Chapter 4: “The Plot Upload”

The palace felt different at night. Quieter. Heavy. Like something old and angry was watching from the shadows.

Shi Yue sat cross-legged on his bed, rubbing a damp cloth over the honey-stained hem of his sleeve and grumbling under his breath.

“That damn general... smirking like he invented the smirk…”

He pouted, then shoved a half-eaten dried plum in his mouth, chewing furiously. His eyes narrowed at the flickering lantern in the corner.

“System 0018,” he said aloud through a mouthful. “You done cooking that corrupted plot yet?”

A beep chirped in his head.

> [Ding!] System 0018: Plot Archive successfully restored. Loading completed. Warning: Emotional damage level—High.]

Shi Yue rolled his eyes. “Emotional damage, huh? Please. I’ve lived through ten apocalypses and a reverse harem of yanderes. Try me.”

> [Beginning memory integration of Host Shi Yue (Original). Playback initiated.]

Suddenly, the world shifted. Shi Yue felt a sharp jolt behind his eyes—and then images, sounds, emotions came pouring in like floodwaters.

The original Shi Yue had been beautiful—just like him—but quieter, softer, the kind of boy who whispered instead of screamed.

He had once been the only son of a noble house. But when his mother died and his father remarried, the stepmother came bearing poison not just in her smile, but in her womb—a stepson who soon took everything.

His father’s death had been “sudden.” The will was “missing.” And the quiet Shi Yue was quickly sidelined, told to behave, to be obedient, to be “useful” to the family.

Then came the scandal. The Crown Prince was promised a bride. A political marriage. But the bride’s family pulled out at the last minute—and someone had to pay the price.

The stepbrother fled.

And so Shi Yue was sent into the palace as a substitute concubine. A pretty face. A disposable name.

Worse, he’d been told to pretend to be happy about it.

He tried.

And then... he died. Illness, they said. A passing fever. But the bruises on his wrist had never healed.

When the vision ended, Shi Yue was trembling. Not from sadness, but fury.

“That poor idiot… They sent him to die as a substitute?” He spat out the plum pit and stood. “I hate substitutes.”

> **[Reminder: Mission Parameters—Fulfill the Host’s Last Wish:

Expose the Traitors.

Make the Crown Prince fall in love with the Crown Princess.

Gain Villain Li Zhen’s Favorability by +20 points.

Failure to comply will result in soul degradation.]**

Shi Yue made a face. “System, do you hear yourself? That’s like asking me to feed a lion, pet a tiger, and flirt with a dragon.”

> [0018: Flirt effectively. Villain Li Zhen’s soul fragment is critical to Main Soul Recovery.]

He slumped dramatically on the bed. “This host was pitiful and pretty. I’m loud and fabulous. This is going to be hell.”

> [0018: OOC violation risk: 23% and rising.]

Shi Yue let out a slow exhale, looking toward the mirror on the far wall. His own reflection stared back—bright eyes like polished amber, full lips stained red from dried plums, and the unmistakable mole just below the lower lip.

He smiled coldly.

“Don’t worry, Shi Yue,” he whispered to his reflection. “I’ll make them regret ever thinking they could use you.”

And in the depths of his soul, something flickered. A fragment of power—still asleep, but stirring.

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