After I Was Forced to Pick a Fight with the Villain

Wen Mianqing died and came back to life... sort of.

The idiot sign-in System that brought him through time started by flashing a huge red warning: [System retrieval in one year! Failure will return your soul to its original plane!]

Forgot to mention: Wen Mianqing transmigrated into a book, into an ancient world where human life is worthless. Starting identity: a homeless, amnesiac refugee...

The good news: He was starving to death, but his broken System still had a basic sign-in function.

The bad news: The System was broken, and most of its reward pool had fallen into the hands of a man named Jimo Han. If Wen Mianqing didn't retrieve it, he would be sent back!

Wen Mianqing, who had thoroughly died in his original world: “...”

There was no way he was going back, but why did the name Jimo Han sound so familiar?

Jimo Han, heir to the Prince Su's title, had suffered from heart palpitations since childhood and was predicted not to live past thirty. Everyone knew his moods were unpredictable, and that he was brutal, vicious, and bloodthirsty.

Wen Mianqing, who knew more because he had transmigrated into the book: “...”

Jimo Han was the biggest villain in one of those web novels where the male lead chases his love through fire and brimstone. If he hadn't died young from congenital heart disease, he could have killed the protagonist in the end.

Staring at the red warning, Wen Mianqing, who wanted to stay alive, felt a headache coming on.

Whether he was the heir to the prince's title early on or the regent who usurped the protagonist's place later, neither was someone a refugee like Wen Mianqing could get anywhere near. Damn it!

*

At first, Wen Mianqing wanted to become a retainer.

He'd heard that the highest-ranking retainers at Prince Su's manor got meat with their meals and a carriage to ride in.

The idiot System's basic sign-in rewards weren't enough to fill him up. Wen Mianqing, who seemed refined and composed on the surface but was practically going mad with meat cravings behind the scenes, thought it sounded great.

He'd only have to offer advice. Surely a modern man like him could manage... Then he saw a Daoist priest beheaded in the street for selling pills and instinctively covered his neck, backing away... No, he couldn't do it!

Later, Wen Mianqing wanted to become a fortune-teller.

In ancient times, the emperor's right to rule was said to come from heaven. With his memories from the book and a few magic tricks, he could easily fake a few prophecies and illusions.

After seeing a fortune-teller's stall get smashed up and its owner sent to the afterlife with a single slash, Wen Mianqing's legs trembled. Maybe he should think this through some more.

And after witnessing yet another young woman get shot dead after using a rescue as an excuse to repay a hero, Wen Mianqing: “...”

With no other options, Wen Mianqing reluctantly learned the trick of selling himself to pay for his father's burial. Somehow, he ended up selling himself into the prince's manor as... a male concubine?!

At least he'd managed to get close to Jimo Han, right?

*

Even after becoming a male concubine, Wen Mianqing never wondered how strange it was that someone as beautiful as him had once been a refugee.

What Wen Mianqing knew even less was that the villain he was about to face wasn't the villain he expected. He was about to face Jimo Han, the regent reborn and only one step away from the pinnacle of power!

Much later, Wen Mianqing discovered that his original body had been a spy.

He learned that the Daoist priest, the fortune-teller, and the young woman were all fellow spies.

Wen Mianqing, the only one who had achieved his goal: “...”

He turned to the brute who had become insatiable after recovering his health. “Did you know all along?”

The man curved his lips slowly. “Otherwise, how do you think you got into the manor, darling?”

#A reborn, sickly powerbroker gong and the beautiful wife who walked right into his trap#

#It wasn't my idea, the System made me cling to him#

#Beauty is a double-edged sword, get it?#

#He was regent in his last life and planned to crush everyone in this one, but ended up a mad dog who obediently restrains himself for his wife#

[Reading guide]:

1. One-on-one romance, sweet story, happy ending.

2. I'm a sucker for this kind of story, I'm a sucker for this kind of story, I'm a sucker for this kind of story.

3. The broken sign-in System can give sign-in rewards, but it's broke.

4. Alternate history with lots of original worldbuilding. Don't overanalyze.

5. Note from 2025.09.17: Your daily-update treasure is here, please add to your collection~

Theme: Love makes you grow flesh and blood