The reason the character Xu Jing rose so abruptly in the later stages of Pure Love was not only because she never sold fanservice and blatantly defied traditional harem manga tropes, giving readers a refreshing shock. More importantly, she was probably the most miserable and poorest female character in the entire comic. The male lead and the other girls' joy and happiness only made her tragedy and misfortune stand out even more, making it impossible for readers not to notice her.
And yet, this character never showed pain or sorrow. Instead, she remained expressionless, obsessed with studying while the world around her buzzed with romance. Sometimes, as Yang Qianqian's close friend, she would quietly listen to Yang Qianqian's emotional venting, then awkwardly try to comfort her with clumsy, halting words.
Xu Jing was not good with words because Zhao Youyue originally wanted to be a background academic genius. Talking too much clearly did not fit a background character's setting. Besides, did not talking too much interfere with studying?
In real life, Zhao Youyue felt she was actually quite talkative. She enjoyed communicating with others and believed her social skills were decent. After all, she had just successfully "persuaded" Han Leng to write a self-reflection essay for her. In her view, the ability to proactively communicate was important and could avoid many misunderstandings.
But when possessing the role of Xu Jing, she truly did not want to speak. The characters in a work were all virtual anyway. What was there to communicate about? She just wanted to study quietly in the corner of the classroom.
However, this expressionless silence and lack of eloquence somehow became a moe point for the audience. It made her increasingly pitiful in their eyes. Many readers even started exclaiming across forums and Tieba that a new generation "three no goddess" had been born.
Online, in the comment sections of Pure Love, dedicated threads for the "three no goddess" Xu Jing appeared. The number of readers checking in daily kept growing as they shared screenshots of her lonely figure. It was hard to imagine that Xu Jing used to be a completely unremarkable background character in the story.
Of course, this had not yet turned into a full-blown public opinion storm. The main reason was that Pure Love itself had already entered a sluggish phase. The main female characters' favorability had mostly been maxed out, causing many readers to lose their sense of novelty. On top of that, it had not been adapted into an animation yet, so its popularity was steadily declining. Su Li had even started considering ending the series altogether.
But now, she realized that Xu Jing's character had unexpectedly breathed new life into her work. Ignoring the subtle discomfort she felt when drawing Xu Jing, she began adding more and more scenes centered on her. Her screen time was almost approaching that of the three female leads Su Li had personally designated. Without anyone noticing, Xu Jing was slowly shifting from a supporting character to a main heroine.
When Su Li previously thought about killing off Xu Jing's mother, it was not a random thought. She had seriously considered this plot to spice up the drama. First, she wanted to push Xu Jing into hell, then have the male lead personally rescue her. That kind of storyline would definitely appeal to many male readers, while also giving the male lead an opportunity to pursue Xu Jing.
She felt Xu Jing was still not miserable enough. The character could be explored even more deeply. She buried herself at her drawing desk, the ink staining her fingers as she began creating while following that strange sensation. It felt as if she herself had entered the work's world and personally witnessed Xu Jing's experiences, subconsciously depicting everything she saw in comic form.
Inside the world of Pure Love, Xu Jing had just left school. She held a notebook in her hands, softly reciting notes as she walked down the familiar street.
At this moment, Xu Jing, or rather Zhao Youyue, had a bad feeling. This time entering the Dimension Gate did not just add background settings and interactions with parents. The plots involving her were increasing, and they were all brutal and miserable. She was holding in a belly full of anger toward the real-world creator. She really just wanted to be a background character and study properly.
She felt that if she truly were Xu Jing herself, and had the chance to break through dimensions and enter the real world, she would definitely go settle accounts with the original author. What did this honest Xu Jing ever do to dig up your ancestors' graves for you to treat her like this?
Fortunately, no matter what, Zhao Youyue did gain quite a few benefits while possessing Xu Jing. At the very least, she had completely solidified all her middle school knowledge. If she took the high school entrance exam again, even if she could not take first place, getting into her current provincial key high school would be more than easy.
She had always believed that she and the creator were in a mutually beneficial partnership. Unfortunately, she had never communicated with the author of Pure Love.
What happened next to Xu Jing, however, completely shattered her composure.
Xu Jing saw her mother running a small stall at the school gate. Her mother's clothes were worn and faded, yet she was calling out energetically to sell her goods to the passing students. Quite a few of Xu Jing's classmates looked at her mother with disdain and whispered among themselves, their voices carrying on the wind. This slightly exaggerated scenario was clearly more common in novels and comics. In real life, who would openly despise a street vendor like that?
At this moment, Zhao Youyue once again had to choose. Should she make the possessed Xu Jing deliberately avoid her mother to save face in front of her classmates, or go up and acknowledge her mother and help her out?
Zhao Youyue chose the latter without hesitation. Purely because she knew she was inside a comic and everything was fake. Being despised by virtual classmates meant nothing to her.
Xu Jing remained expressionless as she diligently helped her mother arrange the goods, completely ignoring her classmates' scorn. This kind of plot setup clearly elevated Xu Jing's moral character once again in the eyes of the readers.
However, at that very moment, urban enforcement officers wielding batons descended from the sky. One could even say they appeared out of thin air, their faces harsh and cold. Zhao Youyue was already used to such characters being suddenly sketched into existence for plot needs, but she quickly realized that she was screwed.
One officer kicked over her mother's stall. Various small items scattered across the dusty ground. Without a shred of sympathy, the officer stomped on them, then swung the baton and brought it down hard on her mother's thin, frail body.
Bang.
The sound of the baton striking flesh was horrifyingly solid, echoing against the school walls.
Her mother, who had not even reacted yet, immediately let out a scream of agony that cut through the air.
She was already weak. How could she withstand such a blow?
Holy shit.
Zhao Youyue was completely stunned. Was this author insane? Did they really have to go this far with her?
This was seriously like getting screwed by a dog. Did you really want your work to collapse that badly?
She had no time to think. She controlled Xu Jing and rushed forward to shield her mother. As a result, the baton that should have landed on her mother instead smashed down violently on her own body.
Xu Jing was beaten until her entire body was covered in bruises. Even worse, her clothes were torn in a very unscientific way, selling fanservice for the first time ever. She passed out from the pain, until the protagonist Yang Ming and his younger sister Yang Qianqian appeared.
In reality, Zhao Youyue jolted awake from her bed. Her body was, of course, completely unharmed. It was like she had just had a nightmare. She checked the time. It was only 4:20 a.m., yet she was no longer sleepy at all.