The Heartthrob Halo Doesn't Work on the Villain - Chapter 1

As one of the many ordinary people in society, Lin Yan worked tirelessly from nine to infinity every day. In her rare moments of leisure, she enjoyed reading novels, especially those featuring sweet, affectionate interactions between female characters, which always left her feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Just like any other day, after returning home exhausted, Lin Yan opened a certain green app, ready to browse for new and interesting books. She clicked on an ABO novel, but before she could even finish a few chapters, she drifted off to sleep.

In her hazy slumber, she kept hearing someone calling her name, and her head throbbed dully. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar setting.

Ding! Ultimate Charmer System 555 successfully bound.

Ignoring the strange voice, Lin Yan glanced around. It was clearly a high school classroom, and the person at the podium was still persistently calling her name.

This must be a dream… a nightmare, at that.

Lin Yan swallowed hard, mentally running through various methods to quickly wake herself up. In the end, she decided on a swift solution: she slapped herself twice.

After two slaps, her face was only slightly swollen, and the scene before her remained unchanged.

Perhaps I didn’t hit hard enough? As Lin Yan prepared to slap herself again, the students who had been staring at her in stunned silence and the mysterious bracelet on her wrist simultaneously intervened.

Host, please cease self-harm.

“Lin Yan, if you can’t answer the question, just sit down and pay attention to the lecture. You can’t threaten the teacher with self-harm.”

The fact that she had forced the rigid old scholar at the podium to say such a thing sent the class into an uproar of laughter.

Lin Yan vaguely understood what they were laughing at, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile. Instead, she felt like crying.

Someone explain what’s going on!

Just as she thought this, the transparent bracelet on her wrist suddenly lit up. The world seemed to freeze in place—the rustling of pages, the teacher’s lecture, even the scribbling of notes all stopped. The strange voice she had heard twice before reappeared.

Welcome, Host, to Book World #10001. As your exclusive Most Popular System 555, I will assist you in completing missions within this Small World for the foreseeable future.

Listening to this bizarre entity spout incomprehensible jargon, Lin Yan remained silent, but one thing was now crystal clear: she had transmigrated.

After reading countless novels over the years, Lin Yan never imagined such a thing would happen to her. Yet, hidden within the System’s words were crucial keywords.

“Most Popular?”

Considering the difficulty of the Host completing missions alone, I will bind you with the All-Encompassing Charm Halo. With this halo, people near you will gradually develop positive feelings toward you, their guard will lower, and mission completion will become easier.

That sounded promising.

But since her arrival, this self-proclaimed System had repeatedly mentioned “missions.”

“What kind of missions are you talking about?” Lin Yan asked.

Now that Lin Yan had asked, 555 provided a concise overview of the Small World’s basic information and her required missions.

This Small World differed from Lin Yan’s Original World in several ways. Beyond the primary sexual characteristics, individuals here underwent secondary sexual differentiation at a specific age, resulting in three distinct categories: Alpha, Omega, and Beta.

The female lead of this Small World was named Xia Qiyu. She grew up in an orphanage and was later adopted by a childless teacher couple. The main plotline followed Xia Qiyu’s journey from childhood to adulthood, working diligently and studying hard. After graduating from junior high with a scholarship, she attended Hai City First High School, where she was classmates with another female lead for three years. She eventually gained admission to Capital University and was later scouted by a talent agent. After several years of struggling in the entertainment industry, she established her own private studio, which grew into a major success. On the night she won the Triple Gold Best Actress award, she announced her relationship. Despite facing numerous setbacks along the way, she ultimately achieved both romantic and professional success, making it an inspiring love story.

This seemingly perfect narrative was shattered by the sudden emergence of the world’s greatest villain, Lou Yubing. Due to the Small World’s instability, this supporting character, who should have been written out midway through the plot, inexplicably remained. In the end, the female lead’s company went bankrupt, her acting career collapsed entirely, and she leaped to her death from the 28th floor. Even her family and friends fell victim to Lou Yubing’s malice.

The host’s mission is to ensure the female lead follows her designated plotline, prevent the main villain’s severe darkening from disrupting the world, and ultimately achieve the small world’s original ending.

“Hiss—”

The plot sounded remarkably similar to the novel Lin Yan had been reading before bed. She had often wondered if the other side of the story might be a parallel world, and now she was actually experiencing it firsthand.

“Is that all?”

Secretly, Lin Yan had hoped this seemingly unreliable system would provide a detailed script, allowing her to study it thoroughly and understand both her allies and enemies, ensuring victory in every battle. But reality was far more skeletal than her idealistic expectations.

The basic plot is all that’s available for now. Detailed information will be transmitted to the host shortly. Main plot points can only be unlocked in advance by encountering plot-relevant characters. Please hurry, host, and focus on redeeming the villain while maintaining a normal Darkening Index.

