Chapter 50: How a Heartbreaker Manages Her Suitors (7)

Yu Liuxue furiously pointed at the system and let loose a torrent of curses. “I knew there was something wrong with the last 1% of the female lead’s personality! Who was it? Who kept brainwashing me over and over, trying to get rid of my doubts? Who promised me the female lead in this world was pure, kind-hearted, and always willing to help others?!”

The system immediately fell silent. A few seconds later, under Yu Liuxue’s glare, it quietly activated Do Not Disturb mode.

Yu Liuxue: “…?” Damn mutt system.

“Ke Ying.” Jiang Zhixi’s arm was around her waist as she pressed her down onto the couch. The shifting light and shadow softened and deepened Yu Liuxue’s features in turn. Her jet-black eyes shimmered faintly with moisture, making her look even more alluring than usual. Jiang Zhixi couldn’t help but tighten her hold, as if she wanted to melt Yu Liuxue into her own body to keep her from slipping away again.

Yu Liuxue stiffened, staring at Jiang Zhixi’s radiant face in panic. She instinctively tried to scoot back a little.

Jiang Zhixi’s gaze dimmed, and her red lips pressed tightly together.

“Zhixi, my waist’s sore,” Yu Liuxue said cautiously, her heart betraying her by speeding up.

It was already autumn, yet Yu Liuxue was sweating lightly all over. Jiang Zhixi was still on top of her, making her too afraid to move. She sat stiffly on the couch, eyes darting away, brain working at full speed trying to figure out how to escape.

She still didn’t understand—how did the sweet and gentle female lead suddenly go dark like this?

Jiang Zhixi’s eyes grew heavier at her words.

Yu Liuxue snuck a glance at her out of the corner of her eye, only to be caught in the act. Just as she was about to look away guiltily, Jiang Zhixi said lazily, “Then stay sore.”

Yu Liuxue: “…?!”

That was just cruel beyond belief!

You’ve changed, Female Lead. You’re no longer that sweet, kind girl who once knelt halfway on the ground to put a bandage on your love rival.

Maybe it was because Yu Liuxue frowned, but Jiang Zhixi stayed silent for a moment, then finally got up and released her. Standing tall, she looked down at the trembling girl, her eyes lingering longingly on Yu Liuxue’s flushed, soft lips.

Such a pity—she’d only gotten one kiss in.

As Yu Liuxue rose from the couch, hesitating between fleeing or staying, Jiang Zhixi suddenly looked her way with an unreadable smile and a calm, quiet stare. She didn’t say a word, didn’t make a move, but Yu Liuxue could almost hear her saying, “Go on, run. Let’s see how far you make it tonight.”

So Yu Liuxue very decisively gave up on the idea of running.

She pretended nothing had happened, calmly smoothing her hair. She glanced longingly toward the party room, regretting she hadn’t even gotten to see the little influencer’s face.

Still unwilling to give up, she looked at Jiang Zhixi again and couldn’t help wondering—could it be that the female lead had gotten jealous over those speed dates with the four male leads, and this was her way of punishing her?

But who punishes someone with a forceful kiss?!

Jiang Zhixi gave her plenty of time to accept reality. By the time the sky had turned dark and the two of them walked out of the bar, Jiang Zhixi headed to the left. After a few steps, she noticed Yu Liuxue wasn’t following, so she paused and glanced back with a subtle lift of her brow.

Yu Liuxue had no choice but to bite the bullet and catch up. After a few steps, she asked cautiously, “Zhixi, where are we going now?”

Jiang Zhixi pulled out her car keys. “Dinner.”

Yu Liuxue immediately jumped in, “Ah! So you haven’t eaten yet? What a coincidence, me neither. Let me treat you.”

Jiang Zhixi didn’t reply. Feeling awkward, Yu Liuxue got in the car and buckled her seatbelt. She forcibly exited Do Not Disturb mode and started ranting. “Girls are so hard to read these days! Wasn’t the female lead in your kind of melodramatic stories supposed to be a bunch of math problems in their past lives or something?”

This is too much.

The system was speechless but quickly tried to comfort her. “Host, don’t be upset. At least 99% of Jiang Zhixi’s personality is still kind and gentle. No matter how over-the-top she gets, she won’t go too far.”

Wow. Thanks for that amazing reassurance. Tell your whole family thanks for me.

Yu Liuxue slumped dejectedly in the passenger seat. Jiang Zhixi glanced deeply at her before starting the engine, then calmly turned her eyes forward. She didn’t ask Yu Liuxue what she wanted to eat—she just drove straight to a restaurant, but once they arrived, she didn’t get out of the car.

