When the palanquin finally approached the gates of the Southern Capital, the System woke Zhijiang and whispered softly:

[Jiqi, it's time to get up. Don't forget that when you enter the city, the Script will immediately activate.]

He barely cracked his teary eyes from his slumber and sighed muffledly. The black thick clothes were incredibly hot in the blazing sun: the rough fabric clung to his body and restrained his movements.

"Damn, and why was I dressed in this?"

The system answered confidently, but Zhijiang could detect a smirk in her voice:

[On his first appearance, the villain must look elegant and attractive, like a mysterious thorny rose among the weeds. You must catch the main character's eye with your unusual beauty].

"And no one thought about the smell, huh? And what's a rose among the weeds? More like a banana peel by the trash."

Zhijiang himself was sweating rather profusely, and in this hot weather he felt as if he were suffocating at all.

The system guiltily shushed him:

[Why are you so self-critical? Jiqi, do you want me to create a faint breeze around you?]

Gou Zhijiang sighed again.

"Can't you just take away my sweating?"

[I can't change your body, Jiqi, I'm sorry.]

There was indeed a sound of regret in her voice.

He slowly climbed out of the palanquin and stretched. The charioteer glanced at him and then turned away graciously.

"I will wait for you here, sir."

"All right," Zhijiang nodded.

A faint breeze blew in his face. Covering his eyes with pleasure, Gou Zhijiang froze and touched his hands to his smooth, pale face.

The system obligingly inquired:

[What do you think?]

Zhijiang curved the corners of his mouth in a smile.

"Fine."

She snorted happily:

[I'm so glad, so glad!]

Sometimes she acted incredibly childish, even though she was just a prescribed program code. Over the course of the first two Scenarios they had managed to rub off on each other, and now they communicated as freely as ordinary friends could. Zhijiang was glad that at least something around him was unchanged.

[Well, are you ready?]

The southern capital was surrounded by a tall carved gate with several mahogany roofs. At the entrance were four guards and a pair of harnessed palanquins with beautiful thoroughbred horses. Squinting against the sunlight that was eating his eyes, Gou Zhijiang took out an imperial seal from his inner pocket with a signature allowing him to enter the city unhindered.

The imprint of the jade seal had several characters carved into it. Zhijiang ran his fingertips over them and looked up at the gate.

He didn't know how long this Scenario would take. The last ones had taken him four months - the main characters were a bit dumb and it had taken him six weeks to push them together. All in all, it wasn't the best time of his life, because the role of literature teacher was frankly bad for him. All he did in class to keep the curious children occupied was to turn on straightforward comedies, and he made them promise not to tell anyone about it.

At the end of that Scenario, his picture ended up on the "Teacher of the Year" board, and he knew exactly why.

Still, throwing the seniors a drunken hangout at his apartment to celebrate graduation was a good idea.

[Ready, Jiqi?]

He turned his thoughts away and moved toward the gate. Several guards stepped towards him and demanded to see the seal. When he showed it, Zhijiang was immediately allowed to enter the city, but was stopped before he could take a few steps. One of the guards exchanged a few words with someone, and immediately a short chubby man wearing an amusing hat with wings spread out rushed to him with an excited face.

[This is the official Hong Jianyi, the one who will escort you to the tournament.]

"Master, master!" he repeated loudly, as if reproaching himself for something. "I apologize, Junghong (a title personally issued by the Emperor), you were supposed to be met back at the Cloud, but our guards could not find you. My apologies, sir."

The official bowed deeply to him, his reddish and sweaty face trembling slightly.

"My name is Hong Jianyi, and I am His Imperial Majesty's appointed guide. Please follow me to the tournament. The Emperor wishes to see you before the start. Come, come, lord, woof."

As Gou Zhijiang stepped over the gate, a sign above his head flashed:

[Attention!!! The Lotus for Two scenario has been activated. Open access to the Caretakers' comments?]

"Is that so necessary?" appealed System Zhijiang.

The one said pitifully:

[I'm already so used to them, Jiqi, please!]

With a sigh, he mentally pressed yes.

Immediately a huge flood of hundreds of lines poured in, from enthusiastic to pessimistic.

[ah, what beautiful graphics, look at that! and those clothes, God~]

[why is the main character so stupid? why is she talking to him like that! oy-ya, naughty girl!]

[when's the episode with the kiss? ~~]

[new episode isn't out yet, it's online, chicken]

[throw the noodle recipe, huh]

[why is the Emperor so sexy? give the Emperor the lead role!]

[does anyone die? tell me, please]

[get out of here]

"Turn them off," Zhijiang's face darkened, but the System did not respond to his request, continuing to read the new influx of comments with gusto and sparkling eyes.

Following the official, Zhijiang looked around with interest along the way. On the main street, the rich smell of meat and fragrant spices hovered, so delicious it made his stomach churn. Several wagons filled with utensils and straw passed by. Glancing around, Zhijiang noticed that four warriors were following him at a distance, their grim faces slightly straining him.

"Was your trip comfortable?" the Hong Jianyi official asked in a confused voice, wiping his fogged face with a white handkerchief.

Zhijiang looked dryly at the sweating man.

"No."

The official looked at him sideways and turned away, muttering something. He probably kept repeating his apology over and over again, but he didn't give a damn.

