When Shen Ying was forcibly bound to the tragic romance system, she didn’t feel any resistance.
She had just suffered a major blow and was unwilling to put in any effort for anything anymore. All she wanted was to live the rest of her life lazily and carefree, and if there were extra material comforts, that would be even better.
Therefore, Shen Ying felt that she and the tragic romance system were a perfect match and immediately agreed to the binding.
This left the system, which had prepared all sorts of coercive and enticing words, at a loss.
Their tragic romance system was notoriously unpopular, usually targeting players on the brink of death and forcing them into binding using the price of their lives.
This was the first time someone had agreed without any fuss, so smoothly that it made the system feel like buying a lottery ticket.
[...Alright, alright. Since the host has agreed to the binding, the system will now begin the tasks.]
Shen Ying had no objections and even asked, “After binding, does this count as officially joining the company? You can’t just fire me easily, right?”
The system was somewhat moved by this. It had always been players who were eager to unbind; when had anyone ever feared being fired by the system?
At this moment, the system’s favorability toward its new host skyrocketed, and it quickly responded: [Host, rest assured, the system cannot actively terminate the contract with the player.]
[Of course, in return, the player must pay a hefty price in points to terminate the contract with the system.]
Shen Ying thought it over and quickly understood.
This was trading her own right to unbind for a high barrier to exit for the players.
After all, the system’s point-earning standards were such that a player would typically earn a few thousand points for completing a task world, but unbinding from the system required a full million points.
Realizing she had no fear of unemployment, Shen Ying smiled. “Let’s begin.”
In the next moment, the surroundings changed drastically.
Shen Ying appeared in a dimly lit alley, with a heavy rain pouring from the sky.
She held an umbrella in her hand, standing in front of a pile of black garbage bags, where a drenched man lay collapsed.
The man’s black shirt clung tightly to his muscular frame due to being soaked, and even in the poor lighting, his striking facial features and jawline were evident.
Shen Ying immediately felt embarrassed and hurried over to help the man up, following the memories of the original host to bring him back to her home.
While inwardly pleased, she casually remarked to the system, “This is too kind of you. I haven’t even started working yet, and you’re already handing out men.”
“Don’t worry, now that I’m part of the system, I’ll stay loyal. Just for that waist—no, for your thoughtfulness, I’ll work hard.”
The system was full of question marks before realizing that this clueless woman thought this was some kind of bonus perk?
[...This is the male lead. The task has already started.]
It then sent Shen Ying the plot of this world.
Just as Shen Ying had laid the man on the bed, the story flooded into her mind.
This was a clichéd, old-fashioned novel where the female lead, on a rainy night, went out to throw out the trash and accidentally saved a powerful man, Lu Linwei, who had been ambushed.
From then on, this brooding and obsessive man found a ray of light in his heart, but for the female lead, it was the beginning of a tragedy.
Lu Linwei took the female lead back under the guise of gratitude, but in reality, he kept her confined by his side, subjecting her to suffocating surveillance and control.
The people around Lu Linwei, disdainful of the female lead’s ordinary background, gave her endless trouble, while her timid nature led her to endure it all in silence.
Lu Linwei’s rivals, overjoyed at his newfound weakness, subjected the female lead to countless betrayals, manipulations, kidnappings, and schemes.
Some dangers were narrowly avoided, but others left the female lead with irreversible damage.
By the end of the novel, the female lead had been so tortured and abused that she was left half-dead, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
The system, afraid that such a brutal task right from the start would dampen Shen Ying’s enthusiasm, quickly added: [Actually, many tragedies can be avoided. The system only requires the player to faithfully execute the necessary plot points between the male and female leads.]
[The female lead’s miserable circumstances are often the result of her own timidity or naivety.]
Of course, while that might be true, as the core of the story and the primary target of suffering, the inertia of the plot wasn’t something that could be avoided simply by changing one’s personality.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many players who ultimately chose death to escape the torment.
