Chapter 2: New World, New Mission
The carriage door opened slowly, and warm golden light from outside spilled into the quiet interior of the carriage, brushing softly against the heavy red fabric surrounding Su Yueqing.
Without showing even the slightest hesitation, she calmly adjusted the bridal veil resting over her hair before stepping down from the carriage with slow and graceful movements, as though entering unfamiliar worlds inside strange bodies had already become something completely ordinary to her.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her eyes quietly swept across her surroundings.
A long red carpet stretched from the wedding carriage all the way toward the enormous gates of the Xi Manor, while countless lanterns hung high above the estate, their warm glow softening the otherwise cold and imposing structure of the residence. Rows of guards stood on both sides of the path in perfect formation, their expressions serious and disciplined as servants moved busily around the manor preparing for the wedding ceremony.
Everything about the place radiated wealth, authority, and power.
This was the Xi family residence.
The home of one of the most feared noble families in the capital.
And from today onward—
This would also become Su Yueqing’s battlefield.
A servant quickly approached her before lowering her head respectfully.
"Madam, please follow this way."
Su Yueqing only gave a small nod before following behind the servant without resistance.
Her movements remained steady and elegant as she walked deeper into the manor, her posture flawless and her expression calm beneath the red bridal veil. On the surface, she looked exactly like what everyone expected her to be—a noble young lady marrying into a powerful family.
Perfectly fitting the role of a villainous noble wife.
But inside her mind, her thoughts were already moving elsewhere.
The Xi family.
The future heroine.
The original plot.
And the tragic ending waiting for every single person inside this household.
She remembered the storyline clearly now after downloading the entire plot from the system.
Xi Wenzhe would not be heavily involved today because most of the important events would begin after the wedding ceremony was completed. Soon, the heroine would arrive at the Xi Manor, and from that moment onward, the original story would slowly begin unfolding exactly as written.
There would be misunderstandings, manipulation and eventually—
The destruction of the Xi family.
As Su Yueqing continued walking quietly through the manor grounds, a familiar blue light suddenly flickered inside her mind.
A transparent screen slowly appeared before her eyes.
[System Connection Restored.]
Su Yueqing did not stop walking.
Her expression did not change even slightly.
Instead, she lazily spoke inside her mind.
"You’re late."
The system responded almost immediately.
[Traffic.]
For a brief moment, Su Yueqing almost laughed.
"You’re a system," she replied calmly. "What traffic could you possibly have?"
[Updating world data requires processing energy and time.]
The system paused for a second before adding in the same emotionless voice—
[Also, congratulations on arriving at the Xi Manor without dying midway.]
Su Yueqing’s lips twitched slightly beneath the veil.
"That almost sounded sincere."
[It was not.]
The answer came so quickly that Su Yueqing finally allowed herself a faint smile.
This system had followed her through too many worlds already.
Although it always acted cold and mechanical on the surface, it had long stopped feeling like a simple mission tool to her. It complained, mocked her occasionally, and sometimes sounded more like a tired companion forced to babysit an irresponsible employee than an actual system.
And strangely enough—
After spending years moving from one world to another, it had become one of the only familiar things left in her life.
The blue screen flickered again.
[New Update for Mission 10.]
Su Yueqing’s steps slowed slightly.
"...What now?"
There was a brief pause before the system answered.
[The Villain Points system has been modified.]
For the first time since entering the Xi Manor, Su Yueqing completely stopped walking.
"That’s not allowed," she replied immediately. "You told me the requirement was five thousand points."
[Correction.]
[The system has been upgraded to Revolving Villain Points.]
Su Yueqing narrowed her eyes slightly.
"...Revolving?"
The system began explaining calmly.
[Previously, the host was only required to accumulate 5000 Villain Points in order to complete the mission.]
[Under the new system update, Villain Points will continuously fluctuate based on the host’s daily actions, decisions, and behavioral consistency.]
[If Villain Points successfully reach 5000, the host will complete the mission route and return after experiencing natural death within this world.]
Su Yueqing blinked once.
"...Natural death?"
[Correct.]
[This is considered the standard mission completion route.]
Before she could respond further, the system continued again.
[However, a secondary hidden system has also been activated.]
This time, Su Yueqing frowned slightly.
"...Hidden system?"
[Favorability Points System.]
The moment those words appeared, Su Yueqing already felt something unpleasant coming.
The system continued speaking calmly.
[Favorability Points increase when members of the Xi family develop positive emotional attachment toward the host.]
[Trust, affection, emotional dependence, protectiveness, and admiration will all contribute toward Favorability growth.]
Su Yueqing’s expression slowly cooled.
"...And?"
The system answered directly.
[If Favorability Points reach 10,000, the host will become permanently bound to this world.]
[The host will remain here until natural death.]
Silence followed immediately.
Su Yueqing stared at the floating screen for several long moments before finally speaking again.
"...So let me understand this properly."
"If they hate me, I complete the mission and leave eventually."
[Correct.]
"But if they like me too much..."
[The host will remain trapped in this world permanently.]
Su Yueqing immediately closed her eyes.
"...That is absolutely disgusting."
[It is a balance mechanism.]
She let out a soft laugh under her breath, but there was no amusement inside it.
"So now I need to make sure they hate me enough to complete the plot properly..."
"...but not enough for the mission to collapse entirely."
[Correct.]
For a moment, Su Yueqing said nothing.
Then she slowly opened her eyes again and continued walking forward as though nothing had happened.
"...Fine."
"I’ve dealt with worse missions before."
The system answered immediately.
[That is true.]
And as Su Yueqing walked deeper into the enormous Xi Manor beneath the glow of countless lanterns, only one thought remained firmly in her mind.
No matter what happened—
She absolutely could not allow this family to like her.
