I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 30

Xiao 6 opened the manga's bullet comments.

【Ah, ah, ah, wife is so beautiful! Such a thin waist, let me take over!】

【My new wife appeared in this chapter! So happy! Sister ahead, I'm a college student, let me go first!】

【Wuwu, I'm the grilled sausage in his hand! Wife's pink, tender lips are going to kiss me~】

Lewd bullet comments popped up one after another, densely packed, quickly covering the cover image, profoundly conveying the enthusiasm of readers from a high-dimensional world. For a moment, neither Bai Xuechao nor Xiao 6 spoke.

After a long pause, Xiao 6 lit a cyber cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke: "See, Host, I told you that readers are always full of dirty talk, and now it's all over your face."

Bai Xuechao: "..." Six, may this prosperous age be as you wish.

Bai Xuechao clicked to the next page.

The plot continued from the previous chapter: all three amusement rides the protagonist group tried had electrical problems, so they could only queue for other attractions. The protagonist group decided to go to the very popular "Underwater World Shuttle," thinking that with such a popular attraction, the park management would surely prioritize its maintenance, so there wouldn't be any problems. As they discussed, a few oval dialogue boxes of passers-by complaining appeared in the background.

They went to the attraction entrance. The estimated waiting time for this queue actually showed 90 minutes. The three chatted while queuing.

【Too real, I went to a certain park before, and the queue was 90 minutes. (crying)】

【Honestly, Brother Hao's jokes are too cold, yet our daughter can laugh like that, it's truly amazing.】

【Ling Feng Maomao is the normal person's reaction!】

【Wait, look at Ling Feng's background! Is that the wife in the red round-collared robe! Who's the golden-haired person next to him?】

Readers were truly microscopic. The background of Ling Feng's panel was the express lane, with two passers-by walking through. One had white hair and wore a red round-collared robe; the other had light golden hair and wore a short Gothic black cloak. The person with light golden hair was quite a bit taller, but walked on the inner side, his face obscured by the Wusha hat worn by the white-haired person, only revealing a light golden ponytail. Due to the angle, only a small part of the white-haired person's profile could be seen, and their eyes were not visible, but based on skin tone, it could roughly be identified as Bai Xuechao.

The next panel of the manga was a close-up of the male lead Zhou Chenhao's expression. His deep brown eyes turned, seemingly looking in that direction, but then the protagonist group continued their conversation.

The manga used a white panel to indicate the passage of time. When the protagonist group reappeared, it was the familiar scenario of electrical equipment malfunctioning, and staff members apologizing. As the three left, they saw Bai Xuechao sitting on a roadside bench.

"Hey? It's you!" Zhou Chenhao walked over.

【Wife finally appeared! Lick lick!】

Next was a conversation between the protagonist group and Bai Xuechao. Zhou Chenhao jokingly called them "Power-Off Man." When he mentioned "came during summer vacation," Ling Feng had a close-up of his expression, seemingly thinking of something. Zhou Chenhao continued chatting with Bai Xuechao, who said he was waiting for his brother to buy grilled sausages and pointed. The last panel on this page was the back of Bai Xuechao's "brother," very tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, wearing a short Gothic black cloak and a light golden high ponytail.

【Why is the wife's attitude so friendly? Didn't he say the world was boring? (Doge head)】

【Is he acting? Trying to get close to the protagonist group?】

【Ling Feng Maomao's expression must mean he realized something was off with the park.】

【Definitely noticed, after all, among our protagonist group, he's the only one with a brain. (Knocking on wooden fish)】

【Hahaha, if you say that, Brother Hao and Xiaoxi are going to hit you!】

【Wife's brother looks like a handsome guy from his back!】

【I'm different, I'd just shout: Hi, brother-in-law!】

【Why do I feel like this back looks a lot like the golden-haired, cold-faced husband who appeared before?】

【Could just be the same hair color, right?】

【The length seems similar too.】

Seeing this, Bai Xuechao raised an eyebrow. The golden-haired, cold-faced husband must be referring to Duan Xingzhi, right? He had to admit, sometimes readers' intuition was quite accurate. Bai Xuechao continued to flip the page. He really wanted to know what the effect would be in the manga if only the facial features were changed without altering hair color and eye color.

