Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
o0o
Midnight.
It was the time when lights were extinguished, and all was silent.
But in the city's CBD central district, where all wealth, power, and desire converged, the extravagant and debauched nightlife was just beginning to unfold.
The bustling avenue was ablaze with lights, as bright as daytime, with the air filled with a sultry and ambiguous fragrance of powder and perfume.
As the most luxurious five-star hotel in the city, 'Florence' featured a grand Romanesque courtyard, where a line of gleaming luxury cars was parked.
Women, their sharp heels stepping gracefully out of car doors, lightly landed on the red carpet, silk skirts swaying like blooming flowers.
Men, clad in bespoke suits worth a fortune, casually held invitation cards embossed with golden patterns between their fingers.
In the resplendent lobby, the elegant harmony of violin and cello had already begun to play.
Pei Xinan adjusted his tie with a sullen face, the stylist had tied it too tight, or perhaps it was the pretentious and ostentatious atmosphere here that was making it hard for him to breathe.
Before coming, his agent had specifically reminded him to rein in his usual arrogance: "Anyone here could crush us with a mere flick of their finger. You don't have to flatter, but you must not offend."
The agent vaguely knew that this young rock star, who had risen to fame at an early age, came from an extraordinary background. Even when his tone was sharp, he dared not push too far.
Pei Xinan lowered his gaze, watching the golden champagne swirl in his glass, refracting a gemstone-like brilliance under the light.
Bored, he downed the last sip of champagne and decided to step outside into the garden for some fresh air.
Unlike the ballroom filled with perfume and chatter, the garden was eerily quiet. The moonlight cast a pale glow from the sky, and in the darkness, only the silhouettes of swaying trees could be seen.
Pei Xinan strolled around the small pond when, suddenly, he heard a strange noise.
It was the rustling of fabric, mixed with faint, restrained gasps.
As a musician, Pei Xinan had an exceptional sense of hearing. He didn’t even need to think to know that a couple was hiding in the deepest shadows of the trees.
He wasn’t the curious type, so he only scoffed inwardly at the distastefulness of it and prepared to leave.
But just as he moved, a delicate, trembling voice came from his left ear: "Help…!"
For the first time, Pei Xinan realized that some people could stir a man's deepest desires with just their voice alone.
The trembling tone was like a taut violin string, grazing the softest part of his heart. There was a mix of pleasure and fear, huskiness laced with mystery, like the enchanting song of a siren.
If this voice were to sing, he wondered how many people it would bewitch, how many would willingly give up everything for it.
Pei Xinan was intrigued. He wasn’t one for righteousness, nor did he care whether this was an actual assault or some role-playing for excitement.
His agent always said he had a streak of madness in him, when he set his mind on something, he would charge ahead without a second thought.
And now, he had to see who this voice belonged to.
His leather shoes, with their slight heel, made crisp sounds against the stone pavement.
The two people hidden in the shadows must have heard him approach, as the rustling grew more frantic.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, and just then, a cloud drifted past, allowing the silver light to pierce through the gaps in the branches, fully exposing the figures beneath them to Pei Xinan's eyes.
The first thing he saw was a head of soft, deep blue hair, spread faintly against the tree trunk like a small patch of glowing ocean.
The exposed ears and the back of the neck were as pale as frost and snow.
Pei Xinan felt an inexplicable pull toward the contrast of blue hair and snow-white skin, drawing him forward involuntarily to take a closer look.
Standing in the tree’s shadow, dressed in a suit, his voice was naturally cool and indifferent: "What are you doing?"
The air, thick with heat and humidity, instantly fell into silence. Even the lively sounds from the ballroom seemed to fade away, leaving only the occasional sharp cry of cicadas.
And then he saw the face of the boy pinned down.
The sight was so stunning that, for a moment, he even forgot how to speak.
Too beautiful.
Even in an entertainment industry filled with handsome men and gorgeous women, it was rare to find someone with such an intoxicating appearance.
The golden amber irises were misted with unshed tears, gazing into Pei Xinan’s heart with a dazed vulnerability.
