From the shade of a half-collapsed billboard across the street, Hao Hao watched the storm build.
At the center of it stood a woman in disguise—hood up, black mask pulled high, sunglasses large enough to cover half her face. A slim figure, casual clothes, the kind of effortless beauty that didn't need to try. But it wasn't her that held Hao Hao's attention at first.
It was the bodyguards.
Two of them.
And they were massive.
Not just tall—built. Their arms looked like they'd been sculpted from concrete, biceps bulging beneath tight black shirts, tactical belts slung low across their hips, and shoulders so broad they made the space between cars seem narrow. One had a buzzcut. The other had a high ponytail, and both had faces that looked like they'd snap you in half for blinking wrong.
"…Goddamn," Hao Hao muttered behind his mask. "I've seen gym bros with less muscle."
They didn't match the goddess they were guarding. But they didn't need to. Their job was simple: wall off the public from the diamond at the center.
And that diamond—Liu Yifei—was gleaming as expected.
Despite the disguise, her identity hadn't been missed. Not with that ethereal aura, that porcelain skin, those unnaturally bright blue eyes that shone even through her sunglasses. The screams had started almost immediately.
"AHHHH IT'S HER!!!"
"Yifei-jiejie, I LOVE YOU!!!"
"SIGN MY SHIRT!!! SIGN MY NECK!! SIGN MY LIFE!!!"
Boys threw themselves at her like puppies at a meat truck, some crying, others shaking as they clutched their phones and screamed to their streams.
It was so loud it almost felt staged. But Hao Hao knew better.
She was the real deal.
Just like the system said. The most popular female model in the entire country.
Then why, he wondered, was she here?
There were no cameras. No paparazzi. No photographers setting up. Just her, her two muscle-bound guardians, and a crowd of rabid fanboys.
No promotion? No event?
That's when he understood.
This wasn't work.
She was just… showing up.
Showing off.
Pretending to "coincidentally" get spotted so she could play modest, generous, kind—pose for some photos, toss out some signatures, and let the adoration soak in like perfume.
He watched her turn toward a trembling young man and offer a gentle nod before signing his phone case with a smile so fake it could peel paint.
"Disgusting," Hao Hao whispered.
And then, the prompt echoed in his mind once more.
[Mission Objective: Publicly insult Liu Yifei and trigger her flaw.]
Reward: Trait [Clear-Faced Youth] will be granted immediately.
He inhaled.
Stepped forward.
Dug into his pocket.
Pulled up his black mask.
Then, with one last sip of his lukewarm milk tea, he squeezed into the crowd.
"Hey!"
His voice cut sharp through the air like a knife tossed across silk.
Dozens of heads turned.
He threw the milk tea.
The bodyguard with the buzzcut reacted instantly, stepping forward and deflecting it with her forearm. The cup bounced harmlessly onto the asphalt, splattering brown sugar pearls and milk across her pants and boots.
The crowd gasped.
The goddess paused.
Liu Yifei turned, frowning behind her mask. Her body tilted slightly in a practiced poise—shoulders back, chin high, ready to scold or pose depending on the camera angle.
That's when Hao Hao shouted—
"NARCISSISTIC ASSHOLE! YOU DON'T LOOK AS GOOD AS YOU THINK!"
The silence was instantaneous.
Even the birds seemed to stop mid-flight.
[Ding—]
Trait Acquired: Clear-Faced Youth
[C Rank] [Physical]
✔ Facial acne and blemishes cleared
✔ Skin tone evened out
✔ Hormonal flare-ups suppressed
✔ Minor collagen elasticity improved
His skin prickled slightly.
He grinned beneath his mask.
And though the system hadn't told him to, he flipped her off.
One hand.
One big, dramatic middle finger in the air.
Right in front of everyone.
He held the gesture for three full seconds. Long enough to see Liu Yifei's face freeze—eyes wide, lips parting, like someone had just slapped a pie into royalty's face.
Then he turned and ran.
Shoved through the stunned fanboys.
Jumped over a tipped trash bin.
Bolted down the slope by the alley entrance.
