On the system's surveillance feed tracking the item, Wang Jian was all dressed up to the nines at a high-society dinner party, pointing at an antique and holding forth about its authenticity as if he was a seasoned appraiser. On the table beside him lay a fine array of ancient curios, calligraphy, and paintings.
On the other side of the table, a rich second-generation heir was so furious his face was twisted. At the center of the party, a white-haired old man in a Tang suit stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, his eyes brimming with admiration for Wang Jian.
Everyone else had faded into the background. Some guests were whispering about who this rising new star was, others were marveling at his expertise, and quite a few young women were blushing as they looked at Wang Jian, as if they'd all been hit with a collective charm buff.
Clearly, this was just another of the male lead's grand moments of showing off.
Mu Yue watched the scene in dead silence, overcome by the helpless urge to slap the screen. The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared, and the male lead clearly thought he was back on top of his game.
Glancing at the location marked as City C, Mu Yue didn't rush to close the feed. She sat through the entire over-the-top performance, then quickly replayed the male lead's recent movements.
The male lead had clearly learned from his past mistakes. This time, upon arriving in City C, he'd laid low at first. He'd wandered around the antique market for a few rounds, planning to dig up some valuable treasures to make a quick buck, when he stumbled on a swindler cheating an elderly man. The male lead could never stand for that kind of behavior, so he stepped right up to expose the con artist, and that was how he met the old man.
This old man, who'd deliberately dressed in plain, slightly shabby clothes, was actually a prominent, well-known figure in City C. He'd spotted the male lead's extraordinary skills immediately, and soon the two were meeting regularly at the antique market. As time passed, the old man grew more and more certain of the male lead's capabilities, and decided to offer him a position as a consultant to join a major project he was running.
The male lead, a total stranger with no prior connections, was suddenly being brought into a multi-billion dollar project, which sparked widespread dissatisfaction. A certain rich second-generation heir in particular took an instant dislike to him, convinced the male lead was nothing more than a street hooligan who could never have seen any real high-quality treasures. That was what had led to the face-slamming scene unfolding at tonight's banquet.
The routine was all the same old tropes, except this time the male lead had put on a new mask. He wasn't going by Wang Jian anymore—he was calling himself Wang Hao. No one knew how he'd pulled it off, or if he'd actually gone and legally changed his ID name, but at this banquet, Wang Hao was a newly emerging, wildly talented newcomer.
Between the money he'd won on the cruise ship and the profits he'd made digging up good finds in City C's antique markets, the male lead did have a decent amount of capital now. He couldn't compare to the old generation of wealthy tycoons, but he was far better off than some of the useless, spoiled rich second-generation brats. After all, he'd built everything entirely through his own hard work, with no support from elder family members—at least, that was the flattering filter all the female leads viewed him through.
When she finished going through the playback, the banquet's grand show had also wrapped up. The male lead was dressed in sharp elite attire, but his aura had nothing at all in common with a real elite. Yet the female leads just ate up his laid-back, roguish charm. No sooner had the party ended than Old Man Tang's granddaughter was chatting and laughing happily with him.
The girl twisted her hands together in front of her, a very manga-esque shy gesture, and called out softly, "Uncle, drive carefully on your way home."
"You little rascal," the male lead shook his head with a feigned helpless smile. "I've told you so many times, I'm only a few years older than you. Calling me uncle is way too much..."
Eugh! Mu Yue slammed the screen shut, and goosebumps popped up all over her arms.
This kind of trashy, over-the-top harem novel was a literal pain to read.
What's more, Mu Yue thought to herself, the granddaughter looked around the same age as Ye Luling. She wondered if the girl was even of legal age yet.
These past few days, Mu Yue had been helping Wen Yuanting sort out the aftermath of the car accident, flipping through several novels in the process. According to the original plot timeline, the male lead wasn't supposed to be in City C at all right now. He should have been fully focused on pursuing the first wife, the woman he'd spent the most time and effort wooing out of all his love interests, to the point that he'd even distanced himself from all the other female leads.
The well-connected Old Man Tang the male lead had run into was a character who did appear in the original novel, but much later in the timeline. Back then, when he met the old man's granddaughter, she was already an adult. Her situation was nothing like Ye Luling's either—while Ye Luling had been forced into the dynamic, the granddaughter had been completely charmed by the male lead's charisma and voluntarily chosen to be one of his side women. Since the two girls were around the same age in the original story, they were constantly fighting and bickering over the male lead.
Mu Yue took a moment to soothe her own frayed nerves, erasing that disgusting line of dialogue she'd just heard from her mind before she turned her full attention to the real issue: the project the male lead was about to join.
From the playback and what she'd witnessed at the banquet, the project Old Man Tang was bringing the male lead on board with was a mining operation.
Mu Yue was thoroughly confused. The male lead had just been showing off his antique appraisal skills, so what on earth did that have to do with a mine? It didn't make any sense. Was his x-ray vision powerful enough to see through geological layers now? Even if that was true, was he stupid enough to openly tell other people about that ability?
Something was very wrong. Mu Yue went back to re-read the parts of the original plot that mentioned Old Man Tang, going through them with extreme care, and soon uncovered the hidden secret behind everything.
The mine was real, but it was only a front for the operation. Their real target was a deal hidden behind the mine—mingqi, or ancient burial artifacts. These were unregistered cultural relics looted from ancient tombs by grave robbers, never meant to be traded on the open market. It wasn't a matter of buying a few random trinkets out of curiosity at the antique market; this was a massive haul.
That's totally illegal! So against the law, it's outrageous!
Old Man Tang's last name was Tang. In the original timeline, without the male lead interfering, he'd partnered up with other people to buy the entire large batch of artifacts, and the incident later became the root of the Tang family's downfall.
