Chapter 225: Xu Liang’s Plan

At the Chen family’s villa, beneath Chen Muyu’s residence.

Chen Muyu was preparing to attend a banquet at the Su family and was currently getting dressed in her room.

So as her driver, Xu Liang could only sit in the car and wait helplessly.

“Sigh, Miss, aren’t you just setting yourself up for humiliation!”

“You’re a female villain, how can you compare to the peak beauty of the novel’s female protagonist, Su Yan!”

“Su Yan is a perfectly built long-legged goddess, and you’re just a flat-chested little loli. You can’t pull it off!”

Xu Liang knew that since learning about Long Ao’s infatuation with Su Yan, Chen Muyu had started imitating Su Yan’s style.

Out of jealousy, she had been targeting and causing trouble for Su Yan, trying to break them up.

But in reality, at this time, Su Yan and Long Ritian had no relationship, it was just Long Ritian who unilaterally decided Su Yan was his woman.

The Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King, seeing the female protagonist, would always go, “Beauty, you’ve caught my attention,” and “Beauty, you can’t escape my grasp!”

But due to Chen Muyu’s brainless villain behavior, Long Ritian kept saving Su Yan, making their relationship grow stronger.

This time’s secret photoshoot was no exception.

However, knowing the fate of the original “Xu Liang” in the story, Xu Liang naturally wouldn’t follow through.

He knew that Chen Muyu was a villain only because she opposed the female protagonist.

She was essentially an overly protected child, very naive and easily manipulated, who fell for Long Ritian after he casually helped her once.

Actually, Xu Liang had thought about going to Chen Xiongtian to tell on her.

If Chen Xiongtian knew his daughter was infatuated and rejected by a guy like Long Ao, he would definitely be angry and target Long Ao.

But Xu Liang felt that after telling, he would probably get into trouble himself.

Chen Muyu had ordered this to be kept secret, and he would be betraying that.

Even if the person he informed was Chen Xiongtian himself, and he argued that it was for the Miss’s own good, given Chen Xiongtian’s capricious nature, there would still be punishment.

He might even end up in a sack and thrown into the river to feed the fish.

So, Xu Liang had been stalling, using phrases like “I’m following, but haven’t found the opportunity” to deceive Chen Muyu, while leisurely spending the funds.

But today.

Chen Muyu suddenly called him, saying she was going to attend a banquet at the Su family.

Su family banquet?

Hearing this term, Xu Liang was shocked.

According to the plot, the Su family banquet, which is the birthday banquet of the female protagonist Su Yan’s grandfather, Su Yaoguo, was supposed to happen later!

By that time, he would have already died!

How did it start so soon now?

“…Could it be the butterfly effect of my transmigration?”

Xu Liang thought and felt it might be that.

Since he had been hiding and hadn’t engaged in the secret photo event, the male and female protagonists hadn’t had the chance to deepen their relationship, leading to the next plot point advancing.

So, this time at the banquet, he would definitely encounter the male protagonist Long Ritian.

In the original story, this banquet, under the guise of Su Yaoguo’s birthday celebration, was actually a stage for Long Ritian to show off!

“Tsk tsk, at the banquet, the intentionally late Long Ritian presented an ancient painting, ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ by Tang Bohu, as a gift.”

“However, as the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King protagonist, he had to be doubted and ridiculed before showing off.”

“So, Li Laotaiye, who had always opposed Su Yaoguo, jumped out and claimed the ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ was a fake!”

“And the genuine ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ was in the Li family!”

“To show off, Li Laotaiye even sent someone to retrieve it.”

“When the painting was brought and compared, no one could tell the difference, so everyone believed Li Laotaiye’s painting was genuine.”

“But, following the brainless show-off novel trope, there happened to be a famous expert on antique paintings at the banquet.”

“I think his surname was… Hao?”

Xu Liang couldn’t remember clearly, because in ‘Urban Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King,’ the expert was very famous and authoritative, making everyone believe him, but he was just a tool for Long Ritian to show off and appeared only once.

