Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
o0o
"Pei Ge, your package"
Pei Xinan had just arrived at the company when the beautiful receptionist raised a small package in her hand to signal him.
It was a small box, no bigger than a palm.
Pei Xinan did not remember buying anything that small, and he also disliked having things delivered to the company.
That left only one possibility...
The exquisitely featured young man was even stingy with his smiles.
"Sorry, Jie, company policy does not allow us to accept gifts from fans"
For a celebrity of Pei Xinan’s caliber, it was common for fans to send all kinds of gifts to the company, sometimes expensive jewelry, clothing, or bags, sometimes heartfelt handwritten letters, and sometimes poisoned cakes or drinks laced with acid.
To maintain a positive public image, the company had a strict policy prohibiting all of its artists from accepting any gifts from fans.
The receptionist absolutely adored his aloof and unbothered attitude. Still, she smiled as she delicately held up the small package with fingers adorned with bright red nail polish.
"This package was sent from YM"
Pei Xinan’s steps halted.
"The sender’s name is Ruan Yao"
Pei Xinan's action of liking Ruan Yao's video on Weibo that day, along with standing up against haters for him, had become a widely discussed topic in the entertainment industry.
After all, Pei Xianan, who never placed anyone in his eyes, had personally lowered himself for someone. It was impossible not to leave an impression.
As expected, Pei Xinan’s face remained cold as he walked over and grabbed the small package.
The receptionist was surprised as she watched the young man’s retreating figure. Slowly, a mischievous smile spread across her face.
She let out a sly "hehe" and then quickly typed away on her pink rhinestone-studded phone.
"Wow, it really seems like your little Pei and Ruan Yao are a thing. The moment Yao Yao was mentioned, he immediately reacted!"
"Just now, I think I might have… maybe… sort of… started shipping them"
"This is totally an 'ice-cold boss melting for only one person' kind of drama! I’m dying!"
Pei Xinan knew that Ruan Yao was still filming in Yun City and could not have personally returned to send him a package. That meant someone on that side, someone who knew about their connection, had sent it in Ruan Yao’s name.
And they knew he would never reject anything from Ruan Yao.
Pei Xinan shook the long, rectangular box, no bigger than a palm. A face, as rigid and mechanical as a machine, surfaced in his mind.
It was the manager who followed Ruan Yao around. The same person Sheng Yirong had planted as a spy by Ruan Yao’s side.
Pei Xinan frowned. He sensed something was off, but his curiosity still pushed him to tear away the bubble wrap.
Inside was a used voice recorder.
o0o
"Yao Yao, you can get even closer to Xie Tong. You love him. You must do everything you can to seduce him, to make him fall completely under your control"
Yan Hui stood beside Ruan Yao and Xie Tong, clearly dissatisfied with their earlier performance.
Ruan Yao admitted he had been a little distracted. He apologized sincerely.
Ever since leaving the police station, the insane words of that man had been haunting him, making him feel a vague sense of impending danger.
What exactly was this "voice from the gods" that he spoke of?
He had tried asking the system, but even it was at a loss. The only thing it could do was comfort him, saying that maybe the man was just schizophrenic and hearing things.
After all, in a scientific world, supernatural occurrences were impossible.
Ruan Yao felt that things were not that simple.
"Have you run into trouble recently? That missing extra?" Yan Hui noticed Ruan Yao’s unusual state.
He purposely brought him a cup of honey tea and even had some delicate, high-quality desserts sent over, just to suit his tastes.
Everyone in the film crew could see that the director seemed to have an extreme fondness for this unexpectedly chosen muse.
Ruan Yao was slightly startled. He remembered he had not mentioned being followed to anyone except Pei Xinan.
The man’s steel-gray eyes narrowed. His facial features carried both the depth of Western heritage and the warmth of Eastern lineage.
When he leaned in close and stared straight at Ruan Yao, his gaze had an almost chilling ability to pierce through the soul.
"This film city is only so big. A little investigating is all it takes to find out everything"
Ruan Yao awkwardly avoided his gaze. "I’ve already handled it"
Yan Hui smiled. "However, that man doesn’t seem to have completely disappeared from your life yet. He’s affecting you"
He was telling the truth. Because if he kept thinking about the stalker, he wouldn't be able to fully immerse himself in the role.
