Why are all the heroines falling for me, the villain?

Li Zhu has recovered somewhat. He still remembers the room and the people he met before he died—oops, yesterday evening—and now it's like this. It's like heaven and earth compared to this. Is this really the same place?

"You're not dead. This is my room. You slept here last night, don't you remember? You were the first boy to enter my room, and you even fell asleep on my bed," Sakurai Yuko explained after hearing Riki's dreamlike words.

'Fell asleep here? I don't remember. Have I lost my memory?' Li Zhu pondered her situation.

Seeing that he was still in a daze, Yuko chuckled a few times, her expression softening, and she couldn't help but reach out to stroke Riyu's face.

Even when she's spacing out, she's so cute.

A girl's hands are different from a boy's; they are small and soft. When you touch them, it feels like a cloud gently brushing against your cheek, as if it's being affectionate.

The hand gently stroked his face, as if scratching at Li Zhu's heart. A wonderful, unprecedented feeling—itchy, sweet, shy—wandered through Li Zhu's heart, easing his tension and causing even his hands, which had been protecting him, to relax.

Then came a strange sense of shame, and a blush crept up Li Zhu's ears. He turned his head away, not daring to meet those bright, peach-blossom eyes again.

"What are you doing?" Li Zhu asked weakly, turning her head away.

"You are the most important person in my life..." Yuko Sakurai murmured softly, her eyes filled with memories, but Riku didn't hear her clearly.

Something sweet yet shy slowly fermented in the room.

'This is bad, this is really bad! My heart is beating so fast, am I getting sick?'

Li Zhu was in a state of utter confusion. The rational voice in her head was being choked by another voice. Countless memories flashed through her mind, finally freezing on the gruesome CG scene of the villainous supporting character falling to his death.

The rational little man received a super boost, easily winning with a single uppercut, and stood triumphantly atop the other little man.

"No, I need to go home. Mom will be worried if I don't go home for one night." Li Zhu composed herself and tried to appear calm.

“Sure, do you want me to take you home? Mom called you a lot last night, but I answered them all for you, so don’t worry.” Sakurai Yuko’s tone was natural, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Li Zhu looked at her questioningly, "She's my mom, why are you calling her so affectionately?"

"What did you say to my mom?"

"My mom asked me where Lizhu was, and I told her that Lizhu was sleeping in my room and couldn't answer the phone right now, so she could tell me what was wrong..."

"Stop, stop, stop! You're telling Mom I was sleeping in your room?! I..."

Li Zhu thought to herself, "This is it. How am I going to explain this to my mom, and how am I going to explain it to the male lead who will appear in the future? I stayed out all night at someone else's house and even slept in someone else's girl's bed. I can let my mom off the hook, but if the male lead finds out about this scandalous affair, I'll never be able to clear my name."

No, there is still a chance to clear your name, which is to find out exactly what happened last night and whether you did anything out of line.

Once everything is cleared up, even if a misunderstanding arises, we can just bring out Sakurai Yuko to confront her and clear things up.

Okay, let's do it that way.

"Tell me honestly, what exactly happened last night?" Li Zhu asked.

"Why are you suddenly asking me this?" A blush rose on Sakurai Yuko's cheeks. She avoided eye contact and lowered her head, not daring to meet Riyu's gaze.

Seeing Xiao Tou's appearance, Li Zhu's heart skipped a beat.

"Just tell me the truth, I can handle it."

"No!" the little nobody blurted out, then realized she had overreacted and hurriedly apologized, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Why?" Li Zhu asked hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, Li Zhu."

I'm sorry, this is a very, very important thing to me, and I will find the courage to tell you everything in person, but not now.

"Perhaps one day in the future, our relationship will take another step closer."

"Perhaps at that time, I will be ready, and you will be ready, to listen to my story. I will tell you everything honestly."

"I swear, you will be the first and only listener to me throughout my life!"

The little nobody kept rambling on, her voice becoming softer and softer. Her evasive peach blossom eyes gradually brightened, and she stopped hiding from anything. She seemed to still be the timid and submissive Sakurai Yuko, but it was as if something extraordinary had appeared on her as well.

Li Zhu was speechless. Was his mind in disarray? No, quite the opposite, his mind was perfectly clear.

The reason he didn't rush to make a decision was because he had a strong premonition that if he forced Sakurai Yuko to reveal what happened last night, the future would be turned upside down.

