The Villain Who Stole Hearts
Chapter 116: Built the perfect public image

Chapter 116: Built the perfect public image

"Did you say... you added a few extra zeros by mistake while topping up?"

"Is that even something a normal person would say?"

"If you added that many zeros, shouldn’t the transaction have failed? Shouldn’t the bank have shown ’Insufficient funds’ or something?"

"What kind of monster do you have to be to still successfully top up after accidentally entering that many zeros?"

"What the hell is going on with this world?"

"Why is everyone rich except me?"

"Please stay tuned for the new season of ’Living The Good Life,’ where our special guest Veil will take you on a journey to uncover the truth behind this madness!"

The livestream chat exploded with mocking and exaggerated comments, the screen filled with wild, meme-like bullet messages.

"Knowing how the devs behind Legends Descend operate, this might actually be true. They’re probably scared the big spenders will leave, so they match them with bots or weaker players on purpose!"

"But how much do you even have to spend for the devs to go that far?"

"They’re basically licking his boots at this point!"

"Disgusting! Money really can corrupt the soul!"

"Exactly! How can they just bow down to wealth like that? Unbelievable!"

Inside the cozy Honeydew Cottage, Veil finally spoke up.

"Director, isn’t the whole point of this livestream to attract attention? To get people talking in the chat? How about this—starting now, until the end of this episode, the top 100 viewers with the most comments in the chat... I’ll gift each of them the full skin collection in Legends Descend. Consider it a little reward. That work for you?"

Since this was his first real appearance in front of the public, his persona had to be carefully crafted. Whether a Daughter of Fate cared about money or not wasn’t the point—money was still one of the most effective tools for leaving a good impression.

Who doesn’t like money?

If he wanted a solid future, he had to start laying the groundwork now.

The director hesitated. "I mean... it sounds great, sure. But full skin sets? In that game, that’s easily over ten grand per account. A hundred of them... that’s over a million!"

"Can Veil really afford that?"

Veil smiled and casually tilted his screen toward the camera.

Some of the more dedicated viewers in the chat were quick to take screenshots. Even though the image was a little blurry, they managed to catch a glimpse of the diamond count.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million...

Holy shit.

Nine digits.

He had over ten million diamonds in his account.

That meant... he’d spent tens of millions on the game?!

This guy’s insane!

No wonder the Legends Descend devs were going out of their way to protect his reputation.

He wasn’t just a player.

He was a goddamn ultra-VIP, a literal walking wallet!

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

"I knew the moment I saw you—you’re my dad!"

"Daddy’s incredible! Daddy, buy me skins!"

Inside Honeydew Cottage, everyone exchanged awkward glances as the barrage of "Daddy" comments filled the screen. A few chuckled helplessly before the group naturally dispersed.

Anna’s junior schoolmate? Yeah—definitely not some average Joe. Anyone still thinking Veil was broke or had no connections? Forget it.

Luke Brown quickly shifted the topic. "Noah, go chop some wood—we’re running low." He said it casually, then headed into the kitchen.

Jack got the message right away and called Anna to chat in the small wooden shed outside.

Zoe and Veil were sent off to pick vegetables—probably the chillest job of the bunch. Meanwhile, poor Noah was left swinging an axe on his own.

A little while later, Zoe walked over with a cup of tea in her hands. With a gentle smile, she held it out.

"Here you go, big bro. Thought you might need this."

Noah paused, set the axe down, and drank it in one go. "Damn, that’s good stuff. Thanks, little sis!"

Zoe gave a shy smile and shook her head. "It’s nothing. Veil doesn’t drink green tea anyway."

As she spoke, she snuck a bashful glance toward Veil, who’d been playing idly with vegetable leaves the whole time.

"..."

Noah looked down at the axe in his hands and gave a dry, bitter smile. For some reason, the thing felt unusually heavy today. Maybe even... hot?

Luke returned from the kitchen, gave the stack of firewood a glance, and nodded. "Not bad, Noah. That’s enough for today. Let’s move on to the real grind—negotiating time!"