He wanted to be with the protagonists as soon as possible to begin his big play, so he quickened his pace and the official had no choice but to follow, panting loudly.

The tournament grounds, right in front of the palace, were a splash of color. Above the cushioned seats for spectators were large red umbrellas to shield them from the hot sun. The tournament had only recently begun, and several swordsmen had already shown themselves in front of the Emperor. There was excited talk here and there about who the next winner would be, and a few courtiers were even exchanging bags of gold, betting aggressively.

A powerful figure sat imposingly on the throne under the silk canopy. The emperor, clad in a bright scarlet hanfu painted with golden patterns, boredly watched the courtiers while the servants cleared the tournament ground, preparing it for a new battle.

An official, followed lazily by Zhijiang, hurriedly turned to him and mouthed:

"Junghong, please follow me!"

"Am I following you anyway, you idiot, or should I fly?"

He nodded silently.

After bypassing the crowd of courtiers who had no place on the podium, they proceeded to the Emperor. The guards blocked the way and the official quickly said something to them and turned back to Zhijiang.

"Come, come."

"Yes, I'm coming," Zhijiang nodded grudgingly.

After making a few formal bows, Hong Jianyi departed. Zhijiang froze as a lone figure and felt uncomfortable. The emperor rose from his throne and headed toward him. His majestic shadow, embraced by a scarlet raging flame, grew over Zhijiang like a tree over a mushroom.

Maintaining a calm expression on his face, Zhijiang followed etiquette and bowed, expressing deep reverence for the dragon. The system was unaccustomedly silent.

"Your Imperial Majesty, I am infinitely-" Before he could finish, he was grabbed by powerful, wiry arms that clutched his back and pressed against him. Gasping for breath in shock, he tried to fight back, but the awakened System immediately shrieked:

[Be calm, be calm, Jiqi, he doesn't want to hurt you!]

Drooping like a disgruntled cat, he waited for the distress to finally disengage from him.

"Immensely glad to see you, Jia-jia," the Emperor greeted his cousin-in-law in a voice full of inexplicably tender joy.

"Another one," Zhijiang rolled his eyes, remembering what the System had called him.

His eyes flashed over the image of the man: the Emperor was tall, maybe a couple of centimeters taller than Zhijiang himself (or did the special shoes with heels contribute to that?). His black hair hung dutifully across his shoulders and was knotted at the back of his head to form two rings. His face was pale, and powdered cheeks were sprinkled with freckles. His black eyes were thoughtful and tired, but they looked healthy and full of life.

And his hands were strong. The kind that would easily squeeze someone's body to a crisp.

"How should I feel about him?" inquired Systema Zhijiang.

The one hastily replied:

[With reverence, with reverence!]

He once more forced himself to bow and answered the greeting with a cold face:

"My joy at our meeting cannot be expressed in words, Your Imperial Majesty."

He saw the dragon's face tense in disappointment.

[...overdone.]

"Fuck!"

"I didn't expect you to be so cold to your gege," the Emperor said with sorrow in his voice.

Zhijiang's face was impossible to describe in words.

"Will he blow my head off?"

[Let's see.]

"But I'm still glad you came to the tournament," the dragon softened. Gow exhaled imperceptibly as a tense drop of sweat rolled down his back. "Will you stay by my side?"

Zhijiang glanced at the tournament grounds, and overhead with loud shouts the System suddenly exploded:

[Main characters on the horizon! Jiqi, your performance is beginning!]

When he looked closely, he noticed in the dense crowd two figures that he had seen in the profiles right after he had entered this world.

Mai Nari and Guan Wai.

Together they looked really harmonious. A tall girl with a lush curly braid, into which several hairpins were neatly woven, crouched under an umbrella with a slight movement, and a reddish shadow was reflected on her soft face. The black eyes of the protagonist gazed enchantingly at the site, as if she were struggling with several desires: to fight herself or just to watch.

Guan Wai landed next to her. He had a straight posture, well-defined thin lips, and long hair that turned a dark blue in the shadows. The brown eyes resembled wet sand blowing across a desert road.

They were both incredibly handsome, as the protagonists should be.

Someone's fingers touched his elbow, and Zhijiang turned again toward the Emperor. An appetizing thought had already ripened in his mind.

"What is his name?"

[The Emperor's name is Zhou Zhixing.]

Lifting the corners of his lips, he brought his face close to the dragon's face and whispered conspiratorially to him:

"I'd like to test my skills."

The emperor opened his eyes in surprise.

"What are you talking about, Jia-jia? Join me, we have much to talk about..."

He brushed it aside. His eyes, squinting slightly, threw his gaze into the crowd.

"We shall have plenty of time, dear cousin," he allowed himself a similar frivolity and, noticing how the Emperor's invisible dog-eared ears perked up, grinned. "First, however, I would like to fight."

"With whom?"

He jerked his finger toward Guan Wai, tracing his long, slender figure with a slow movement in the air, as if this moment he was leisurely tracing his fingers along the thin seam joining the buttons on his chest. With a slight smirk, Zhijiang confidently reported in a husky, velvet tone that stirred his ears:

"I am eager to test this man."

The system, choking on his words, exclaimed:

[Jiqi, only the cauldron in Hell is hotter than you!]