The Villainess is Too Clingy - Chapter 1

[“Ding! Host’s location successfully detected. Spacetime—”]

A burst of static crackled, distorting the System’s cold, mechanical voice.

[“Book Transmigration Administration, Unit 237, at your service.”]

[“Loading plot…”]

Tan Yin felt a dull, numbing ache in her head. When she finally recovered and opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a crude, dilapidated room.

The air was humid and stifling, and outside, the cicadas chirped restlessly. Large patches of black mold clung to the walls. The doors and windows were shut tight. The few pieces of basic furniture were all broken and worn, and a faint, lingering smell of sweat hung in the air.

Not far from her, several children were curled up together on a single bed, the oldest appearing to be no more than eight or nine years old. Without exception, each child had a thin hemp rope tied around their neck, the other end secured to the bedpost with multiple knots. Tan Yin instinctively touched her own neck; only hers was free of a rope.

Where is this? Wasn’t I just in the lake—

Tan Yin’s hazy eyes suddenly widened. Right, I should be dead. She still remembered the sensation of her arms flailing in the freezing water as she struggled to survive.

So, I’ve transmigrated?

Ding! Plot loading complete.

The mechanical voice echoed in her mind again. Tan Yin clutched her head in despair as a flood of memories surged into her brain, accompanied by the System’s impassive narration.

“Your name is Tan Yin, a cannon fodder character in the novel The Evil Woman Wants to Rule the Business World. The villainous female lead, Fang Huiling, was kidnapped as a child and endured three years of torture before finally escaping and being reunited with her family. From then on, she began to make a name for herself in the business world as the Fang Family’s only daughter. What the world doesn’t know is that the Fang Family is deeply entrenched in both the legal and illegal underworlds. While they maintain a polished public image, they secretly operate numerous illicit businesses. As the family head, Fang Huiling is ruthless, systematically eliminating everyone who ever bullied her with extreme cruelty.”

“Host Tan Yin, your ultimate mission is to eliminate the female lead, Fang Huiling. Upon successful completion of the mission, you will receive the System’s reward: a return to your original world.”

So, I’ve transmigrated into a novel… Tan Yin thought. But it doesn’t seem to make much difference.

The voice resonated directly in her mind, so she tried communicating with it internally: But I remember already being dead in my original world?

System: “Host, there is no need to worry. The final reward can adjust the timeline of your return to your original world. You may choose any point within the 24 hours preceding the incident.”

“I see. Then, System… I’d also like to ask, why has my memory become so blurred? I can’t even quite remember why I drowned.” Tan Yin considered how to address it. After all, the voice was completely gender-neutral, making it impossible to discern its sex.

The System conscientiously explained: “This is to allow the Host to have a better sense of immersion. To this end, the Organization has blocked most of your memories, while retaining a few original emotions to motivate each Host to work hard on completing their mission.”

Indeed, although her memories were blurred, Tan Yin remembered that someone very important was waiting for her in her original world. For that person, she had to strive to return.

After all, all she had to do was deal with the Villain from the book.

Just a character in a novel.

Just as she was thinking this, the sound of a child crying and screaming suddenly came from outside. Immediately after, the door was kicked open, and Tan Yin saw a small figure being ruthlessly pushed inside and falling to the ground. It was a little girl.

“Cry, cry, cry! All you fucking know how to do is cry! I’ll starve you for three days, and let’s see if you still have the strength to cry then!” A tall, middle-aged woman stood in the doorway, her hand still gripping the frame as she furiously shouted, her arm still extended from the force of pushing the girl inside.

Her gaze swept across the room, as if counting heads, completely indifferent to the fact that she had just woken a group of children who had been sleeping soundly. After confirming no one was missing, she glared at Tan Yin and barked, “Watch her. Make sure she keeps her mouth shut, or none of you will eat tonight.”

Bang! The door slammed shut, followed by the sharp click of the lock.

“…”

Tan Yin stared blankly at the door, then slowly turned her gaze to the other children—their faces wooden, yet their bodies trembling with suppressed fear. Finally, her eyes landed on the little girl by the door, who was slowly pushing herself up with one arm.

She was a beautiful child, with long eyelashes and fair skin. A shallow, red scrape marred her arm, the result of the fall just now. Her hair was a tangled mess, pulled to one side as if someone had violently yanked it. Her light-colored floral dress was stained with filth from the floor, patch after patch of black grime. She looked utterly pitiful.

The girl quickly stopped crying. Her lips trembled slightly as she glanced around, finally fixing her large, dark eyes on Tan Yin.

Even without the System’s introduction, Tan Yin already knew who this was.

