“What?! Everyone Except Me Is a Villain (GL) - Chapter 8
This time, the system’s explanation was a little clearer it revealed that Zhen Xier’s frail health was due to long-term poisoning. But if that was the case, how could the Zhen family not have noticed? Unless… the use of this “Butterfly Powder” had been ordered by Zhen Batian himself?
The more Jin Buning thought about it, the more chilling it became. She had once envied Zhen Xier for having a family that doted on her but if that affection was nothing more than a way to turn their daughter into a delicate doll, then all that love was a lie.
But why would Zhen Batian go so far just to keep Zhen Xier by his side? Was there a deeper plot she didn’t yet know of one that got her “erased” the moment they suspected she had found out?
The more she thought about it, the more tangled it became. Jin Buning tried asking the Love APP for help, but the system only replied with, “Sorry, I’m not equipped to handle such advanced programs.”
After several tests, she concluded the Love APP was a humanoid AI helpful in theory, but not truly capable of improving her situation.
“Wow, isn’t that Baili Ruobing from the Baili family? I’ve been to so many banquets, and I still can’t believe I’m seeing her at school!”
“Yeah, but why would she even be here?”
“You’re clueless! Baili Ruobing is one of the school’s board members. This entire campus was practically built with her donations. If she wanted, I’d gladly become one of her possessions.”
The students’ voices were filled with excitement and awe. Jin Buning listened quietly, her expression calm. These “overbearing CEO” tropes from old romance stories almost felt comical now.
This Baili Ruobing was, on paper, Zhen Ning’s aunt. But ever since her elder sister’s death, she had cut ties with the Zhen family, doubting their involvement. Jin Buning knew little about her, much less why she’d chosen to give the opening speech today.
[Ding!] Character profile updated. Would you like to view it?
Jin Buning confirmed, and the details appeared:
Name: Baili Ruobing
Age: 30
Identity: Head of the Baili family
Stamina: 95
Intelligence: 95
Charm: 95
Overall Rating: S-Class – Chosen One
Affection toward Host: -999
Apparently, because Jin Buning was posing as the Zhen family’s fake daughter, Baili Ruobing saw her as an enemy. Jin Buning sighed with relief that she hadn’t gone running to her for help if things went well, their paths might never have crossed.
Still, the rating system intrigued her.
E meant cannon fodder.
D meant background character.
C meant passerby with minor lines.
B meant a supporting role.
A meant key character.
But S… S was ambiguous. It didn’t specify whether she was good or bad perhaps an unpredictable variable, or maybe there were hidden attributes she hadn’t yet unlocked.
Curious, Jin Buning tried to open Zhen Xier’s and Xu Yixin’s profiles, but the system told her they were out of range.
She sighed such a useless system. Pulling out pen and paper, she began to map out her own relationship chart by hand. To anyone else, it would just look like random scribbles or a drama plot. She dared not use her phone; if the Zhen family was bugging her like they had Zhen Xier, it was safer to stay analog.
On stage, Baili Ruobing’s speech continued. The auditorium was massive, and she could only see the woman clearly through the projected screen. Jin Buning wasn’t expecting any miracles. This woman loathed the Zhen family and was the worst possible person to rely on. The other four “villains” seemed far more viable survival options.
[Ding!] Strong hostility detected. Proceed with caution.
The alert startled her. She raised her head, wondering who could be targeting her she was sitting as low-key as possible!
Then she realized the hostility was coming from the stage.
Even from such a distance, Baili Ruobing’s gaze carried a chilling pressure. The big screen’s focus suddenly shifted and zoomed right toward Jin Buning’s area.
The couple sitting two rows ahead were playfully teasing each other, drawing attention and dragging her into the shot. When they noticed, they immediately sat up straight. Only Jin Buning, oblivious, was left holding her notebook, writing seriously broadcast across the hall.
“Who’s that? She’s pretty.”
“I didn’t know we had such a cute upperclassman.”
The whispers spread fast.
Jin Buning’s instincts screamed that this wasn’t a coincidence it felt too deliberate, as if Baili Ruobing had known she’d be here and was setting her up.
“You there,” Baili Ruobing’s cold voice echoed through the mic, “come up here.”
It was the tone of a boss catching a lazy employee red-handed, icy, authoritative, and merciless.
Jin Buning forced a stiff smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the system’s 24-hour survival countdown still ticking away. Looking into Baili Ruobing’s sharp gaze, she wondered if public humiliation counted as one of her possible deaths.
With all eyes on her, she walked up to the stage, her mind flashing through every way she’d died before.
The woman before her looked exactly like the type of person you couldn’t afford to cross—sharp suit, flawless features, elegant and severe. She was the very picture of a “cold CEO,” beautiful and untouchable. The problem was that, in every novel, that type of character always met a tragic end.
“I saw you taking notes very diligently,” Baili Ruobing said evenly. “May I see them?”
Her tone left no room for refusal.
And yet, for some reason, Jin Buning’s first thought was: How childish.
Compared to Pei Fuliu the stepmother who ruled the Zhen family with an iron hand, Baili Ruobing’s attempt at intimidation almost felt… cute.
Jin Buning pinched herself to stop from laughing, handed over the notebook, and prayed the woman wouldn’t notice her secret diagrams. Inside were her coded relationship notes and a few hundred words of nonsense she’d scrawled to look busy:
“The Sickly Beauty and the Sexy School Doctor: A Forbidden Tale.”
Baili Ruobing flipped through it, her delicate fingers pausing now and then. The audience watched in confusion, waiting for her to lash out. The teachers onstage looked ready to faint from anxiety no one dared to upset the school’s largest sponsor.
After several tense seconds, Baili Ruobing finally looked up. Was it just Jin Buning’s imagination, or were the tips of her ears slightly red? Her lips pressed together, as though she were suppressing some reaction.
Of course, the messy diagram full of tangled family ties and pseudo-incestuous “plotlines” could easily be misinterpreted. But if anyone could actually decipher her code, Jin Buning thought wryly, then her 138 lives of rebirth had been for nothing.
“You take good notes,” Baili Ruobing said at last. “What’s your name?”
Jin Buning froze. That… wasn’t the response she expected.
She stared at Baili Ruobing in disbelief her eyes practically saying, Are you kidding me?
The woman, still maintaining her frosty composure, looked even more flustered. Her ear tips deepened in color, perhaps recalling a few questionable words from the notebook.
And then Jin Buning’s brain short-circuited.
She remembered the students earlier calling her “Baili Daren” “Lord Baili.” Without thinking, she blurted,
“Reporting, my lord, this humble girl is Zhen Ning.”
In her mind, it was just a meme like calling someone “Queen” or “Boss.” Surely Baili Ruobing would get the joke?
[Ding!] Baili Ruobing’s affection -999.
[Ding!] Teacher Dong’s affection +10.
The room erupted.
Gasps, snickers, whispers everyone reacted to her calling the almighty Baili Ruobing “my lord.”
Jin Buning’s head filled with alert sounds, her mind going blank. She could already imagine her death: maybe she’d be tossed into the ocean by noon, or shredded by Baili Ruobing’s fan club.
Then, through the commotion, Baili Ruobing spoke again her voice flat, serious, and painfully stiff:
“Zhen Ning, from today onward… you’ll be my personal assistant.”
The hall fell silent for two full seconds then exploded in noise.
Jin Buning stood there, dumbstruck.
She checked her stats again still E-rank cannon fodder. Which could only mean one thing:
Baili Ruobing wasn’t promoting her.
She was setting her up throwing her to the wolves.
Or, more accurately, to her rabidly possessive admirers.