Villain: After Slacking Off, The Protagonist Collapse

"Finally, she's gone!" Jiang Chen exhaled with relief as he sensed Ye Qingcheng's presence completely leaving Banished Immortal Peak.

In his view, apart from being brainless, Ye Qingcheng was like a jinx – it was best to stay as far away from her as possible. Moreover, since Ye Qingcheng was the female protagonist, getting entangled with her would hinder his ability to slack off in the future.

"But how does Ye Qingcheng know about Du Guyun?" Jiang Chen stroked his chin, puzzled. According to the plot's trajectory, Ye Qingcheng shouldn't know Du Guyun at this point! In fact, it was Du Guyun who knew of Ye Qingcheng.

He had once encountered her by chance, and from the first meeting, he was smitten by her beauty and fell in love at first sight. After that encounter, Du Guyun was determined to make Ye Qingcheng his Dao companion and planned a heroic rescue three days later to win her heart. Cliché, but effective.

Of course, merely playing the hero wouldn't be enough to become Ye Qingcheng's Dao companion. All aspects, especially cultivation and talent, were crucial.

Fortunately for Du Guyun, he was a child of destiny, favored by the heavens, and it was difficult for him not to become stronger. Witnessing Du Guyun's repeated rise in strength, Ye Qingcheng also gradually opened her heart to him.

"System, would it count as interfering with slacking off if I take action against Du Guyun?" Jiang Chen inquired.

To be honest, he couldn't stand Du Guyun, and it wasn't just a simple matter of them being enemies. Du Guyun was different from the typical protagonist of cliché novels. Selfishness was one thing, but this guy took it to the extreme, willing to forsake anything for his benefit.

For instance, to forge a divine weapon and enhance his power, Du Guyun slaughtered millions and then blamed it on Jiang Chen, ruining his reputation and turning him into a pariah.

There were many incidents like this. For his own benefit, Du Guyun allied with various races and betrayed countless humans. He even betrayed his own grandfather for personal gain. Du Guyun was an incredibly selfish person, the type who would typically be a villain.

Yet, he was the protagonist! His unorthodox style attracted a unique fan base and was popular online for a while. That was when Jiang Chen read this novel. If possible, Jiang Chen would love to kill Du Guyun, but then he remembered he was under the Slack-Off System. Would intervening in these events be considered getting too involved?

"It counts!"

"If the host refrains from intervening and remains slacking off, rewards will be granted. Choosing to intervene will mean no rewards, but there are no punishments either," the cold voice slowly explained.

"Understood. If I want the reward, I just need to ignore everything. If I don't want the reward, I can intervene, but there will be no reward," Jiang Chen mused.

"For now, then, I'll choose not to intervene. Du Guyun isn't capable of causing any big waves at the moment. I'll wait for the right moment to act. Besides, as a 'child of destiny,' he's tough to kill – acting now might just give him an opportunity."

The 'children of destiny' are notoriously hard to kill, growing stronger with each brush with death unless they are completely crushed. At this stage, Du Guyun's luck is at its peak, and it's uncertain whether Jiang Chen could actually kill him now, especially considering Du Guyun's powerful ring, once owned by a great saint skilled in space secrets.

"Let's continue slacking off," Jiang Chen yawned, returning to his courtyard to rest. He decided to keep ignoring these matters since he had chosen the path of slacking off.

—

"Damned Jiang Chen!" Ye Qingcheng, back in her room, couldn't contain her inner turmoil any longer, furiously punching the air as if Jiang Chen were in front of her.

His recent thoughts had significantly impacted her, revealing his true nature and some secrets, though she wasn't sure if they were true. She needed to discern the truth.

"But how does Jiang Chen know that I will meet Du Guyun in three days? Or is all this part of his scheming?" Ye Qingcheng pondered, gradually calming down.

The whole situation was bizarre, both the fact that she could hear Jiang Chen's thoughts and his foreknowledge of her meeting with Du Guyun. She hadn't anticipated any of this. Could all this really be Jiang Chen's plotting?

"It might be a scheme! Jiang Chen is cunning and deceptive; he might have realized that I already know he's the culprit. But if he has realized, why hasn't he acted directly?"

"Or does he still harbor some intentions? Does he want to lower my guard with this plot and then win me over?" Thinking this, the fog in front of Ye Qingcheng started to clear. She felt this was all just Jiang Chen's scheme, even the thoughts she heard might have been deliberate.

"Still, I need to meet this so-called Du Guyun. To see if he is as Jiang Chen described. And to find out if Du Guyun's father is indeed my enemy." Ye Qingcheng took a deep breath.

Regardless of the outcome, she must go to the Cangmang Mountain Range in three days to verify Jiang Chen's thoughts and to see if this was all his strategy.

If Jiang Chen knew what Ye Qingcheng was thinking, he would probably laugh. He was already slacking off; why would he bother with such elaborate plans? Moreover, Jiang Chen would rather not encounter Ye Qingcheng at all. She was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

The most important thing was that the more he interacted with Ye Qingcheng, the more complicated his slacking off plan would become. So, if he could avoid meeting her, he would.