Winning the male lead

The dim lighting cast an ambiguous atmosphere over everything. Yu Miao’s face was almost buried in the man’s chest, her body limp and boneless as she nestled in his embrace. Shen Le Tian crouched behind the sofa, staring at the pair with deadly focus.

So, this was what it felt like to be cheated on?

How utterly ridiculous.

“Does this mean my mission is complete?” He beamed, delighted. Could he finally go back to being his carefree playboy self?

The system responded, “Three key points. First, after completing your mission, you’ll leave this world in a week—no time to enjoy life. Second, she didn’t cheat on you—she was drugged. Third, that guy isn’t richer or more handsome than you, so this doesn’t qualify as getting cheated on. Now, go up there and take your fiancée back.”

Yu Miao had come to Blue Moon with some friends from her circle. They told her she was here to meet a producer. After just one drink in the private room, she felt dizzy and left to find the restroom. She didn’t even make it two steps before collapsing.

Le Tian was quite pleased with the “not richer, not more handsome” part, so he charged forward without hesitation, grabbing the man’s wrist. Lowering his voice threateningly, he asked, “Who gave you the guts to touch my woman?”

To be fair, saying such domineering CEO-style lines felt cringey, but also oddly satisfying.

The man looked both innocent and exasperated. “I didn’t touch her. She collapsed on the floor, so I was just being a good Samaritan and helped her up. Who would dare lay a finger on Young Master Shen’s fiancée?” With that, he immediately shoved her into Le Tian’s arms.

Le Tian: “Damn, this isn’t how the script was supposed to go.”

The system, however, was thrilled. “This is a great opportunity. Take her home and spend the night with her!”

Le Tian: “…Are you trying to get me cheated on as soon as possible?”

System: “I’m only looking out for you.”

Of course. Classic system behavior.

Le Tian knew the system had a point. He needed the right opportunity to push Yu Miao and Shen Lixing together, and this was the perfect chance.

A drugged heroine would have no chemistry with a random stranger, but with the male lead? Sparks would fly.

Somehow, the thought left him feeling a little down.

Sensing his emotions, the system tried to comfort him. “Better to rip the bandage off now. Yu Miao will end up with Shen Lixing sooner or later.”

Le Tian: “Shut up. I won’t allow you to call him ‘sooner’.”

System: …What a charming little nephew.

By the time Le Tian brought Yu Miao back to the Shen estate, it was already past midnight.

A servant, startled to see him carrying a woman, blurted out, “Young Master, you’re getting engaged soon!”

“Let me introduce you—my fiancée.” Le Tian nodded toward the unconscious Yu Miao.

The servant’s expression flipped instantly. “Miss Yu is even more beautiful in person than on TV!”

Le Tian was speechless.

Then, he asked, “Is my uncle asleep?”

The servant replied, “Young Master, at this hour? Of course not.”

Le Tian: “…” Someone get this poorly-speaking Filipino maid out of here.

“Back already?”

Speak of the devil. Shen Lixing wasn’t asleep after all. He leaned casually against the staircase, greeting him.

Dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit, he looked like he was about to head out. His presence alone made the entire Shen household seem more dazzling.

Le Tian, feeling sour, muttered, “Uncle, where are you headed at this hour?”

“I had a meeting, but it’s no longer necessary,” Shen Lixing replied as he unbuttoned his suit jacket. Then, he gestured toward Yu Miao with his chin. “What’s going on?”

“My fiancée. She’s drunk,” Le Tian shrugged, pretending to be indifferent.

Shen Lixing quietly studied Le Tian. His thick lashes cast shadows over his unreadable gaze before he lowered his head slightly and said, “Bringing her home before marriage isn’t appropriate.”

Le Tian nearly coughed up blood. What, it only counted as cheating if it was legally recognized?

“It’s going to happen sooner or later,” Le Tian replied nonchalantly. “I’m taking her upstairs to sleep.” He deliberately emphasized the word “sleep.”

The system immediately warned, “You are not allowed to touch the heroine.”

Le Tian: “Can’t I even bluff? Ever heard of reverse psychology?”

The system analyzed Shen Lixing’s micro-expressions. As expected, his brows lifted slightly while the corners of his lips pressed down—a sign of suppressed anger.

Satisfied, the system encouraged, “Push further.”

For once, Le Tian and the system were on the same side. Tightening his hold around Yu Miao, he was about to throw out another taunt when Shen Lixing suddenly chuckled.

His laugh was short, more like a scoff. Though his expression remained faintly smiling, there was an inexplicable undertone in his gaze. Shaking his head, he simply said, “Young people.”

Le Tian, stung by the age remark, scoffed internally. I’m two thousand five hundred years old, little brother. What about you?

Unaware that Le Tian had mentally demoted him to “little brother,” Shen Lixing ordered the servants firmly, “Take Miss Yu to the guest room to rest.”

As the maids stepped forward, Le Tian made a token struggle.

