The villain turns into the infatuated second male lead - Chapter 28

Yin Zhiyi hurried back to Qi Nian’s house and immediately headed for his original self’s room. Just as he stepped into the villa’s lobby on the first floor, a strikingly beautiful woman in her early twenties suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Brother, I’ve arranged for Zhao Zhiwei to come over this weekend!” Qi Lingling said with a wink, as if taking credit.
Yin Zhiyi stopped in his tracks, turned his face to glance at his original self’s younger sister, and decisively refused, “Don’t invite her over.”

Tomorrow is the weekend, and he didn’t want to deal with the female lead. He had more urgent matters to attend to. Even if he didn’t investigate the jade pendant’s space, observing the changes in the world after the connection would be more interesting than a staring contest with the female lead.

“Why?” Qi Lingling was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that her efforts to arrange a visit for her brother, leveraging her friendship with Zhao Zhiwei, would be met with disapproval.

Wasn’t her brother obsessed with Zhao Zhiwei?

“Noisy,” Yin Zhiyi replied curtly and continued up the stairs, ignoring Qi Lingling’s stunned expression behind him.

After locking the door to his room, he leisurely examined the jade pendant in his hand, which had a faint bloodstain on it. It was difficult to discern the inner world hidden within just from the pendant itself.

He felt the smooth surface, and it wasn’t until he touched it up close that he could sense the contained energy inside.

Recalling the process in the original story where Lu Jingchuan obtained the space, he remained expressionless as he took a small knife and made a shallow cut on his fingertip, spreading the blood over the jade.

After waiting for a while, the pendant showed no change.

The expected absorption of blood did not occur, which puzzled him. He was certain that this was the very jade pendant mentioned in the plot.

“Could it be that the blood isn’t enough?” he pondered with a slight frown.

After thinking for a moment, he placed the jade pendant in a small box and immersed it completely in blood before stopping the bleeding.

“Strange, I can’t seem to discern this jade pendant.” his long eyelashes drooped as he looked down at the box, his black eyes growing thoughtful.

According to logic, the entire dimension was being assimilated under the World Tree’s corruption. Although his soul was still weak, he should be able to use some of the dispersed power in his body. It was unreasonable that he was helpless against such a space that could only store items.

[Warm reminder: This is a binding item exclusive to the Child of Destiny.] A pale blue light screen suddenly appeared.

“……” Yin Zhiyi raised his eyebrows slightly, his gaze shifting between the light screen and the jade pendant submerged in blood, before sneering.

The implication was that even if he drained all his blood, he still couldn’t claim ownership of the pendant, right?

However, even so, he wasn’t ready to give up. Since he had already provided the blood, he might as well let it dry completely.

Compared to being uselessly guarding a treasure, Lu Jingchuan was the one who should be in despair. His golden finger was sold to a stranger by his mother for fifty thousand, and the apocalypse was about to arrive. He didn’t know what to say.

“Jingchuan, it’s just a jade pendant blessed by a master, isn’t it worth fifty thousand?” Zhao Shunmei said as she patted her son’s back to comfort him.

Looking at his mother’s wrinkled face, Lu Jingchuan recalled the scene from his previous life where she sacrificed herself to protect him, and his anger subsided.

He took a deep breath, placed his hand on her shoulder, and asked, “Mom, do you know who bought the pendant?”

For some reason, seeing her usually calm and mature son trembling slightly, Zhao Shunmei felt a sudden pang of anxiety. She quickly recalled Yin Zhiyi’s appearance and answered, “He was a very handsome man in a suit, probably a year or two older than you, and seemed quite wealthy, very tall…

He wore an expensive watch, but I don’t recognize the brand.”

As she described Yin Zhiyi’s appearance, an absurd thought suddenly popped into Lu Jingchuan’s mind. It seemed that every detail matched Manager Qi.

Despite not wanting to admit it, Qi Nian was indeed well-dressed, and he had left the company before him, aligning perfectly with the timeline. Moreover, Qi Nian had suddenly softened his attitude after previously scolding him.

Could it be that the manager had also been reborn?

This speculation made his heart race. He tried to calm the chilling sensation and pulled out his phone to show a picture of a pricey watch, asking urgently, “Is this the watch?”

“Ah! Yes, that’s the one,” Zhao Shunmei nodded repeatedly upon seeing the familiar style.

Hearing this, Lu Jingchuan’s resolve solidified. The current situation was that the enemy was in the open while he was in the dark. Regardless of the method, he had to retrieve the pendant from the manager, who likely already knew its function.

Thinking this, his determined eyes flashed with a faint trace of murderous intent. Having experienced six months of the apocalypse, he had become accustomed to life and death. Even killing seemed almost routine. He couldn’t allow Qi Nian to spread the pendant’s capabilities.

Seeing her son’s expression soften, Zhao Shunmei finally smiled and said, “He was very kind and spoke gently. I was so confused that I ended up selling it…”

“What?” Lu Jingchuan staggered, as if he had heard something utterly absurd. He struggled to associate kindness and gentleness with Qi Nian’s repulsive face.

Could he be mistaken?

After all, his mother said it was a wealthy second-generation heir, and finding someone with the same watch wasn’t too surprising. But there were so many wealthy people in Dongliang City; where would he find them?

Besides, could there really be so many coincidences?

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Shunmei asked, puzzled.

Lu Jingchuan’s expression changed several times before he temporarily shelved his plan to skip work next week.

