The Devoted Villain Only Wants to Survive, but the Heroine Refuses to

Ms. Astor: "Victoria, try this. I know you like Cantonese food, so your uncle specially invited a top Cantonese chef to cook for us today."

"Thank you, Aunt."

Frederick Astor: "Victoria, try this crab congee. It's good for your skin and health! The crabs I ordered were caught in the first haul of the morning, flown straight to Snow City, still fresh and lively."

"Thank you, Uncle. You're too kind."

Ms. Astor: "Victoria, try this. Does it taste like the food from your hometown?"

"Yes, it really tastes great."

Frederick Astor: "And this, paired with foie gras, is great for boosting energy and blood circulation."

Victoria was treated with the utmost respect.

Of course, as the eldest daughter of the Windsor family and the chairwoman of Chifeng Group, Victoria was always treated with the highest regard wherever she went.

But today was different.

The circumstances had changed.

In a moment of anger, she had agreed to the engagement, and now the older couple seemed to be treating her like their daughter-in-law.

The attentiveness wasn't the polite, formal kind reserved for important people or corporate CEOs, but the genuine care and warmth one would show a family member.

Victoria had never experienced such treatment before.

She couldn't help but be captivated by it.

Her family was a rational one, without the warmth of the Astor family, or the freedom, spontaneity, and casualness that characterized them.

Their family dinners were more like formal occasions, with everyone polite and respectful, focused on table manners.

It was nothing like the Astor family, where, as soon as they saw someone sitting down, all the good dishes would be pushed and scattered across the table, with the best ones moved right in front of themselves.

Victoria envied Edward.

The loud bickering in his family didn't feel rude or crude; instead, it exuded a strong sense of family and warmth.

Even when Edward and his father were pulling and shouting at each other, it all seemed so full of love and happiness to Victoria.

Edward stood aside. "Dad, Mom, I'm hungry too."

Frederick Astor immediately changed his expression, glaring. "Get lost!"

Victoria couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Ms. Astor quickly said, "Victoria, don't mind him. This time, he's in the wrong. Your uncle even gave him a good scolding. Just forgive him. Chengwen has always been a good boy, kind-hearted and excellent in his studies. You two practically grew up together; you know him well."

"Sigh, it's just that when he was in college, his father fell ill. He kept holding up the family business, and we didn't have much time to discipline him, so we just gave him money. As a result, he picked up a lot of bad habits. But at the core, Chengwen is a good person…"

Frederick Astor grumbled, "He's a scoundrel! Victoria, don't take it to heart. If he bullies you again, just call me, I'll stand up for you anytime, anywhere."

Victoria quickly responded, "Actually, it's alright. In the past three years, I wasn't very nice, and I said some harsh things. I may have offended you both. I apologize to you, elders."

"Oh, forget about the past! We parents can't always be serious with our kids!"

"This boy has no shame. Sometimes we get so angry watching him, but just eat, eat, don't mind him…"

Edward looked at the happy family around him, while he was starving and felt like crying with no way to express his frustration.

As he stepped outside, he saw his younger brother, Lu Chengwu, coming in. The two locked eyes.

Edward pointed at him. "Stop right there!"

Lu Chengwu panicked and turned to run.

"You little brat, stop!"

Just as Edward was about to chase after his troublemaking brother, he suddenly heard the system's notification sound:

Ding dong!

"Please accept your First-Day Gift Package!"

Edward froze, his heart pounding with excitement.

Here it was!

The First-Day Gift Package—finally! With this, he wouldn't have to worry about being chased by Sister Qingxia anymore.

System: "Congratulations, host, for surviving the first-day trial. You have successfully lived in this world for 24 hours. Now please accept your First-Day Gift Package!"

Edward quickly ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

Above his view, a large screen, like a video game interface, appeared with numerous boxes full of different gift icons.

Unable to contain his excitement, Edward clicked on the first one:

"Desire Elixir: Can make the female protagonist quickly enter a state of intense desire, you know what I mean."

Edward paused, his expression frozen. "Isn't this a death wish? I want them to stay away from me, not use this trash. Ugh, worthless."

He clicked on the second one:

"X-ray Vision x3: Allows you to choose three female protagonists to use X-ray vision on, guaranteeing nosebleeds."

Edward lowered his head. "Isn't this supposed to be the gift package? What kind of nonsense is this? All this low-class stuff! Is there anything useful, something that can make me strong enough to handle Davis when he comes after me?"

He clicked on the third one:

"Pregnancy Protection Pills: If the female protagonist is carrying your child…"

Edward angrily shouted, "Then I'm dead! What is this, a death wish package? Is there anything normal here? What about some real powers, like teleportation or invincibility?"

He clicked on the fourth one:

"Male Protagonist Disappearance Card, valid for one day. This card can make the male protagonist, Davis, disappear from the story, as long as you don't do anything bad or harm the female protagonist. Do you want to use it now?"

"Hahaha!" Edward chuckled with tears in his eyes. "Only for one day? Fine, fine, it's at least something useful. I'll use it, I'll use it. I'm going to enjoy myself today."

He clicked on the fifth one:

"Adult Toys Set: Passion comes late at night, including whips, ropes, blindfolds, lingerie, handcuffs…"

Edward quickly slammed his hand down. "You know I'm an adult now, huh? What does this have to do with completing my task? If I wanted this stuff, I'd buy it myself! What's wrong with you?"

