Chen Lili’s father’s surgery was successful.
Lu Changfu learned the news indirectly from his mother.
The operation had gone smoothly, but the cost of the subsequent treatment was still a bottomless pit.
Lu Changfu stared at the WeChat message his mother had sent:
“Lili’s father’s surgery was successful. Thank goodness.”
He couldn’t quite put into words how he felt.
After he had lent Chen Lili 100,000 yuan, she had basically stopped paying attention to him. She hadn’t even given him a sincere thank-you.
Meanwhile, Song Liyuan had completely stepped into the role of his “girlfriend.”
Ever since that night, she had come to see Lu Changfu almost every day.
Sometimes she brought him food. Sometimes she asked him out. More often, she would come directly to the dormitory, filling the empty time and anxiety left behind by the factory’s closure and Chen Lili’s silence with her enthusiasm and physical affection.
Lu Changfu didn’t refuse.
He told himself that now that he had money, he should be happy.
The system wanted him to be filial and make his parents happy, but what about him?
Why shouldn’t he be happy too?
He was a young man in his prime. Having physical and emotional needs was perfectly normal.
Song Liyuan was beautiful, proactive, and knew how to please him. Being with her was easy and came without pressure.
He had even begun planning a more “reasonable” life.
“Here’s what I’m thinking for the future,” Lu Changfu said one night after they had been intimate. Leaning against the headboard with a cigarette between his fingers, he spoke to Song Liyuan, who was nestled in his arms.
“My parents need a stable daughter-in-law. My requirements are simple: she has to be a virgin, virtuous, sensible, capable of taking care of the elderly, and able to have children with me.”
Song Liyuan’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment before relaxing again. Her fingers traced circles across his chest as she spoke in a coquettish voice.
“Brother Lu, your requirements… aren’t easy to meet these days.”
“If it’s difficult, I’ll take my time looking.”
Lu Changfu exhaled a ring of smoke, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.
“Anyway, I have plenty of time and plenty of money.”
He turned his head and looked at Song Liyuan’s alluring profile in the dim light.
“As for you, Liyuan, I think what we have is pretty good. You make me happy, and I won’t treat you badly either…”
He paused.
“If you ever… get pregnant…”
The woman in his arms seemed to hold her breath.
“I’ll give you 200,000 yuan. After you give birth, I’ll give you another 500,000.”
Song Liyuan suddenly raised her head, her eyes shining brightly in the darkness.
“Really? Brother Lu? 500,000?”
“I keep my word.”
Lu Changfu flicked the ash from his cigarette.
“But the child has to be mine.”
“Of course!”
Song Liyuan immediately agreed, pressing herself even closer to him. Her voice was sweet and cloying.
“I’ll only have Brother Lu’s child… Brother Lu, you’re so good to me.”
She kissed his chin, but inside, her mind was already racing.
500,000…
With that money, she could open her own clothing store and never have to worry about looking at someone else’s face again.
As Lu Changfu felt the warmth and softness in his arms, the discomfort he had felt because of his “brother,” Zhao Feng, had long since disappeared.
They were simply getting what they each needed.
He needed someone to accompany him and make his parents “see” that he had a stable girlfriend.
Song Liyuan needed money and someone to rely on.
It was fair.
He even felt that he had found the perfect balance.
Song Liyuan could handle the day-to-day matters and keep his parents’ happiness level stable.
Once he found the virgin who met his “wife standards,” he would marry her, have children, completely fulfill the system’s mission, and receive the 10 million yuan reward.
Perfect.
Yet late at night, when he lay alone in the now-empty factory dormitory—Song Liyuan usually didn’t stay overnight because she said it might look bad—he would occasionally remember Chen Lili’s red, tear-filled eyes as she had begged him.
He remembered the despair in her voice when she had tremblingly said, “I’m cleaner than her.”
That feeling was completely different from the pure physical pleasure Song Liyuan gave him.
It was like a tiny thorn lodged somewhere in his heart. It didn’t hurt, but every now and then, it would itch.
Three days before the factory was scheduled to shut down completely, Chen Lili returned.
She was noticeably thinner than when she had left.
She had come back to complete the final paperwork and collect her small compensation payment and her last month’s salary.
Lu Changfu ran into her outside the factory office.
She was standing there with her head lowered, organizing some documents. Her back looked particularly lonely.
“You’re back?”
Lu Changfu walked over, his voice somewhat hoarse.
Chen Lili’s hands stopped.
She raised her head and, upon seeing him, a complicated look flashed through her eyes before she lowered them again and softly replied,
“Mm.”
“How’s your father?”
“He had the surgery. He still needs chemotherapy and targeted therapy…”
Chen Lili’s voice was very low, weighed down by exhaustion.
“The doctor said there’s a good chance, but… the money is being spent very quickly.”
The 100,000 yuan Lu Changfu had given her, along with her family’s already meager savings and the money they had borrowed from relatives, had disappeared like water poured into a desert in the face of the enormous medical expenses.
“How much more do you need?” Lu Changfu asked.
He already had a rough idea.
Chen Lili pressed her pale lips together and tightened her grip on the folder in her hands.
She struggled for a long time before finally raising her head.
The cold, distant eyes she once had now held nothing but humble pleading.
“Changfu… could you… lend me a little more? 100,000… no, 80,000 would be enough. I’ll definitely pay you back. I can write you an IOU and pay interest…”
Money again.
The little softness that had risen in Lu Changfu’s heart from remembering the past instantly turned cold.
He looked at her and suddenly found the situation both ridiculous and sad.
“Chen Lili,” he said, his voice carrying a coldness he didn’t even realize was there, “last time, you didn’t even give me a proper thank-you for the 100,000 yuan. You took the money and disappeared. You didn’t reply to my messages or answer my calls. And now that the money’s gone, you remember to come looking for me?”
