The moment Zhu Xing opened his eyes, he found himself holding an exquisite packaging box. The English text printed on the bag indicated it likely contained a pair of shoes, and he was standing inside a room lined with clothing racks.
He was already accustomed to the strange actions or circumstances that always greeted him upon entering a new world, so he casually set the shoebox down.
[250, give me the plot summary.]
The system promptly output the plot details. This was a grand protagonist-centric novel. The protagonist’s mother, Lhu Yingsi, the daughter of the former richest man in Lincheng, had fallen for the impoverished Qu Zhan. True to the tropes of a melodramatic novel, after marriage Qu Zhan secretly chipped away at the Lu family’s assets. Following Lhu Yingsi’s accidental death, he brought in a mistress from the outside along with an illegitimate son who was even older than the male protagonist.
Consequently, the Lu family suffered a series of accidents: Lhu Yingsi’s older brother, Lu Yingnian, went missing abroad, her parents fell into a coma following a car accident, and combined with years of lagging industrial development, the Lu family showed faint signs of decline.
The male protagonist was none other than Lhu Yingsi’s son, Qu Qingyu.
Seeing this name, Zhu Xing widened his eyes. Was it just the same name, or had he truly come to find him?
The story began with the mistress and illegitimate son taking over the household, prompting the male protagonist to burn down the grand estate.
Qu Zhan wanted to drive Qu Qingyu out of the Qu family, but Lhu Yingsi had made preparations long in advance. Qu Zhan had relied entirely on Lhu Yingsi’s assistance since starting his business, and his initial ventures were funded by Lu Ying’s father. The share distribution stood at 40% for Qu Zhan, 20% for Lhu Yingsi, 20% for Lu Ying’s father, and the remaining 20% held by board members.
With Lu Ying’s father comatose and no prior public announcement made, Qu Qingyu, who held 20% of the Qu family shares and possessed Lu family blood relations, still carried considerable weight when he spoke.
Though the Lu family had resided in Lincheng for years and harbored the flaws typical of large clans, at such a juncture they knew better than to fracture from within.
The entire novel chronicled Qu Qingyu’s journey of slapping the faces of Qu Zhan, the mistress, and her son.
[I don’t seem to see my plot points anywhere?] Zhu Xing flipped through the text, finding that the vast majority described Qu Qingyu’s path of total dominance, while his own name hadn’t even appeared once.
[Host, your storyline takes place in the latter half. Your fiancé is Shen Zhiqian. After groveling to him for four years, you finally got engaged to him a year ago. However, after entering university, he grew increasingly close to another male student. Dissatisfied with their dynamic, your plot revolves around continuing to pursue Shen Zhiqian while trying to sabotage that other student.]
[Wait! This storyline has nothing to do with Qu Qingyu, does it?]
[Host, I haven’t finished yet. The student you try to harm happens to be the male protagonist’s white moonlight. Once he discovers you made a move against him, the male protagonist will take care of you directly.]
[Are you telling me Qu Qingyu has a white moonlight?] Zhu Xing wore a displeased expression. Though he didn’t know whether this Qu Qingyu was the person who claimed he would come looking for him, sharing the exact same name while taking someone else as a white moonlight felt rather bizarre.
Before the system could reply, footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Zhu Xing looked at the exquisitely packaged shoes nearby. From the plot details, he knew these were meant for that student to wear during the upcoming performance.
The dirty trick he was supposed to pull involved slipping broken glass inside. But as a character destined to be face-slapped repeatedly in the original work, he certainly wouldn’t succeed. Brushing the shoes aside, Zhu Xing asked the system:
[250, what is the ultimate mission?]
[Host, the main quest is to assist the antagonist and help the male protagonist ultimately seize control of the Qu family’s authority.]
[You mean I need to help his father or that illegitimate son?]
[Host, you may choose whichever side you prefer.]
Presently, Zhu Xing’s entry point occurred in the latter half of the narrative. Although Qu Qingyu hadn’t completely reclaimed the Qu family enterprise yet, his maternal grandfather had already regained consciousness. This meant his shares were now on par with Qu Zhan’s, while the remaining shareholders were sitting on the fence, waiting to see which of the two father-son combatants would emerge victorious. Backed by the Lu family’s support, Qu Zhan was already showing subtle signs of defeat.
Today, the male protagonist and his friends had been invited to Lincheng University to watch the white moonlight’s performance, coinciding precisely with the original owner’s malicious scheme.
