After returning home, Lu Changfu saw Song Liyuan playing cards with his mother in the courtyard. His mind drifted back to Chen Lili’s quiet departure just moments earlier, and suddenly he felt a wave of heat surging through his body.
“Mom, I’m going upstairs to rest for a while.”
He called toward the courtyard, but before he could get a response, he headed straight upstairs.
When he pushed open Chen Lili’s door, she was sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, holding her phone. The moment she saw Lu Changfu enter, she instinctively hid the phone behind her back, a hint of panic flashing across her face.
“Give it to me.”
Lu Changfu held out his hand, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Chen Lili bit her lip and hesitated for several seconds before finally handing him the phone.
Lu Changfu unlocked the screen and, as expected, saw several WeChat messages from Yang Lifeng:
“Lili, I was really happy to see you yesterday. That guy Lu Changfu isn’t good enough for you!”
“I know you have your reasons. If there’s anything you need help with, just tell me!”
“Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to talk to you privately…”
Lu Changfu sneered. He sat down beside Chen Lili and quickly typed a reply:
“Brother Yang, thank you for your concern. I don’t want to lie to you. Actually… I don’t like Lu Changfu, but I borrowed 300,000 yuan from him to save my father’s life. I have to work as a live-in housekeeper at the Lu family for three years to repay the debt. If I want to leave, I have to pay the money back first… So… please don’t have any feelings for me anymore. It wouldn’t be fair to you…”
After sending the message, he tossed the phone aside and turned to Chen Lili.
She lowered her head, her hands tightly intertwined, her shoulders trembling slightly.
“What? Feeling wronged?”
Lu Changfu reached out and lifted her chin.
“I’m doing this to help you… Someone like Yang Lifeng—do you really think he sincerely likes you? He’s just attracted to your looks and wants to have some fun.”
Chen Lili’s eyes were moist, but no tears fell. She gently shook her head.
“I don’t… I don’t feel wronged.”
“Good.”
Lu Changfu released her and suddenly pushed her onto the bed.
“Since you signed the agreement, you should fulfill your obligations… I need you to cooperate with the system’s ‘bloodline continuation’ mission.”
Chen Lili’s body immediately tensed, and her fingers gripped the bedsheet tightly.
Unexpectedly, however, she didn’t resist. She simply closed her eyes like a soulless shell, allowing herself to be controlled.
Lu Changfu frowned. Her lifeless reaction immediately dampened his mood.
He stopped and said coldly, “If you don’t want this, you can leave. Right now.”
Chen Lili suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him in disbelief.
“I’m serious.”
Lu Changfu sat up.
“You can pack your things and leave right now… As for that 150,000 yuan, consider it a gift from me.”
The words struck Chen Lili’s heart like a knife.
Of course she wanted to leave. She had dreamed of escaping this place where she had lost all her dignity.
But… what about her father’s continuing medical expenses? What about her family’s debts?
A tear finally slipped from the corner of her eye, followed by a second and a third…
She trembled as she reached out and grabbed the hem of Lu Changfu’s clothes.
“I… I don’t not want to…”
“Then don’t look like you’ve been forced into this.”
Lu Changfu shook her hand away.
“I’m spending money to buy happiness, not misery.”
Chen Lili took a deep breath, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and forced herself to compose her emotions.
She knew that if she couldn’t satisfy Lu Changfu today, all the humiliation and compromises she had endured before would be for nothing.
“I… I’ll cooperate.”
Her voice was soft but firm.
“Give me a minute.”
She got up and went into the bathroom.
Lu Changfu heard the sound of the faucet, followed by quiet sobbing.
A few minutes later, Chen Lili came out. She had reapplied her makeup. Although her eyes were still slightly red, she looked much calmer.
“I’m sorry. I just… couldn’t get myself into the right state of mind.”
She sat down beside the bed and moved closer to Lu Changfu.
“Now… I’m ready.”
Lu Changfu looked at the calmness she had forced herself to put on and suddenly felt somewhat uninterested.
But then he thought about the system’s ten-million-yuan reward.
That was what mattered. Feelings were meaningless.
“Remember, this isn’t coercion.”
He deliberately emphasized the point.
“You signed the agreement, and you took the money. You can end this at any time, as long as you pay the money back.”
Chen Lili nodded.
“I know… I’m doing this willingly.”
What happened next surprised Lu Changfu.
She was no longer like a puppet passively enduring everything. Instead, she began responding and even actively cooperating.
Although her movements were awkward and her eyes still flickered nervously, at least… there was some life in her.
Afterward, Lu Changfu leaned against the headboard and looked at Chen Lili curled up beside him.
