The Abused-Novel Female Lead Holds a Mad Brush - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Beep Beep Beep
[Beep! System overloading… Restructuring… Rebooting…]
[Detected that the host has destroyed the original world structure! Please redeem yourself through good deeds!]
[Beep! The host must strictly follow the trajectory in the book to maintain the orderly development of this world…]
The electronic voice in her head was cold and ruthless. It vanished almost immediately after appearing, disappearing to somewhere else before even finishing its sentence.
Yu Jiaxue, “.”
She stroked her chin.
This System doesn’t seem like much, does it?
Taking advantage of the fact that the crowd had not yet recovered their senses, Yu Jiaxue suppressed her surging rebellious urge and carefully recalled the contents of the book.
The original novel was a cultivation story titled After They Died, I Went Crazy. The female lead was named Yu Xue, sharing two characters with Yu Jiaxue’s own name. This subtle sense of deja vu had prompted Yu Jiaxue to skim through a few pages in her spare time.
The original book went through countless breakups and reconciliations spanning several hundred chapters. Yu Jiaxue lacked the patience to read it chapter by chapter, so she skipped ahead a few times to get the general idea.
In short, the female lead, Yu Xue, had entanglements with many men and was framed by various women. In the end, both the men and women were angered to death by her, causing her to go crazy.
Yu Jiaxue had a general understanding of the situation.
That thing just now demanded that she “must strictly follow the trajectory in the book.” That was actually quite simple.
Yu Jiaxue considered herself a low-key and kind-hearted person. As a newcomer, she had no desire to stand out. Although the System’s electronic voice sounded rather unpleasant and its service attitude left much to be desired, she was easygoing and understanding, with absolutely no intention of rebelling.
Well, maybe just a tiny bit at the very end.
Since the original book was titled After They Died, I Went Crazy, all she needed to do was wait for these men and women to die off while ensuring she stayed calm and composed, avoiding “going crazy” at all costs.
She only intended to make a subtle tweak regarding that final detail about “going crazy.”
Having sorted everything out, Yu Jiaxue thoughtfully shifted her gaze away from Ye Jingtian and turned toward Yu Wan’er, who was standing nearby in a charming yellow dress.
Yu Wan’er, one of the vicious female supporting characters in the original book.
Her sole purpose was to repeatedly frame the female lead through various schemes, including but not limited to false accusations, drugging, and hiring crowds to orchestrate attacks against her.
Yu Jiaxue narrowed her eyes.
Hmm, according to the original book, once they are all dead, the story reaches its climax. After that, I just need to endure without going crazy…
And I’ll never have to worry about being bound by the so-called plot again!
Awesome!
The more Yu Jiaxue thought about it, the more logical it felt. She could not help nodding with gentle malice toward Yu Wan’er.
—I’ll start with you!
Yu Wan’er felt a chill run down her spine.
For a brief second, she even felt that her cousin—who had always been submissive in the past—could calmly raise a sword without a single scream or tear, effortlessly thrusting the blade directly at her—
But how could that be possible?
No way,Yu Wan’er reassured herself.
Yu Xue is timid and introverted. Forget thrusting a sword at me, she probably can’t even hold one steady.
The current situation left her no time to overthink. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yu Wan’er felt extremely uncomfortable having her hand held by Ye Jingtian. Unable to shake him off, she glanced out of the corner of her eye toward Elder Zhang.
Facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, Yu Wan’er maintained her composure. After bowing respectfully to her elder, she spoke to Elder Zhang in a gentle tone, “This time, I dodged in time and suffered no harm. I wonder if Elder could extend some leniency toward my younger sister, considering my consistent adherence to the rules?”
In the span of a single sentence, everyone’s attention instantly shifted back to Yu Jiaxue.
Indeed, no matter how impressive that sword strike had been earlier, Miss Yu Xue possessed low aptitude and a narrow mind.
Instead of focusing on her cultivation, she attempted to push her own sister into the river. Such a wicked heart.
Someone murmured in the crowd, “With such a malicious nature, even if the Sect Master makes an exception to let her join the Sword Sect, she will hardly make any progress on the immortal path.”
Elder Zhang glanced at the crowd without stopping the gossip. His eyes swept around before finally settling on Yu Wan’er.
He was advanced in age and could not be bothered with the petty grievances of the younger generation.
If they wanted to make a scene or scheme against each other, they could rely on their own abilities. However, violating the sect rules was strictly forbidden.