His ambiguous gaze traveled from the boy’s pale, beautiful face down to his bare feet. It seemed as though he was using the filming as an excuse to indulge in certain peculiar preferences he couldn’t voice.
During the movie shoot, Ruan Yao rarely wore shoes.
His snow-white, jade-like bare feet stepped onto the black cashmere carpet, his soft pink toes nestled in the plush wool, like an ice flower blooming in the polar frost.
The camera always captured what Yan Hui desired, granting numerous close-ups of these perfect bare feet, bathed in ever-changing, enchanting light, filled with an undeniable allure.
He was an undisputed genius in filmmaking, but also an unparalleled degenerate.
He pulled a sheer curtain over to isolate the two of them in a sunlit corner. Beyond the curtain, the noise of people chattering filled the air.
Faintly, the shadowy silhouettes of the two figures entwined could be seen through the fabric.
Xie Tong let the makeup artist apply realistic-looking wounds to his face. His deep, obscure gaze remained fixed on the figures behind the curtain, his tensed jawline sharp as a blade.
"I don’t mind offering my actors a bit of necessary assistance" the man’s voice was low and elegant, no less captivating than a singer performing on stage.
Ever since the system pointed out that Yan Hui was taking advantage of him, Ruan Yao finally started to develop some resistance to the man's intimate gestures.
He took a step back, his thin frame pressing against the wall, his face pale as snow. "I can adjust quickly on my own. I don’t need your help"
Yan Hui, who had been about to step closer, paused slightly. He looked at Ruan Yao with a thoughtful smile. "Yao Yao, don’t misunderstand. I won’t do anything to you"
"As long as you don’t want it, I won’t make you unhappy"
Yan Hui always smiled when speaking to Ruan Yao. It was as if just seeing Ruan Yao was enough to make him happy.
"Rather than plucking a flower for momentary beauty, I’d rather watch it bloom on its branch for a long time. That’s what I truly desire"
Ruan Yao: …He always had the unsettling feeling that this man could see right through him.
"Let that man—or rather, anything that holds you back, disappear from your life completely. You belong to art. The disgusting desires of mere mortals will only drag you down into the dust"
He reached out a slender, well-defined finger and gently tucked the sweat-dampened strand of hair behind Ruan Yao’s ear.
His fingertip lightly brushed against the soft skin of his cheek.
Yet, it was Yan Hui’s own face that first became tinged with a subtle, suggestive flush.
Ruan Yao thought to himself that he was nothing as elegant as Yan Hui made him out to be.
At his core, he was just an overworked corporate drone fighting for a paycheck, a performance bonus, and some paid vacation.
Even so, Yan Hui’s words did help him stop dwelling on the stalker issue. With a slight adjustment in mindset, he was able to quickly immerse himself in the scene again.
This was his final intimate scene with Xie Tong. Tomorrow, after filming the ending, the movie would officially wrap.
Ruan Yao quietly lowered his gaze. When he lifted his eyes again, he had already transformed into the sickly, melancholic, and beautiful young man: Ning Zhen.
"Teacher"
The boy wore a delicate lace dress, his wavy curls tracing an alluring arc along his cheek.
Lipstick had smudged past the shape of his well-defined lips, streaking his pale, jade-like face with decadent crimson.
His beauty blurred the boundaries of gender, lingering between innocence and maturity, a breathtaking allure capable of burning away all reason.
He was as light as a cat, his pale pink knees half-kneeling on the cold, hard desk, his arms wrapped around the man’s stiff, aching neck.
“I know you’re investigating my uncle. I can help you” His eyes, as translucent as glazed glass, sparkled like a river of gold under the dazzling sunlight, mingling with the most innocent, childlike temptation. “I’m serious. As long as you are willing to love me, I can give you everything.”
He was the most beautiful yet the most willful devil, leaving behind an oath of descent into hell beside the man’s ear.
Would he choose to defend his useless pride or fall to his knees as a vassal at the boy’s feet?
“I told you long ago that he was the most suitable choice for Ning Zhen” Yan Hui, standing behind the camera, smiled as he watched the screen.
That poignant scene was enough to make any normal human being with physical desires spray nosebleeds in the cinema.