Jiang Zhixi stayed still, so Yu Liuxue didn’t dare move either.

Staring ahead, Jiang Zhixi asked in a tone as bland as plain water, “What have you been busy with lately?”

Yu Liuxue replied immediately, “I filmed a documentary on veterans, then did some offline events. I just got some free time recently. A blogger I know invited me to a party tonight, and I just arrived.”

Jiang Zhixi’s gaze swept over her little dress. Pale skin exposed to the night air, thin fabric clinging to her slender curves—under the dim light, she looked tempting in a way that invited imagination.

Steadying herself, Jiang Zhixi asked again, “Why did you leave me out of the holiday message blast?”

Yu Liuxue: “…?”

So you turned dark tonight just because I forgot to include you in a mass message?!

Yu Liuxue immediately regretted everything. She quickly explained, “Zhixi, you’re right, it was my fault I left you out. It’s just that there were so many people in my list—”

Before she could finish, Jiang Zhixi’s expression suddenly darkened. Yu Liuxue stopped herself just in time and corrected, “Don’t worry, Zhixi. I absolutely won’t forget you again.”

But Jiang Zhixi didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. She didn’t care about excuses—what she really wanted to know was how much she mattered to Yu Liuxue. How much space she occupied in her heart. But when the words reached her lips, looking at Yu Liuxue’s anxious face, she just couldn’t bring herself to ask.

It was too abrupt. What if she scared her off?

Jiang Zhixi’s expression finally softened. She got out of the car and led Yu Liuxue into the restaurant, and Yu Liuxue let out a long sigh of relief. Hearing that sigh, Jiang Zhixi felt a strange mix of emotions. Something messy and uncontrollable began to stir inside her.

But she still had her rationality. On the surface, she looked no different from any normal person.

This meal had left Yu Liuxue on edge the entire time, terrified that Jiang Zhixi might suddenly kiss her again over the slightest disagreement. Thankfully, Jiang Zhixi behaved properly throughout dinner and didn’t do anything outrageous. Somehow, she had found out where Yu Liuxue lived, and after dinner, without asking for permission, she simply drove Yu Liuxue home.

After Yu Liuxue got out of the car, Jiang Zhixi remained seated inside. Yu Liuxue forced a fake smile, and the moment they parted, she sprinted away like she was running an 800-meter dash and slammed her door shut the instant she got home.

That was way too close.

Today had really been too much.

Yu Liuxue tossed her bag aside and furiously demanded of the system, “If you don’t give me a proper explanation today, I’m going to report you! I’ll dock your bonus!”

System: “……” What did I ever do to deserve this?

It hurriedly scanned Jiang Zhixi’s state, checking again and again more than ten times. The core diagnostics all showed that Jiang Zhixi had no problems—she was still the same sweet, slightly ditzy, warm-hearted heroine from a saccharine romance. The system truthfully reported the findings to Yu Liuxue, who responded coolly, “Is that so?”

The system immediately groveled, “Yes, yes, absolutely.”

Yu Liuxue was stunned by its shamelessness and couldn’t even come up with a retort.

Jiang Zhixi watched as Yu Liuxue dashed into the building. The faint light in her eyes gradually dimmed. Her tense expression slackened, and she leaned weakly against the car seat, her face full of confusion and loss. She had originally planned to charge over and demand what exactly Yu Liuxue meant, but the moment she saw her, all the longing that had been bottled up inside burst forth like a flood.

Unable to control herself, she had kissed Yu Liuxue.

After the kiss, her desires and emotions became utterly unmanageable.

She wanted so badly to tie Yu Liuxue to her side, to keep her constantly within her sight—but thinking like that made her feel like a total creep. Jiang Zhixi lowered her eyes and stared blankly at her phone, at a complete loss. She didn’t have the courage to ask Yu Liuxue how much she still meant to her, or whether she still liked her… or had already moved on.

Recalling the hints Yu Liuxue had dropped earlier, Jiang Zhixi pulled at the corner of her mouth in bitterness. Maybe she was just deluding herself this whole time.

She slowly started the car and drove away from the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Yu Liuxue lay on the couch, growing more and more anxious. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore and ran downstairs in her slippers—only to find that Jiang Zhixi was already gone, not even a shadow left behind. Scratching her chin, Yu Liuxue muttered, “She left that quickly? Guess it wasn’t anything serious.”

So, she returned home with peace of mind and started watching videos.

It had been a while since she released her last documentary on veterans. That video had earned her tons of popularity and traffic, even garnering shares and support from official accounts. Some of her haters had also started treading more carefully. Yu Liuxue deliberately went to check Cheng Yu’s Weibo and found that she had posted a video with a similar theme on the same day.

