Tuotuo had eaten and drunk its fill. It flopped onto the ground, exposing its fluffy belly for him to pet.
Yuan Wei’s fingers moved across its stomach while Tuotuo stared at him eagerly with its mouth open and tiny tongue sticking out. He could not help but smile.
“All you know how to do is howl…”
Tuotuo pawed at the air, looking at him in confusion.
Yuan Wei slowly withdrew his smile. He rubbed the dog’s head and stood up.
In the distance, the shimmering lake reflected in his eyes. He turned back and saw a half open window upstairs. Transparent curtains fluttered gently like delicate hands stirring spring water, swaying as if they wanted to speak but hesitated.
He pressed his lips together, and the emotions in his eyes were completely swallowed by the lake’s emerald green.
Su Youtian hurriedly dug the things out from under her bed.
“Which one? Which one should I choose?”
“The stun gun? No no no, what if I accidentally electrocute him too badly?”
“The knife? What am I supposed to do, stab his kidney?”
“The ring? I’m not proposing to him.”
“Pepper spray… System, do you think he eats noodles?”
【What do you think? If you poison him to death, I’ll send you to hell so you can keep him company.】
Feeling wronged, Su Youtian rolled around on the floor. “Then I’m not going! Why are you treating me like this? Even exploited slaves get breaks! Keep abusing me like this and I’ll drag you down with me!”
The system was speechless. Watching her throw a tantrum on the floor, it impatiently said, “Fine. As long as you complete this mission, I’ll let you rest for a day tomorrow.”
“You said it!”
Su Youtian sprang to her feet. She put on all her gear and wrapped herself up so thoroughly that not a single inch of skin showed.
【I thought you were going out to blow up a building.】
Ignoring the mockery, Su Youtian asked, “How much time is left?”
【Five minutes and twenty three seconds.】
She quickly grabbed her things and rushed downstairs.
From afar, she saw Yuan Wei standing by the lake. He stood straight and tall, his fluffy black hair swaying slightly above his head. His long eyes narrowed faintly while the little dog behind him barked and pounced at his heels.
Something stirred in Su Youtian’s heart. She remembered that in the novel, the male lead had always loved small animals ever since he was young.
When he was little, he had raised a cat while living with his grandmother in the countryside. It was a tiny orange tabby that he fed until it became big and fat. Every day after school, the cat would meow as it ran to the village entrance to greet him, leap onto his backpack, and sit contentedly on his back.
He and the orange cat grew up together, but the good times did not last. While he was away, the hooligans who bullied him strangled the cat to death and hung its body from a tree at the village entrance.
When Yuan Wei came back and saw it, all hope left him.
He hid in his room for an entire day and night, clutching the orange cat’s corpse without eating or drinking. Only after his grandmother tearfully begged him did he finally come out.
After burying the cat, he grabbed the shovel by the doorway and stormed straight to the hooligans’ homes.
That day, he beat them until they cried for their parents. Yuan Wei’s head was covered in blood, his scarlet eyes terrifying enough to make them tremble in fear. Even the hooligans’ parents could not stop him. In the end, he dragged them to the cat’s grave and forced them to apologize.
From then on, nobody in the village dared bully him again.
Yuan Wei was exactly that kind of person. When he was gentle, he was the kindest angel in the world. When he became ruthless, even the cruelest demons would avoid him.
Su Youtian touched the item in her pocket, her throat tightening.
“Hey, System… do I really have to do this? It’s one thing if I’m courting death myself, but I don’t want to hurt him.”
The system merely replied:
【This is the mission.】
Su Youtian pressed her lips together and slowly walked toward Yuan Wei.
Hearing footsteps, Yuan Wei turned around. The moment he saw her, one brow lifted slightly.
That look was exactly the same as the first day she met him, cold and indifferent, yet seeming to hide some nameless beast surging in the abyss beneath.
Su Youtian could not stop trembling.
【Why are you shaking? Hurry up already!】
The corner of Su Youtian’s eye twitched. “Because I’m scared!”