“Your eye for talent is truly the best, Yan” The white man, speaking with a thick foreign accent, gazed at the screen in astonishment. “He will become a superstar of the new era.”
Yan Hui’s smile deepened. “This also proves just how ridiculously overconfident that fool was, the one who once thought he could have him all to himself.”
Almost the moment filming ended, Ruan Yao received a call from Pei Xinan.
His performance in that scene had been a huge success, drawing applause from the entire crew. The earlier unpleasantness had already been cast far behind him.
Answering the call, the boy’s voice was as light and lively as a little sparrow hopping about.
“Hello, what’s up?”
There was no response from the other side.
Ruan Yao could only hear the boy’s somewhat heavy breathing, as if traveling through the screen, coolly brushing against his ear.
Nearly a full minute passed before Pei Xinan finally spoke.
“Yao Yao, are you doing well over there?”
Ruan Yao, without a shred of doubt, was genuinely happy. “I’m doing great.”
“Beep. Detected that the protagonist’s resentment value has increased by 10%.”
The system could no longer bear to watch and quietly reminded him, “Yang Fei has already sent the recording to Pei Xinan. He must have heard it by now.”
Oh no.
Ruan Yao untimely thought of a phrase: double the misfortune, double the joy.
“Has anyone else been bullying you?” Pei Xinan held back for a long time, biting his teeth before softening his tone to ask. “That Sheng Yirong, is he still following you?”
The response he got was a stretch of silence and a lie so full of holes it was almost laughable.
Ruan Yao deliberately paused in an obviously fake hesitation, as if caught off guard by an unexpected confrontation. Only then did he flusteredly string together a clumsy excuse. “N-no, not at all. Sheng Yirong, he was just passing by, that’s all.”
“I was just dealing with him a little.”
“Beep. Detected that the protagonist’s resentment value has increased by 5%.”
He could have simply said no, and Pei Xinan would have believed him without question. Why did he have to twist it in a way that made even self-deception impossible?
Pei Xinan gripped his phone so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged grotesquely, his knuckles turning pale.
“Yao Yao, do you really love me?”
“Mhm, I love you.”
“Beep. Detected that the protagonist’s resentment value has increased by 4%, now reaching 99%. Hoping the host can keep up the good work.”
What a truly wicked person.
Even though it was just part of his job to deceive him, Ruan Yao couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
Feeling sympathy for a string of data was a dangerous thing.
This was the first lesson the department head had drilled into him on his first day at work, pulling at his ear as he did so.
Ruan Yao reached out and pressed a hand against his chest, where his heart continued to beat restlessly. For once, he felt a rare sense of confusion, at a complete loss.
Inside the recording studio, the boy sat alone on the floor, scattered sheets of music littering the ground around him. Like falling snow, they nearly buried half of his body.
The golden hues of dusk spilled through the window, casting a long, lonely shadow behind him.
A damaged recording pen, smashed and scuffed, lay on the floor, endlessly looping a single piece of audio in the empty room.
A beauty’s breathless, repressed gasps lingered through the air, drifting and fading along with the recording.
“Of course, he was chosen because he’s easy to fool.”
"A fool who clings like a lapdog just for a little taste of sweetness—who wouldn’t like that? Besides, he has the ability to help me escape from your grasp."
"A dog that has done a good deed deserves a reward, don’t you think?"
Pei Xinan’s heart had tightened to the point of pain, yet he couldn’t muster even the slightest bit of disgust toward Ruan Yao.
It dawned on him belatedly that Ruan Yao was like a decadent poppy, luring men in with his vivid beauty, only for them to willingly drown in the intricate web he wove.
Pei Xinan couldn’t even fathom a life where Ruan Yao was completely out of his reach.
Since he was bound to betray him, then Pei Xinan would forge a gilded cage, adorn his shackles with jewels, and weave his binding ropes from the finest gauze.
This heartless little golden bird would spend eternity in his arms. Even in death, he would have to perish by his side.
On the final day of filming, Ruan Yao received a bouquet of roses from Sheng Yirong. The flowers were clearly handpicked with care—lush, flawless, and brilliantly colored, with fresh droplets of water still clinging to the petals.
A fellow actress who had wrapped up filming at the same time let out an admiring gasp. "Wow, so beautiful."
