Title: The OOC Villainess and the White Moonlight Heroine are BFFs
Translator: Little Bamboo Spirit
Chapter 14 - You just said all that as an excuse to go watch pole dancing, right? (2)
Yue Xia's phone vibrated again. One troublesome person followed after another. A heavyweight champion stepped into the ring. The message was from Zhuang Xiaohan.
【Zhuang Xiaohan】: I'll remember this grudge. Don't feel proud of yourself!
【Zhuang Xiaohan】: No matter how hard you try, you can't get Shi-gege! Jiang Shuyao is much better than you! You're only capable of those dirty tricks!
"?" Yue Xia was greatly shocked. "She's so good at sowing bogus accusations. Her family must have reaped a bountiful harvest last year."
The system: "..."
It weakly thought that if Yue Xia's skill in showing goodwill was half as good as her skill in ridiculing people, they wouldn't be in such a situation.
Yue Xia threw them into the blocklist. She finally had the free time to wrangle with the system over the direction of the plot.
[I checked the head system's criteria for judging task completion. Their criteria for judging is actually quite broad. It might make misjudgments, but it's very rare. After all, a situation like yours has never appeared before.]
For ordinary people, completing the tasks was their primary goal. Guiding other characters or improving their careers to get bonus points was much more difficult. In addition, the systems had the power to punish their hosts. So, most people would choose to complete the tasks step by step. It was unexpected that Yue Xia was brave enough to risk everything. After only being here for a few days, she had caused the plot to spiral out of control. It was starting to become unrecognizable from its original self.
If the plot were to develop normally, Jiang Shuyao and Shi Qingyin would be arguing over what happened at the engagement party. At this time, Jiang Shuyao would hear the news of Lin Shu rejecting Yue Xia. That would deepen her impression of the second male lead and further shake her feelings for Shi Qingyin.
But now, Jiang Shuyao was living at the Yue's. She diligently went to work every day and was always paying attention to Yue Xia's mental health. Without noticing it, she had gone a few days without seeing Shi Qingyin. In contrast to the original plot, Shi Qingyin felt peeved with Jiang Shuyao. He felt that her behavior at the engagement party showed that she didn't respect him and was simmering with anger.
Anyways, the plot was a mess.
After the system finished sorting out what happened, it said: [The main world will force the plot to go back on track. It's unavoidable. There'll be a steady stream of coincidences that lead to meetings between you and the male protagonist. For example, in the original plot, Shen Yu didn't invite you to the nightclub. My guess is that even if you don't plan to go, you'll still end up going there for one reason or another.]
"That's pretty good." Yue Xia thought it over. "I won't have to work hard to create opportunities to change encounters."
[Phase-specific tasks can be put to the side for now.]
The system's voice gradually became serious. [Host, listen. A key plot point will come in two months. This is a plot point that we must achieve!]
That was the starting point for the white moonlight to completely give up on the male protagonist.
The reason was very simple. At a certain party, a fire suddenly broke out in the building. One by one, everyone fled. However, Jiang Shuyao and Yue Xia were very coincidentally both wearing white clothing and trapped in the same place. And even more coincidentally, Shi Qingyin was the only other person around.
["Smoke filled the air, and fire spread through the building. Jiang Shuyao was helplessly hiding in the corner. She saw a familiar imposing figure rushed towards her. That person couldn't hide his anxiety as he shouted, "Where are you?!"
Her eyes were filled with tears that reflected the fire. She tried her best to reply, but the pain in her throat from inhaling so much smoke made her unable to do so. She could only weakly call out. However, in the next moment, she saw the man picking up Yue Xia, who had her eyes tightly closed. And then… and then, he was gone.
… He didn't even look back.
The light in Jiang Shuyao's eyes gradually went out. She was clearly in an extremely hot, burning building, but she felt cold all over. She kept trembling, and her tears eventually flooded her broken heart." - an excerpt from chapter 46 of The White Moonlight and the Red Rose.]
Yue Xia: "..."
The system: [The visibility was too poor. Shi Qingyin merely mistook you for her.]
"Mistook?" Yue Xia fell silent. "Does he recognize people by their earlobes?"
The system: [.]
Yue Xia sighed. "I'm eight centimeters taller than Liang Shuyao, eight centimeters."
The system: [Alright! Stop asking me! Just treat it as if he had a sudden ailment!]
The system was going to sweat if she continued asking.
The system asked: [So, what are you planning on doing?]
Yue Xia didn't reply. Instead, she looked out the window. It was almost dusk. Jiang Shuyao was smiling as she watered plants underneath the window. The warm colors of the sunset were poured onto her white dress. The scene was awash with a gentle and tranquil glow.
…. Indeed, if Shuyao never met Shi Qingyin again, she would continue working, get promoted, and do the things she enjoyed. She wouldn't become physically and emotionally exhausted and extremely damaged like her novel counterpart.
The system sensed her hesitation. [Although it seems like she'll listen to you on everything, she won't give up on the male protagonist if you ask her.]
In this life, she would endlessly break up and get back together with that man. From beginning to end, that was her only choice. She could only be crushed by him and put back together by him. Deep-rooted thoughts couldn't be easily changed.
"You're right." Yue Xia stopped spacing out. Supporting her chin in her hand, she thoughtfully said, "Sometimes, talking won't work. No matter how good your original intentions are for her, no matter how much you patiently persuade her, no matter how much you resent her for failing to meet expectations, it's still her choice. We don't have the obligation or the right to change it."
The system: [You're right.]
Yue Xia: "It's pointless to criticize her. It's better to do my best to give her more options. At the very least, don't let her sight be limited to one person."
The system couldn't agree more. [That's right.]
Yue Xia: "So."
The system: [So?]
"Annual Men's Pole Dancing Party." Yue Xia calmly took out her phone and quickly booked two VIP tickets. "Let’s Gooo!"
System: [... You just said all that as an excuse to go watch pole dancing, right? Ah!!!]