The Male Lead Always Thinks My Script is Wrong - Chapter 17

The back garden fell into a silence so heavy you could hear a pin drop.

Li Moyan had released his pressure for only a fleeting moment. Aside from protecting himself, he hadn’t quite managed to precisely shield Xiao Shu, who was standing right there with the group.

A Golden Core’s pressure was no joke, even a momentary burst was enough to make one feel as if their very bones were being ground to dust.

Yet, amidst the silence where even the wind seemed afraid to breathe, the youth in black remained standing on the wide stone path between the greenery and the rockeries. Seeing the two of them emerge, he lowered his head in a silent, respectful bow.

Li Moyan gave Xiao Shu a surprised glance.

The young masters of the noble families were still sprawled weakly on the ground like limp noodles. Ji Shinian stepped past Xiao Shu and kicked the person kneeling in front of him. “What, are you mute? This lady is asking you a question.”

What’s there to be surprised about? Ji Shinian thought. If the male lead wasn’t special and didn’t stand out from the crowd, this book wouldn’t be called “Slaying the Heavens,” it would be “The Legend of the Common Poultry.”

Of course, the “poultry” referred to the pile of bullies at Ji Shinian’s feet who loved to gossip but crumbled under pressure.

Honestly, he was a somewhat infamous wanted criminal in the Central Heavens Realm, if he had to pick an animal metaphor, he should at least choose something with a bit of power!

Ji Shinian kicked another person nearby, this time with extra force. “If you don’t know how to speak, then you won’t need to open your mouths for the rest of your lives.”

You were the one shouting the loudest just now, Ji Shinian thought with a sense of cathartic spite as he watched the guy tumble pathetically to the side.

The one who had been kicked finally came to his senses, realizing the pressure crushing him had long since vanished. He didn’t dare stand up, instead sobbing and sniveling while prostrating himself. “Greetings, Eldest Miss Ji! We were blind to your presence, please forgive us, Eldest Miss, waaaaah…”

They might be called “noble families,” but in Chaofeng City, the gap between them and the Ji family was like heaven and earth.

The original book was full of such disparities. However, Ji Shinian couldn’t bring himself to pity them, just as he never understood how Xiao Shu, the only son of the war hero Xiao Qingjin, could be subjected to such humiliation just because of family status and “envied” talent.

…Fine, he was currently one of the sources of the male lead’s humiliation.

Ji Shinian instinctively wanted to turn his head. Xiao Shu was still standing opposite him with the crowd in between, but before he could finish the movement, the guy he had kicked earlier scrambled over and grabbed the hem of his skirt.

This man was crying harder than if he had lost a parent. “Eldest Miss, you’ve wronged us! We’re just small business owners, we only wanted to see Young Master Xiao to get back the money owed to our shops. Eldest Miss, you are as beautiful as the moon and flowers… those words, those words.”

He choked for a moment, his red rimmed eyes darting around before he suddenly pointed at another person who was also weeping. “It was his family that spread those rumors about you everywhere! We were coerced by him, we had no choice but to go along with it!”

As soon as he said this, the others immediately chimed in with a flurry of excuses, all acting like victims while wordlessly shifting all the blame onto that one person.

In an instant, they had realized the gravity of the situation and tactfully cut ties with their “leader.”

The one who had first brought up the “poultry” theory and had been the loudest turned pale. His family background was better than the rest, and he was usually the leader of this group, always followed by a crowd. But now, he stared blankly at his companions, feeling as if he didn’t know these people at all.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.

“Enough.” Ji Shinian ignored the man who had been instantly isolated. He yanked his skirt away and said impatiently, “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

The crowd froze, instinctively opening their mouths to explain.

Ji Shinian didn’t give them the chance. He looked up at Xiao Shu, and the “OOC” alarm in his head seemed to sense something, preparing to scream frantically.

[Error, error, detecting]

[Shut up, didn’t you say it’s fine as long as it’s logical?] Ji Shinian stepped through the crowd and strode toward Xiao Shu. [The female lead’s fiancé is being insulted like this, isn’t that embarrassing for me?]

He walked up to Xiao Shu and pointed at him, looking down at the young masters. “Isn’t it just eighty million? This lady will pay it for him. From now on, I’m his creditor. If I hear you disparaging me again, or if any of you dare lay a hand on my property before he is divorced by me, don’t blame the Ji family and me for being heartless!”

The OOC system finally went quiet. Ji Shinian had been one step away from being possessed by the system and breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn’t help it, this was the only “welfare” he, a hater-turned-character, could give the male lead. Ji Shinian looked at the stunned men and waved his hand irritably. “Why haven’t you scrambled out of here yet? Are you waiting for me to ask Uncle Li to pull out your tongues?”

The group immediately scrambled away, though this time their exit was truly pathetic.

Once their figures disappeared behind the rockeries, Li Moyan stepped forward. His tobacco pipe materialized in his hand as he said steadily, “Eldest Miss, are we really just letting them go like that?”

“What else? There are so many of them, do you really want to pull out their tongues one by one, Uncle Li?”

Li Moyan didn’t seem to mind. “Offending the Ji family, that would have been the lightest consequence.”

“Fine, fine, it was disgusting enough to watch. If they do it again, let those fools suffer the consequences then.” Ji Shinian shook his head.

Besides, if the revenge was taken now, where would the male lead find his “face-slapping” moments later? He couldn’t rely entirely on this temporary, cannon fodder female lead for his character development.

