The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 69

Xiao Wen arrived at a door along the corridor and stopped.

He stared at the ornate, complex patterns on the door, his heart feeling a bit nervous. The bag in his hand was heavy, containing the white jade tiger ornament he had gotten from Xie Zhitian.

This was the district’s luxury guesthouse, typically reserved for high-ranking officials. Zhuo Wu was staying in this very room. When he saw him, he planned to first report the intelligence he had gathered, then present the gift, and flatter him well to win his favor.

Xiao Wen took a deep breath, rehearsed his prepared lines in his mind, and then raised his hand, gently knocking on the door.

A deep male voice from inside said, “Come in.”

Xiao Wen pushed the door open to see a middle-aged man reclining on a black leather armchair. He was holding two jade walnuts, casually playing with them as he looked over.

Zhuo Wu had an ordinary appearance, but he was accustomed to being a leader and carried himself with great authority. Being watched by him gave one a subtle sense of oppression.

Xiao Wen’s throat tightened, and he tried to speak in a calm tone, “Mr. Zhuo, hello.”

Zhuo Wu looked away and said flatly, “How did the task I assigned you go?”

Xiao Wen replied eagerly, “I’ve already investigated everything. Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping an eye on them almost every day, so there won’t be any mistakes.”

Zhuo Wu nodded, motioning for him to continue.

As if encouraged, Xiao Wen said a long string of words in one breath, “Although you said Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang performed outstandingly in the previous plan, I think that intelligence must have been exaggerated. From my observation, they have no intention of assisting the queen. They even regret participating in such a dangerous operation. In the past few days since their return, besides eating, drinking, and having fun, they’ve only done one thing: preparing their dowries.”

Hearing this, a hint of surprise appeared in Zhuo Wu’s eyes. “Preparing their dowries?”

“That’s right. They’re actually both desperate to get married.”

Xiao Wen recalled what had happened in the past few days, explaining, “Ever since Xie Zhitian returned, she’s been asking me to help her and Luo Yang buy some flashy and impractical jewelry, which has already cost over 100,000 tokens. And when they chat, they always say their experience in District 7 was too terrifying, that they never want to live that kind of life on the edge again, and just want to live a peaceful life.”

When he calculated the value of the jewelry, he included the value of the white jade tiger ornament, both for accuracy and to be more convincing.

“Over 100,000 tokens…” Zhuo Wu mused. “They’re quite willing to spend. Are they really so eager to get married?”

If Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang were truly as Xiao Wen said and wanted to return to a family life, then they would no longer pose a threat. Just the matter of having children would consume several years of their time, rendering their previous accomplishments completely useless.

Xiao Wen asserted confidently, “It’s absolutely true! Last time I went, they were already studying things like cooking and embroidery to be better wives and mothers.”

Zhuo Wu looked thoughtful. “Very good.”

Then he felt a little regretful. He had heard that both Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang were very beautiful. If he hadn’t been married yet, he would have been very happy to marry such virtuous and beautiful women.

Obedient girls were the most suitable to marry and bring home, to take care of everything at home for him, without interfering with his womanizing outside.

Xiao Wen saw Zhuo Wu’s expression change and couldn’t guess what he was thinking. He tentatively spoke, “Mr. Zhuo, I also brought a precious gift for you this time.”

Zhuo Wu had noticed the bag in Xiao Wen’s hand the moment he walked in and had guessed his intention to win him over.

With his status, many people wanted to curry favor with him. He was curious to see what kind of good thing a subordinate like Xiao Wen could give him.

Zhuo Wu didn’t have high expectations and said lazily, “Bring it over.”

Xiao Wen immediately stepped forward, took out the box, and carefully pushed it in front of Zhuo Wu. “Mr. Zhuo, this is a priceless gift I went to great lengths to prepare just for you.”

Zhuo Wu glanced at the exquisitely crafted box in front of him and became a little more interested. He had received many gifts and had experience. A gift packaged like this should be a good one.

He could feel Xiao Wen’s gaze fixed on him, filled with anticipation and nervousness.

Zhuo Wu enjoyed the feeling of controlling others’ emotions. He didn’t rush, slowly reaching out to open the lid.

However, the moment he saw the contents of the box, his face instantly turned ashen.

Zhuo Wu gritted his teeth, speaking almost syllable by syllable, “This is the gift you specially prepared for me?”

Xiao Wen sensed that the atmosphere was wrong but couldn’t understand why. He cautiously said, “Yes, Mr. Zhuo, I…”

With a loud bang, Zhuo Wu slammed the box onto the floor. The white jade tiger fell out and shattered into pieces.

He was furious. “Get out!”

The sudden outburst left Xiao Wen breathless. He couldn’t understand what he had done wrong. He tried to apologize, “I’m sorry, Mr. Zhuo, I…”

“I’ll say it one more time.” Zhuo Wu stared into his eyes, his tone full of menace. “Get out.”

Xiao Wen was scared by the killing intent in his eyes. The last bit of hope in his heart vanished, and he scrambled out of the room. He even felt that if they weren’t on someone else’s territory, he would be a corpse by now.

