I Just Want to be a Throwaway Character - Chapter 81

Chapter 81:World 5

Ji Wan sat at the dining table, feeling a bit awkward as the female lead and a group of servants stood around “watching” her. It reminded her of watching a gorilla at the zoo eat a banana. She felt like she was the one on display.

“Yue, come here,” Ji Wan turned and called to the female lead in the corner.

Huangfu Yue walked over with an expressionless face, looking at the delicate and charming girl seated on the chair, wondering what she was going to do.

“Taste the food for me,” Ji Wan ordered flatly, then waved her hand to signal the other palace maids to leave. She didn’t want to be stared at while she ate.

The other maids, used to her eccentricities, left. But before they did, they gave Huangfu Yue a sympathetic look.

Soon, only the two of them were left in the room. Ji Wan looked at Huangfu Yue’s noticeably thin frame and decided it would be better to feed her herself. She couldn’t have her get weak and frail from being tormented by others; how was she supposed to become a great Empress then?

Ji Wan was unaware that she was far more fragile than Huangfu Yue. She looked at Huangfu Yue, who was standing there motionless, and felt a sense of helplessness. Why is she acting like I’m humiliating her? I’m just asking her to eat a meal.

“Come on, eat,” Ji Wan said, tilting her head. She couldn’t understand Huangfu Yue’s expressionless face.

Sigh, so much trouble. Is she afraid I’ll poison her? Ji Wan thought, picking up a piece of food with her chopsticks and putting it in her mouth.

“Wow, this is delicious!” Ji Wan’s eyes lit up. Then, like a child sharing a snack, she picked up another piece and held it out to Huangfu Yue’s mouth.

“Open up,” Ji Wan said, trying to maintain her “spoiled princess” persona. But unbeknownst to her, her voice had taken on an unconsciously soft and cute tone.

Huangfu Yue had indeed thought Ji Wan had ill intentions and was on guard. But when she suddenly saw Ji Wan lean closer and hold a piece of food out to her, she instinctively opened her mouth.

As she tasted the food, Huangfu Yue felt a bit awkward. She had never shared chopsticks with anyone, especially not with the daughter of her future enemy. But by the time she registered what had happened, she simply felt Ji Wan gently pat the top of her head.

“That’s a good girl,” Ji Wan said with satisfaction before sitting down to continue her feeding project.

But after that first time, Huangfu Yue was not as cooperative. After tasting all the dishes for Ji Wan, she refused to eat anything else. Ji Wan didn’t force her. After all, didn’t every novel’s female lead have some kind of cleanliness issue?

By the time Ji Wan finished her meal, it was very late. She had been staying outside the palace for this trip, so she would have to return tomorrow. As long as she stayed with the female lead, the journey tomorrow would not be a peaceful one.

Little did Ji Wan know that her night wouldn’t be a peaceful one, either.

In her sleep, Ji Wan felt as if she had been transported to a land of extreme cold. Icy winds blew at her, seeping through the gaps in her clothes. The blood in her veins felt as if it had frozen. She shivered from the cold. Ji Wan curled up in her blanket, a small lump in the center of the large bed.

Huangfu Yue was woken up by Ji Wan’s movements. She stood by Ji Wan’s bed, a flash of confusion in her eyes. She didn’t understand what Ji Wan was doing in the middle of the night. But when she heard Ji Wan’s pained whimpers, she unconsciously stood up and walked over.

She stood there for a while, but seeing that Ji Wan’s mumbling and suffering was not subsiding, but instead getting worse, Huangfu Yue gently lifted a corner of Ji Wan’s blanket. She saw the girl curled up in a ball, her face pale with discomfort.

“Are you alright?” Huangfu Yue gently brushed away the cold sweat from Ji Wan’s forehead.

Feeling a warmth wash over her, Ji Wan clung to Huangfu Yue’s hand like a drowning person, pressing it to the side of her face.

“Mmm… cold,” Ji Wan murmured unconsciously.

Huangfu Yue frowned slightly. Her expression remained mostly blank as she looked at her own hand. The current Ji Wan was so fragile. So weak that all she would need to do was place her hand on her neck…

For reasons unknown, Huangfu Yue went and got another blanket for Ji Wan. But Ji Wan’s symptoms didn’t improve; they only worsened.

Ji Wan’s clear almond-shaped eyes opened slightly, filled with tears. Her mind was a bit hazy from the discomfort. She instinctively propped herself up, searching for a source of warmth. Standing by her bed, Huangfu Yue was undoubtedly the best option.

Huangfu Yue watched as Ji Wan groggily opened her eyes and looked at her with a feverish brightness. She had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second, the girl’s delicate, shivering voice reached her ears.

“Yue, come here.” Ji Wan, wrapped in blankets, sat shivering in the center of the bed.

But Huangfu Yue didn’t move. A hint of wariness flashed in her eyes.

“Mmm, Yue.” The girl murmured in distress. Huangfu Yue felt conflicted.

Rumors said that the new dynasty’s princess was spoiled and willful, finding joy in toying with people and doing foolish things under the guise of her status. And now she was acting all innocent and harmless.

What new trick is she trying to play?

But Ji Wan didn’t give Huangfu Yue any more time to think. Seeing her standing motionless by the bed, Ji Wan used the last of her strength to reach out and pull on Huangfu Yue’s wrist.

