When The Harem Novel’s Heroine Meets The Tragic Heroine - Chapter 2

Yu Qingling was not one to mind other people’s business. When she first heard the dispute between the man and the woman behind her, she held an attitude of “it has nothing to do with me, so I’ll leave it alone.” It wasn’t until she caught a glimpse of the girl sitting on the ground, covering her face in a state of helplessness, that an inexplicable, strong desire to protect her welled up.

Her actions moved faster than her logic, to the point where she had already stepped in to vent her anger on the girl’s behalf before she remembered the legal knowledge System 99 had previously lectured her on.

Having lived two lives, the thing Yu Qingling loathed most was a foul man who would lay hands on a girl at the slightest disagreement.

Unfortunately, this man was too weak to take a hit; she had only used one move, and he was already lying on the ground, unable to get up.

She slowly lowered her leg, cast her eyes down, and leaned over, extending a hand to the girl who was staring blankly from the ground. “Are you alright?”

There was silence for three seconds. Receiving no response, she saw the girl looking up at her without moving a muscle, teardots still shimmering in the corners of her eyes. It seemed she was startled by the sudden turn of events.

Yu Qingling softened her voice. It was rare for the steadfast and overbearing female general to show such tenderness: “Can you stand up?”

The girl finally snapped out of it, reaching out a fair, slender hand and cautiously placing it in Yu Qingling’s palm.

Yu Qingling applied slight pressure with her fingers to pull the girl up. Her fingertips inevitably brushed against the other’s skin—it was delicate and soft, making one reluctant to let go.

The moment the girl stood firm, Yu Qingling released her hand anyway.

System 99 finally regained its speech function and urged her frantically: “Host, hurry and find the male lead, Xiao Qingtian! The mission has already begun. If you delay any longer, there won’t be enough time, and the mission will fail!”

Yu Qingling replied to the system with an expressionless “Oh,” and following the system’s instructions, she turned and walked away quickly.

“What are the specific details of this mission?”

System 99 did not answer immediately, pausing for a few seconds before speaking. “Host, listen to me, no matter what, you must put completing the mission first…”

Yu Qingling slowed her pace, her tone turning cold. “Stop wasting words. Get to the point.”

System 99: “…Actually, this mission isn’t that difficult. You just need to attend a date, watch a romance movie with the male lead Xiao Qingtian, and then, while you are both feeling mutual admiration, do a little… ‘experimenting’ in the dark.”

Yu Qingling frowned: “What kind of experimenting? Be clearer.”

System 99 lowered its voice a notch: “It’s… helping the male lead with a ‘hand-job.’ Don’t worry, Host, to date you, the male lead booked the entire theater. No one will see.”

Yu Qingling was curious: “Who is ‘Hand-job’? Is their martial arts prowess high?”

System 99: “…”

This was the trouble with having an ancient host. This kind of intimate interaction known to everyone had to be explained in detail. Even though it was a system, it could still feel shy.

It hastily pulled relevant popular science materials from the main system and dumped them all into Yu Qingling’s mind. “Host, according to the original text’s description, you need to do this first, then that, and the time cannot be less than half an hour.”

After learning exactly what her mission entailed, Yu Qingling’s face turned gloomy.

This time, she suppressed the murderous intent that was constantly trying to surge outward. she asked eerily, her voice gradually turning sinister: “Are you sure you want me to continue with this mission? Aren’t you afraid that if I can’t hold back, I’ll make Xiao Qingtian’s lineage end right here and now?”

She remembered when she first transmigrated into the book, the system told her the general plot. By the end of the story, Xiao Qingtian was supposed to have five sons and eight daughters.

If Xiao Qingtian were to be “purged” by her right now, unable to harm any more girls, would this world collapse? Would the subsequent missions end as well?

System 99 felt the host’s threat and didn’t dare to make a sound for a moment.

Yu Qingling commented with disdain, “Truly disgusting.”

99 muttered timidly: “…I can’t control the plot missions either. After all, this is an old-school male-oriented harem novel.”

Yu Qingling leaned lazily against the wall, speaking with an air of indifference, “Come on then. Strike me.”

She would rather be struck by lightning than continue this mission that disgusted her.

It would just be full-body pain and an inability to move for a while.

Just a bolt of lightning from the heavens.

99 got anxious now: “Host, don’t give up on the mission so quickly! Let me think, there must be another way.”

Yu Qingling raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected the system to actually help brainstorm a plan.