He had observed for a while earlier and found nothing unusual about Yu Xue.
That sword strike was likely just a coincidence.
In that case, he could deliver the punishment.
Elder Zhang said, “Injuring someone with a sword without cause in our Wushang Sword Sect, disregarding sect rules, and attempting to stir up strife—”
“Yu Xueji, what is the meaning of this?”
?!
What kind of ridiculous title was that?!
(T/N: While adding “姬” (*jī*) to a name was traditionally an ancient, overly dramatic way to address a noblewoman as “Lady Yu Xue,” it sounds completely ridiculous to a modern person because the word jī is phonetically identical to the Chinese word for “chicken” (鸡) and is a well-known pun for KFC (Kěn Dé Jī). So, while Elder Zhang thought he was sounding regal and imposing, the main character felt like he was grandly calling her a piece of fried chicken in a cringey, outdated soap opera.)
Yu Jiaxue had just regained her senses, intending to wait and see what this respectable elder had to say, only to be utterly shocked by the title “Yu Xueji.”
Help!
Save me!
She really should not have held any expectations for this ridiculous world!
To be honest, Yu Jiaxue would rather have those people call her “Ken Deji” and ask her to send 50 dollars so they could rescue an archangel sent into an oven by a blackened old man for growing twelve wings, rather than struggle to survive in this feudal-flavored immortal palace drama!
Yu Jiaxue could not help wondering whether these cultivators, whose brains were wrapped in foot-binding cloths, could truly attain immortality.
And then what? Go to Heaven to put on a motherly devotion show?
The shock brought by the phrase “Yu Xueji” was so intense that Yu Jiaxue was thoroughly stunned, taking a few seconds before slowly speaking up.
“I do not know either. What does Elder mean by that?”
Elder Zhang frowned. Before he could speak, an impatient disciple pointed at her in righteous indignation, “What is there that you don’t understand? It’s obvious that you were jealous and deliberately framed Senior Sister Wan’er! If Senior Sister hadn’t reacted in time, she would have been pushed into the water long ago!”
Yu Jiaxue turned her head to look at the disciple who spoke. Seeing him constantly glancing at Yu Wan’er with an eager, boastful look of expectation, she immediately understood.
Aha, looks like this Miss Yu Wan’er has quite a few admirers.
Not just him; several surrounding disciples were also casting accusatory glares at Yu Jiaxue, with a few quietly chiming in.
“Junior Sister Yu Xue, did you really do this?”
“Junior Sister Yu Xue, I believe you were just confused for a moment. Apologize to Senior Sister Wan’er, and this matter will pass.”
“Are we sure she did it?”
“Not her? What proof does she have? I think she harbor malicious intent and tried to replace Senior Sister Wan’er!”
“She usually seemed so honest and well-behaved. You really can’t judge a book by its cover!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, this matter is far from simple! Think about it carefully.”
As discussions raged around her, Yu Jiaxue maintained a calm expression, showing not a hint of shame or anger.
These people simply wanted to force her into a trap of self-justification, but the truth did not matter to them.
They had already reached their own conclusions.
Yu Jiaxue was long accustomed to such tactics.
If this were the former Yu Xue, she might have shouted at the top of her lungs, desperately defending herself. But standing here now was Yu Jiaxue.
If the name “Yu Xue” sounded poetic and tragic, evoking images of cold evening rain and white snow signaling the end of early spring, then the name “Yu Jiaxue” sounded like lightning and thunder, a sudden storm, just like Yu Jiaxue herself—
A wild husky running free, ready to crash right into you.
Yu Jiaxue narrowed her eyes, calculated the distance in her mind, and suddenly burst forward with lightning speed.
She chopped her hand down like a blade toward Yu Wan’er’s neck. It so happened that Yu Wan’er had stepped away to avoid Ye Jingtian’s touch earlier, leaving Ye Jingtian no time to come to her rescue.
However, Yu Wan’er possessed cultivation at the Qi Refining stage. Even though she had deliberately drained most of her spiritual energy to frame Yu Jiaxue earlier, she was still much stronger than an ordinary person. Struck by Yu Jiaxue’s chop, she swayed slightly before stabilizing her footing.
As if catching hold of an advantage, Yu Wan’er eagerly turned back before even regaining her balance, speaking to Yu Jiaxue, “Sister, you really do hate me, I—”
Right now!
