But, a dragon is stranded in shallow waters, a tiger falls to lowland!

The current Heh Yuntian is just an Educated Youth sent to the countryside, with no family background, and no one cares about him.

He can’t handle work with his hands or shoulders, and for the past two years, if it weren’t for Han Dongmei’s relentless support, Heh Yuntian would’ve become just as disheveled as other male Educated Youth.

Heh Yuntian’s talents are completely wasted in the Qingliu Team.

Now, not only has he fallen out with Han Dongmei, but he’s also burdened with massive debts—

Zhuoya does like Heh Yuntian, but she loves herself even more!

She doesn’t want to get trapped in a mire with Heh Yuntian, unable to escape her entire life.

However, while Zhuoya is indeed selfish, she knows very well how to speak and act.

She didn’t distance herself from Heh Yuntian just because he’s out of money.

In fact, she never accepted Heh Yuntian’s advances; they were always just ordinary friends.

As for the things Heh Yuntian once gave her, Zhuoya doesn’t deny them.

But these weren’t gifts, they were "equivalent exchanges" for her labor.

It must be said, Zhuoya is more resourceful than Heh Yuntian.

She won’t easily accept suitors’ gifts, and if she does, she’ll show some sort of "gesture."

For example, helping out with some work, or giving some relatively worthless "return gifts."

Anyway, Zhuoya doesn’t take things for nothing; it’s "give and take"—what you give me is a tangible benefit, and what I give you is a piece of my heart!

The gesture is light, but the sentiment is heavy, who’s to say "heartfelt intentions" aren’t priceless?!

Now that Heh Yuntian has "crashed," not to mention him not learning from Han Dongmei and going to Zhuoya asking for things or money, even if he did, Zhuoya has ample excuses to rebut him!

He Tiantian:...

Damn, what kind of female lead is this?

Alright, indeed for a period, it was popular in web novels to have protagonists with flaws.

Just like in some TV dramas, the seemingly evil secondary female character is more appealing and liked by audiences than the main female character.

But, an evil villain is different from a hypocritical protagonist.

In He Tiantian’s view, villains can be liked by audiences (or readers) because they’re "real" enough!

If you’re going to be bad, be openly bad, straightforwardly bad.

"I hit you, so I hit you, do I need to pick a special day for it?"

Hitting people is wrong, it certainly goes against tradition, normal concepts, and that’s the mark of a villain.

However, hearing such words is satisfying.

People can’t be so "bold" in their daily lives, so seeing such strong characters in works makes them feel great.

That’s also why villains can attract fans.

However, this doesn’t mean viewers (or readers) will like manipulative bitches or hypocritical villains.

Protagonists can be imperfect, even a Black Lotus.

But they mustn’t be hypocritical, insidious villains.

Heh Yuntian and Zhuoya as the male and female leads of the original novel are just too hypocritical.

He Tiantian can’t help but suspect that even if this novel isn’t infected by a virus, having such leads alone would eventually get reported by readers, leading to it being taken down.

So, when He Tiantian entered the novel world, it’s not just about simple antivirus work; she also needs to bring in a protagonist that better suits readers’ preferences.

They don’t necessarily have to be righteous and perfect, but they can’t be full of flaws or possess negative energy!

Zhuoya, a refined egoist, a White Lotus with a hint of green tea, is truly unworthy of being a female lead.

Of course, these thoughts are kept deep in He Tiantian’s heart, not even shared with Student Xiao D.

In front of Zhuoya, He Tiantian maintains the original character’s persona—liking her, pursuing her, offering whatever genuine feelings she has to her.

Zhuoya:... Are genuine feelings worth anything?!

Having been sent to the countryside for almost two years, with no hope of returning to the city, Zhuoya is no longer just a girl who only knows about love and believes in empty promises.

Perhaps, she was never "simple" to begin with.

Even so, Zhuoya is very capable at handling matters, not showing any disapproval of Heh Yuntian even after negating him as a potential partner innerly.

She remains gentle and caring towards Heh Yuntian.

Just with less romantic ambiguity between them and more candidness between friends.

Before Heh Yuntian comes looking for her, after hearing Ma Xinhua and others’ gossip, Zhuoya takes the initiative to find "Heh Yuntian" and apologetically says: "Yuntian, I really need that document, I’ll copy it overnight and return the original to you, okay?"

As a man genuinely fond of the goddess, Heh Yuntian acts as a cool and aloof male idol in front of Han Dongmei, but becomes a doting follower in front of Zhuoya.

The goddess has spoken, and the follower naturally obeys: "Okay! After all, Comrade Han Dongmei isn’t urging me for it..."