Chapter 105 - What To Do if You’re the Villain and the Heroine Likes You

After discussing something unspeakable, Fan Ziruo felt too embarrassed to initiate another conversation with He Yunxiao. This deadlock could only be broken by He Yunxiao himself. "Ziruo, do you now know how to write a love story?" He Yunxiao immediately asked. Fan Ziruo lifted her head slightly and replied, "Yes. It's about depicting the dialogue and interaction between the male and female leads vividly in their ordinary lives." "Exactly!" exclaimed He Yunxiao immediately. Indeed, as a protagonist specialized in "learning", her learning speed was extraordinary. With just a little guidance, she could easily comprehend broader concepts. At this point, Fan Ziruo already had a story in mind. To help her smoothly write a captivating story, He Yunxiao continued to guide her patiently. "Ziruo, how would you make mundane daily life seem interesting?" He asked. After some contemplation, Fan Ziruo said, "Characters." Upon hearing "characters", He Yunxiao's eyes lit up! Eagerly, he asked, "Explain why it's characters specifically." Under He Yunxiao's eager gaze, Fan Ziruo felt somewhat embarrassed and replied, "Because it's a love story. Most of the time is spent writing the interaction between the male and female leads. In terms of the length of the novel, the plot mostly revolves around the protagonists. As the plot itself only involves typical activities like eating and sleeping. So, if the lead characters are interesting, the story is likely to be interesting." He Yunxiao was ready to commend her but restrained himself to avoid appearing overly impressed. True genius! A real genius! In just half an hour, she had comprehended all the invaluable experience I've gained through years of trial and error! This truly... Sigh... compared to Fan Ziruo, I'm just useless... Ever since his positive impression of her, He Yunxiao could easily evoke emotions from Fan Ziruo. Watching He Yunxiao's sudden downturn, Fan Ziruo, who was in a good mood, also felt dejected. She feared that her words had caused He Yunxiao's mood to sour and tentatively asked, "Master, did Ziruo say something wrong?" He Yunxiao immediately denied, "No, no, you are absolutely right. To enliven the mundane daily life plot, the character design must be outstanding." "So, if you want to write an outstanding love story, you must have an outstanding character design." Seeing He Yunxiao's good mood, Fan Ziruo was also happy. She immediately asked the most crucial question, "So, what makes a character design outstanding?" This question was tough to explain but easy to grasp. He Yunxiao explained, "If the character feels alive to you, then it's an outstanding character design. They should have a name, personality, hobbies, flaws, desires, and so on." He listed these elements on a paper, then handed it to Fan Ziruo. He also took another piece of paper and listed these elements, creating a template for designing the female lead. After finishing, He Yunxiao looked at Fan Ziruo, who was deeply engrossed in thought, and felt a sense of tranquility. Heh, Ziruo, character designing isn't that easy. I remember scratching my head for ages when I first tried it. Fan Ziruo may be clever, but she's still within the realm of "human." At most, she's an exceptionally gifted individual, not a freak like Chu Xiaoxiao, who was the top genius at sixteen. She gets drowsy after reading for a while, and is still hazy when waking up. Even though she has a lot of knowledge, there's so much more she doesn't know, like the wide array of knowledge He Yunxiao has. Watching Fan Ziruo furrowing her brows for a long time, He Yunxiao didn't want to disturb her and even lazily blew on the ink that hadn't dried on the paper. Later feeling too idle, He Yunxiao pretended to be studying. Like a teacher inspecting students' homework, he walked to Fan Ziruo's side to peek at what she had written. The moment he glanced at the paper, he saw his own scrawling handwriting juxtaposed with Fan Ziruo's beautiful calligraphy. He had never felt bothered by his ugly handwriting before, but now, seeing his messy writing next to Fan Ziruo's elegant characters, he felt like a toad trying to attach itself to a swan. It stung a bit. Skipping the handwriting, He Yunxiao read the details that Fan Ziruo had written. Plot position: Male lead Name: Xiao He Damn! Why on earth should the protagonist be surnamed Xiao! He Yunxiao felt physically uncomfortable whenever he saw the surname "Xiao" now. "Ziruo." He Yunxiao couldn't hold back, even though Fan Ziruo was deep in thought. Upon hearing He Yunxiao call her, Fan Ziruo responded immediately, "Master, what's the matter?" He Yunxiao pointed to "Xiao He" and said, "Ziruo, could you change the name of the male lead?" Hearing He Yunxiao say so, Fan Ziruo's face reddened and she became uneasy. The master might find out that "Xiao He" is just a combination of the homophonic syllables from "He Yunxiao." She asked nervously, "Why does the master want to change it?" He Yunxiao nervously replied, "Uh... because, I read a novel before that used this name." Fan Ziruo felt very embarrassed and didn't dare to ask further. She immediately agreed to change the name. She used a brush to scratch out the two words "Xiao He" and wrote "Xiao Yun" next to them. He Yunxiao:... What on earth is "Xiao Yun," anyone who knows, knows. He Yunxiao was utterly speechless. "Xiao Yun" is... just what in the world is it? He felt embarrassed to death. Trembling, he said, "Ziruo, could we not use 'Xiao Yun' either? Can we change the surname?" Fan Ziruo also felt very awkward. She knew that using "Xiao Yun" as the name might again reveal her ulterior motive. She hadn't expected it to be discovered so quickly. "Alright. Master, what do you want to change it to?" "Change it to... uh... I don't know, just not 'Xiao'." Fan Ziruo said, "Okay," and, after some thought, she sneaked a glance at He Yunxiao. Despite feeling conflicted, she settled on "He Xiao." He Yunxiao:... He Yunxiao was completely speechless. "He Xiao" was the name he had used in his previous life. Now, whether it was a coincidence or something else, Fan Ziruo had accidentally written it down. He had already corrected Fan Ziruo's naming twice. This time, he couldn't correct it again. Anyway, aside from himself, no one else knew that He Xiao was his name from the past. Though it felt slightly uncomfortable, it was still much better than the surname Xiao. Fan Ziruo asked tentatively, "Master, is 'He Xiao' okay?" He Yunxiao, feeling helpless, replied, "It's okay." Fan Ziruo was pleased that her private wish was granted and said, "Good. 'He Xiao' will be the male lead in my new novel." Seeing Fan Ziruo being so happy about just a name, He Yunxiao sensed something was amiss. Being an author himself, he would also have moments of inserting personal ideas. Could Fan Ziruo be up to no good... "Ziruo, have you decided on a name for the female lead?" He Yunxiao asked from behind Fan Ziruo. Upon hearing this, Fan Ziruo put down her brush, turned to face him with a smiling face, and eagerly said, "Master, can the female lead be called Fan Zi?"