“This expert looked at Li Laotaiye’s painting first and immediately judged it to be fake.”

“Then he picked up Long Ritian’s painting.”

“Laughably, to raise and then suppress, the expert said before looking, ‘This ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’ is famous, so there are many fakes, and the forgery methods are sophisticated. It’s normal if you can’t tell.'”

“But after looking at the painting, he was shocked to the point of almost kneeling!”

“‘It’s… it’s Tang Bohu’s original!!!'”

“The expert’s shout shocked everyone! The shabby and disheveled Long Ritian suddenly became mysterious and impressive!”

“Everyone was slapped in the face, and Long Ritian successfully showed off!”

Xu Liang recalled the banquet plot from the original story and felt speechless.

“Then halfway through the banquet, Li Laotaiye suddenly collapsed…”

“And it was time for our protagonist Long Ritian to show off his medical skills.”

“The brainless bystanders immediately forgot about being slapped in the face and started mocking again.”

“Naturally, the result was another face slap.”

“After waking up, Li Laotaiye thanked him for repaying evil with good and bowed deeply.”

“So the Li family, like the Su family, became part of Long Ritian’s network, helping him later take down the Chen family.”

“But Li Laotaiye never knew that his sudden myocardial infarction was due to Long Ritian’s trick.”

“Long Ritian had investigated him and secretly administered a powder.”

“This powder was colorless, tasteless, and non-toxic but reacted with a medicine Li Laotaiye had been taking, causing a myocardial infarction!”

“And Long Ritian’s goal was to make a sensational debut at this banquet!”

“Using such despicable means for his benefit!”

“Sigh, but he’s the protagonist!”

As Xu Liang recalled the original plot, his system suddenly activated.

〈Ding! Congratulations to the host for avoiding a death scene in the original story and successfully surviving!〉

〈The host has received the following rewards!〉

〈Host’s Strength +20! Constitution +20!〉

〈Hundred Poisons Manual ×1!〉

“Hundred Poisons Manual?”

After the system’s mechanical voice, Xu Liang felt a vast amount of knowledge flooding into his mind.

After a headache, he instantly grasped the properties of various poisons and detoxification methods.

“System, why did you suddenly give me such generous rewards?”

Xu Liang was pleasantly surprised.

Over the past few days, after his initial excitement, he had understood the function of this “Survival System” that had suddenly appeared.

The Survival System, as the name suggests, was meant to help him escape his fate as cannon fodder.

For every day he survived, he would receive rewards.

But these rewards were very paltry—

〈Ding! Congratulations to the host for surviving another day!〉

〈Strength +1! Constitution +1!〉

Why was this time so generous?

Hearing Xu Liang’s question, the system, which usually only made announcements at 24:00 every day, uncharacteristically responded.

〈According to the plot, the host should have died by now. Successfully surviving naturally brings corresponding rewards.〉

〈By the way, if the host angers the male protagonist Long Ao and he bears a grudge, the higher his hatred value, the greater the daily survival rewards for the host!〉

“…System, are you asking me to provoke Long Ritian?!”

“He’s the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King! With a protagonist halo!”

“Are you trying to get me killed?”

〈The system is merely making a suggestion. It’s up to the host to decide.〉

“……”

“……”

“……Damn it, let’s go for it!”

“Fortune favors the bold!”

“A real man born in this world cannot remain under others forever!”

Ultimately, Xu Liang made a decision.

What about the protagonist halo?

He was a transmigrator, why should he fear a native!

Moreover, Xu Liang knew from the plot that the Chen family was the main antagonist in the early stages, and Chen Xiongtian had even made Long Ritian suffer.

As long as he used the Chen family’s banner, using the tiger’s skin to act mighty, and let the Chen family shield him from Long Ritian, he could secretly grow stronger.

When his strength improved, he might be able to contend with the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King!

tln : bro, you are the protagonist, why the hell u afraid of mere villain like ao long lmao.