This old-fashioned name was really the fault of that blockheaded author, wasn’t it? Liang Sheng had no idea how old the author actually was. She sighed.
Seeing that Liang Sheng was unharmed, Ou Lu called out a quick goodbye and hurried off.
Su Ze had stood silently off to the side the entire time, watching everything Liang Sheng did. This time around, he came away empty-handed.
After watching Ou Lu disappear into the distance, Liang Sheng turned back to study Su Ze’s face. Well, it was utterly blank. She sneaked a smile.
“Liang Sheng, if you’re free later, would you join me for lunch?”
What? Liang Sheng wanted to refuse, but she had no good excuse. Besides, it could be a chance to probe him. Steeling herself, she agreed.
They walked on in silence until they reached a street corner. Su Ze suddenly whirled around, startling Liang Sheng. She stumbled backward on instinct—only to trip over a rock behind her and topple over.
Su Ze thrust out a hand, apparently aiming to catch her wrist and stop her fall. Liang Sheng flailed wildly for his outstretched arm.
“Don’t let him touch you!” Kazuko bellowed suddenly.
Liang Sheng jolted in shock and yanked her hand back. She hit the ground with a solid thud.
Su Ze offered his hand again, gesturing for her to take it so he could help her up.
“No touching. Stand up on your own—and stay away from him,” Kazuko said, her voice thick with wariness.
Liang Sheng obeyed at once. She hauled herself up, brushed the dirt from her clothes, and took tiny, stealthy steps backward, terrified that Su Ze or his system might notice something off.
Su Ze extended his hand once more, seemingly to straighten her hopelessly tousled hair. Liang Sheng twisted away, and the air thickened with awkwardness.
“Tsk.” Su Ze sounded impatient. He stepped forward, reaching to seize her hand. Liang Sheng retreated in a flurry of footsteps, crossing her arms protectively over her chest with a look of pure alarm.
Now Su Ze was truly urgent. Ignoring her entirely, he lunged to grab her hand by force. Liang Sheng spun on her heel and bolted, arms still crossed as if bracing for assault.
Su Ze gave chase without mercy, as though failing to catch her meant his doom.
A cascade of purple hair whipped past. Before Liang Sheng could react, blood splattered messily onto the pavement.
“Hiss!” Su Ze jerked his hand back. Blood poured from the wound without stopping.
“What were you going to do to Sheng-chan?” Hana’s voice pierced the air like a shriek.
“Beep beep beep!” System warning: Favorability drops sharply.
“Hana’s Favorability towards Su Ze: -100+”
“Hana!” Spotting her, Liang Sheng forgot her fear. She threw her arms around Hana’s waist and sobbed as if deeply wronged, tears streaming down her face.
“Sheng-chan!” Hana’s heart ached at the sight of Liang Sheng’s tear-streaked face. Fury blazed within her as she leveled her switchblade at Su Ze. “What did you do to Sheng-chan? I’ll kill you!” With that, she slashed the blade toward his throat.
“No!” Liang Sheng cried out to stop her.
Truth be told, she half-wanted Hana to finish Su Ze right there. But they were out in the street—anyone could see. She went soft at the thought, terrified of what might happen to Hana if she committed murder. For all that this yandere posed a faint threat to her own life, Hana had always shielded her, loved her fiercely—even willing to end her own existence for Liang Sheng’s sake.
But Hana had gone berserk, hacking wildly at Su Ze and ignoring Liang Sheng’s pleas. Of course—even a yandere couldn’t stomach seeing the girl she cherished bullied to tears by someone else.
“You have to stop her!” Kazuko urged Liang Sheng desperately.
Though she wanted to intervene, Liang Sheng hesitated long enough to ask, “Wouldn’t letting her kill Su Ze just wrap up the whole story? No more Male Lead.”
Kazuko was frantic, her words tumbling out incoherently. “What are you talking about? If he dies, the Heartthrob Value System lives on. What if the next Host is clever? That’d be way worse! Su Ze’s IQ and EQ are both low, so we can’t let anything happen to him until we crash the system. Oh god, what am I even saying—anyway, keep him alive! He still has value!”
Half-comprehending but going along with it, Liang Sheng clung to Hana’s waist with all her might and yelled for Su Ze to run. The Big Pig Hoof looked spooked, clutching his bleeding hand as he fled in a pathetic scramble.
Only after Su Ze had vanished from sight did Liang Sheng exhale in relief. She loosened her grip on Hana.
Hana could easily have shaken her off, but fearing she’d hurt her beloved girl, she held back—and lost her best shot at killing Su Ze.
“Sheng-chan! Why’d you stop Hana? That jerk bullied you! Hana’s gonna kill him, kill him, kill him! Don’t tell me you like him? Die, die, die!”
Faced with that, Liang Sheng could only soothe her. Ignoring the dirt, she plopped down on the ground and seized Hana’s hand. “Hana, I’m not worried about him—I’m worried about you!”
Hana blinked, her rage ebbing slightly.
Liang Sheng pressed on. “Think about it: killing’s a crime. You’d go to jail—maybe even get the death penalty. How could I bear not seeing my adorable Hana anymore? I’d be heartbroken~ Besides, you wouldn’t want your Sheng-chan unhappy, right?”
“Mm…” Hana finally cracked a grin, her anger fully extinguished. Liang Sheng’s words had left her utterly charmed and dazed.
“Hee hee hee, Hana knew Sheng-chan likes me the most~” With that, she pulled Liang Sheng into a tight embrace, her smile sweeter than honey.
Liang Sheng smiled helplessly. The pain of being so obsessively cherished held its own strange sweetness. Things were worlds better for her now—at least she had people who liked her, who protected her.
The thought warmed her heart, and she hugged Hana back.
A moment later, a question struck her.
“Hana, how did you find me?”
“Ehe~” Hana pulled away from the embrace and beamed at Liang Sheng’s face. “Sheng-chan, you forgot? Hana loves knowing exactly what you’re up to every second~ Oh, and trackers! There’s one in every piece of your clothing~”
Pfft! Liang Sheng burst into fresh tears.
Hana added, “Don’t you dare take them out, Sheng-chan—or Hana will get mad.”
Indeed—Hana’s anger had dire consequences. Liang Sheng gave her a thumbs-up. Impressive, truly impressive. With traits like that, best to play it safe and obey.
Liang Sheng had one real strength: thick skin and a silver tongue. She could paint black as white, white as red, knew when to yield and cherish her life. Disagree, and she’d drop to her knees hugging thighs for mercy. She could’ve won an Oscar for acting. (Was that a strength???) In short: shamelessness on a legendary level.