In the story the System had told her, although the original host hadn’t been told how Fang Huiling would retaliate, she had still heard rumors about the fate of the human trafficking couple. The cruelty of their end was so extreme that even a written description would require a censor bar.

The current Fang Huiling was only twelve years old. So small and fragile, it was impossible to imagine she would one day become such a formidable and world-shaking figure.

But regardless of what the future held, just one look into Fang Huiling’s eyes told Tan Yin that she probably couldn’t bring herself to lay a hand on her. The reason was simple: the future Villain looked far too pitiful right now!

Tan Yin sighed, stood up, and went to the cabinet to open the medical kit, pulling out a half-empty bottle of povidone-iodine. She used a small pair of tweezers to grab a cotton ball soaked in the iodine, then walked over and knelt beside the girl, keeping her voice as gentle as possible: “Does your arm hurt? Let Big Sister help you apply some medicine, okay?”

A bean-sized tear, which the girl hadn’t yet wiped away, suddenly rolled down her cheek. She remained still. Tan Yin leaned forward and gently took the girl’s arm. Fortunately, the wound wasn’t large; treating it promptly should prevent any serious issues.

Tan Yin focused on applying the medicine, then helped the girl up and guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. She gently combed the girl’s hair and asked, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Fang Huiling,” the girl replied, her voice childish and slightly nasal.

So it really is the female lead.

Suddenly, Tan Yin felt a tight embrace around her waist as the girl threw herself into her arms, burying her face and muffling her voice. “Sister, I’m scared.”

Tan Yin’s heart gave a strange tug. Is this child really this trusting of strangers? Just hugging me like this?

She must be feeling completely insecure. Tan Yin gently patted the girl’s back in comfort. “It’s okay. As long as you’re good and obedient, Mother won’t do anything to us.”

The original host had been the first child abducted by the human trafficker couple. Though she was sometimes beaten and scolded, at least her food and shelter were provided. Later, as more children were brought in, the original host had taken on the responsibility of caring for them.

“Waaaah… I want my mommy and daddy… I’ll never run away from home again. Big sister, can you take me outside?”

“…” Tan Yin wanted to, but just then, the System’s ill-timed voice echoed in her mind: 

[Ding! Host, please persuade the Villain to stay and dissuade them from escaping. Success will grant a 5% Action Progress reward. Failure will result in electric shock punishment and a 5% deduction in Action Progress.]

“What punishment? What progress?” Tan Yin froze for a moment, a faint sense of dread creeping into her heart.

[Since excessively rapid progress would disrupt the development of the original world, the Host cannot directly eliminate the Villain. Instead, you must accumulate Action Progress through the System’s guidance. Once Action Progress reaches 100%, the Host will be free to eliminate the Villain. Until then, please remain calm.]

“Deduct progress for failure? What happens if it goes into the negatives?”

System: If Action Progress falls below 0%, the System will annihilate the Host.

“Wh-What?!” Tan Yin cried out. The child in her arms flinched, looked up in panic, and instinctively shrank back.

“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” Tan Yin added quickly.

Annihilation. Was it the same kind of annihilation she had imagined? Were there really rules like that? But then again, it made sense. No one ever got a second life for free.

“Big sister, what’s wrong?” the child-form Fang Huiling asked in a timid voice.

“Um… Big sister thinks you can’t go out yet.”

“Why?”

“Look, your arm is still injured. We have to wait at least until it’s healed, right?” Tan Yin felt her conscience bleeding. “And Mom and the others won’t let us out easily. If we get caught, the consequences will be terrible. We might even lose our lives! You must never mention leaving in front of anyone else, okay?”

Little Fang Huiling didn’t seem to grasp much of it. She nodded vaguely and asked, “What’s going to happen to us next?”

What would happen next?

Perhaps she would be beaten and scolded, go without proper meals and sleep, be forced to beg on the streets in the dead of winter, and drift from one city to another. Until three years later, when an old acquaintance would recognize her and take her back, setting her on a path of a lifetime of misery.

The fates of characters in novels were sealed from the very beginning.

Of course, Tan Yin had no intention of telling her any of this. Telling an innocent child how terrible her future would be was a terrible thing in itself.

Tan Yin pulled Xiao Fang Huiling back into her arms, her emotions a tangled mess. “No matter what happens, Big Sister will do her best to protect you.”

Xiao Fang Huiling nuzzled her head against Tan Yin’s chest, letting out a soft, kitten-like purr. “Mm.”

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have successfully completed the mission and received a progress reward of 5%! Current total progress: 5%.]

Her emotions were truly… a tangled mess.

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