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

Chapter 6

The two of us, one in front and one behind, maintained our distance, walking down the stairs back to the top floor of the hospital and through the corridor.

Just as we were about to reach my exclusive intensive care unit, Jiang Yunyi suddenly spoke: “The doctor recommends that you stay in the hospital for another half a month for observation.”

He seemed to know what I was so insistent on forcing him to meet for today.

“And then another half month after another half month.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the corridor wall, my attitude a bit impatient. “I used to treat the hospital like a hotel, at least I could walk out freely; now it's become my cage, is it? I haven't left the hospital in four months, brother.”

This “brother” carried no brotherly affection; if anything, it was more like expressing a feeling of “dude, are you nuts?”

“Don't lean against the wall, the wall is very cold.” Jiang Yunyi's tone was very gentle, as if he had no temper, and he explained with a very good attitude, “Because your physical condition was very bad before, Jing Chun, Xingzhi and the others were all very worried, so I insisted that you stay in the hospital for four months. I'm very sorry about that. I thought, this place is an industry under the organization, it can also be considered your home, you wouldn't be too repulsed by it.”

He added: “You were just issued a critical condition notice today, and underwent a major surgery, you were even close to having your trachea cut open. Although the surgical incision has been healed with a special ability, you are still very weak.”

I looked as if it was going in one ear and out the other.

Xiao 6, however, was a little confused by Jiang Yunyi's emotionally stable and gentle performance.

It didn't know what had happened between me and Jiang Yunyi in the past, and being clueless, it couldn't help but wring its little hands and say: “Hiss, Host, it seems like he's genuinely worried about your health? Actually, if you think about it carefully, when he used his special ability on you just now, it was only to make you go back to the hospital room.”

Bai Xuechao: “……”

I really couldn't take it anymore. Anyway, the way I was ignoring people now didn't look much different from spacing out, so I just decided to talk to Xiao 6 in my mind.

I: “...Snap out of it.”

The more Xiao 6 thought about it, the more it felt Jiang Yunyi was quite nice. It slowly held up a code heart with both hands: “But he seriously replied to every single thing you said. Even when you were impatient with him, his first reaction was to tell you not to lean on the wall, because the wall is cold. He said this hospital belongs to the organization, so it can be considered your home. What he meant to say is that this isn't your cage, it's your home! He even explained that he made you stay in the hospital for four months because he, Liu Jingchun, and Duan Xingzhi were all worried about you, and he even apologized to you...”

My brain was spammed by Xiao 6's ending particles.

Xiao 6 was still holding its heart and continuing, feeling more and more that Jiang Yunyi was somewhat sincere: “He was probably scared by what happened this afternoon, so the first thing he did was ask the doctor about your condition. He might not have come to see you because he knew Duan Xingzhi had already seen you and was afraid of disturbing your rest. Duan Xingzhi sees you today, he'll see you tomorrow. This way, someone comes every day, so it's not too deserted, nor too lively, isn't that nice.”

Good grief, it had even come up with an excuse for Jiang Yunyi.

And the second half, why did it inexplicably have a Lin-meimei vibe?

Xiao 6's final conclusion was the killing blow. I heard it say somewhat infatuatedly: “Although his character profile is that of an out-and-out villain, deep in his heart, there must be a soft spot reserved for you! You are his most beloved younger brother, his only remaining humanity! Wuwu, it's kinda shippable, I think I'm starting to like him.”

Bai Xuechao: “……”

What the hell are you shipping.

I couldn't help but ask: “Xiao 6, are you love-brained?”

It was really too good at creating favorable narratives for Jiang Yunyi.

Xiao 6's code formed an emoticon: OvO?

“Xuechao?” Jiang Yunyi's hand waved a few times in front of my eyes. My red eyes seemed to be vacant, staring straight ahead in another direction, not looking at him.

I came back to my senses and asked: “What?”

Jiang Yunyi had a half-smile, a thoughtful expression on his face as he said: “You seem to be spacing out a lot today.”

His eyes gazed at my crimson eyes, but I didn't meet his gaze. He asked with a smile: “Did something happen that I don't know about?”

Xiao 6: Code suddenly stiffened.