Yu Liuxue pretended to be shocked and covered her mouth. “Wow, what a coincidence!”

If she hadn’t scrapped her original concept and switched to a theme centered on veterans, their two new videos would have undoubtedly been compared side-by-side. And no matter who came out on top, it would have only worsened the tension between them—and sparked intense online debate.

Yu Liuxue didn’t really mind being compared to Cheng Yu, but she much preferred to completely crush her—to leave her with no chance to fight back.

Cheng Yu was proud and ambitious, with strong ideas and a solid ability to execute them. Given enough time, she would definitely reach the height she was destined to in the original story. Unfortunately, Yu Liuxue had a mission to complete for Zhao Keying.

And to complete that mission, there was no way she could let Cheng Yu smoothly reach the end.

Stretching lazily, Yu Liuxue suddenly said, “Tongtong, weren’t I just completely bullied by the heroine tonight? I’m super tight with Cheng Yu, like sisters, right? So we should share both blessings and misfortunes. Don’t you think?”

The system stared at her in silence—you just want to stir up trouble.

Yu Liuxue picked up her phone and quickly registered a new alt account, ready to stir the pot on Weibo and muddy the waters. Back when Cheng Yu threw shade at Zhao Keying, a bunch of other bloggers had taken the chance to pile on as well. These people had no actual feud with Zhao Keying—they just saw her as an obstacle, and banded together with Cheng Yu to pull her down.

Yu Liuxue scanned through her options and finally zeroed in on a veteran beauty blogger. The corners of her lips lifted, and she snapped her fingers lightly. “Alright, it’s you.”

People had recently noticed that Zhao Keying was updating at an unusually fast pace—she’d been posting daily for nine days straight. Even though the content mostly featured outdated makeup recreations, no one could deny that her face was gorgeous. And her work was neat and well-done, making for decent mealtime viewing.

After watching for a few days, fans began to realize—Zhao Keying’s makeup skills seemed to have improved? Even though she looked like she was just messing around in the video, the final result always turned out stunning, practically identical to the celebrities she was imitating. You could’ve said they were long-lost twin sisters and no one would argue.

But soon, a sharp-eyed netizen noticed something off.

“Why do I feel like… Zhao Keying is copying a certain beauty blogger?”

The moment someone voiced the suspicion, the crowd sniffed out a juicy scandal and quickly dug up the blogger in question. People placed Zhao Keying’s page side-by-side with the beauty blogger’s and saw that her recent videos were exactly the same!

Upon hearing that, her fans got defensive. One after another, they said, “So what? There are tons of beauty vloggers doing lookalikes on Weibo. Are you going to accuse them all of plagiarism?”

The haters, on the other hand, were ecstatic. They rolled up their sleeves, grabbed their keyboards, and charged onto the battlefield, shouting at the top of their lungs, “Zhao Keying is a copycat! Recycling old content!”

Cheng Yu had been waiting for this moment. She smiled like victory was already hers and didn’t hesitate to spend money to hire a batch of paid posters and unite with the haters in smearing Yu Liuxue. She was prepared to repeat her previous tactic and drag Yu Liuxue down once again.

Yu Liuxue, however, watched the drama unfold with a lazy smile, completely unbothered. With a hint of mischief, she posted on Weibo: “I’ll draw whatever I want. Am I supposed to go back and check if someone else has done it before?”

Her arrogant attitude instantly drew some dissatisfaction from others. But times had changed. Now, quite a few fans and onlookers who had been won over by Yu Liuxue’s makeup skills stepped up.

“Did your idol file a patent for those imitation makeup looks?”

“It’s called imitation makeup. If you don’t imitate someone’s look, what even is the point? And your blogger also copied a female celebrity’s makeup, so why aren’t you calling her out for plagiarism?”

The haters were immediately silenced.

Just when it seemed the flames of war were about to die down, Yu Liuxue jumped in with her alt account. She went straight into the comment sections of those marketing accounts and started copying and pasting comments like, “Is so-and-so just jealous that Zhao Keying’s makeup looks better than hers?”, “Did so-and-so hire bots? I’ve seen tons of similar posts lately,” “Are you enjoying getting paid to hate on someone?” and “Zhao Keying’s really going hard on the hype lately—is this a rebranding attempt?”

Seventeen out of her twenty-four hours a day were spent fervently fighting on Weibo. Under every post about this topic, her presence could be seen.

At this point, people honestly couldn’t tell if she was friend or foe. No one knew whether to keep firing their cannons or call a ceasefire.