When the door swung open, a group of people stood outside. At the very front was a cute-faced student, flanked on the left by Zhu Xing’s nominal fiancé, Shen Zhiqian. Behind them stood three other young men, two of whom were unfamiliar, but the one in the middle was someone Zhu Xing knew far too well from sharing the same bed for two years.
“What are you doing in here?” Shen Zhiqian’s expression turned somewhat unsightly, fearing Zhu Xing might suddenly start a scene.
Zhu Xing ignored his remark, fixing a steady gaze on Qu Qingyu in the back. At twenty-five years old, Qu Qingyu looked significantly more mature. While he used to favor casual hoodies and sneakers, he now wore a meticulously tailored suit and a watch worth tens of millions, radiating the aura of an elite professional. He seemed to sense Zhu Xing’s stare, returning it with a sharp, appraising look.
Noticing Zhu Xing’s unblinking gaze, Shen Zhiqian irritably tapped the door frame. “What are you looking at? I asked you a question, clear out early if you’ve got nothing to do.”
“Zhu Xing, what are you doing here?” Xu Luo chimed in with a cold tone. Having been targeted by Zhu Xing on multiple occasions, he was already thoroughly exhausted by it.
“Blocking the doorway, where else am I supposed to go?” As the group stepped aside to clear a path, Zhu Xing strolled past them leisurely, muttering, “Just passing through.”
He paced slowly down the corridor, still pondering whether the person he had just seen was the Qu Qingyu from his previous world.
He had barely reached the corner when Shen Zhiqian’s voice rang out from behind him. “Stop right there, Zhu Xing!”
Zhu Xing turned his head back to look at the furious Shen Zhiqian, privately wondering how the original owner could have ever fallen for someone like this.
Seeing Zhu Xing’s lazy demeanor only fueled Shen Zhiqian’s anger further. “Why is there glass inside Xu Luo’s shoes?”
[250, did you do this?] Zhu Xing knew that when he first picked up the box, it had been completely intact. Could the sabotage have already been completed before he even transmigrated?
[Host, I didn’t touch it.]
Unsure whether this was the original owner’s handiwork, Zhu Xing figured that since Xu Luo hadn’t gone on stage yet and remained unharmed, he probably wouldn’t end up crushed by the male protagonist.
“Which of your eyes saw me put it there?” A surge of irritation rose in Zhu Xing’s chest. To think the original owner had groveled over a man like this for four years.
“You were the only one inside the room just now, if not you, then who? Zhu Xing, you’re so disappointing!” Shen Zhiqian’s voice grew increasingly loud, drawing curious glances from people peeking out of neighboring rooms.
“Shen Zhiqian, why don’t you take a look at what you’ve become?”
Zhu Xing’s sudden counter-question cut Shen Zhiqian off. Ever since childhood, Zhu Xing had been blessed with striking looks, causing everyone to cater to his whims even as his temper grew steadily worse. Discovering that Shen Zhiqian was growing close to Xu Luo had driven Zhu Xing to stage public scenes right inside Xu Luo’s classroom, leaving Shen Zhiqian overwhelmed with guilt toward Xu Luo.
Yet Zhu Xing’s tantrums only escalated. He grew his hair long and insisted on practicing dance just like Xu Luo, but someone who started late could never compete with someone trained since childhood; every public display fell miserably flat. This only provoked Zhu Xing to lash out more fiercely, hurling sarcasm and provocations at Xu Luo on every possible occasion.
Over time, every encounter between Shen Zhiqian and Zhu Xing boiled down to little more than bickering.
“Zhu Xing, can’t you just stop making a scene?” Shen Zhiqian felt utterly exhausted. He and Xu Luo were clearly just engaging in normal interactions, sharing the occasional meal and hanging out a couple of times.
Yet Zhu Xing always insisted on seeing ghosts where there were none.
“You really look like a clown, being played around with like a fool.” Zhu Xing’s unhurried delivery sent Shen Zhiqian into a rage.
“Do you have any idea what you’re saying? We seriously need to rethink this whole getting-married-after-graduation thing.”
Shen Zhiqian knew how deeply Zhu Xing had adored him for four years, finally securing their engagement. Before Xu Luo appeared, although Zhu Xing had a rather haughty temper, he had always reined it in around him.
Yet the current Zhu Xing was growing increasingly unrecognizable compared to his past self.
Hearing this, Zhu Xing didn’t hesitate for a single second. “Fine, I agree.”