What to Do When You're the Villain and the Female Lead Likes You (Patreon)

Chapter 7: Meeting at the Familiar Place

After everything returned to normal, the martial arts competition continued smoothly.

In the previous martial arts selections, there were usually only forty to fifty participants. However, with the appearance of Du Yinyin this time and the influence of various factors, the number of participants doubled to around eighty.

As a result, the preliminary selection rounds were increased from one to two rounds.

In these rounds, it was one-on-one combat. The victor would advance, while the defeated would leave.

After two rounds of selection, about twenty participants remained. Following that, there would be further battles to determine the final top ten participants who would then take part in the next event called "Falling Flowers."

This kind of competition process was not entirely fair, and each bout of combat even had a time limit, at most half a stick of incense time, around seven to eight minutes. If there was no clear winner by then, it would be considered a draw.

The skill levels of the participants varied, as their purpose was not truly about life and death, but rather about demonstrating martial prowess or wealth and earning a smile from the "Flower Maiden," becoming her first honored guest.

For idle young aristocrats, being an honored guest to a Flower Maiden could elevate their status in the circles of young gentlemen in the city for six to seven years. If they became her first intimate guest, during these years, they wouldn't lack the capital to boast among their friends.

The competition progressed swiftly because not everyone fought with real weapons and techniques like Chu Fan and Liu Kaixiong did. Most of the time, a match was decided in just a couple of moves, or one side conceded at the beginning and then spent one hundred and ten silver coins to buy eleven golden flowers, instantly winning against the opposing ten flowers and achieving victory.

He Yunxiao felt quite amazed by the competition. Financial capability, whether in the past or the future, was indeed quite influential.

The first round of matches ended quickly, leaving around forty participants to proceed to the second round of eliminations.

In the first match of the second round, the protagonist Chu Fan appeared again, causing He Yunxiao's heart to beat faster.

According to the original novel's description, it was in this match that Chu Fan beheaded his ownhead.

Watching from the second floor as Chu Fan took the stage with a sword, He Yunxiao secretly rejoiced. He was glad he had attached himself to Chu Xiaoxiao's influence early on. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the chance to get close to sister Jiang now.

Chu Fan's opponent quickly appeared, and even He Yunxiao hadn't anticipated that this guy would be Liu Kaixiong again?

He Yunxiao felt a bit of regret in his heart: "Brother Xiong is really unlucky. He wasted his money buying someone else's spot. Not only did he waste money, but he also got beaten up. Brother Xiong's martial arts are at least at a sixth or seventh-grade level. Under normal circumstances, he could have made it into the top ten. Who would have thought he'd run into Chu Fan, the walking disaster, every time? Brother Xiong, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I can't beat this walking disaster either."

Though it seemed like he was expressing regret, there was a somewhat gloating feeling of relief after escaping a calamity.

He Yunxiao's happiness didn't last long, as he soon felt a sharp gaze on his back.

A piercing look passed through the crowded hall and landed on his face.

Chu Xiaoxiao was looking at him.

Suddenly, He Yunxiao turned his gaze to Du Yinyin on his right. Inattentively, he noticed that the unlucky girl was once again looking at Chu Fan!

Uh-oh!

Ding-a-ling!

A bell sound that ordinary people couldn't hear resonated.

The Soul-Devouring Pill was instantly activated, and thousands of insects began to gnaw at He Yunxiao's flesh and bones.

In an instant, He Yunxiao gritted his teeth, dripping with cold sweat.

Luckily, thanks to Sister Jiang's enhanced "Poison Poison Resistance Increase," the pain caused by the Soul-Devouring Pill was considerably lessened, barely within the range that He Yunxiao could bear.

He had survived the calamity, but not completely unscathed.

He Yunxiao's abnormal reaction also caught the attention of Jiang Wuyou beside him.

"Master He, Wuyou left a sachet in the room. Would you be so kind as to fetch it for me?" she said.

With just one ring of the bell, He Yunxiao endured the ordeal and quickly returned to normal.

He knew that sister Jiang was giving him a way out, so he leaned close to her and whispered, "sister, I'm fine."

As he pulled away from her ear, he even managed to steal a quick kiss on sister Jiang's fair cheek.

Jiang Wuyou wasn't a shy and reserved girl. On the contrary, she was quite experienced and could match He Yunxiao's playful banter. However, as a young woman, she had to maintain some sense of decorum. Acting freely in private didn't mean she was comfortable doing the same in public.

He Yunxiao always enjoyed making little moves in front of an audience, holding hands or brushing against each other. This behavior made Jiang Wuyou feel awkward because it was neither a fight nor an argument. She could only pretend to be indifferent and let him be.

Only when he crossed the line too much would she give him a stern warning.

For instance, this time she gave He Yunxiao a firm glare.

He Yunxiao grinned.

I'm sorry, sister. I won't dare next time.

However, the residual pain in his body left He Yunxiao in no mood for playfulness. He deliberately spoke loudly, saying, "Sister, do you want candied hawthorns? I'll go buy some!"

With that, he stood up from his seat and went around to the girls on the observation stage, asking each one.

Each blushed and replied, "Thank you, young master."

