Who the hell gave this punk the guts to mess with his plans? He Wennuo’s face darkened, his expression downright foul. Amitabha, peace be upon us—he really didn’t want to get any more blood on his hands.
Su Ze flinched under He Wennuo’s glare and instinctively took a step back, swallowing hard.
Wait, wait—why was he scared of him? A few seconds later, Su Ze finally snapped out of it. His earlier reaction had been downright embarrassing, cowering like that before some kid in his early twenties.
“Mr. He?” Su Ze steadied himself and called out to He Wennuo again.
Tch… With Yuzhee right there, it wasn’t convenient to make a move. He Wennuo draped an arm over Ye Yuzhe’s shoulders, glanced down at him, and let out a sigh. After all, this was someone his “goddess” had liked before—hell, maybe still did. Better to play it humble.
“Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride,” He Wennuo said, waving Su Ze over.
Su Ze let out a cold laugh and followed along.
Liang Sheng arched a brow. This wasn’t her fight to jump into. She grabbed the two girls by the hand, ready to hail a cab home.
Just then, Liang Sheng’s heart gave a sudden, violent thud. A wave of unease washed over her—what was with this ominous premonition?
She looked up at the group ahead: Su Ze and He Wennuo’s crew.
Oh! Liang Sheng’s eyes widened in sudden realization. Kazuko had said it earlier—whoever stuck with Su Ze today was doomed for bad luck! Which meant…
Maybe… maybe… maybe He Wennuo would get into a car accident, and then Su Ze would swoop in to save Ye Yuzhe or something. Was President He really doomed to die?
Gritting her teeth, Liang Sheng called out to Su Ze.
“Su Ze! Hold up!”
Su Ze turned back, wondering what little scheme Liang Sheng was cooking up now.
“You come with us instead. Nuo-ge, Nuo-ge has business at the company, right, Nuo-ge?” Liang Sheng blinked at He Wennuo again.
What Liang Sheng had in mind was simple: her own body belonged to one of this book’s male lead’s harem girls, so she probably—maybe—definitely wouldn’t drop dead that easily. He Wennuo, on the other hand? He was just an NPC. Without the butterfly effect, he might never have even crossed paths with her.
He Wennuo got it in a flash. “Yeah, yeah! Yuzhee, can you believe I forgot? I’ve got a photoshoot lined up today. Come on, I need to take you to the studio. Looks like I can’t give your friend a lift after all.”
Tch, Liang Sheng really was his stumbling block. Su Ze tamped down his irritation. “Yuzhee, you’re modeling now?”
The word “model” lit Ye Yuzhe’s face with uncontainable joy, his gentle smile blooming wide.
“Look!” Ye Yuzhe whipped out his phone, opened the gallery, tapped a photo, and dashed over to Su Ze, beaming. “Su Ze, what do you think? Doesn’t this shot look great?”
Su Ze peered at the screen with a squinty smile—then froze.
The photo showed Ye Yuzhe in a frilly princess dress, grinning like a flower in full bloom.
What the hell? A grown man wearing that? Su Ze’s brow furrowed instinctively, though he kept his disdain locked away.
“Aw, Yuzhee, you’re prettier than any girl,” Su Ze said with a beaming smile, playfully booping Ye Yuzhe’s nose in a doting gesture.
The move left Ye Yuzhe’s face flushing crimson. He bolted back to He Wennuo’s side in a puff.
What the actual fuck? What did this kid have going for him? He Wennuo was about to lose it—he wanted to hack that hand right off! How dare he touch his “goddess” like that. Unforgivable. Had to go!
“Can I come to the studio with you guys?” Su Ze asked politely.
“No can do, Su Ze,” He Wennuo replied with a smile, though inwardly he was fantasizing about crushing him to bits.
“Pretty please?” Ye Yuzhe gazed at He Wennuo with pleading eyes.
This… this was a beauty trap! So devious! He Wennuo clutched his face. His “goddess” pulling the cute card—he couldn’t handle it! His defenses crumbled, and he caved without a fight.
“Su Ze!” Liang Sheng was getting desperate.
“Forget it. I need to talk to you. Just ride with us in the cab!”
Huh? Why was Sister Liang Sheng (A-Sheng) so fixated on Su Ze? Calling him to ride with them, all this enthusiasm… Liang Jin and Song An’an both turned to stare at Liang Sheng.
Could it be… They both glanced at Su Ze again… that Sister Liang Sheng (A-Sheng) actually liked him? These two girls who’d never seen eye-to-eye were suddenly on the same wavelength.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Favorability plunged.
“Liang Jin’s Favorability towards Su Ze: 38”
“Song An’an’s Favorability towards Su Ze: 61”
Liang Jin and Song An’an shared a look, their eyes locking perfectly this time—no awkwardness, just shared purpose. They couldn’t let Su Ze get near Liang Sheng. In that instant, the two girls forged an alliance.
Still, the best way to handle it was a little warning shot, so… they nodded at each other.
“Yeah, Su Ze, ride with us!” Liang Jin flashed a sweet smile and waved him over.
“Yeah, yeah!” Song An’an chimed in eagerly. “Su Ze, it’s been ages! We’ve gotta catch up. Come on, share the cab!”
Huh? Liang Sheng looked left, then right, totally baffled by the turn of events. If not for those massive favorability drops toward Su Ze, she’d have sworn these two little lasses still had a crush on him.
But if they didn’t like him… why the overly warm invites? Liang Sheng was stumped. For once, her sharp little brain was drawing a blank.
Su Ze was equally thrown. His Heartthrob Value notifications were tanking too, but why were these two girls suddenly all over him? Could it be… because Wakako was dormant, the damn System was glitching?
Whatever the case, Su Ze relented. He wasn’t heading to the studio with Ye Yuzhe after all.
“Sure, why not,” he said gracefully, strolling over. “You’re right. It’s not safe for three girls to head out alone. Let me escort you home.”
Ha! Liang Sheng nearly burst out laughing. Su Ze, that fake gentleman, always had a lofty excuse ready. He just wanted to play the gallant knight, schmoozing the girls—did he think he was some prince or white knight? As if they cared about his looks or brains. He didn’t measure up.