For a moment there, Jiang Yunyi's gaze had met its. If it wasn't sure that Jiang Yunyi couldn't discover it, it would have really thought that Jiang Yunyi was secretly hinting at it just now.

Seeing I had no reaction, Jiang Yunyi asked in a warm tone: “Did you hear what I just said?”

“I heard.” I opened my mouth and spouted nonsense, even calmly adding, “But not much.”

Jiang Yunyi smiled calmly, seeming to know I hadn't listened at all, but his refined and handsome face showed no sign of displeasure. He even patiently repeated in a gentle voice: “I just said, if you don't have a fever tomorrow, I will agree to let you leave the hospital. Otherwise, you will stay in the hospital for half a month for observation and get a good rest, what do you think?”

Not having a fever was completely impossible.

I knew very well that with my innately frail constitution, after being exposed to the cold wind on the rooftop just now, I would definitely get a fever later, and it might not go down by tomorrow.

Jiang Yunyi was also well aware of this, which was why he proposed such an agreement.

But Xiao 6 didn't know about these twists and turns. It simply exclaimed: “Wow, he's really seriously considering your health! I feel like I like him even more now.”

Bai Xuechao: I really want to know how to mute the system right now.

“I don't think so, you're not sincere at all.” I lifted my leg and walked towards my exclusive hospital room, passing Jiang Yunyi without a sideways glance.

This time, it was Jiang Yunyi's turn to follow behind. The two of us entered the hospital room one after another.

I turned on the light, walked straight to the bedside table, took out the bottle of medicine from the drawer that suppressed the secretion of lure-pheromone, and tossed it to Jiang Yunyi.

Jiang Yunyi caught the bottle, unscrewed it, and poured out a pill.

At the same time, I climbed onto the hospital bed, found a comfortable position to lie down in, and said to Jiang Yunyi with my back to him: “Hurry up and take it. Leave after you're done, I'm planning to sleep.”

This pill was an orally disintegrating tablet, no water needed. Jiang Yunyi put the medicine directly into his mouth, screwed the bottle cap back on and put it back in the bedside table drawer, then walked over, pulled up a chair and sat down.

I heard the sound of the chair being pulled, and turned my head to see Jiang Yunyi sitting down. I was about to go numb: “Why haven't you left yet?”

Jiang Yunyi sat elegantly, a slight smile on his face: “I just had someone send you a meal. You haven't eaten all day, that's not good for your health. I'll leave after I see you finish eating.”

It was exactly the kind of companionship that I absolutely did not want.

The two of us were in the same space, yet both were silent.

Jiang Yunyi was holding his phone, dealing with electronic documents.

Originally, the main people handling documents in the organization were him and I. Ever since I was hospitalized, he had taken the initiative to take over my work and hadn't let anyone send documents to me. One person doing the work of two, one can imagine how much his workload would have increased.

However, I wasn't very grateful for this. I was in my mind, arguing with my love-brained system, Xiao 6.

Yes, I unilaterally certified Xiao 6 as love-brained.

The speed at which it fell for someone was a bit too fast, and it was so good at making up excuses for people, thinking in a positive direction.

Xiao 6 checked Jiang Yunyi's past and saw the image of him diligently handling a double workload of documents, deeply moved. Its code slowly formed a red heart: “The moment you were hospitalized, he told people to send all your documents to his office, so as not to disturb your recuperation. He has been diligently reviewing them for over four months, without any complaints.”

Hearing this made me want to roll my eyes. I sneered, “He's not that kind-hearted. A portion of the industries I manage belongs to the Old Leader, personally handed over to me to manage. I am the only candidate, there is no second.”

I asked Xiao 6 sarcastically: “The Old Leader didn't want to hand them over to Jiang Yunyi to manage, can you tell me why? Was it because he felt bad that Jiang Yunyi had too much work?”

Xiao 6 was silly, but not so silly that it understood nothing: “...Is it because he was wary of Jiang Yunyi?”

I answered with satisfaction: “It seems your brain hasn't been completely eaten yet.”

Xiao 6 hugged its code-red heart tightly, its eyes welling with tears: “Then why is he so good-tempered with you? Your attitude was like that, yet he was still so emotionally stable.”

“This is called being emotionally stable?”