Huangfu Yue wasn’t paying attention and was pulled off balance, falling onto Ji Wan’s soft bed. When Ji Wan felt the warmth, she didn’t care about anything else and pressed herself tightly against Huangfu Yue to get warm.

Huangfu Yue stared at Ji Wan, who was nestled against her. She was about to push Ji Wan away when she heard Ji Wan’s delicate, shivering voice in her ear, “Yue, don’t move. Just let me hug you. Just for a moment, I’m cold.”

The girl’s voice was filled with a vulnerability that surprised her. For reasons unknown, Huangfu Yue stopped herself from struggling. They shouldn’t have this much physical contact.

She felt the girl’s subtle movements and her even breathing. Huangfu Yue’s body stiffened, and her ears silently turned red. No one had ever been this close to her before. Ji Wan was the first. Although it was involuntary, she didn’t instinctively refuse her.

But Huangfu Yue soon realized something was wrong. The girl’s body temperature was abnormal. It was so cold it was unnatural. Huangfu Yue’s brows furrowed slightly. Ji Wan was pressed tightly against her chest, her arms wrapped around her waist, unwilling to let go.

With no other choice, Huangfu Yue pulled Ji Wan’s hand from her waist. Looking at the shivering Ji Wan, even in her sleep, she placed her hand on the girl’s wrist and carefully checked her pulse.

After a moment, a meaningful look appeared in Huangfu Yue’s eyes. What is this? Why was Ji Wan, a princess, so physically weak? And this condition didn’t seem to have formed all at once; it looked like something that had accumulated over time.

Is someone trying to harm her?

Huangfu Yue looked at Ji Wan’s pale face as she nestled against her chest and felt a pang of softness.

Forget it. I’ll leave later. Just let her sleep like this. Huangfu Yue reluctantly placed Ji Wan’s hand back on her waist. She then pulled the blankets over them, wrapping Ji Wan tightly.

After all that, it wasn’t until the second half of the night that Ji Wan’s symptoms slowly subsided, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, in the carriage on their way back to the palace, Ji Wan kept yawning, her eyelids heavy. Why did we have to go back to the palace so early? She hadn’t even slept for very long.

In her hazy memory, she recalled kicking off her blanket last night and feeling incredibly cold. Then, it felt like a source of warmth had appeared, like warm sunlight, making her comfortable. Can dreams regulate temperature now?

“Host, your old condition flared up last night. Huangfu Yue held you until morning,” System 111 said, interrupting Ji Wan’s wild thoughts. It knew she was trying to figure out what happened but couldn’t remember the female lead’s actions.

“Old condition? What else is wrong with me besides being a pain magnet?” Ji Wan asked curiously.

“Uh, Host. That’s a hidden side plot. You have to unlock it yourself,” System 111 replied.

“Wait, what did you just say? Huangfu Yue?” Ji Wan suddenly remembered. System 111 had mentioned Huangfu Yue earlier.

“Host, you clung to Huangfu Yue and made her sleep with you last night,” System 111 said, subtly rephrasing it.

“Little 1, quickly check me. Do I have any strange poisons or internal injuries?” Ji Wan instinctively patted her body. If Huangfu Yue had done something to her, she wouldn’t even be able to complete her mission; it would be “game over” for her.

“Uh… Host, the female lead didn’t do anything to you. She even took care of you until the middle of the night,” System 111 said, trying to put in a good word for the female lead.

Ji Wan felt her body, and when she didn’t find any major injuries, she sighed in relief. But just as she was about to move her hands away, the carriage curtain was pulled back.

Huangfu Yue’s beautiful face appeared. For a moment, their eyes met. Ji Wan was stunned. She had unfastened her outer robe to check for strange injuries, revealing a portion of her white, smooth skin. Her hand was on her chest…

This whole situation… looked very wrong! Ji Wan’s face immediately turned red, and her hand shot back behind her as if she had been electrocuted.

“Um… is something wrong?” Ji Wan asked shyly.

Huangfu Yue didn’t say a word. She simply walked into the carriage, placed the pastries in her hands down, and then went to the outer chamber where the other servants were sitting. She didn’t even spare Ji Wan a single glance.

“Phew, that scared me.” Ji Wan patted her chest and quickly pulled her outer robe back on.

But she soon realized, to her dismay, that she didn’t know how to put on this ancient clothing.

“Yue, come here,” the girl’s soft voice sounded, gentle and soothing like water.

But Huangfu Yue, who was sitting in the outer chamber of the carriage, didn’t feel happy about being called. She frowned slightly but still stood up and walked inside.

When she pulled back the thick curtain separating the two chambers, a glimpse of a dazzlingly white, rounded shoulder met her eyes. Huangfu Yue froze for a moment. But she quickly snapped out of it.

For reasons unknown, Huangfu Yue quickly slipped into the inner chamber and pulled the curtain down, blocking the girl’s exposed skin from the sight of the people outside.

Ji Wan felt that this ancient clothing was absurd. She had been struggling to put it on for a long time, and the more she tried, the more tangled it got. It was ridiculous. After failing to fix it herself, she had no choice but to call Huangfu Yue in. As for the other palace maids, every single one of them looked at her with suspicion. A tiny gesture from her, and they would all start trembling, as if she were a monstrous beast. Ji Wan decided it was better not to have them come in.

As for the female lead, Ji Wan felt a clear conscience. She hadn’t tormented the female lead yet, so there was nothing to fear.

Although just a moment ago, she had been on guard against her as if she were a pervert…