The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 15

In the end, Ji Shinian accepted the task.

He couldn’t help it. No matter how abstract the mission name was, the bonus points attached to it were very real.

“Since they invited this young lady, what reason is there not to go?” Ji Shinian glanced at the invitation and decisively stopped his chopsticks, “I’ll accept.”

Ji Shuangyuan’s bamboo chopsticks paused. A look of regret crossed his face, and he likewise stopped eating. “Brother heard that your interactions with Xiao Shu were not pleasant. I only showed you this invitation to see what you thought. If you truly don’t want to go, there is no need to force yourself.”

“Is it okay if I don’t want this engagement at all?”

Seeing Ji Shuangyuan hesitate, Ji Shinian timely put on a sneering expression. “I suppose there’s no need to continue. It’s just a party. Since they dare to invite me, they should be the ones worrying about how to entertain me.”

With that, he tossed the invitation to Li Moyan and strutted away.

The next day.

The Xiao residence sat in the south of Phoenix City. Since the death of the previous family head, this family, which used to be quite prestigious, seemed to have exhausted its last breath, falling into rapid decline. In the past decade or so, aside from troublemakers or monsters hoping to carve a piece off the “dying centipede,” the threshold had been cold and lonely.

But overnight, the gate guards, who usually held multiple jobs and could afford to doze off against the doors, found themselves completely unable to sleep.

Today, an Autumn Appreciation Feast had drawn a stream of carriages to the Xiao residence, nearly crushing the moss out of existence.

The feast had been finalized a few days ago. Originally, they had only moved a few pots of chrysanthemums and sent out ritualistic invitations to noble families who weren’t expected to respond. Later, word got out that the young master’s fiancée had returned to her family residence, so the clan sent an invitation there too.

Everyone knew the young master only had this fiancée from a powerful family because of an old contract. Having just returned home, she had already become famous in the city for her haughty attitude. The clan members didn’t expect her to even look at the invitation. Who would have thought that the heavens love an unexpected drama? The invitation was sent out the day before yesterday, and by yesterday morning, someone from the fiancée’s residence came back with an answer:

The eldest miss had actually accepted!

They didn’t even need to spread the news themselves. The fiancée’s surname was like a golden brand. By last night, the requests for invitations to the feast had increased tenfold.

Standing at the gate today, the guard had even seen people from the Sword Alliance and the Zhou family.

The guard numbly verified invitations that had never received a response before, until an extremely magnificent and intricate carriage galloped down the main road.

Leading the way were two black-and-green jade horses. The carriage seemed to be made of fragrant sandalwood, and a faint spiritual light flowed around its edges, dominantly claiming half the road. One could hear a few soft gasps from the crowd, but no one dared to voice an objection.

As the carriage pulled up in front of him, the guard unconsciously straightened his back.

Only the Ji family could afford such an extravagant display.

“Come, lower your head.” Inside the carriage, Ji Shuangyuan picked up a curtain hat adorned with a ring of small velvet flowers and looked at Ji Shinian sitting opposite him. “Brother will put it on for you.”

Ji Shinian was currently dressed in a purple cotton wide-sleeved dress. Both the sleeves and skirt were embroidered with dark floral patterns. Silk ribbons were tightly braided and fastened with spiritual jade. This outfit made him look like a goddess descended to earth. Except for his hair, everything had been styled by his “brother.”

“Oh.” Seeing the satisfied look on Ji Shuangyuan’s face, Ji Shinian didn’t have the heart to refuse and lowered his head.

Yesterday, he had been mocking the man to his face, yet today Ji Shuangyuan acted as if nothing had happened. Not only was he here to give him face, but he even handled his makeup and styling…

How is it that everyone I meet has such a good temper? It’s making me feel guilty, Ji Shinian grumbled inwardly.

Ji Shinian let Ji Shuangyuan gently place the hat on him. Outside, Li Moyan had already lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. “Young Master, Eldest Miss, please—”

“Who is it?!”

“Young Master Ji?!…”

…

At Li Moyan’s announcement, the people nearby could hardly control their gossiping. By the time Ji Shuangyuan helped Ji Shinian down from the carriage, Ji Shinian was certain he heard several audible gasps.

I can see just how much you all don’t believe in this marriage.

Ji Shinian hadn’t expected to ride in a carriage three times within a single week in the cultivation world of “Slaying the Heavens,” and the last two times had been under intense public scrutiny.

Ji Shuangyuan remained expressionless, completely trampling the staring gazes underfoot. Li Moyan stepped forward to hand the invitation to the guard, while the young master said nothing the entire time, leading the imposing woman beside him straight through the gate.

Watching the figures disappear inside, the guard sincerely hoped for the first time that the flowers the Madam had bought yesterday on a whim would be enough to appease these two.

“Oh my, is this Miss Ji?”

As soon as Ji Shinian and Ji Shuangyuan entered, a smiling woman greeted them from behind the screen wall. She impatiently grabbed Ji Shinian’s hand. “Oh, this is my first time seeing such a beautiful girl. Look at me, I forgot that Miss Ji is meeting me for the first time too. My surname is Xiao, I am Ah Shu’s aunt. You can just call me Auntie Xiao.”

Auntie?

Ji Shinian was hit by this string of over-familiar chatter, only reacting at the very end.