At this point, Lin Yan’s lips twitched, and three black lines seemed to materialize on her forehead.

“What happens if I don’t complete the mission?”

After she asked this, the incessant voice suddenly fell silent for a long time, then adopted an unusually cheerful tone.

Upon inquiry, since the Host’s Spiritual Body in the Original World has already perished, failure in the Small World mission will result in annihilation within the Three Thousand Worlds.

Annihilation? She had only ever encountered that word in novels.

Wait, she’s dead? How did she die?!

“I… I was just sleeping, wasn’t I?”

According to the Bureau’s Information Database, the Host’s Spiritual Body in the Original World died from sudden cardiac arrest caused by overwork. Cherish life and stay away from 996 work schedules.

Hearing this, Lin Yan felt a sudden pang of melancholy, but it quickly passed. After all, she had no parents, few friends, and even in death, only a handful of people would truly grieve.

The real problem was—she hadn’t even spent all the money she’d earned! What a waste!

As Lin Yan was still stewing in frustration, a “ding” sounded in her mind.

Initial plot transmission complete. Plotline integration complete. Small World activated and operational.

The moment these words faded, Lin Yan felt a flood of fragmented information entering her mind—scattered, incomplete snippets. Around her, sounds began to stir again.

Lin Yan glanced at the chalkboard covered in mathematical formulas that looked like demonic scribbles, then at the textbook, which didn’t seem to be written in Chinese. She immediately understood: the version of herself in this world had a brain utterly unsuited for mathematics.

Her gaze swept sideways. As a devoted “Face Hound,” she had only caught a glimpse of her deskmate before her eyes became utterly fixed.

Being deskmates with someone like this must be the luck of three lifetimes, Lin Yan thought, her eyes lingering greedily on the person beside her. Their skin was as pale as snow, their eyes like starry rivers, and their flawless face resembled a piece of pristine jade. The sharp jawline, combined with the flutter of long, curled eyelashes—perhaps because they were focused on their book—and the slightly pursed, thin lips, radiated an aura of untouchable aloofness. Their posture was perfectly straight and upright, exuding a sense of proud isolation and sharp intelligence. The entire person emanated an intense sense of detachment, exactly like the Cold Beauty described in romance novels.

And her own face…

Through the small round mirror standing on her desk, Lin Yan had already noticed that her appearance in this world was identical to her original self—simply ten years younger, with a touch of youthful innocence. Her lips were rosy, her teeth pearly white, a classic Jiangnan beauty.

Lin Yan had always been quite satisfied with her face. Initially, she’d worried about needing to adjust to this new world, but it seemed that wouldn’t be necessary.

Noticing Lin Yan’s intense gaze, Lou Yubing turned her head and met her eyes. For some reason, in that single glance, Lin Yan immediately sensed an overwhelming sense of loathing.

At first, she dismissed it as her imagination. But when her deskmate swiftly scribbled a note and passed it to her, she reluctantly averted her gaze.

The clean, slightly torn note contained only two words:

Are you sick?

Before Lin Yan could even complain about how rude high school students had become these days, the transparent bracelet on her wrist flashed twice.

System detected target. Unlocking middle school plotline. Successfully bound target to Host: Lou Yubing. Loading information…

Key Metrics: Favorability -99, Darkening Index 0%.

What?! The person she’d been staring at for so long was the future villain who would drive the Female Lead—the one with the All-Encompassing Charm Halo—to such a tragic end!

And a negative favorability score?

Given the way Lou Yubing had looked like she wanted to kill her just now, Lin Yan wondered if she might just drop dead on the street one day…

Before she could dwell further on this, a sudden throbbing pain erupted in her head, and a flood of additional information surged through her mind.

Unknown origins. Raised in an orphanage in Hai City. Due to exceptional academic performance, she received sponsorship from the Chairman of the Lin Group and is currently a second-year student in Class 1 at Hai City First High School. She has a withdrawn personality and is difficult to approach.

Lin Yan initially paid little attention to this information. But after it rolled through her mind several times, she suddenly noticed something amiss.

“The Chairman of the Lin Group? Could that be related to me?!”

Compared to Lin Yan’s shock, 555 remained remarkably calm.

Yes, Host. The identity the Bureau has created for you in this world is that of the daughter of Hai City’s current wealthiest man.

“Wealthiest man?”

Lin Yan’s spirits instantly lifted at those two words. Fortunately, others couldn’t hear her conversations with 555; they would only see her inexplicably spacing out. Otherwise, they’d think she was overreacting to something.

But the next moment, 555 doused her with a bucket of ice water.

Host, please don’t be overly optimistic. According to the plotline, the Lin Group will go bankrupt in six months. Key personnel will be imprisoned, the Lin Family’s assets will be seized, and you, burdened by massive debts, will be forced into the red-light district. Therefore, please prepare yourself thoroughly to face these challenges.

