Zhao Nige had been leaning against the lamppost, her shoulders slumped as if she had no bones.
At the man’s words, she slowly straightened, her gaze sweeping over him from head to toe.
“Ah… what am I supposed to do? My heel broke, and I can’t walk. I thought meeting Young Master Lu might mean a ride.”
Her expression was one of utter helplessness. She twisted her waist and hooked her slender, bent leg back, finally revealing the broken heel she’d been hiding.
Lu Yanling glanced down.
Zhao Nige looked distressed as she teetered on her toes, taking two shaky steps toward him.
“Just drop me off at the nearest mall,” she pleaded, her voice fragile. “I’ll buy a new pair before it closes.”
As she spoke, she discreetly watched his face.
He wasn’t in military uniform today. Instead, he wore a black trench coat that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. The top button was fastened with meticulous precision, making his sharp, aristocratic features seem even more imposing.
As the streetlights flickered on, his gaze swept past her ankle. The dim, golden light traced the contours of his face, radiating an aura of aloofness that kept the world at bay.
Zhao Nige realized he had probably seen right through her clumsy act.
But she had come too far. Retreating now would only end in embarrassment. The best way out was to commit fully to the script she’d written.
Zhao Nige quickly adjusted her expression as she lifted her face.
Her beauty was a striking blend of lushness and cool detachment. A waterfall of black hair fell over one side of her slender neck, revealing a single silver-green stud in the earlobe on the other side. A face this stunning could easily capture any man’s attention with a single smile.
And she was well aware of her own beauty.
Zhao Nige pursed her lips, her eyes curving into a sweet smile as she tried to use a soft approach. “If it’s really inconvenient for you, Young Master Lu, then never mind.”
Yet Lu Yanling didn’t even glance her way. He walked straight past her, treating her like a lamppost on the sidewalk.
Zhao Nige’s jaw tightened. Just before he opened the car door, she glared at him in frustration. “You can’t spare me a few minutes?”
Lu Yanling paused, his head turning slightly to look at her.
Two sparks of anger burned in her eyes, making her face seem alive and genuine for the first time. Gone was the cynical, playful smile that hid a bored gaze.
Lu Yanling lowered his eyelids. His voice, devoid of emotion, sounded light and airy against the bustling street.
“Get in.”
The city lights blurred into a hum, and the world seemed to fall silent for a heartbeat.
By the time Zhao Nige registered his words, her eyes curved in a smile. Here is my chance, she thought, bouncing onto her toes and hopping after him.
Lu Yanling was already in the driver’s seat.
He leaned his arm against the steering wheel as he pulled off his black leather glove. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her bend down to climb into the car. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulder like a waterfall, sending a faint scent of perfume drifting toward him on the breeze.
She wore a moon-white qipao, slit high at the thigh. As she bent, the silk skirt slid upward, revealing legs as smooth and pale as polished jade.
Lu Yanling retracted his gaze and finished removing his glove.
“Seatbelt.”
“Oh.” Zhao Nige glanced at him sideways as she buckled in.
He remained utterly unmoved by the presence of a stunning woman in his passenger seat, his expression as cold and arrogant as ever.
Zhao Nige considered this for a moment, then leaned down to slip off her high heels. She frowned, massaging her ankle. “It hurts so much.”
The man kept driving, without so much as a glance in her direction.
Seeing his indifference, Zhao Nige cursed him silently.
What a blockhead, she thought. He has no idea how to treat a lady. She had made her discomfort so obvious; any man with a shred of tact would have asked if her ankle was injured.
Zhao Nige sat up straight, her mind racing.
She had just told him to drop her off at the nearest department store—a destination that could be blocks or miles away. She didn’t know how much time she had left in the car, so she had to make every second count.
According to the zero-point score the system had given their last encounter, this man’s self-control was formidable. She couldn’t afford to be this passive.
Time to take the initiative, she decided.
She pulled a lipstick from her clutch, tilted the rearview mirror, and carefully applied the crimson shade to her lips. Once finished, she used her ring finger to smudge the color, blending it for a softer, more natural look.
As her finger traced her lips, her gaze drifted to Lu Yanling through the angled mirror.
He looked up, and their eyes met in the reflection. Just then, a neon light swept across them, flashing through the moment their gazes locked.
In that instant, Zhao Nige wondered what he would do if she just came right out with it.
The thought had barely crossed her mind before her crimson-painted lips curved into a smile.
“Eldest Young Master Lu,” she purred, “do you think I’m beautiful?”
Lu Yanling’s gaze fixed on her eyes.
The dim light of the car’s interior shimmered in her bright pupils, betraying a hint of the mischief hidden in their depths. He met her stare, his eyes narrowed.
At her question, his brow twitched almost imperceptibly—a gesture charged with an inexplicable, aggressive intensity. His cold, abstinent aura was strangely alluring.
But after a mere two seconds, he calmly looked away, completely ignoring her flirtation.
An awkward silence filled the car.
Zhao Nige fell silent.
Her attempt having failed, she feigned indifference as she tilted the rearview mirror back to its original position and snapped her lipstick shut.
Just then, Lu Yanling rolled down the driver’s side window and rested his arm on the door. A gust of cold wind swept in, sharpening the line of his jaw.
***
The cityscape blurred past the window.
The last trace of light vanished from the sky as the city’s neon signs blazed into life. In the passenger seat, Zhao Nige toyed idly with her lipstick.
She tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear, searching for a conversation starter, when the SUV pulled to the curb.
