Chapter 65: Lovers Turn into Rivals - The Protagonist is Shi Lian!
Mingjian was startled by the system voice that suddenly rang in his mind.
He composed himself before asking with a puzzled look, "What's wrong with you? Why are you half-dead?"
It might be Mingjian's imagination, but he really felt that the system seemed to have been crying, and there seemed to be a sobbing noise mixed in with the electronic voice.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he heard a crackling, sobbing sound in his consciousness.
[Waaaaaahh ...
[Wa ...
Mingjian originally wanted to ask the system as soon as possible if it knew why Xiao Bumian's body temperature had been abnormally high recently, but the system's antics only made his temples throb and his head ache.
At the same time, Mingjian's bad premonition grew stronger.
He heard a barely perceptible tension in his own voice as he asked again, "What exactly happened?"
[Waaaaaah, it's...it seems like I've been demoted!]
Mingjian: "...?"
What the heck?
The system spoke intermittently, clearly indicating extreme emotional instability. Its speech was incoherent, and despite listening intently for a long time, it was impossible to extract any useful information from its fragmented lamentations.
He simply gave up, leaned back against the cold artificial rock, casually picked up a foxtail grass from the side, and unconsciously twirled it between his fingers.
The air was filled with a faint fragrance of osmanthus.
On an early autumn night, the temperature had already dropped, and the chill seeped silently into thin clothes.
The cool moon hung on the treetops in the distance, its bright light slanting across the pond beside the artificial hill, creating shimmering silver ripples on the water's surface.
Mingjian waited listlessly, letting the system wail and scream in his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, the loud crying gradually subsided, turning into soft sobs.
Seeing that he wasn't showing any impatience with the system, Ming softened his tone and asked again, as if coaxing a child, "Okay, are you calmer now? Can you tell me what happened?"
His words only made things worse; the system seemed to lose its composure again, and the data stream began to tremble slightly.
After a long while, it finally spoke, sobbing: "Host, I'm so sorry."
It paused, as if making a great decision: [It was my mistake. The main system originally gave me the task of guiding the protagonist to awaken, but because it was my first time doing this, my core data experienced an unknown disorder during script transmission, which I didn't notice until now, resulting in me binding the wrong person.]
The system carefully finished speaking, nervously observing Mingjian's reaction, only to find that Mingjian's emotions were as calm as a deep pool, without a ripple.
Why isn't the host sad? Why isn't he angry?
Did he know what those words meant?
But it still forced itself to continue, its voice growing softer and softer: "I always thought you, host, were the protagonist, but your personality is actually quite different from the original protagonist's character. I only thought there was a slight deviation in the plot; I never considered the possibility of being bound to the wrong host."
[Only after I returned to the main system center for in-depth testing and repair did the main system clearly inform me that there was a serious error in my basic data.]
In other words, the system started crying uncontrollably again, and the crying, mixed with electrical noise, was hardly pleasant to hear.
051 didn't finish speaking, but Mingjian already understood its unfinished meaning.
In other words, from the very beginning, the relationship between this system and him was an unexpected and unfortunate coincidence. He was never the protagonist he was supposed to be; all the tasks he had undertaken over the past two years, the plot twists he had grappled with, and the redemption points he had accumulated were completely unnecessary from the start.
Mingjian fell into a long silence.
He leaned against the artificial hill, the moonlight shining on his expressionless face, making it impossible to see the true emotions in his eyes.
The chirping of insects and the sound of the wind all around seemed to be stretched and amplified infinitely at this moment, before returning to silence.
The night wind blew by, carrying the chill of late autumn. Mingjian felt his fingertips tremble slightly, and the cold seemed to spread through his blood to his heart.
The foxtail grass she was holding between her fingers had somehow come loose and floated lightly into the pond next to her, where it remained quietly on the surface.
The fish in the water were attracted by the small movement and curiously gathered around, but soon discovered that it was just an uninteresting grass stem, so they scattered and swam away quickly, leaving only a few ripples on the water's surface that gradually subsided.
After a long, suffocating silence, Mingjian suddenly chuckled softly, his tone carrying a strange calm, "So, what role do I actually play in this storybook?"
The system replied weakly, somewhat guilty: "[In the BL novel *Kunwu*, the host is a cannon fodder character who has secretly loved the protagonist for many years but has never been able to win him over… oops! I mean, the fourth male lead. The setting is that when the host first entered Jianming Immortal Mountain as a teenager, due to his low cultivation level, he was often bullied by his fellow disciples.]"
[On a rainy day, the protagonist, a shou, passed by with an umbrella. He dismissed the disciples who had been bullying him and even gave him a bottle of medicine. From that moment on, the host felt grateful and began to silently watch over the protagonist...]
