Su Tao immediately lost her good mood and said listlessly to the system in her mind:
【Got it, Fortune.】
“What’s wrong?” Lu Shiyu’s low voice sounded above her head. His gaze was dark and deep. “What are you thinking about?”
Su Tao came back to herself and met Lu Shiyu’s heated gaze. She answered listlessly:
“I’m hungry. I want to eat the noodles you make.”
Seeing how dispirited Su Tao looked, Lu Shiyu immediately got up and went to the kitchen to make noodles for her.
Su Tao shuffled to the bathroom in her slippers to wash up.
When she saw the matching couple’s toothbrushes on the sink, she suddenly felt a little dazed.
For the past month, she and Lu Shiyu had been just like an ordinary couple in the throes of romance.
So much so that sometimes she would forget that her goal was to torment him.
A month ago, she had died and bound herself to the “Bullied Poor Youth” system, becoming the vicious female supporting character in a world where three male-oriented novels had merged.
She was the gold-digging ex-girlfriend in Technological Overlord: Starting From Scratch, the woman who cheated on the future technology tycoon.
She was also the materialistic fiancée in The Return of the Live-in Son-in-Law: The Billion-Yuan Abandoned Heir, the woman who forced the fallen crown prince to kneel and lick her shoes.
And she was the ruthless female boss in Entertainment Empire: The Rise of the Heavenly King, who shelved a top celebrity after failing to get him through unwritten rules.
Her mission was to humiliate the male leads and stimulate them into making a comeback.
In theory, she only needed to torment them without thinking. It should not have been difficult.
But unfortunately, Su Tao was such an honest person that she would even stammer when arguing with someone.
She stammered, “I-I-I can’t. Y-you-you should find someone else.”
System:
【Mission failed. Execution.】
【Mission completed. Receive a one-hundred-billion-yuan reward and one Death Escape Ticket.】
【Su Tao: How much? I… I can give it a try.】
The handsome man with broad shoulders and long legs who was making noodles for her in the kitchen was none other than the male lead of Technological Overlord: Starting From Scratch.
A genius who had absolutely no interest in money and only wanted to devote himself to scientific research, Lu Shiyu was destined to become a technology and capital tycoon in the future.
It was precisely because he had been betrayed by the woman he loved that Lu Shiyu would eventually turn dark, work hard to become stronger, and ultimately make his comeback.
And Su Tao was Lu Shiyu’s gold-digging ex-girlfriend from his student days.
What she had to do was become his girlfriend, ruthlessly bleed him dry, then cheat on and humiliate him.
Only by making him fall in love with her and then betraying him could she trigger the storylines of the other two male leads.
Before the mission began, Fortune repeatedly emphasized:
【Lu Shiyu’s攻略 difficulty is S-rank. No one has succeeded so far.】
【All the攻略者 have gotten stuck at the stage of becoming his girlfriend, let alone making him fall in love.】
【So, Host, even if you fail, don’t be discouraged.】
【As long as one of the three male leads makes a comeback, the mission will count as completed. The only difference is that your reward will be cut in half.】
Fortune’s tone was relaxed.
【Su Tao: Cut in half? That’s all?】
That was fifty billion yuan.
Although she was not smart, she was not stupid enough to watch fifty billion yuan fly away right in front of her eyes.
So the timid Su Tao nervously crashed into Lu Shiyu’s electric scooter.
Using moral pressure, she managed to move into his home and orchestrated a “home invasion” romance with him.
Of course, Lu Shiyu’s attitude toward her was indeed very cold.
She mustered up her courage to hold his hand, only for him to put it back.
She nervously forced a kiss on him, making him tremble with anger and turning his entire body red.
She forced herself to remain calm as she sat on his lap. He threatened her with reddened eyes, “If you do that again, I definitely won’t let you off.”
But a hundred billion yuan was waving at her.
On a stormy night when the rain fell violently and the wind howled.
Su Tao let out a little cry and charged over, knocking the male lead down.
She had actually… succeeded?
Only, the price was a little high.
Su Tao had been unable to get out of bed for several days.
So this was the legendary cold and aloof top student, the abstinent campus heartthrob?
Why did she feel like he was a little out of character?
The two of them spent a shameless month together in this cramped rental apartment near the university town.
Su Tao was lost in her thoughts when the sounds coming from the kitchen brought her back to reality.
