Chapter 1

At the baby’s one-month celebration, I drooled nonstop.

I crawled past all the exquisite decorations scattered across the floor and opened my mouth to bite the arm of my sworn enemy’s precious son.

By the time I had finally managed to thaw the ice prince named Gu Xing—

that wretched system told me the person I was supposed to win over was actually the Crown Prince.

If I couldn’t become the Crown Princess, the system would erase me.

In the brothel’s private room, Gu Xing backed me into a corner, one step at a time.

“Qiao Qiao wants to be Crown Princess? Or should I just start a rebellion for you?”

System: Are you trying to glitch the game on me?

1

I was a soul who had crossed into a new life before birth, and from the moment I was born, I was the celebrated only daughter of the General’s household.

On the day of my one-month celebration, the system issued a mission.

“See the boy in white standing in front of you? He’s your target.”

I spotted Gu Xing at once in the crowd.

He was a child with rosy lips and plump cheeks, his big eyes sparkling like black grapes.

Though young, he already had an air of nobility.

I was a sucker for pretty faces.

The system really understood me.

My parents tried to tempt me with their favorite things.

“Qiao Qiao, good girl. Isn’t this little bow pretty? Crawl over to Daddy.”

“What sort of proper young lady practices swordplay?”

“Look how beautiful this gold hairpin is, Qiao Qiao. Do you want it?”

I ignored all the exquisite, gold-inlaid and jewel-studded things scattered on the floor.

Drooling, I crawled toward Gu Xing.

I wanted to give the handsome little guy a kiss on the hand.

Maybe I was still teething. The moment I opened my mouth, I bit Gu Xing’s arm.

All the guests burst into laughter.

Only my father’s face turned as dark as an eggplant.

Everyone knew that Chancellor Gu was my father’s sworn enemy. Their birth charts were said to clash, and they couldn’t exchange two words without arguing.

Gu Xing didn’t pull his hand away or cry out in pain.

When a maid finally pulled me off him, two bright red bite marks stood out on his fair arm.

He reached out and gently touched my cheek.

His touch was so light, as if he were handling something precious and fragile that might break.

Then he looked up at the magnificently dressed lady beside him and said:

“Little sister is so soft.”

That was Gu Xing’s mother, the current Grand Princess.

But the very next second—

my father had already whisked me away.

2

By the time the system remembered I existed, I was past my coming-of-age ceremony, and my mission to win over Gu Xing was nearly complete.

I sat in Gu Xing’s lap.

Completely at ease, I accepted the grapes he offered me.

The system’s voice rang out:

“Why is your progress bar at zero?”

I suddenly felt guilty, like I’d been caught skipping my homework.

But I looked at Gu Xing, whose eyes were practically overflowing with affection.

How could my progress bar be at zero? That stupid system must have been out of commission for so long that it had frozen.

A long while later, it finally asked:

“Your target isn’t Gu Xing, is it?”

After the system explained everything, I learned that my real target was the Crown Prince.

Gu Xing, meanwhile, had been assigned the role of a sinister villain.

I looked at Gu Xing, who was sitting beside me, peeling grapes.

The corner of his eye flicked toward me, and a flush quickly spread from his neck to the tips of his ears.

He didn’t dare look me in the eye.

“Qiao Qiao, stop looking at me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

This innocent, lovestruck puppy didn’t seem like a sinister villain no matter how I looked at him.

“Snap out of it, you hopeless pretty-face addict,” the system said. “You’re beyond saving.”

I blamed it for cutting me off halfway.

It blamed me for letting Gu Xing’s good looks cloud my judgment.

“What do I do now?”

“According to the rules, if you don’t become Crown Princess, the system will erase you. You don’t have much time left.”

I was distracted, trying to figure out how to clean up this mess.

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly tasted blood in my mouth.

Only then did I notice I had bitten Gu Xing’s finger hard enough to break the skin.

I immediately fetched the medicine kit and bandaged him.

“Hmph.” Gu Xing chuckled softly.

I asked if he was stupid. Who smiled when they were hurt?

“Looks like Qiao Qiao still can’t break her biting habit.”

I tentatively asked him:

“Brother Gu Xing, what would you do if I fell for someone else one day?”

After a long silence, Gu Xing brushed the hair back from my temple and said in a low voice:

“If that day ever comes, Qiao Qiao, you must tell me his full name. I’d hate for your big brother to kill the wrong person.”

He was still smiling as he said it, but his voice was as cold as a knife.

A chill crept down my back.

So he really was a villain.

I glanced at Gu Xing’s hand. The veins stood out from how tightly he was clenching it, and the wound I’d just bandaged was bleeding again.

I forgot all about our conversation and scolded him for being careless.

Gu Xing’s expression returned to normal. He let me fuss over him however I wanted.

3

I swear I’m not the kind of two-timing woman who dates two people at once.

It was just that if Gu Xing killed my target, my own life would be over, too.

So I had no choice but to act cold toward Gu Xing first.

I urgently added the Crown Prince to my schedule as a mission.

I’d heard that the Crown Prince had recently become obsessed with a courtesan at the Hongyu Pavilion.

I gave the madam a hundred taels of gold, hoping to secretly learn the courtesan’s special skills.

And so I became the courtesan Zhen Niang’s little attendant.

Whenever we were alone, she taught me the Crown Prince’s likes and dislikes.

4

One day, while I was in the middle of a lesson, someone announced from outside:

“Young Master Gu has arrived.”

Gu Xian was Gu Xing’s younger brother by the same mother.

He was famous for his romantic exploits, a playboy of the pleasure quarters. His personality was the exact opposite of Gu Xing’s.

He dared to go after the Crown Prince’s woman. He really had no fear.

There was nowhere for me to hide, so I could only lower my head.

Please don’t let him recognize me.

When he saw me standing there, Zhen Niang urged:

“Are you blind? Hurry up and serve tea to the two masters.”

Two masters?

I secretly raised my head.

There was another person behind Gu Xian, a little taller than him.

He wore black and had a mask over his face.

As I carried the tea past him, I caught the familiar scent of incense.

An utterly absurd thought flashed through my mind.

I spilled the hot tea.

In the confusion,

I accidentally knocked the stranger’s mask off.

The moment our eyes met, Gu Xing and I both froze.

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

We asked at the same time.