On the other side of the city, in an old residential complex, Lu Feng pushed open the door to his home.
Because his adoptive mother suffered from cardiovascular disease, and his adoptive father often worked night shifts at the factory, Lu Feng would travel across most of the city to stay at home for two or three days each week to ensure his adoptive mother could receive timely medical attention in case of a sudden illness.
His adoptive mother, Li Fenghua, was busy in the kitchen. Seeing him return, she poked her head out and smiled, “Xiao Feng is back! Dinner will be ready soon!”
“Have a banana from the table to tide you over. Xiao Yu brought them over this afternoon.”
Lu Feng responded with an “Mm” but didn’t reach for the banana. Instead, he returned to his room and closed the door.
His room was small, containing only a single bed, a desk, and a modest wardrobe. The walls were covered with architectural blueprints and certificates of various sizes, while a pile of honor certificates filled the cabinet.
He walked to the desk but didn’t sit down. Instead, he pulled a cigarette pack from the drawer, leaned against the desk, and lit one.
He rarely smoked, only doing so during thunderstorms to suppress the intense restlessness.
It was during a thunderstorm that his biological mother had abandoned him by the roadside, claiming she was going to buy water but never returning.
Since then, he had hated thunderstorms.
Lu Feng couldn’t help but recall the painful experiences of his childhood.
Smoke swirled, veiling the young man’s refined features.
His phone vibrated with a message from Su Wanyu.
【Brother Lu Feng, are you home yet?】
【I didn’t have classes this afternoon, so I didn’t go to school. I just heard that Lin Ran bothered you again… Are you okay?】
Lu Feng stared at the screen and replied with two words: 【I’m fine】
As he pressed send, the image of Lin Ran turning back at the last moment flashed through his mind.
She had said, “Next time, we’ll continue.”
Lu Feng abruptly crushed the cigarette butt.
There won’t be a next time!
“Ding!”
A text message from an unfamiliar number popped up.
Glancing at the content, Lu Feng’s fingers tightened.
He could almost imagine the expression on Lin Ran’s face when she sent this message.
A raised corner of her lips, eyes filled with cunning and provocation—a confidence that he couldn’t resist.
Replacing a student ID would take a week.
Even if he applied for a replacement, Lin Ran would find other ways to continue getting her hands on his belongings.
Lu Feng frowned deeply.
At this point, he had no way to completely remove Lin Ran from his world.
Since that was the case, he could only face the challenge head-on.
If he piled on enough indifference and disgust, even someone as thick-skinned as her would eventually give up.
＊
At seven in the morning, Lin Ran woke up in her luxurious princess bed.
After washing up, she changed into an artistic, dried-rose-colored dress and headed to the dining room.
Her father, Lin Zhengfeng, was reading a financial magazine. Seeing her come down, he looked up and smiled, “Why not sleep a little longer?”
“I have classes in the morning,” Lin Ran replied, sitting down and accepting the milk handed to her by a servant.
Lin Zhengfeng studied his daughter and suddenly asked, “I heard you’re pursuing the school heartthrob?”
Lin Ran set down her milk and blinked playfully at her father. “Yes~”
“Ranran,” Lin Zhengfeng put down the magazine, his expression turning serious. “I don’t object to you dating, but that boy… his family background is really too poor. And on top of that, I heard he’s very close to a girl from the neighborhood, Su Wanyu, who’s in the same major as you.”
“Chasing after a boy like that will only hurt you.”
Lin Ran calmly cut into her fried egg. “Dad, what do you think I see in him?”
Lin Zhengfeng was taken aback, not expecting his daughter to turn the question back on him.
Lin Ran continued, “His face? His figure? Or that aloof attitude he has toward everyone?”
She looked up, her smile innocent. “I’m just having a bit of fun~”
“Don’t you always say young people need more experience?”
“This young lady is twenty years old, in the prime of her youth. If I see someone I like, I’ll chase after them for fun. It’s no big deal.”
She said this with such confidence that Lin Zhengfeng was left speechless.
After a long pause, he shook his head and chuckled. “You… As long as you’re this clear-headed, your father can rest easy. Just remember, don’t go too far. Your mother is coming back next month, and if she finds out you’ve been fooling around at school, she’ll definitely discipline you.”
“Don’t worry.” Lin Ran wiped the corner of her mouth and stood up. “I know my limits.”
Her “limits” meant uprooting this unattainable flower, roots and all.
＊
8:00 a.m.
When Lin Ran walked into the architecture department classroom, all eyes were on her.
She was a junior this year, in the same grade as Lu Feng. A month ago, she had begun openly pursuing him.
The female lead, Su Wanyu, was Lu Feng’s childhood neighbor and a sophomore this year.