The entire rental apartment was less than forty square meters. The kitchen had no door and was separated from the living room by only a half-length curtain.
Lu Shiyu was cooking noodles on the other side of the curtain. The sound of the spatula hitting the wok and the fragrant aroma of hot oil filled the room.
Su Tao sat on the sofa and looked at Lu Shiyu busying himself in the kitchen.
Thinking about how she had deceived Lu Shiyu’s feelings and would have to hurt him next, she began to feel awful.
How was she supposed to tell him they were breaking up?
As if they were connected by telepathy, Lu Shiyu lifted the curtain and turned his head toward her.
When their eyes met, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.
“Hungry? It’ll be ready soon.”
Su Tao’s heart suddenly ached a little.
She might not be smart, but she was not blind.
She had seen how Lu Shiyu had treated her over the past month.
Although his needs in that regard were a little high, he truly treated her well.
She thought the cafeteria food was terrible and the food outside was unhealthy, so he got up early every day to make her lunch.
When she got sick, he stayed by her side all night to take care of her, even crying because he was worried about her.
Because of the system’s money-making mission, she had asked him to buy her luxury handbags, and he bought them for her without a second word.
Only later did she find out that to earn that money, he had taken on an off-campus project and worked overtime for two whole weeks.
In all her life, apart from her older sister, no one had ever treated her this well.
She really was a terrible person.
Fortune sensed her brainwaves.
【Host, if you think about it that way, you’re being narrow-minded.】
【Su Tao: Huh?】
【Fortune: One must endure hardship before becoming superior. You deceived him so that he could make a comeback. He should be thanking you!】
【Su Tao hesitated: But I always feel…】
【Fortune: No buts. Just tell me, do you want to get rich?】
【Su Tao’s eyes gradually became determined: I do!】
【Fortune: Then stop hesitating. Torment him!】
【Su Tao: Do I… really have to cheat on him?】
【Fortune: You only need to mention it when you break up and make him think you cheated on him.】
Seeing that Su Tao was still uneasy, Fortune encouraged her.
【You’re the first person who has successfully made the male lead fall in love with you. You’ll definitely complete the mission and make him turn his life around. I believe in you!】
Su Tao’s eyes became even more determined.
That was right. She was doing this so the male lead could make a comeback.
Once he made his comeback, she could get her reward too.
Breaking up would be a win-win situation. There was nothing to feel guilty about.
Just then, Lu Shiyu walked out of the kitchen carrying two steaming bowls of tomato and egg noodles.
He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of loose gray sweatpants and an apron.
The muscles in his arms were taut, while his full chest was exposed on either side of the apron, giving him an inexplicably sensual air.
Lu Shiyu placed the two steaming bowls of noodles on the table.
“You said you were hungry. Come eat.”
Lu Shiyu pulled out a chair for her.
A neatly folded old sweatshirt had been placed on the seat because she had complained that the chair was too hard.
Su Tao sat down and took the chopsticks from him.
Oil glistened on the surface of the noodle soup, and the fragrance rushed toward her.
She stared at the two pieces of tomato, her thoughts in turmoil.
It was hard to be harsh after eating someone’s food.
Telling him they were breaking up now seemed too cruel.
Maybe… she should wait until after dinner.
Lu Shiyu asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Su Tao raised her head and met his gaze.
The man looked at her through the rising steam from the noodle soup, his eyes burning intensely.
She panicked in an instant. Instinctively, she avoided his gaze and lowered her head, unconsciously poking at the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks.
“N-nothing.”
The legs of the chair scraped against the floor.
He walked around the table and gripped her chin.
The pressure was not heavy, but it was just enough that she could not pull away.
Her face was lifted, forcing her to meet those black eyes at such close range. An inexplicable sense of fear rose in her heart.
She had to admit that she could not see through Lu Shiyu.
Most of the time, he was gentle. But occasionally, the way he looked at her would send a chill down her spine.
For example, when those eyes became clouded with desire, they would inexplicably turn violent, as if he wanted to swallow her whole, skin and bones.
And now, as he looked at her with a hint of dangerous scrutiny, it was as though he wanted to dissect her from the outside in.
“Taotao.”
His hand was large, with a bony wrist and exceptionally long fingers that were both agile and dexterous.
At that moment, he slowly rubbed her lips. The thin calluses on his fingertips brushed against her soft lips, sending a tingling shiver through her.
“Lying means punishment, you know.”