As if she did not exist, Yuan Wei turned his head away again.
Like a Parkinson’s patient, Su Youtian shakily shoved her hand into her pocket. She made up her mind, whatever she pulled out, she would use it. No matter how Yuan Wei tortured her afterward, she would do it and run.
Her gaze made Yuan Wei’s skin crawl. Left with no choice, he slowly walked toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
【Mission countdown: one minute and nine seconds remaining.】
Su Youtian pulled something out of her pocket. Without even looking at what it was, she squeezed her eyes shut and hurled it straight at Yuan Wei.
【Task countdown: one minute and three seconds remaining】
“I already completed the task, so why hasn’t it stopped yet?!”
【Replying to host, what you just did was considered cheating and will not be accepted.】
Damn it!
Su Youtian was just about to throw herself onto the ground and start kicking up a fuss again when the system immediately said:
【Considering this is your first time cheating, I can let it slide. Just this once, no next time.】
Before Su Youtian could feel happy, the system continued:
【You may escape severe punishment, but minor punishment is unavoidable.】
The moment it finished speaking, Su Youtian heard a burst of crackling sounds. Blue light flashed from her pocket, and with a yelp, she collapsed onto the ground.
“Y-you… you shocked me…”
In the distance, Yuan Wei had just picked up something from the ground. The moment he saw Su Youtian lying there, his expression changed. He rushed over in just a few strides.
“Sheng… what happened to you?”
Tears streamed down Su Youtian’s face as she lay on the ground. Mumbling unclearly, she whimpered:
“I heard it… did you already know who I was?”
Yuan Wei helplessly helped her sit up.
“I’m not blind.”
Sorry, I thought you were.
Su Youtian was trembling all over from the pain. Panting, she said, “N-no need to hold me up, go do your own thing.”
Seeing how hard it was for her to breathe, Yuan Wei quickly removed the mask from her face. He shook his head.
“You’re always like this.”
Su Youtian took a deep breath and struggled to look up at him.
“Huh?”
Yuan Wei supported her while fanning her.
“High school.”
High school?
When Su Youtian wrote about the entanglement between Sheng Xia and Yuan Wei, she had indeed written that they got together back in high school. But at most, it had been childish puppy love, the kind of naïve feelings teenagers had during youth, nothing serious.
So why was Yuan Wei bringing up high school now?
She looked at him in confusion.
Seeing the bewilderment in her eyes, Yuan Wei pressed his lips together but did not explain.
“Can you stand up?”
Su Youtian moved her leg slightly and immediately felt numbness and stiffness shoot through it. Grimacing, she said, “N-no, I can’t.”
Yuan Wei’s brows furrowed. Just as he was about to slide an arm under her legs, Su Youtian immediately stopped him.
“Wait, you’re not planning to carry me princess-style, are you?”
Yuan Wei answered with silence.
Su Youtian wanted no part of this male-lead trait.
It felt swoon-worthy when written in novels, but when it happened to her personally, it only gave her goosebumps all over.
Helplessly, she said, “N-no need. What if someone sees us? That’d be bad.”
Yuan Wei’s expression slowly changed. His lips pressed into a straight line, his face turning pale and cold like jade.
“Who would see? Your boyfriend?”
It was the longest sentence he had spoken so far, but his voice was heavy with restraint. Su Youtian failed to notice the strange tone in his voice and asked blankly:
“Boyfriend?”
What boyfriend?
To Yuan Wei, her failure to deny it was the same as admitting it.
The vein at Yuan Wei’s temple throbbed, and his breathing quickened. Suppressing his anger, he turned his face away, as if afraid of frightening Su Youtian.
Su Youtian caught sight of the redness at the corners of his eyes and shivered in fright. Just as she was about to say something, someone shouted from afar:
“Sheng Xia!”
Turning around, Su Youtian saw Yin Shan hurrying over with Shen Haolin.
Shen Haolin was walking ahead of Yin Shan and moving even faster than she was. As he drew closer, Su Youtian could already see the hostility on his face.
