It was a golden autumn afternoon. The sun shone just right, and a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves in the courtyard—nature’s softest lullaby. But Yan Xiao, who was supposed to be napping, wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

Her clear, dewy eyes stayed wide open, fixed on the ceiling above.

Dangling from it in neat layers were glow-in-the-dark stars, a crescent moon, fluffy clouds, and her favorite little sheep. As her gaze drifted downward, all she could see was pink.

A pink mini-sofa, pink desk and chairs, a pink night lamp, a pink teddy bear, pink curtains, and a pink carpet…

It was a full-on pink princess room. Just one look at the décor, and you could tell she came from a wealthy family—one that adored her.

The curtains swayed gently in the breeze, and sunlight streamed in intermittently, scattering golden patches across Yan Xiao like mischievous fairies. One moment they danced across her forehead, the next they bounced on her nose, even swinging playfully from her long, thick lashes. The light made her baby-soft cheeks look even more cherubic and sweet.

But Yan Xiao’s tiny brows were furrowed tighter and tighter.

Three years ago, just after finishing the college entrance exams, before her new life could even begin, she suddenly found herself here—inside the body of the newborn daughter of the prestigious Yan family in Rongcheng. At first, she was terrified and desperately wanted to go back. But every time she opened her eyes, she was crying from hunger and could only cling to her milk bottle for dear life.

Eventually, she gave in to fate. Sure, it was frustrating for an adult to be trapped in a baby’s body with all her memories intact, but at least the Yan family was absurdly rich and doted on her endlessly. Once she got over the shock, she decided to embrace her new life as the cherished heiress of the Yan family. Honestly? She figured she’d hit the jackpot.

Determined not to let anyone discover that a grown soul lived in this tiny body, she worked hard to play the part of a naive little girl. Three years had gone by, and not a single person had noticed anything strange. She was quite proud of that—in fact, she’d secretly awarded herself several Best Actress trophies.

She thought this “happy” life would go on forever… until just now.

As she shut her eyes for a nap, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her mind—and startled her wide awake.

That mechanical voice claimed to be “Transmigration System 007.” It told her the world she lived in was actually a novel— and she, a minor side character fated to be cannon fodder.

At eighteen, her family would fall apart, and she’d be left with nothing. Unable to bear the blow, she’d jump off a building and end her own life.

Yan Xiao stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind reeling as she slowly tried to process it all.

Then suddenly, she threw off her blanket, jumped out of bed, and ran barefoot to the full-length mirror.

Staring back at her was a porcelain doll of a little girl—delicate and adorable,
with a bright ribbon tied into a perfect bow on her head.

Looking at her own three-year-old self, Yan Xiao clenched her tiny fists.
Her eyes turned red, brimming with both fury and disbelief.

She hadn’t even lived past eighteen in her last life. And here she was again, thinking she’d struck gold by becoming a rich, pampered heiress—only to be told she still wouldn’t make it past eighteen, and her ending this time would be just as tragic.

How was that fair?

She stared at her small, fragile reflection for a long moment—then yanked the ribbon off her head and flung it onto the carpet. If she wasn’t going to live long anyway, what was the point of pretending to be a sweet little girl?

[There’s a way to survive.]

That mechanical voice echoed in her mind once more.

Yan Xiao, still fuming, blinked in confusion. Her big eyes were clouded with frustration and disbelief. “How?” she demanded.

[Earn enough “negative favorability points” from the villain boss, and once the bar is full—you can return to your original world.]

Yan Xiao stood there, mouth slightly open, stunned for a long moment before she finally grasped what the system meant.

So her tragic fate in this life wasn’t because she’d done something reckless to offend the male lead. It was because she’d gotten too close to him. And when the male lead’s arch-nemesis—the story’s main villain—came for revenge, she was caught in the crossfire and ended up a casualty, her whole family destroyed.

The plot of this book was your typical romantic drama setup. The male lead, Qiu Yan, was the youngest son of Rongcheng’s richest man, Qiu Chengyi.

Qiu Yan was practically born with a halo. By the age of two, he’d already shown extraordinary artistic talent and a remarkable sensitivity to color.

The entire Qiu family doted on him, determined to raise him into a world-class artist.
And since he was the protagonist, his talents were naturally flawless.
His progress in the arts was nothing short of astonishing, and if nothing unexpected happened, his life was destined to be smooth sailing.

But apparently, the author thought that kind of male lead was a little too bland—
so they threw in an archenemy for dramatic flair.

That archenemy?

None other than Qiu Yan’s half-brother, Qiu Li—the biggest villain in the book. And that was the man Yan Xiao had to earn “negative favor” from.

Qiu Li was the illegitimate child of Qiu Chengyi and his mistress. Back then, the mistress tried to force her way into the Qiu family, and the scandal stirred up a huge storm. But Qiu Chengyi’s wife, Xu Shuangrong, was no pushover.