But he still couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. Why did Zhuo Wu fly into a rage when he saw that white jade tiger ornament?

As Xiao Wen stumbled forward, he racked his brain, recalling what had just happened.

That’s right, Xie Zhitian!

Xie Zhitian must have been up to something behind the scenes!

Xie Zhitian had been at odds with him before, and now she suddenly showed goodwill and even agreed to sell him such a valuable white jade tiger ornament at a discount. There must be a problem with this!

All the past conflicts with Xie Zhitian replayed in his mind like a slideshow. A sense of humiliation washed over him like a tidal wave, engulfing him in an instant.

The more Xiao Wen thought about it, the more furious he became, so angry that he almost lost his mind. He ran all the way to Xie Zhitian’s house, determined to get an explanation from her today. He changed his previous respectful demeanor to an aggressive one, slamming the door loudly.

However, when Xie Zhitian saw him, she showed no surprise, instead displaying a kind of expected calm.

Her tone was flat, “Something wrong?”

Xiao Wen stood in the living room, looking at the two girls. They had returned to their previous attitude, their expressions calm and indifferent, mixed with disgust, as if he were some unworthy, dirty thing.

He clenched his fists. “Xie Zhitian, are you intentionally targeting me?”

“Targeting you with what?” Xie Zhitian looked up and let out a disdainful chuckle. “You’re just a subordinate. Are you even worth my special attention?”

Xie Zhitian’s mocking smile was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Xiao Wen completely lost his composure, and the emotions that had built up for days suddenly exploded. “Don’t say you didn’t! Xie Zhitian, why didn’t I realize how good you were at pretending before? A woman like you…”

“Shut up.”

A cold voice interrupted him.

Luo Yang looked at him, her face already extremely grim. She said, “Who’s intentionally targeting you? Every time Zhitian punishes you, there’s a reason. If you hadn’t repeatedly caused trouble, why would you be punished? And you know very well what you did tonight and where you went.”

Xiao Wen froze, cold sweat slowly creeping up his back. There was a rampant killing intent in Luo Yang’s eyes, like a furious beast, as if she wanted to tear him to pieces in an instant.

He softened his tone, stubbornly pretending, “Luo Yang, I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I’ve always considered you a good friend and have never done anything to let you down.”

He then remembered Luo Yang’s recent eagerness to get married, thinking he had found her weakness. He quickly added, “As a friend, I have to remind you, if you want to get married, don’t be so aggressive when you speak. No man likes such a strong woman…”

“Who the hell asked for men’s approval? If you don’t like me, I like me.”

Xie Zhitian’s words cut him off. “Is being liked by a man something to be proud of? I don’t know where you get your confidence.”

She lowered her eyes and looked at the system panel that had popped up:

[Successfully stopped male protagonist Xiao Wen’s PUA behavior. Frozen his points: 10.]

[Male protagonist Xiao Wen’s current available points: 10.]

Xie Zhitian’s eyes darkened slightly.

Almost there, just a little bit more.

Xiao Wen’s anger surged in an instant. Since when had Xie Zhitian always been subtly trying to sow discord between him and Luo Yang? There had to be a limit to her antics, right? He and Luo Yang had gotten along very well, and the fact that they had reached this point was entirely because of Xie Zhitian.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and walked step by step toward Xie Zhitian, saying to Luo Yang, “Luo Yang, think back to how happy we were when we first met.”

He suddenly waved a hand, pointing at Xie Zhitian. “If it weren’t for her, for her meddling and creating a rift between us, we would probably be the closest of friends! Don’t you think it’s a pity?”

Luo Yang hadn’t understood Xiao Wen’s logic from the start and had no desire to understand his crazy talk. But she saw Xiao Wen getting more and more agitated, even showing signs of wanting to harm Xie Zhitian, which instantly ignited her fury.

She raised her hand, and a silver light streaked through the air, crashing down in front of Xiao Wen, separating him from Xie Zhitian.

A longsword was plunged into the ground, almost touching his body, and a deep crack appeared on the floor.

She was no longer the person who could be easily manipulated. She didn’t care about being liked by a man. What was so great about being liked by a man? She only cared about what Xie Zhitian thought of her.

Wait a minute, Xie Zhitian just said…

She liked her?

Xiao Wen hadn’t expected Luo Yang to be so heartless. His legs went weak, and he fell directly to his knees.

Xie Zhitian looked at his pathetic state and found it very amusing. She calmly added another blow, “You’re friends with Luo Yang? You’re not worthy. Luo Yang has beauty and ability. What do you have?”

The system notification popped up again:

[Successfully stopped male protagonist Xiao Wen’s PUA behavior. Frozen his points: 9.]

[Male protagonist Xiao Wen’s current available points: 1.]

Xie Zhitian’s breathing paused slightly, and she suddenly realized something.

If she sent Xiao Wen away right here, he would disappear into thin air, so how would she explain this to Luo Yang? Or should she pretend she didn’t know what happened?

As she hesitated, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

“Zhitian, you just said you like me, right?”

Xie Zhitian was stunned for a moment. She turned her head and met a pair of beautiful eyes filled with a smile.

“I like you too.”

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