Female Protagonist Assistance System

“Senior Sister, when browsing the market with Xun’er, you mustn’t think of others.”

Seeing the young woman’s proud and unrestrained smile, Xiao Han was momentarily stunned, then composed herself, suppressing the unusual feeling in her heart.

Seeing Xiao Han remain silent, Gu Xun’er’s lips curved slightly, shifting her gaze from her to further ahead: “Senior Sister, let’s go look over there.”

After speaking, Gu Xun’er clasped her hands behind her back and walked forward with light, quick steps.

Xiao Han instinctively followed but stopped after one step. She looked at the light green bracelet Gu Xun’er had admired earlier. The bracelet was made of common materials, with some ice silver added to make it cool to the touch, suitable for summer wear. Though ordinary in material, it was unique and elegant.

Xiao Han pressed her lips together and said to the vendor: “Please wrap this up for me.”

“Certainly.”

With the bracelet in her possession, Xiao Han silently followed Gu Xun’er.

[Host, is that bracelet you just bought a gift for the female lead?] The system found it strange. Why was its host suddenly giving Gu Xun’er a gift? It wasn’t her birthday.

Xiao Han made an affirmative sound: [An apology gift.]

The system felt puzzled. Why did its host need to give the female lead an apology gift? But thinking back to earlier events, it suddenly understood.

Oh, it was to apologize for being distracted while accompanying the female lead shopping.

But why apologize for such a thing?

The system didn’t understand.

At this moment, a clear laugh suddenly came from ahead: “Oh? Isn’t this Miss Xun’er? I didn’t expect to meet you here. What a coincidence.”

Xiao Han looked up to see a crowd had gathered ahead, surrounding a richly dressed young man like stars around the moon.

The young man was about twenty, quite handsome, though somewhat pale. His eyes were now fixed intently on the youthful girl in front of her, his gaze filled with undisguised admiration.

Seeing the handsome young man’s delighted face, Gu Xun’er’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ignoring his call, she turned to leave: “Senior Sister, let’s go look somewhere else.”

“Miss Xun’er!”

Seeing Gu Xun’er turn away, the handsome young man’s pale face instantly became anxious. He quickened his pace and finally blocked Gu Xun’er and Xiao Han’s path.

Blocked by the young man, Gu Xun’er had to stop. Her long, autumn-water eyes narrowed slightly with a hint of languor as she looked at him coolly, saying nothing.

“Miss Xun’er……”

Fixed by the girl’s autumn-water eyes, the young man, usually at ease among beauties, found his breathing quickening, his usual eloquence failing him in this moment.

“Young Master Jia Lie, if there’s nothing else, please step aside. My… cousin and I have matters to attend to.”

Looking at the young man whose face was reddening, Gu Xun’er finally spoke. The girl’s tender, soft voice caused a somewhat sickly flush to rise on the pale face of the young man opposite her.

“Miss Xun’er, did you come to the market to buy something? I happen to be free. Why don’t we browse together?” Taking a deep breath, Jia Lie’s smile became bright and gentle. This smile, combined with his status and appearance, had often helped him successfully win over beauties.

“Young Master Jia Lie, I’ve already said I have matters to attend to! Can you please step aside?” Gu Xun’er’s small mouth tightened slightly, her voice flat without any fluctuation, but a faint anger welled up in her heart.

She had finally managed to get Xiao Han to come browse the market with her. How could she let this oblivious fellow ruin it?

Flatly rejected by Gu Xun’er, Jia Lie’s mouth twitched, but the smile on his face remained. He reached into his chest and pulled out a bracelet. The bracelet was a light blue-gold color, its chain made of gold-blue iron. At the connection point hung a green magic crystal polished into a round bead shape. A faint green light shone through, rendering the chain beautiful and enchanting. This delicate bracelet was undoubtedly expensive.

“If Miss Xun’er has matters to attend to, it would be unreasonable for Jia Lie to keep hindering you.” Jia Lie carefully held the bracelet, smiling attentively: “This is a Wood Spirit Bracelet I just purchased in the market specifically. Though it’s not particularly valuable, it does have a level one wood-attribute magic crystal, which has a very good amplifying effect on Dou Qi recovery. It’s a small token of my regard. Miss Xun’er, please don’t refuse, or Jia Lie will truly lose face in front of his subordinates……”

Towards the end, Jia Lie even made a small attempt at humor, and his surrounding subordinates cooperatively laughed a few times.

Watching Jia Lie’s actions, Gu Xun’er’s brows furrowed again, feeling somewhat exasperated by this persistent nuisance.

“Young Master Jia Lie should take it back. Xun’er is already a six-star Dou Practitioner. This bracelet seems of little use to her.”

At this moment, Xiao Han, who had been silently acting as a background character, suddenly spoke coldly, as detached and aloof as ever. Only the system knew of Xiao Han’s inner displeasure.

My disciple, is this the kind of coward who can pursue her?

Xiao Han’s former sect had always been single-lineage, so they had a characteristic of being unreasonably protective of their own.

Essentially, they believed everything about their sect members was good, and even if something wasn’t good, only they could criticize it.

This protectiveness was most evident in the master-disciple relationship.

A master’s thoughts were always: my disciple is beautiful, physically perfect, and talented. Anyone who doesn’t like my disciple must have something wrong with their eyes. And when they discovered someone shamelessly pursuing their disciple, they would think: that’s just a toad lusting after swan’s flesh.

Basically, how dare such a coward pursue my disciple? They should look in the mirror and see what they look like.

So in her previous life, many people familiar with their sect felt they weren’t teaching disciples, but raising daughters.

This was Xiao Han’s current mindset. Although her disciple wasn’t yet as excellent as she would like, she was still not someone this unfaithful and untalented fellow could aspire to.