Mingjian found the words increasingly familiar, and he abruptly interrupted the system.
"Stop! Stop! Who exactly is this protagonist you're talking about?"
The system's voice became even softer, rapidly rattling off a string of adjectives: "[The protagonist is resolute and courageous, kind-hearted, and endures hardship. Despite numerous trials, he always upholds the Great Dao; he is a once-in-a-century talent...]"
Mingjian: "Who?"
System: […Shi Lian.]
Mingjian: "..."
You son of a bitch!
Mingjian fell completely silent, and the system was too frightened to utter another sound.
After a brief silence, Mingjian burst into laughter in exasperation, his voice filled with unbelievable absurdity, "How come I have no idea when I ever liked Shi Lian?!"
He said that the first encounter described by the system sounded so familiar, and it was just an ordinary scene from when he and Shi Lian first met.
At that time, Shi Lian had only helped out casually, and he thanked her, that was all. How did that become the beginning of a secret crush?!
[Waaaaah, host, I was wrong! It was my data misinterpretation that caused the error!] The system quickly slid down and knelt to apologize, trying to change the subject. [I'm really sad right now! I was originally going to bind to the real protagonist, but because I bound to the wrong person, my mission rating is unsatisfactory, and I've been demoted to a cannon fodder awakening system.]
Mingjian chuckled coldly twice, his tone mocking, "So should I thank you? Thank you for kidnapping the wrong person and making me work for nothing for two years?"
The system pretended not to notice the sarcasm in his words and played along: [Hehe, no need to be polite. But don't worry, host! 051 has already argued with the main system! The main system says that all rewards previously issued to the host will not be taken back!]
[To maintain the basic stability of the small world, the host may need to complete the storyline belonging to you, the fourth male lead, in the original plot.]
Mingjian gave a curt "oh" without any emotion.
He wasn't too concerned about rewards right now. What he wanted to know more about was something else of paramount importance.
He asked, "Should we continue trying to win over Xiao Bumian?"
The system paused for a moment before saying: [According to the latest detection and evaluation by the main system, the plotline of this world has deviated significantly.]
The key point is that Xiao Bumian did not kill Shi Yan as originally planned, but spared his life. Furthermore, the earlier occurrence of the plot point where Shi Yan was seriously injured, and Xie Linzhao's perfect alibi, completely rule out the possibility that 'Xie Linzhao was framed' in the original plot.
This means that Xie Linzhao and Shi Lian will not have a fatal misunderstanding, and the possibility of this world going down the path of love turning into hatred, the protagonist's death, and Xiao Bumian destroying the world, as in the original plot, is now extremely slim.
The final decision is that the quest can be stopped.
Mingjian's feelings were somewhat complicated.
In other words, he no longer needs to woo Xiao Bumian. The thing he had been dreaming about before has come to an end on such an unexpected night in such an absurd way.
Moreover, he wasn't the main character at all, just an insignificant fourth male lead? He had foolishly believed the system's nonsense before, thinking that Xiao Bumian's various actions were because he liked him.
So, in the original story, he and Xiao Bumian were actually rivals for Shi Lian's affections?!
If the system hadn't bound the wrong person, and the original storyline had unfolded, the person Xiao Bumian truly cared about, the one he wanted to destroy the world out of love turned to hate, was actually Shi Lian.
I can't quite describe the feeling in my heart—absurd, laughable, and a bit annoyed at being mocked… In the end, only one strong feeling remains: What a load of bullshit!
The system didn't urge Mingjian either.
Knowing it was in the wrong, it shrank back into Mingjian's consciousness, only daring to let out a few weak sobs from time to time.
Mingjian suddenly asked out of the blue, "051, can you materialize?"
System alert: [Host, what are you trying to do?]
Mingjian smirked. "Nothing, I just want to beat you up."
system:【……】
It chose to play dead.
Mingjian's mind was a complete mess; he had even forgotten why he had run away in the first place. He wandered aimlessly around the vast mansion twice more before finally finding his room and pushing open the door.
This room actually belongs to Xiao Bumian. Back on the cloud boat, every time Mingjian went to sleep, Xiao Bumian would come and pester him, carrying him back to his own room to sleep.
Mingjian saw in an ancient book recording the habits of demons that many high-ranking demons did indeed have this strange habit of defining their territory and living in the same nest with their mate.
Later, seeing that it was annoying, he simply took his pillow and went over there on his own initiative.
But now, the thought that Xiao Bumian liked Shi Lian in the original novel makes Mingjian feel a nameless anger rush to his head, and he finds the room irritating no matter what he does.
The system weakly tried to argue: "That's the Xiao Bumian from the original storyline. The current Xiao Bumian likes you."