The next page, the young man who was queuing looked back, and his face surprisingly resembled Bai Xuechao.

The art style of this manga was specially customized by Bai Guzi at a high price; the brushstrokes were incredibly delicate, so much so that there were subtle differences in the characters' eye shapes. Even with the same hair and eye color, one could tell the difference in each face, preventing confusion, which was much better than some mangas where everyone shared the same facial template.

Bai Xuechao thought that even when converted into a manga, it still bore no resemblance to Duan Xingzhi's original face and wouldn't lead to any association.

In fact, because it was converted into a manga, even with the most detailed art style, there would be some differences from a three-dimensional real face, so it would look more similar than the actual effect, increasing from a five-point resemblance to six or seven points. To use an analogy, it would be like taking Bai Xuechao's image from the manga, putting it into Photoshop, changing the eye color and hairstyle, then tweaking the mouth and liquefying the facial contour lines to be more masculine.

Bai Xuechao was quite satisfied with this effect.

The manga readers went wild with bullet comments.

【Wow! So much like the wife!】

【I think I'm seeing the wife five years from now! So handsome!】

【I'm different, I'd just rush up and call him husband!】

【Wife on the left, husband on the right, I want both brothers, tee hee hee hee. (Doggy-eyed grin.jpg)】

【There's no introduction for him in the appendix, such a mysterious character.】

【That light golden-haired character who appeared before, at least the appendix introduced his name as Duan Xingzhi, and his special ability is electricity. This character, as Bai Xuechao's brother, doesn't even have an introduction?】

【Maybe he doesn't have much screen time yet, so no introduction.】

Bai Xuechao saw the bullet comments and said, "It seems Bai Guzi is going to cooperate with me in concealing my identity." He had previously called out to Bai Guzi to keep his identity a secret. If Bai Guzi didn't plan to do so, she could have directly released this character's introduction as Duan Xingzhi in the appendix, but she didn't.

Xiao 6 couldn't help but flip through the manga's appendix in the backstage and exclaimed, "It's true, there's not a single introduction in the appendix."

Bai Xuechao said, "Let's continue reading the manga."

What followed was consistent with Bai Xuechao's experience: Bai Xuechao bid farewell to the protagonist group, waved at them after getting his grilled sausage, and then left. After Bai Xuechao left, there was a conversation among the protagonist group. Ling Feng asked Zhou Chenhao when he had come during the summer vacation, before or after his special ability awakening.

"Before special ability awakening..." Zhou Chenhao's eyes were wide, his expression somewhat innocent. Then he realized, "Are you suggesting that this park is maintained by special abilities?"

Ling Feng nodded slightly, his jawline looking somewhat sharp. "Bad luck comes in threes, but this is already the fourth time. Can it really be such a coincidence? The tourists before us enjoyed the rides, and only when we got on did the electrical equipment have problems." After speaking, he looked at Zhou Chenhao.

Zhou Chenhao pointed to himself with a bewildered expression: "Huh?"

"Indeed!" Xia Xiaoxi clapped her hand. "If this park's owner has an electricity special ability, and it's within Level 6, then it's not strange for the power to go out."

Zhou Chenhao held out his hand to stop Xia Xiaoxi and Ling Feng, indicating to wait, and asked a series of questions: "But we tried an attraction before, right? Why didn't that one have any problems? If the special ability is electricity, why only control these few attractions?" The next panel was a Q-version illustration of Ling Feng and Xia Xiaoxi standing side by side. Both had turned into dot-eyes, and their mouths were tiny triangular shapes, very cute.

Ling Feng hesitated: "...To save on electricity bills?"

Xia Xiaoxi's expression was serious: "Exactly, that's probably it! After all, such a large park must consume a lot of electricity, so to reduce costs, special ability electricity!"