Otherwise, he’d become the first male lead in the history of male-oriented cultivation novels with masochistic tendencies.

Ji Shinian thought about those potential scenes and felt they were too cringey to witness. He turned around, prepared to give Xiao Shu a light insult, but suddenly found himself unable to speak.

Xiao Shu was looking at him.

Ji Shinian wasn’t so stupid that he couldn’t read the male lead’s gaze. Xiao Shu’s usual expression was mostly one of smiles, a performance comparable to a saint, but at certain moments, a look of complete disregard for others would leak out, making him look exactly like his father. It was true that this man could be kind, but it was also true that sometimes he looked like a monster that had just crawled out of a skin-suit.

And right now, Xiao Shu’s gaze was fixed on him, his pitch black pupils watching him calmly, yet Ji Shinian felt an unprecedented sense of loathing coming from him.

Yes, loathing.

That emotion was pure and intense, as if it were tied to some inexplicable past event, piercing through the thin veil of the curtain and reflecting unavoidably into his eyes.

Thus, even Ji Shinian, who claimed to be poor at reading people, instinctively understood the other’s feelings.

Wait, that’s not right. I just chased away a bunch of scumbags, and the male lead hates me for it?

Well, it seemed the impulsive rescue in “Slaying the Heavens” wasn’t going to turn into a romance plot.

Ji Shinian brushed aside that strange feeling in his heart and raised his chin to look at Xiao Shu, asking a question he already knew the answer to, “Hey, what are you staring at me for? You useless thing, you haven’t fallen in love with this lady, have you?”

Come to think of it, being able to make the male lead—who usually likes this character type—hate him proved he was a natural at this!

Ji Shinian felt relieved and started rambling. “Heh, I wasn’t saving you. If I weren’t burdened by this engagement, and if those people hadn’t been so tactless, who would want to save you? I’m your creditor now, do you understand that debts must be paid?”

“Thank you, Miss Ji.”

Ji Shinian was in the middle of a grand performance, not even noticing Li Moyan’s “so the Eldest Miss is actually a sharp tongued tsundere in love” expression behind him. He watched the male lead’s lips move, but didn’t hear a sound.

He was a beat slow in adjusting his veil, forgetting the distance between them. The movement caused the decorative velvet flowers to lift slightly, brushing against the tip of Xiao Shu’s nose.

The [girl’s] face was faintly visible through the clear gauze, her silhouette shrouded in a misty haze that hid her expression, yet her tone had lost its forced arrogance in that moment of distraction.

Ji Shinian asked, confused, “What did you say?”

Xiao Shu took a half step back. He gave Ji Shinian a gentle smile and bowed again. “Thank you for your kindness, Miss Ji. If there comes a day, I will surely repay this debt with my life, and I will never forget it.”

His tone was gentle and respectful, but the words “never forget” seemed to linger on his tongue, the duration stretched out intentionally.

Ji Shinian suspected Xiao Shu was actually saying, I’m going to kill you one day.

They say the person who owes money is the boss. Ji Shinian’s mouth twitched, he hadn’t expected that theory to prove true so quickly.

“Who wants your repayment?” Ji Shinian turned to leave. “Just pay back the money.”

“I shall keep that in mind.” Xiao Shu’s voice came from behind, still as gentle as jade.

[Tiansuan,] Ji Shinian walked toward the garden exit while tapping on the electronic screen in his mind. [Didn’t you say the male lead likes this kind of character setting? Why was that look just now so…]

He paused, trying to find the right word. [Loathing?]

[Eh, was it loathing? Didn’t the Male Lead’s gaze look very warm?]

[I suggest you ask the main system to take you to an eye doctor, are you blind?]

[Personal attacks are prohibited!] Tiansuan’s electronic screen flickered, its pixelated expression shrinking into a pout. [But loathing is indeed not impossible. We provided the initial setting strictly according to the male lead’s preferences, but characters are alive, I can’t control everything. However, I guarantee that once you finish the main plot and get your points, you can go home. Before the main plot ends, the male lead definitely won’t lift a finger against you!]

[You’re a system, what do you mean “personal”?] Ji Shinian said, exasperated. [And where do you get your confidence? How do you know the male lead won’t kill me even if he doesn’t like me?]

Could the male lead actually have Stockholm Syndrome?

[The main system wrote this, there can be no mistake!] Tiansuan said firmly. [And once the host has more points later on, the OOC restrictions will be completely lifted. Even if this body dies, there’s no need to worry!]

[I didn’t realize you were actually quite smart… like hell you are! That just means I should try my best to act like a jerk now, and if I actually die, I can just use my original body to cheat. I can see you’ve put a lot of thought into scouting me!]

[The host was the one who asked!] Tiansuan protested. [And I only asked the host to participate in the Autumn Feast, I didn’t ask the host to interfere in the male lead’s business!]

[None of your business.]

Ji Shinian chose to simply block the system. His spiritual consciousness was much stronger than this high tech entity, although it wasn’t as strong as the main system, at least he could have some peace and quiet when he wanted.

He hadn’t reacted earlier when Tiansuan said the male lead must like the female lead, but now that the system said it wasn’t certain, he felt strangely relaxed.

After all, even if there was loathing, according to Tiansuan, he could still follow the plan of faking his death to run away, all while participating in the main plot to get points.

But if the male lead kept liking him… wouldn’t that mean he liked a guy?

And a cross dressing guy at that!