When Ruan Jiaqi woke up, it was already the next morning.
The morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, softly spilling across her face and bringing a faint, ticklish warmth.
Her consciousness gradually returned.
The soft touch of the silk quilt covering her, along with everything around her that was luxurious yet unfamiliar, made her feel somewhat dazed.
She had lain in the same stiff position all night, and now her whole body ached as though she had climbed a thousand mountains in her dreams.
Ruan Jiaqi touched her bare wrist.
The silver handcuff was already gone, leaving behind only a barely perceptible red mark on her skin.
The villa was utterly silent.
Hua Feng had gone to the company, and it was not yet time for the servants to arrive at work. The enormous villa was completely empty, with only her left inside.
Like a wandering ghost, Ruan Jiaqi aimlessly wandered around the house once before eventually returning to the bedroom and lying back down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Little Tong.”
“Are you there?”
The system yawned, sounding as though it had just been forcibly booted from deep sleep, accompanied by a drowsy little rumble.
【Hmm? It’s over already? I thought that, according to the standard Po-wen setup, the male lead would at least have to keep going for a whole day and night before it was over.】
【Let me check your current progress on攻略ing the male lead…】
The system rubbed its eyes.
【Little widow, what on earth did you do while I was in sleep mode?!】
“Is something wrong?” Ruan Jiaqi asked.
【Your攻略 value has changed dramatically.】
【Unfortunately, in the opposite direction.】
【In other words, your攻略 value is now negative.】
Ruan Jiaqi suddenly remembered the warmth of his chest when he approached her last night, the strong, scorching arms that had held her waist and gripped behind her knees.
And those cold eyes that had looked down at her.
“He doesn’t seem to like me trying to… seduce him that way.”
At least before that, he had treated her gently.
The system racked its brains for a while before finally realizing the answer.
【Oh, I remember now. It wasn’t the method that was wrong. It was the timing.】
【That setting actually exists in the original novel.】
【Because the male lead, Hua Feng, lost his father in a car accident and experienced a difficult period of living under someone else’s roof during his youth, he is extremely guarded. He doesn’t like having anyone else in the same space with him when he sleeps.】
【So whenever night falls, all the servants and housekeepers in the villa are packed off to a nearby luxury apartment. After all, the male lead is rich and willful. The Hua family owns hundreds of buildings in Shanghai.】
【You drugged the male lead and climbed into his bed to secure your position, so he trusts you very little. Since he can’t get rid of you, all he can do is have you locked up every night.】
There was a hint of guilty hindsight in the system’s voice.
【In the original text, your role as the vicious supporting female character was just a minor plot device used to highlight the protagonists’ romance. Your scenes with the male lead were all glossed over in a few strokes. I just didn’t remember this detail for a moment…】
So that was why Hua Feng had suddenly suggested having the driver take her away last night.
Ruan Jiaqi hugged the quilt, a trace of worry appearing in her eyes.
“Then does that mean my mission has already failed ahead of schedule? He won’t even allow me to be near him while he sleeps.”
The system sounded completely unfazed.
【Little widow, you just don’t understand.】
【Wife cakes don’t actually contain wives, right? And ‘husband-and-wife lung slices’ don’t actually contain a husband and wife, right?】
Ruan Jiaqi nodded.
【So by the same logic, ‘sleeping with the male lead’ doesn’t actually require you to sleep, right?】
She instinctively wanted to nod, but confusion appeared in her eyes.
【Who told you that doing the deed has to happen in bed or at night? Be bold. It can be anytime, everywhere.】
【For example, the sofa, the bathroom, the balcony, or inside a car. The male lead’s study or office, or even outdoors!】
【As long as you’re willing to let go, the entire world is a VIP king-size suite! Once you truly grasp this essence, successfully clearing the mission is just around the corner. ( ⁼̴̀ .̫ ⁼̴́ )✧】
Although so much had already happened, she had actually only been in this world for one day. Ruan Jiaqi still wasn’t accustomed to such explicit expressions.
“So… you think I should go to his company to find him now?”
The system was extremely pleased.
【Bingo!】
At the same time as the “bingo” sounded, her phone began ringing with a cheerful jingle.
Ruan Jiaqi was still not accustomed to the sound. She froze for two seconds before reacting, then jumped down from the huge bed and wandered around the room until she finally found the source of the noise inside the handbag she had carried to the banquet yesterday.
Following her instincts, she pressed the green, round button.
The moment the call connected, Driver Lao Wu’s booming, complaining voice came blasting through, startling her.
“Little Ruan, are you still going to work today? If you’re not going, could you at least give me a heads-up?”
“I…”
She had just begun to answer when she realized she couldn’t get a word in.
“I dropped my son off at work first thing this morning, then had to come over to pick you up. I’ve been waiting downstairs forever! If I put an egg under the car, it’d practically have enough time to hatch into a chick!”
“Hello? Little Ruan, are you listening???”
Ruan Jiaqi simply hung up, looking utterly bewildered.
W… work?
Did a wealthy heiress like her actually have to go to work?
Bonus:
Ruan Jiaqi rummaged around inside her little handbag.
Apart from her phone, she unexpectedly pulled out a string of something pink and glittering, its surface reflecting a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.
“Wow, what beautiful glass!”
Pink diamond necklace +1