The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

With her mind completely at ease, Lu Sangjiu’s face finally lost its faint traces of worry and awkwardness. Now, even Gu Jue seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

She even offered him some earnest advice. "It was just an Illusion Realm. We can’t let it affect us. Don’t overthink it, and you’ll naturally forget about it soon."

Gu Jue: "...Mm."

A flicker of light crossed his eyes, but he also seemed relieved.

’Thank goodness, she believed me.’

Soon, Ye Zhiyao, who was opposite them, also woke up.

Xie Ningyuan, however, was the last to awaken.

Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement. "You’re a Buddha Son, yet you were the last one to wake up from an Illusion Realm like this?"

She teased him habitually, "As expected of a Buddha Son, your heart really isn’t pure."

Xie Ningyuan gave her a deep look. "Heh."

Lu Sangjiu: ?

Although she didn’t understand what right he, the last-place finisher, had to mock her for coming in first, she... did feel like she’d just been mocked.

She wanted to say a few more words, but Xie Ningyuan had already averted his gaze and changed the subject.

"This place is treacherous and unpredictable. Although there doesn’t seem to be any danger to our lives, these things... are really quite annoying. Everyone should be careful not to fall for it again."

Ye Zhiyao had been listless ever since she came out, and it was unclear what she had experienced in the Illusion Realm.

She was even a beat slow to react when others spoke, only nodding in acknowledgment after a delay.

She even meekly admitted defeat. "The woods... really aren’t safe. Let’s just follow this path."

Her behavior made Lu Sangjiu suddenly curious, so she sidled up with a grin, trying to fish for information.

"Senior Sister Ye, what happened to you in the Illusion Realm?"

"You look dazed. Don’t tell me you got caught in something without realizing it? Why don’t you tell me about it, and I can help you figure it out?"

The moment the Illusion Realm was mentioned, Ye Zhiyao’s expression soured.

"It’s none of your business!"

She shot Lu Sangjiu a vicious glare and turned to leave.

It seemed... the Illusion Realm was something she desperately wanted to avoid reliving.

Lu Sangjiu looked at Xie Ningyuan in confusion. "...What’s wrong with her?"

Xie Ningyuan shrugged, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. "Who knows? She probably did something stupid and doesn’t want to face it."

Lu Sangjiu: ?

’How strange.’

If she hadn’t already confirmed with Gu Jue that they weren’t in the same Illusion Realm, she would have started to get suspicious.

But now... who cares what happened to her? She was just being nosy; it wasn’t like she genuinely cared.

And so, she quickly put the matter out of her mind, completely missing the truth...

In reality, they were, of course, in the same Illusion Realm.

The first person to awaken hadn’t been Lu Sangjiu, but Xie Ningyuan.

It had to be said, the Buddha Son’s asceticism really did give Xie Ningyuan an advantage.

His worldly desires were not so easily stirred, so after seeing Lu Sangjiu for the first time, he had actually already realized it was an Illusion Realm.

However, while it would have been simple for him to leave, he couldn’t just watch the others remain trapped here, with no telling how long it would take for them to wake up.

Therefore, he saw through the Illusion Realm but chose not to leave. Instead, he followed Lu Sangjiu when he saw her go to the river alone.

Much of what he said at the time was actually meant to guide Lu Sangjiu to see through the Illusion Realm herself. Of course... he’d slipped in a few personal remarks as well.

As for what he slipped in, that’s a matter of opinion.

When it came to Ye Zhiyao, Xie Ningyuan was naturally not so kind. He simply kept his distance from her, not caring whether she could wake up or not.

He just hadn’t expected the Mimosa Tree’s methods to be so audacious; after nightfall, everyone fell under its influence.

He himself had it under control, but Ye Zhiyao was far too easily swayed.

During the day, she was still subconsciously afraid of him, but when night came, she actually dared to steel her nerves and grope her way onto his bed.

The result, of course, was that he knocked her unconscious, then went to take a cold bath.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered going to get Lu Sangjiu directly, but when he stood before their gate, he hesitated.

This Illusion Realm merely amplified everyone’s worldly desires; it didn’t completely destroy their sanity.

In other words... if something really did happen between Lu Sangjiu and Gu Jue, it must have been because she was willing.

The moment he turned and left, he felt he was being truly audacious.

But by the time he reached the river, he had calmed down, because he knew she would definitely come.

And of course, it turned out that his gamble had paid off.

After seeing Lu Sangjiu see through the Illusion Realm, Xie Ningyuan slipped away quietly.

Of course, he didn’t leave the Illusion Realm with her; he went to find Gu Jue.

Mm... although he was always finding fault with Gu Jue, he wasn’t so disloyal as to leave him alone here to ’play’ with Ye Zhiyao.

When he found Gu Jue, he was surprised to see he had already returned to normal.

However, someone who hadn’t returned to normal was pestering him.

Xie Ningyuan reflected for a moment. ’I must not have been harsh enough with Ye Zhiyao just now, which is why she woke up so quickly... I can be harsher next time.’

At that moment, Ye Zhiyao was clinging to Gu Jue, refusing to let him leave, spouting a string of sappy sweet nothings that was truly a sight to behold.

Gu Jue, for his part, was quite frightened, but due to his persona within the Illusion Realm, he was still trying to earnestly persuade her.

"Cousin, don’t be like this. We’re family. Besides, we both have spouses. How can you face them if you act like this?"

Ye Zhiyao: "But I love you, Cousin! I don’t want anyone else... Cousin, I’m begging you, just this once. Let me indulge myself just one time, please?"

Gu Jue: "Absurd! If Xie Ningyuan heard you say that, could you still be so brazen?"

Xie Ningyuan: "..."

Oops, he really had heard it.

What a spectacular... family drama.

Seeing that Gu Jue was about to be pounced on by Ye Zhiyao, Xie Ningyuan couldn’t bear to watch any longer and finally stepped out.

"You two seem busy?"

Hearing Xie Ningyuan’s voice, Ye Zhiyao snapped to her senses. She glanced back at him with a fearful expression and quickly hid behind Gu Jue.

"You... Why are you here?"

Xie Ningyuan smiled. "If I weren’t here, how could I have heard such a fascinating conversation?"

Gu Jue looked disheveled. He frowned but still defended Ye Zhiyao. "She seems to have mistakenly taken some kind of aphrodisiac. She didn’t truly mean to betray you... You should take her back."

Xie Ningyuan was speechless. "Do I look like someone who enjoys being cuckolded?"

He was just making a sarcastic comment, but unexpectedly, who knows what Ye Zhiyao imagined, she suddenly grabbed Gu Jue’s arm excitedly.

"Cousin, if I go back with him, he’ll beat me to death!"

"And if word of this gets out, I’ll be ruined! Cousin, you have to help me!"

Gu Jue’s brow furrowed. "How do you want me to help you?"

After a moment of silence, Ye Zhiyao’s gaze toward Xie Ningyuan suddenly filled with malice. "Let’s... kill him!"

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