Li Zhu must be careful. He used to be able to reload saves when playing games, but now he is deeply involved, and the plot keeps changing. If he makes a wrong move, something might be broken and could never be continued.

"Sigh, is it even possible to keep this a secret?"

Yuko Sakurai nodded quickly, "Yes, it's a secret between us, and we won't tell anyone else."

Li Zhu rubbed his temples. Sakurai Yuko thought he was still upset that she hadn't told him the truth, so she tentatively extended her small, fair hand and said, "If you don't believe me, we can pinky swear?"

"No need, I trust you." Li Zhu waved her hand and got up.

Sakurai Yuko withdrew her hand in disappointment, but at the same time felt a little excited.

He said he trusts me. Is this what trust is between lovers? I'm so happy!

Thankfully, Li Zhu doesn't have mind-reading abilities, otherwise she would have been completely dumbfounded. When did we become a couple? How come I didn't know?

Little nobody: Last night, he said so many things to you, and you even said yes, but now you're pretending you didn't know. It's so annoying!

"..."

Li Zhu still remembers that all the main characters in the game have a dark side, including the male protagonist.

Other female protagonists have a dark side, but you, a grown man, also have to turn dark? Is this even possible?

As the female protagonist, Xiao Tou is no exception. Although she is the first female protagonist in the game and the easiest to win over, she should not be underestimated when she turns evil.

Therefore, he guessed that the little nobody might be a sign that he was about to turn to the dark side.

The reason for this might be that being rejected after confessing his feelings could lead to his transformation into a villain.

Remember the original plot was the same: when Li Zhu fell to her death, the nobody was saved by the male lead who rushed over, and moved by his actions, she confessed her feelings to him.

At this point, the game presented options.

If you choose to accept, the game continues; if you choose to refuse, the dark side of the game will be activated after a period of time, and then the save file will be deleted and the game restarted.

You have to get past the minor characters' routes. It's that simple. It feels like you're being forced to add these free-to-play minor characters to your harem, and then you can easily complete the Sakurai Yuko route. There's absolutely no skill involved.

He thought to himself that the image of Sadako he saw last night might be the dark version of Sakurai Yuko...

But now she's inexplicably changed back. He's been playing games for so many years, and this is the first time he's seen this happen. He's completely baffled by it now.

He was just a minor villainous supporting character, so how could he just let the villain's dark side be resolved like that?!

Have I completed the storyline of the minor character?

Although we still don't know what happened last night, thankfully everything ended smoothly, and Li Zhu achieved a surprising reversal without much effort on her part.

Unexpectedly, through a series of unforeseen events, Li Zhu managed to straighten out the not-yet-completely-corrupted nobody, forging a path from an impossible one into an unknown one.

He neither confirmed his relationship with Yuko Sakurai nor allowed the dark side of his character to emerge.

It's over now, who cares how it happened? Li Zhu's gloomy mood vanished. The storyline is over, and she can now peacefully be a bystander.

"Alright, alright, I'm going home now. Let's stop here. You don't need to see me off."

"Ah."

The two parted ways at the door. Sakurai Yuko watched Riki leave with tender affection. The security guards at the door kept their eyes straight ahead, never asking about or paying attention to the affairs of the homeowners; maintaining order was their duty.

……

Chapter Six: All he wants is freedom.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Mom? Huh?"

Li Zhu took off her shoes and went inside, walking through the kitchen and then through the living room, but she didn't see her mother anywhere.

"Not home? Still not off work at this hour?"

"Wait a minute, it's Saturday today, no work. Where would Mom go at this hour?"

"Maybe he went grocery shopping. He should rest for a while first."

Li Zhu assumed her mother had gone out to buy groceries, so she didn't think much of it. She casually picked up a banana, put her bag down, lifted her big foot, and lay down on the sofa to slowly eat it.

"Ah, this feels so nice!"

"You little nobody, I'm done serving you! I don't have to worry about you causing any trouble anymore! I've cleared the level! I'm free! I'm free!"

To describe Li Zhu's current situation in one sentence: carefree and enjoying a peaceful life.

It's hard to describe the feeling, it's like wearing new underwear to welcome the New Year!

If you haven't experienced the twists and turns Li Zhu has gone through over the past three months, you really can't easily understand his feelings right now.