Whether or not Manager Qi was the one who bought the pendant, he needed to visit the company on Monday to investigate further.

Before that, he had to discuss with his mother to ensure her full support in selling their house and stockpiling supplies.

He remembered that a particular residential area in the city had withstood the apocalypse’s trials and hadn’t collapsed completely before his death.

He had to take his mother there to avoid the initial dangers and become one of the first residents once the military established a base.

Having planned the future in his mind, he cautiously led his mother into the bedroom and said solemnly, “Mom, no matter what I say later, you must stay calm, understand?”

“Okay, I understand. What’s going on?” Zhao Shunmei realized that something significant was happening and covered her mouth.

Proud of her son who graduated from a prestigious university, she generally followed his advice.

Seeing his mother’s cooperation, Lu Jingchuan lowered his voice and said seriously, “Mom, in two days, a crack will appear in the sky that spans the entire world. In a month, a super typhoon will sweep through, followed by sandstorms, acid rain, and other natural disasters. The world will soon fall into an apocalypse.

At that time, chaos will reign, food and supplies will be extremely scarce, and people will kill each other for survival. We must stockpile enough food, supplies, and weapons before the apocalypse…”

He divulged everything he had seen about the future. Unsurprisingly, Zhao Shunmei lowered her hand and looked at him with skepticism, hesitating to speak.

“You… have you been stressed at work? Otherwise, let’s just quit,” she hesitated before suggesting.

She knew her son had suffered a lot at work and had already advised him once before, but at that time, Lu Jingchuan was focused on Cheng Shule and tried to use his abilities to change the manager’s bias against him.

“No, I’m not joking, and I’m not out of my mind,” he said, unfazed by his mother’s disbelief. For the sake of his family and himself finding some peace in the apocalypse, he was calmer than ever.

“Mom, do you believe in reincarnation?” he asked in a deep voice, staring at the middle-aged woman in front of him, his tone firm. “I’ll tell you everything about my past life, and in two days, the crack in the sky will prove whether what I’m saying is true or not.

Until then, don’t tell anyone about this, understand?”

While the Lu family was caught in a storm of chaos, Yin Zhiyi’s side was calm.

Taking advantage of the weekend, he stayed in his room to study the World Tree within his soul.

Although he was in a world without a master, the enormous size of the world was too much for a World Tree still in its sapling stage to devour, so it could only slowly consume from the edges.

Before Lu Jingchuan, the mobile power bank, Yin Zhiyi had not dared to use the World Source within his body recklessly. But now, the situation was different.

He knew Lu Jingchuan’s upcoming actions and had arranged to have some low-quality loan advertisements made, planning to have them pop up on his phone screen at the right moment. He wasn’t worried that Lu Jingchuan wouldn’t be tempted.

On the first floor, Qi Lingling was chatting away in the living room with the female lead, Zhao Zhiwei. When the topic turned to ideal types, she belatedly realized something. She quickly found an excuse, grabbed her friend’s hand, and headed upstairs.

The two of them reached Qi Nian’s room. Without thinking, Qi Lingling knocked on the door. Soon, a tall figure appeared, his previously flamboyant aura much more restrained than usual.

“Brother, Zhiwei and I made some desserts. Want to try them?” she said with a mischievous look, giving Yin Zhiyi a meaningful glance.

Yin Zhiyi’s gaze lingered on the serene and pure-looking girl, quickly realizing that this person was likely the female lead, Zhao Zhiwei. He nodded slightly, acknowledging the introduction.

“No, I’m busy,” he frowned, showing his impatience without reservation.

Qi Nian was a person who acted on impulse, rarely considering others’ feelings.

“Come on, it’s a rare opportunity, and it’s Zhiwei who made the desserts!” Qi Lingling emphasized, having put in considerable effort to matchmake her friend and her brother.

“You can eat them yourself,” Yin Zhiyi coldly refused and closed the door.

Rejected, Qi Lingling’s expression fell. It was hard for her to believe that her brother truly had no interest in her friend.

Compared to her disappointment, Zhao Zhiwei was more open-minded. Her clear eyes flickered slightly as she said softly, “It feels like your brother… seems different somehow.”

“Really?” Qi Lingling scratched her cheek, unable to fathom what he was thinking. Her mood swung between good and bad.

In the past, mentioning Zhao Zhiwei would make him light up with interest, but now he was so indifferent.

Could it be that… his taste had changed?

Boom——

On Sunday afternoon, a deafening roar echoed across Dongliang City as a crack appeared in the sky, stretching across thousands of miles. This astronomical phenomenon was quickly reported by various media outlets, dominating headlines and sparking discussions about its implications.

Online rumors surged again, with doomsday predictions resurfacing. The government harshly cracked down on these claims, which then subsided. Most people treated it as a joke, but Zhao Shunmei was filled with panic and disbelief.

The crack had appeared—apocalypse was real!

While the Lu family prepared for the impending apocalypse, Yin Zhiyi had retrieved the jade pendant, cleaned it thoroughly, and found that it was free of any bloodstains. He had tested it with sharp objects, the World Source, and blunt tools, but none caused any damage to the pendant.

“Really, no way to deal with it,” Yin Zhiyi said, casually playing with the lustrous jade pendant.

This was the first extraordinary item he encountered after arriving in the new world. Unfortunately, it had proven useless, seeming to exist solely for the protagonist and being worthless in his hands.

“How can I make you valuable?” he murmured thoughtfully.