Leap Forward Comics: Watch How I Become a Villainess

Chapter 197 triggers the first side quest.

"Xiao Xi, what are you doing..." Although Han's father's tone was still gentle, there was obvious displeasure in his voice.

"I..." Lu He was about to open his mouth to explain.

She was interrupted by her stepmother, who immediately started wiping away her tears: "It's all my fault, boohoo, I shouldn't have mentioned that necklace..."

Great acting skills, she can cry on cue, much better than many idols.

However, this tea was really annoying, and Lu He frowned in disgust.

"You know you shouldn't bring it up, yet you bring it up every year, every time. If I were you, I wouldn't be so foolish as to keep repeating the same mistakes. Are you hungry because you love to eat so much?" Lu He's words were sarcastic and venomous.

He left his stepmother speechless, her face turning pale and then red.

The stepmother stared at Lu He, speechless, and even forgot to continue crying. This girl was not usually so sharp-tongued; she would only flip the table and throw a tantrum. Why did she seem to have rented a mouth today?

The stepmother was completely baffled.

"Pfft," Mr. Han couldn't help but chuckle, then immediately put on a serious face: "Hey, how dare you talk to your mother like that." It was rare for his daughter not to throw a tantrum; thank goodness.

These words made the stepmother's eyes light up again. She knew that these words had touched a nerve with Han Xi. Next, she would definitely go crazy, smash things, and shout: "You are not my mother!" followed by a string of profanities that could not be broadcast.

She secretly rejoiced, waiting for Han Xi to unleash his fury.

But this is Lu He, not Han Xi. She doesn't have that extreme madness.

Seeing Lu He lean back in her European-style dining chair and slowly cross her arms, she said, "Look at you. Although you're not my mother, you're still a mother yourself, not a little girl anymore. You're still so unrefined. What kind of behavior is this..."

He had the air of an elder scolding a younger person, which infuriated the young stepmother who was not yet thirty years old.

Not young, a mother, not mature, not a young girl, and so on—countless arrows were thrown at her, each word piercing her heart.

The stepmother was so angry she could hardly breathe, and her back teeth were practically grinding to powder.

"Oh dear, this child has no manners..." Mr. Han was good at smoothing things over. As long as his daughter didn't throw a tantrum, he would never make things difficult for her.

The stepmother clearly knew this too; as long as she couldn't force Han Xi to lose her temper today, she wouldn't be able to get Han's father to scold her.

Han Xi is not easy to deal with today. Could it be that she has a master backing her? She narrowed her eyes and had no choice but to give up today, sitting down dejectedly.

It seems we need to keep an eye on who Han Xi is getting close to.

"Ding, you have a new task to claim!" The system notification sounded in Lu He's mind.

"Let me see!" Lu He thought to himself.

"You have triggered a new mission: uncover the truth behind your birth mother's death!"

Oh? Interesting, the youth drama has been changed to a suspense drama? Lu He became excited, as she had never worked on a suspense drama script before.

Could it be that Han Xi's biological mother was killed by this stepmother?

The stepmother suddenly shivered, feeling a scrutinizing gaze. She immediately turned to look at Lu He, having been looking at Han's father.

The moment their eyes met, the stepmother's imposing manner faltered.

That's a reaction of guilt.

Things are getting interesting. Lu He's gaze remains fixed on her stepmother, showing no sign of looking away.

The stepmother turned her face away, seemingly avoiding her scrutiny.

The stepmother felt a chill run down her spine. Could it be that Han Xi knew something? It seemed she had to get rid of this child as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, she unconsciously touched her abdomen lightly.

Lu He caught this subtle movement. What did this mean? She was pregnant? But the pregnancy wasn't stable yet? So she hadn't told Han's father?

Aside from Mr. Han being happy, Lu He and his stepmother each had their own thoughts during the meal, especially the latter half of the dinner at the stepmother's house, which they barely managed to finish.

After the family dinner, the stepmother got up and said she was going to take a walk in the yard, so she escorted the old man back to his room first.