【Ah, ha, ha, ha, my eyes are watching them rush towards a silly direction.】

【At first, I thought they realized something was wrong with the park, but then they thought it was powered by special abilities.】

【Can't help it, they have limited information. They don't know about Qiao Jing, only that four out of five rides they tried lost power.】

【The male lead also called them "Power-Off Man," right? (Doge head)】

"In that case, wouldn't it be fine if I just didn't touch the equipment?" Zhou Chenhao tugged at the cuff of his Qing dynasty official uniform, pulling down the folded-up part of the sleeve to cover half of his palm. "I'll just be careful, let's keep playing!" He and Xia Xiaoxi carelessly continued to choose attractions, settling on a 4D one.

More queuing. When they reached the entrance, two people came from the express lane next to them: it was Bai Xuechao and his brother. Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi were both very surprised and started talking to them. At this point, a close-up of Ling Feng's expression was shown. Ling Feng's brows were slightly furrowed, and a thought bubble next to him read: "Met again... Is it really such a coincidence?"

【There it is! Maomao's wariness and suspicion!】

【I also think the wife is deliberately creating chance encounters. A clothing store the day before, twice at the park today, it's really quite a coincidence.】

【Maybe it's just as the wife said, fate? (Manual doge emoji)】

【Is Ling Feng overthinking it? I really think it might just be a coincidence; everything is a meeting of destiny! (Facepalm)】

【In the previous chapter, the protagonist group was able to find the special ability user involved in the maritime transaction thanks to Ling Feng Maomao's vigilance and suspicion. That's his characteristic, right? It's also possible he suspected something but there was no problem.】

【I'm really going to die laughing. This is like two chapters now; it seems D City's sea isn't safe.】

Bai Xuechao: Readers probably won't believe it, but the clothing store was a genuine chance encounter. Before this attraction, Bai Xuechao and Duan Xingzhi had been following the protagonist group, but Bai Guzi didn't show a single panel of them, making Bai Xuechao even more certain that Bai Guzi wouldn't expose his identity. Perhaps Bai Guzi was also anticipating an identity "reversal" to increase the plot's entertainment value, while also satisfying Bai Xuechao's dark humor.

The few of them parted ways again after watching the 4D movie. Zhou Chenhao mentioned that next time they met, he could invite him to join, and Xia Xiaoxi even said that if he seemed like a good person after getting to know him, he might even be recruited into the Bureau.

Bai Xuechao was a bit surprised to see this. He didn't know the content of their conversation was this; he hadn't expected the protagonist group, or specifically Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi, to have such a high initial favorable impression of him. "Hmm..." Bai Xuechao gently tapped his chin, pondering. "Recruited into the Bureau?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao 6 thought Bai Xuechao wanted to join SAIDB, which would surely get the protagonist group killed and also be inconvenient for the subsequent plot. It quickly said, "Host, think twice!"

"Indeed, I should think twice." Before Xiao 6 could breathe a sigh of relief, it heard Bai Xuechao continue, "Think about how to get in." Xiao 6 immediately panicked. It felt that if Bai Xuechao wanted to join SAIDB, he genuinely could. It wanted to tell him the subsequent plot to stop him, but was afraid of being penalized, so it could only stammer and let out a few strange noises.

In the end, it suddenly noticed Bai Xuechao was smiling.

Xiao 6: QAQ Understood, I was tricked by the dog host again.

"I'm just teasing you, I won't be joining SAIDB." Bai Xuechao continued flipping through the manga, saying calmly, "Too many things need to be faked, it's too troublesome, and I hate trouble."

Xiao 6 wiped away tears: "Ying, so if it wasn't troublesome, you would join?"

Bai Xuechao smiled again: "Maybe?" This time, Xiao 6 didn't know if Bai Xuechao was being serious or just teasing it.

In the manga, the protagonist group continued to play on attractions, going on two in a row without encountering Bai Xuechao. Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi were actually a little disappointed; from their conversation, it was clear they were genuinely looking forward to seeing Bai Xuechao again.

Xiao 6 couldn't help but say, "Host, you're really good at fishing."

Bai Xuechao: "???" What are you even saying?

Next, the protagonist group went to the Underwater restaurant for dinner, and ended up sharing a table with Bai Xuechao and his brother. The manga readers started throwing doge heads.