At that time, he opened his eyes and found himself in this strange yet familiar world. He stood at the gate of Ouran High School, feeling lost and helpless.

Then, he learned of his situation and his fate of death three months later.

Then, a three-month-long "Counter-Strike" campaign to protect the invisible heroes began.

He has survived to this day only thanks to his own caution and resourcefulness.

Simply put, it means proceeding cautiously and according to plan without attracting the attention of nobody or causing any fatal outcome.

In this game world that is both strange and familiar, no one tells Li Zhu what to do or what to do...

So he had no choice but to figure things out on his own, doing what he thought would help him survive, such as figuring out how to survive for three months.

Actually, he had thought about getting away from Yuko Sakurai and ending it all, but he didn't dare gamble with his life. What if he did nothing and then just kicked the bucket when his time came? That would be such a waste.

What's more, he now has to take care of this woman who has only been his adoptive mother for three months. With these concerns, he dares not gamble anymore.

According to the game's rules, he will die sometime in three months. If there really is a rule for world line correction, Li Zhu will definitely die on that day.

So Li Zhu began a three-month-long ordeal to defy fate.

First of all, even a minor supporting character cannot become the opposite of the protagonist, that is, cannot be a villain. In fact, they must help the protagonist of the game and change their fate by taking advantage of the protagonist's halo in this world.

Pear Blossom's Plan A, a scheme to escape unscathed, was devised to help the female protagonist escape safely without triggering a death ending, and to foster a friendly relationship between the villain and the female protagonist.

He silently protected Yuko Sakurai, carefully observing her every move, until she safely passed away.

And no matter what she does, if there is even the slightest sign of danger to her, she will immediately be stopped!

He could just run away, and even if he couldn't escape, he could use the help he had given her to plead for her life.

Double insurance.

Unexpectedly, his roundabout way of saving the country caused the plot to deviate from its course, but it also made Li Zhu spend his death day in fear and trembling, which made him more convinced that his efforts had not been in vain.

Secondly, I've played this game for a long time and developed a certain attachment to it. I even saw the beautiful female protagonist in the game with my own eyes, so there's a bit of selfishness in it, like I can't bear to see others bully this little fool.

After all, the most frequent part of grinding in the game is the route for the inexperienced player (helpless face).

Damn it, just thinking about it makes my liver hurt. If this game didn't delete and restart my save file every day, I probably would have finished it by now. I really want to fuck the game designer (omitting thousands of words of profanity).

During that time, what made Li Zhu most gratified was that she was so oblivious that she didn't even notice her existence. She seemed harmless and adorable, making her easy to protect.

Strange, it feels like raising a daughter...

But I'm still mentally exhausted.

Such a timid and weak-willed person, coupled with such stunning good looks (the kind that can't be hidden even with disguise)...

This was practically a walking side quest trigger princess; back then, she almost turned Li Zhu into a real-life Counter-Strike.

However, things like flirting, pretending to be a hero to save a damsel in distress, stalking, sexual assault, and kidnapping are all okay, at least there are signs that can be seen, and Li Zhu can take timely measures to remedy the situation.

What Li Zhu finds most difficult to guard against is the deep-seated malice.

Li Zhu still can't figure it out. Did the nobody kill their horse or something? The malice some people have towards one person is truly chilling.

At first, they just made the inconspicuous person do things, then they started constantly joking with her, embarrassing her in front of her classmates. Whenever the inconspicuous person resisted even slightly, they would use that tried-and-true phrase:

Aren't we friends? What's wrong with joking around a little?

Ultimately, it escalated into school bullying.

When the little nobody is sleeping on the table, they suddenly yell loudly in your ear, waking you up. Looking at their grinning faces, you can't do anything about it.

They might deliberately hide your shoes during PE class so you'll be late, or they might simply dirty or ruin your shoes.

Tearing up your textbooks or scribbling on them, putting nails on your chair, hiding fake snakes under your table—these are all things that Li Zhu sees and can offer help or solutions for.

But what if it's somewhere that Pear Blossom can't see?

That day, Li Zhu happened to be on duty in the class. He worked for a long time before he finished. He took the trash to the back of the teaching building to take it out. When he came back, he accidentally saw a heartbreaking scene.

The little nobody, soaked to the bone, squatted there, huddled in a corner behind the teaching building, sobbing quietly.