Mingjian: "...Do you think I'm stupid?"
The system fell silent again.
Okay, the host is just sulking right now.
It's best for it not to go up there and invite bad luck.
Mingjian returned to his room, collapsed heavily onto the bed, ignored the system, and fell asleep immediately.
The next day, when he woke up, the system tentatively asked: [Host, how are you feeling right now?]
It was really anxious; if it failed to complete the Qiyun Town storyline points this time, its performance and rewards would be completely deducted.
Waaaaah.
Mingjian hadn't slept well at all that night.
He had a dream.
In his dream, because he liked Shi Lian, Xiao Bumian stabbed him through the neck.
He now seriously suspects that what he dreamed about might actually be the original plot, his real fate.
It seems I still need to get more information from the system; knowing yourself and your enemy is the only way to save your life.
So this time, Mingjian actually agreed with him, "It's alright."
The system breathed a sigh of relief and quickly seized the opportunity to introduce Mingjian's storyline as the fourth male lead.
[In the original novel, you, the host, have secretly liked Shi Lian for many years. You would be secretly happy for days just to see him occasionally, and you would feel down when he frowned and was sad. You would also secretly pay attention to all his preferences, such as what kind of tea he likes to drink and what color clothes he likes to wear...]
Mingjian felt goosebumps all over his body and a chill run down his spine.
How could this be him!
The system seemed to realize that he was exaggerating, which was seriously inconsistent with Mingjian's actual character. It coughed awkwardly twice and continued:
Later, due to some fortuitous encounters at the Yunlai Immortal Abode, you, host, successfully advanced and became an inner disciple of Tingyun Peak, making you Shi Lian's rightful junior brother.
Just as you were secretly overjoyed, thinking you were finally one step closer to your white moonlight, you painfully discovered that Shi Lian had unknowingly fallen in love with Xie Linzhao.
Mingjian's brows furrowed more and more as he listened.
During one of her trials on the mountain, Yun Hanyi, the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect, proposed the astonishing condition that she become Xie Linzhao's Daoist partner. Seeing Shi Lian so depressed about this, you couldn't bear it.
[You overheard Yun Hanyi's conversation with her fellow disciple and learned that she chose Xie Linzhao because she mistakenly believed he was her savior. You then devised a plan: secretly took the jade pendant Xie Linzhao always carried, which served as proof of his identity, and claimed the life-saving favor, making Yun Hanyi believe that you were the one who saved her years ago. In this way, the person chosen for marriage naturally changed from Xie Linzhao to you.]
Unexpectedly, on the day of the wedding, the Hehuan Sect was thrown into chaos, and the host was unfortunately caught in the crossfire, resulting in an unexpected death.
Mingjian knew it was melodramatic enough from the beginning, but the ending made him so angry he felt like he was going to vomit blood.
What an incredible plot twist!
Putting aside the fact that he had absolutely no romantic feelings for Shi Lian, just considering the logic, in order to fulfill Shi Lian and Xie Linzhao's relationship and to prevent Shi Lian from being sad, he went and became Xie Linzhao's groom, marrying Yun Hanyi instead.
The person who wrote this story must have a screw loose! A complete screw loose!
He knew the system was lying to him. To put it nicely, he was called the fourth male lead; to put it bluntly, wasn't he just a background character? Cannon fodder, right? He died just like that? Wasn't he just a pure tool? The kind that dies after being used?
Mingjian felt his vision go black, and he gritted his teeth and said, "No wonder it was such a coincidence last night that I overheard Yun Hanyi and Wangyou's conversation. So they were waiting for me here?"
He was wrong; he will never again blindly follow gossip!
Well, now I've gotten myself into this mess, and it's a poisonous one at that!
The system hurriedly explained, trying to reassure: "Don't worry, host, it's just part of the storyline. You won't really die. We just need to complete this plot point and maintain the stability of the world line."
Mingjian squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Then I really should thank you."
[Currently released mission/plot point two: The Substitute Bride]
[Mission Requirements: Please complete the storyline where you marry Yun Hanyi, the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect, in place of Xie Linzhao.]
[Host, keep up the good work! The reward for completing the mission is very generous!]
Mingjian: "Hehe."
Seeing Ming's unfriendly tone, the system was afraid that he would really find a way to drag it out and beat it up. It chuckled awkwardly twice, quickly logged off, and made a quick getaway. The sea of consciousness instantly returned to silence.
Only Mingjian was left alone, facing the air, digesting this original plot that had fallen from the sky—a plot that was both melodramatic and ridiculous.
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Author's Note: This is hilarious! When Xiao Bumian came back, he found his wonderful wife was gone! [doge emoji]
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