Chapter 55: Slacking Off, Day Fifty-Five part 1
Ping’an Town was a peaceful little place.
In a world of chaos and complexity, Ping’an Town was like a hidden paradise. It was completely self-sufficient, and its people never interacted with the outside world, nor did they have any desire to. The residents lived and worked in contentment. They rose with the sun and rested at sunset, their daily lives simple and beautiful.
Everything about the town was just as its name suggested: peaceful and safe.
With the crowing of the rooster, a new day began once more in Ping’an Town.
Farmers started another day of hard work in the fields, and merchants set up their familiar stalls.
“Extra, extra, read all about it! Today’s news: Auntie Wu’s cat on the east side of town had eight kittens!” The shout came from the town’s one and only newspaper publisher, Li Xiangyue.
The townspeople couldn’t quite remember when Li Xiangyue had started selling newspapers. It seemed that one day, this strange-sounding profession just appeared. But as time went on, the residents had grown accustomed to the sound of her hawking papers in the early morning.
“Wow, eight of them! Quick, give me a copy.”
“Congratulations, congratulations! I’ll take one to see.”
The residents of Ping’an Town, though mostly young, were all warm-hearted and down-to-earth. Auntie Wu’s cat had given birth to eight kittens—a whole eight of them! What wonderful news!
“No need to rush, no need to rush, everyone!” Li Xiangyue unhurriedly took newspapers from her basket. “One low-grade spirit stone per copy. There’s enough for everyone, enough for everyone!”
“Sister Xiangyue, I’d like one too,” a clear, shy female voice called from a short distance away. It was like the music of heaven, causing everyone to subconsciously pause what they were doing.
Everyone recognized that voice.
It was Sheng Qing, the illegitimate daughter of the wealthiest man in Ping’an Town, the head of the Shen family.
“Qingqing, why are you the one buying the paper again today…?” Buying newspapers was a task that should have been done by the Shen family’s servants. The townspeople couldn’t help but feel indignant on her behalf. “Is it Wen Ying again…?”
“It has nothing to do with my sister,” Sheng Qing said with a gentle smile, looking graceful and lovely. “I have nothing else to do anyway. It’s no trouble at all.”
With that, Sheng Qing handed a low-grade spirit stone to Li Xiangyue. “Sister Xiangyue, I’ll take one.”
“Alright.” Li Xiangyue offered no extra words or emotion. She simply took the spirit stone, skillfully pulled a newspaper from her basket, and handed it to Sheng Qing.
After selling papers to the crowd, Li Xiangyue left without any fuss. She was a professional reporter. She sold the news, but the news itself had nothing to do with her. And Wen Ying, to her, was just a recurring protagonist in her stories.
As Li Xiangyue and Sheng Qing departed, the townspeople were left behind, sighing as they read their papers.
The story of the wealthiest family in Ping’an Town was no secret, especially with Li Xiangyue, who knew all the town’s gossip, around.
The matriarch of the Shen family had passed away early, leaving the family head, Old Master Shen Ting, to raise his son and daughter alone: the legitimate daughter, Wen Ying, and the legitimate son, Shen Linfeng.
Over a decade ago, Old Master Shen had returned from a trip with Sheng Qing in tow. It turned out she was the result of a past affair. After Sheng Qing’s mother passed away from illness, Old Master Shen brought her back to the Shen household, where she became the family’s second young miss, the illegitimate daughter Sheng Qing.
A few months ago, Old Master Shen had died of illness. With Shen Linfeng still young and unable to speak since childhood, he was incapable of managing the family’s affairs. Thus, Wen Ying became the new head of the Shen household.
Wen Ying had always been arrogant and domineering, with a nasty habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. The townspeople had long suffered under her thumb. Now that she was the head of the family, she had become even worse, not only exploiting everyone but also making life difficult for Sheng Qing in countless ways.
Even Cao Ruobing, who was a perfect match for Sheng Qing in both looks and talent, was…
Alas, that Wen Ying was truly a menace to Ping’an Town!
Meanwhile, inside the Shen residence.
“Sister, I’ve brought the newspaper back,” Sheng Qing said, walking up to Wen Ying and giving a slight curtsy.
“Good.” Wen Ying took the paper.
Sheng Qing curtsied again and withdrew. The servants nearby, who had been stealing glances, quickly turned back to their tasks. Ever since Old Master Shen had passed away, the second young miss had been constantly bullied by the eldest young miss… everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
In front of Wen Ying, the familiar mission notification box appeared.
【Mission Failed】
Wen Ying waved her hand, flicking the box away again. She picked up a grape offered by a servant and popped it into her mouth.
The feeling of being a wealthy landowner was, indeed, quite nice. She had been so busy dealing with missions before that she’d never had the chance to enjoy this kind of life.
Wen Ying leaned back on the wide couch, stroking the little black cat in her lap as she lazily scanned the newspaper. She never had a habit of reading the paper. And she hadn’t been the one to ask Sheng Qing to go buy it.
Everything Sheng Qing had said on the street was the absolute truth.
The newspaper had nothing to do with her. Sheng Qing had volunteered to go.
But no one ever believes the plain truth, and Sheng Qing had achieved exactly the effect she wanted.
“Meow~” The little black cat let out a lazy cry, rolled over in Wen Ying’s lap, and went back to sleep.
This scene was, of course, highly unusual. Under normal circumstances, how could the little black cat possibly be this well-behaved? Right now, it was acting just like a normal cat.
【Host, how could you fail such a simple mission as refusing the sweet historical romance female lead’s request to buy a newspaper!】
The system, finally unable to bear it any longer, popped out.
【Who could refuse a servant who offers herself up so willingly?】 Wen Ying replied nonchalantly, eating another grape.
【You… you… you… Host! What is wrong with you!】 the system cried, heartbroken and exasperated.
【And you? What’s wrong with you?】 Wen Ying asked, stroking the cat’s fur and raising an eyebrow.
【Huh?】 The system froze, a hint of guilt in its voice. 【Me… what about me?】
A faint, cold smile touched Wen Ying’s lips.
【Have you found that method you promised me, the one to help me escape this reincarnation cycle?】
【That… oh, that…】 The system seemed to let out a sigh of relief. The faint sound of pages turning could be heard, followed by a long pause. 【Sorry, Host, I’m also working hard to find a way to get your mission completion rate to 100%, but the prerequisite is that you also have to cooperate and complete the missions!】
Hah.
What a load of crap.
It was even worse than its previous perfunctory excuses. Before, it was just annoying. Now, this diligent act was simply disgusting.
【You can get lost now.】
Wen Ying waved a hand, too lazy to even roll her eyes.
Of course, Wen Ying hadn’t escaped the reincarnation.
She was still in her original world. She and her group had simply arrived in Ping’an Town while on their mission to exterminate demons. The ten finalists had been split into two groups. Just like in the previous cycles, Wen Ying was grouped with Lan Xiaoming, Lu Xiaojie, Feng Sixuan, and Li Xiangyue to investigate the strange occurrences in Ping’an Town.
The only difference this time was that the little black cat was prone to wrecking the house if left alone, and Shen Linfeng had looked at her with such pitiful eyes, begging to come along. So, this time, Wen Ying had brought them both with her.
They had arrived in this town three days ago.
She remembered that three days ago, everything was still normal. The townspeople had warmly welcomed the five of them. Since there were no inns, they each stayed in a different private residence.
A night passed without any incident.
But then, with the rooster’s crow on the second day, strange things began to happen.
And it led to the current situation.
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