Chapter 2

The system’s scream nearly ruptured my eardrums.

【You have to sleep with him today! Force him into a passionate, hate-filled affair! And once you’re done, throw money in his face!】

【And you just let him go?!】

I dug at my ear and reluctantly remembered that the original novel did have a scene like that.

As the wicked side character, Shen Nian caught Gu Junheng when he came to the Shen family home to ask for funding for graduate school. She slept with him, then used money to force him to maintain their twisted relationship.

After taking the money, Gu Junheng felt utterly filthy. While Shen Nian slept, he fled the Shen home.

He wandered through a downpour in disheveled clothes until the heroine, Jiang Zhixue, found him. That opened the first redemption arc.

And I had simply let Gu Junheng go—and even let him take the money for graduate school.

I’d erased the first redemption arc entirely.

I muttered to myself, 【I was afraid he’d die in my hands, so I forgot.】

【Besides, sex like that sounds exhausting. I don’t want to.】

System: 【You seemed pretty eager to feel his chest just now. I wanted to touch him twice myself.】

Me: 【If you want to sleep with him, just possess me. You can move the plot along while you’re at it. Thanks, my precious system. Mwah.】

The system blocked me for three minutes.

It couldn’t do anything, but it sure liked to complain.

3

The next day, I showed up without makeup outside a café about a kilometer from A University.

The temperature was thirty-five degrees. I felt like I was melting on the sidewalk.

【It’s this hot. Do I really have to go out?】

【Of course! You skipped the plot two days ago, so now you have to make up for it.】

The system had dragged me out of bed early that morning. Jiang Zhixue had appeared at the café where Gu Junheng worked part-time.

I had to go there and complete the scene humiliating Gu Junheng, so Jiang Zhixue could save him.

Through the glass, I watched Gu Junheng moving gracefully around the café, carrying coffee.

【Go inside and order a hot coffee. Then spill it on him to humiliate him.】

【And tell him that, as A University’s campus heartthrob, he’s beneath himself serving tables in a café.】

【See? You’re learning.】

The system’s attitude finally softened.

I sighed, put on a world-weary expression, pushed open the café door, and went straight to Jiang Zhixue’s table.

“Mind if I sit with you?”

Jiang Zhixue was Gu Junheng’s classmate and one of A University’s famous beauties.

She looked up from her notes, surprised.

“Um… of course. Please, sit.”

I tossed my Chanel bag onto the table and scanned the QR code with my phone.

I quickly chose a hot Americano, no sugar and no milk.

Then I propped my chin on my hand, enjoyed the air-conditioning, and closed my eyes.

I wasn’t sure whether I fell asleep or simply died on the spot.

“Are you… Shen Nian?”

Jiang Zhixue asked cautiously.

“Did you come to see Gu Junheng?”

I opened my eyes.

“Is there a problem?”

System: 【That awful mouth of yours! Is that any way to speak politely?】

System: 【You’re supposed to be the wicked side character.】

Me: 【Sorry. I’ll fix it next time.】

When I didn’t deny it, Jiang Zhixue immediately grew tense.

She even took my hand.

“Classmate, could you please not tell anyone he works here?”

“I don’t want people to make fun of him for it. And if too many customers come because he’s famous, it’ll interfere with the café’s business.”

“Someone posted about it online before. He nearly got fired and had to stay away for a while…”

Her beautiful almond eyes were full of worry for Gu Junheng.

What a kind heroine.

She’d thought of everything.

If I weren’t Shen Nian, I wouldn’t care what jobs Gu Junheng took.

But I was the wicked side character.

I pulled my hand away from Jiang Zhixue’s and answered evasively, “Well… I only came for coffee…”

“Hello. One hot Americano, no sugar or milk.”

A cool voice sounded beside me.

Gu Junheng held the receipt. His handsome brows drew together slightly, as if he couldn’t understand what sort of ordinary person came to a café to drink Chinese herbal medicine.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

4

It wasn’t what I wanted, either.

The Americano was at the top of the menu, and the system had kept nagging me to humiliate Gu Junheng properly.

My mind followed a straight line: hot coffee spilled on him would surely do the trick. So I obediently ordered a scalding hot Americano.

It wasn’t for me to drink, anyway. I just picked something.

The system sprang into action.

【You know what to do next, right?】

【Stay in character as the wicked side character. Don’t break character!】

I sighed deeply. It felt as if the system were forcing a good girl to do bad things.

And that good girl was me.

Still, I had to do it.

I waited for Gu Junheng to set the coffee down in front of me.

Instead, he held it and asked again, “Table three. Hot Americano, no sugar or milk. Is this yours?”

I didn’t want to waste time with him. I just wanted to get through the scene and go back to my air-conditioned nest.

I reached for the cup in his hand.

“It’s mine. Give it here.”

For some reason, Gu Junheng moved backward to avoid me.

My fingertips touched not the hot cup, but his cool, smooth skin.

His hand was rather nice to touch.

That was my first thought.

A second later, the coolness of his fingers was no match for the burning heat spreading across my body.

I leapt to my feet.

Well done.

The coffee hadn’t spilled on Gu Junheng. I was the one who got burned.

The pale dress I’d thrown on was ruined, and the bitter smell of Americano clung to it.

The fabric stuck to my skin, making the burn sting sharply. I lifted my skirt and began frantically looking for a restroom.

“Wait.”

Someone caught my wrist. I nearly fell backward into the person behind me.

It was Gu Junheng.

His face remained composed, but his eyes were full of concern and urgency.

“Come with me.”

The system bounced up and down.

【Now! Take advantage of his mistake and humiliate him!】

【Make the café owner fire him!】

I couldn’t understand why Gu Junheng hadn’t simply handed me the coffee properly. He had even dodged my hand.

I wanted to lie low and do nothing, but the pain made me snap.

“This is all your fault!”

“Yes. It’s my fault.”

“So I’ll take responsibility, ma’am.”

Gu Junheng looked straight into my eyes and spoke every word with complete seriousness.

But I wasn’t buying it.

“Then let me go so I can get to the restroom and deal with this.”

Gu Junheng took off his apron and spoke briefly to the manager, then left work early.

Ignoring Jiang Zhixue behind him, who looked as if she wanted to say something, he pointed nearby.

“I rent a place close by.”

“Come home with me.”

In a daze, I followed Gu Junheng to his place.

It was a one-bedroom apartment. Small, but spotlessly clean.

While I was still looking around, Gu Junheng came out of the bedroom carrying a plain T-shirt and a pair of pants.

“Change first. Rinse the burn with water.”

“The coffee was very hot. I don’t know if it’s too late to treat it now.”

【Quick! Sneer at his cheap, market-stall clothes. Tell him you won’t wear them. Be a wicked side character!】