???

Was this a joke? They expected a high school student to handle such a monumental crisis?

As one of the many ordinary people in society, Lin Yan worked tirelessly from nine to infinity, day in and day out. In her rare moments of leisure, she loved reading novels, especially those featuring sweet, affectionate interactions between girls, which always left her feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Just like any other day, after returning home exhausted from work, Lin Yan opened a certain green app, ready to browse for new and interesting books. She clicked on an ABO novel, but before she could even finish a few chapters, she drifted off to sleep.

In her hazy slumber, she kept hearing someone calling her name, and her head throbbed dully. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar setting.

Ding! Most Popular System 555 successfully bound.

Ignoring the strange voice, Lin Yan glanced around. It was clearly a high school classroom, and the person at the podium was still persistently calling her name.

This must be a dream… a nightmare, even.

Lin Yan swallowed hard, mentally cycling through various methods to quickly wake herself up. She ultimately decided to take decisive action and slapped herself twice.

But after the two slaps, apart from her cheeks stinging and swelling slightly, the scene before her remained unchanged.

Perhaps I didn’t hit myself hard enough? As Lin Yan prepared to slap herself again, the students in front of the podium, who had been stunned into silence, and a mysterious bracelet that had suddenly appeared on her wrist spoke in unison, stopping her.

Please refrain from self-harm, Host.

“Lin Yan, if you can’t answer the question, just sit down and listen attentively. You can’t threaten the teacher with self-harm.”

The fact that the rigid old scholar on the podium had been forced to say such words sent the entire class into an uproar of laughter.

Lin Yan could roughly understand what they were laughing at, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile. In fact, she felt like crying.

Someone explain what’s going on!

Just as she thought this, the transparent bracelet on her wrist suddenly lit up. The world seemed to freeze in place—the rustling of pages, the teacher’s lecture, even the scratching of pens taking notes all stopped. Then, the strange voice she had heard twice before spoke again.

Welcome, Host, to Book World #10001. As your exclusive Most Popular System 555, I will assist you in completing the Small World’s missions for the foreseeable future.

Hearing this bizarre entity spout incomprehensible words, Lin Yan remained silent, but one thing was now crystal clear: she had transmigrated.

After reading novels for so many years, Lin Yan never imagined such a thing would happen to her. Yet, buried within the entity’s rambling were key terms.

“Most Popular?”

Given the difficulty of the Host completing missions alone, I will bind you with the All-Encompassing Charm Halo. With this halo, people near you will gradually develop positive feelings toward you, their guard will lower, and mission completion will become easier.

That sounded promising.

But since her arrival, this self-proclaimed System had repeatedly mentioned “missions.”

“What kind of missions are you talking about?” Lin Yan finally asked.

At her question, 555 provided a brief overview of the Small World’s basic information and the missions she needed to complete.

This Small World differed from Lin Yan’s Original World in several ways. Beyond the distinction of primary sexual characteristics, individuals here underwent secondary sexual differentiation at a specific time after adulthood, resulting in three categories: Alpha, Omega, and Beta.

The female lead of this Small World was named Xia Qiyu. She grew up in an orphanage and was later adopted by a childless teacher couple. The main plotline follows Xia Qiyu’s journey from childhood to adulthood, marked by hard work and academic excellence. After graduating from junior high with a scholarship, she attended Hai City First High School, where she was classmates with another female lead for three years. She eventually gained admission to Capital University and was later discovered by a talent scout. After years of struggling in the entertainment industry, she established her own private studio, which grew into a thriving enterprise. On the night she won the Triple Gold Best Actress award, she publicly announced her relationship. Despite facing numerous setbacks along the way, she ultimately achieved both romantic and professional success—a classic tale of perseverance and triumph.

This seemingly perfect story was shattered by the sudden emergence of the world’s greatest villain, Lou Yubing. Due to the Small World’s instability, this supporting character, who should have been written out midway through the plotline, inexplicably remained. In the end, the female lead’s company went bankrupt, her acting career collapsed entirely, and she leapt to her death from the 28th floor. Even her family and friends were not spared from Lou Yubing’s wrath.

The host’s mission is to ensure the female lead follows her designated plotline, prevent the main villain’s severe darkening from disrupting the world, and ultimately achieve the small world’s original ending.

“Hiss—”

This plotline bore a striking resemblance to the novel Lin Yan had read before falling asleep. She had often wondered if the other end of the story might be a parallel world, and now she was actually experiencing it firsthand.

“Is that all?”

Secretly, Lin Yan hoped this seemingly unreliable System would provide a detailed script, allowing her to thoroughly study it, understand her enemies, and ensure victory in every battle. But while her ideal was grand, reality was starkly bare.

The basic plotline is all that’s available. Detailed information will be transmitted to the host shortly. Main plot points can only be unlocked in advance by encountering plot-relevant characters. Please seize the opportunity to earnestly influence the villain and maintain their Darkening Index within normal limits.