First, because he was, after all, Shen Lixing’s sweet little nephew, and the man did seem to have a soft spot for him despite being a control freak. Defying him outright was probably a terrible idea.

Second, the strength of this Filipino maid was absolutely insane. Just one tug and he felt like his bones were about to shatter.

“Hiss—” he grimaced, clutching his wrist like it had been snapped in half.

Shen Lixing waved him over. “Come here.”

Reluctantly, he shuffled forward.

Standing a step above him, Shen Lixing towered over him by half a head. He casually patted his head, then took his wrist and began massaging it.

Lowering his voice, he asked, “Trying to defy your uncle again?”

No matter how kind or gentle he appeared, one could never let their guard down. This man had high standards, and something like “defiance” was a challenge to his authority—something Le Tian would never do.

So, he surrendered immediately, muttering, “I wasn’t.”

“Good boy,” Shen Lixing massaged his wrist with a smile. “Didn’t you always want a yacht? I’ll get you one.”

!!!

Long live Shen Lixing!

A hedonist to the core, Le Tian instantly tossed all his grievances out the window, so overjoyed that he nearly jumped in excitement. Honestly, if Shen Lixing kept treating him this well, he wouldn’t even mind getting cheated on—as long as Shen Lixing continued to recognize him as his dear nephew, everything was absolutely fine.

“Uncle, I love you so much!” He couldn’t hold back from hugging him.

Shen Lixing cooperated, wrapping an arm around him and even lifting him slightly like a child. Chuckling, he said, “When you were little, I could pick you up with one hand. Now you’ve grown—can’t carry you anymore.”

Liar… Le Tian thought. When he was a kid, he wouldn’t even spare him a glance, let alone carry him. But outwardly, he beamed, eyes full of warmth. “In front of you, Uncle, I’ll always be a little kid.”

The system nearly gagged. A two-thousand-five-hundred-year-old demon acting cute like this was beyond disgusting.

However, Shen Lixing seemed to enjoy his affectionate antics. Slowly, he lowered his head and, catching Le Tian off guard, pressed their foreheads together. The skin-to-skin contact startled Le Tian, and when he looked up, he met Shen Lixing’s deep, unfathomable gaze.

“Le Tian,” Shen Lixing said solemnly, “in this world, you are the person I care about most, because only you and I share the same bloodline.”

…Sorry. Excuse me. I’ll just… leave now.

Feeling a little guilty, Le Tian didn’t dare move and could only laugh awkwardly.

The next morning, Yu Miao woke up in the Shen household, utterly bewildered.

To be honest, ever since she met Shen Le Tian, her life had been a constant state of confusion, as if she were trapped in a dream.

Knock knock.

“Come in,” she quickly called out.

A maid entered, her tone stiff and formal. “Miss Yu, you may leave now.”

Yu Miao felt like a prisoner being released on parole. She immediately got out of bed, ignoring her disheveled state, and without asking any questions, she followed the maid out. She didn’t even bother to ask why she was here or about Shen Le Tian.

Within minutes, she was in the car the maid had arranged, “escaping” from the Shen estate.

When Le Tian finally woke up, the system informed him that the heroine had left without even seeing Shen Lixing. He wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed, so he sighed wistfully, “So money-based relationships really aren’t reliable.”

Yes, Yu Miao was his “purchased” fiancée.

Blame the system for electrocuting him into panic mode the moment he arrived. In his desperation, he had thrown money at Yu Miao, securing his position as her boyfriend before dealing with anything else.

Fortunately, as a proper romance novel heroine, Yu Miao came with the standard tragic family baggage:

A gambling-addicted father drowning in debt.
A terminally ill mother in the hospital.
A universal tagline: I need money.

A contract marriage—it should’ve been a classic romantic trope.

Unfortunately, Shen Le Tian wasn’t the male lead. He was destined to lose both money and dignity.

But luckily, he wasn’t really Shen Le Tian. He had no emotional burdens whatsoever. He was spending the Shen family’s money and tarnishing Shen Le Tian’s reputation.

Getting cheated on? Not his problem.

However, what did surprise him was the unexpectedly low attraction between Shen Lixing and Yu Miao.

Way too low!

Back in the day, he had fought tooth and nail to earn the second male lead position. He had practically offered up his heart to the heroine, but none of it mattered. A single glance from the male lead under a pavilion outshone everything he had done. It was enough to crush his hopes entirely.

The attraction between the male and female lead was the core principle of these romance novel worlds. No matter how different their identities or personalities were, as long as he was the male lead and she was the female lead, they were destined to end up together. The rest of the world existed merely as a backdrop for their story.

They were the sun and moon.

Someone like him? Not even a shooting star.

This led him to question—was Shen Lixing really the designated male lead meant to steal his fiancée?

The system provided the answer: “Prisoner 0, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word ‘punishment’? If this was going to be easy, it wouldn’t be a punishment. There’s no such thing as ‘heroine-male lead attraction’ in this world. Everything is up to you, our dear ‘Master of Chaos and Ruin.’”