Chapter 122
Because She’s Pretty Cute (1)
The system felt that the tasks it gave were not wrong because it was impossible for the system to be wrong. Hence, it had to be somebody else’s fault.
Jiang Xiaoman was also not wrong; she earnestly tried to bully Yu Qingshi, but he wasn’t reacting.
His growth had been distorted.
He was no longer the villain who would seek revenge for the smallest of grievances, bargain for every penny, prioritize his personal profits, and whose mood was always changing. He was no longer that evil and cunning villain!
No matter how much Jiang Xiaoman teased him, he would not get angry, so why should she continue to bother him?
The system knew that Yu Qingshi’s route was a difficult one. Because it was Jiang Xiaoman’s system and not Yu Qingshi’s system, it could not interfere with his blackening process.
Therefore, the system had no choice but to give up on Yu Qingshi’s route halfway and allow him to grow freely.
The system wanted to focus on cultivating its own host instead.
“Host, starting from today, I will tell you a bedtime story every day,” the system said. “You have to take every word I say to heart.”
Was it going to tell her stories again?
Jiang Xiaoman asked, “Stories about how the big systems bullied you?”
“…”
No. It was not Xianglin’s wife1; why would the system keep on talking about the same thing? It wanted to tell her the original scenario, the story about her miserable childhood, and how the fake daughter became happy by taking everything that belonged to Xiaoman.
No one would be able to stay unaffected under such indoctrination.
In the past, the host was too young and lived in a village without much contact with the outside world. The environment around her was too simple, and she wouldn’t understand if you spoke about evil to her.
But it was different now. After coming to the city, Jiang Xiaoman now knew a good life and finally saw luxury and extravaganza. She was someone who had seen the world now. This way, she would see the gap between poverty and wealth, and it would be easy for her to blacken.
Originally, it didn’t want to use such an extreme method. After all, the system had seen her grow up and had somewhat grown fond of her. If the system was too hard on her, it feared she wouldn’t be able to endure it.
But now, the system felt that its host had grown too formidable and smart. The system didn’t need to be so reserved anymore and had to be a bit ruthless.
The host’s mind was not as fragile as it thought. In fact, the system was the one that was in danger.
That night, after she cleaned up for the day, Xiaoman cleverly sat on the bed while hugging a pillow, waiting for Brother System to tell her the story.
“Once upon a time…” the system started. “There was a couple who had a cute little daughter. Their life was prosperous, and their family was harmonious. Many people gave their blessings when the daughter was born. They were a very enviable family of three.”
“But it was a pity that fate had something else in store. Not long after the child was born, disaster struck2. The child was kidnapped!”
“Ah!” Xiaoman exclaimed in surprise. “The little baby is so pitiful. Brother System, I don’t want to listen to stories like this. The little baby is so pitiful. Her Mom and Dad are so pitiful, too. Can you change it? I don’t want the baby to be kidnapped. Let the little baby stay with her Mom and Dad.”
“……”
It could not be changed.
The system stubbornly said, “Host, don’t interrupt. Will you listen to the story? It has already been written and cannot be changed.”
“Why? Isn’t it all just a made-up story? Since it’s all made-up, why do you have to follow the author?”
“Because this is the ending that was written a long time ago.”
“Just because it has been written, is it necessarily the correct one?”
“…” The system didn’t know what to say, so it had to bluff and asked, “Do you want to listen or not?”
Of course, she still wanted to listen.
Xiaoman quickly stabilized her mood and obediently listened to the story.
Footnotes:
1. A character from a story by Lu Xun, a Chinese writer. She went insane and kept repeating the same story again and again.
2. The word here can mean met the enemy, but since the context isn’t clear right now I’m using the more neutral meaning.
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