Lin Yan’s lips twitched, and three black lines seemed to materialize on her forehead.

“What happens if I don’t complete the mission?”

After she asked this, the incessant voice suddenly fell silent for a long moment, then switched to an utterly cheerful tone.

Upon review, since the Host’s Spiritual Body in the Original World has already died, failure in the Small World mission will result in annihilation within the Three Thousand Worlds.

Annihilation? She’d only ever encountered that word in novels.

Wait, she’s dead? How did she die?!

“I… I was just sleeping, wasn’t I?”

According to the Bureau’s Information Database, the Host’s Spiritual Body died due to sudden cardiac arrest caused by overwork. Cherish life, stay away from 996.

Hearing this, Lin Yan felt a sudden pang of melancholy, though it quickly passed. After all, she had no parents, few friends, and even if she died, only a handful of people would truly grieve.

The real problem was—she hadn’t even spent all the money she’d earned! That felt a bit unfair.

As Lin Yan was still stewing in frustration, a “ding” sounded in her mind.

Initial plot transmission complete. Plotline fusion complete. Small World activation initiated.

The moment these words echoed, Lin Yan felt a flood of information pour into her mind—fragmented, scattered, and incomplete. Meanwhile, the surrounding sounds began to return.

She glanced at the math formulas scribbled on the blackboard, which looked like gibberish, and then at the textbook, which didn’t seem to be written in Chinese. It immediately dawned on her that her counterpart in this world had a brain “mathematically challenged.”

Lin Yan’s gaze drifted sideways. As a self-proclaimed “Face Hound,” she had only caught a glimpse of her deskmate, and her eyes were already glued to him.

Being deskmates with someone like this must be my luckiest lifetime, Lin Yan thought, her eyes lingering greedily on the person beside her. His skin was as fair as snow, his eyes like a starry river, and his flawless face resembled a piece of exquisite jade. His sharply defined jawline and the way he sat—straight and upright, radiating a sense of aloofness and sharpness—created an aura of intense detachment, just like the Cold Beauty described in novels.

And my own face…

Through the small round mirror standing on her desk, Lin Yan had already noticed that her counterpart in this world looked exactly like her original self—simply ten years younger, with a touch of youthful innocence. Her rosy lips and pearly white teeth gave her the classic charm of a Jiangnan beauty.

Lin Yan had always been quite satisfied with her appearance. Initially, she had worried about needing to adjust to this new world, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Noticing Lin Yan’s intense gaze, Lou Yubing turned her head and met her eyes. For some reason, in that single glance, Lin Yan immediately sensed an overwhelming sense of loathing.

At first, she dismissed it as her imagination. But when her deskmate swiftly scribbled a note and passed it to her, she reluctantly averted her gaze.

The clean, slightly torn note contained just two words:

Are you sick?

Before Lin Yan could even complain about how rude high school students had become these days, the transparent bracelet on her wrist flashed twice again.

System detected target. Unlocking middle school plotline. Successfully bound target, Lou Yubing, to Host. Loading information…

Key Metrics: Favorability -99, Darkening Index 0%.

What?! The person she had been staring at for so long was the future arch-villain who would drive the Female Lead—the one with the All-Encompassing Charm Halo—to such a miserable end!

And a negative favorability score?

Given how Lou Yubing had looked like she wanted to kill her just now, Lin Yan wondered if she might just drop dead on the street one day…

Before Lin Yan could dwell further on this, a sudden throbbing pain flared in her head, and a flood of additional information surged through her mind.

Unknown origins, raised in Hai City Orphanage. Due to exceptional academic performance, she received sponsorship from the Chairman of the Lin Group and is currently enrolled in Class 1 of the second year at Hai City First High School. She has a withdrawn personality and is difficult to approach.

Lin Yan initially paid little attention to this information. But after mentally reviewing it several times, she suddenly noticed something amiss.

“Chairman of the Lin Group? Could this be related to me?!”

Compared to Lin Yan’s shock, 555 remained remarkably calm.

Yes, Host. The identity the Bureau created for you in this world is that of the daughter of Hai City’s current wealthiest man.

“Wealthiest man?”

Lin Yan’s spirits instantly lifted at those two words. Fortunately, others couldn’t detect her conversations with 555; they would only see her inexplicably spacing out. Otherwise, they’d think she was overreacting.

But the next moment, 555 doused her with a bucket of ice water.

Host, please don’t be overly optimistic. According to the plotline, the Lin Group will declare bankruptcy in six months. Key personnel will be imprisoned, the Lin Family’s assets will be seized, and you, burdened by massive debts, will be forced into the red-light district. Therefore, Host, prepare yourself thoroughly to face these trials.

???

Was this a joke? Expecting a high school student to handle such a monumental crisis?