Yu Jiaxue delivered a flying kick. Ye Jingtian, watching from the side, showed a look of disdain.
Heh, Wan’er was only slightly flustered the first time because she was caught off guard.
Now it’s the second time. Does she think such a sneak attack will work again?
After thinking it over, Ye Jingtian withdrew his spiritual energy, deciding not to interfere.
Wan’er had always been self-reliant and disliked others meddling in her affairs. Besides, dealing with a mere Yu Xue, who had just drawn Qi into her body, would be no trouble at all.
Not just Ye Jingtian, everyone present thought the same way.
Including Yu Wan’er herself.
Seeing Yu Jiaxue strike a second time, she let out a smile filled with a victor’s contempt.
In that brief instant, several ideas flashed through Yu Wan’er’s mind on how to gracefully leap, spin a few times in the air, and land in the most beautiful posture—
Before Yu Wan’er could execute her plan, a sudden, fierce pain struck her lower back.
Hit by an immense force, her mind went completely blank. Before she could land in the beautiful posture she had envisioned, she went flying—flying—
She flew out?!
Yu Wan’er looked completely dazed, failing to realize what had happened until she traced a perfect arc through the air and splashed into the water.
Not just her; everyone on the shore stared at the scene in absolute bewilderment.
Was the creature that sneaked over in three quick steps, bent down to sprint to Senior Sister Wan’er’s landing spot before she hit the ground, and violently launched her into the air with a headbutt… truly the soft-spoken Yu Xue who always kept her head down?!
Even Elder Zhang could no longer maintain his profound demeanor. His eyes widened so far they nearly popped out of their sockets, and his finger trembled as he pointed at Yu Jiaxue.
“You you you you you! What did you do?!”
Yu Jiaxue looked puzzled, “Huh? You didn’t understand?”
Perhaps the story characters had a delay in their thinking process.
At that thought, Yu Jiaxue nodded in realization and explained earnestly, “I headbutted her into the water.”
Elder Zhang, “…”
Is that what I asked!
Forget it, don’t get angry, don’t get angry. She’s acting so arrogant; maybe she has someone backing her.
Elder Zhang stopped the short-tempered Ye Jingtian and sighed, looking as if he had aged a hundred years, “Then why did you… uh, why did you ‘headbutt’ her out?”
“To prove it to you all,” Yu Jiaxue said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She acted so completely justified, as if all of this were perfectly normal.
Even Ye Jingtian was confused by her attitude, dropping his raised hand, “What do you want to prove to us?!”
Yu Jiaxue raised her eyelids, curling up one side of her mouth into an obvious smile.
“Didn’t she just say she dodged in time?”
“So I want to prove that when I want to knock someone into the water, no one can dodge it!”
Ye Jingtian, “?”
Elder Zhang, “??”
The watching disciples, “???”
By the Nine Nether True Lord above, what kind of ridiculous logic was this?
“Uh, come to think of it,” a young disciple murmured after pondering it a few times, tugging at his senior brother’s sleeve in confusion, “I feel like what she said makes a lot of sense!”
The senior brother beside him turned with a rigid face and slapped him, “Don’t analyze everything so carefully!”
[???!!!]
[This System just went back to submit a retirement plan, what on earth did you do?!]
Listening to the near-collapsing electronic voice in her head, Yu Jiaxue answered without blinking, “Didn’t you say ‘must strictly follow the trajectory in the book to maintain the orderly development of this world’?”
[And did you maintain it?!]
“I did!” Yu Jiaxue said righteously, “Look, since this book is called After They Died, I Went Crazy, the main point is that they have to die first, right?”
[…]
[……]
[……………………]
Silence.
A long silence.
It lasted so long that the unconscious Yu Wan’er was rescued and her clothes dried with spiritual energy before the electronic voice in her head spoke up waveringly.
[Is there a possibility, I mean just a possibility…]
[That the title of this book is After I Died, They Went Crazy?]
“…”
Yu Jiaxue pondered for a few seconds and offered comfort, “Actually, it’s pretty much the same!”
“Look, now I am alive and well, and aren’t they about to go crazy too?”
“Hey, speaking of which, I even overachieved the task! Aren’t I amazing!”
The more Yu Jiaxue spoke, the more confident she became.
Feeling entirely in the right, her eyes sparkled bright as she glowed with self-assurance in her heart, “System, you need to pay me extra for this!”
[…]
[Pay you extra my foot, get out of here, you host!!]