In the end, Qiu Chengyi returned to his family, while the mistress took a hefty payoff and disappeared—leaving Qiu Li behind to be raised in the Qiu household.

As a bastard child—worse, the son of the woman who nearly tore the family apart—
Qiu Li’s place in the Qiu family was miserable at best.

Qiu Chengyi’s eldest son, Qiu Zhan—Qiu Yan’s full brother—had hated Qiu Li from the moment he entered the household. He couldn’t forgive what Qiu Li’s mother had done to their father, and Qiu Chengyi himself never truly accepted this unwanted son.

Neglected, resented, and mistreated, Qiu Li eventually transformed from a quiet, fragile boy into the story’s ultimate villain.

Qiu Yan was the pride of the Qiu family—surrounded by praise, adored like the sun. Qiu Li, on the other hand, was their disgrace.

Though the two were close in age, their fates couldn’t have been more different.
Qiu Li, consumed by jealousy, grew increasingly twisted. His resentment deepened with time, and he opposed Qiu Yan at every turn.

As the male lead’s ultimate rival, Qiu Li was, of course, highly intelligent—far above the average. From a young age, he’d already begun plotting to bring the Qiu family down, determined to make everyone who had ever hurt him pay the price.

And in the end, he succeeded.

The Qiu family went bankrupt.

Qiu Chengyi took his own life.

Xu Shuangrong suffered a mental breakdown and was institutionalized.

Qiu Zhan died in a car crash.

Just like that, Qiu Yan’s world collapsed. The golden boy was reduced to a debt-ridden, broken shell.

Devastated and drowning in despair, Qiu Yan eventually climbed his way back up with the support and encouragement of the heroine.

He shed the untouchable air of an artist and faced the harsh realities of life. After countless hardships, he finally succeeded in putting Qiu Li behind bars, revived the Qiu family name, and lived happily ever after with the female lead…

That was the novel’s main plotline.

As for the Yan family?

They weren’t even part of the story.

They were just collateral damage—family friends of the Qiu’s who were conveniently wiped out by Qiu Li in his sweeping revenge.

In short, Yan Xiao and her entire household were nothing more than disposable cannon fodder. Background characters. Plot devices.

After mentally replaying everything the system had just dumped on her, Yan Xiao was left with one overwhelming thought: This is so unfair.

But if this was the fate the author had written for her…then she had no choice but to find a way to survive.

“Xiaoxiao?”

Just as Yan Xiao was busy counting on her fingers, seriously trying to figure out how the hell one was supposed to “farm negative favorability points,” the door creaked open.

She turned her head and saw her mother, Chen Ziyi, walking in with a milk bottle, looking as gentle and loving as ever.

Chen Ziyi was nearly thirty, but she’d taken such good care of herself that she still looked radiant. Coupled with a happy marriage, she had a youthful air about her—
so much so that when she went out with her daughter, people often mistook them for sisters.

“You woke up on your own today?”

Chen Ziyi came over, knelt in front of her daughter, and smiled as she gave Yan Xiao’s chubby cheek a light pinch.

“So well-behaved…”

Normally, when her mom pinched her face like that, Yan Xiao would giggle and snuggle straight into her arms.

But not today.

Today, her expression drooped, and she stayed completely still.

Sensing something was off, Chen Ziyi gently scooped her up and asked softly, “What’s wrong, baby? Still sleepy?”

Yan Xiao glanced up at her mom, bit her lip, and after a moment mumbled, “No.”

She hadn’t slept at all.

“Then are you hungry?” Chen Ziyi chuckled, her eyes curving like crescent moons—warm and soothing.

“Mommy made your milk. Come on, have some milk…”

Yan Xiao stared at the bottle held to her lips.

It was pink.

It had cartoon bunnies on it.

It was a bottle specifically made for toddlers.

Freshly traumatized by the whole ‘you’re a side character in a novel and doomed to die’ revelation, Yan Xiao instinctively leaned back, recoiling from the bottle like it was poison.

No.

She didn’t want to play the baby role anymore.

And she definitely didn’t want to suck on a milk bottle ever again!

Chen Ziyi simply thought her daughter was being a little grumpy after just waking up. She smiled and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“What’s wrong? You’re not even going to drink your milk today?”

Yan Xiao bit her lip, trying to figure out how to gently convince her mom to ditch the bottle once and for all—when a voice floated up from downstairs.

“Sis! Is Xiaoxiao awake?”

Chen Ziyi called back, “She’s up!”

The sound of footsteps thumped up the stairs, and in no time, her aunt—Chen Zilu—came bounding into the room.

“Oh-ho,” she grinned as soon as she saw her little niece pouting, “Somebody’s not in a good mood today?”

She clapped her hands at Yan Xiao with a smile.                    

“Come on, Auntie will take you out to play.”

“She hasn’t even had her milk yet,” Chen Ziyi shot her sister a mild glare.

“No playing until she finishes.”