He suddenly noticed a faint hint of… satisfaction around the corners of her eyes and brows.
The discovery surprised him.
He had assumed Chen Lili would remain immersed in humiliation and pain, but apparently her body was more honest than her heart. Somehow, the intimate contact had brought her a certain… pleasure.
“How did it feel?”
He deliberately asked, wanting to see her reaction.
Chen Lili’s face instantly turned bright red all the way to her ears. She pulled the blanket over half her face and spoke in a muffled voice.
“It… it was okay.”
Lu Changfu laughed and reached over to brush the hair away from her face.
“Looks like you don’t completely hate this kind of thing.”
Chen Lili didn’t answer, but her eyes flickered and her breathing was still somewhat unsteady. Clearly, the experience had affected her deeply.
She had been raised in a strict household and had little experience with romantic relationships, let alone such a direct experience of desire.
The intense contrast between the physical pleasure she had experienced and the psychological resistance she still felt left her deeply confused and ashamed.
Just then, the phone he had tossed aside rang again.
Yang Lifeng had replied:
“Lili, 300,000 yuan isn’t a problem! I can help you! If you’re willing, let’s meet tomorrow and talk it over!”
Lu Changfu sneered. He picked up the phone and was about to reply when a thought suddenly occurred to him.
He switched to Li Ting’s chat window.
After thinking for a moment, he began typing:
“Li Ting, it was really nice seeing you today. Honestly, I’m kind of jealous of Lifeng. He was lucky enough to marry such a beautiful wife. Unlike me, I’m already this old and still haven’t found anyone who genuinely likes me. I even have to spend tens of thousands of yuan renting a girlfriend to take home for New Year just to deal with my parents…”
After sending the message, he deliberately waited a few minutes.
Sure enough, Li Ting replied:
“Brother Changfu, don’t say that. You’re such a great person. I’m sure you’ll find someone who genuinely likes you.”
Lu Changfu immediately took advantage of the opportunity.
“Ah, if only you hadn’t married Lifeng… Actually, I liked you quite a bit back when we were in school. Unfortunately, I was too poor back then and didn’t dare confess. Now I have a little money, but unfortunately, you’re already married… What a shame.”
After he sent the message, Li Ting’s status showed “typing…” for quite some time before she finally replied:
“Brother Changfu, don’t joke around like that…”
Lu Changfu knew he had gone far enough, so he changed the subject.
“By the way, is your cousin still single? I remember she’s pretty. Why don’t you introduce us?”
This sudden change of topic clearly put Li Ting at ease. The two chatted for a few moments about everyday matters.
Lu Changfu took the opportunity to screenshot his bank balance and sent it to her.
“Look, this is what I earned writing novels. I’m not exactly rich, but I can certainly support a family. It’s just a shame I haven’t found the right person…”
The screenshot showing a balance of 1.23 million yuan immediately shocked Li Ting.
“Oh my gosh! Brother Changfu, you’re this rich now? You earned all this from writing novels?”
“Yeah. I worked hard writing all those words to earn it.”
Lu Changfu pretended to be modest.
“But compared with Lifeng, I’m still far behind. He does livestreaming and sells products. I heard he can earn over a million yuan a year!”
After he sent that message, Li Ting remained silent for a long time.
Lu Changfu could almost imagine her expression at that moment.
She, as Yang Lifeng’s wife, knew better than anyone how much truth there was behind his supposed “million-yuan annual income.”
Sure enough, Li Ting eventually replied:
“Brother Changfu, keep in touch when you have time. I’ll keep an eye out regarding my cousin.”
Satisfied, Lu Changfu put down the phone and turned to Chen Lili, who had been silently watching him.
“What? Curious about what I’m doing?”
Chen Lili shook her head, her expression complicated.
“You… you’re trying to drive a wedge between Yang Lifeng and his wife?”
“Smart.”
Lu Changfu admitted it openly.
“But this isn’t called driving a wedge between them. It’s called… giving their marriage a little test. If their relationship is truly unbreakable, then what can a little trick like mine possibly do?”
Chen Lili hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely let out a soft sigh.
Lu Changfu suddenly rolled over and pinned her beneath him. “What? Feeling sorry for Yang Lifeng?”
“No!” Chen Lili hurriedly denied it. “I just… feel like this isn’t right…”
“Isn’t right?” Lu Changfu sneered. “When he sent you those suggestive messages yesterday, why didn’t you think it was ‘not right’? And when he looked at you today as if he wanted to strip you naked right there on the spot, why didn’t you think it was ‘not right’?”
Chen Lili shrank back, frightened by his aggressive tone, but then gathered her courage and said, “I… I’m not defending him. I’m just worried… that this might cause trouble for you.”