Lu Yanling stared straight ahead, his wrist draped over the steering wheel. “We’re here. Get out.”
Zhao Nige turned her head. The car had stopped right in front of one of Capital City’s most famous department stores.
From the moment she’d entered the car to this stop, barely ten minutes had passed. He’d offered to drop her off nearby—and he’d wasted not a single second of the trip.
“Ah, thank you.”
Zhao Nige slowly unbuckled her seatbelt. Before opening the door, she turned back to him with a bright smile. “Young Master Lu, you’ve done me a huge favor today. Let me treat you to dinner sometime?”
Lu Yanling rested his elbow on the window frame and turned his head to look at her.
Zhao Nige’s expression was the picture of sincerity, her eyes clear and bright, as if she were truly grateful for his help in getting her out of that jam.
His gaze lingered on her face, studying her with a hint of scrutiny.
After a moment, he looked away. “I’m busy.”
Busy?
What a curious response.
Zhao Nige let the words sink in for a couple of seconds, then opened the door. As she closed it behind her, she turned back with a playful wink. “No problem. I’ll wait until you’re free.”
***
Outside the bustling downtown department store, people and cars flowed by in a ceaseless stream.
Zhao Nige’s heart hammered with anticipation as she tapped open the System Panel.
Her gaze fixed on the Heartbeat Points, and her pupils shrank.
She blinked, closed her eyes, and opened them again. The points still read zero.
Zhao Nige stared.
She slowly turned, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury as she glared in the direction the SUV had sped away.
Fine.
Fine, fine, fine!
Just great!
Zero points.
Zero points twice.
In her twenty-some years, Zhao Nige had never tasted such a string of failures.
Young Master Lu, is that so? Just you wait.
She was beyond livid.
In a fit of rage, she snapped the heel off her other shoe. Then, walking on her tiptoes, she strode to the curb and hailed a taxi.
When she reached her neighborhood, she got out and continued her tip-toed march toward her house.
Even without the support of her heels, she walked with a breezy confidence, like a model on a runway. Her steady gait, long, straight legs, and perfectly arched feet would have captivated any onlooker.
The moment she stepped inside, she kicked off her shoes and tossed the broken stilettos into the trash.
Just then, her mother and sister decided to bother her.
“Nige, what’s wrong?” Tao Rong asked, walking in from the living room.
“Nothing. I just broke my shoe,” Zhao Nige replied, slipping into slippers as she walked past.
Tao Rong glanced at her, then back at Zhao Lanxin, who was seated on the sofa. She asked hesitantly, “Nige, you said the blind date with Young Master Lu went well. Has he asked to see you again?”
Zhao Nige stopped in her tracks, turning her gaze away from Tao Rong and fixing it directly on Zhao Lanxin. It seemed her sister had been whispering in their mother’s ear again.
“Of course,” Zhao Nige said, a thin smile playing on her lips. “I just got back from seeing him.”
The meeting hadn’t gone well, though. No matter how she had flirted, he’d been as immovable as a stone. The memory still made her grit her teeth in frustration.
Tao Rong breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. He’s interested in you; you need to make the most of this opportunity.”
Looking at her daughter’s striking features, Tao Rong felt confident. Zhao Nige had been raised by a peasant couple in the countryside after being swapped at birth, but twenty years hadn’t dulled the genes she’d inherited from her biological parents.
She had never grown coarse. In fact, she possessed a natural elegance that even Tao Rong’s carefully groomed Zhao Lanxin couldn’t match.
“Your father’s business trip ends tomorrow,” Tao Rong added. “We’ll have a family dinner together.”
“Oh,” Zhao Nige replied, her interest completely lacking. “I’m tired. I’m going upstairs to rest.”
***
Back in her room, Zhao Nige locked the door.
She opened the system panel again, refusing to give up. She scrolled through the interface several times, but the point total remained stubbornly at zero.
She tapped the “Point Explanation” tab.
A line of translucent text popped up, floating in the air before her eyes like a VR display.
【Conquest Mission Rules】
【To prevent host negligence, the host’s lifespan will begin a countdown after the three-month binding period expires. Life must be extended by purchasing attribute items from the Point Exchange System. If the countdown reaches zero before the mission is complete, the host will be permanently eliminated.】
【Capture the male lead’s heart to earn Heartbeat Value. The higher the Heartbeat Wave Value, the more Conquest Points are awarded.】
【Example: If the host performs a dominant kabedon on the male lead, causing him to blush and dream of XXOO with the host, a Heartbeat Value of 60% is earned, resulting in 600 Conquest Points.】
【600 points can be exchanged for three years of life.】
Zhao Nige closed the system panel, her expression completely blank.
If she actually tried a kabedon on that socially stunted block of wood, Eldest Young Master Lu, she didn’t doubt he’d throw her over his shoulder.
Zhao Nige flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Maybe he just doesn’t go for the aggressive type? she wondered. Does he prefer the shy, playing-hard-to-get variety? Like Zhao Lanxin, that scheming bitch who acts all reserved while stabbing you in the back?
The thought spurred her to a sudden sitting position. She scrambled to her vanity and leaned in to examine her reflection.
She tried a few coy, coquettish expressions.
She almost gagged at her own reflection.
I can’t pull this off.
But the failure only fueled her competitive streak. Before, she had been doing this just to survive. Now, it was a matter of personal pride.
What a humiliating defeat!
She refused to believe it.
Third time’s the charm, she vowed. If I still have zero points after the third attempt, I’ll write my own name backward.