I am the villain in the book

“Miss Li.”

Standing in the dim moonlight, Tang Chen was stunned as he looked at the woman with an icy expression in front of him.

He never expected that Li Zimu would suddenly become so unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that she seemed to have completely become another person.

“It’s, it’s okay.”

As the curtain fell, the front became empty again.

“...”

In an instant, the smile froze on his face.

Tang Chen stood there blankly for a long time, then silently turned around and walked away step by step.

However, after walking a few steps, he looked back with some worry.

A faint light shone through the gap in the tent, and a few flickering flames could be seen in the distance.

The night sky was crowded with dark clouds, and deep within, night insects seemed to be chirping softly.

Soon, Tang Chen left, his mood unknown.

Li Zimu, who had been very cold to him just now, walked back to the table and sat down, her expression extremely conflicted as she looked at the matching jade pendants on the table.

She didn't intentionally want to treat Tang Chen like that.

It was just that what Wei Changtian had said in the afternoon made it difficult for Li Zimu to care about Tang Chen's feelings.

At this moment, she was only thinking about Chu Xianping.

“Chu Xianping, he may have defected to the enemy...”

“But he should still trust you now.”

“There is something I need you to do.”

“No matter what method you use, try to find out as much information as possible from him.”

“I know this is a bit difficult for you, so I won’t force you.”

“If you are willing, then do it.”

“If you are not willing, then don’t do it.”

“Go back and think about it carefully, and give me an answer tomorrow morning.”

“...”

Once again recalling every word Wei Changtian had said to her, Li Zimu bit her lip and clenched her hands tightly.

The current situation was already very clear.

Regardless of the reason, Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping no longer trusted each other, or rather, they were already on opposite sides.

Then all of them needed to make a choice.

Great Shu, Great Ning, the Freemasons, the Same Boat Society, the Tiangou Army, the Kuilong.

Even Xin Feng, Dajue, Daqian, and Dahui...

Even though many people didn't know about this yet, they would probably have to make a clear decision in the future—

That was, who to stand behind, Wei Changtian or Chu Xianping.

Faced with such a difficult problem that would lead to eternal damnation if the wrong choice was made, Li Zimu didn't know how others would choose.

But for her,

On one side was her life-saving benefactor, and on the other was her beloved. She actually already had an answer as to which was more important.

The hesitation just now was not because she couldn't choose, but because she felt too guilty towards the other person.

But no matter how painful and guilty she was, now that things had come to this, she still had to take this step.

“I’m sorry.”

Closing her eyes, a tear fell on the back of her hand.

Li Zimu choked and murmured, letting the tears run down her cheeks as she slowly took the matching jade pendants in her hand.

Outside the tent, the cold wind howled, like a panting beast trapped, “whooshing” over the endless army camp.

Heavy cold air and choking dust followed behind the wind and fell.

“Young Master, why do you think Miss Li won’t stand on Chu Xianping’s side?”

In another dark tent, Yang Liushi and Wei Changtian were already lying in bed, preparing to sleep. They were currently in the “before-bed chat” session.

“Aren’t you afraid that not only will she not help you, but she will also tell Chu Xianping everything?”

“Heh~ She won’t.”

Yawning, Wei Changtian turned over, looked at Yang Liushi’s close-at-hand eyes, and replied, “At most, she’s just unwilling to deceive Chu Xianping, but she will never betray me for Chu Xianping.”

“Why?”

Yang Liushi blinked and asked in confusion, “Did you give her a puppet pill?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Wei Changtian curled his lips, “But she’s not stupid, she knows that going against me won’t end well.”

“But Miss Li truly likes Chu Xianping.”

Yang Liushi argued softly, “For the sake of their beloved, many women will do foolish things.”

“When I was in Fengqi Pavilion, many of my sisters were deceived by sweet words.”

“Those men were mostly poor scholars, or businessmen who couldn’t keep their businesses going, and they were the most eloquent.”

“Many sisters listened to their words and were willing to help them study for the imperial examinations and do business, even if it meant falling into prostitution.”

“Those men swore when they took the money that they would redeem the sisters and marry them as their wives when they passed the imperial examinations or their businesses grew.”

“But what happened in the end?”

“Even if someone really passed the imperial examinations or made a fortune, in the end, they all went back on their promises.”

“In my five years at Fengqi Pavilion, I never saw a man come to fulfill his promise.”

“...”

From Li Zimu to what she had seen and heard in Fengqi Pavilion, Yang Liushi went off on a tangent as she spoke, her tone somewhat indignant, obviously very disdainful of the actions of those “scumbags”.

Wei Changtian didn’t interrupt her either, listening to her finish before smiling and saying:

“What you said is also right.”

“But don’t forget, Li Zimu is not one of your sisters.”

“Don’t even talk about being deceived by men, it would be good enough if she didn’t deceive men.”

“Look at Tang Chen, isn’t he being completely fooled by her now?”

“But I didn’t say that Chu Xianping deceived her...”

Yang Liushi pulled up the quilt and explained softly, “I just wanted to say that once someone is trapped by love, any woman might do foolish things.”

“Even if Miss Li knows that she shouldn’t be against Young Master, what if Chu Xianping coaxes her with sweet words...”

Suddenly, Yang Liushi’s voice stopped abruptly, as if she understood something.

Wei Changtian smiled and followed her thoughts, saying:

“You see, you also said it was coaxing.”

“If Chu Xianping is truly sincere to Li Zimu, then he will definitely not involve Li Zimu.”

“Conversely, if Chu Xianping intends to use Li Zimu to deal with me, then he must not be sincere.”

“Do you think Li Zimu wouldn’t understand this principle?”

“Therefore, in any case, Li Zimu will at least not do anything that is detrimental to me.”

“At most, we just won’t help each other.”

“...”

“I see.”

Hearing this, Yang Liushi finally understood why Wei Changtian was so confident.

She hesitated for a moment and asked softly:

“Young Master, do you think Chu Xianping is sincere to Miss Li?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Wei Changtian smiled, “I’m not Tang Chen, it’s too easy for Chu Xianping to hide his thoughts from me.”

“But I don’t need to know, as long as Li Zimu can see it.”

“Besides, whether he is sincere or not, it’s not bad for me.”

“Yes, that’s true...”

Yang Liushi nodded in agreement, and the long hair scattered on the pillow also moved.

“If Chu Xianping is sincere, then as long as Miss Li is still by Young Master’s side, he will definitely be wary when he acts.”

“And if he is pretending, then Miss Li will no longer be entangled.”

“Yes, that’s the principle.”

Yawning again, Wei Changtian was really a little sleepy now.

“Okay, let’s go to sleep.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

Finally, the two’s “bedtime talk” came to an end, and the tent was completely quiet.

On the other side, Li Zimu, who had already received a reply from Chu Xianping, was staring blankly at the Xuan paper in her hand.

Just now, she had sent a message to Chu Xianping, the content of which was roughly “Young Master seems to be suspicious of you, what exactly happened between you and Young Master? Do you need my help?” and the like.

Of course, Li Zimu said these things only to further draw closer to Chu Xianping and gradually judge his true purpose from the latter's reaction.

Chu Xianping’s reply to this was only one sentence.

Or rather, only one question.

[Zimu, do you believe me?]