The Eighties Villainess Isn't Flirty Enough [Metaphysics]

My next book will be The Big Shot Cries at My Grave Every Day. Please add it to your collection.

Xia Yunzhi bound herself to a cannon fodder System in order to be reborn. She had to help the protagonists complete various trials, taking on the roles of characters destined to die for the plot: a cannibalistic old hag, a demoness who keeps male consorts, a scheming little eunuch in the imperial palace, and so on.

Xia Yunzhi thought it was a pretty good deal: play a few cannon fodder characters in exchange for a second life. But then something went wrong after she accidentally saved a pitiful little boy.

The boy seemed harmless, with only a pair of stubborn, gloomy eyes. Quietly following the heroine, he was either tormented emotionally by the main couple or physically by monsters.

But at some point, his gaze, which had always been fixed on the heroine, gradually shifted to her.

The first time the protagonist ran her through with a sword, Xia Yunzhi smiled, delighted that she was one step closer to being reborn.

But the pitiful little boy's tightly clenched fists and reddened eyes made her uneasy.

The second time the protagonist ran her through with a sword, Xia Yunzhi thought, Great! I'm one step closer to being reborn again!

But before she could smile, she saw the injured boy, who should have been unconscious, struggling to crawl toward her. His injuries left him unable to speak, but his eyes looked as if they were about to bleed.

By the Nth time, Xia Yunzhi couldn't smile anymore. The protagonist was sent flying, and the pitiful little boy had somehow become a powerful force, so powerful that everyone bowed at his feet. Even the heroine, who had once rejected him, was now trying to win his favor.

But he wasn't moved at all. His eyes were fixed only on Xia Yunzhi, the one who had once helped him.

"I'm here. Who dares lay a hand on her?!"

Xia Yunzhi began to cry. The big shot walked up to her and gently wiped away her tears. "Don't be afraid. No one will hurt you again."

Xia Yunzhi: "You're amazing, Big Shot!"

But inside, she thought, "Just let me die! I want to be reborn!"

It wasn't until she saw the memorial tombs the big shot had built for her after each "death," row upon row of mounds, each one wept over by him, that she understood: dying was no longer an option.

This novel's blurb

Liang Xin only learned after she died that she was a cannon fodder supporting female character in a Republican-era novel about the occult.

Reborn, she decided to restore her sect. But the house was old, the roof tiles were broken, and her master was lazy, greedy, and deceitful. The family did have a few ghosts she'd subdued, but they were crafty little things who only knew how to take advantage of others. And then there was a gluttonous Pixiu that only took in and never paid out.

Liang Xin couldn't care less about the hero and heroine. She grabbed a small stool and set up on the street to tell fortunes, getting chased around by the city inspectors every day.

At long last, she landed a ghost-exorcism job, only to discover she was competing with the hero for business.

Liang Xin looked at the face she'd once been obsessed with. "...I must have been out of my mind to think this face was prettier than money."

Later, Liang Xin became a famous master in the capital, and the hero handed her control of the household finances. "Which is better-looking, me or money?"

Liang Xin (counting money): "You're both good-looking."

Reader's guide:

1. The male and female leads are equally powerful. The male lead comes from an eminent family, while the female lead has a rougher background and starts out at a disadvantage in terms of social status. That won't matter later on.

2. Everything in this story is made up. It isn't based on anything real, so don't overthink it.

3. It only borrows the setting of the 1980s. The world itself is entirely fictional.

Screenshot taken and sent to my writing buddy on January 11, 2020.

Theme: Finding yourself after being reborn