He clicked on the sixth one:

"Teleportation Card: Allows instant teleportation to any location within a five-meter radius, able to pass through obstacles."

Edward quickly grabbed it, finally breaking into a satisfied smile. "Now this is the real deal. With this, I'll have a better chance of escaping."

Just then, his mother knocked on the bathroom door. "Chengwen, Victoria is leaving. Go and see her off."

Edward didn't open the door and shouted, "I know, just let her go on her own, I'm busy."

His father's voice came from outside. "It's fine, it's fine. I'll go grab the broomstick. You find someone to open this door."

Edward groaned in frustration. "I'll be out in a minute!"

...

Edward walked into the garage, scratching his head, his mind full of questions.

In his garage, most of the cars belonged to his father, including business cars, sedans, and minivans.

He had parked two sports cars here as well.

In his memories of this world, he had a separate garage, but it wasn't in this villa.

Here, he only had two cars, both sports cars.

Jon ran up to him. "Young master, which car are we taking today?"

Edward rubbed his chin, pointing to one of the cars. "Give me the keys to that one."

Jon hesitated. "Young master, that's your father's car."

"It's just one car. I won't die from driving it."

"Oh, but this car…"

"What's wrong?"

"It doesn't really match your status!"

It was a low-key luxury car, not striking at first glance, but very expensive.

"That one will do."

Victoria hadn't realized it yet, but her opinion of Edward had greatly changed.

The events of the last few days had made her feel like she didn't know him at all.

Before, just three minutes with Edward would drive her crazy. A single glance would make her sick, and hearing his name would make her lose her appetite.

But today, she was actually insisting that he take her back to the company.

Not one call, yet she still waited for Frederick Astor to force Edward to take her.

Of course, one reason was that she didn't dislike Edward as much as before, something she hadn't even noticed.

Victoria simply felt that Edward was somewhat amusing.

Another reason was that Edward had too many mysteries, and she needed to find out more.

Sitting in the back seat, Victoria calmly watched the scenery pass by, her mind racing on how to confront Edward.

Edward kept glancing at Victoria in the rearview mirror, his thoughts full of admiration.

[She's so beautiful. How could anyone look like this? Is she even real?]

Victoria was used to hearing compliments about her beauty, as it had been happening since she was a child. She was numb to it, even annoyed by it.

But hearing someone genuinely admire her, captivated by her beauty, stirred something in her. It made her feel proud and secretly pleased.

She couldn't help but smile.

[Ugh, I need to find a way to get her to leave me alone. Why does this keep getting messier? She came to drink with me and now ended up at my house. What a ridiculous plot.]

Victoria's smile faded, and she looked at Edward. "Why are you suddenly so annoyed with me?"

Edward blinked, then quickly responded, "No, no! How could I be annoyed with you? Everyone in Snow City knows how much I like you. Haha, heh, haha, heh, cough-cough… I mean... no, I mean, hmm."

Edward's response, inconsistent with his feelings, only made Victoria feel more disappointed.

A man who had relentlessly pursued her for three years, but as soon as she turned away, he acted as though she no longer mattered. The sudden shift was difficult for Victoria to accept.

She had once thought Edward was insufferable, but now, for some reason, she felt an unease in her heart, as though she was losing something valuable.

It frustrated her.

Victoria stared out the window, trying to stay calm. "Is there someone you like now? Is that why you don't care about me anymore?"

"Ah?" Edward blinked, then quickly replied, "Yes."

Victoria was shocked. She couldn't believe how surprised and angry she felt.

"Who?"

"Well, you know, that one."

"Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does."

Victoria insisted, "I need to know, who defeated me and became your new favorite?"

Edward pulled the car over to the side of the road.

He thought this would be a good opportunity to finally confront her.

"Victoria, let me ask you something. Do you want to arrange a marriage?"

"No."

"Do you like me?"

"No."

"Then do you hate me?"

"Yes, I really hate you."

"Well, that settles it!"

Edward said, "You don't want an arranged marriage, you don't like me, and you even hate me. So why are we engaged? Let's go back and tell our parents that we're not agreeing to the engagement. You tell your parents it's because I refused, and I'll tell mine it's because I refused. Problem solved, right?"

"But I want to know the reason."

"The reason is that I'm fickle! I've fallen for someone else! I'm a playboy; isn't that the most normal thing ever?"

"Who is this person?"

Edward, almost losing his mind, couldn't help but laugh at this woman's persistence. "Does it matter?"

"It's very important."

Just then, Edward's phone rang.

He glanced at the number and smiled inwardly—perfect timing.

He answered with a grin. "Hello! Snow Jiao, my little sister!"

Xu Xuejiao was clearly caught off guard. Yesterday, she had been pestering him nonstop, and now suddenly her tone was so sweet.

Xu Xuejiao played along, "Chengwen, you must be tired after last night?"

"Oh, you have no idea. You're such a little devil!"

"Hehe, stop teasing me, or I'll hit you! The press conference is today, you should come, we need to go over the script."

"Alright, alright. But you have to wear that JK uniform for me."

"Stop it, no one wears uniforms at a press conference..."

Victoria opened the door and slammed it shut as she got out of the car, walking away angrily.