Chapter Sixty-Four: Jiang Hu?

Mo Nianian canceled all her plans.

Help him take revenge? Let him do it himself.

She stopped going out, spending her days holed up in her room. Her attitude toward Jiang Hu reverted to what it had been at the very beginning.

Whenever Jiang Hu tried to see her, Mo Nianian turned him away.

In just two days, his hostility score increased by ten points.

[Host... if you keep this up, we’ll never complete the mission.]

Mo Nianian lounged lazily in her chair. [Why don’t you do it?]

The system fell silent, aggrieved. Ever since Mo Nianian discovered it had secretly helped the male lead hide a few things, it had become rather pitiful.

"Miss, Mo Hu is here again," Bai Shao said worriedly, glancing outside. "He seems terribly ill."

How could he not be sick? In the freezing cold, with a pot of icy water poured over him, and his body so frail—it would be strange if he were well.

Mo Nianian caught sight of Jiang Hu standing straight in the courtyard and clicked her tongue.

Does he think he’s made of iron?

She answered offhandedly, "Tell him to go back."

"Miss, do you really not want to see him?"

Bai Shao had no idea what had happened that night, only that her mistress suddenly wanted nothing to do with Jiang Hu.

Did things not go well that evening?

But both the master and madam had agreed to let them develop freely.

Mo Nianian was resolute, so Bai Shao could only go outside and relay her words to Jiang Hu.

"You should go home. Miss doesn't want to see you."

Jiang Hu’s dark eyes fixed on the doorway. "I’ll wait for my mistress."

He knew he’d been wrong, and this time he would be even more careful.

"You really are something," Bai Shao said, stamping her foot in frustration. "What use is it standing here? You’d be better off going home and thinking about how to win her forgiveness."

Jiang Hu stayed silent, unmoving.

He didn’t know how to make his mistress forgive him. Everything he had belonged to her. If she wished, he would give her anything—including his life.

He stood the entire day, braving the cold wind through the night, and unsurprisingly, the next day his illness worsened.

His face was burning hot, but he forced himself to stand before Mo Nianian’s door.

He kept his back straight, determined, despite his weakness.

Jiang Hu’s timing was impeccable; before long, snow began to fall, blanketing him in white.

He coughed again and again, his whole body trembling, clearly on the verge of collapse.

But his stubborn will kept him standing before Mo Nianian’s door.

Mo Nianian didn’t want to acknowledge him. If he wanted to stand, let him. She hadn’t ordered him to after all.

These male leads were all mentally unwell—she simply couldn’t handle them.

[Host... the male lead is about to collapse... Even if you truly don’t like him, he’s still a life.]

[He saved you, after all. If not for that, he wouldn’t be like this.]

The system kept nagging, growing more and more aggrieved until it finally burst into tears.

Mo Nianian’s head began to ache. "Shut up."

Bai Shao looked over. "Miss, are you alright?"

Mo Nianian rubbed her temples. "I’m fine, focus on your work."

[Oh, I just started working... The first little world collapsed... Now the male lead in the second is about to die... There’s no system more miserable than me.]

The system sobbed so hard it was nearly out of breath. Mo Nianian worried it would glitch out.

She abruptly stood. [Stop crying, I’ll go take a look.]

[Wuwu... I knew you were the best, Host... wuwu.] The system sniffled, instantly breaking into a smile.

Mo Nianian stepped outside. Jiang Hu, nearly blending into the snowy landscape, looked up at her.

She stood before him, icy and cold. "Go home. That’s an order."

Light flashed in Jiang Hu’s eyes, his Adam’s apple trembling. "Mistress."

He was so weak he seemed about to collapse at any moment.

He gazed at Mo Nianian as if she were his only light.

Though Mo Nianian hadn’t decided how to deal with him, she had no wish for Jiang Hu’s death. At the very least, because he’d saved her life, she couldn’t just watch him die.

Life was a difficult thing to repay.

Jiang Hu gave Mo Nianian the highest bow, kneeling before her. "It was all my fault, Mistress. Please forgive me."

"Go home. I don’t want to talk about this."

Damn dog of a male lead—he’s fallen for her, and she still had to say something? Was she supposed to urge him to mend his ways?

Mo Nianian was utterly exasperated.

Couldn’t he just focus on the mission? Did every darkened male lead have romance on the brain?

"I am guilty, but loving you, Mistress, is something I will never regret."

Jiang Hu looked up at his goddess, the blazing love in his eyes nearly scorching Mo Nianian.

Her heart shuddered twice—from fright.

If not for the unfinished mission, she’d wish to jump to the next world right now.

What a mess.

"I don’t know what made you think otherwise, but I’ve never liked you. Not before, not now, not ever," Mo Nianian said, eyes cold.

Jiang Hu suddenly stood, his expression agitated, but before he could say anything, he collapsed.

Mo Nianian’s body moved faster than her mind, catching him as he fell.

"Fetch the doctor."

...

Mo Nianian sighed several times.

She was beginning to doubt whether she was fit for these missions. Why did every world fall apart as soon as she entered?

How had the male lead fallen for her?

Now, the task of eliminating the hostility score was once again hopelessly out of reach.

[Actually, Host, it wouldn’t be so bad if you agreed...] The system began sneakily persuading her again.

[Quiet. I don’t want to hear it right now.]

Mo Nianian tapped the table. [Forget it, let’s stick to the plan. Let him have his revenge first—maybe that’ll reduce some hostility. I’ll find him a few girlfriends afterward.]

The male lead had met too few people. She’d shown him the tiniest bit of kindness, and he assumed he’d found love.

If need be, she’d help him form a harem, gathering beauties from every corner.

What complaints could he have then?

Mo Nianian opened the male lead’s original growth arc.

After enduring endless hardship, he conquered an army, then swept the land in a reign of blood, unifying the realm. Unfortunately, his cruelty brought misery to the people, and after five years on the throne, he was overthrown.

The final words in the book: Emperor Jiang Hu, died at thirty, his life a mix of achievements and errors, remembered with both praise and blame.

[If he wants to kill, I can’t stop him.] Mo Nianian propped her head, but then her eyes narrowed and her whole body tensed.

She was somewhat alarmed. [Emperor what?]

The system was puzzled. [Jiang Hu, what’s wrong?]

Two seconds later, the system reacted as if it had seen a ghost. [Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Hu?]