Chen Zilu winked at her niece.

“Come on, Xiaoxiao, drink up first. After you’re done, Auntie will take you to the Qiu family’s place. Didn’t you say you love playing with that genius little boy over there?”

The Qiu family?

Yan Xiao’s eyes lit up.

The moment Qiu Yan was mentioned, her whole face sparkled. Chen Zilu couldn’t help laughing—so young, and already this enthusiastic? Oh dear. Still, it was normal for kids to love playing and clinging to friends their own age.

Smiling, Chen Zilu coaxed her, “Hurry and drink your milk. Once you’re done, we’ll head out.”

Without hesitation, Yan Xiao grabbed the bottle from her mom and chugged it down in one go. She even wiped her mouth in one bold swoop and turned to her aunt.
“Let’s go!”

Both Chen Ziyi and Chen Zilu burst out laughing—She’s really that eager?

“Hold on, let’s get you changed first,” Chen Zilu said, pinching her niece’s cheek.

“And your hair! What happened to it? Come, Auntie will fix your little braids.”

Yan Xiao was in a rush. She wished she could fly to the Qiu house right this second.
She needed to see what kind of villain she’d be dealing with to start farming those “dislike points”!

But her tiny arms and legs were no match for her aunt. She got wrangled into a pale yellow suspender dress, had her hair redone into a tidy little bun, and was even strapped with a green candy-stuffed backpack. Only then did her aunt finally take her hand and lead her downstairs.

On the way to the Qiu house, Yan Xiao tried to seriously question the system about Qiu Li’s background.

But unfortunately, Qiu Li was just a villain, and there wasn’t much to go on—just a brief character profile: Qiu family’s illegitimate child. Due to childhood trauma, became cold, cruel, ruthless. Hates everyone in the Qiu family. Has made it his life’s mission to destroy them all.

After reading that, Yan Xiao’s little face scrunched up like a wrinkled old tree bark.

What was she supposed to do with this?

She didn’t even know Qiu Li’s likes or dislikes—how was she supposed to farm dislike points like this?

The car rolled to a stop in the Qiu family’s driveway. Yan Xiao took a deep breath, clutching the strap of her little backpack like she was preparing for battle, her expression grim as she waited for her aunt to unbuckle her from the car seat—her arms were too short to reach it herself.

The moment she was lifted out of the car and her feet touched the ground, she had barely found her balance when System 007 suddenly screamed in her head like a maniac: [Target locked—!]

Yan Xiao’s just-steady knees went weak from the shock, and she nearly collapsed in front of her aunt.

But there was no time to waste. Scrambling around her aunt, she peeked out—and there he was.

Just outside the glass greenhouse, a little boy around six or seven, wearing a tiny vest, stood quietly in the sun drinking milk.

Sensing her gaze, the boy looked up.

It should’ve been just an ordinary glance from a six-year-old. But when their eyes met, Yan Xiao froze.

His features were flawless—big, bright eyes like gems, perfectly delicate features—but his expression… was cold.

So cold that it gave his pale little face an air of aloofness, even indifference. And there was a shadow in his entire posture that felt far too heavy for someone his age.

So this was the big bad villain?

Just as the question surfaced in her mind, the system answered coldly: [Yes.]

Yan Xiao was filled with complicated emotions.

She looked down at her short, chubby hands and bit her lip, face full of melancholy.

The big bad villain… was only six years old.

How was she supposed to mess with him?

And to be honest, he really didn’t look easy to mess with…

The system’s mechanical voice chimed in, emotionless as ever: [Then you die.]

After a moment of hesitation, Yan Xiao braced herself and charged toward Qiu Li on her stubby little legs.

Dying was out of the question. She could at least run a few tests first—to see what kind of behavior would actually generate dislike points. If she could figure out the right balance—annoying enough to register, but not so much that she emotionally scarred the little villain—she might just make it through this alive.

In the blink of an eye, she was standing in front of Qiu Li.

He didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. Still wearing that blank little face, he quietly sipped his milk. His nose, high and sharp for a kid his age, caught the sunlight and gleamed a pale silver-white. His long lashes cast shadows over his eyes, hiding the coldness in them. Sitting there so calm and silent, he almost looked… well-behaved.

But the more he ignored her, the more Yan Xiao’s little face tensed up.

Oh, so you really like your milk, huh?

Fine then—

She reached out, snatched the milk from his hands…

And chucked it straight onto the grass.

Right after she tossed the milk, Yan Xiao looked up—and saw a subtle shift on Qiu Li’s face.

The boy who had been blank and emotionless just moments ago suddenly moved. His thin eyelids trembled slightly, and when he looked at her, there was… a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Even his brows drew together faintly.

Yan Xiao: “……”

Qiu Li: “……”

=^_^=

Author has something to say: Little Li Li: Oh? No more gross milk? Nice. (#^.^#)

[Xiao Xiao’s reverse operation +1] ✔️