Qin Xiaoliu rubbed his temples, anxiety gnawing at him.
He ran through every possible excuse in his head, rehearsing the perfect white lie.
But he couldn't just ignore the call—if Li Qingcheng sensed something off, he'd be finished.
After the phone rang a few times, he finally picked up, pretending to sound exhausted.
"Hello? Boss."
From the other end came Li Qingcheng's rich, magnetic voice—the kind only a true Yujie could have.
"How did it go?"
"Hey, that little vixen Zhou Yingxue's got quite the figure, huh? Did you have fun?"
"The old lady treats you well, doesn't she?"
Qin Xiaoliu felt a pang of embarrassment. Li Qingcheng wore a different face for every occasion.
At home, she was a filial and well-behaved daughter.
At work, the cold, aloof president.
But to her subordinates… she became an imperious queen.
He cleared his throat. "Uh… Boss, it failed."
"What?!" Li Qingcheng's tone spiked immediately. "Failed? You can't even handle a single woman? What the hell are you doing?"
"Aren't you supposed to be good at this sort of thing? No, forget it—I'll send someone else!"
"..." Qin Xiaoliu winced. He could practically see her expression through the phone.
"Boss, please, listen to my explanation!" he said quickly. "Just when I was about to make my move, some old man appeared out of nowhere and knocked me out cold. He was a master—I didn't even sense him!"
"But before I passed out, I heard him call Miss Zhou by name… and he mentioned the Zhou family too."
Of course, it was all nonsense. But the Zhou family was powerful—surely no one would question that they had a hidden expert for protection.
Li Qingcheng was stunned silent for a few seconds before asking sharply, "Are you sure you heard right?"
Qin Xiaoliu's lips curled slightly. As expected, she'd taken the bait.
"Yeah, Boss. I swear! I heard it crystal clear!"
A couple seconds of silence. Then,
"Alright. Got it. Come back."
Click. The line went dead.
Qin Xiaoliu exhaled in relief. That should buy me some time.
Li Qingcheng might have a fierce temper, but she was fiercely loyal to those close to her—protective to a fault.
Even in the novel, after Qin Xiaoliu's death, she'd severed ties with him publicly… yet still had him buried with honor later.
"Li Qingcheng's a woman who values loyalty above all… Otherwise, she wouldn't have chased the male lead for so long."
Still, if she showed even the slightest hint of murderous intent, Qin Xiaoliu wouldn't hesitate—he'd disappear overnight.
That woman wasn't someone to take lightly.
At that moment, the system's voice chimed again:
[Congratulations to the host for successfully altering the plot. You have received 1000 Luck Points.][Would you like to draw a reward?]
"Draw."
[1000 Luck Points consumed. Drawing successful.][Congratulations, Host: Strength +100.]
A surge of energy coursed through him.
This time, the change was deeper—subtle, yet powerful.
Unlike the previous "Charm Value" enhancement, this wasn't about appearance—it was raw physical strength.
After all, a man could get surgery to look handsome…
But strength? No knife could carve that in.
He could feel his muscles tighten and shift; power hummed through his limbs.
He threw a few punches into the air—crack! crack! The air itself split under the force.
Qin Xiaoliu grinned, satisfied.
"I wonder if I can take that bastard Lin Feng down now."
Leaving the hotel, he went to find Li Qingcheng.
Even if she tried to kill him face-to-face, he was confident he could escape this time.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng was still busy begging Zhou Yingxue for forgiveness.
Inside, though, jealousy burned like acid.
The moment he remembered the scene he'd walked in on—Zhou Yingxue drenched, in another man's arms—his face went green.
He had always thought of Zhou Yingxue as his exclusive territory!
Lin Feng clenched his fists, seething.
That pretty boy—handsomer than him, no less—he'd kill him sooner or later!
But he couldn't lash out at Zhou Yingxue.
She was the future heir of the Zhou family. If he wanted to win her over, she had to like him.
He watched her slender back, eyes gleaming with possessive hunger, and hurried to catch up, putting on a gentle smile.
"Yingxue! I didn't mean it, I swear! When I saw that scene, I thought he was trying to hurt you—that's why I attacked!"
"I… I just care about you!"
Zhou Yingxue looked at Lin Feng's earnest face. He had helped her before, so part of her wavered. Maybe she had overthought things.
But somehow… he didn't seem as pleasant as before.
At least not compared to Qin Xiaoliu.
The thought made her cheeks flush. She sighed softly and asked, "Then tell me—how did you even know I was in this hotel?"
Lin Feng replied without hesitation, "It was Wan'er! Wan'er told me! I can confront her right now if you don't believe me!"
In order to regain Zhou Yingxue's trust, Lin Feng didn't hesitate to throw Zhao Wan'er under the bus.
He could always sweet-talk her later.
After all… both sisters were top-tier prizes.
Zhou Yingxue frowned. Lin Feng sounded so confident—was it true?
Had Zhao Wan'er… betrayed her?
Without another word, she called Zhao Wan'er directly.
She didn't explain much over the phone, so Zhao Wan'er came rushing over, confused but relieved to see Zhou Yingxue unharmed.
It seemed Qin Xiaoliu hadn't succeeded.
Still, Zhao Wan'er felt guilty.
She'd only told Lin Feng because she couldn't shake the worry that Zhou Yingxue might really be in danger.
But thinking of that man—Qin Xiaoliu—made her heart race all over again.
Her body still tingled from his scathing words earlier, her cheeks heating as flashes of that scene returned…
Her clothes wet… the forced shower afterward…
Zhao Wan'er's face turned crimson. She shook her head furiously. I can't think about him anymore!
"Yingxue!" she said brightly. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Before Zhou Yingxue could answer, Lin Feng jumped in, voice sharp and accusing:
"Zhao Wan'er! Tell Yingxue the truth right now—weren't you the one who asked me to save her?!"