The system didn’t hear Shen Ying’s response, but seeing her efficiently bandage the male lead’s wounds without slacking off despite receiving the plot, it felt somewhat reassured.
Lu Linwei’s injuries weren’t severe, but due to the drugs in his system, he had been left weak and unconscious.
After tending to him, it was already late at night. Shen Ying, exhausted from dragging such a large man back, fell asleep almost immediately.
The next morning, Lu Linwei was awakened by the sunlight streaming through the window.
He opened his eyes with difficulty, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.
As his consciousness returned, his expression darkened. He had been betrayed by someone he trusted the day before and had barely escaped with his life.
Before losing consciousness, he vaguely remembered a figure in white approaching him.
At that moment, a soft sound came from the doorway. Lu Linwei looked over warily and saw a young woman standing there.
Seeing that he was awake, she looked slightly surprised, then walked over and reached out her hand—
The scene overlapped with what he had seen before losing consciousness.
It was her!
Shen Ying pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and said, “You seem to have a bit of a fever. How are you feeling otherwise?”
Lu Linwei’s dark eyes bore into her, ignoring the pain from his wounds as he sat up. “You saved me?”
Shen Ying smiled. “You were bleeding. I couldn’t just leave you there.”
“What’s your home phone number? Should I contact your family for you? You stopped me from taking you to the hospital when you were barely conscious yesterday.”
Lu Linwei was silent for a moment before replying, “No need. I’ll stay here for a few days.”
This would give him a chance to see who would make a move during his disappearance.
Truly the domineering male lead of an old-fashioned melodrama, able to say such shameless words without batting an eye.
But Shen Ying showed no sign of discomfort, as if this were perfectly reasonable. “Alright, then. Rest up for now. I’ll go find some fever medicine.”
Lu Linwei watched her plain but serene face, and the turmoil in his heart, stirred by betrayal, eased slightly.
He was satisfied with her submissive and gentle demeanor. It was common for women to fall for him at first sight, and he assumed she was no different. This made his own growing interest in her feel less unbalanced.
Shen Ying quickly returned with the fever medicine and a bowl of takeout porridge.
Lu Linwei took the medicine but frowned at the breakfast, about to complain when the phone in the room rang.
Shen Ying glanced at the caller ID and answered. Before she could speak, a roar came from the other end—
“Where are you? It’s already 9:30, and you’re not at the office. Don’t even think about getting your full attendance bonus this month.”
Shen Ying responded casually, “Oh, I quit. I have a patient at home to take care of and can’t spare the time.”
With that, she left the room.
The person on the other end of the line choked, then sneered, "Who are you trying to threaten with this? If you don’t want to work anymore, fine. But leaving without notice or explanation counts as unauthorized absenteeism. Don’t expect to get your salary for this month."
Shen Ying played with her nails as she replied, "Not only will you have to pay me my full salary, but you’ll also need to reimburse me for all the unpaid overtime, the expenses I covered for the company, and even the coffee I bought you over the years. That comes to about 100,000 yuan. I’ll give you two hours to transfer it to my account."
The person on the other end laughed in disbelief. "Are you blackmailing me? I never would’ve expected this from you, Shen Ying. Fine, go ahead and file for arbitration if you think you can."
"Don’t be so hasty, Supervisor," Shen Ying chuckled. "That important client meeting this afternoon—the proposal isn’t ready to be redone in time, is it? If this deal falls through, the company stands to lose at least tens of millions."
"You dare use this to threaten me?"
The original host of this body had been a pushover at the company, but her work skills were actually quite good, which was why most of the tasks had been dumped on her.
Because of her attention to detail, important projects were always handed to her.
The supervisor panicked. "Shen Ying, do you realize this is illegal?"
Shen Ying’s tone was leisurely. "I’m just not capable enough to handle all the heavy workload. Even if this goes to court, there’s plenty of evidence to support that."