【Such a coincidence, meeting three times in one day, do you believe it? (Doge head)】

【What if it really is just a coincidence? (Doge head)】

【No coincidence, no story. (Doge head)】

【Wife said, 'fate will bring us together again,' doesn't this mean they have fate? (Doge head)】

Looking over, every bullet comment had a doge head. Bai Xuechao was amused. It seemed his initial appearance had truly left a deep impression, and readers would naturally overthink his actions, so seeing chance encounters would lead them to believe he deliberately created them—though it was indeed the case.

Next was the main focus for Bai Xuechao: Zhou Chenhao invited him and Duan Xingzhi to the Underwater Park. The manga used several panels to show them walking through a glass tunnel, with the beautiful ocean on both sides of the glass, indicating they kept moving forward and passed many places. In the manga, Bai Xuechao said Xia Xiaoxi's eyes resembled his sister's friend's, and also mentioned "slightly drooping eye corners" and "male, special ability user."

The manga showed Xia Xiaoxi's eyes widening slightly after hearing this, followed by a flashback panel. Readers finally saw what Xia Xiaoxi's brother looked like. Unlike previous vague recollections, this was a clear bust portrait— The black-haired youth had a handsome appearance, with a gentle and sunny charm. He wore a crisp white shirt with unbuttoned collar, revealing some of his collarbone. Black leather suspenders wrapped around his shoulders and under his chest. He didn't resemble Xia Xiaoxi very much, but his reddish-brown eyes, like hematite, were the same drooping dog-like eyes as Xia Xiaoxi's.

Bai Xuechao looked at this manga panel, quietly watching for a while. The bullet comments from readers popped up one by one.

【Wow! Finally a clear look at brother's face! He's a gentle and sunny handsome guy!】

【Hiss, hiss, I love this leather strap, so hot.】

【Sister ahead, me too...】

Bai Xuechao looked at the bullet comments from readers and thought: Gentle? A bit. But more so, sunny.

【Holy crap, do you guys feel it? In this panel, brother's smile looks a bit like Zhou Chenhao's. (Please don't scold me if you don't think so, uwu, please)】

【Actually, I wanted to say that just now, maybe because they both look very sunny.】

【So that's why Xiaoxi gets along so well with Brother Hao, they felt like old friends at first sight during SAIDB training, because he reminds her of her own brother... QAQ】

【What, what, is it a stand-in trope?! My Chenxi CP's sad point came so quickly? (Permit crying emoji)】

【Uh, even so, don't over-imagine. Xiaoxi probably just genuinely likes spending time with this type of person. (Facepalm)】

Indeed, Su Zhao and Zhou Chenhao both appeared sunny, but they had differences. Zhou Chenhao's sunniness was a cheerful sunniness, full of vitality, a bit of a careless idiot. If likened to a dog, he would be a husky. Whereas Su Zhao's sunniness was an optimistic sunniness; he had endured much hardship, yet still smiled at people, more like a golden retriever.

Bai Xuechao believed that Xia Xiaoxi wouldn't confuse the two of them, and a stand-in trope was even less likely; it would be disrespectful to everyone involved.

"Host, you've been spacing out for a long time." Xiao 6's voice pulled Bai Xuechao back from his thoughts. Bai Xuechao came back to his senses, clicked to flip the manga page, and said, "I was thinking about something just now, let's continue watching."

In the manga, Xia Xiaoxi asked Bai Xuechao if that person's eyes were reddish-brown. After receiving an affirmative answer, she asked for his name, confirming it was her missing brother, Su Zhao. She instantly became somewhat emotional, grabbing Bai Xuechao's sleeve and asking questions. This manga panel focused on Bai Xuechao and Xia Xiaoxi, standing face-to-face and slightly turned, so their profiles could be seen. Because Xia Xiaoxi was emotional, their distance was somewhat close. Bai Xuechao's snow-white eyelashes were slightly lowered, gazing at Xia Xiaoxi's wide, emerald eyes. Behind them was Ling Feng, watching them.

