Chapter 1

In a rented apartment in Shenzhen, a young man with hair so thick it covered his eyes was intently staring at the computer screen in front of him.

Beside him was an opened bag of chips and a bottle of soda, but he had barely touched them.

On the computer screen was an episode of the current season's new anime, *The Villainess Daughter, Chris*, which he had not had the chance to watch earlier.

The villainess daughter is a character type specifically set up in orthodox otome games to drive the plot, usually with the following key characteristics: born into a wealthy family, has a nasty personality, bullies the heroine, and admires the hero (often with a betrothal). These villainess daughters diligently highlight the heroine's beauty and kindness, and are then publicly exposed for their true malicious nature at the climax of the story, leading to their engagement being broken off by the prince and their eventual exit from the story.

However, at some point, a new genre emerged where the villainess daughter became the protagonist, and various unique traits of the villainess daughter began to gain popularity.

This *The Villainess Daughter, Chris* is an anime adapted from a light novel. It was said to have received good reviews, and after being strongly recommended by a friend for two weeks, he decided to catch up on it.

"Definitely watch it! It's super engaging, I couldn't stop after watching nine episodes!"

That's what his friend had said.

Actually, because recent new works weren't very interesting, he hadn't been following any anime for a long time.

With a faint curiosity, he clicked on the first episode.

And then...

It was so good!

He watched all the way to the last episode without even having dinner.

Not sure what he saw, he suddenly slammed the table in extreme anger, stood up, and shouted:

"Damn! Give me back my dual heroine line!"

But he accidentally knocked over the soda bottle beside him, and the black liquid spilled all over the computer desk, quickly flowing towards the power strip hanging from the edge of the desk.

"Oh no, this can't be happening—"

It was as if he had been hit hard on the head; his vision suddenly went black, and he lost consciousness.

...

After an unknown amount of time, he woke up.

His head was dizzy, and his vision was blurry.

The moment he regained consciousness, he had only one thought: "I didn't die?"

"Master Wayne? Master Wayne, it's time for your morning exercise. Please get out of your comfortable bed."

The voice he heard was a gentle female voice, and he swore in his barely passable English that it wasn't English, but strangely, he could understand it completely.

Master Wayne...?

What kind of title is this? He had never been called this way before.

It felt like a strange sense of déjà vu.

And, emphasizing the comfort of the bed is unnecessary, thank you.

The scene in front of him gradually came into focus, and a young lady in a black and white maid uniform appeared in his field of vision. She was about in her twenties, with a typical European appearance and a few barely noticeable freckles on her face.

"Master Wayne, you're awake." The maid bowed slightly and then raised her head, her tone becoming stern: "Why didn't you follow the schedule for your training today? The swordmaster is already waiting in the backyard."

What?

Is there some kind of mistake?

The boy in bed, called "Master Wayne," looked bewildered.

Seeing that he was still in a daze, the maid seemed to remember something and softened her tone, though it still sounded a bit stiff: "Is Master Wayne not feeling well today? May I check your condition?"

Without waiting for his response, the maid took his hand.

He didn't have any romantic thoughts about the softness of a girl's hand; the maid's hand was as cold and hard as her personality, with calluses from frequent labor, making the touch not very comfortable.

A faint green light flashed, and the maid's expression relaxed.

"You have a cold."

She concluded.

"Accompanied by a fever, today's schedule will have to be canceled. I will inform Lady Ashville of your condition, and the chief family physician, Mr. Eric, will come to examine you in detail shortly."

The maid tucked Wayne's hand back under the covers.

"Then, I will take my leave."

She stood up, bowed her head, and took several steps back before turning to leave.

Wayne watched her go, seeing her pull open the grand and luxurious door of the room and gently close it.

'This is definitely not my room.'

He took his hand out from under the covers.

'This is definitely not my hand.'

It was a whole size smaller than his original hand.

So, he must have traveled through time, right? It must be a穿越 (time travel)...

He got excited.

"Who would have thought I'd have such an experience? I must be the protagonist of a legend."

Sitting up in bed, Wayne looked around the room and nodded in satisfaction.

The exquisite and luxurious carpet, the leather furniture everywhere, the Western-style decor, and the tasteful furnishings. It looked like a wealthy family, at least in terms of clothing, food, and shelter, there were no problems. Not bad, not bad.

Wayne pressed the back of his hand to his forehead; it was very hot, so the body was indeed sick.

But he felt a bit uneasy. The maid... her attitude didn't seem very friendly, was it just his imagination?

The family physician finally arrived after a long wait, and Wayne was almost about to fall asleep.

But when the doctor sat down beside him, he immediately forced himself to be alert. This was a great opportunity to gather information.

"Cough, cough..." Wayne deliberately coughed twice, pretending to be very weak: "I... I don't feel well, my head hurts."

As soon as the words came out, Wayne was surprised by how hoarse his voice was.

What? No need to pretend at all.

The family physician held a strange wooden device and pointed its tip at Wayne, and the transparent bead at the top began to glow.

'What is this? Dynamic light waves?'

Wayne looked at the light in amazement.

...

Eric von was the chief physician of the Wench family.

He was originally from a noble family in a remote area. In his youth, due to the decline of his family, he came to the capital alone to seek opportunities and was fortunate to be recognized by a powerful figure in the capital, Duke Elliot. Since then, he had been serving the Wench family.

However, this was the first time he had met Wayne.

The rumor that Duke Elliot wanted to adopt a foster son had been widely spread in the capital, and he had heard about it too.

There were even rumors that this foster son was exceptionally handsome, with a striking resemblance to Duke Elliot in his youth, and was actually Duke Elliot's illegitimate child.

As someone who received considerable support from the Wench family every year, he had no right to comment on the family's internal affairs, but he couldn't help but be curious. He thought he was already very lucky to have a golden bowl when he first came to the capital, but he never imagined he would be less fortunate than this child by a fraction of a percent!

Thinking this, he took a look at the subject of the explosive rumor.

His face was somewhat pale, with obvious dark circles under his eyes, and his hair, though lustrous, was messy like a bird's nest.

It seemed he hadn't rested well last night, but this didn't hide the boy's superior appearance.

He had rosy lips, white teeth, and a well-defined face with a high nose bridge. Just standing there, he naturally made people wonder if he was a child favored by heaven.

His eyes were very clear, looking curiously at the device in his hand.

Eric thought he was interested in the device in his hand, so he shook it slightly and explained: "This is the latest improved health detector, modified by Professor Conley of Clear Stream Academy. It can efficiently and energy-savingly display all your body's values, making it very convenient."

[Latest Improved Health Detector]

Just hearing the name, Wayne almost thought he was browsing an e-commerce platform.