[Host! Your actions just now seriously violated the original plot. In the original story, the female supporting character did not succeed in forcibly kissing the male lead, but you insisted on doing so, causing a deviation in the plot. This situation will accelerate your destruction. Please be sure to activate the redemption plan—]
“Shut up,” Lin Ran interrupted impatiently. “Let me ask you, since you’re my system, have you prepared any cheat abilities for me?”
[Cheat abilities?]
Wasn’t its very existence a cheat ability?
The system was puzzled.
Lin Ran patiently explained, “For example, the ability to foresee future plot developments? Or maybe give me an irresistible charm aura? At the very least, grant me the talent to predict the stock market or manipulate capital?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You can’t expect me, a villainous female supporting character, to fight against the protagonist’s halo with bare hands, can you?”
The system fell silent for three seconds.
[Host, I am a female supporting character redemption system. I don’t have any of the cheat abilities you mentioned.]
“Useless,” Lin Ran rolled her eyes.
The system: …
[Host, if you don’t redeem yourself, you will really die. The original ending—]
“I know the original ending. That was because the version of me controlled by the plot wasn’t ruthless enough,” Lin Ran cut in, her tone growing heavier.
“I clearly had the chance to destroy Lu Feng, to take everything from him by force, but because of that ridiculous thing called love, I held back every single time.”
“Even after he was recognized by his wealthy family and returned to the upper echelons, all I ever did with him was hold hands.”
“Besides, what’s wrong with me pursuing the male lead?”
“If I’m at fault, then both the male and female leads are at fault too!”
“Lu Feng ruined my father’s company because he despised my pursuit of him. Su Wanyu, because she hated my pursuit of Lu Feng, cost me my job. I was publicly fired on a stormy day and happened to run into drunken thugs who beat me to death.”
“Although they didn’t directly do it, they indirectly caused the tragedy of my family’s ruin and my death on the streets.”
“Tell me, what is evil?!”
The system was stunned by Lin Ran’s question.
It had never thought about what evil was.
Its programming stated that Lin Ran was the female supporting character in this world, and that obstructing the love between the male and female leads was evil.
Therefore, she was the villainous female supporting character.
But now, hearing her say this, it didn’t know how to respond.
Lin Ran looked out the window, her voice softening.
“System, do you know the difference between the strong and the weak?”
[…Please enlighten me, host.]
“The strong make the rules; the weak follow them.”
Lin Ran curled her lips into a mocking smile. “Since the rule in this book is that the villainous female supporting character must die, I’m going to break that rule.”
“I’ll make Lu Feng willingly offer me everything.”
“I’ll make Su Wanyu spend her entire life yearning for love but never obtaining it.”
“I’ll make everyone who wants to see me fail kneel at my feet.”
Her voice was soft, yet it carried a terrifying power.
The system panicked.
[H-Host… you’re trying to defy fate! This doesn’t align with the plot’s logic—]
“Then make it align.”
The car window reflected Lin Ran’s bright and charming face. Her expression was focused, her tone resolute.
“From today onward, I, Lin Ran, will write my own life.”
The system froze for a moment, then screamed, [You’re insane!]
[Without my help, you can’t possibly resist the plot force!]
“Then let’s give it a try,” Lin Ran smiled, but there was no trace of warmth in her eyes. “Let’s see whether I tame the plot first, or the plot kills me first.”
Rather than struggle to survive under the halo of the male and female leads, she would rather defy the plot force and carve out a world of her own!
The car fell into a prolonged silence.
After an unknown length of time, the system’s voice sounded again, this time much calmer.
[Detecting the host’s strong resistance to redemption. To prevent the self-destruction program from activating, the reconstruction program will now commence.]
[The reconstruction program will generate based on the host’s characteristics—]
[Loading 10%… 50%… 80%… 100%]
[Loading successful. Reconstruction complete.]
[Hello, host. I am the Plunderer System, at your service.]
“Plunderer?” Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. So, deep down, she had a plundering nature.
The system’s mechanical tone carried a faint hint of resignation.
[Since the host has chosen to remain thoroughly malicious, please uphold the villainous persona, prevent the male and female leads from achieving a happy ending, and overcome the plot force. Otherwise, both you and I will face destruction.]
[Current plundering mission: Complete the following objectives—]
[1. Within three days, cause the male lead Lu Feng to lose emotional control three times (0/3). Mission failure: +10 misfortune value.]
[2. Within seven days, disrupt the original plot node “Female Lead Confesses to Male Lead in the Library” (Incomplete). Mission failure: +20 misfortune value.]
[Ultimate objective: Change the death ending, plunder all of the male lead’s affection. Full value: 100. Current affection value: (-80).]
[Special note: Once the host obtains all of the male lead’s affection value, the plot force will vanish, and you will attain true freedom.]