Sure enough, you have to apply a little pressure to get a pleasant surprise.

The system was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. It calculated at high speed and quickly found a solution.

“Host, I’ve detected that during the novel’s serialization, it encountered a ‘anti-obscenity’ crackdown by the authorities. Therefore, many detailed descriptions in the text were deleted or glossed over. The detailed description for this mission was also changed to a brief mention.”

“The current description is like this: Inside the screen, the protagonist and heroine smile at each other; outside the screen, the beautiful woman uses her slender fingers to help the handsome man, who is gazing at her deeply, vent the fire within his body.”

Yu Qingling’s face was cold and grim as she chuckled twice, a sound that made the system tremble with fear.

Without waiting for it to urge her, she had already set off with her long legs toward the male lead’s location.

Yu Qingling’s persona in the book was a cold-natured martial arts coach. Her personality was almost identical to her real self, so she could play the part without breaking character.

Xiao Qingtian saw Yu Qingling’s figure from a distance. The melancholy on his face vanished instantly, and he ran over in a frenzy of joy. He stopped about half a meter away from Yu Qingling, sounding excited and a bit fidgety. “Qingling, you came.”

Yu Qingling nodded expressionlessly, her voice devoid of emotion. “Sorry, I’m late.”

She displayed her distant and cold demeanor to the fullest. Seeing this, Xiao Qingtian didn’t dare get too close. His tone carried a hint of caution: “It’s fine, I’m already very happy that you could come. The movie is about to start, shall we go in now?”

“I bought you the milk tea from that shop you like. I specifically asked for extra ice, try it.”

“I know you don’t like crowded places, so I booked the whole theater today so it’s just the two of us.”

“By the way, Qingling, what do you usually like to do when you aren’t working? Maybe we have the same hobbies?”

Regardless of the male lead’s incessant chattering, Yu Qingling didn’t reply once. If she stayed in this world a bit longer, she would know there was a vivid term to describe the man in front of her: a “simp.”

Xiao Qingtian didn’t mind her coldness; after all, this was just the beautiful woman’s nature.

If he hadn’t accidentally overheard the beauty revealing her inner thoughts the day before yesterday—learning that she had a good impression of him—Xiao Qingtian would still only dare to like and follow her quietly.

Xiao Qingtian knew well that to win over a girl as reserved and cold as Yu Qingling, he had to take the initiative to succeed.

Previously, he didn’t dare to act for fear of bungling things and getting the opposite result. Now that there was finally a breakthrough, he began to act impatiently.

See, he had only tried to ask Yu Qingling out, and she had agreed.

Even though she was more than ten minutes late, the fact that she showed up meant there was a chance.

As long as he worked a little harder, he might be able to have an enviable girlfriend by today.

Xiao Qingtian’s mind began to wander, his heart growing hot with imagination. He failed to notice that every time he got slightly closer to Yu Qingling, she would immediately and subtly move away to maintain distance.

Those cold, pitch-black pupils hidden a deep loathing.

The mission venue was exactly as the system said—Xiao Qingtian had booked the whole place. In the massive theater, only two people sat beneath the screen.

Yu Qingling watched the entanglements of the men and women on the screen with utter boredom. She felt it was a complete waste of time. Instead of thinking about these romantic affairs, she would rather be practicing her swordplay.

Even though this world was peaceful and beautiful, habit dictated that she preferred wielding blades and spears.

By the time the movie reached the plot point where the leads confirmed their relationship, Yu Qingling was already drowsy.

Beside her, Xiao Qingtian quietly grabbed her hand in the darkness. Yu Qingling’s instinct was to fling it away.

However, System 99’s reminder was half a second faster than her reaction. Whether the mission could be successfully completed depended entirely on this moment.

She had to suppress her movements, allowing the “salty pig hand” to cover the back of her hand.

Xiao Qingtian leaned in slightly, murmuring ambiguously in her ear: “Qingling, help me, okay?”

Yu Qingling knew the key part of the mission was coming.

In an instant, her drowsiness vanished. She withdrew her hand and slowly pulled something out of her backpack. “Do you know what this is?”

Using the dim light, Xiao Qingtian squinted for a few seconds. “Nunchucks?”

Yu Qingling nodded.

Xiao Qingtian didn’t understand. Why pull out nunchucks on a date?

Yu Qingling: “My favorite thing to do usually is this.”

As she spoke, she gripped one section of the nunchucks with both hands. With a “crack,” the wooden stick snapped into two pieces.