"But even if this case were to be accepted, it would take a long time to go to trial. Supervisor, maybe you should focus on how to save this deal first?"
"Fine, you win," the supervisor conceded. "I’ll give you the money, but send me the proposal first."
Shen Ying laughed. "It’s about time I cleared out the junk on my computer. Work files take up too much space, and it’s affecting my gaming performance."
The supervisor hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, hold on."
This time, he didn’t try to play any tricks. Less than a minute after hanging up, Shen Ying received a bank notification confirming the transfer. The speed suggested the supervisor had paid out of his own pocket.
Shen Ying didn’t waste any time. Once the money was in her account, she sent the file to the company email and deleted all contact information related to the company.
She returned to her room and saw Lu Linwei already sipping on the porridge she had prepared. She was a bit surprised. "So you don’t hate porridge after all?"
"Earlier, you seemed a bit reluctant, so I was wondering if I should order something else for you."
"Hmm, I can make do with it," Lu Linwei replied.
In his mind, he thought, *This woman quit her job without hesitation to take care of me. It seems she’s already fallen for me.*
Given her obvious feelings, he could afford to lower his standards a little.
Seeing the good start, the system was also pleased.
It chimed in: **[Host, you’ve done well. In the original story, the male lead always felt a sense of abandonment whenever the female lead went to work.]**
**[By decisively quitting your job, you’ve likely raised the male lead’s favorability even higher than in the original.]**
Shen Ying smiled and responded to the system in her mind: "Of course. If I’m already the female lead in a tragic romance novel, why bother working? With the male lead, I have everything I need, don’t I?"
**[Exactly, exactly!]** The system rubbed its hands excitedly. It had been a long time since it encountered someone so in sync with its objectives.
However, much later, whenever the system looked back on this moment, tears would stream down its face.
Lu Linwei’s constitution turned out to be better than Shen Ying had expected. In less than three days, he had almost fully recovered.
Regardless of how he was portrayed in the original story, during this period, Lu Linwei wasn’t particularly difficult to get along with.
Though there was one thing he was reaching his limit with.
After lunch, he stopped Shen Ying, his eyes dangerous. "What are you planning to feed me for dinner tonight?"
"Still porridge. You’re not fully recovered yet, so you should stick to something light."
"Takeout again?"
Shen Ying shook her head. "No, tonight we’ll have homemade food."
Lu Linwei nodded in satisfaction, tilting his chin up. "I don’t mind if your cooking skills are lacking, but you’ll need to practice more. The more you try, the better it’ll get."
Shen Ying wholeheartedly agreed. "I think so too."
Then, in the afternoon, Shen Yao, Shen Ying’s younger brother, returned from school. Before he could even process the shock of finding a man in their house, Shen Ying dragged him into the kitchen.
"Who’s that guy outside?"
"Your sister’s future meal ticket."
"You’re dating? And you brought him home while Mom and Dad are away? I’m telling Mom."
Shen Ying brushed him off. "Sure, go ahead. But first, make dinner."
Shen Yao laughed incredulously. "Are you dreaming? You want me to cook? What did Mom say before she left? She told you to take care of me."
"Yesterday, I even texted you asking for sweet and sour pork ribs. Did you make it? And what about the clothes I brought back? Did you wash them?"
He tried to leave the kitchen to confront the man who was apparently dating his sister, but Shen Ying grabbed him by his soft hair and pulled him back. Before he could get angry, she said, "You’ve been saving money everywhere lately, haven’t you?"
"You’ve already asked me for money twice. That girl in your contacts with the special note—her birthday’s coming up, right?"
"Does she know that someone likes to dance around the house naked? Or that someone once tried on their sister’s dress and stockings out of curiosity? Or that someone once got chased by a dog while taking a dump in the woods and didn’t even have time to wipe?"
Shen Yao’s face turned red, and his scalp tingled. "You wouldn’t dare. I’ll tell Mom."
In the next second, Shen Ying pulled out her phone and pressed play. His voice from earlier echoed out.
