This is it, Host, your opportunity.
It was like someone offering me a pillow right when I was dozing off.
With Jin Xuan’s ever present caution, I hadn’t been sure how to slip the drug into his drink, but fate had delivered me the perfect setup.
I made sure to walk far enough away, ducking into the shadowy corner of the banquet hall. Peering back, I saw Jin Xuan talking quietly with someone, not paying me the slightest attention.
My hands trembled so badly I almost fumbled with the glass.
"System bro, are you certain this is going to work?"
Absolutely. This poison I requested it specially. It’s colorless, tasteless, fatal in seconds, and only a dab is enough.
Sure, the scene’s going to be chaotic when the villain keels over in front of the entire room, but that doesn’t matter for you. Soon as the job’s done, I’ll send you back where you belong.
I froze, glass in hand, the words stuck in my throat.
Why was I hesitating? None of this was real. None of these people or memories could compare to the years I’d spent in my real life my friends, my family, my own world.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was betraying Jin Xuan. He’d suffered so much, been lied to and deceived by so many people. I still didn’t wholly understand why he’d chosen to trust me.
But I was never meant to be his salvation.
Heart pounding, head jumbled, I watched the world blur around me. Lost in thought, I nearly stumbled, sloshing wine dangerously near the rim as I tripped right into someone’s path.
The System yelped in my head:
"Host, careful. That’s all the poison I could get my hands on."
Just then, a steady hand caught my arm, another catching the glass before it tumbled.
I looked up, relieved to see Ban Yansi.
"Are you all right, Miss Liu?"
I shook my head, quickly straightening. "Yes, I’m fine. Thank you."
He offered me a handkerchief, nodding toward the splash on my dress.
I dabbed at the mess, barely caring; my entire focus was glued to the glass now sitting innocently atop his silver tray.
"Thank you, Mr. Ban, but I should get back. Jin Xuan’s waiting I’ll repay you for this favor next time."
He smiled, raising his own glass in a playful toast. "Anytime. It was nothing."
The System let out a huge sigh of relief, urging me on.
Go quickly. Don’t let anything else go wrong.
One step after another, I walked toward Jin Xuan. Every step felt twice as heavy.
"Yanyan, why’d it take so long?" Jin Xuan asked softly.
I mustered a forced smile.
Host, control your expression. One look and he’ll know you’re hiding something.
Jin Xuan reached for the wine, but I hesitated, keeping the glass close.
"Jin Xuan, are you sure you want a drink right now? Maybe we should wait a bit."
He smiled, suddenly. The look in his eyes sent a chill racing down my spine.
"Why? Is there something wrong with it?"
"No, no. Of course not."
He drew himself up, watching me intently, then took the glass and drained it in one go.
My heart dropped like a stone. But a moment, two, three passed Jin Xuan showed no sign of distress.
"Jin Xuan, you don’t feel dizzy? Sick?"
I couldn’t help but ask.
He looked slyly at me.
"What reaction were you hoping for?"
Even the System sounded baffled.
That’s impossible; the data never said the villain had immunity to poison. Wait.....host, you picked up the wrong glass. Right now that poisoned wine is with the protagonist.
If the system had a body, it’d be throttling me.
Host, get that poison back now. If you kill the protagonist, it’s game over.
"Jin Xuan, please wait here I’ll be right back."
I ran toward Ban Yansi, praying he hadn’t sipped from the glass yet.
He noticed my panicked approach and raised an eyebrow.
"Did you forget something, Miss Liu?"
I looked at his glass untouched. I let out a breath in relief.
Now the problem was how to get the poisoned glass back.
After a bit of stammering, I just went for it.
"Mr. Ban, are you going to finish that drink?"
He looked surprised. "If you want one, the waiter’s tray is full."
"No," I blurted, "I… I just want the one you’re holding."
He studied me, bemused, but being every bit the paragon, he simply handed the glass over, only a little confused.