Lu He calmly said she was going back to her room and left the main restaurant.

The stepmother strolled around the yard for a while, then turned to a spot out of the camera's view and took out her phone to make a call.

"System, I want to listen to her phone conversation." Lu He, who had been secretly following the stepmother all the way, was now crouching in the bushes not far away.

"Okay, here's a universal phone for you." A phone appeared out of thin air in front of Lu He.

Lu He turned on the screen, and chat windows started popping up on the phone.

A: Why are you calling at this time?

Han Xi is acting strange today. I'm worried. Does she know something?

A: That's impossible. She was only a primary school student back then. Don't overthink it. Relax.

She might not know, but others might. You've been observing Han Xi lately, and I suspect she has someone backing her.

A: Okay, I got it. Your top priority right now is to keep an eye on the old man's will. Don't worry about anything else. The most important thing is to give birth to the child.

Are you sure I'm having a son?

A: How can I not be sure? The master has already calculated that you will definitely have a son this time. You can rest assured and wait to inherit the old man's estate.

Okay, I'm hanging up now, my husband's waiting for me at home...

The stepmother hung up the phone, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and quickly returned to the villa.

The screen on Lu He's phone had stopped at the position of the chat box.

"What is this wonderful thing?" Lu He asked as if he had received a novel toy.

"This is a special item that can retrieve and simultaneously view the phone calls and chat logs of anyone you want to hear or see." The system has spared no expense this time, bringing out such an incredible cheating tool.

"Why didn't I get to use something this good before?" This is exactly what a time traveler should be like, a tool that gives you a god-like perspective.

The system thought to itself, "The Supreme Intelligence hasn't started any new experimental projects before."

"How many points does this thing cost?" Lu He finally remembered to ask the important question.

"Five hundred points."

"What?! Where did I get 500 points?!"

"Yes, you don't have any, so you have a negative score now..."

"Huh? No way, you can do this?" You're such a capitalist.

"That's not all. You owe me 470 points now, but there will be interest when you pay it back..."

"Damn it, you loan shark! I'm going to file a complaint against you!" Lu He shouted angrily. Was this going to trap her in this comic book world forever, with no way to go back?

What are you complaining about? The system is helpless. After all, the Supreme Intelligence has given the order to keep Lu He here as long as possible for observation. The system had no choice but to come up with this dirty trick.

Lu He never imagined she would be in debt one day. She counted on her fingers: completing all the tasks in a comic would only earn her a maximum of 10 points. With a negative 470 points, plus interest, she would have to complete 50 time-travel comics to earn that much.

What's the difference between this and someone who earns an annual salary of 100,000 but has 4.7 million in debt?

"Fine, fine, I never thought someone as honest as you would betray me. I trusted you so much!" Lu He tried to appeal to his emotions.

"...At worst, I'll make things easier for you later... Anyway, you owe me this point, no discussion!"

"I want a refund!"

"Can't retreat!"

"Seven-day no-questions-asked return policy!"

"Keep dreaming! You're not!"

……

After bickering for a long time, the two finally calmed down, perhaps because they were tired of talking.

Lu He returned to the villa, to her own floor. What she needed to figure out now was who her stepmother had contacted and what kind of conspiracy they were plotting.

"Didn't your stepmother send that guy with the contact name 'A' to investigate you?" the system reminded her.

"Hmm, we should have a chance to meet." Lu He sighed and lay down on the bed: "I thought the main quest was on campus, but I didn't expect it to be at Han Xi's house."

"No, no, no, Han Xi's storyline is a villainous subplot; the main storyline is with Lin Yingxin."

Have I not triggered the main storyline yet?

“You saw Lin Yingxin too. She’s not the main character, no, she’s not from here! You should know what I mean.” Just thinking about Lin Yingxin gave Lu He a headache.

"That's not my responsibility. Strictly speaking, she's not a time traveler." The system distanced itself from the issue.

Alright, alright, it seems I'll have to keep trying to figure out how to trigger the main storyline through Lin Yingxin when I go to school tomorrow.