The system watched her stir the waters into chaos once again and couldn’t help but sincerely ask, “Host, are you… extremely free?”

Yu Liuxue glanced at it coolly. “Do I look like I’m very free?”

System: “…” You really do.

You’re practically too free for your own good.

Jiang Zhixi soon discovered that this heartless scumbag of a girl was getting dogpiled by netizens. She was both angry and distressed. But when she saw the post where Yu Liuxue responded head-on, she couldn’t help but smile. She could easily picture Yu Liuxue’s stubborn little face, hands on her hips, that cocky attitude of “all of you here are trash.” No matter how many people were attacking her, she was completely unbothered.

Jiang Zhixi’s lips curled—this brash side of her was even more adorable.

But then her smile froze.

Why was Yu Liuxue always so bold and unrestrained in front of others, yet turned timid and careful around her? Was she that scary-looking?

Or… was she feeling guilty?

Though she was annoyed, she couldn’t just sit back and watch Yu Liuxue sink deeper into hot water. So Jiang Zhixi quickly did a deliberately outdated imitation makeup look herself, recorded the video, and posted it online. The title was straightforward: “Here’s an outdated makeup look. Don’t care if you like it or not—I’m doing it anyway.”

The people who had been hating on Yu Liuxue started itching to strike again, but Jiang Zhixi’s fans immediately pulled out their metaphorical 40-meter broadswords. “You dare touch our Zhixi? Try it!”

Everyone else: “…………”

In the end, the whole mess concluded with that blogger quietly disappearing. Yu Liuxue’s fans mocked her for lacking skill and being jealous, even accusing her of hiring paid trolls. More people began coming forward, saying she sold counterfeit goods in her shop and had deceived fans.

Yu Liuxue’s eyes lit up. A familiar plot. A familiar rhythm. So she immediately dove in with her alt again and added fuel to the fire—blasting that blogger into oblivion.

A week later, the other party posted a confession on Weibo, admitting she’d sold fake products and announcing she would withdraw from the beauty influencer world, return to a quiet life, shut down her shop, and run off with the cash.

Yu Liuxue stared at her phone in deep disappointment. “I thought she’d stubbornly deny it to the end. Picked the wrong target. This was no fun at all.”

The system had nothing left to say.

While holding her phone, Yu Liuxue received a message from Zuo Yun. As she filmed her imitation makeup video, she was also brainstorming the next big feature. After serious discussion with her team, she decided the next theme would be a concert.

An esteemed old artist was currently preparing for a tour with his hardcore team. As soon as Yu Liuxue saw the announcement, she rushed to grab tickets. The concert would last for half a month, held across various cities and venues, totaling fifteen performances. Yu Liuxue planned to take her team on the road, treat it as a break, and give everyone a bit of a vacation.

While they filmed videos, they’d also travel and capture local foods and highlights, turning everything into a two-part series to post.

Zuo Yun had already bought the tickets, and Yu Liuxue was set to leave the next day. She scrolled around idly, then cheerfully posted on Weibo: “Heading to a new city to film tomorrow! I’m going to randomly pick a cutie to host a mini fan meet-up. So… who’s the lucky one?”

Fans rushed to sign up.

Jiang Zhixi saw the post, and her eyes flickered slightly before quickly settling into calm.

The next day, Yu Liuxue arrived at the airport dragging her suitcase. After waiting for two hours, they were informed that the flight was delayed by five or six hours. Add in the three-hour flight, and by the time they arrived, they wouldn’t even make it in time for “Unforgettable Tonight.”

Yu Liuxue immediately jumped on Weibo: “Just got the update—flight’s delayed. I’m going to miss tonight’s event QAQ I’m so sorry, everyone. The new video will have to be postponed again.”

Since they weren’t going to make it anyway, Yu Liuxue just sprawled out in the VIP lounge to rest. Half an hour later, someone opened the door and walked in. Still playing on her phone, Yu Liuxue didn’t even lift her eyes.

Zuo Yun wanted to warn her that Jiang Zhixi had arrived, but Jiang Zhixi walked straight over. Her figure blocked Zuo Yun’s view—and also the light above Yu Liuxue’s head.

Yu Liuxue was thinking, Who’s so rude, blocking someone’s screen like that? But when she turned her head, she saw that the rude one was none other than the story’s cunning female lead who plays dumb while hiding her strength.

Yu Liuxue instantly shot upright like a startled carp. She shoved her phone behind her back. “Zhixi, what are you doing here?”

Crap! Was the female lead planning to do this and that to her right here?

Yu Liuxue seriously reviewed the past week in her head, confused. She didn’t remember doing anything to upset her.