The young woman playfully teased him, her tone mischievous. "These are love flowers! Is the person who sent them confessing their feelings for you?"
The deep red hues reflected on Ruan Yao’s face, casting it in a romantic flush. However, a glint of guarded wariness flickered in his eyes, like a cautious little beast.
He had no idea what Sheng Yirong was up to this time.
But the platinum card attached to the bouquet contained only a single line, a simple reminder exchanged between lovers: "Drink less at the wrap party. I’ll pick you up at eight tonight."
Meanwhile, in a car parked not far from the film studio, a man in the driver’s seat lowered his head, discreetly tucking a pill bottle into a hidden compartment.
In his hand was a velvet box. His long fingers gently flipped open the lid, revealing an exquisitely crafted sapphire ring.
When he had the ring custom-made, the shop assistant had enthusiastically explained that aquamarine was also called the "stone of love" symbolizing a bond that endured until death.
He traced the smooth surface of the sapphire with a lingering touch, watching as the sunlight scattered across it in dazzling rays, much like the brilliance in that person’s eyes.
He wondered if Ruan Yao would be happy when he saw the ring.
He also wanted to tell him that his illness was now under control. He would never have to be hidden away again.
The wrap party was being held not far from the film studio. Ruan Yao planned to attend before heading out to keep his promise and watch Pei Xinan’s coming-of-age concert.
"But I don’t even know if Pei Xinan still wants to see me. His disgust level is already at 99" Ruan Yao mumbled, popping a macaron into his mouth, a faint trace of worry creeping onto his face.
Beside him, two elegantly dressed socialites were engrossed in a conversation about a recent string of kidnapping and extortion cases.
Ruan Yao listened in with keen interest, only for the system to mercilessly cut him off.
"The main character's affection level is still at 100" the system stated coldly, throwing out an even crueler reality. "According to standard novel tropes, love intertwined with hatred is far more terrifying than pure loathing."
Ruan Yao shivered.
Enough. Stop talking.
"Hello, Teacher Xiao Ruan, may I propose a toast to you?" A slightly shy young man approached with two glasses of wine, his eyes filled with a hopeful admiration.
After his last experience drinking at a bar, Ruan Yao had no desire to touch alcohol.
However, this young man was a crew member who had always looked after him whenever Yang Fei wasn’t around, practically acting as the perfect little assistant.
Ruan Yao felt that rejecting him like this would be too hurtful, so he cheerfully took the glass and drank it all in one go.
The young handsome man’s eyes sparkled as he gratefully thanked him, floating away happily as if surrounded by pink bubbles.
"Ruan Yao."
Xie Tong was also holding a glass of champagne. His usually arrogant and domineering face showed a rare trace of struggle and hesitation.
After wrestling with his thoughts for a long time, he finally gulped down half the glass and said, "I actually don’t really hate you."
For years, Xie the Great Actor had been at odds with the world, always acting superior. But at last, he had met his destined nemesis, someone who thoroughly cured him of his condescending attitude.
"I admit that at first, I looked down on you a little. But later, I really regretted saying those things to you."
"To be honest, your acting skills are really good."
After this, they might never see each other again.
Ruan Yao looked at him, his eyes curving slightly as he smiled. His gaze was full of shimmering light, and when he laughed, it was like stardust scattering through the sky. "Actually, I don’t dislike you that much either."
Xie Tong’s face went blank for a moment, then his heart started pounding wildly.
Since it was the last time anyway.
Xie Tong made up his mind.
"Ruan Yao, I like you."
Blushing so hard it looked like his face might start dripping blood, Xie Tong shut his eyes, took advantage of Ruan Yao being too stunned to react, and swiftly planted a kiss on that fair cheek.
Ruan Yao froze.
Xie Tong grabbed his glass and fled in panic.
That was strange.
Ruan Yao dazedly touched the cheek that had been kissed, feeling an inexplicable dizziness clouding his mind.
Supporting himself against the wall, he figured he might be feeling tipsy and needed to rest for a while.
He asked a passing waiter for directions and stumbled his way toward a room. The hallway was empty, and suddenly, the lights flickered.
Ruan Yao lost his balance. His vision went black.
He collapsed to the ground.
o0o