Chi Xuan never expected to be pulled over for a drunk driving check, let alone have his driver’s license confiscated.
Unable to make it to the bar, he could only return to the Chi residence.
Chi Yuan, unusually free from work, was sitting in the living room.
However, his expression was somewhat cold and stern.
Seeing Chi Xuan enter, he raised his voice, “So you still remember to come back?”
Chi Xuan clicked his tongue, almost rolling his eyes at him.
He never got along well with this older brother.
Especially after Chi Yuan took over the family business, the two brothers hardly even had time to see each other.
“What do you want?”
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Lin Shi Xi?”
“That’s my business. None of your concern.”
Already in a bad mood, Chi Xuan felt he was about to be lectured upon seeing the other’s attitude and headed straight for the elevator.
Compared to Chi Xuan’s flamboyant and unrestrained personality, Chi Yuan was more reserved and steady.
Rimless glasses rested on his high nose bridge, the lenses reflecting a cold gleam that added to his air of inscrutability.
He had been groomed as the heir since childhood, accustomed to viewing things from a position of authority.
He wanted to control everything, including this disobedient younger brother.
Chi Yuan said bluntly, “If you could handle things properly, you wouldn’t have embarrassed yourself all over the internet.”
“Don’t worry, that’s my embarrassment. No one would dare laugh at you, President Chi.”
Seeing his stubbornness, Chi Yuan’s tone grew heavier, “Do you really like Lin Shi Xi?”
Hearing this, Chi Xuan turned back and retorted, “Big brother, do you know who she is?”
Chi Yuan nodded, “I know.”
Chi Xuan: “Do you know she’s the girl you were engaged to for fifteen years?”
Chi Yuan felt uncomfortable with this description, “Your wording is incorrect. The only one I’m meant to marry is Yan Yan. Lin Shi Xi is just a cuckoo occupying the magpie’s nest. She has nothing to do with me now.”
“Tch.” Chi Xuan waved his hand, “Fine, then go find your Yan Yan, and I’ll find Lin Shi Xi. Let’s not interfere with each other.”
Chi Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he warned, “Someone like Lin Shi Xi is insatiably greedy. You’d better keep your distance. If something like today happens again, you’ll only become a laughingstock.”
“Have you been following me?” A glint of cold light flashed in Chi Xuan’s eyes.
“Your friends have been shouting about it everywhere. Why would I need to follow you?”
“With all the corporate affairs keeping you busy, you still find time to gossip about my matters. How hardworking of you, President Chi.”
After impatiently finishing his words, Chi Xuan vanished without a trace.
Knowing his temperament, Chi Yuan didn’t expect him to heed his advice.
He directly called Lu Yan.
“Yan Yan, Chi Xuan has his own ideas. I’ve said all I should. Don’t dwell too much on his matters with Lin Shi Xi.”
A soft “Mm” came from the other end.
Then he heard her despondent voice, “How can I not dwell on it? Every time I see her, I’m reminded of those fifteen years…”
Chi Yuan’s expression remained unperturbed. He knew about the intentional switching of the Lu Family’s daughters.
Whether it was Xixi or Yan Yan, he had always known that his wife had long been predetermined.
He offered no comfort, merely saying in a low voice, “Let me think of a solution.”
He disliked any variables.
Clearly, Lin Shi Xi had already become that variable.
She had disturbed the hearts of those around him and was interfering with him as well.
Back in his room, Chi Xuan received a phone call.
“Young Master Chi, we’ve found Lin Zhen.”
After hearing this, Chi Xuan’s eyes instantly turned icy, faintly gleaming with a fierce aura. “…Let’s beat him up. Just make sure he doesn’t have time to cause trouble for others. We’ll send him to eat state-provided meals after some time.”
After hanging up, he opened a chat window.
What greeted him was Lin Shi Xi’s earlier message: “Sorry, I don’t love you anymore. Let’s break up.”
Followed by his unsent reply—Why?
Chi Xuan found it irritating to look at. He opened the sticker pack and sent several stickers in succession.
In the small, quiet apartment, Huo Yao had just finished installing the door lock.
The weather hadn’t reached scorching temperatures yet, but after his recent efforts, sweat had already beaded on his face.
Shi Xi thanked him and handed him a tissue.
It was clear he was very hot.
Even at an arm’s length away, she could almost feel the heat radiating from him.
Facing that masculine energy directly, Shi Xi slightly raised her head to look at him and became somewhat entranced again.
How could she quickly trick him into bed—well, trick him into being with her…
Huo Yao casually wiped his face a few times, noticing the strong strawberry scent from the tissue.
It reminded him of that strawberry juice.
He lowered his gaze, just in time to meet her infatuated stare.
His heart skipped a beat.
Shi Xi’s thoughts were interrupted by her vibrating phone.
She picked it up and glanced at the screen.
The tech company that had contacted her earlier didn’t actually want to hire her—they just wanted to buy out her software.
Their offer was stingy too, repeatedly emphasizing that “there are many similar open-source projects online” and “you only made some optimizations.”
Now in the middle of the night, they were bothering her again.
She tapped the voice message, and a male voice played: “Miss Lin, I’ve tried my best to negotiate. The company can raise the offer by another 10k. If you agree, we can sign the contract tomorrow. Miss Lin, truthfully, we’re not short on technical staff. The recent batch we hired are all graduates from prestigious universities. Your qualifications… don’t really meet our recruitment requirements…”
Shi Xi frowned while listening.
This person was subtly belittling her while trying to make a deal?
Huo Yao overheard the conversation too.
He was about to say something in his capacity as an elder when he saw the girl decisively curse “You low-life dog!” before deleting the message.
Huo Yao: “…”
He knew about her situation and could guess what the other person was saying.
They just wanted her to sell her software cheap.
He thought she might compromise due to financial need.
Unexpectedly, she had quite the temper.
The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly as he said, “I’ll take my leave now.”
“Alright, let me see you out.”
“Stay put.”
Huo Yao had already quickly stepped out, firmly closing the door behind him.
Shi Xi sighed.
Although he’d been right in front of her just now, their interaction time hadn’t increased at all.
Seeing the stickers Chi Xuan had sent, Shi Xi ignored them and took her clothes to the bathroom.
After the day’s events, she was completely exhausted.
The next morning, Shi Xi was awakened by Chi Xuan’s phone call. Rubbing her sore eyes, she opened the Douhao video app.
Since Chi Xuan had exposed her, she’d been gaining followers—but they were all anti-fans coming to criticize her.
Today she was still gaining followers, though the hate comments weren’t as numerous as before.
She also noticed a strange trending topic—#Lin Shi Xi Shura Field#
Here’s what had happened:
Last night, when she and Chi Xuan left the restaurant, a passerby driving by had recorded them. Lu Mingzhe and Bai Fan were both present at the time.
The brief ten-second video had successfully captured netizens’ attention.
【Three men and one woman in a Shura Field, and the woman is actually Lin Shi Xi! Not sure, let me look again!】
【Face disfigured, left leg crippled, same figure – it’s definitely Lin Shi Xi, just feels like her aura is somewhat different】
【Great, Chi Xuan fights with her online but acts all sweet offline, putting on a show for us!】
【Why would Lin Shi Xi become crippled and disfigured? Feels like she should have been an absolute beauty originally, wuwuwu】
【Hahaha, and I even accused Lin Shi Xi of fraud before. When it’s consensual between them, how can it be called fraud? Feel like I’ve been played – the young couple needed NPCs to advance their plot, right?】
【Never expected it to be Lin Shi Xi’s Shura Field. This world has still gone crazy in the way I wanted】
【The one in the suit is Lu Mingzhe, CEO of Lu Corporation. The other guy whose face we can’t see also seems really handsome. Has anyone figured out who he is?】
【Ahhhhh the guy in the white T-shirt is my crush! He was also on Lin Shi Xi’s fan donation list…】
【Seriously, are these three top-tier guys blind? What’s there to fight over with a disfigured cripple?】
…
Shi Xi, never one to avoid trouble, simply started a live stream.
At first, there weren’t many fans, and those who saw her thought they were mistaken.
【??? Started streaming?】
【Damn, it really is Lin Shi Xi!】
【Don’t you dare run, I’m calling my best friend to watch】
【Holy crap, no face-changing software used!!】
【After covering the scars, why does she look like a different person?!】
【Wait, did she originally look like the AI face-swapped version?】
【Anchor, did you get scar removal surgery?】
Shi Xi didn’t bother with the original owner’s professional streaming equipment, just used her phone to stream.
No beauty filters were applied, and she hadn’t even… brushed her teeth or washed her face yet.
The scars that once covered the original owner’s face couldn’t even be hidden by a mask – when people saw her, the first thing they noticed were the hideous scars.
Now, Shi Xi’s left cheek was wrapped in white gauze, more like wearing a mask that concealed the ugly flaws.
People’s visual focus naturally fell on her perfect right cheek, even unconsciously using their own aesthetic standards to fill in the covered half of her face.
This kind of imagination was beautiful.
Therefore, everyone in the live stream room now saw Shi Xi as beautiful.
“I did indeed get scar removal surgery, and I’m currently still recovering.”
Shi Xi’s clear voice carried a gentle tone, just like the original owner’s manner and attitude in previous streams.
“That face-changing software was made by me because I was too insecure and wanted to improve my image. I’m very sorry for the confusion and trouble it has caused. After today, I won’t be streaming anymore.”
Seeing some comments concerned about her surgery, she patiently replied to a few more.
【Just call it plastic surgery, why say scar removal? Playing the victim to deceive netizens!】
Similar comments suddenly appeared, continuously spamming the chat.
The live stream room instantly filled with hostility.
“Where did this little fool come from, speaking so adorably? Do you have ten faucets installed on your head that need to run water every day? Were your typing hands fished out of a cesspool? The smell is so strong – remember to turn on the faucet and wash yourself clean, otherwise even the trash can would reject you if you fell in.”
After calmly muttering this, just as Shi Xi was about to go offline, she saw the top donor suddenly come online.
Without saying a word, Chi Xuan started showering her with gifts like crazy, the screen filled with special effects that diverted everyone’s attention.
Chi Xuan showing up was one thing, but there were also several unfamiliar accounts throwing money around like confetti, sending gifts as soon as they joined the stream.
Shi Xi could tell they were probably people Chi Xuan had invited.
【Damn, what a spectacle】
【So it really is a love-hate relationship】
【One exposes secrets, the other calls the police—are they reconciled now?? They’re flaunting it right in my face!!】
【Chi Xuan is doubling down—does he really like disabled people that much?】
Shi Xi memorized a few of the account names and ended the livestream.
She could effortlessly utilize the knowledge stored in the original host’s mind, but having just woken up, she felt too lazy. So she directly turned to the System, “System, System, help me get back at those people who insulted me. I really can’t stand them.”
System: “Okay.”
Shi Xi’s eyes lit up.
This System might be aloof, but it was surprisingly accommodating.
In the past, the female protagonist’s system would only give her a motivational speech before telling her not to seek shortcuts.
It made her afraid to slack off, forcing her to handle everything personally.
“System, we still have a long road ahead. We’re in this together—how about we divide the work and cooperate from now on?”
The System hesitated briefly but agreed, “…Okay.”
“…” Shi Xi cheered internally.
She’d successfully fooled the scumbag system!
As expected, if you can’t lead a team, you’ll end up doing all the work yourself!
With the System as her support from now on, she couldn’t even imagine how much easier her life would be.
She tossed her phone aside, lay back down, and went to sleep.
Despite lasting less than ten minutes, Shi Xi’s livestream had attracted over two million concurrent viewers.
Chi Xuan had even made a public appearance with lavish gifts, seemingly flaunting their relationship.
However, Shi Xi’s demeanor during the stream had been notably indifferent, making it seem more like Chi Xuan was the only one invested.
Netizens were burning with curiosity, wishing they could drag the parties involved out for an interview.
Compared to the previous wave of online hate targeting Shi Xi, public opinion toward her noticeably improved after that day.
People began focusing on the software she’d developed, her past, and the tangled web of relationships between her and her “suitors”…
After blocking and deleting the tech company manager, Shi Xi was approached by several HR recruiters.
The first to offer concrete benefits and schedule a meeting with her, however, was a film production company.