to bully.”

“Correct. You are easy to bully. That’s why anyone can come and trample on you. Do I need to say more?”

“N-no, you don’t.” Wen Linyu felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. He was wide awake now.

He finally realized that fleeing one world for another wouldn’t help him survive, nor could he rely on everyone he met being a good person.

He was still himself. He was still weak and incompetent. So even if his current identity was Gu Chi, a powerhouse of this world  he was still “easy to bully.”

If he didn’t change, he could never leave the cage that imprisoned him. Even in a different world, he would just end up living the same life he had before.

Wen Linyu understood this now. His eyes brimmed with tears as he said solemnly, “Teacher, thank you. I understand what I need to do now!”

This was the first person who had ever taught him how to save himself and the first who was willing to teach him at all. He was truly grateful.