The Destiny Villainess Wants Me To Work!

Chapter 155: Lin Fan’s Trust!

Lin Fan stepped forward quickly and knelt down, bowing deeply.

"Sir, thank you for saving my life," he said sincerely. "I, Lin Fan, can never repay this kindness."

Su Mo’s expression softened into a kind, elderly smile.

"Stand up, young man. Stand tall."

With a slight wave of his hand, a gentle force lifted Lin Fan up from the ground, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"I could not simply watch an outstanding young man like you be killed before my eyes," Su Mo continued.

Lin Fan’s eyes widened slightly.

The display of spiritual energy had already left him in awe, but those words...

"Outstanding?" he repeated softly.

Then, he gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"No, sir... You overestimate me."

His voice lowered, filled with self-deprecation. "I’m nothing but a loser. A failure who couldn’t change anything."

Su Mo fell silent.

He looked at Lin Fan with a calm expression on the surface, but inside—

[What the heck is he talking about?]

[Dude, where’s your arrogance?]

[Shouldn’t you be looking down on everyone right now after I praised you?]

[What was that saying again... ’Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west... then what? Retirement or something?’ I forgot.]

He paused internally.

[Anyway, why is he acting like this?]

Su Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, observing Lin Fan carefully.

[Is this guy still a protagonist?]

[Or does a protagonist’s brain start becoming normal after losing his luck?]

He immediately shook off the thought.

[No. No. That can’t be right.]

[I’m also a protagonist. My brain is perfectly normal.]

[In fact, it’s quite advanced compared to the world standards.]

Beside him, Yang Qingxi looked at Su Mo’s face, which had subtly shifted through several expressions in a short time. She stared at him flatly for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. ’Who said you don’t have a problem? Your narcissism isn’t any lower than their arrogance.’

Su Mo was unaware of Yang Qingxi’s internal complaints. His gaze was fixed on Lin Fan.

[...So the problem...can only be him.]

[Did this guy get beaten so badly that he lost all his ambition?]

Just when Lin Fan started to feel uncomfortable under Su Mo’s prolonged silence, an inexplicable pressure settled over him.

It wasn’t oppressive, but rather... unsettling. As if everything about him had already been seen through, dissected, and understood.

He hesitated for a moment, his thoughts turning slightly uneasy.

’Did I say too much?’

Perhaps speaking so openly about his own failures in front of such a senior was inappropriate. After all, this mysterious person might value strength and pride. Showing weakness so blatantly might leave a poor impression.

Lin Fan took a small breath, about to say something to shift the topic—

But before he could, Su Mo’s gaze swept over him.

Then came his voice.

"Interesting..."

The old man’s tone was steady, carrying a faint, inscrutable depth, like someone who had seen countless rises and falls in the river of fate.

"Young man," Su Mo continued, gently stroking his long white beard, "I just took a glance at your destiny."

Lin Fan’s heart tightened.

A trace of unease surfaced within him, but outwardly, he forced himself to remain composed.

"Why does it say..." Su Mo’s gaze remained fixed on him, "...that you are a man who has defied death?"

For a split second, Lin Fan’s mind went blank.

But he quickly suppressed the reaction, forcing out a confused look.

"Didn’t you just save me, sir?" he said with a faint, awkward smile. "I was indeed very close to death just now."

Su Mo slowly shook his head.

"That is not what I mean."

His tone remained calm, but his words seemed to carry an invisible weight.

"Being on the verge of death... and defying death... are not the same."

He paused slightly before continuing.

"You are like a phoenix that has undergone nirvana."

"A state akin to rebirth after death."

Yang Qingxi, by the side, barely maintained her stoic expression. ’This guy, how does he make up such nonsense while keeping a straight face?’ Just one look at Lin Fan, and she knew he believed Su Mo’s words completely.

Yes, this time, Lin Fan couldn’t hold it in.

His pupils shrank, and his entire body stiffened.

That secret.

The one buried deepest within him.

The one he had never spoken of to anyone.

Had been revealed so casually.

For a moment, disbelief surged in his mind. But as he recalled everything that had happened earlier—the overwhelming strength, the mysterious techniques, the almost unfathomable presence of this "old man"—his resistance quickly crumbled.

How could he, an ordinary man, someone who barely understood this world, judge the limits of such an existence?

Compared to that, his own secrets felt trivial. Maybe things like rebirth are very common out there, and what he thought of himself as unique was just an everyday thing for these mysterious people.

After a brief silence, Lin Fan lowered his head and let out a long breath.

"You are right, sir."

His voice was no longer guarded.

"As you guessed... I am indeed someone who has been reborn."

There was no pride in his tone. Only a faint bitterness.

"In my previous life, I was nothing but a loser. I returned to the past... given a second chance."

He clenched his fists unconsciously.

"And now, even after getting another chance... nothing has changed."

His lips curled into a self-mocking smile.

"I’m still a loser. Maybe even worse."

"I can’t do anything right."

"Everything keeps going wrong... as if the whole world itself doesn’t want me to rise."

Su Mo listened quietly, his face calm and composed, maintaining the image of a wise elder.

But inside—

[Wow... he actually admitted it.]

Su Mo nearly raised an eyebrow.

[I just made a vague statement and he directly confirmed everything.]

He kept stroking his beard slowly, making sure his outward expression didn’t betray anything.

[This guy’s mental state is worse than I thought.]

[Then again... after everything that happened, it’s not surprising.]

[Especially yesterday’s "incident."]