I felt a bit speechless, and I pouted, “Don't you think his smile is very fake? It's obviously used specifically to disguise his emotions. Some time ago his father passed away, and the moment I saw his reaction, I suspected that he had a hand in his father's death. Oh, his illegitimate elder half-brother should have been the main force.”

Xiao 6: Slowly... terrified.gif

I was still talking: “He's not good-tempered, he uses a mask-like smile to conceal his true emotions. He's really, really patient. I even suspect the words 'forbearance' are written in his character profile.”

Xiao 6: Even more terrified.jpg

I looked at it puzzledly: “What are you terrified about?”

Xiao 6 hugged its code-red heart tightly, trembling: “Are you really not the system? You can't see the character profile?”

I understood: “Everything I said was on point?”

Xiao 6 hugged its heart and slowly nodded: “That's why I said before that he's an out-and-out villain.”

It didn't give up and struggled a bit: “But he's really nice to you.”

“Didn't I mention sunk costs.” I saw the code-red heart Xiao 6 was holding had grown a size bigger, and fearing it would overthink too much, I quickly explained, “I was brought into the organization by Jiang Yunyi when I was 6. It's been 12 years this year. For so many years, he has personally taught me many things. My special ability is quite useful, I learn things quickly, and my style of handling matters is exactly the same as his. It can be said that I am a top-tier tool that he has invested a great deal of time and energy into cultivating. So, may I ask—”

A smile appeared on my pale face: “Suppose you spent a whole ten years making a useful tool. One day, its internal parts have a problem. Would you think of repairing it to see if it can still be used, or would you just throw it away and spend several more years making a new tool that might not even be as good?”

Xiao 6 was stunned, and subconsciously answered: “Re-repair it...”

I continued to smile, a bit of a grim smile: “So, isn't this an attempt to repair me?”

What genuine concern for me, he was just afraid that if I died, all his time and energy would be wasted.

Xiao 6 sobbed, unable to accept the truth, and struggled one last time: “But he could just directly order you to do things, he doesn't need to be so nice to you...”

My face was expressionless, delivering the final blow to Xiao 6: “Because he wants people to willingly be his dog, that's how he fools idiots like you. Maybe you'd be fooled into being willing to die for him, and still think it's a happy thing.”

The red heart Xiao 6 was holding in its arms cracked and shattered, scattering into a pile of code, causing a field of red before my eyes, my head also filled with Xiao 6's wailing cries.

The house collapsed before it was even fully built.

I nodded with considerable satisfaction. Why else would I say being love-brained is no good? It's time to take off those thick filters.

Xiao 6's tears flooded like a river, deeply suffering the pain of its ship sinking.

Its crying was giving me a bit of a headache, so I decided to use something else to divert both of our attentions.

I asked: “Why don't I have a main quest yet?”

Xiao 6 instantly stopped its tears, which came as quickly as they went. It pulled down the quest log, tried to paste the part of the outline about the male protagonist going to the marine amusement park, but the quest log only retained the last sentence of the outline: The villain used some means to take away the special ability energy crystal.

Below it showed not a countdown, but a date: October 2nd.

I was a bit dazed when I saw the date: “...If I remember correctly, today is the night of September 29th?”

Xiao 6 took out an electronic calendar to check: “To be precise, it's already September 30th!”

I gave a weary smile and sorted through the matter: “I'll definitely have a fever on the 30th, so on October 1st, I have to sneak out of the hospital, find a way to escape from Y City to D City, and not get caught by Jiang Yunyi and brought back to recuperate, then prepare to go to the marine amusement park the next day to snatch the male protagonist's special ability energy crystal?”

My schedule as a villain is way too busy, isn't it?

Xiao 6 emphasized: “To be precise, it's to take it by some means.”

“...Fine.”

I nodded, “Take it by some means.”

I thought for a moment, then asked again: “Does your system have any requirements for issuing quests?”

Xiao 6's mouth showed an “n”, as it pouted: “The quest must have the host as the subject... wu, does that mean our previous plan is going down the drain, wuwaa...” It only just realized that the male protagonist's plot couldn't be issued as a quest.

I asked calmly: “Can already issued quests be modified?”

Xiao 6 said: “You can add to the original quest.”