The silence broke like glass.
"GET HIM!!!"
"YOU FUCKING DARE—?!"
"THAT BASTARD! WHO THE HELL IS HE?!"
"HE INSULTED YIFEI-JIEJIE!! CHASE HIM!!"
A stampede erupted behind him—ten, twenty boys charging like righteous crusaders, screams echoing through the street.
Hao Hao didn't look back.
He was too busy laughing.
+
Inside the back seat of a luxury black Mercedes, silence settled like silk—elegant, still, and suffocating.
A half-wilted plastic bag rested on the leather cushion beside her, faintly dripping with what little remained of its milk tea contents. The brand was low-tier. The flavor? Probably vulgar. And yet, Liu Yifei's gaze had not moved from it for the last five minutes.
Her fingers—slender, white as porcelain, tipped with blood-red polish—held the side of the cup gently, as if it might shatter under pressure. Her thumb rubbed across the sticker label affixed to the lid.
"Hao Hao…"
She repeated the name under her breath. Her voice was soft. But her tone was anything but.
That boy. That ridiculous, bold, audacious boy.
She remembered it all.
The milk tea flying through the air.The insult.The middle finger.The smirk hidden behind his mask.
In her twenty-four years of life, Liu Yifei had received more hate than most mortals could dream of surviving. Every award she'd won had sparked a thousand jealous comments. Every post she made ignited flames of envy. She had long since grown numb to malice.
But this was different.
This wasn't a fan's tantrum. Nor the bitter shriek of an envious woman.
This… had been personal.
And what fascinated her most… was that she couldn't tell why.
He was nothing. At least on the surface.
Short. Plump. Dressed in cheap sweatpants and knockoff shoes. Not even a glimpse of his face.
But the moment he'd stood before her—shoulders square, eyes unseen, voice laced with disdain—he'd burned himself into her memory.
No one had ever spoken to her like that. Not her fans. Not her rivals. Not even those pathetic male celebrities she'd toyed with behind closed doors—each of them reduced to playthings, easily seduced, easily discarded.
Liu Yifei knew what she was.
She wasn't kind.She wasn't warm.And despite what her agency told the world, she most definitely wasn't humble.
She was a narcissist.
A sadist, maybe.
A goddess who never bowed.
And yet that nameless little street rabbit had dared to bare his fangs—throwing her image into the dirt before thousands of adoring eyes, and vanishing like smoke in the wind.
She should've been angry.
But instead… her blood was running hot.
"Hao Hao…" she murmured again, tasting the name like wine on her lips.
Who are you?Where did you come from?What kind of boy says such things to a woman like me—and still dares to laugh?
The corners of her lips curled upward.
A small smile.
A dangerous smile.
The kind that came just before a knife pressed into skin.
"Little rabbit…" she whispered. "You think you can escape so easily?"
A beat passed. Then she reached for her phone.
"Connect me to Agent Fox."
The line buzzed once before clicking open.
"I want everything," she said, her voice cool and imperial. "There's a boy named Hao Hao. He was at ** Street this morning. Bought milk tea from that vendor on the corner. I want you to dig. Phone numbers. School. Home address. Medical records. If he owns a goldfish, I want to know its name."
"Yes, Miss Liu," came the response. Professional. Steady. A shadow in her employ.
She ended the call.
The car came to a stop.
"Miss Liu," her driver said gently. "We've arrived."
Without a word, she opened her front camera and stared at her reflection.
Flawless.
Glossed lips. Clear skin. Hair falling like dark satin over her shoulders. A goddess wrapped in luxury and ice.
And yet, her gaze carried something else now. A flicker of curiosity. A hint of hunger.
"Even the stars," she whispered to her reflection, "need something to chase once in a while."
The door opened.
A red carpet stretched ahead.
Camera flashes bloomed like fireworks. Fans screamed her name.
She stepped out, smile dazzling, posture regal, wearing the face the world loved most.
But somewhere in the corner of her heart, a name echoed again—
Hao Hao.
And for the first time in years… Liu Yifei felt alive.