Jiang Zhixi’s cool gaze landed on her face. She studied Yu Liuxue’s features and said in a calm voice, “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Aren’t you in a hurry? I’ll fly you there on my private jet.”

The fact that Jiang Zhixi actually had a private jet was something Yu Liuxue had never expected. What she hadn’t expected even more was that there were private rooms on the jet. Left outside were Zuo Yun and Zhou Wei, while Yu Liuxue was taken into one of the small rooms by Jiang Zhixi.

Yu Liuxue looked extremely alert, watching her warily.

Don’t come any closer. Even if this is your private jet, this place is not beyond the law…

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Jiang Zhixi moved like a lurking cat and swiftly pinned Yu Liuxue against the wall. At once, Yu Liuxue turned into a docile little tiger, blinking innocently with a harmless look on her face. She feigned confusion and asked, “Zhixi, what’s wrong?”

Jiang Zhixi stared at her intently, not saying a word.

Yu Liuxue nearly started shaking. After half a minute of tense silence, she admitted defeat. Trying to act calm, she said, “Zhixi, Zuo Yun and Zhou Wei are still outside…”

“The room is soundproof,” Jiang Zhixi said blandly.

Yu Liuxue: “…” Well, I didn’t expect that.

Seeing how she clearly wanted to run but couldn’t escape from her embrace, Jiang Zhixi felt immensely satisfied. She even felt like teasing her a little, so she lazily asked, “Do you like it?”

Yu Liuxue: “…”

“It’s… it’s nice.”

A private jet’s little dark room and some py action—just thinking about it was thrilling… Wait, what?!

Yu Liuxue looked up in shock. “System, when did the female lead start having feelings for me?! Why didn’t I notice a thing?!”

This love came faster than a tornado!

The system, ever considerate, explained kindly: “Host, when you helped the female lead up after she fell, her affection level reached 40. When you told her your criteria for a partner, her affection rose to 45. In the days when you ignored her, her affection level hit 99.”

Subway grandpa staring at his phone.

Yu Liuxue slowly typed out a question mark.

Wait a minute, I haven’t even seen the female lead lately. Why the heck did her affection score suddenly double?

What kind of messed-up trope logic is written into this soap opera of a novel?!

Yu Liuxue stared at Jiang Zhixi’s face in disbelief, and then Jiang Zhixi’s eyes suddenly turned cold. Yu Liuxue shivered and quickly wiped the expression off her face, trying to shift her attention. “Zhixi, a few days ago, Li Zhen messaged me and said he couldn’t get in touch with you…”

Li Zhen again. Always Li Zhen. Was there any place left in her heart for someone other than Li Zhen?

Even after the way Li Zhen treated her, she still couldn’t let him go, even went so far as to slit her wrists over him. Jiang Zhixi thought to herself, how rare—someone who usually didn’t care about anything actually clinging to an ex like this. Maybe I should give her a banner that says “Devoted Fool” and honor her properly.

Jiang Zhixi’s face grew even colder. Yu Liuxue knew this wasn’t good. She shoved Jiang Zhixi aside, but just as her hand touched the door handle, Jiang Zhixi pulled her back. The two of them tumbled onto the bed, with Yu Liuxue pinned beneath her, long hair in disarray across the sheets—strikingly chaotic and beautiful.

Her skin was pale, and even though there wasn’t much pressure, it turned bright red. Jiang Zhixi stared for a moment, then slowly let go.

Yu Liuxue, playing this kind of possessive love game for the first time, trembled with excitement and couldn’t stop herself from gushing to the system: “This is so much fun! This kind of play is so much fun! System, how are you so thoughtful to pick me such a lovable and spicy female lead!”

System: “…?” What are you even saying, you little menace. This female lead was handpicked as a proper, upstanding main heroine who wouldn’t get wrecked by someone like you.

But in the end, even she couldn’t escape the Host Effect.

Yu Liuxue was overjoyed. “Maybe I should just give in?”

“No, no, no. I have to righteously reject the female lead. She has a canon pairing—I can’t break up the official couple.”

System: “…” You don’t have to pretend.

If you want her, just take her. You think the male lead can actually win against you?

Yu Liuxue’s face was rich with expression. After watching her for a while, Jiang Zhixi felt an inexplicable sense of loss well up inside her. A moment later, she raised her eyes again, and this time they were filled with a chilling possessiveness. She tugged at the corner of her lips and said with a faint smile, “Keying.”

“Is Li Zhen really that good in your heart?”

Yu Liuxue hesitated for a long time, then slowly nodded.

“He’s very good. In my heart, he’s the best in the whole universe. I like him.”