Hearing Xiao Han’s voice, Jia Lie’s face instantly darkened. He looked at the cold, white-clad girl beside Gu Xun’er, his teeth grinding audibly: “So it’s Fourth Young Miss Xiao. I didn’t notice you earlier. My apologies.”

Gu Xun’er frowned slightly, very displeased with Jia Lie’s sarcastic tone.

Xiao Han’s expression remained impassive, making it impossible to discern her emotions.

“Fourth Young Miss Xiao, I just noticed Miss Xun’er wasn’t wearing any accessories, so I wanted to show a little thoughtfulness. Don’t you want some small ornaments to add to Miss Xun’er’s beauty?” Jia Lie still refused to give up. Moreover, he didn’t forget to try to sow discord between the two, implying to Gu Xun’er that Xiao Han couldn’t bear to see her looking good.

Xiao Han’s gaze deepened: “If Xun’er wants a bracelet, she doesn’t need an outsider’s attentions. Although my Xiao family is frugal, we’re not so poor that we can’t afford a bracelet.”

As she spoke, she took out the bracelet she had bought earlier and said to Gu Xun’er with lowered brows: “If you like bracelets, just tell me. Don’t be fooled by the small favors of those with ill intentions.”

The light green bracelet reflected the sunlight, somewhat dazzling Gu Xun’er’s eyes. She was slightly stunned. Wasn’t this the bracelet she had liked earlier but didn’t buy because she was being stubborn with Xiao Han?

Senior Sister… actually bought it?

When?

Hearing Xiao Han’s indirect rebuke, Jia Lie’s face clouded with coldness. However, when his gaze swept over the bracelet in Xiao Han’s hand, he was somewhat taken aback and couldn’t help but laugh.

The bracelet in Xiao Han’s hand, judging by its material, was clearly a street stall item not worth more than five gold coins. His Wood Spirit Bracelet, on the other hand, was a genuine magic crystal accessory that had cost over a thousand gold coins. The two bracelets were worlds apart in style, price, and practical use, with no basis for comparison.

So, seeing Xiao Han give such a shabby accessory to the beautiful young Miss Gu Xun’er, Jia Lie couldn’t help but mock: “Fourth Young Miss Xiao, although I knew your status in your family wasn’t high, but… do you really need to be so stingy with Miss Xun’er?”

Ignoring Jia Lie’s mockery, Xiao Han looked calmly at Gu Xun’er, seeing her staring blankly at the bracelet. She couldn’t help but ask softly: “Don’t you want it?”

“Tsk…” Hearing Xiao Han’s words, not only did Jia Lie laugh, but even his group of subordinates burst into derisive laughter.

However, the mocking laughter didn’t last long. It was suddenly cut off as if their throats had been slashed, leaving them gaping in shock, their expressions extremely comical.

The young woman, who had been somewhat dazed, was awakened by Xiao Han’s words. Her eyes curved in a smile as she extended her hand, taking the bracelet from Xiao Han. She gracefully slipped it onto her fair, slender wrist and looked up at Xiao Han with an elegant, charming smile: “Thank you, Cousin Xiao Han.”

Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, she teased: “Thank you, Senior Sister. It seems Xun’er misunderstood Senior Sister earlier.”

No, you didn’t misunderstand. She really was distracted at first.

Watching Gu Xun’er display such girlish behavior in front of Xiao Han, Jia Lie felt somewhat jealous. He forced a laugh: “I didn’t expect Miss Xun’er’s tastes to be so unique. I’ve miscalculated a bit.”

Xiao Han glanced at Jia Lie before her, her gaze sweeping over the golden star on his chest, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.

A one-star Dou Practitioner at twenty-one years old, and with this level he dares to come harass her disciple?

Seeing their young master’s unpleasant expression, the group of subordinates behind Jia Lie very astutely stepped forward, subtly surrounding the two, their scanning gazes mixed with ill intent.

The crowd in the depths of the market was equally dense. Noticing the incident here, everyone curiously looked over.

Gu Xun’er’s gaze turned cold. She tilted her head to look at Jia Lie, whose expression betrayed a sense of certain victory, and said carelessly: “Young Master Jia Lie, this is our Xiao family’s market. Do you intend to cause trouble here?”

Questioned thus by Gu Xun’er, Jia Lie’s face instantly turned sycophantic: “How could that be, Miss Xun’er? Although I, Jia Lie, am not some great figure, I am still a man of honor. How could I do such a thing? It’s just that I suddenly remembered, my Jia Lie family and the Xiao family are old friends. As an elder brother figure, I naturally have the responsibility to test Fourth Young Miss Xiao’s skills a bit.”

Gu Xun’er almost laughed at his shameless statement. The Jia Lie family and the Xiao family were like fire and water. Old friends? More like old enemies.

The system was also angered.

Test its esteemed host’s skills? This guy was unworthy!

“If that’s the case, why doesn’t Young Master Jia Lie test Xun’er’s skills instead?” Gu Xun’er’s beautiful eyes turned cold as she stepped lightly in front of Xiao Han.

She knew Xiao Han’s strength was not just six stages of Dou Qi, possibly even higher than her own. But the other had hidden her strength for so many years, and even their teacher kept silent about it. Though she didn’t know why, there must be a reason. So, although she wanted to know Xiao Han’s true strength, as fellow disciples, Gu Xun’er chose to step forward and help her mysterious junior sister.

Moreover, Gu Xun’er was extremely displeased with Jia Lie’s words. Even if her Senior Sister’s talent was truly ordinary, she wasn’t someone a person like him could bully!

It must be said that although Gu Xun’er hadn’t been a disciple for long, she had thoroughly learned the essence of the sect’s protectiveness.