“Are you… thinking of giving up?” Liang Sheng took the initiative, asking.
He Wennuo let out a long sigh. “Sigh, no, I won’t give up. If… um, I… I…”
He stuttered, still looking somewhat hesitant.
“Sigh, if this time… right, I’ll just hold on a little longer. If he still treats me like a backup plan…” He seemed to steel his resolve.
“Good.”
Liang Sheng agreed readily. This time, she planned to pull out all the stops.
Meanwhile, on Su Ze’s side, the Heartthrob System’s Akino Wakako felt a wave of dizziness. Her body shrank another size, growing thinner until she was a little loli just one meter and forty-three centimeters tall.
“Ah!” Akino Wakako let out a piercing scream.
Su Ze huddled on the sofa, trembling all over.
“Da Hai…” Ling Dang circled around the sofa to stand behind Su Ze. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face to his cheek as her blue hair spilled over his shoulder.
“Let’s die together.” Ling Dang had remembered. She remembered everything.
Because the Favorability System outranked the Heartthrob Value System, Akino Wakako could barely maintain Ling Dang’s Amnesia Rule any longer.
“Yueying…” Su Ze rested his head atop Ling Dang’s. “I don’t want to be separated from you. I, I…”
Suddenly, Su Ze shoved her away. Ling Dang stumbled back a few steps and fell to the floor.
“Da Hai?” Ling Dang lifted her head blankly.
Su Ze couldn’t bear to meet the clear gaze of the person he loved. He turned his head aside, lips pressed tight. “Stay here. I’m going out on some business.”
Ling Dang’s eyes widened. She crawled forward a few steps and clung to Su Ze’s leg. “Da Hai, Da Hai, Da Hai! No, don’t go. Stay with me…”
Su Ze froze, as if hesitating.
“Be good, Yueying. If you’re good, I’ll only be gone a little while. I’ll be right back.” Su Ze tried to pry his leg free.
Ling Dang refused to let go, sticking to his leg like a lump of mochi.
“Yue! Ying!” Su Ze gritted his teeth. With a ruthless yank, he pulled himself free.
Ling Dang toppled to the floor.
“I know what you’re going to do. I know…” Ling Dang looked up, her hair disheveled and her eyes sharp. “You’re going off to kill again! You murderer!”
Su Ze stiffened but didn’t turn back. He opened the door, gave a few instructions to the auntie standing outside, and left without another glance.
Ling Dang sat on the floor with her head bowed, her long hair veiling her cheeks. Her expression was unreadable.
Once Su Ze was out the door, Akino Wakako patted his shoulder as if sensing the writing on the wall. “Don’t do anything foolish.”
Su Ze was surprised. This time, his Heartthrob Value System hadn’t scolded him.
Akino Wakako gave a bitter smile. “Wondering why I’m not throwing a fit? What good would that do?”
Yeah. Su Ze hailed a taxi.
Though he wasn’t as clever as Liang Sheng, he could guess where she’d gone—to Ye Yuzhe, the one she hadn’t fully conquered yet.
“Go…” But he fell into a trap of his own making. He headed straight to Ye Yuzhe’s home, overlooking the possibility that Ye Yuzhe might not even be there.
That bought Liang Sheng some time.
Liang Sheng was racing against the clock too. She activated her “Pay More” skill, urging the taxi driver to turn his cab into a speeding race car.
“We’re here.”
The driver admitted it had been years since he’d felt such a thrill.
Liang Sheng hopped out and dashed into the Western restaurant that He Wennuo had booked.
She reached the private room, where He Wennuo greeted her with a smile—only to be coldly shoved aside by the green-haired girl.
“Get out. I have something to say to Ye Yuzhe.”
“Ha—?” He Wennuo’s foolish expression hardly befitted a wealthy CEO.
“Out—” Liang Sheng blinked her eyes, dropping a heavy hint.
He Wennuo glanced worriedly at Ye Yuzhe, who sat in his chair, then met Liang Sheng’s eyes again. “Can I stay…?”
“No,” Liang Sheng replied firmly.
He Wennuo drew a deep breath, pushed open the door with resolve, and left the room.
“Eh?” Ye Yuzhe, completely out of the loop, tilted his head. He had no idea what was happening and assumed from the green-haired girl’s grim expression that she’d quarreled with He Wennuo.
Ye Yuzhe jumped to his feet and hurried over to Liang Sheng. “Liang Sheng, don’t be mad at He Wennuo…”
“I’m not mad at him.” Liang Sheng sidestepped Ye Yuzhe and took a seat at the table. “I’m mad at you.”
“…”
The air grew heavy, laced with awkwardness.
Ye Yuzhe still had no clue what he’d done wrong. With a dopey grin, he asked, “What did I do?”
“Come sit.” Liang Sheng patted the seat beside her.
Already shy by nature, Ye Yuzhe moved toward her in small, nervous steps.
Liang Sheng grew impatient. She was terrified Su Ze might show up any moment.
“Hurry up. I have something important to tell you.”
Ye Yuzhe had reached the chair now. He frowned. “If it’s about Su Ze sending someone to kill you… without solid proof, I can’t fully believe it. Because you and he are both my good friends!”
“It’s not just that. There’s more.” Liang Sheng fixed him with a piercing stare, her eyes like barbed hooks sinking into his flesh. “You’re treating He Wennuo like a backup right now. You’re hurting his feelings!”
Ye Yuzhe denied it instantly, without a hint of hesitation. “I’m not!”
“You are!” Liang Sheng slammed the table and rose, ready for a confrontation. “The person you really like isn’t He Wennuo at all! You’re basking in his love while refusing to give any of your own!”
“I…!” Ye Yuzhe was speechless.
Liang Sheng had nailed it. That was exactly what he was doing.
“Why?” she pressed.
Ye Yuzhe clutched at the hem of his shirt. “I do like He Wennuo… a little…”
“But who’s the one in your heart?” Liang Sheng ignored his words, pressing her advantage.
Ye Yuzhe fell silent.
“I know. It’s Su Ze.” Liang Sheng pierced the thin veil hiding the truth.
“No, it’s not!” Ye Yuzhe panicked, his eyes reddening.
“I can tell. You can’t hide the look in your eyes when you love someone.” Just like the way girls looked at her.
Ye Yuzhe bowed his head, choking back sobs. “So what do you want to do? Are you going to tell He Wennuo?”
Liang Sheng smiled. “Do you think He Wennuo doesn’t already know?”
Ye Yuzhe froze in shock. He stared at the girl before him. “Then why does he still…?”
“Why does he keep pursuing you, right? Just like how you like Su Ze—you forgive his mistakes, cover for his crimes. It’s the same. He chooses to ignore the fact that you were still hung up on someone else while you two were dating.”
