An Utterly Ordinary NPC (Female-Dominated World)

Synopsis

Lu Jin is a rising superstar among Hosts in the transmigration-into-a-book System, with a long-standing record of "S+ mission ratings, but a 100% teammate complaint rate."

Because he often engages in "friendly exchanges" with his System partners during missions, he's earned such honorary titles as "Mission Orphan" and "System Killer."

*

Wen Su, the most popular and powerful System 001 in history, quietly changed careers and became an utterly unremarkable NPC.

During a recent mission, she discovered that the aloof, arrogant Host at the "waystation" might not be as unlikeable as the rumors claimed. He even seemed, inexplicably, a little... cute?

*

The space behind Lu Jin tore open with an explosion. He drove his dagger backward into the throat of the last beast.

A bead of blood rolled down his pale cheek, turning into a crimson pearl in the moonlight.

The youth turned around, stepping over a field of corpses, but froze the moment his gaze met Wen Su's, still as a quiet pool.

She leaned against a broken wall, her hem spattered with flecks of blood, her long hair falling to her waist.

"It's dirty..." Lu Jin stared at the glaring red spot on Wen Su's hem and frowned, paying no attention to the bleeding wound on his own shoulder.

Wen Su suddenly reached out. The youth instinctively tilted his head away, only to see her fingertips gently brush the sweat-dampened hair off his forehead.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

"No..." Lu Jin tried to hide it out of habit, but then suddenly remembered something Wen Su had once said. His lips moved slightly. "...That was a lie."

Wen Su lowered her eyes, looking at the youth before her, his nose red.

She thought of the years before he came of age, when he went alone into an infinite-flow world to clear near-A-rank missions. Even when injured, he would rather endure the pain than spend a few points on a bottle of medicine, just so he could save up more points, level up faster, meet her, and thank her to her face...

"Then," Wen Su said, raising a hand and gathering the slender youth into her arms, "shall I comfort you?"

The youth froze completely.

He could smell the cool fragrance of bamboo on her. He could feel the warmth of her palm and hear his own heart pounding violently inside his chest. It was more overwhelming than clearing any mission.

"I wish I could have met you sooner."

"You couldn't have."

"Why not?"

"I was too useless back then. I was a complete idiot."

"..."

*

[An adorably rebellious and pure-hearted tsundere × a wildly powerful, low-key, unhinged, jealous big shot] A sweet mutual crush!

Theme: The true light of the System has never needed a spotlight.