The four members of Honeydew Cottage quickly formed an impromptu alliance. Their target: the production team. Leading the opposition? The director himself.

Standing off to the side, partially obscured by others, Anna lightly ran a finger across Veil’s palm. Her eyes glanced away coyly, but there was no mistaking it—this was the first flirtatious move she’d made all day. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint.

Veil took a deep breath, didn’t dare look at her again, and turned his gaze toward the horizon instead.

Luke stepped forward. "Director, what’s the price for some meat?"

The director grinned. "Trade for fish—fair value. There’s a paddy by the cottage with some farmed fish. Twenty fish for 500 grams of pork, thirty for lamb..."

Luke glanced at Jack. Jack looked at Noah.

Noah got the hint. He wordlessly slipped off one of his flip-flops and handed it to Luke.

Luke took it, waved it in front of the director like a sacred bargaining tool, and said,"Five fish for 500 grams of pork. Final offer."

The director snorted. "No chance!"

Whap!

The flip-flop flew from Luke’s hand and landed with a dramatic smack on the stone slab in front of the director.

The livestream chat lit up again:

"Damn, that slap had weight!"

"I swear, just hit the director in the face already—why is bargaining so hard..."

"Luke’s not just bargaining—he’s going to war!"

The director raised one leg to dodge, picked up Noah’s sandal, and chucked it behind the production crew.

Noah sighed in defeat. "Hey, Director... can I have my shoe back?"

The director ignored him, turning back to Luke. "This is already the discounted price. Can’t go any lower."

Luke sighed and looked to Jack. "You’re up."

Jack stepped forward with a warm, friendly smile. "Come on, Director—we go way back, don’t we? And Anna’s our guest today. Give us a little leeway, huh? Didn’t you say your new movie drops soon? I’ll book a private screening, alright? Just give us a 50% discount."

The director shook his head. "Business is business. Even if you help promote it, I’ve already slashed the price. And there are six of you here today, guest included. Five fish per person will cover it. We’ll even lend you rods—you should be able to catch at least ten each."

At that moment, Veil finally looked up from his phone and said casually, "I’ll book a screening too."

"You—" the director started to reply, but just then, someone from the production team picked up a call.

Seconds later, the assistant’s excited voice rang out, "Director! Your movie—the Luxhaven City premiere just sold out! All of it! Every screening, gone in under a minute! Presales just passed 30 million!"

A beat of stunned silence.

Everyone in Honeydew Cottage—and the production crew—slowly turned to look at Veil.

He actually booked it.

Not just a few seats.

Every. Single. Theater. In Luxhaven City.

An entire day’s worth.

The director froze. His lips parted, but all he managed to say before walking away was:"The price stays the same!"

"HOLY—how rich is this guy?!"

"I take back everything I said—Daddy is real!"

"Director, hold the line! You’re the last defense against Daddy’s absolute power!"

"If the director caves, then my dad is officially invincible!"

"Respect to the director—he can’t be bought! Daddy Veil, did you see my integrity? Please love me anyway!"

"The director isn’t going to approve it no matter what we say. Noah, Veil, Zoe—let’s just go catch some fish instead. Go get changed," Jack said with a helpless smile.

The group headed to the storage room and came back out dressed in standard fishing gear.

"I want to go too!" Anna said, her eyes fixed on Veil in his rugged fisherman’s outfit.

Having grown up in the city, this quiet countryside life felt like a breath of fresh air to her. Experiencing something so grounded and authentic was strangely appealing.

Especially the part about catching fish—she had never done anything like that before!

Jack was startled. "Anna, you’ve got to be kidding. We’ll handle the fishing. You really shouldn’t go in the water."

He instinctively glanced at Anna’s long, beautiful legs.

Those legs had probably bewitched half the fanbase. If anything happened to her during the shoot, her fans might just crash the program’s servers with outrage.

Not to mention, her legs were insured with a hefty policy—no one on the production team dared mess around with that.

