Winning the male lead

Le Tian had never seen Shen Lixing look so angry before. Even during their confrontation at the restaurant over his identity, he hadn’t felt such intense fury from him. Uneasy, he stood up, lowered his head to avoid his gaze, and said softly, “I’m sorry, Little Uncle. I’m just not used to this yet.”

This kind of excuse might fool the system, but it wasn’t nearly enough to deceive Shen Lixing. Shen Lixing, looking exhausted, waved a hand dismissively. “Leave.”

As soon as Le Tian heard his tone, alarm bells rang in his mind. He quickly reached out and grabbed Shen Lixing’s sleeve, resorting to an old trick—his eyes welled up with tears in an instant. “Little Uncle, I was wrong. Please don’t abandon me.”

The moment those big, round eyes misted over and blinked, Shen Lixing felt a sharp pang in his heart. He was undoubtedly reluctant to part with the boy in front of him, but he forced himself to be ruthless. He pulled his sleeve away and said coldly, “After all, you’re not really part of the Shen family.”

Le Tian’s outstretched hand froze in the air. When he heard Shen Lixing’s heartless words, his fair, jade-like fingers trembled slightly before slowly withdrawing, curling into a fist against his stomach. He lowered his head and fell into silence.

The system chimed in, “Looks like Young Master Shen’s cover is about to be blown.”

Le Tian whimpered, “Wah.”

For a moment, they were locked in a tense standoff. Suddenly, Shen Lixing reached out and pinched his chin. Le Tian shuddered and instinctively stepped back. His abrupt movement sent the chair scraping against the floor, creating a sharp, grating noise.

“L-Little Uncle…” His voice trembled slightly.

Shen Lixing withdrew his hand and stood still, his long lashes casting a shadow over his eyes. In an icy tone, he said, “Go home.”

Le Tian hunched his shoulders and muttered, “Okay,” before quietly stepping out of the office.

As the door slowly closed, Shen Lixing lifted his hand and stared at his palm for a long time. His fingers still carried the lingering warmth of his adorable nephew’s skin. At that moment, he seemed to finally understand how to resolve his internal conflict.

Meanwhile, Le Tian entered the elevator and pressed the button for the underground floor. Since there was a security camera inside, he dutifully maintained a heartbroken expression.

“Something’s not right,” the system suddenly said, its tone unusually serious.

Le Tian absentmindedly touched his chin and mused, “You’re right. It’s the middle of summer, but Shen Lixing’s hands were ice-cold. Do you think he has kidney deficiency?”

The system: “…”

As someone it had assessed to be vastly superior to Le Tian in every way, Shen Lixing most definitely did not have kidney deficiency!

Le Tian took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, sighing wistfully. “I really wanted to enjoy being Young Master Shen for a few more days, but alas…”

Ding. The elevator doors opened. He stepped out and pulled out his phone, dialing a number he hadn’t contacted in a while.

On the other end, Yu Miao was startled to receive his call. “Hello, Mr. Shen?”

Le Tian’s voice sounded low and dejected. “I want to see you.”

Yu Miao immediately grew tense. “Is something wrong?”

He dodged the question and simply gave an address.

It was the hospital where the female lead’s mother was staying, which also happened to be a clinic owned by Xu Tao’s family. This was why Le Tian had previously asked Xu Tao to take special care of the female lead.

They arranged to meet in the hospital’s small garden.

When Le Tian arrived, he noticed that Xu Tao was already there, chatting with Yu Miao. The two of them were smiling and seemed to be having a lively conversation.

Immediately, Le Tian felt uneasy. He quickened his pace and asked, “What are you guys talking about?”

Xu Tao had already noticed him but deliberately pretended not to, just to tease him. With a grin, he replied, “We were discussing your engagement ceremony. You like roses, and Yu Miao prefers lilies. We’re not sure what to do.”

Le Tian suspiciously glanced between the two of them. Yu Miao responded with a slightly awkward smile.

Inside his head, Le Tian asked the system, “Are they secretly involved?”

The system answered, “The female lead does seem to like Xu Tao quite a bit.”

Le Tian didn’t hesitate—he patted Xu Tao’s shoulder and said bluntly, “This has nothing to do with you. Get lost.”

Yu Miao’s face showed a faint trace of displeasure. She didn’t approve of his frivolous attitude toward Xu Tao.

In her eyes, while Xu Tao was also a wealthy heir, he was far more dependable than the idle, good-for-nothing Le Tian.

However, Xu Tao wasn’t the least bit offended by Le Tian’s attitude. He was used to his childish temperament. Standing up, he gave him a light punch on the shoulder and joked, “Look at you—forgetting your friends as soon as you get a fiancée.”

“Scram,” Le Tian shot back, swinging a playful punch in return. Xu Tao deftly dodged, waved goodbye, and walked away.

Le Tian slowly sat down. The stone bench still held the lingering warmth of Xu Tao’s presence, indicating that he had been chatting with Yu Miao for quite a while. Feeling a bit anxious, he turned to the system and asked, “Is Xu Tao capable of stealing my girl?”

The system immediately responded, “Nope.”

Yu Miao, who had just been inexplicably reprimanded, didn’t look too pleased either. “Mr. Shen, I know my own status. I was just having a conversation with Mr. Xu, that’s all.”