I said: “Then try this, can you change the quest to 'The villain let the male protagonist obtain the special ability energy crystal at the marine amusement park, and then used some means to take it away'?”

Xiao 6 tried it, and it actually succeeded.

It was dumbfounded: “Th-this works too?”

Then for all the main plot outline quests, couldn't it just add a prefix like “The villain let” or “The villain helped”?

Then what was the point of all those supplementary plot quests it issued before, wouldn't it have been better to just issue the main plot outline directly for the host to complete??

Unlike Xiao 6's shock, my expression was quite calm. I had anticipated this, and now it was just a matter of verifying my guess.

“Xuechao, your meal has been delivered.” Jiang Yunyi gently pushed me as I lay on the hospital bed with my eyes closed. He knew I was definitely awake, because with him nearby, I definitely wouldn't sleep peacefully.

He placed the small tray table on the bed, then arranged the rice porridge and several small dishes of food on it.

I could feel Jiang Yunyi push me, and slowly sat up with my eyes open.

Jiang Yunyi positioned the small tray table just right, a fist's distance from my chest. When Jiang Yunyi wanted to take care of someone meticulously, he would definitely make that person feel very comfortable.

I put the spoon in the porridge bowl, then picked up the chopsticks beside it, looking at the several dishes before me.

Mutated species are divided into mutated animals and mutated plants.

The special ability molecules contained in mutated animals and mutated plants are different.

Therefore, carnivorous special ability users can only absorb the special ability molecules, i.e., nutrients, from mutated animals; herbivorous special ability users can only absorb nutrients from mutated plants.

However, humans are used to a balanced diet of meat and vegetables, so carnivorous special ability users also eat mutated plants, and herbivorous special ability users also eat mutated animals. It's just that they can't absorb the special ability molecules from them; it can still fill them up.

But I didn't need to think about any of this.

Because my alimentary type was the same as the manga's male protagonist's, a rare omnivore. Whether it was mutated animals or mutated plants, I could absorb the special ability molecules from their bodies.

Omnivorous special ability users had a much happier time eating; they could eat whatever they wanted.

I just picked out the dishes I liked to eat. My appetite wasn't large to begin with, and if I ate too much late at night, I would easily feel nauseous and retch, so after a few bites and feeling half-full, I put down my chopsticks.

“I'm done eating,” I said.

Jiang Yunyi took the initiative to clear the meal containers, saying as he did, “Don't sleep right after eating, digest for a while.”

After he packed up the small meal containers, he also put away the tray table. His refined and handsome face, paired with that smooth silk pajama set, gave off the feeling of a gentle house-husband male-mom.

Xiao 6 made “aba-aba” sounds at him, its little hand pressed against the hollow of its non-existent chest: “Wuwu, even though I know he has ulterior motives for being nice to you and is a complete big bad guy, but seeing him like this, he feels so gentle, every single one of my code is so moved.”

Bai Xuechao the handsome boy was speechless: “……”

I complained: “He hasn't come once in eight hundred years, and the one time he comes and shows a little bit of attentiveness, you're already smitten?”

Xiao 6 clutched a small handkerchief and sobbed: “Yingyingying, I know I'm useless. I'm a face-dog, my code follows the facial features, I'll just ship him a little bit.”

Jiang Yunyi cleaned everything up completely. Before leaving, he smiled and waved at me, taking all the trash with him.

I stood by the window. After watching Jiang Yunyi drive away from the hospital through the window, I sat back down on the edge of the bed and took out my phone. I didn't need to scroll through my contacts, directly keying in a string of numbers and dialing.

The ringing only sounded twice before it was picked up.

Duan Xingzhi must have been woken up from his sleep by the phone's ringtone. His voice carried sleepiness and a slight hoarseness: “What's wrong?”

I just called out: “Brother.”

The other end was silent for a few seconds. A faint rustling sound came from the earpiece.

Duan Xingzhi must have gotten out of bed. If I wasn't mistaken, he should be sitting on the edge of his bed just like me.

I heard Duan Xingzhi's voice become much clearer as he asked calmly and solemnly: “What do you want me to do?”

Xiao 6: “??!”

Just how many times has this happened for them to be so practiced!