Chapter 142
“Xu Shuangrong, what exactly have you done?”
Xiao Jingxi’s gaze was complex and full of disappointment, his voice unusually cold.
Xu Shuangrong’s pupils constricted sharply, her fingertips trembling slightly with unease.
How could he be here?
A shrill alarm rang in her mind— the system’s frantic cries.
[System: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!]
[System: It’s over, it’s all over!!!]
[System: Who’s to blame? And why did it have to happen in front of the male lead? If the romance line with the male lead breaks, you’ll never steal the female lead’s spotlight in your life!!!]
[System: Although Xiao Jingxi currently likes Xie Mi, because Xie Mi’s relationship with Shen Yiqing has progressed so rapidly, and you’ve managed things well earlier, Xiao Jingxi has always felt some sympathy for you. Logically, you should still have a chance later.]
[System: But now… aaaaaahhhh!!]
Already anxious, Xu Shuangrong felt even more flustered by the system’s shouting, but she still tried to remain calm and find a solution.
[Xu Shuangrong: Didn’t you say that in the original story, after Xiao Jingxi discovered my true identity, he would willingly make sacrifices for me?]
[System: That’s later! Only after he’s already deeply in love with you!]
[System: Right now, he doesn’t even like you, and now he’s found out you’re a two-faced person. Are you seriously expecting any further development?]
[Xu Shuangrong: …]
Her mind churned with restless thoughts, but her expression remained the innocent, tearful facade.
“Jingxi, I…”
“Don’t come closer.”
Xiao Jingxi stepped back two paces, his disgust obvious.
“Xu Shuangrong, at first I thought you were a kind-hearted girl who worked hard. Even this afternoon, I believed you were being threatened by bullies; it wasn’t your fault.”
“But now, my thoughts have changed.”
“I don’t know what happened with Liu Woxing, nor what exactly you’re doing now, but I have never seen you show such an expression before.”
“Dark, selfish, triumphant. The expression you made when destroying the phone felt utterly detached. I barely recognize you anymore.”
“Or… is this your true self?”
“Xu Shuangrong, you’re far too good at pretending.”
Previously, he had felt guilty toward Xu Shuangrong.
Because she seemed like a powerless, pure-hearted girl who only knew how to work hard.
The human heart instinctively favors the weak, so he blamed himself.
But now, Xu Shuangrong’s dark, hidden side forced him to reconsider everything that had happened before.
If Xu Shuangrong was such a cunning, meticulous person, was she truly innocent before?
When the Xiao-Rong CP fell apart, the pitiful image she presented on camera—was that really accidental?
Some things were better not thought about too deeply.
The more he thought, the more he noticed the inconsistencies.
Xiao Jingxi felt anger rising.
Thinking that he had lost Xie Mi because of someone like this, and seeing how Xie Mi now got along so well with Shen Yiqing, he couldn’t help but place the blame on Xu Shuangrong.
Misdirected anger.
“That’s enough. I don’t want any connection with someone like you from now on.”
Xiao Jingxi turned and left, giving Xu Shuangrong no chance to reply.
Xu Shuangrong stood pale, rooted to the spot.
It wasn’t that she feared Xiao Jingxi’s change in attitude—she feared what the system had said.
If the romance line with the male lead broke, she would never become the female lead.
She didn’t care about the male lead, but she couldn’t lose her brilliant life.
[System: Is it too late to bind another person now?]
[System: Xu Shuangrong, you’ve been acting so invincible every day, even suspecting me, insisting you had no flaws… and now look! Such a huge flaw has appeared. Xiao Jingxi is right behind you and you didn’t notice? Are you trying to reach heaven?]
The tables had turned, and the system, having caught Xu Shuangrong off guard, became arrogant.
[System: You ignored me all night. I gave you so many suggestions, and you didn’t follow any. I ask you now—do you regret it?]
Xu Shuangrong remained silent, not bothering to dispute the system’s so-called advice, which had been mostly foolish ideas like “go guess lantern riddles,” “don’t eat salad, eat that soy sauce fried noodles,” “balloon games are fun, hey why did you pass by,” and so on.
She walked quietly, pondering whether there was any chance to fix this.
Xiao Jingxi’s earlier attitude had been firm. From her understanding, he was a strong-willed person, with a bit of a controlling streak, who disliked things deviating from his control, and hated being deceived.
Unfortunately, all her actions had trampled on his thresholds.
Unknowingly, she arrived at the gate of a villa.
She saw two figures in front of the second-floor floor-to-ceiling windows.
In the study:
Xie Mi sat on a rocking chair, creaking back and forth, flipping through Pure-Hearted CEO’s Fiery Love.
“Wow! These 1.8-meter long legs… he could be used as chopsticks for the female lead.”
Shen Yiqing, sitting at the desk handling files on the computer, chuckled lightly at her comment and glanced at the temperature displayed on her foot soaking bucket.
“Is the water temperature okay?”
“Perfect. Honestly, soaking my feet makes them hurt less. I feel like tomorrow I could run like the wind.”
Xie Mi happily soaked her feet, reading, occasionally tossing a macadamia nut into her mouth with a satisfying crunch. Life was bliss.
The study was quiet, only the sound of pages turning and mouse clicks.
She secretly glanced at the man working.
He wore a dark gray loungewear set, hair lazily falling across his forehead, eyes as dark as ink focused on the screen, his side profile serious and attentive.
Husband vibes.
Quite different from when he wore formal attire before.
So handsome~
If she could date a super-handsome guy like this…
[Xu Shuangrong: Is there any way to fix it?]
Huh?
The sudden voice made Xie Mi stop her thoughts.
[System: Fix what? Fix how? Are you talking to me?]
[Xu Shuangrong: …Yes.]
[System: Oh my! The sun rises from the west today! Our genius Xu Shuangrong is asking me for a solution. Hey! Am I even worthy of being asked?]
So the system wasn’t completely useless—it had a talent for sarcasm.
[Xu Shuangrong: …]
[Xu Shuangrong: I apologize for this afternoon. Do you have any way to change how Xiao Jingxi sees me?]
Xie Mi thought for a moment.
What did that mean? Did Xu Shuangrong lose face in front of Xiao Jingxi?
[System: You’re asking me because after thinking, you realized nothing would work, right?]
[System: If even you have no solution, what chance do I have?]
[Xu Shuangrong: You do.]
[Xu Shuangrong: Since you can read minds, you must naturally have other abilities too.]
[System: …]
[System: Didn’t expect you to be so perceptive. I indeed have another ability.]
