The Vicious Female Supporting Character and The Sadistic Heroine Got Together [Through the Book] - Chapter 12

Moments later, a servant hurried over, presenting the family discipline rod with both hands.

The so-called family discipline rod was actually a slender rattan cane. Despite its delicate appearance, it could inflict intense pain when struck against the body, while causing minimal physical harm.

Lian’er’s eyes widened in terror at the sight of the cane. Though it caused little physical damage, the pain it inflicted was very real. Having grown up alongside her mistress, their bond far surpassed that of master and servant. How could she bear to watch her mistress be beaten?

Lian’er wept even more bitterly than before, kowtowing repeatedly and pleading, “Master, please spare Miss! She’s the only daughter you and the Late Wife had. How can you bear to see her suffer?”

Tang Suan, pinned to her knees by servants gripping her shoulders, remained utterly still.

Despite her helplessness, she forced herself to appear calm, her face composed as she said to Lian’er, “Lian’er, get up! Don’t beg him. He’s never seen me as his daughter. Why would he spare me now?”

“Miss, don’t say that…” Lian’er sobbed, tears streaming down her face as servants dragged her away, her head shaking frantically.

Lian’er’s words only served to remind Father Shen of Tang Suan’s mother and her forced death, fueling his rage.

“Enough!” he roared, lashing out with his rattan cane, striking Tang Suan.

The blow landed with brutal force. Tang Suan gasped, her vision blurring, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Yet she endured, wiping the blood away with her hand, maintaining her rigid kneeling posture.

Tang Suan chuckled softly, tears welling in her eyes. “Go on,” she taunted, her voice trembling. “Why did you stop? Hit me! If you don’t beat me to death today…”

Before she could finish, another strike landed, this time across her arm, leaving a bloody welt.

Seeing their young mistress struck again, Lian’er strained against her restraints, scrambling on her hands and knees to Tang Suan’s side. She wrapped her arms around Tang Suan, clutching her tightly in her embrace.

“Master, please don’t hit Miss anymore! If you must strike someone, hit me instead!” Lian’er pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

Outside the General’s Residence, Shen Chou was still locked in a standoff with the guards.

“You won’t let me in, huh? Fine, I’m not leaving today. Let’s see who can outlast who!” With that, Shen Chou plopped down on the stone steps at the entrance, sticking her rear out defiantly.

The two guards exchanged a glance before replying in unison, “Suit yourself.”

Shen Chou was so furious she couldn’t speak. Unable to win in a fight, she turned away in a huff, forcing herself not to look at them.

Around the corner, Li Changsheng had been lurking for an unknown amount of time, showing no intention of helping Shen Chou.

After all, this entire situation was his carefully orchestrated plan.

Shen Chou was fretting about how to get inside and what might be happening within. She sat there dejectedly, chin propped in her hand, her brow furrowed in worry. Just as she let out a deep sigh, a sudden realization struck her.

Wait, I still have the System! she thought. The System must have a way to get me in.

“System, System…” Shen Chou called out urgently.

The System, which had been monitoring Tang Suan’s situation, responded immediately upon hearing Shen Chou’s call.

“I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“Can you show me what’s happening inside? Ugh, this is such a pain. Just tell me if there’s any way to get in there, like an invisibility spell or something.”

The System fell silent for a moment, while Tang Suan’s punishment continued unabated.

Lian’er clung to Tang Suan, her body bruised and bleeding, wailing with heart-wrenching cries.

Receiving no response from the System, Shen Chou asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“Host, are you sure you want to see this?”

Shen Chou, completely bewildered, retorted, “Why wouldn’t I?”

With a wave of its hand, the System transported Shen Chou to the General’s Residence. When she finally saw what was happening, panic seized her.

“What are they doing? Why are they beating Tang Suan? Stop it!” Shen Chou lunged forward to intervene, only to discover in horror that her body passed right through Tang Suan.

She couldn’t touch Tang Suan at all, forced to watch helplessly as the scene unfolded.

The sound of the rattan cane striking flesh brought tears streaming down Shen Chou’s face. Each blow landed on Tang Suan felt like a strike to her own heart.

“Aren’t you the System?” Shen Chou cried out in anguish. “Aren’t you all-powerful? Didn’t you tell me to save the Protagonist? Then save her now!”

The scene stirred painful memories. It reminded her of her childhood, when her parents had died in a car accident, leaving her to live temporarily with relatives. Some called her a cursed star, claiming she had brought death to her own parents. No one wanted to play with her; they only mocked her as a little monster. Shen Chou endured countless insults and beatings. Once, they lured her to a secluded spot, where after their usual taunts, they rained down countless punches and kicks.

She begged for mercy, sobbing uncontrollably, but her pleas only fueled their brutality. They threatened her, warning her not to tell anyone. But there was no need for such threats. Even if Shen Chou had spoken out, no one would have believed her, and no one would have helped her.

The parents of her tormentors would say, “Oh dear, how could you make such accusations? Auntie knows you don’t like Xiao Yu, but how could you do something like this? You mustn’t slander Xiao Yu, understand?”