Lin Ran’s eyes brightened. “Not bad. This feels more like a system meant for me, Lin Ran.”
“But what is the misfortune value?”
[The misfortune value is a penalty mechanism introduced after the system’s reconstruction. When the misfortune value reaches 100, the host will directly trigger the ending of family ruin and a tragic death on the streets.]
[Current misfortune value: 0.]
Lin Ran understood and continued, “Alright. But how do we determine if the male lead has ‘lost emotional control,’ and what counts as ‘disrupting a plot node’?”
[The host need not worry about that. I come equipped with detection functions.]
[Take what happened earlier as an example. In the original work, after the female supporting character was repelled by the male lead’s disgusted gaze, she fled in panic. However, the host successfully forced a kiss.]
[Although the host’s actions caused the male lead’s affection value to increase negatively by 20 points, it altered the plot. This counts as ‘disrupting a node.’]
[As for emotional control, Lu Feng’s character in the original work is set as calm and self-possessed. Causing him to lose composure is, in itself, a significant interference with the plot.]
Lin Ran pondered thoughtfully. “So, as long as I disrupt the plot, I can fight for a chance to survive?”
[Theoretically, yes. However, each time the plot is disrupted, it may trigger unpredictable backlash.]
[The plot force will employ ‘corrections,’ potentially creating more extreme conflicts to pull the story back on track.]
“So… the more I stir things up, the harsher the plot’s retaliation might be?” Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. “Excellent. I’m looking forward to seeing how the plot tries to deal with me.”
The system muttered quietly: [Madwoman.]
It truly couldn’t understand why the host would forgo the easy redemption path and insist on defying fate.
And now that it was on this pirate ship, it had no choice but to advance and retreat alongside its mad host.
Lin Ran curled her lips. “You’re an interesting system. From now on, I’ll call you Xiao Tong~”
System: .
＊
The car drove into the villa district.
The Lin family mansion was situated halfway up the mountain, sprawling and brightly lit.
This was the place she had lived for twenty years, which, in the original work, would be seized and auctioned off a year later.
Lin Ran stepped out of the car and stood in the courtyard, looking up at the magnificent building.
Her father, Lin Zhengfeng, was still working overtime at the company, while her mother had gone abroad last month for a trip with her close friends.
“Young Miss, dinner is ready,” the butler greeted her as he came out.
Lin Ran nodded and walked inside.
The long dining table was laden with various exquisite dishes, but she had little appetite. After taking a few casual bites, she rose and returned to her room.
The bedroom was spacious, with the walk-in closet stuffed with the latest seasonal clothes and jewelry. The dressing table was adorned with limited-edition, expensive skincare products, and valuable items could be seen everywhere—all perfectly fitting the persona of a “spoiled rich girl.”
Now awakened, Lin Ran looked at her room with an indescribable sense of melancholy.
It was hard to imagine that for the past twenty years, she had been treated like a puppet, living according to the script.
She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed at the myriad lights of the city below the mountain. In the flashbacks before her death, she had also glimpsed scenes of countless lights.
At that time, she had thought bitterly, “If only I hadn’t provoked Lu Feng back then…”
“Hah.” Lin Ran let out a scornful laugh.
Not provoke him?
Why shouldn’t she?
Just because she was a supporting female character, she couldn’t like the male lead? Couldn’t fight for him?
Was she only meant to be a stepping stone on the path of the main couple’s love?
She turned and walked to the desk, pulling open a drawer.
Inside lay a sketchbook, filled entirely with drawings of Lu Feng.
Lu Feng in the classroom, Lu Feng in the library, Lu Feng on the basketball court—all secretly sketched, the strokes clumsy yet earnest.
This was the her from the past, the foolish girl who had liked Lu Feng.
Lin Ran stared at these drawings for a long time before tossing the sketchbook back into the drawer.
The her from the past had vanished. Now, she would live her life in her own way.
“As for Lu Feng…”
Lin Ran’s gaze deepened. “The untouchable flower on the high peak, is that it?”
“I’ll make you step down from that pedestal yourself and come to my side.”
“Step into this muddy, imperfect, yet real and vibrant world.”
“I’ll turn you into a mad dog that belongs only to me!”
Lin Ran went to the bathroom, pulled down the collar of her pajamas, and took a selfie in the mirror with her student ID.
In the photo, her smooth, fair collarbone was fully exposed, and she held a blue card in her hand—the image on the card unmistakably that of Lu Feng.
The young man wore a white shirt, his features noble and coldly handsome, his expression aloof and distant.
After checking the photo, Lin Ran opened Lu Feng’s phone number and sent it.
【Classmate Lu, your student ID is with me. If you want it back, meet me tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in Studio 302 of the Art Building. I’ll be waiting.】