The hard work was for them. Anna just needed to sit back and enjoy the countryside views.

Anna glanced at her younger sister, who had already changed into pants. "But Zoe’s a girl too."

Jack turned to Zoe. "How about you sit this one out too, Zoe? Let us three guys handle the fishing."

He was clearly willing to sacrifice his sister’s screen time just to keep Anna’s legs safe and untouched.

Zoe quickly shook her head and stole a quick, careful glance at Veil. "Jack, I can help too."

Anna pouted, clearly annoyed. "So I’m just a burden now, huh? Fine, I’ll just watch from over here."

In the dappled sunlight, Anna’s delicate pout made her already-stunning face look irresistibly adorable.

The livestream chat exploded:

"My wife is too cute when she’s mad!"

"Anna, come on. You’re an adult. You know what those legs are worth—don’t act clueless."

"Don’t give the production team a heart attack! If anything happens to you, the whole shoot would have to shut down."

After a long string of explanations and excuses, Jack finally managed to talk Anna out of her fishing ambitions.

With three men and two women in the team, they picked up nets and large plastic tubs and headed toward the rice paddies.

The paddy field was located up a small hill, about 80 meters long and 50 wide. It was a sizable area, with shallow water that barely reached the knees. But thanks to the mud, their feet sank a good several inches deeper.

At least, that was Veil’s experience.

Standing at 185 cm with long, striking legs, he began striding through the water with ease.

Zoe, however, stepped in and immediately found the water creeping up to her thighs. She moved slowly and awkwardly, dragging her net behind her, clearly struggling.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, something darted past her foot. Startled, she shrieked and trembled, losing her balance and falling forward into the muddy field.

Crap!

She braced herself for the splash, cheeks burning with embarrassment. But just as she was about to fall, two strong arms caught her around the waist and lifted her out of the mud like a carrot being pulled from the earth.

Suspended in the air, Zoe opened her eyes to see Veil—taller than her by a full head—holding her effortlessly. From this close-up, every feature on his face looked like it had been carved by hand, glowing faintly in the sunlight, so perfect it almost didn’t seem real.

Her cheeks turned bright red in an instant, the blush spreading visibly from her face to her ears and down her porcelain neck.

She felt like all the blood in her body had come to a halt, her breath catching in her throat. Her mind was spinning, and she quickly dropped her gaze, too flustered to look at him.

Still holding her gently, Veil moved her to a shallower spot.

"The water over there’s a bit deeper. Zoe, stay on this side. It’s shallower. That way, if anything happens, I can help you out," he said, handing her the net and gently patting her head.

Zoe froze again. Ever since Veil had arrived at Honeydew Cottage, he hadn’t stopped stirring up her emotions. And now, this?

But when she met the warm, concerned look in his eyes, the chaos in her heart slowly quieted down.

She lowered her head and nodded. "Veil... thank you."

A tall boy and a petite girl stood side by side in the sunlight, and it was hard not to feel that the air around them was laced with the sour-sweet scent of budding romance.

From a short distance away, Jack and Noah had seen the whole thing. Jack couldn’t help but chuckle.

"My little sister’s all grown up now."

Anna crouched by the edge of the paddy, slapping her thigh in frustration. Her perfectly sculpted legs wobbled slightly with the motion. She gritted her teeth—damn that meddling agency of hers for putting an insurance policy on her legs!

Now she couldn’t even step into the water. All she could do was sit there and watch Veil and Zoe generating romantic sparks right in front of her.

The livestream chat went wild. The male viewers were losing their minds at the sight of the blushing little sister:

"Let go of my sister! Let ME help her!"

"She’s just a kid, man!"

"Stop! Somebody stop this! This isn’t a dating show—it’s a wholesome countryside lifestyle program! Someone please tell the crew to cut this out!"

But Veil’s female fans were equally unhinged:

"Zoe, promise me this is the first and last time! Our husband only loves me!"

"I wanna be the one he catches and comforts..."

"Y’all are dreaming. That’s my husband. Our kid is already five!"