Beside her, Yuan Wei lifted his head. The moment he saw Shen Haolin, his expression turned even colder.
Cold air radiated endlessly from both sides. Su Youtian felt no sense of coolness whatsoever, only icy chills drilling straight into her bones. Speechless, she wondered if they were even going to let her live.
Su Youtian tried to pull herself free from Yuan Wei’s arms, but Yuan Wei only gave her a deep look and did not let go.
“How did you two get here?”
Shen Haolin glanced at her.
“I wanted to take you out somewhere. I couldn’t find you in your room, and Yin Shan said she saw you here.”
Su Youtian shifted her gaze toward Yin Shan. Eyes wide, Yin Shan leaned closer.
“Sheng Xia, why are you lying here?”
Grinding her teeth, Su Youtian replied, “I twisted my ankle.”
Yin Shan nodded, then asked, “Who’s he? Why are you with him?”
Su Youtian glanced at her. The girl blinked innocently at her, but her eyes were full of excitement for the drama unfolding.
Looks like this girl had recognized Yuan Wei.
In the novel, Yin Shan had never actually met Yuan Wei before. But with her intelligence, there was a high chance she could guess his identity. Even without confirmation, Su Youtian’s strange reactions alone were enough for her to realize the relationship between them was unusual.
Su Youtian stayed calm and answered, “Don’t know him. We just happened to run into each other.”
Yuan Wei lowered his gaze slightly and looked at Su Youtian. His hands trembled faintly.
For some reason, Su Youtian suddenly found that gaze unbearable. She lowered her head and started fiddling with her clothes.
Don’t look at me like that. I’m doing this for your own good. If Shen Haolin found out you were my ex-boyfriend, do you think he’d let you off easy?
Shen Haolin pressed his lips together and extended a hand toward Yuan Wei.
“Hand her over to me.”
Yuan Wei lifted his eyes. Their gazes collided in midair, sparks practically flying.
Great. They were at it again.
Like thunder meeting wildfire, neither side willing to back down.
Then, at the exact same time, both men turned their eyes toward Su Youtian.
Under the scorching focus of four eyes fixed directly on her, Su Youtian felt like the skin on her face was about to burn off.
【Yo, host, you really do have a talent for getting yourself killed.】
Shut up, you exploitative parasite!
In that split second, Su Youtian shouted:
“I don’t need either of you, let Yin Shan help me!”
Yin Shan frowned.
“Me?”
“Yes! You!”
Yuan Wei and Shen Haolin each took a step back. Supported by Yin Shan, Su Youtian finally stood up. She waved at Shen Haolin.
“Hurry back already, don’t worry about me.”
Watching Yin Shan support Su Youtian, Shen Haolin’s expression eased considerably.
People were just like that. When they had something for too long, they stopped cherishing it. It became easy to be drawn toward something new, while the old thing seemed increasingly ordinary no matter how they looked at it. But the moment someone else started fighting over that old thing, suddenly they could not bear to let it go, and the more they looked at it, the more valuable it seemed.
Shen Haolin was exactly that kind of person.
At first, he had grown tired of Sheng Xia’s arrogant, overbearing attitude and her complete lack of depth. Compared to her, Yin Shan seemed much better. Though delicate and weak, the admiring look in her eyes whenever she looked at him undeniably satisfied his vanity.
But now that Sheng Xia was showing interest in someone else, he found himself uncomfortable.
He was a well-known rich young master in their social circle, how could he possibly lose to some pretty boy?
What a joke!
Supported by Yin Shan, Su Youtian heard Yin Shan chuckle softly beside her.
“Sheng Xia, who is that guy? Don’t tell me you don’t know each other. Did you see the way he was looking at you?”
Su Youtian froze for a moment and turned her head to look.
Yuan Wei’s figure was gradually growing smaller in the distance. He stood upright and still while the little dog circled around his feet.
Sunlight cast shadows across his face. His eyes were fixed directly on her, like hidden currents beneath a lake, unfathomably deep and surging with restrained emotion.
Su Youtian shivered.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like she had seriously messed up.