“What?! Everyone Except Me Is a Villain (GL) - Chapter 19

When Madam Liu pushed open Pei Fuliu’s door, Jin Buning was still taken aback.

The first thing that caught her eye was the overwhelming number of books shelves and stacks filling nearly every inch of the room. Pei Fuliu sat leisurely in her wheelchair, sipping coffee with her usual calm grace. Her clothes were impeccable, so proper that Jin Buning suddenly felt embarrassed for showing up in her pajamas.

Hearing the sound of the door, Pei Fuliu didn’t even lift her head. She simply said, in her cool tone,
“Sit down. I’ll be a while.”

Her attitude made it clear that books were far more important than people like Jin Buning.

Jin Buning obediently sat on the sofa without saying a word. Even Madam Liu stayed completely silent, so still that Jin Buning half-suspected she’d stopped breathing.

The only sound in the room was the quiet turning of pages. Jin Buning thought she could stay calm, but the longer the silence stretched, the more unbearable the waiting became—it felt endless, like time itself had slowed to a crawl.

Then, a light laugh broke the stillness.

Jin Buning instinctively turned toward the sound and saw Pei Fuliu smiling. It was the first genuine smile she’d seen from her it was beautiful, breathtaking even, yet fleeting like a bloom in the night.

Pei Fuliu closed her book. The cover was so garishly colorful that it made Jin Buning question her eyesight it looked exactly like the kind of romantic fiction popular with young girls. But this was Pei Fuliu. How could someone like her be reading something so frivolous?

Jin Buning forced herself not to think too much about it.

Madam Liu rolled Pei Fuliu closer, and Jin Buning stood up nervously, then awkwardly bent forward a little, unsure of the proper posture.

“Madam Pei,” she asked respectfully, “you called for me was there something you needed?”

Her tone carried all the politeness one would use with an elder or superior. People often attached stereotypes to words like “stepmother,” but Pei Fuliu was different. In Tiantang City, her name alone symbolized the ideal of womanhood: strong, elegant, and untouchable.

Jin Buning had grown up hearing stories about her, idolizing her even until Pei Fuliu married into the Zhen family. That was when the illusion shattered. Once Jin Buning saw what kind of people the Zhens really were, she stopped believing Pei Fuliu could be as noble as everyone said.

“Stand up straight.”

Pei Fuliu’s tone turned sharp, a subtle reprimand. Only then did Jin Buning realize her mistake her pajama top had a loose neckline, and by bending down she had probably exposed more than she should have. No wonder Pei Fuliu’s expression darkened.

System message:
Pei Fuliu’s favorabilit is  10. Current favorability: 0.

Jin Buning’s lips twitched. Of course. Her points with Pei Fuliu always dropped for the most random reasons.

Quickly, she buttoned up her uniform jacket to cover the pajamas underneath, keeping her posture steady polite, neutral, and definitely safe.

“Apologies, Madam. I only meant to speak to you at eye level. If it bothers you, I can go change and come back.”

Her tone was sincere. She knew that many disabled people were sensitive about being looked down upon; maintaining eye contact was a form of respect. Yet, despite her explanation, Pei Fuliu’s expression didn’t soften at all.

Maybe Pei Fuliu’s sense of aesthetics was offended by her, or maybe her definition of “favorability” just followed a completely different logic.

“No need,” Pei Fuliu said coolly. “We don’t have that kind of time. Our guest will arrive soon.”

With that, she pressed a button on her wheelchair.

A soft mechanical hum followed. The bookshelf beside her began to move, revealing a hidden door behind it. A secret passage, complete with customized rails designed specifically for her wheelchair.

Jin Buning froze.

She wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen anything. Every time she died in this strange world, it was because she’d accidentally stumbled upon some secret she shouldn’t have known. And now, Pei Fuliu had shown her one.

And it was the middle of the night.

Her scalp tingled. Was this it? Was she about to die again?

“Come.”

Pei Fuliu’s calm voice cut through her panic. Jin Buning stayed rooted to the spot. Madam Liu didn’t move to help this time; her cold eyes seemed to say the task was now Jin Buning’s responsibility.

The air grew heavier.

When Jin Buning hesitated, Madam Liu quietly stepped in front of the door—blocking the only exit. Her posture was firm, her gaze glacial, as if she were already staring at a corpse.

“…I’ll come,” Jin Buning whispered, taking a deep breath.

Pei Fuliu maneuvered her chair onto the track, clearly used to it. The mechanism carried her forward, and Jin Buning followed on foot, matching her pace.

