Luo Wei stared at Ophelia, who wore a faint smile on her face.
His heart was filled with terror.
If she could truly see through his inner thoughts, wouldn't that mean she would know every scheme and negative thought he harbored about her?
Wouldn't that make him completely transparent?
Luo Wei had never considered the possibility of defeating her through strength; his only chance was through conversation...
If this was true, his greatest advantage would be completely lost...
As he pondered this, several expressionless maids entered, carrying various dinner platters.
As the exquisite dishes were placed on the dining table, Ophelia smiled gently and began introducing them to Luo Wei.
"Luo Wei, I recommend you try this foie gras first."
"Oh?" Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, displaying an expression of anticipation.
"This dish has quite a long history in the Empire," she said, moving her gaze toward him while using her fork to transfer some food onto his plate.
"The source of ingredients, the complex preparation process, and the finest matsutake mushrooms as accompaniments are all key to its rich flavor. Give it a try."
Hearing her recommendation, Luo Wei nodded with a smile and eagerly put the foie gras in his mouth.
"This is my favorite dish. How is it?"
Under Ophelia's somewhat expectant gaze, Luo Wei furrowed his brow as he savored it.
"Hmm..."
"It's quite good."
In truth, it wasn't good at all - it was fatty, greasy, and had an unpleasant fishy taste.
Not as good as braised pork intestines.
But faced with that gaze, Luo Wei could only give her an insincere answer.
However, right after he spoke.
Ophelia's smile remained unchanged, but the character information above her head suddenly changed.
[Ophelia]
[Corruption +5]
[Corruption: 23↑]
Luo Wei became even more confused - could she really read minds?
When they first met, she had expressed her dislike for his lying, so if she was angry now because she discovered his lie, that would make sense.
But then...
Luo Wei quickly corrected himself: "Actually, it's not that good... it's a bit greasy."
[Corruption +10]
[Corruption: 33↑]
Luo Wei's eyes widened as he watched the corruption level jump up again!
What was going on with her?
He wasn't lying this time - saying it was good wasn't right, saying it wasn't good wasn't right either. How was it that everything he said seemed to displease her?
"If you don't like it, then let's have it removed."
Ophelia's face still showed no obvious emotional change. She glanced outside, and the maid bowed her head and took away the foie gras.
This increasingly bizarre candlelit dinner continued.
Looking at her breathtakingly beautiful face so close to him, Luo Wei's heart pounded...
The corruption level had risen so high in just this short time - what would happen if it reached maximum?
What was even more bizarre was—
Ophelia's behavior was too normal, maintaining that proper expression throughout, with only occasional ripples of emotion showing in her gentle smile when facing him.
Yet it was precisely this "normalcy" that made him feel a hint of fear...
His body unconsciously tensed up.
As a result...
"Luo Wei, why are you sitting so far from me? Are you afraid of me?"
Ophelia said with a smile as she quietly poured him a glass of red wine.
This time Luo Wei remained silent.
[Corruption +5]
Luo Wei was completely dumbfounded...
He suddenly realized that Ophelia wasn't simply displeased with him lying to her...
She disliked any thoughts that went against her wishes!
Even when eating something, it had to be completely according to her preferences, and his feelings had to be genuinely sincere...
This level of controlling behavior was absurd!
"Cheers... to our reunion..." Luo Wei forced a big smile.
He looked at Ophelia, who had moved her seat almost right next to him and was observing his every move.
With a death-wish mentality, Luo Wei secretly cursed in his mind:
Fool.
After cursing, he quickly glanced at Ophelia's character information.
The corruption level hadn't changed.
His heart immediately relaxed, and he gulped down the red wine in his glass.
It wasn't mind reading.
Rather, it was some ability to detect the subtle emotions expressed through his words and actions.
The counter-strategy was simple.
Keep quiet, speak less.
It made sense - although this world was strange, an ability as outrageous as mind reading couldn't possibly belong to her. Such abilities would at least belong to deities or Old Ones, beings who could easily dominate minds...
During dinner, Ophelia talked about the past.
"Back then, I was probably the most pitiful member of the royal family. Father King abandoned me outside from childhood, and we might not see each other even once a year..."
"I heard they were all quite afraid of me, which makes sense..."
Ophelia rarely opened up about her feelings like this, but upon seeing the person she had been longing for, she couldn't stop talking.
"I caused my mother's death, and whenever I had an episode, I would become like that, and they were all afraid of me..."
"The servants and my brothers and sisters were one thing, but Father King was so cold to me too..."
She gently leaned closer, her silver-white hair falling onto Luo Wei's shoulder.
"If you hadn't appeared, I might have been locked up in that manor forever, like a bird without wings..."
Ophelia quietly rested against Luo Wei's shoulder, speaking intermittently.
Luo Wei listened attentively.
When he had played through the character storyline before, he knew that Ophelia was never truly a 'emotionless white-haired girl.' She was actually quite lively.
At least, that afternoon when he picked the lock and helped her sneak out, she revealed her true nature.
She pretended to be a commoner girl, curious about everything around her, asking about this and that, and even wanted to help in the muddy fields like real farmers.
She ended up covered in mud, rolling around happily in it, impossible to stop...
As they talked about this, Ophelia's smile gradually broadened, "Later, Father King found out about our sneaking out, and he was extremely angry."
"But what I didn't expect was that he actually asked me about it seriously, which was quite rare."
From then on, Ophelia finally gained a rare bit of freedom, able to follow Luo Wei to that old house and investigate strange cases with him.
It was a precious and beautiful time.
Until...
"Why did you leave four years ago... Do you know how upset I was then..."
Her moon-like silver-white hair lifted slightly, and her normally light blue eyes gazed seriously at Luo Wei.
Luo Wei had been listening to her speak, occasionally nodding in agreement.
However, now it was finally his turn to speak about this topic...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
