Chapter 2: Who's Tormenting Whom Is Yet to Be Seen

She whimpered to Sheng Ting, claiming that the accident had injured her hand and that she would never be able to paint again. Consequently, Sheng Ting, repeating that she owed Yueyue everything, had someone brutally break Jiang Nanxing’s hand. Later, he spread rumors that forced Jiang Nanxing’s mother, who was suffering from illness, to jump from a building. There were also incidents like Yao Xinyue faking a kidney disease so that Sheng Ting would force Jiang Nanxing to donate one of her own.

Jiang Nanxing gasped. "The fate of a heroine in a tragic romance novel is like a 'slash' promotion on a discount app—no matter how much she’s tortured, she’s left with just enough breath to stay alive. And seriously, is Sheng Ting’s behavior even legal?"

The system sighed as well. "That’s how tragic novels work. The settings are designed to serve the plot."

She was speechless. Jiang Nanxing had reason to suspect that the original owner would end up with Sheng Ting in the end simply because she had no other choice. In this hunt, her self-esteem and personality had long since been shattered, leaving her devoid of a sense of self. The disparity in wealth, status, and power made every one of Jiang Nanxing’s struggles futile. Moreover, in such a novel, the male lead was an outlaw who could cover the sky with one hand.

If she wanted to contend with Sheng Ting, her recent behavior was certainly not a long-term solution. Once he calmed down, he had plenty of handcuffs and methods to make her and her mother’s lives worse than death. Jiang Nanxing did not have enough time to attain wealth and status equal to Sheng Ting’s, and her mother’s condition could not wait. Thus, she had no choice but to leverage the wealth and status of someone else. In the novel, there was a villain who could stand toe-to-toe with the male lead.

The system knew the upcoming plot was a bit torturous and feared the host would quit, so it coaxed her gently, "We only need to complete the key plot points to earn heartbreak points. Look, you just earned 15 points with ease."

Jiang Nanxing asked, "So, as long as I get the heartbreak points, that’s all that matters, right?"

The system replied, "Yes, yes. Complete the key nodes, reach 100 heartbreak points, and the mission for this world will be finished."

Jiang Nanxing flashed a grin. "Sounds good."

Seeing her willingness, the system provided the next mission point: Get framed by the "white moonlight" and have your hand broken.

Jiang Nanxing pondered this. "Is this mission mandatory?"

The system replied, "Yes, it must be done. Successful completion will yield a large amount of heartbreak points."

Jiang Nanxing asked again, "How is it judged as successful?"

The system was patient with its hard-won, precious host. "Just achieve the keywords provided in the mission point: being framed by the white moonlight and having your hand broken."

"Yikes, does that mean I have to go find a 'white moonlight' first?" Jiang Nanxing was slightly troubled.

"Ah? Why would you need to find a white moonlight?" the system asked, confused.

Jiang Nanxing smiled without explaining. She needed to visit Mother Jiang; she was a pitiable soul. It was just a hospital, only a short walk away. Mother Jiang was receiving an IV drip, looking gaunt and thin. When she saw Jiang Nanxing, she was filled with joy and struggled to sit up, waving. "Nanxing is here!"

Jiang Nanxing stepped forward to steady her, speaking softly, "Don’t move, just lie down. What if the needle slips?" With that, she casually tapped the IV bottle.

Mother Jiang obediently lay back down, looking Jiang Nanxing over. Her eyes grew moist. "My Nanxing, you’ve lost weight."

Jiang Nanxing tucked in her blanket. "I’ve just been very busy lately."

Mother Jiang took Jiang Nanxing’s hand, her own skin dry and warm. "Nanxing, let’s stop the treatment, okay? Can we just stop?" Although Jiang Nanxing had never told her how she raised the money for her medical bills, looking at her daughter’s increasingly haggard appearance, she could guess a little.

Jiang Nanxing sighed inwardly. This mother was the only sweetness in the heroine’s life. It was understandable that she would endure such torture from Sheng Ting and Yao Xinyue for her mother’s sake. She chided gently, "Mom, what are you saying? Didn’t we agree that once you recover, we’d go see the beauty of the world? If you say such things again, I’m going to be angry."

Mother Jiang gripped Jiang Nanxing’s hand, her bones feeling sharp against her skin. She was tearful. "But..."

Jiang Nanxing interrupted her with a gentle but firm tone, "There are no 'buts.' We will both be just fine."

Mother Jiang couldn’t argue with her and could only hold her hand, weeping silently. Due to her illness, Mother Jiang didn’t have much energy, and she soon fell asleep mid-cry.

Right, she still had to find a way to get her mother out of this hospital. Her phone vibrated; she took a look. It was from Sheng Ting, saying that if he didn't see Jiang Nanxing within five minutes, he would have people go fetch her from her mother’s ward. A blatant threat.

Tsk. Whatever he wanted, she might as well get the mission point done while she was at it. Jiang Nanxing said to the system, "Little System, give me the villain’s phone number."

The system complained, "What a strange nickname. I have a designation; it’s 240. Why does the host need the villain’s phone number?"

Jiang Nanxing smoothly changed her tune. "Alright, Xiao Er, just tell me if you can give it or not, or if you don’t want the performance credits."

That last sentence made the system swallow its refusal, and it immediately spat out the villain’s number. Rules or no rules—to hell with them, it wanted those performance credits! Anyway, there was only the host and the system in this mission world; as long as neither of them spoke, who would know it had violated the rules?

Jiang Nanxing typed in the number of the villain, Qin Jiu, and sent him a text: *Location of Sheng Ting’s private ward. Plus: Want to see Sheng Ting lose his cool? Come quickly, bring plenty of bodyguards.*

After all, a villain’s job was to sabotage the male lead in every possible way. He had crossed paths with Jiang Nanxing before. It was just that the original Jiang Nanxing had such high moral standards—believing that Sheng Ting really had helped pay for her mother’s treatment and provided the best medical resources, she felt she should return the favor and endure whatever he did to her—so she had turned him down.

However, the current Jiang Nanxing had no morals when it came to scum.

Jiang Nanxing wiped the tears from her mother’s eyes, took the fruit knife from the bedside table, and stepped out of the ward on tiptoe. This hospital was owned by Sheng Ting, so his ward was on the top floor. Jiang Nanxing took the elevator to the top floor; as it neared the level, she turned on her phone’s recording function.

Two tall bodyguards immediately stepped forward. "Ms. Jiang, apologies."

With those words, one on each side, they pressed down on her shoulders and clamped her arms, shoving her into Sheng Ting’s ward. Inside, a long line of bodyguards stood before the hospital bed, likely afraid she might attack his philtrum again.

Yao Xinyue was curled up against Sheng Ting’s chest, sobbing, "Even if Sister Nanxing pushed me down the stairs by accident and broke my hand so I can never paint again, I wouldn't blame her. But why did Sister Nanxing have to ruin my face too? Did I do something wrong, Brother Sheng?" She sounded utterly pitiful.

Sheng Ting lay on the hospital bed, his face dark, looking at Jiang Nanxing with disgust. "Jiang Nanxing, it seems you haven't learned your lesson at all! You’re just a dog I bought on a whim to amuse myself; do you really think you’re something special? And you dare to hurt Yueyue again and again!"

Jiang Nanxing began her performance.