Chapter 99: It’s Her!!!

For the next few acts, Gu Jianing didn’t see any malice value on the girls performing on stage.

Halfway through, Fang Manping appeared.

Because she had visited their house that day, Gu Jianing recognized her—she was the only person in the performing troupe that Gu Jianing actually knew.

As soon as Fang Manping stepped on stage, the malice value alarm went off.

[Alert: Detected one person with malice value at 51%. Host, please be cautious!]

Gu Jianing’s heart leapt, then settled a bit, but her brows drew together.

Fang Manping, Sheng Zexi’s stepsister, had shown up, and the malice value alarm had sounded. But it wasn’t 95%—it was 51%.

A value of 51% meant this person harbored ill will toward her and Sheng Zexi, but wasn’t likely to do anything life-threatening.

Either way, Fang Manping was definitely not a good person. That bucket of water she’d thrown at her the other day was well deserved.

But who, exactly, was the person with the 95% malice value?

Beside her, Sheng Zexi had been quietly observing his wife’s expression. From the moment they sat down, Ningning’s mood seemed off, and now she seemed tense the entire time.

His gaze fell on the performers on stage…

Was it related to them?

Time ticked by, act after act, and in the blink of an eye, two hours had passed. The show was nearing its end.

Soon, the final act began—the grand finale.

As a beautiful, pure-looking young woman performed a solo dance on stage, Gu Jianing pressed her lips together, her expression dark as she stared at the girl.

From the moment this girl appeared, the malice value alarm in Gu Jianing’s mind had been blaring.

95% malice value!

It’s her!

Gu Jianing turned to Sheng Zexi and asked, “Do you know who that is?”

Sheng Zexi looked at her with a strange expression, then rubbed his nose and replied, “That’s Old Li’s granddaughter.”

Sheng Zexi thought his wife was truly amazing.

She’d said she was coming to help him weed out rotten admirers, and now she’d accurately pinpointed the worst of them.

Gu Jianing instantly put two and two together.

Old Li’s granddaughter—that was the girl Fang Manping had mentioned the other day, the one her so-called father-in-law approved of as a potential daughter-in-law: Li Shuyao.

Li Shuyao, with a malice value toward her as high as 95%.

Gu Jianing had thought that even if Li Shuyao liked Sheng Zexi and disliked her, at most her malice would be around 70%—enough to scheme, slander, or try to sabotage her relationship with Sheng Zexi.

She never expected it to be as high as 95%. Gu Jianing’s expression grew grave.

Li Shuyao’s malice toward her was one thing, but more importantly, this level indicated that Li Shuyao had blood on her hands—innocent blood.

But Li Shuyao was Old Li’s granddaughter, from a powerful family, a member of the performing troupe, an entertainer who didn’t even have to go to the front lines.

How could she have killed someone—an innocent person, no less? To put it bluntly, Li Shuyao had killed before.

Someone who had killed an innocent was a completely different threat from someone who just schemed and played petty games.

At this moment, Gu Jianing’s guard against Li Shuyao shot to the highest level.

On stage, Li Shuyao was performing her solo dance. She was always the finale, and she was confident in her performance.

As she danced, her gaze swept over the audience. Seeing the admiration in their eyes, she wasn’t surprised.

Her eyes subtly landed on Sheng Zexi—he was sitting near the front, and under the stage lights, she could spot him at a glance.

But when she glanced at Sheng Zexi, she realized he wasn’t looking at her at all—he was looking to the side.

To the side?

Realizing who was sitting next to Sheng Zexi, Li Shuyao’s expression almost darkened, but she restrained herself, remembering she was still on stage.

Still, her gaze drifted toward Sheng Zexi’s neighbor—Gu Jianing.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she looked over, her eyes met Gu Jianing’s. The woman’s eyes were clear and calm, almost emotionless, yet seemed to pierce straight through her. In that instant, Li Shuyao felt as if she’d been seen through.

She instinctively sensed danger and quickly looked away.

But after averting her gaze, she grew annoyed—was she actually afraid of that woman?

Up close, she realized that woman was even more beautiful.

Especially under the stage lights, she seemed to glow with a halo. No matter how unwilling she was to admit it, Li Shuyao had to concede—this woman was more beautiful than her.

No wonder, no wonder the proud Sheng Zexi would fall for her.

With such a beautiful face, if only…

[Alert! Alert! Current character’s malice value toward host has reached 99%!]

Gu Jianing narrowed her eyes. It was clear now—she and Li Shuyao were enemies. Li Shuyao probably wished she were dead.

If that’s the case…

Except for the incident with Wen Zhuqing, Gu Jianing had never used the Childbirth System against anyone else.

But now…

Gu Jianing opened the Childbirth System’s exchange shop in her mind and browsed through the items. Soon, she found something interesting.

[Clown’s Invisible Hand: Use on a designated person. After activation, an invisible hand will cause the target to embarrass themselves on stage, unlimited times, until they step down.]

It only cost 1 point.

Perfect. She’d use this.

Gu Jianing redeemed the Clown’s Invisible Hand and designated Li Shuyao as the target.

So, in a way only Gu Jianing could see, the Clown’s Invisible Hand quietly appeared on stage.

Li Shuyao was talented at dancing, and she’d practiced this routine countless times. Even while distracted, her performance was flawless.

After all, she planned to use this dance to make a name for herself in the Northwest Military District.

Just after she tore her gaze from Gu Jianing, unwilling to give up, she glanced back at her.

But as soon as she looked, she felt something was off.

Why was that woman’s mouth curled in a faint smile? What was she so happy about?

Before she could figure it out, she suddenly felt her left foot gripped by an invisible hand. Losing her balance, she stumbled forward, her dance interrupted. If she hadn’t steadied herself, she would have fallen flat on the stage.

The sudden mishap shocked everyone.

“What happened? Did she twist her ankle?”

“What’s wrong with Shuyao? She’s always been so steady. How could this happen?”

Li Shuyao felt utterly embarrassed and humiliated. On such a big stage, in front of so many people—after everyone else had performed smoothly—she, the grand finale, had an accident and almost fell.

She quickly looked down at her left foot. Just now, she’d felt as if a hand had grabbed her ankle."