That was true despair. Some say true empathy doesn’t exist, but in that moment, Shen Chou felt she shared Tang Suan’s pain completely.

She wasn’t Tang Suan, but Tang Suan was the person she wanted to protect. As an outsider to this world, she desperately wanted Tang Suan to live well, to always shine brightly.

The System shook its head, indicating it couldn’t help.

“Why? Tell me why! You saved her just now, why can’t you save her now?”

“Because this is something she must experience!”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Chou couldn’t understand what the System meant.

The System glanced at her, sighed, and said, “Do you really think you can protect Tang Suan with your own strength? That you can save her? You’re being incredibly naive!”

Shen Chou froze, her face flushed crimson. She screamed hysterically, “Bullshit! I’m saving Tang Suan right now!”

Caught off guard by Shen Chou’s outburst, the System paused for a moment before shaking its head and continuing, “Give up. You can’t possibly watch over her every second. Do you know why she’s being bullied? Because she’s too weak. Besides, she’s willingly taking these beatings. Sometimes, hatred can destroy a person, but it can also make them invincible. This might actually be a good thing for her!”

Miraculously, Shen Chou suddenly found the System’s words made perfect sense. But she still sobbed, “Am I supposed to just stand by and watch her suffer? I regret it! Let me go back! I’m not doing this stupid mission anymore!”

At first, Shen Chou had believed that if she treated Tang Suan well, she could earn her trust and ultimately save the Protagonist. Now she realized she was wrong—terribly wrong.

She couldn’t bear to watch the Protagonist get hurt.

“You can’t go back,” the System said, shaking its head.

“Why not?”

“It’s not just you. If you fail this mission, we’ll both be trapped here forever. And I’ve already been stuck here for so long. You’re not my first host, and probably not my last.”

As the System spoke, Shen Chou’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper. “You’re a system, aren’t you?” she asked, puzzled.

“I used to be human.”

“What?!”

“Do you know why I came to this world?”

Shen Chou shrugged. “How would I know?”

“Do you remember Manman Taoyao?”

“That name sounds familiar,” Shen Chou suddenly realized. Isn’t she the author of “Phoenix Ascending: Sovereign of All”?

The novel’s ending was a disaster. Manman Taoyao killed off the protagonist, had the male lead ascend the throne, and sparked a storm of reader outrage. Yet the author remained completely silent, never offering an explanation or even marking the story as complete.

Everyone waited for her to revise the ending or release bonus chapters. But Manman Taoyao vanished for two years. Everyone assumed she’d abandoned writing entirely. No one could have imagined she’d been transported into her own book.

After hearing Shen Chou’s description of the changes in the outside world, Manman Taoyao sighed. “So, I’ve been gone for two years already.”

Shen Chou felt a flicker of confusion. If she’d been missing for two years, why hadn’t anyone reported her disappearance?

Sensing Shen Chou’s unspoken question, Manman Taoyao said, “I have no parents, no relatives, no partner, and certainly no children. I’m completely alone. Who would even notice if I vanished?”

Shen Chou didn’t realize Manman Taoyao was lying. She actually had adoptive parents and a younger brother.

After her relationship with her adoptive parents fractured, she ran away from home and vanished without a trace. Afraid of being implicated, her adoptive parents didn’t report her missing, instead claiming she had gone abroad on vacation.

The reason for her running away was that her younger brother wanted to buy a house, and her adoptive parents demanded she pay for it. Before this incident, they had repeatedly pressured her to act as a “brother-supporting demon,” draining her resources for his benefit.

But this time, she refused. In truth, she had already given nearly all her manuscript fees to her brother, leaving herself with barely any money. Yet her parents remained convinced she was hiding wealth, accusing her of selfishness and unwillingness to help her brother.

“You’ve had it pretty rough too,” Shen Chou said, then asked, “What’s your real name?”

“Yao Manman.”

“Do you know why you were transmigrated into this novel?”

Yao Manman fell silent.

“You don’t know?”

“I do,” Yao Manman replied.

Shen Chou was puzzled. What was so difficult about answering? She herself had been brought here to change the ending because she had written fanfiction. She was genuinely curious about why Yao Manman, the original author, had been summoned.

“Because I wrote the Protagonist’s life to be so miserable, her overwhelming resentment pulled me into this world.”

Shen Chou was stunned. You can do that?

“So, you became the System?”

Yao Manman shook her head and continued, “As I mentioned before, you’re not my first Host. Actually, I was a Host myself, just like you. I transmigrated as the Villainess, tasked with changing the ending. But I failed. The Main System then made me a System, responsible for finding Hosts to save the Protagonist.”

“How could you fail?” Shen Chou asked, puzzled. “As the author, you should know the Protagonist better than anyone. Completing the tasks should have been easy for you.”

“Because my methods were… extreme. I led the Protagonist down a path of no return.”

“What path of no return?”

“First, I gained the Protagonist’s trust, then betrayed her. In the end, she became completely corrupted, a true villain. She slaughtered everyone who had ever oppressed her, and finally, she killed me too.”

“…………”

Shen Chou truly didn’t know what to say.

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