That better be the case, he muttered internally. My Little Uncle is an absolute top-tier man, and he’s still available for you. What’s Xu Tao compared to that? The female lead needs to raise her standards.

Having made up his mind, he said warmly, “Do you have time today? I’d like to take you home to meet my Little Uncle.”

“Huh?” Yu Miao was visibly shocked, her expression briefly turning panicked.

In reality, she had been trying to gather the money to repay Le Tian’s debt. Because of her engagement to him, she had received an endorsement deal for a jewelry brand, which was quite lucrative. Along with several film and TV offers she was considering, she was confident she could pay him back.

However, since Shen Le Tian had helped her, and the media had already reported their engagement, it wasn’t convenient for her to bring up repaying him.

Besides, she had always believed that his engagement to her was just to appease his family’s nagging about marriage. She never expected things to progress to the point of meeting his family, which was beyond what she had anticipated—or was prepared for.

She clutched her small handbag tightly and bit her lip, hesitating before declining. “I can’t today. I have a work engagement tonight.”

A clear excuse.

Although Le Tian was slightly irritated, he remained composed. “Alright, then keep tomorrow evening free and come over for dinner.”

“I have plans tomorrow too.”

“Then when are you free?”

“I… I’m really busy these days…” Yu Miao tucked a nonexistent stray hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact. Her tone was vague. “Maybe after this period settles down.”

Yeah, right. Once this period is over, you’re planning to dump me! Le Tian grumbled internally. You’re avoiding Shen Lixing now, but once you meet him, you’ll understand what it means to be an otherworldly god of handsomeness!

He didn’t push her any further. He’d find another opportunity to arrange a meeting before Shen Lixing completely kicked him out of the Shen family.

“I need to complete my mission before I lose my status as Young Master Shen!” he vowed with great determination. There’s no way I’m going to end up poor!

To prevent this tragic outcome, he started avoiding Shen Lixing, keeping his presence in the Shen household as minimal as possible. He feared that irritating him even slightly might actually get him kicked out.

Little did he know, Shen Lixing had already quietly removed his name from the Shen family’s household registry.

He hadn’t announced this, but the city’s elite circles still found out. After all, there are no secrets in the upper echelons—especially not in a top-tier family like the Shens, where even the smallest movement sends ripples through the social sphere.

Soon, the news that Shen Le Tian had been disowned by Shen Lixing spread like wildfire among the elite.

Xu Tao, who heard about it at a gathering, was completely taken aback. “That’s impossible! Uncle Shen dotes on Le Tian.”

“It’s absolutely true,” Lu Tianning swore with three fingers raised. “My uncle is the police commissioner—there’s no way this info is fake.”

Xu Tao swirled the wine in his glass, deep in thought. “What happened to cause such a mess?”

Everyone knew that Xu Tao was the closest to Shen Le Tian, so they egged him on to invite him out.

Lately, Le Tian had been eerily low-profile, not appearing at any social events. At first, everyone assumed he was preparing for marriage and settling down. But now, they couldn’t help but let their imaginations run wild.

Unable to resist their coaxing, Xu Tao reluctantly called him. To his surprise, Le Tian agreed immediately. These days, staying at the Shen residence was like walking on thin ice—he was terrified of running into Shen Lixing. So the moment Xu Tao asked him out, he snuck away without hesitation.

As always, the meeting spot was Blue Moon.

For the first time, he had to take a taxi there. It felt unnatural. With a sigh, he muttered, “I don’t even dare touch the sports cars at home anymore.”

Shen Lixing’s gaze had become increasingly unreadable in recent days. He would leave early and return late, seemingly avoiding him on purpose. Even when they did run into each other at home, not a single word was exchanged.

But Le Tian had already set up a meeting with Yu Miao for tomorrow. He was determined to put that metaphorical green hat (signifying infidelity) firmly on Shen Lixing’s head.

“It’s fine. Once you complete your mission, you can leave this world. In your next life, you’ll hold supreme power—I’ve already arranged it for you,” the system comforted him gently.

Le Tian was deeply moved. “Once I finish all these punishment worlds, I swear I’ll turn over a new leaf and be a good person.”

The system responded with satisfaction, “Just remember what you said today.”

The manager of Blue Moon immediately greeted him with a big smile upon seeing him. “Mr. Shen, everyone’s waiting for you inside.”

Le Tian waved grandly. “Lead the way.”

If he had been more observant, he might have noticed that the manager no longer addressed him as Young Master Shen like before.

Pushing open the door to the private room, he was met with a chorus of whistles and jeers from a group of young socialites. For a moment, he felt like some kind of beautiful woman, given how their gazes seemed to carry an unmistakable hint of teasing. As he scanned the room, his eyes landed on Xu Tao—who immediately looked guilty and lowered his head.

Suspicious, he asked the system, “What’s going on?”

The system replied bluntly, “Shen Lixing has already removed you from the Shen family’s household registry.”

Le Tian was stunned. “When?!”

“Three days ago.”

“…Wuwuwu, he is so good to me.” He had been disowned for three whole days, and he still hadn’t formally kicked him out of the house. What a kind uncle, sob sob.