The next panel was a close-up of Bai Xuechao's expression. His lips were slightly parted, and Xia Xiaoxi's face was faintly reflected in his blood-red eyes. The color of his lips was light red, slightly pinkish, and somewhat moist, as if he had applied a thin layer of lip balm, looking somewhat alluring, but the caption next to his lips read: "Breathing rapidly." The next manga panel showed Bai Xuechao's brother supporting his shoulder, taking over to answer Xia Xiaoxi.

【Ah, ah, ah, what's going on, is wife having an episode?!】

【Rapid breathing could also be due to being too emotional.】

【Don't forget our wife's sicklysetting)! (Crying) He was in the hospital before, wuwu, please take care of your body, my electronic wife.】

When Bai Xuechao said, "Our sister is also missing," a thought bubble appeared next to Ling Feng: "Can there really be such a coincidence?"

【It's indeed quite a coincidence, but now I'm starting to believe in fate...】

【Ling Feng Maomao doesn't know, but we know there was indeed a white-haired character who appeared with Su Zhao. So that was the wife's sister?】

Later, Xia Xiaoxi asked Bai Xuechao if she had made him uncomfortable just now. Bai Xuechao replied that he was just thinking of his missing sister, and felt a little emotional. The number of bullet comments here clearly increased.

【Getting emotional to the point of an episode when his sister is mentioned, he must really love his sister. (Crying)】

【Let me imagine, wife lived with his brother and sister, but last year his beloved sister went missing, and he's also sick, so he feels the world is so boring and wants to die, ying-ying-ying, I'm starting to feel it's sad. (Pulling out a Level 10 Imagination Certificate)】

【But I actually think the wife deliberately created the chance encounter even more. He wants to get close to the protagonist group, finding fun, but more importantly, to investigate his sister's whereabouts.】

【Who was it who said 'family reunion group' in the forum before? Are you a prophet??】

Further on, Xia Xiaoxi's eyes were slightly red. Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng told her to look at the jellyfish, using such clumsy ways to divert her attention. The bullet comments all said that the friendship of the trio was so ship-worthy. Xia Xiaoxi also added Bai Xuechao as a friend.

The few of them were currently looking at jellyfish. Zhou Chenhao's hand was casually propped against the nearby wall; his hand was even given a close-up here. The next second, the wall disappeared, and he stood crooked, a surprised expression on his face, almost falling to the ground. After he regained his balance, there was an eye close-up. His deep brown eyes reflected the lights and a long, long tunnel, with the caption: "Confused..."

Then came two panoramic views. In the first, Zhou Chenhao stood at the tall glass tunnel entrance. In front of him was a long glass tunnel that seemed to have no end. The others also turned to look into the tunnel. The second was a view of the glass tunnel from inside the ocean. Deep blue seawater surrounded it, with swimming fish and floating Moon jellyfish. In the seawater, a glass tunnel glowed with light, extending slightly at an incline.

The few of them walked into the newly appeared glass tunnel.

Next were three consecutive vertical panels: one showed the tunnel becoming straight with no incline, one showed the tunnel widening, and one showed a thick glass wall in the sea. Below this was another panoramic shot: five people stood inside a spacious rectangular glass space. Compared to the room, they all appeared small. Because the room had transparent glass in every direction, one could see the ocean filled with frighteningly ugly fish. The page ended here.

Bai Xuechao turned the page, and a close-up of a mutated fish, occupying the entire page, suddenly crashed into his view. The dense teeth and a pair of fangs exposed at its fish lips were extremely impactful. The readers were startled by this deliberate page break.

【Holy crap, you scared me!】

【This fish is so ugly, help, it reminds me of an Anglerfish.】

【Bai old scoundrel, are you doing this on purpose?! Just waiting for me to turn the page and get scared?! (Raising a knife)】

The beginning of the next page showed the expressions of the five people. Zhou Chenhao was bewildered, Xia Xiaoxi was full of astonishment, Ling Feng's eyes were wide, and Bai Xuechao and Duan Xingzhi were both expressionless.

【Wife seems very calm.】

【His brother too. Is this the aura of a big shot, haha?】

【The two of them are so calm, it makes the male lead's expression look so dumb, emoji get!】

【I also screenshotted it, emoji inventory increased~】

Next, these fish devoured a shark right in front of them.