Those Years I Immersively Told Motivational Stories to a World-Weary Villain

Bonus side story. Unlock with a 50% subscription, hearts, hearts.

After transmigrating into a book, Zhichun has spent sixteen years borrowing money from the System to stay alive. She’s buried in debt.

She gets excited when she meets Kong Yanbai, the novel’s cannon-fodder villain and her assigned target for the mission to give someone warmth.

That night, she sneaks into his room and tells him ghost stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio for four hours, nearly losing her voice. The System cheerfully announces, “Congratulations, Host. Your debt has been reduced by twenty-five wen.”

Zhichun silently asks the heavens, “When am I ever going to pay all this off?”

Telling stories while he sleeps is useless, and the savings are negligible. She goes to great lengths to get Kong Yanbai to listen to her stories, until she’s completely worn out.

Gradually, she loses the will to tell them and would rather struggle through dangerous missions.

One ordinary night, the air cool with a hint of wind, she returns from a mission and sees the young man waiting at the door.

“Do you... have any other stories?”

Zhichun’s lashes flutter. “Don’t you dislike listening?”

The young man lowers his eyes. “I never said I didn’t want to listen.”

*

Little skits:

1. Kong Yanbai meets a cat in town. It isn’t shy at all. Even though it’s their first meeting, it acts as if they’re old friends, rolling onto its back and waving its tail.

It reminds him of someone. That person is just as friendly with everyone.

The young man’s fingers twitch. He awkwardly reaches out to pet the cat’s head, and his cold, sharp profile softens. After a while, the cat seems to enjoy being stroked and purrs as it presses closer to his hand.

Then he suddenly thinks of something. His long fingers curl inward. He furrows his brow and fixes his dark eyes on the cat, his voice turning cold.

“Do you act this way with other people, too?”

2. One night, by the river.

Kong Yanbai holds an umbrella over Zhichun and suddenly says, “Fu Zhichun, your shoes and socks are wet.”

Zhichun glances down, unconcerned. “There’s a lot of dew.”

“I’ll carry you back.” The young man suddenly crouches in front of her, his broad back right before her, wordlessly inviting her to lean on him.

Zhichun watches him for a moment, pats his shoulder, and says softly, lips pressed together, “Wet shoes and socks won’t stop me from walking. Get up.”

But he stubbornly refuses to stand. His voice is muffled. “But I want to carry you.”

Theme: Knowledge changes your fate, and martial arts strengthen your body.