He left, leaving Wen Yirou standing alone at the doorway, watching his retreating figure grow farther and farther away. No matter how much she wiped her tears, they wouldn’t stop.
So this past half year really had just been her wishful thinking.
So those moments of tenderness, those occasional displays of thoughtfulness, those instances she had taken as “maybe he likes me a little”—they were all just her illusions.
He simply needed someone to play the role of his girlfriend, to deal with the old master, to deal with the outside world.
And she happened to fit the part. That was all.
Fu Linzhou had already walked some distance.
He turned back and saw Wen Yirou still standing in place, head lowered, shoulders trembling.
Sunlight fell upon her. She wore a white dress, her long hair loose around her, delicate and fragile.
When the wind blew, her skirt swayed, as if she might collapse at any moment.
A flicker of regret passed through Fu Linzhou’s heart.
He had spoken too harshly.
This past half year, she truly had been by his side the whole time.
When he worked late into the night, there was always a light on when he came home.
She had never asked for anything, not once.
No gifts, no status, no pressure to make their relationship public.
Except for today.
Fu Linzhou turned and walked back, stopping in front of her.
“Stop crying.”
Wen Yirou looked up, eyes blurred with tears, voice choked. “Linzhou, I really just—I’m afraid you’ll get hurt again.”
“Enough.” Fu Linzhou’s voice softened. “This matter ends here. Don’t bring it up again.”
Wen Yirou nodded.
Fu Linzhou looked at her like this, and the irritation in his heart was pressed down by guilt.
He reached out, wiping the tears from her cheek.
Her skin was soft—the result of half a year of being pampered and well-cared for. Warm and smooth to the touch.
Women of high society, with proper upkeep, all had skin like this.
But somehow, he remembered the sensation of touching Su Qingsi’s chin upstairs.
That woman was like she’d taken some miracle elixir—her whole body impossibly soft and tender.
When his fingers had brushed against her, he felt it wasn’t real. He wanted to press harder to test, yet feared leaving marks, hurting her.
Fu Linzhou pulled his thoughts back and slipped his hands into his pockets.
He gave Wen Yirou a way out. “Come back with me. You’ll make dinner.”
Wen Yirou froze for a moment, then broke into a smile through her tears, nodding vigorously.
“Okay. I’ll cook. I’ll cook as soon as we get back.”
Fu Linzhou turned and walked toward the car.
Wen Yirou trotted to catch up, reaching out to take his hand.
Fu Linzhou didn’t pull away. He let her hold it.
Su Qingsi stood by the window, watching the two of them holding hands below.
The Maybach slowly drove out of the Su Family’s gates and disappeared at the end of the road.
A faint smile curved at the corner of Su Qingsi’s lips. “With a challenge, it’s more interesting.”
“Host, you’re playing with fire.”
A voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
Su Qingsi spoke. “How so?”
“In the Original Work, Su Qingsi, after returning, relied on the filter in Fu Linzhou’s heart, using weakness and playing the victim to seduce him.”
“She pretended her health was poor, lied that she had been forced abroad back then, acted aggrieved, and showed weakness in front of Fu Linzhou to make him feel guilty.”
“But she didn’t have amnesia—she used those shared memories to awaken Fu Linzhou’s feelings.”
The System’s voice paused. “Host, by pretending to have amnesia, you’ve already deviated from the novel’s white moonlight setting.”
Su Qingsi let out a soft laugh, turned around, and walked back to sit on the bed.
She raised a hand to sweep her long hair over her shoulder, the motion lazy and alluring.
“Those memories aren’t mine. I don’t want to fake them.” Her voice was soft and light, carrying a hint of casual indifference.
“But that’s your advantage—your first love days, your first date, the first time you held hands…”
“Enough.” Su Qingsi cut it off, her gaze cold.
“I told you, those aren’t my memories. Using someone else’s past to seduce a man—I find that pointless.”
She paused, then the corners of her lips curved up again. “Besides, I don’t need any of that.”
“If there’s no past, I’ll create my own present.”
The System was silent for a few seconds.
“Host, are you sure? Without the memory attack, how will you make Wen Yirou suffer? How will you slap her in the face?”
Su Qingsi chuckled softly. “You don’t understand men.”
“What?”
“Men are moved by beautiful memories of the past. They feel touched, nostalgic, soft-hearted.”
“But that’s just being moved—not wanting, and certainly not desire.”
Su Qingsi turned to her side, her fingers lightly twirling a strand of hair. “What I want isn’t his soft-heartedness. I want his downfall.”
The System: “…”
“I want him to bow for me, lose control for me, abandon all his principles for me.”
“This kind of involuntary, physiological attraction is more effective than any memory attack.”
The System fell silent again.
Su Qingsi blinked, looking innocent and naive. “Has the Plotline deviated now? Am I not seducing him?”
“You are indeed seducing him, but in a completely different way.”
“And the result?”
“He came to visit you today and pinched your chin,” the System said.
“Judging by the result, he’s interested in you, and has a sense of possessiveness.”
Su Qingsi smiled, that smile delicate yet smug. “Then that’s all that matters.”
The System said nothing more.
Su Qingsi got up and walked to the dressing table.
The mirror reflected a face—skin tender and fair, eyes and brows full of allure, lips naturally rosy.
She raised her hand, her fingertip touching her chin.
When Fu Linzhou pinched her there today, his gaze was frighteningly deep.
He liked her face, liked her skin, liked her delicateness.
This was a good start.
Later, she would make him obsessed with her body, make him her devoted subject.
“System,” she spoke up, “what’s Wen Yirou’s current state?”
“Although she was taken home by the male lead, she already feels a sense of crisis.”
“She knows she’s just a substitute, and she also knows the male lead can’t forget you.”
“Next, she might take the initiative, trying to win back the male lead’s heart.”
“Let her come.” Su Qingsi’s lips curved.
“The more proactive she is, the more innocent I appear. The more anxious she is, the more indifferent I seem.”
“Host, aren’t you worried?”
“Worried about what?”
“If Fu Linzhou is truly moved by Wen Yirou and lets you go, going straight to the ending Plotline, then the mission will most likely be considered a failure.”
“It won’t happen.” Su Qingsi’s voice was certain.
“Men are never satisfied. What they can’t have is always the best.”
“The less I remember him, the more he wants me to remember.”
“The more fragile and innocent I am, the more he wants to bully me, protect me, possess me.”
The System was silent for a long time. “Host, you’re a bit scary.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Su Qingsi lay back on the bed, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and closed her eyes.
“I’m going to continue resting.”
“Fu Linzhou won’t come tomorrow. I need to get better quickly.”
“How do you know he won’t come?”
Su Qingsi opened her eyes, looking at the ceiling.
“Because he has feelings for Wen Yirou, he’s already been moved by her. He’ll feel guilty, thinking he made her sad.”
“So he’ll hold back, he’ll suppress that urge to conquer me.”
She closed her eyes again.
“And I, I need to approach him proactively in a different way, to reawaken that bit of his baser nature.”
“Let him sink in bit by bit, until he can’t get out.”