The passage was longer than expected, straight and narrow, stretching endlessly ahead. After a while, Jin Buning realized they’d already passed beyond the boundaries of the Zhen family estate. The “main house” was evidently much larger than anyone knew.

But the more she followed Pei Fuliu, the more she realized how little she actually understood her.

“Are you tired?” Pei Fuliu asked suddenly, about ten minutes in.

The question startled her. She was tired, but the moment Pei Fuliu spoke, adrenaline kicked in.

“Not at all,” she replied quickly.

“Good. Then keep going.”

Pei Fuliu’s voice carried a hint of amusement. Whether it was genuine or mocking, Jin Buning couldn’t tell in the darkness.

Her nerves were stretched taut. Every step echoed in her chest. Yet she reminded herself—if Pei Fuliu truly meant to kill her, she wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble.

She repeated that thought over and over until, at last, a large door appeared ahead.

Pei Fuliu stopped. The mechanism lowered her wheelchair gently to the ground. The door, sensing her approach, opened automatically with a hiss.

The lights flickered on revealing a space that looked eerily like a laboratory.

Jin Buning’s stomach twisted.

She wanted to ask what this place was, but Pei Fuliu didn’t explain, simply wheeling herself inside. The room was cold and sterile, lined with equipment and covered objects. It reminded Jin Buning of the kind of lab where mad scientists conducted human experiments.

The Zhen family was built on the medical industry they owned pharmacies, hospitals, even cosmetic clinics. But this… this didn’t look like anything related to medicine. There were organs preserved in jars.

Jin Buning’s gaze darted toward Pei Fuliu’s legs. Her imagination ran wild. Could she be experimenting on humans to fix her own body? Is this her secret lab?

And if so… did that mean she was the next test subject?

Her breathing quickened. She forced herself to look around for possible exits. If death was inevitable, she’d at least try to delay it.

“Scared?” Pei Fuliu asked suddenly, turning slightly. Her tone softened, almost fond. “This is my studio.”

Her voice carried a strange warmth, pride even as if she found comfort in this eerie place.

Jin Buning couldn’t even pretend to smile. Her face had gone pale. Subtly, she reached out and grabbed a slender screwdriver from a nearby table something to hold onto, something to use if she needed to.

Pei Fuliu pretended not to notice. She stopped beside a large, cloth-covered object.

“Go ahead. Take a look.”

The object was about human-sized.

Jin Buning hesitated, then murmured an agreement. She discreetly slipped the screwdriver into her pocket and pulled the black cloth away.

And froze.

There was a man inside.

His eyes were wide open, staring straight at her in disbelief. He couldn’t speak, but the hatred burning in his gaze was unmistakabl,e pure venom, as if he wanted to tear her apart.

Jin Buning recognized him instantly.

They’d met earlier that day at noon, when she’d publicly declared that she would ruin his family. And now, his family really had gone bankrupt… and he was here.

Her mind stalled for a moment, trying to process it. Then, a horrifying thought struck her.

“Was it him? Did he hire someone to kill me?”

The name Crow Organization flashed through her memory an infamous network of killers who’d take any job for the right price. It made sense. If he hated her enough, he might have done it.

Pei Fuliu’s lips curved into a small smile. “Clever girl, Ning-Ning. Go on guess how much he paid for your head.”

Favorability +10%. Current favorability: 10%.

That seemed to be her limit.

Jin Buning forced a shaky laugh. “One million? No, wait… I am the Zhen family’s precious daughter. At least ten million, right?”

She wasn’t joking. She was genuinely calculating her market value. Without her status, her life probably wasn’t even worth a hundred thousand. But as a Zhen heiress, maybe just maybe she could be worth ten million to kill.

Pei Fuliu chuckled softly. “Your self-estimation is way off, Ning-Ning. He spent one hundred million.”

Jin Buning’s eyes widened. She sucked in a sharp breath.

“One hundred… million?! That’s impossible! He doesn’t have that kind of money! And those organizations don’t require advance payment?”

At that point, her shock wasn’t even about the assassination, it was about where he got the money.

The more Pei Fuliu explained, the clearer the picture became, yet the less sense it made.

Until suddenly it clicked.

“Wait… is this because of Lord Baili?”

She remembered what Teacher Dong had once sai,d anyone who became Baili Ruobing’s assistant would meet a tragic end. Was it possible that the rumors were true? That Baili’s deranged fans were actually part of some underground organization?

If that was the case, then maybe this boy wasn’t acting alone. Maybe he’d just joined forces with that insane cult of fans pooling money together to buy her death.

And if that was true…

The real danger was far beyond anything she’d imagined.