The corners of his eyes, flushed red from struggle, bloomed like delicate peach blossoms.
Like a fairy beneath the moonlight.
The man pressing down on him covered his mouth with a broad palm, so the blue-haired beauty could only plead with his eyes.
"You’re Pei Xinan?" The man, seeing that he had been caught, reluctantly straightened up but still kept an iron grip on the boy’s waist.
The moment he was freed, the blue-haired youth anxiously cried out, "Help me.." only to have his mouth covered again.
"Aren’t you Pei Xinan?" The man was in his thirties, not bad-looking but with a greasy, repulsive air. "Since when do you meddle in others’ business?"
Pei Xinan searched his memory and recalled that this guy used to be a somewhat famous actor, supposedly related to a renowned director. But what did that have to do with him?
Lazily, he raised his phone and waved it in front of the man. "Normally, it wouldn’t. But lucky me, I happened to record a video. If you don’t scram now, I bet you’ll be making headlines tomorrow. ‘Famous actor assaults a male’ How does that headline sound to you?"
The man's face twisted in fury, and he gave the blue-haired boy a hard squeeze before letting go. Tears welled up in those misty golden eyes, so pitiful it was almost unbearable to watch.
Pei Xinan suddenly felt annoyed.
What the hell, looking so pitiful like that.
The man hesitated for a moment, realizing he had handed over evidence on a silver platter. In the end, though reluctant, he released the boy and shot Pei Xinan a sinister glare, as if to say, "You’ll regret this."
The blue-haired youth clung to a tree trunk, trembling slightly as he stood up. Pei Xinan had arrived just in time adnd nothing had happened yet. His pants were still in place, though his white shirt was a mess, smeared with various lipstick stains.
A playboy.
Pei Xinan felt a surge of irritation—damn it, he had gone out of his way to save a pampered little kept boy.
There was no way he would admit to the brief moment of heart-fluttering attraction. The unfamiliar youth looked at him with a dazed expression, his large eyes round like a kitten’s, yet his gaze was slanted and seductive.
"Thank you" he mumbled, awkwardly clutching the hem of his shirt.
Pei Xinan had the kind of cold and distant look that kept people at arm’s length. The boy seemed a little afraid of him.
That only irritated Pei Xinan more. He felt an inexplicable surge of frustration toward this stranger, and without saying a word, he turned and walked away.
"Beep...The protagonist shou’s dislike value has increased by 10%."
"Wow, what a cold protagonist shou" Ruan Yao muttered, clutching the hem of his shirt with a shiver.
The system patted his non-mainstream blue head in consolation. "He’s in a rock band, after all. Rebels tend to be like that"
Ruan Yao sighed, still struggling to get used to his current appearance. He tugged at the slightly long ends of his hair and mumbled to the system, "TV dramas are full of lies, huh? None of the usual tricks work on the protagonist shou. Instead, I just ended up getting hated."
The system’s lights blinked red, signaling a sudden idea. "It might be because you’re a villainous cannon fodder character. You come with an automatic ‘get hated’ debuff. But don’t worry, Host. We’re supposed to be hated anyway. Just think of it as collecting dislike points in advance."
Ruan Yao was deeply moved. With teary eyes, he hugged the system’s shiny bald head. "As expected of you, system! You really did get smarter after upgrading."
In this world, Ruan Yao’s character setting was that of a small-time idol desperate for fame, willing to do anything to climb the ladder. Secretly, he was being kept by a powerful backer, yet despite all efforts, he remained unpopular.
With an awful personality and a habit of bullying others under the protection of his sponsor, he eventually offended too many big shots.
When his backer abandoned him, a scandal about his kept status exploded, turning him into a public disgrace.
He ended up trying to frame the protagonist shou but was caught in the act.
The protagonist gong had someone take explicit photos of him, leading to a storm of public condemnation that ultimately drove him to suicide.
By the time Ruan Yao transmigrated into this body, the story had already progressed to the point where his character, consumed by jealousy, had noticed his backer taking an interest in the protagonist shou.
