Yue Yue stared at Han Soi with wide, shaking eyes. Her mind, heart, courage, and dignity were all arguing inside her head like noisy chickens.
One thought rose above the chaos: she was too young to die. She hadn't lived, hadn't married, hadn't hugged her babies, hadn't bragged about her future powerful husbands, hadn't seen her hundred grandbabies calling her Grandma Yue.
No… absolutely not… she couldn't die now. It would be the most pathetic ending in all universes.
She wasn't even the main character of this novel. She wasn't even the third-line supporting character.
She would die as "Generic Female Number Unknown," eaten by a villain in a random room on page 74.
Her soul refused to accept that. She wiped her tears, closed her eyes for strength, and made a decision worthy of a desperate tiny snake: survival came first.
She suddenly moved.
Han Soi, still standing at the edge of the bed with the most confused expression ever seen on a deadly villain's face, barely had time to blink before Yue Yue launched herself forward like a determined snake ready to bite him to death.
He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but before he could speak, she reached him. And then… Yue Yue threw herself onto his thigh like it was a holy tree and she was a koala with terminal panic.
Han Soi completely froze.
His whole tall body straightened like someone had stabbed an electric rod down his spine.
Yue Yue wrapped both her arms and legs around his thigh, clinging like she was auditioning for a tragic drama where the heroine begged for mercy before execution.
She pressed her cheek against his blood-stained clothes without caring and shook him with all her little strength.
"P-please don't kill Yue Yue!" she cried, voice cracking, as fake tears streamed down her face.
"Yue Yue is gentle! Yue Yue is kind! Yue Yue can cook! Yue Yue can wash clothes! Yue Yue is very easy to raise! Yue Yue eats little and sleeps quietly! Yue Yue will never bother you! Yue Yue is the most obedient, quietest, least troublesome female you'll ever find!"
Han Soi's soul left his body.
He looked down at her with an expression so complicated it needed its own dictionary. His jaw twitched, chest tightened, and his pupils trembled. With every word she spoke, he felt something inside him twist painfully.
What is she doing… why is she begging him like that…
Begging him like she was used to being treated badly. Like someone had starved her, hurt her, scared her.
She was promising to cook and wash clothes and be "easy to raise." Easy to raise? Easy. To. Raise?
His face darkened. The kind of darkness that promised someone was going to lose their limbs soon. He felt his anger spike and his aura burst out sharply.
Meanwhile, Yue Yue continued her shameless plea, clinging even harder, rubbing her head against his thigh as if trying to pacify a tiger.
She had no idea that the mighty winged serpent's mind was analysing her act in a different direction. If she had known, she would have smacked his head and asked him to retrieve his deadly aura first before thinking this nonsense.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook like a leaf, whispering, "Please, please, please let me live… Yue Yue will behave… Yue Yue will never annoy you… Yue Yue is very low maintenance… You won't even notice Yue Yue is here…"
Her nonsense kept flowing like a river. Because she knew this kind of act even melted her cold father, then what was he…
But just as she was lost in her act and a hundred percent sure this would calm him down and he would become a normal man—
Then she heard it. A cold, robotic voice inside her mind.
[Warning. Host, be careful. Villain Mode has risen from 2% to 30%. If it reaches 100%… no one can save him.]
Yue Yue froze mid-beg.
Her mouth remained open, but no sound came out.
She slowly lifted her head and realized…
Han Soi's aura was swirling around him like a storm. His red eyes were blazing hotter. His expression was dark enough to kill an entire army. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. His breathing had become heavier, colder, and sharper.
Her brain short-circuited…
Why was his villain mode increasing?! Why?! She was begging for mercy! Begging should DECREASE villain mode! Not raise it! What had she said?! What stupid words had she spat out?! Why did it get worse?! Why was he turning more villain-y?! What had she done?!
Meanwhile, Han Soi's thoughts were spiraling in a completely different direction. He couldn't hear her system, but he didn't need one.
His anger was building like a volcano. His vision became more red. He stared down at the small, trembling female holding onto him.
Her words echoed in his mind… gentle female… can cook… can wash clothes… easy to raise… won't bother him. His teeth clenched as hundreds of assumptions hit him.
Someone had abused her. Someone had mistreated her.
Someone had terrified her enough that she was now apologizing for existing.
His rage spiked.
He wanted to rip someone apart slowly, violently, and painfully. He wanted to dig out their heart with his own hands and crush it into dust.
He wanted to hang their body in their ancestral hall as a warning for ten generations. His nails sharpened unconsciously, his aura thickened, and the air in the room dropped several degrees. Every second, his anger intensified.
Yue Yue felt it.
And then the notifications came like bullets.
[Host, Villain Mode at 31%.]
[Host, Villain Mode at 32%.]
[Host, Villain Mode rising rapidly…]
She panicked even harder.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what she said wrong. She didn't know how to stop him from turning into a world-ending monster in the bedroom. She opened her mouth to beg more gently, more softly, but before she could…
DING!
A new message popped up.
[Emergency Side Quest: Kiss the villain to calm down his villain mode.]
Yue Yue's brain combusted.
Wait… what? Kiss him right now…
WHILE HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS ABOUT TO DESTROY A CONTINENT?!
She stared at the glowing notification, then at the very angry, very bloody Han Soi, and then back at the task.
Her soul screamed:
"WHERE IS THE REFUSE BUTTON?! WHERE IS IT?!"
But the system stayed silent.
The percentage bar stayed climbing.
And Han Soi's aura grew darker… and darker rapidly.