Chapter 3

~~~

A cold, woody fragrance permeated the car interior. Realizing she couldn’t just run away, Zhu Lexing switched into full rogue mode. “Skip the backstory—it’s too long, and I don’t want to hear it. Keep it simple: what exactly do you want me to do?”

The driver assumed she was talking to him. “What was that, Miss Zhu?”

Zhu Lexing felt like a total lunatic conversing with thin air. She responded politely, “Could you please raise the partition? Thank you.”

The car fell silent after that.

Three seconds later, a webpage with the aesthetic of a stern corporate executive popped up right in front of Zhu Lexing’s eyes. The text was in thick, oversized black font, neatly divided into three sections:

【Personal Information】【Comments Section】【Not Unlocked】

Zhu Lexing tapped them open one by one.

【Character Setting Collapse Degree: 2％

Plot Modification Degree: 1％

Yan Mian Favorability: -1000】

The Personal Information panel got straight to the point. After displaying the raw data, it clearly laid out the life story of the character “Zhu Lexing.” Every detail was there—from her exact birth date and time to her projected differentiation date, all the way to her death, precise down to the second. The final timestamp was five years from now.

Zhu Lexing: “……”

True to its name, the Comments Section was nothing but a pure comment feed.

A stream of posts from just seconds ago scrolled past her eyes. The system chimed in helpfully at that moment:

【When the Host’s Plot Modification Degree reaches a certain threshold, or when an important plot-altering event is triggered, the original storyline will change accordingly. The Host’s death timer will adjust up or down based on the circumstances.】

In other words: She slaved away providing entertainment for the readers, the author didn’t cut her in for a dime, and now the system wanted to zap her on top of it all.

Miserable didn’t even begin to cover it.

It took Zhu Lexing a good half minute to recover enough to whisper, “Five years of lifespan… and there’s still room for it to go down?”

She didn’t want to engage with the system unless absolutely necessary, but this was too intriguing to pass up.

The system explained: 【For example, if you attempt to forcibly mark Yan Mian—】

Zhu Lexing: “…………”

Yeah, that drop potential was massive.

In the ensuing silence, the system continued its briefing: 【The Character Setting Collapse Degree is determined by reader feedback in the Comments Section. Once it hits a certain level, you’ll receive an electric shock punishment calibrated in milliamps. If it exceeds 50％, every punishment doubles in intensity. At 100％, you die.】

Zhu Lexing: “…………..”

【When the Plot Modification Degree reaches certain milestones, the system will reward the Host with points. Collect 801 points, and the Host can redeem a chance to return to reality.】

To sum it up: Complete the tasks to earn points, which could only be used to get back home.

Refuse to play along, and you’d die.

It was a rogue system so scummy even a dog would shake its head in disgust.

Zhu Lexing’s head was spinning from the barrage of info. “So? What’s my ultimate mission?”

The system replied: 【Strictly speaking, it’s to preserve the original character’s persona while altering the inevitably fatal plotline between you and Yan Mian, steering it toward a perfect happy ending.】

Three massive red flags packed into one short sentence. Zhu Lexing was floored.

Sensing her negativity, the system didn’t get upset. Instead, it offered a thoughtful reminder: 【If the protagonist wastes a chapter with meaningless filler, the platform will treat it as spam. Depending on the severity, you’ll receive a 5-30 mA shock.】

Zhu Lexing stared blankly ahead and murmured, “If I get dinged for slipping in some smut, do I still get zapped?”

The system responded politely: “No. Erotic terms are pre-censored as blocked words—you’d drop dead before you could even try.”

“Besides,” it added, “you don’t exactly strike me as the type who could pull off anything steamy.”

Zhu Lexing: “……”

She hated to admit it, but that AI burn had stung.

Oblivious to her sour mood, the system gave her only a few seconds to catch her breath before barreling on: 【Daily tasks now issuing as follows:

1. Say one of the following phrases to the Female Protagonist: “Know your place—you’re nothing but…”, “Someone like you… All I…”, “Heh, woman, you…”, etc. Each use grants 1 point and reduces Character Setting Collapse Degree by 0.1.

2. Bully anyone in front of the Female Protagonist. For every 1 point drop in favorability, earn 0.1 points and reduce Character Setting Collapse Degree by 0.2.

3. Use methods including but not limited to pheromone stimulation or verbal harassment to reduce Character Setting Collapse Degree by 0.5.

…

Failure to complete daily tasks deducts 1 point. Negative points trigger immediate punishment, escalating to -5/-10… with corresponding mA shocks.】

Zhu Lexing mustered her spirits, tempted to ask if electric shocks were the only penalty on offer—then thought better of it, fearing the system might invent something worse on the spot. She swallowed the risky question.

What was done was done; struggling was pointless. Seeing that she knew her place, the system fell quiet. But the persistent interface was a constant reminder of its presence.

With her ears finally clear, Zhu Lexing’s thoughts drifted back to the woman she’d seen earlier.

Prodded by the system, a flood of plot details came rushing back. In the quiet, her mind fixed on that woman.

Her name was Qin Yun, an Omega. After having her gland surgically removed, she’d lost her voice by accident, leaving her life in dire straits and her personality withdrawn. She had once been neighbors with Yan Mian’s family.

After the school year started, Yan Mian had shared a ride with the Original Host, only to endure constant nitpicking from her. With an outsider present, Zhu Lin had caught wind of it and shown some concern. In response, Yan Mian recommended Qin Yun as her new driver.

It was just a paycheck, after all, and Zhu Lin already treated her like a half-daughter, so he had no reason to refuse.

The two were already acquainted, so their interactions flowed naturally. Occasional heartwarming moments between them stood in sharp contrast to the malice Yan Mian faced. The Comments Section was already rabidly anti-official-pairing, and this new ship caught fire right away.

Unfortunately, readers barely had time to celebrate for a few chapters before the author swept the plot forward. Yan Mian was forcibly marked, and in the same installment, Qin Yun succumbed to multiple complications. The silent woman wasn’t mentioned again until a dream sequence right before Yan Mian’s own death.

The plot surrounding Qin Yun wasn’t particularly long. After recalling it, Zhu Lexing had a rough idea of why the System had appeared—Qin Yun had died young, essentially because she hadn’t received timely treatment. The Zhu Family had no shortage of money, so they could naturally help her out.

Delaying her death would also untie one of Yan Mian’s heart knots, indirectly extending the time before “Zhu Lexing” met her end.

Zhu Lexing felt like she had it all figured out.

But even with that understanding, these things couldn’t be arranged in just a single day.

Dizzy from all the System’s meddling, she stopped fretting over the fragmented snippets of the original story. Instead, she started slacking off and dove into the comment section.

Readers’ approval was closely tied to her tasks, so Zhu Lexing had taken an interest in it right from the introduction.

The good news was that the comments on the first chapter weren’t the bloodbath of vitriol she’d imagined, with praise and criticism evenly split. Most of the hate was directed at the author anyway.

As for the small handful aimed at her, Zhu Lexing simply pretended they didn’t exist.

Out of sight, out of mind—her mood lifted considerably.

That is, until she unearthed this gem amid all the plot discussions:

【Rating-2(Favorability-10000): Scram!】

Zhu Lexing, who suddenly found Yan Mian’s -1,000 favorability not quite so stinging: