In the faint glow of the setting sun, the city’s neon lights flickered to life.
The club’s lights shifted between bright and dim, alcohol splashed through the air, and a decadent atmosphere enveloped the crowd as everyone danced, utterly carefree.
Upstairs, a group of people looked down at the scene below with casual detachment, casually discussing recent business conditions. Every single sentence they uttered could sway economic lifelines and industry trends.
A man leaned back against the sofa, surrounded by designated heirs from major corporate groups. Born into wealth and as members of the second-generation elite, they possessed exceptional and outstanding abilities.
Amidst casual laughter and conversation, deals were struck one after another. Wine glasses clinked together, producing crisp, pleasant sounds. In their hands, alcohol was not a tool for social networking, but rather a way to warm up the banquet’s atmosphere.
Young Master Liu swirled the French estate red wine in his crystal glass. How’s this wine?
Not bad, the texture is rich and mellow.
I think so too.
Young Master Liu raised his glass to the man who had remained silent all along, his attitude exceptionally enthusiastic. Shen Qiu? Don’t fight me for the plot of land on the east side, alright?
Shen Qiu calmly adjusted his cuffs. The wine glass sitting on the table in front of him remained completely untouched. You can’t win it in a fair fight, so now you’re starting to play the emotional card?
Seeing that Shen Qiu was actually deigning to talk, Young Master Liu thought there might be a chance. Don’t I want this plot to build an industrial park? Once the industrial park is built, I’ll specially zone off a section for President Shen.
Shen Qiu pushed away the offered glass of wine, his ink-jade eyes bottomless. The land isn’t under my jurisdiction; Shen Ziqi is in charge of it.
Young Master Liu downed his drink in one gulp. Understood, many thanks!
Shen Qiu’s expression darkened. He pinched his temples and pressed down on them as bulging veins throbbed against his skin. Suddenly, he stood up. I’m heading back first. You guys go ahead and chat.
His steps were occasionally sluggish, and Shen Qiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the wall as he made his way to the restroom.
Cold water snapped away the throbbing pain. Water droplets clung to his eyelashes, streaking across his handsome face. He yanked off his tie; it fell to the floor, and his leather shoes stepped on it mercilessly without a shred of pity.
Buzz, buzz
As the sound of electric current in his ears grew increasingly clear, Shen Qiu took out his phone, intending to call an emergency ambulance. His fingers were cramping and trembling from the static shocks, and the phone slipped out of his grasp.
Shen Qiu’s face grew paler and paler as he braced himself against the edge of the sink. Sweat slowly soaked through his collar and back.
The Submissive Weakling Salvation System frantically came online. System 003 confirmed that the binding was successful and began flipping through the plot outline.
This was System 003’s first mission, and it was a bit flustered. Whenever it panicked, it had a tendency to leak electricity. Hello, Host. I am the Submissive Weakling Salvation System.
With a splitting headache, Shen Qiu asked, What?
System 003 followed the system code of conduct. Host, you are the cannon-fodder antagonist of The Richest Man’s Self-Made Rise. All of your family business will be completely seized by the protagonist Shou’s partner, the protagonist Gong. In the novel’s ending, you will end up with nothing and die of brain cancer.
The current inside Shen Qiu’s head finally stopped. A flash of emotion flickered through Shen Qiu’s eyes as he looked into the mirror.
System 003: Host, if you want to break free from the plot, you need to complete a mission: save the submissive weakling Meng Xinghui, and help him break free from the protagonist Gong’s influence. Once you do, your cancer will be completely cured.
Shen Qiu let out a cold scoff. You expect me to believe that?
System 003 helplessly waved its hands. As expected, the seniors were right; some hosts simply refused to believe it. You are about to walk out of the restroom, turn right, and a young man will throw himself into your arms. You’ll think he’s trying to latch onto you for status, but no, he’s trying to frame you by planting drugs on you.
Tomorrow morning’s headline news will be that the heir of the Shen Group was caught consuming illegal drugs, causing the stock prices to plummet.
Ignoring it, Shen Qiu pulled a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his suit and wiped the sweat from his face.
He washed his slender, well-articulated fingers under cold water, threw the expensive custom handkerchief into the trash can along with his cuffs, and pushed open the door. A red carpet stretched out endlessly ahead.
The door to the private room beside him opened, carrying a faint fragrance as a young man walked over, looking at him with a coquettish expression.
Shen Qiu’s brows furrowed in a way that was almost imperceptible. Lifting his leather shoe, he moved swiftly to dodge out of the way.
System 003: Look at that, didn’t I tell you so?
The young man fell to the ground in pain, clutching his injured lower back, yet still stubbornly calling out, Mister, I think my back might be sprained. Could you help me up?
Shen Qiu squatted down and sized up the young man. Do you think I’m a fool, or do you think your boss is a fool? He fished a transparent packaging bag out of the young man’s right pocket, which was filled with white powder.
He placed a finger against his thin lips. Shh. Save your explanations for the police. My time is far too precious to waste on petty tricks like yours.
He pointed toward the glowing red light of the security camera at the end of the corridor.
The young man didn’t speak, his expression turning taut and nervous.
Shen Qiu stood up, ignoring the person behind him, and walked slowly toward the elevator doors.
The elevator doors slid open with a swoosh, and Secretary Lin and the bodyguards stepped back to make room for President Shen.
Secretary Lin pressed the button for the sub-basement parking garage. President Shen, the press release to handle tomorrow’s stock price drop has already been arranged. I’ve already contacted the media, leaving them free to release the news without needing to spare our reputation.
As for the drug test report, it’s out from the testing agency. President Wang of the agency said he is willing to speak on President Shen’s behalf, and he will forward the test report himself.
