Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!-Chapter 95: A Beauty [1] (edited)

Early the next morning, the sun had barely risen over the Phoenix Soul Pavilion, casting golden light across the dew-kissed stone courtyard.

Fang Yuan and Xiao Pei sat within the open-air garden pavilion, its elegant roof supported by red lacquered columns, surrounded by blooming lotus ponds and trimmed spirit bamboo.

A carved stone Xiangqi board lay between them, pieces already scattered in the midst of a fierce match. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The black and red pieces were sculpted from polished obsidian and crimson jade, clearly of high quality.

Xiao Pei squinted at the board and wiped sweat from his forehead as if he were in battle.

"Alright... your horse is wide open. Don’t think I don’t see that!" he huffed, sliding his red chariot forward along the central file. "Chariot to 5-4!"

Fang Yuan didn’t even look rattled. With a serene flick of his fingers, he moved his black elephant diagonally. "Elephant to 3-5. Blocking your attack."

"Damn it," Xiao Pei muttered. "Why are you always so calm?"

Fang Yuan sipped from a porcelain cup of spiritual tea. "Because I’m always winning."

"Oh yeah?" Xiao Pei smirked. "Watch this, horse to 8-7!"

He tapped his red horse forward, trying to create pressure from the right flank.

But Fang Yuan countered immediately. "Cannon to 2-5. Check."

Xiao Pei froze, staring at the black cannon that had suddenly lined up with his general through a screen piece.

"...Again?" he groaned.

"Again," Fang Yuan said lightly. "You’ve left your flank exposed since move five."

"You’re cheating," Xiao Pei accused, narrowing his eyes.

"I’m smarter," Fang Yuan replied with a smirk.

They continued the match for a while longer, but it was no use.

The final tally on the scorestone stood clear and brutal: 10–0.

Xiao Pei leaned forward, his face flushed with frustration and disbelief, while Fang Yuan gently placed the last chess piece down, ending yet another game.

Fang Yuan looked at him, not smugly, not mockingly, but with a gaze that could only be described as gentle pity.

"...How about we stop for today?" Fang Yuan suggested, his voice calm.

"I think we’ve played enough. You need time to reflect on your..... strategic creativity."

But Xiao Pei wasn’t done.

"No!" he blurted out, eyes wide and hand already reaching to reset the pieces.

"Shaoge, one last game. Trust me! I’ve got the hang of it this time. You can believe me, I’m seriously getting better!"

Fang Yuan raised a brow, hiding his amusement.

Then a sudden idea struck him.

"You know..." he began slowly, "there’s a certain beauty I’ve been meaning to introduce you to."

Xiao Pei practically teleported to his feet, eyes gleaming with interest.

"What are we waiting for, Shaoge?" he exclaimed. "You said we were stopping the game already, right? Come on! Let’s go!"

Fang Yuan chuckled, folding his hands behind his back as he rose from the stone seat. "Right... indeed. Let’s go."

Just as the two walked out of the garden pavilion, a slender figure rounded the corner, and quite literally walked straight into them.

Soft fabric brushed against Fang Yuan’s arm, and the faint scent of plum blossoms lingered in the air.

The girl stepped back quickly, her expression calm but apologetic, eyes widening just slightly in surprise.

Fang Yuan’s gaze landed on her and for a brief second, his mind paused.

She looked familiar. He could swear he had seen her before... yet everything about her felt new.

As if she were someone he had once passed by in a dream.

Before he could say anything, Xiao Pei had already lunged forward, not aggressively, but with both arms open in dramatic awe.

"Oh, great beauty," he declared with a completely unnecessary bow, "what thou is your beautiful name?"

Fang Yuan resisted the urge to slap the back of his friend’s head.

The girl, however, did not seem offended in the least.

Instead, she smiled softly and gave a polite bow, her tone as composed as a spring breeze. "Greetings. My name is Du Juan. I am currently residing here under the protection of the Fang clan."

Her voice was like a soft chime, clear and unhurried.

Xiao Pei, unfazed by her calm demeanor, clasped his hands together. "Du Juan... ah, as graceful as the calling of a cuckoo bird in spring! What a poetic name! Did the heavens bless me today?"

Du Juan tilted her head, still smiling. "You must be a friend of the clan head."

"Indeed! His best friend. Closest companion. Brother-in-arms," Xiao Pei declared, puffing up proudly.

Fang Yuan finally spoke, his tone dry. "You were kicked out of your house just a few days ago, have some shame."

Xiao Pei’s shoulders sagged. "...Shaoge, must you always bring up old wounds?"

But Du Juan only giggled softly behind her sleeve.

Fang Yuan, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had seen her before. That face.... Was she not the one he brought in just because he was curious?

"Du Juan," he said, stepping forward. "You’ve recovered well, I see."

She turned to him and bowed again, respectfully. "Yes, clan head. Thank you for your kindness that day. I’ve been taken care of very well."

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Indeed, it was her. That face... he had seen it before. Yes, beneath the soot, the blood, the ragged robes he remembered now.

The girl he brought in out of curiosity. That broken thing, unconscious, barely hanging by a thread.

And yet... this wasn’t the same face, was it? Or rather was this what lay beneath all that grime?

No... something felt off.

Fang Yuan’s brows twitched slightly.

Still staring at Du Juan, he couldn’t help but feel a strange dissonance.

When he had brought her in off the streets, her robes had been torn, her face marked by soot and blood.

He remembered thinking she looked... plain, almost forgettable. Fragile, even.

But now, under the daylight, with clean robes and the soft glow of spiritual energy faintly visible in her skin she looked like someone entirely different.

Too different.

Was she in disguise back then? Or is she in disguise now?

A simple illusion technique? Or maybe her current state was her original appearance...?

He didn’t like not knowing.

But before he could dwell further, Xiao Pei’s voice cut through the tension like a rusted blade.

"Shaoge," he said, nudging Fang Yuan’s arm with his elbow and grinning like a fool. "Is this the beauty you told me about earlier?"

Du Juan tilted her head slightly, curious.

Fang Yuan slowly turned to Xiao Pei, eyes narrowing.

"I must say," Xiao Pei continued with a smirk, "I didn’t expect your taste in women to be even better than mine. Truly, you are a man of hidden depths."

Fang Yuan gave him a flat stare.

"I was talking about introducing you to a demoness who bites."

Xiao Pei blinked. "Huh?"

Du Juan coughed softly, politely covering her mouth, but her eyes shimmered with amusement.

Fang Yuan sighed. "This is Du Juan. She’s not the one I meant."

"Then..." Xiao Pei leaned in dramatically toward Du Juan. "Lady Du Juan, may I have the honor of—"

"No," Fang Yuan said flatly, stepping between them.

"But—"

"She’s recovering under clan protection."

"I’m also recovering!" Xiao Pei pointed at his own chest dramatically. "From heartbreak. From poverty. From—"

"From brain damage, clearly."

Du Juan let out a soft laugh.

"You two are very close," she said, looking between them.

Fang Yuan didn’t answer that.

Instead, he turned to her, his tone subtly shifting, more serious. "Du Juan, when you’re free, come see me at the Moonview Pavilion. I have some questions."

Du Juan nodded gently. "Of course, clan head."

Xiao Pei looked between them suspiciously. "Why do I feel like I’m the third wheel?"

"Cause you are, now come along, we got another beauty to meet," Fang Yuan said, already turning away.