Strategy to Conquer the Vicious Female Supporting Character [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 1

“Wife, the weather is really nice today.” Qi Lin sat by the hospital bed, holding the hand of Ji Huaixu that wasn’t hooked up to an IV, smiling as she spoke. “The Chinese scholar tree downstairs has bloomed — the one you especially like. It smells really nice. Once you’re better, let’s go see it together.”

The woman lying on the hospital bed had delicate features. Her eyes were closed, as if she were asleep, completely motionless.

Qi Lin tucked the blanket around her a little tighter and continued smiling. “You really have to get better soon. The scholar tree doesn’t bloom for long. If we miss it, we’ll have to wait until next year.”

Still, there was no response from Ji Huaixu.

“Speaking of which, you getting sick actually made your parents more accepting of me.” Qi Lin looked at her, smiling with a hint of teasing. “Look, even your parents were touched by how I’ve been taking care of you. Once you’re better, you really need to repay me properly, you know.”

Qi Lin had come out to her family as soon as she realized her orientation back in middle school. Her parents were relatively open-minded — while it was hard for them to accept at first, they eventually came to terms with it over the years. When their daughter brought Ji Huaixu home to meet them, they were quite satisfied with this quiet and thoughtful girl.

Ji Huaixu’s parents, on the other hand, were more conservative. At the worst of it, they didn’t even allow their daughter to enter the house. But over the past year, though they still wouldn’t admit it out loud, their attitude had softened significantly. They even started hinting to Qi Lin that maybe the two of them should hold a wedding banquet in the future.

Yes, a year.

It had already been a full year since Ji Huaixu was in a car accident and fell into a coma.

When Qi Lin got the call back then, she almost lost her mind. She dropped several crucial meetings at her company and rushed to the hospital as fast as she could. Over the past year, from when Ji Huaixu was in critical condition to now being stable, Qi Lin had personally taken care of her the entire time. To say she hadn’t left her side wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.

Qi Lin often had to bring stacks of paperwork to the hospital room, handling company matters while listening to the repeated critical condition notices for her lover — earning money for treatment while enduring unimaginable emotional and physical exhaustion.

During the hardest days, that once radiant and confident Qi Lin had been worn down until she was a shell of her former self — despair and weariness radiated from her inside and out.

Even so, Qi Lin never once thought of giving up.

Even when many friends and family advised her to stop putting herself through this.

Even when the doctors gently tried to dissuade her from holding on.

But she didn’t stop.

She was still waiting for Ji Huaixu to wake up.

She still wanted to hold a wedding just for the two of them.

True love revealed through hardship was rare. No matter how cold and hard-hearted Ji’s parents had been, seeing how unwavering Qi Lin was in caring for their daughter moved them in the end.

Qi Lin kept talking to Ji Huaixu at her bedside about little things in their lives, deliberately leaving out all the unpleasantness, only choosing beautiful, amusing stories to share — but it was becoming harder and harder for her to keep smiling.

Qi Lin looked deeply at her lover, who looked like she was only sleeping. She lowered her gaze and gently kissed her pale lips.

“Wife…”

“One year, three hundred and sixty days, eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours, thirty-one million five hundred and thirty-six thousand seconds…”

“Why haven’t you woken up to look at me yet…”

Qi Lin’s voice had gone hoarse, choked with tears she tried to hold back.

But tears don’t know how to hide. They slipped from the corners of her eyes.

Drip — a tear landed on Ji Huaixu’s face.

[Ding——]

A sharp, jarring electronic voice suddenly rang out in Qi Lin’s mind.

[Scanning prospective host’s physical fitness… Scanning prospective host’s mental strength… Scanning prospective host’s task compatibility…]

As a young person from the 21st century, Qi Lin had read plenty of web novels. From initial shock to immediate vigilance, she quickly formed a bold hypothesis.

A hypothesis… that might just save her lover.

Qi Lin’s grip on Ji Huaixu’s hand tightened slightly.

[Ding. All prospective host metrics have been analyzed. Physical fitness: A. Mental strength: S. Task compatibility: SS. Overall rating: <’outstanding aptitude’>.]

Qi Lin began trying to communicate with what was most likely a system, “Since my stats are so great, why not just drop the ‘prospective’ from prospective host?”

Perhaps because it had never encountered such a proactive prospective host before, the system let out a stuttering electronic noise.

Qi Lin continued, “I don’t know what kind of system you are, but I have three conditions.
First, heal my wife completely, no exceptions.
Second, once I finish the task you give me, I must be allowed to return and live my life with her.
Third, while I’m away, time must either stop or pass extremely slowly in the world where I was born and raised, for everyone and everything else.”

“As long as you can meet these three conditions, I don’t care what the task is — I’ll do it.”

“That’s it. You probably already have all my data, and I assume you have some kind of code or designation. So — how should I address you?”

[System: ……]

Was this prospective host… kind of badass?

Oh right, according to the data, this prospective host was a self-made woman, a young female CEO already capable of shaking up the business world…

[System: My designation is 403. Thank you, Host, for agreeing to form a contract. I can fulfill all three of your conditions. I look forward to working with you.]

Qi Lin nodded. “Thanks. Likewise. So, what’s my task?”

System 403, who had previously worked with many hosts, silently shed tears inside. It had never met such a high-efficiency host before! Why did it feel kind of unnecessary for once?

Still, explanations had to be delivered properly. That was the basic professionalism of any intelligent system! 403 secretly adjusted its voice data to sound a little colder and more aloof, putting on the airs of a keynote speaker at a system awards conference.

[403: With the advancement of society, people’s ideologies and values are constantly evolving. Even for novels — one of daily life’s major sources of entertainment — there are increasingly modern expectations.]

Qi Lin: “……”

Why did this sound like a news broadcast?

[403: Many once-popular plots are no longer suitable today, even drawing more and more criticism. For example, those melodramatic abusive romances where the fragile heroine suffers endless humiliation and mistreatment from the male lead, yet somehow still ends up in a so-called happy ending with that scumbag. This system’s duty is to select a host to enter these novel worlds, play the heroine’s role, and rewrite the plot into something that fits modern readers’ tastes — where the heroine becomes independent and strong, and stays far away from the scumbag.]

Qi Lin: “Hold on. Female lead and male lead? These worlds are all romance novels?”

[403: Yes, Host.]

Qi Lin: “Why the hell would you pick me, a lesbian for romance novels?”

[403: In the worlds under this system’s jurisdiction, gender-swapped transmigration is not allowed. If we recruited a woman who’s fine with heterosexual romance, she could easily get swept away by the plot and fail to properly complete the task. After all, these scumbag male leads are all incredibly handsome, and almost no human can completely ignore good looks. Not to mention, there are also plenty of attractive supporting male characters to choose from.]

[403: But if we select a host like you, who only accepts yuri routes, then we can drastically reduce the interference of all those handsome men — greatly improving both the quality and efficiency of mission completion.]

Qi Lin: “…”

…I really can’t argue with that.

“Alright.” Qi Lin nodded. She rose and glanced at Ji Huaixu, lying quietly on the bed. She gently placed their clasped hands over Ji Huaixu’s heart, then leaned down to kiss her once more.

“Wife, wait for me to come back.”

Then, Qi Lin let go of her hand and carefully tucked the blanket around Ji Huaixu again.

Qi Lin turned around: “Let’s go.”

The determination and fighting spirit in her eyes were so fierce that even 403 couldn’t help being shaken.

This host… really is extraordinary!

[403: Yes, Host!]

[403: “Rescue the Delicate White Lotus¹ Heroine” mission series, module activated.]

[403: Loading the first novel world…]