Her answer surprised Lu Changfu. He stared at Chen Lili for several seconds before suddenly smiling.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. A man like Yang Lifeng won’t learn his lesson unless someone teaches him one.”
He released Chen Lili and got up to get dressed.
“Get some rest. We still have to deal with my parents tonight. Remember, in front of other people, smile naturally.”
Chen Lili nodded and watched Lu Changfu walk away, her expression complicated and unreadable.
She didn’t understand why she had suddenly started worrying about him. Even more confusing was why, after enduring so much humiliation, her body could still react to him…
The contradiction made her feel both confused and ashamed, yet at the same time, there was a strange sense of relief deep inside—at least she was no longer a completely numb walking corpse.
Downstairs, she could hear Song Liyuan and Peng Jiali laughing and chatting, along with the festive New Year programs playing on the television.
Chen Lili curled up on the bed, listening to the lively sounds around her. She felt as though she had been isolated in another world.
Her phone rang again. It was a voice message from Yang Lifeng.
She didn’t listen to it immediately. Instead, she first looked at the chat history between Lu Changfu and Li Ting from earlier, and suddenly understood his entire plan.
He wasn’t merely trying to embarrass Yang Lifeng in front of his wife. He also intended to make Li Ting completely lose faith in Yang Lifeng…
The realization sent a chill through Chen Lili.
Lu Changfu’s scheming and methods were far more frightening than she had imagined.
At the same time, she couldn’t help wondering: If she had accepted that “fake girlfriend” agreement back then and cooperated with him to make his parents happy, would she have avoided ending up in this situation?
Unfortunately, there were no ifs in life.
She picked up her phone and played Yang Lifeng’s voice message:
“Lili, why did you stop replying? Is Changfu beside you, making it inconvenient? Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you! Three hundred thousand yuan isn’t a problem for me! Let’s meet at the café in town tomorrow at ten in the morning, okay?”
Chen Lili stared at the message and suddenly found it both ridiculous and tragic.
Yang Lifeng thought he was the hero coming to rescue a damsel in distress, never realizing that he was merely a pawn being manipulated by Lu Changfu…
After thinking for a moment, she replied:
“Brother Yang, I appreciate your kindness… but I don’t want to drag you into this. Lu Changfu… actually treats me quite well. Let’s leave things as they are. I wish you happiness.”
After sending the message, she turned off her phone and closed her eyes, letting the noise outside and the silence inside swallow her up.
Then, she went back downstairs toward the kitchen.
Downstairs, Lu Changfu was talking about something with Song Liyuan, and the two of them were laughing happily.
Peng Jiali and Chen Lili were preparing dinner in the kitchen, with the aroma of food filling the entire house.
In the distance, someone had already started setting off firecrackers. The popping sounds were especially crisp in the winter air.
None of this had anything to do with Chen Lili.
She was merely a “maid,” a “debt payer,” a… childbearing tool.
But strangely, this realization no longer hurt her as much.
Perhaps it was because she had finally accepted reality completely—this was her choice, her fate.
At least until she paid off her debt, she had no other choice.
Thinking about the embarrassing scenes from earlier, Chen Lili’s face grew hot again.
She hated him and despised him, yet her body had betrayed her heart, shamefully responding to his touch.
This feeling of being divided between body and heart might be the norm for her life over the next three years.
When it was time for dinner, Chen Lili adjusted her expression, and her complexion looked much better.
When Song Liyuan saw her, a trace of barely noticeable jealousy flashed through her eyes, but she quickly returned to her sweet smile.
“Sister Chen, thanks for your hard work!”
“It’s what I should do…” Chen Lili replied with a calm smile.
Peng Jiali came out of the kitchen carrying the dishes. Seeing this scene, she smiled with satisfaction.
In her eyes, seeing her son getting along harmoniously with the two young women and having a peaceful family was the greatest happiness.
【A harmonious family atmosphere has been detected. Parents’ Happiness +1%. Current: 95%.】
The system notification sounded in Lu Changfu’s mind.
He smiled with satisfaction.
Everything was proceeding according to plan—his parents were happy, the system rewards were generous, the two women were each fulfilling their roles, and Yang Lifeng, the gullible fool, could continue to be squeezed for money…
As for Lu Changfu…
Thinking about Chen Lili’s contradictory and shameful reaction in bed just moments ago, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Conquering a woman’s body was easy. But making her hate you while still being unable to resist your touch—that was true control.
And as for the system’s “Bloodline Continuation” mission… Looking at the two women in front of him, each with her own charm, Lu Changfu suddenly felt that perhaps this mission wouldn’t be as difficult as he had imagined.