Finally, when he asked Du Yinyin, He Yunxiao intentionally curved his lips into a smile.

"Miss Du, I'm going to buy some candied hawthorns. Would you like some? I'll get you a portion."

He treated sister Jiang with abandon but showed courtesy to Du Yinyin, maintaining a formal distance. A true master of emotional management.

Du Yinyin had known that Master He would come to talk to her, but it wasn't until he approached and spoke that she turned her face.

Though she had been hoping for a conversation with He Yunxiao, Du Yinyin was a composed and aloof person who never displayed eagerness.

Her face remained expressionless as she nodded slightly, "Thank you, young master."

He Yunxiao nodded in response and straightforwardly said, "Alright then, since you want candied hawthorns, you can give me the money first."

Jiang Wuyou heard this and covered her mouth, suppressing a laugh. She had been brought here to steal some of Du Yinyin's limelight, naturally understanding that this mischievous brother was aiming to win the Flower Maiden's favor.

She just didn't expect his method of arousing a cold beauty's emotions to be so upfront.

Looking at Du Yinyin's slightly agape mouth, her face showing surprise, He Yunxiao burst into a hearty laugh. He playfully flicked Du Yinyin's upturned nose and affectionately said, "Just teasing you. I'm off."

【Du Yinyin's favorability rating changed from 66 to 65】

Just as expected!

He Yunxiao observed the decreased favorability rating from Du Yinyin, further confirming her personality.

This girl belonged to the aloof type of personality, in other words, she maintained distance from everyone. If he got too intimate with her when her favorability wasn't high enough, it would instead result in her displeasure. But once her favorability exceeded a certain threshold, she'd become clingy like a loyal dog, impossible to shake off.

Now wasn't the time to worry about a minor change in favorability. He had to divert her attention away from Chu Fan. If Xiao Xiao (Chu Xiaoxiao) became angry, things would turn really bad.

As He Yunxiao went downstairs, he analyzed the current situation.

The current situation was that Du Yinyin had a high favorability towards Chu Fan, at a whopping 70. Even if he tried his best to increase Du Yinyin's favorability towards him, her 70 favorability towards Chu Fan wouldn't change.

As long as this 70 favorability remained unchanged, no matter how hard he tried, she would continue to focus on Chu Fan. To sever her connection with Chu Fan, her favorability towards him had to be lowered!

Though He Yunxiao was anxious inside, he had to maintain a leisurely demeanor on the surface.

Not only did he maintain a leisurely demeanor, but he also chatted with several familiar buddies.

Casually chatting away, He Yunxiao approached Chu Xiaoxiao.

Only when he was close enough did He Yunxiao dare to use his inner energy to carry a whisper into Chu Xiaoxiao's ear.

Otherwise, if the distance was too far, transmitting sound through inner energy could easily be detected.

He said, "Meet at the usual spot."

Chu Xiaoxiao showed no reaction, but He Yunxiao believed that she heard him.

So, after boasting to his friends a bit more, He Yunxiao left the Spring Breeze Tower and entered the night.

After a short while, Chu Xiaoxiao finally stood up, patted her dress, and jogged away into the night.

All of this was done in a highly concealed manner, and nobody could guess, let alone see, any hidden agenda between Chu Xiaoxiao and He Yunxiao.

One was a commoner woman who had recently arrived in Yinjing City, with no fame to her name. The other was a notorious aristocratic young master, He Yunxiao, who had been famous in Yinjing for a long time.

They should have no interaction at all.

Not to mention ordinary people, even from a god's perspective, He Yunxiao, who had read the novel, had no idea that Chu Xiaoxiao was a hidden boss, and normal people would be even more clueless.

But the protagonist, Chu Fan, wasn't a normal person.

He was the only person in the world who cared about both Chu Xiaoxiao and He Yunxiao.

Although He Yunxiao's actions were discreet, Chu Fan had been paying attention from the start. With his peak Ninth Rank cultivation and his singular focus on the sword, he could reach a Half-Step Grandmaster level at any moment. He Yunxiao's Eighth Rank strength, obtained through the Soul-Devouring Pill, was naturally no match for him.

Sound transmission of inner energy was crystal clear to him.

Subsequently, his sister Chu Xiaoxiao's departure made his heart tremble even more.

"Brother Liu, do your best! You must make Chu Fan lose his teeth this time!"

"That's right! Liu Kaixiong, don't lose. I bet on you to win!"

"Old Bear, if you win, you won't need to repay your brothers' money!"

The crowd's enthusiasm boosted Liu Kaixiong, compelling him to raise his sword and face the challenge.

However, this time, Chu Fan's aura suddenly turned incredibly chilling.

As if a cat had transformed into a fierce tiger!

"Annoying."

Chu Fan's annoyance grew with the noise, and the pale blue longsword cut through the air with a dazzling blade of light. The sword in Liu Kaixiong's hand was sliced into thin left and right pieces by the blade.

The aura of a Ninth Rank swordsman was on full display.

Two pieces of metal "clang"ed as they fell to the ground.

In the hall of the Spring Breeze Tower, there was a moment of silence, and one could hear a pin drop.