This was Xiao Qingde, the aunt who disappeared at the start of the book. In the original story, she got lost in the core of an illusion and, by the time she was found, her mind was a mess, leaving her a complete wreck.

But the woman in front of Ji Shinian was lively, her words firing off like a machine gun, with no trace of madness.

Ji Shinian scrutinized her through the veil of his hat while pulling his hand away, looking displeased. “Greetings, Madam Xiao.”

Regarding the matter of the secret key in the book, aside from the Xiao and Ji families, most people thought these two families, now as different as heaven and earth, were fulfilling the engagement out of some vague old sentiment.

Even this “adopted daughter” of his was supposed to know nothing about the key.

However, Ji Shinian didn’t speak too harshly. Sensing the silence of the OOC system in his head, he figured he had quite a bit of room to improvise.

“Madam Xiao sounds nice too, Miss Ji is so sweet!” Xiao Qingde was clearly not deterred by Ji Shinian’s attitude. She looked at Ji Shuangyuan, her smile widening. “And this must be Young Master Ji. Truly a talented man, carrying the same air as Miss Ji, as if carved from the same mold.”

“You are too kind, Madam. You may call me Shuangyuan.”

“Kindness has nothing to do with it, I just like telling the truth.” Xiao Qingde waved her hand and led them further inside. “To be honest, this feast is just for the youngsters to play around, nothing grand. If the service is lacking… Ah Shu!” Her tone shifted, growing even more joyful.

On the other side, a man in black robes with a blue ribbon appeared. Who else could it be but Xiao Shu?

Xiao Shu seemed to be heading toward the back garden. When Xiao Qingde called him, he stopped and walked toward the group.

“I was just looking for you! Where did you run off to, child?” Xiao Qingde beckoned Xiao Shu to stand beside her. “I wanted to bring him to greet you just now, but he vanished in the blink of an eye. Come, Ah Shu, greet Young Master Ji and Miss Ji.”

As her voice trailed off, Xiao Shu calmly took up the conversation. “This humble one greets Young Master Ji and Miss Ji. I was delayed by private matters and neglected you both. Please forgive me.”

His tone was gentle, and the smile on his face was still beyond reproach.

“Oh, the child is just covering for me,” Xiao Qingde patted her head. “Ah Shu handled most of the arrangements for the feast. Look at this, Shuangyuan, Miss Ji, please don’t mind. If you must blame someone, blame me for being incompetent!”

This was the first time the two had met since the Red Oriole Illusion.

The night of the stalking didn’t count.

Ji Shinian felt a slight resistance to insulting someone else’s child in their home, especially in front of an elder who might die. Regardless, he currently had Ji Shuangyuan acting as the elder in front of him. He didn’t speak, but instead crossed his arms and lifted his chin, acting condescending while actually… looking up at the other man.

“Master Xiao is too polite,” Ji Shuangyuan shook his head. “A guest should follow the host’s lead. It is just an Autumn Appreciation Feast, there is no need to be so formal.”

Xiao Shu said, “Master Ji is too kind.”

Ji Shinian naturally couldn’t get a word in during this exchange of hollow business pleasantries, though he had no desire to join the conversation anyway.

“Brother, I’m going off to play.”

While Ji Shinian had no intention of talking, he also had no hobby for roleplaying as a lightbulb. He poked Ji Shuangyuan, dropped that line, and without waiting for a response, turned with Li Moyan and walked onto the covered corridor.

“Mm,” replied Ji Shuangyuan.

“Go ahead, go ahead! The feast is in the West Garden. Miss Ji, remember to keep walking forward, then turn right when you see the moon gate! Ah Shu, why aren’t you following? I’ve got things here…”

As Ji Shinian walked away, Xiao Qingde continued to call out enthusiastically behind the “young lady,” even trying to play matchmaker for the “engaged couple.”

“This young lady can wander on her own.” Ji Shinian nearly stepped on his hem, stumbled, and grabbed Li Moyan, practically fleeing the scene.

“Eldest Miss, just now… is your foot alright?”

Once they had put some distance between them, Li Moyan saw Ji Shinian slow down and helped him sit on a balustrade.

“I’m fine,” Ji Shinian waved him off before he could check. “I just twisted it slightly, it’s no big deal.”

“Understood, but if you feel any discomfort, you must tell me immediately.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ji Shinian rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. After a moment of silence, he couldn’t help but ask Li Moyan, “Hey, I say, didn’t you think… that Xiao whatever, her eyes were looking at me very strangely?”

This wasn’t just a whim to dig for information. While Xiao Shu had ignored him the entire time, the aunt had been staring at him with a burning intensity.

Even if he was the fiancée, he wasn’t the fiancée of Xiao Qingde’s son, but of the male lead, right?

Li Moyan looked confused. “Hm? You mean Madam Xiao’s attitude?”

No, Ji Shinian thought back carefully to how she had acted. It felt like she was looking at him… as if he were some priceless treasure.

Since when was I worth so much?

Ji Shinian couldn’t figure it out, so he just nodded frantically. “Exactly! She kept staring at me. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?!”

“No”

Just as Li Moyan began to recall, Ji Shinian suddenly covered his mouth. The guard didn’t struggle. He watched as Ji Shinian pulled him behind a pillar in the corridor and pointed ahead.

Over by the corridor, two people were whispering together suspiciously!

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