Chen Lili’s face became even paler. Her lips trembled as she tried to explain.
“I… My father needed someone to stay with him, and I…”
“Is that so?”
Lu Changfu interrupted her, stepping closer and looking down at her.
“Or did you think I, Lu Changfu, am just some idiot with too much money who’s easy to talk to? Whenever you need money, you lower your head and shed a few tears. Once you get the money, you act like I don’t exist?”
“I’m not…”
Tears immediately welled up in Chen Lili’s eyes, swirling in her eye sockets.
How could she not know that she had handled things badly?
But at the time, her mind had been a complete mess. Her father’s illness and the enormous debts had been crushing her to the point where she could barely breathe.
She didn’t know how to face Lu Changfu or how to deal with that loan, which carried so many complicated emotions with it.
All she could do was avoid him.
“You’re not what?”
Lu Changfu’s anger was stirred up by her tears, along with all the frustration he had been suppressing from being rejected and ignored.
“Chen Lili, let me tell you this. I have money. But my money didn’t fall from the sky, and it certainly isn’t something for people like you to waste after taking it and then turning your back on me!”
His words were like knives, cutting Chen Lili to pieces.
She finally lost control. Tears rolled down her cheeks in large drops, but she bit her lip tightly, refusing to let herself make a sound.
She simply looked at him with eyes filled with tears, despair, and sorrow.
That look made something inside Lu Changfu ache sharply.
But he immediately hardened his heart.
He couldn’t be softhearted anymore.
This woman would only take advantage of his kindness.
“I can lend you the money.”
Lu Changfu suddenly changed his tone, his voice cold and firm.
“I won’t even require you to pay it back.”
Chen Lili raised her tear-filled eyes and looked at him in disbelief.
“But there are conditions.”
Lu Changfu spoke each word slowly, as though delivering a verdict.
“First, you’ll sign an IOU for 200,000 yuan.
“Second, from today onward, you stay by my side. Not as the ‘contract girlfriend’ you were during the New Year holidays, but long-term.”
He paused.
“You’ll work as my… housekeeper. Do the laundry, cook, clean the house… for three years.”
“After three years, the IOU will be void, and you’ll be free to leave.”
Chen Lili’s pupils shrank sharply, and her breathing quickened.
“Third…”
Lu Changfu looked at her pale face, and a twisted sense of pleasure and control surged through him.
“Since you’re staying by my side, you’ll have to fulfill your ‘girlfriend’ duties.”
“Pretending to be my girlfriend in front of my parents is the most basic requirement.”
He paused before continuing.
“And since I’m paying for you, I have the right to enjoy the ‘boyfriend’s’ privileges. When I need you, you’ll cooperate.”
He watched Chen Lili sway unsteadily, then paused before finally dropping the most shocking condition.
“And… if you become pregnant and give birth…”
“Once the child turns one year old, you can choose to leave, or you can choose to stay.”
The moment he said the word “pregnant,” the system notification that had been silent for a long time suddenly rang clearly in his mind:
[Ding! Hidden Advanced Mission Triggered: The Joy of Continuing the Bloodline]
[Mission Description: The host has now established a basic financial foundation and has a woman with whom he has an emotional connection. True filial piety lies in having children and continuing the family line. Helping a woman who has a stable relationship with the host become pregnant will bring unparalleled happiness to his parents.]
[Mission Reward: After successfully getting your partner pregnant and confirming the pregnancy, in addition to the basic childbirth reward, you will receive one “Mysterious Surprise Gift Pack.”]
[Note: The contents of the Surprise Gift Pack are directly related to the baby’s health and the peak level of happiness experienced by the parents after receiving the good news. Please manage your relationship carefully and welcome the arrival of the new life.]
A Mysterious Surprise Gift Pack?
Lu Changfu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The system had never used words like “surprise” or “shocking reward” before.
What could it be?
More money?
Or… something even more incredible?
His gaze toward Chen Lili instantly became more intense, filled with a determination to have his way.
This was no longer simply about satisfying his own desires or getting revenge.
It was also about that incredibly tempting hidden reward from the system!
The sudden, almost frightening light in Lu Changfu’s eyes startled Chen Lili.
She stumbled backward a step until her back hit the cold wall. There was nowhere left for her to retreat.
Doing his laundry and cooking for him like a maid… cooperating with him in pretending to be his girlfriend… and even… getting pregnant and having his child?
How was this a condition for a loan?
This was clearly… a contract selling herself!
“No… No…” Her lips trembled as she forced the refusal out between her teeth. Her tears flowed even harder.
“Lu Changfu… you can’t do this… You’re taking advantage of my situation…”
“Taking advantage of your situation?” Lu Changfu sneered. “Chen Lili, get this straight. You’re the one asking me for help. I’m not forcing you to do anything…”
He paused, his expression cold.
“Your father’s life, or that little bit of pitiful pride you have—you choose. I’ll give you three days to think about it.”
He took out his phone and glanced at the screen.
Song Liyuan had sent him a message asking what he wanted to eat that evening.
The corner of his lips curled into a smile devoid of warmth.
Without looking again at Chen Lili, who had collapsed against the wall with a lifeless expression, he turned around and strode away.
The sound of his leather shoes striking the concrete floor echoed through the empty corridor, each step like a blow landing on Chen Lili’s heart as she teetered on the verge of breaking down.
At the end of the corridor, the setting sun cast its fading light through the windows, stretching Lu Changfu’s departing figure into a long, long shadow.
He was walking toward Song Liyuan, where warm lights and eager anticipation awaited him.
Meanwhile, Chen Lili was left alone in the cold shadows, facing an even colder and more cruel choice.
Two hundred thousand yuan.
Three years of losing her freedom, and…
Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, yet she could no longer feel the pain.