System 003 lagged. No way, The host knew in advance?! How does this differ from the script?! Static electricity surged throughout Shen Qiu’s brain.
Sitting in the back seat, Shen Qiu propped his head up and closed his eyes to rest.
System 003 frantically sparked with electricity: Host, I’m telling you, the cancer is real!
A gentle breeze blew past, lifting the dry strands of hair hanging by the edge of a young boy’s helmet.
The company building was close at hand. He stood hesitantly, not daring to step inside; instead, he lingered by the pedestrian traffic light closest to the building, repeatedly dialing a phone number that refused to connect.
I’m sorry, the party you are calling is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later, the mechanical female voice repeated.
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom had been parked by the roadside for a long time. The man sitting in the back seat wore a gloomy expression, casually propping his chin up as he gazed out the window at the people and things passing by.
The driver was sweating profusely, terrified that he had somehow offended his boss by lingering here all day in such an uncharacteristically bizarre manner.
The system bounced around wildly inside the man’s head, raising a huge fuss: Host, host, it’s him! Meng Xinghui, the pitiful wretch from the novel!
Meng Xinghui was the protagonist Shou in the novel who gave up everything. The protagonist Gong, Gao Jiade, had always exploited Meng Xinghui. His confession after the college entrance examination was merely meant to completely bind Meng Xinghui to him because he was afraid of losing a wallet he could bleed dry; he needed money.
Back when he had just entered college, he felt a shred of guilt and affection for Meng Xinghui, intending to compensate him in the future.
However, as he gradually integrated into the college circle and learned about the world beyond his previous horizons, he discovered that the gap between himself and his roommates, classmates, and friends was like an unfathomable abyss.
No matter how hard he struggled and strived, he could never cross it. They could freely buy luxury brand name items, travel everywhere without caring about money, and indulge themselves wantonly.
He could only cower in a tiny room, eating the leftovers his childhood sweetheart had packed from hotels, listening to that same childhood sweetheart recount daily expenses and income with the meticulous obsession of a miser.
This kind of life created extreme imbalance in Gao Jiade’s heart. Gradually, he grew to dislike Meng Xinghui coming to campus to find him, even beginning to feel that Meng Xinghui was a past he wished to forget, an embarrassing mark upon his life.
After graduation, Gao Jiade found an ordinary programmer job, drawing a low salary while living in a rental apartment paid for by Meng Xinghui’s money. Every day, he squeezed into the stinky, overcrowded subway cars like a canned squid, facing malicious exploitation by a boss who went crazy from time to time.
When his boss deliberately withheld his salary and berated him as a nobody, he flew into a rage, quit his job, and jumped ship to a subsidiary under Shen Qiu’s company, where he met the wealthy socialite Lin Miao.
Lin Miao was a wealthy young lady who had become infatuated with Gao Jiade’s handsome face and interesting soul. After getting together with Gao Jiade, even though she knew of Meng Xinghui’s existence, she completely chalked it up to Meng Xinghui maliciously seducing Gao Jiade.
Even after learning of Gao Jiade’s infidelity, Meng Xinghui still couldn’t extricate himself, continuing to provide money, serving him like a slave, and allowing Gao Jiade to trample all over him like a fool.
When the two of them went to bed, they even made Meng Xinghui stand guard outside the door, cleaning up the room for them afterward.
Later on, Lin Miao became pregnant and gave birth to a child, dumping it onto Meng Xinghui. Meng Xinghui raised Gao Jiade and Lin Miao’s child through every dirty and exhausting chore imaginable.
By the time the child entered elementary school, Gao Jiade, with Lin Miao’s help, finally made some headway with his business, prompting Lin Miao’s father to relent and finally agree to their marriage.
As for Meng Xinghui, Lin Miao detested him to the core. To that end, she drugged him to get him hooked on drugs, locking him up in prison for three whole years of forced rehabilitation. Not even ten days after he was released, she bribed someone to run Meng Xinghui over and kill him.
With Lin Miao’s assistance, Gao Jiade swallowed up the assets of the Shen Group, rocketing straight to the position of the richest man.
The system was so angry it suffered a short circuit.
Shen Qiu clucked his tongue in disbelief.
What an absolute sucker, a tireless, dedicated nanny, and a free one at that. What kind of brainless state must someone be in to hopelessly fall in love with such a scumbag? Shen Qiu felt nothing but disgust for what the scumbag Gong had done.
Parting his thin lips, he murmured, You mean to say my mission is to make Meng Xinghui leave Gao Jiade? If the mission succeeds, my cancer will be cured. If it fails, my soul will scatter into nothingness.
Yes, Host. The mission is about to begin, and you only have one year, the system said.
Fate was truly merciless. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a deranged system popped into his head, telling him he was a short-lived cannon fodder character in a novel, and that his family’s fortune was destined to become a stepping stone for a scumbag.
Shen Qiu refused to believe it. He normally paid close attention to fitness, exercised every morning, and maintained a regular diet, how could he possibly have cancer?
He had specifically gone to a private hospital for a medical checkup that day, only to discover that a tumor had indeed grown at the back of his brain. The specialists predicted it was a malignant tumor, while the system added fuel to the fire.
Specialist: Mr. Shen is currently in good health. You can take the opportunity while the tumor hasn’t turned malignant yet to undergo craniotomy removal.
System, ominously: You’ll lose your thick, lush hair, and the cancer cells will spread.
Specialist, conservatively: You might go bald, and even after tumor resection, there is a high probability that the cancer cells will spread. However, your survival period can be extended by three to four years.
System: In the end, you’ll still have to undergo chemotherapy, chemotherapy, chemotherapy, and then kick the bucket!
Shen Qiu logged the damn system off for one second.