"Well, if you insist."
Wasting no time, I made an awkward retreat, rushing back to Jin Xuan.
How could I possibly hand him another glass, right after he’d just downed one? Instead, I came up with a clumsy pretense.
"I actually just want this one for myself," I said, gripping the poisoned glass.
Jin Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Really? You had to get it from Ban Yansi?"
I tittered nervously.
"Ha... haha, I just thought this one looked tastier."
"Is that so?"
I wanted nothing more than to cry. There was no way to drink it myself, no way to ditch it.
Jin Xuan’s kill intent was holding steady at 98, not dropping even once.
I was caught unable to let Jin Xuan hurt the protagonist, desperate to keep myself alive.
I felt like I was tearing apart inside.
But Jin Xuan said nothing, simply accepted my explanation. Instead, he quietly suggested, "Shall we step out to the terrace for some air?"
Compared to the bustling ballroom, the night terrace was still and peaceful.
By now, it was the heart of winter. My breath chilled instantly, and Jin Xuan set his jacket over my shoulders.
Side by side, we stood and watched snowflakes begin to fall from the night sky. From a distance, we might have been the picture of a perfect, sweet couple enjoying the first snow together if not for the glass clutched in my rigid fingers.
Jin Xuan said nothing, gazing into the darkness. He opened his palm, catching a snowflake, which melted almost instantly against his skin.
He laughed quietly. "The most beautiful things never last."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to me, voice low and rough.
"In this life, I’ve learned to trust only in what I can do with my own hands not in fate, or the heavens.
If there’s something I want no matter what it takes, I will claim it, hold it close, even if I have to destroy everything else.
But in the end, I realized every fever dream is just that. Nothing but a fantasy.
Because I was never anyone’s first choice.
And again and again, the story repeats."
A sharp ache gripped my heart.
I wanted to tell him otherwise, to tell Jin Xuan he deserved love.
But the heavy glass in my hands reminded me of my true purpose.
His fingertips were cold now, perhaps from giving me his jacket. He traced along my face, pushed my hair behind my ear, gently let his thumb sweep over my lips, as if memorizing every detail.
"You always said you loved snow," Jin Xuan murmured.
"I was planning, on the first snowfall, to ask if you’d marry me."
It felt like my chest was packed full of cotton, making it hard to breathe.
"Yanyan, if only I were a king I’d always imagined, if you were mine, I’d have you follow me even in death. We could stay together, forever and ever.
But I’m no king. Not even close," He lowered his hand. "In the end, I’m nobody at all."
I groped for some levity. "Jin Xuan, is this your proposal? I’m very practical, you know. Without a massive diamond ring, I won’t marry you, and I definitely won’t die with you."
Jin Xuan studied me for a long moment, then let out a warm, low laugh.
"I couldn’t bear for you to be a widow."
"What? Jin Xuan, what are you."
Before I could stop him, he snatched the glass from my hand and, without hesitation, downed the entire thing.
"Jin Xuan...."
I lunged desperately for the glass, but it was too late.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and almost immediately, blood welled up at the corner of his lips.
The System had said it: fast-acting, absolutely fatal.
There was no miracle, no time for regret.
As his face drained of color, I realized his killing intent, all along, wasn’t about hurting me or Ban Yansi.
He’d wanted to destroy himself.
My heart broke.
Unable to stand, Jin Xuan slipped to the ground. I caught him in my arms, hot tears running down my cheeks as his blood spattered my dress.
"You’re crying... because...?"
He tried to grip my dress, breath shallow and weak words broken, his voice fading to a whisper, like a machine running out of power.
"Jin Xuan, I’m sorry—I’m so, so sorry."
My apologies were meaningless, powerless. I didn’t deserve forgiveness.
Jin Xuan’s gaze softened. With the System’s triumphant mission-completed chime ringing in my head, I heard his last, barely audible words:
"Goodbye, little liar."
Chapter 05
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