Jiang You froze. Then, she crossed her arms and looked up arrogantly, her pink eyes utterly gorgeous. "That’s right. I like you. You should feel honored."
She glanced in the direction the female lead had gone, then back at Xi Cheng. "It seems you’re not blind after all. You chose me to stay, not that charity case."
’Haha, how awkward.’
’No matter. I’m used to it.’
Xi Cheng stared at her face for a while.
After a moment, he finally spoke.
"In that case, let’s be together." Xi Cheng gently tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her pale ear. His gaze fell upon the pearl clip in her hair before moving to her eyes.
Jiang You: ’?’
"Do you want to keep it a secret, or be open about it?" Xi Cheng took hold of her earlobe, his thumb gently brushing against her pink diamond earring. He leaned in and whispered beside her ear, his voice as calm as if he were discussing something mundane. "Let’s keep it a secret. Don’t let Shen Lan know. It’ll be more thrilling that way."
Putting her in his research team was no accident, after all.
He had coveted her from the start.
That desire had only intensified after Shen Lan brought her to a gathering with their group of four.
He hadn’t planned on moving so quickly, but the young woman repeatedly made advances. Since he already had ulterior motives where she was concerned, he naturally couldn’t hold back. So, he simply went along with his heart’s desire and agreed to be with her.
Meanwhile, Jiang You was still reeling from Xi Cheng’s words, unable to process what was happening.
Jiang You: ’Huh?’
’Huh? HUH?!’
’Mr. Male Lead, what are you saying? I don’t get it at all.’
Jiang You: ’Haha, I’d like to refuse, please.’
System: OOC warning.
Jiang You’s silence stretched on a bit too long. Xi Cheng gently caressed her cheek, his silver eyes slowly lowering to gaze upon her face. His tone was gentle and calm. "Why are you thinking for so long? Or was it all a lie—saying you like me, saying I was your man?"
Of course, Xi Cheng knew it was all a lie.
He was merely her mission objective.
But now that she had provoked him, how could he possibly let her off the hook so easily?
Jiang You quickly adjusted her expression.
’It’s fine. This is nothing. It’s not like this has never happened before.’
’So what if the male lead’s character collapsed? So what if he agreed to get together with a villainess like me!’
’It’s not a big deal! Haha!’
"Of course it’s true." Jiang You gave a haughty smile. "At least you know what’s good for you. From now on, you belong to me, Jiang You."
"Mm, your man." Xi Cheng held her chin, his gaze deepening slightly. Seeing the haughty smile on her face, he couldn’t help but lean down and gently kiss her lips.
The smile on Jiang You’s face seemed to freeze in place.
’No, wait, why did he suddenly kiss me?’
Her eyes shot open to look at the man before her.
Xi Cheng had acted on impulse, intending only to give her a light kiss. But the soft contact stirred darker thoughts within him.
His heart, which usually beat so steadily, began to pound, each beat heavier and more urgent than the last, a powerful, throbbing rhythm.
He lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on her pink ones.
Their eyes met.
"Shall we kiss now?" Xi Cheng’s silver eyes were incredibly gentle, and his tone was almost consultative. "I have to run an experiment in a moment, and we won’t be able to kiss then."
’Stay composed,’ Jiang You told herself. ’I have to stay composed.’
"At the school’s opening ceremony, I confessed my feelings to you, and you rejected me." Jiang You subtly took a step back, putting some distance between them, and spoke leisurely. "Do you remember that?"
Xi Cheng’s gaze was fixed on her. He nodded. "I remember."
"Hmph. So you were just playing hard to get!" Jiang You lifted her chin haughtily.
"If it makes you happier to think so, then yes, I was playing hard to get," Xi Cheng said, his voice gentle.
Xi Cheng wouldn’t have accepted anyone’s confession during such a formal occasion, no matter who it was from.
And yet, her confession had made him hesitate for a moment.
In the end, though, his rationality had prevailed.
There is a right time and place for everything.
It seemed, however, that he’d forgotten he had just kissed her on impulse.
Here in the lab, a place meant only for experiments, he had kissed her without thinking.
He was slowly losing control.
"You were just playing hard to get," Jiang You said, her tone accusatory.
’Surely no one could put up with a temper like this.’
’Just stop liking me already! How am I supposed to keep up this act?’
"Mm, playing hard to get." Xi Cheng reached out and stroked Jiang You’s head.
Since the young woman didn’t want to kiss, Xi Cheng certainly wasn’t going to force her.
He raised his wrist to check the time on his terminal. "Alright, I have to get back to my experiment. You..."
Before Xi Cheng could finish, Jiang You looked up and cut him off. "Fine, go do your experiment. I have things to do, so I won’t be staying in this dump of a lab."
With that, she hastily turned and walked out, as if fleeing from some terrifying beast.
Xi Cheng watched her retreating back for a moment before withdrawing his gaze, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.
He went back to his experiment.
As Jiang You walked away, she waited until she was in an unseen corner before she dared to let her face fall into an expression of utter despair.
’Maybe I misjudged the System.’
’The System was right.’
’At this rate, I really could get my hands on a hottie with an eight-pack every day—a different one each time! I could be freely pinching firm, perky asses, biting chiseled pecs, toying with sexy Adam’s apples...’
’I could grope the male leads all over and not have to worry about them strangling me to death.’
’Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?’
"Sister You! Sister You!" Yu Lin and Lin Xue had been on their way to the research building to find Jiang You, so when they unexpectedly ran into her, they called out excitedly.
Jiang You’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly composed herself and glanced over indifferently to see Yu Lin and Lin Xue approaching her.
Yu Lin and Lin Xue rushed over happily, showering her with questions. "Sister You, how are things with the research team? Are you tired? Is it hard work?"
Jiang You shook her head nonchalantly. "It’s fine."
"Sister You, let’s go have some fun!" Yu Lin said, hugging Jiang You. "You must be exhausted from all that work. You look so worn out! Let’s go shopping for clothes and then get a full-body spa treatment."
Jiang You nodded.
’Between grinding in Secret Realms and doing missions lately, I must look pretty haggard,’ she thought.
And so, the group enthusiastically set off to go shopping and get spa treatments.
Along the way, Jiang You noticed that one of her usual three followers was missing and realized Chen Yu wasn’t with them.
So she asked, "Where’s Chen Yu?"
Lin Xue replied, "Oh, her? She got a boyfriend, remember? She’s off with him."
Jiang You asked with casual curiosity, "Her boyfriend?"
"That boyfriend of hers is painfully average-looking and says the most cringey things. I have no idea what Chen Yu’s taste is, finding a guy like that." The moment Lin Xue brought him up, her disdain was obvious.