All three of them were prominent figures at the school, the center of attention.
Lu Feng came from a poor family but was exceptionally talented and handsome, voted as the university’s top heartthrob.
Su Wanyu came from an ordinary background but had remarkable artistic talent, a well-known prodigy in the art circle.
As the villainess, Lin Ran was in the same major as Su Wanyu and was also her senior.
According to the plot force, her painting skills were naturally not as outstanding as the female lead’s, and among her peers in the same major, she was only average.
But Lin Ran was strikingly beautiful, bold in personality, and came from a wealthy family.
Lin Ran wore an artistic long dress that stood out among the architecture students.
She walked past everyone and headed straight for the aloof figure sitting in his seat.
Her hair was slightly curled, her lips glossy with a rose-colored lip tint, vibrant and alluring. She carried a genuine leather brown backpack and held a pure black thermos cup in her hand.
Lu Feng sat at his desk. From the unusual gasps around him, he knew Lin Ran had arrived—she was always so conspicuous.
As the sound of footsteps drew closer, Lu Feng’s back instinctively tensed.
Soon, a shadow fell over him in his peripheral vision.
“Thud!”
Lin Ran placed the black thermos cup on the desk, unscrewed the lid, and immediately, a strong, bitter scent of herbal medicine filled the air.
Lu Feng frowned.
He was very sensitive to smells and glanced coldly at Lin Ran.
Lin Ran acted as if she hadn’t noticed. She picked up the cup, blew on it gently, and took a small, deliberate sip right in front of Lu Feng.
She placed it back on the desk and pushed it toward his hand.
“Try it.” She leaned forward, her hands resting on the edge of the desk. The posture caused her collar to open slightly, revealing her delicate collarbone.
“It’s calming. I guessed you didn’t sleep well last night, so I brought it especially for you.”
“Don’t be too moved.” She smiled innocently.
The classroom fell into dead silence.
Everyone held their breath, watching this pursuit unfold.
Lu Feng’s knuckles turned white as he gripped his book. He truly hadn’t slept well last night.
In his dream, he had been kissing Lin Ran like a madman.
“Kissing” wasn’t quite accurate—it was more like biting, as if they were both venting some unknown hatred.
Lu Feng raised his head, his gaze icy as it pierced toward her.
“Take it away.”
His voice was clear and pleasant, but Lin Ran remained unmoved.
As the two stood in a stalemate, Lu Feng’s gaze somehow fell on Lin Ran’s lips—soft, vibrant, and glistening, just like in his dream.
A surge of restless irritation suddenly flared up. He abruptly grabbed the lid from the desk and slammed it shut with a “bang!” The bitter scent of herbal medicine vanished, along with that restless irritation.
[Ding! Detected emotional fluctuation in the male lead! Task progress: Emotional Out of Control (1/3)]
The system’s notification sounded in Lin Ran’s mind.
Her smile deepened.
Amidst the hushed whispers around them, Lin Ran leaned in, lowering her voice. “Lu Feng, actually, you and I are the same kind of people.”
“We’re both mad.” Lin Ran reached for the first button below his Adam’s apple, idly tracing it with her fingers.
Lu Feng’s body stiffened.
“I want you.”
Lin Ran lifted her gaze to capture his. “I want you, not as a lover but as a trophy, or—” She paused, uttering those two words laced with humiliation and objectification.
“A masterpiece.”
Lu Feng was utterly stunned.
A masterpiece?
Lin Ran actually saw him as a masterpiece?
This statement completely exceeded his expectations, overturning his understanding.
The girl’s eyes churned with arrogance and a condescending possessiveness.
Not admiration, but plunder.
Not supplication, but a declaration of war.
She was an absolute madwoman!
[Ding! Detected emotional fluctuation in the male lead! Task progress: Emotional Out of Control (2/3). Current male lead affection value: (-90).]
With an arrogant demeanor, Lin Ran took a solid stone and aimed it at the frozen deep pool, cracking open the first fissure.
She paid no mind to the ten points added in reverse to the affection value.
Because she had already determined her strategy for conquering Lu Feng.
Ten words—
Deconstruct him, reshape him, break before building!
As the “ding-ding-ding” of the class bell rang, Lin Ran tossed out a sentence, “See you at seven in the evening,” before turning and leaving, leaving the young man behind staring thoughtfully at the thermos cup on the table.
＊
At 7:05 in the evening, the corridor outside the third floor of Jing University’s Art Building was quiet.
Lu Feng stood outside the door of Studio 302, glancing at his wristwatch. He had deliberately arrived five minutes late—the last shred of dignity he could maintain.
From inside the door came the light hum of a song, the tune of some popular melody, casual and carrying a sense of natural pleasure.
Lu Feng tightened his palm and pushed the door open.