The male lead had originally showed up right in the middle of that crisis, saving the Tang family from ruin, and then grandly donated all the purchased artifacts to a museum, playing the hero.
But now that Mu Yue had disrupted the original plot, the male lead had failed to get close to the first wife, and had no stable foundation to stand on. Getting involved in this kind of operation right now meant he was very likely being set up as the fall guy.
They weren't related to him at all. Why would they hand him a slice of such a huge, high-stakes business just because they thought he had a little bit of skill? There was no way that made sense.
Mu Yue flopped down on her big bed, letting Little White Bear walk on her back to give her a massage, as she said, "Keep a close eye on the male lead these next few days. This time, we might be able to pull off something really big."
At the mention of messing with the protagonist, Villain Bear got so excited it was acting like a dog, its tiny little tail wagging nonstop. "Got it, host! I promise I'll keep watch 24/7!"
The other three system creatures couldn't bear to watch the silly display. The Fox, licking its paws, suggested, "Hey, you've got money now, why don't you just switch to a dog avatar? You'd be able to wag your tail way more enthusiastically then."
Villain Bear thought that suggestion was pretty great, and made a mental note to browse through the avatar options when it had time.
Mu Yue couldn't help but burst out laughing at the exchange, but soon she was deep in thought again. This little scheme carried quite a bit of risk. She could never show her face during this shady, off-the-books trade, and she couldn't let herself be connected to it in any way at all.
No matter the two parties to the transaction or the authorities, she would never appear in their field of vision.
But trying to manipulate everything from afar didn't seem all that easy, either.
She needed to think this through carefully. First, one thing was clear: her core goal was to mess with the male lead.
Second, while messing with the male lead, she would also take down both groups of people involved in the illegal cultural relics trade.
And finally, it would be even better if she could also get rid of the male lead's romantic opportunities along the way.
"!" Right as the fluffy white bear under her had just finished giving her a back massage, Mu Yue's brilliant new plan took shape.
The male lead of a novel, he's the protagonist after all, how could he possibly break the law or commit a crime? When a protagonist witnesses an illegal act, what should he do? He should bravely record the entire transaction process and report it to the police, even if he might face retaliation, he should be fearless!
But life matters too, so the male lead can't be that reckless. He still needs to lay low when he has to. He'll take all the illicit money and stolen goods the big shots hand over to him. He won't be the one to turn them in, either. He'll frame it on other people, let them turn against each other and bite one another, and act like he hasn't got a clue about any of it from start to finish.
As for when the police finish their investigation, whether he admits he was the one who made the report or denies it entirely, that's all up to him to decide.
Hehehe! Mu Yue cackled in perfect sync with the white bear on her back. She wasn't going to break the male lead's limbs, blind him, or kill him. She was just helping him be a better, more righteous protagonist. Could there be a kinder villain than her?
As for any retaliation from other people, that's just part of the tribulations a protagonist has to go through. He's the main character, he's definitely going to be able to handle it all.
Now that she had a plan, all that was left was to wait for the right time to put it into action.
Mu Yue slept comfortably through the night, and when she woke up the next day, the villain system told her that it had picked up details of the male lead's upcoming travel plans the night before.
As for the specific time and location of the cultural relics deal, even the male lead didn't know that yet. He would have to wait for Old Man Tang to inform him. Right now, he was enjoying the National Day holiday and planning to go on a vacation.
This trip, he was bringing a female companion along. This woman was completely under his spell, someone he got to know back when he was in the stone gambling business. Later, when she saw that viral video of the male lead in a threesome, the male lead explained it away and she believed him immediately. She even felt terrible for him, and had stayed by his side loyally ever since.
The male lead was very touched by this, and right now this woman was his true love.
Mu Yue clicked her tongue as she read through this information. The male lead's protagonist halo really was something else, wasn't it? He'd only kept her around for two months, but he'd "nurtured" her completely? And now he was back on top again?
Mu Yue then looked up the data on this female lead. She was the first female lead, different from the first wife, who was the true female lead. This one was just the male lead's first woman.
She was the girl next door, a campus goddess, gentle and kind but born into a poor family.
This female lead couldn't offer the male lead any help in terms of wealth or connections, so she held the lowest status in his harem. If you went by the rankings of ancient times, she'd barely count as a personal servant, not even a proper concubine. The other women in the harem mostly didn't even bother to take her seriously, but since she was so kind-hearted, she could always overlook all the little conflicts between her "sisters".
Her only value was in the early stage of the male lead's journey, giving him the thrill of getting with the campus goddess, and satisfying his vanity by making everyone they knew jealous of him. Once he left the beginner area, the first female lead would fade completely into the background.
But even so, she was still one of the official female leads.
What was interesting was that Old Man Tang's granddaughter and her group of friends were also going on a vacation, and they'd deliberately picked the exact same city as the male lead.
One was his "true love", the other was the ambiguous love interest he was still developing.
The male lead's charm was so overpowering, it would be a waste if there wasn't some dramatic love triangle chaos waiting to happen.
Their destinations were all the famous resort town, with sandy beaches, blue oceans, and all kinds of water sports.
Mu Yue actually didn't want to go to the beach at all, but there was no way around it, because another mischievous idea had just popped into her head.
She remembered an item she'd come across earlier while browsing the points mall: [Targeted Visual Disguise]
[Targeted Visual Disguise]: A consumable item that only works on one target. It tamps with the target's sense of sight, making them mistake you for a completely different, specified person.
The male lead could handle two women chasing after him, no problem. But what if there were two "male leads"? The one who said he loved you a second ago would suddenly change his tune, act cold and hot, tell one woman he doesn't love her, and tell the other that he does.
Hmm, that was going to make for one very fun scene, she thought to herself.