He had been scheming to get close, pretending to be friendly while secretly sabotaging him.
The problem was, this kind of deceptively innocent persona was way too advanced for Ruan Yao to pull off.
So, he came up with a dumb plan instead.
Step one: stick to the protagonist shou.
Starting with the classic 'hero saving the beauty' move, which successfully earned him ten points of dislike.
Ruan Yao buried his face in his hands, utterly miserable.
By the time Pei Xinan returned to the nightclub, his mind was elsewhere. Even when someone spilled red wine on his sleeve, he barely reacted.
"Oops, my bad" A sultry woman in a red mermaid gown flicked her wavy brown locks, offering the most insincere apology.
Pei Xinan’s expression turned downright nasty. He had already tossed his manager’s earlier advice out of his mind and snapped, "Get lost"
The woman blinked, momentarily surprised, then her gaze landed on his face. Her tired, alluring eyes widened slightly. "Well, if it isn’t Xiao Pei."
Her long, manicured fingers, painted a deep crimson, lifted Pei Xinan’s chin. "Your father said you went abroad to study. When did you come back? And looking like… this? Very non-mainstream."
Pei Xinan impatiently brushed her hand away. "None of your business."
She seemed about to say something else when the lively atmosphere in the club took on a strange shift.
Following the direction of the crowd’s gazes, they noticed everyone some boldly, others more discreetly, was staring at the dining table.
More precisely, they were staring at the blue-haired boy sitting beside it.
No one knew when he had arrived.
He didn’t seem aware that he had become the center of attention. Instead, he was focused entirely on poking at a strawberry shortcake with his fork, cheeks puffed out like a tiny hamster as he chewed.
No extravagant embellishments. Yet somehow, the striking contrast made him stand out even more, rendering the carefully dolled-up beauties around him a little lackluster.
The woman’s expression turned odd. "Oh. It’s him."
Pei Xinan feigned indifference. "You know him?"
"His name is Ruan Yao. Signed under YM Entertainment. He’s been in the industry for two or three years now, but he’s never really made a name for himself."
She narrowed her eyes, her thick lashes casting long shadows. "Around here, though, he’s famous enough"
"With looks like that, staying unknown must be difficult" Pei Xinan remarked casually.
The woman let out a soft chuckle, pressing a delicate hand to her lips. "That depends on who’s backing him."
Something in her tone caught his attention, an odd mix of gentle affection and a madness tinged with resentment. "If I were you, I wouldn’t go near him"
"Why not?"
Sensing the subtle shift in Pei Xinan’s gaze, she subtly stepped to the side, blocking his view of Ruan Yao. Malice flickered in her eyes as she smirked. "Because he’s the kind of person anyone with money can have"
Her voice turned teasing. "And you’re a clean freak, aren’t you? So, stay away"
Meanwhile, Ruan Yao finished the last bite of his strawberry shortcake, savoring the sweetness, only to suddenly let out a tiny sneeze.
"Who’s cursing me?"
The system blinked innocently. "No one."
"Detected: protagonist shou favorability +10%, dislike +10%."
"…?" What was with this guy? How could his favorability and dislike increase at the same time?
Ruan Yao frowned in confusion. "System, what’s going on?"
The system chirped "Maybe he’s captivated by your beauty."
Ruan Yao dismissed that nonsense outright. He followed his instincts and locked onto Pei Xinan’s figure across the room.
The rebellious young man, his eyebrow piercing glinting under the lights, watched him from across the sea of blurred red and green silhouettes.
When Ruan Yao’s gaze met his, Pei Xinan merely lifted the corner of his lips, not even bothering to let his eyes curve along with the motion.
Yet Ruan Yao’s smile was warm and sweet, as if, in that moment, Pei Xinan was the only person reflected in his clear eyes.
"Detected: protagonist shou favorability +10%, dislike +10%."
Damn it. The protagonist shou was seriously messed up.
o0o
Author’s Note:
Yao-zi: I am NOT a cat anyone can pet just by paying!