Shen Ying smiled. "Does she know that someone who’s almost eighteen still runs to Mom for everything?"
Shen Yao knelt. "Sis, sis, we’re family. Don’t do this."
Shen Ying gestured toward the stove. Shen Yao hesitated. "But… I’ve never cooked before. All I know how to make is instant noodles."
Shen Ying opened a beginner-friendly cooking video for him. "Dinner’s still a while away. Take your time."
"Practice makes perfect. The more you try, the better it’ll get."
Shen Yao pouted. "What if it still tastes bad in the end?"
"That’s fine. At least you tried."
Shen Yao was about to breathe a sigh of relief when his sister added, "It’s just that your budding romance might end before it even begins. But hey, every guy goes through heartbreak at some point, right?"
Shen Yao quickly tied on an apron and pushed his sister out of the kitchen. "Go, go, don’t distract me."
He stayed in there for three hours.
By dinnertime, Shen Yao excitedly brought out the dishes he had prepared.
"Sis, I think I might have a talent for cooking. This tastes amazing, even better than Mom’s."
"I didn’t know I had it in me. Next time, I’ll invite Lili and the others over to show off my skills."
Shen Ying hadn’t expected much, but the dishes on the table looked and smelled surprisingly good. It was an unexpected delight.
The only one who wasn’t pleased was Lu Linwei, who sat with his arms crossed, his dissatisfaction practically oozing out as he glared at Shen Ying.
Shen Ying served him a bowl of porridge and said, "Eat up. It’s quite fragrant."
"Is this what you meant by homemade food?"
Shen Ying put down her chopsticks and gestured toward Shen Yao. "This is my brother, Shen Yao, the treasure of our Shen family, the most important page on our household register. He rarely lifts a finger, but for a guest as significant as you, he’s made an exception."
She looked at Lu Linwei with wide, earnest eyes. "This is the most respectful hospitality I can offer."
Shen Yao scratched his head and grinned foolishly: "Hehe! Actually, I'm not that outstanding. I'm just a bit smarter than the average person."
Lu Linwei looked at this fool and felt his appetite vanish.
But then, out of nowhere, Shen Ying shoved a chicken drumstick into his mouth. Lu Linwei was furious and glared at her, but when he saw the smile on her face, the fire in his heart was swept away by a gentle breeze.
He took a bite and, surprisingly, it tasted quite good. Though it couldn't compare to a top chef's work, it had its own unique flavor.
Seeing his expression, Shen Ying knew he was satisfied, so she picked up the remaining drumstick from the plate and gave it to him as well.
Shen Yao reached out with his chopsticks but came up empty. He immediately protested, "Hey! I worked hard for this and didn't get a single one. That was supposed to be my final treat."
After handling Lu Linwei, Shen Ying didn't even bother pretending with Shen Yao.
"Because he's more important than you."
Shen Yao was on the verge of tears, while Lu Linwei, upon hearing this, raised his head.
He wasn't unfamiliar with bold and direct confessions, but never before had he been unable to suppress the curve of his smile like this.
The system, watching the male lead's continuously rising affection points, grew increasingly satisfied with its new host.
Time flew by, and by the time Lu Linwei had fully recovered, the people he had been dealing with were almost completely handled.
Recently, although he hadn't made any public appearances, he had been in contact with his most trusted confidants, quietly observing and planning, finally uncovering the snake that had been hiding by his side for years.
Today was the day to wrap things up.
Dozens of jaw-dropping luxury cars suddenly gathered in front of Shen Ying's apartment building, causing a stir in the old residential neighborhood.
Out of the cars stepped men in black suits, all with imposing physiques and solemn expressions. The leaders of the group headed straight to Shen Ying's apartment.
Shen Yao opened the door and nearly collapsed from shock, only to see the men in black suits bow in unison to his sister's long-term meal ticket—
"Mr. Lu!"
Lu Linwei nodded, exchanged a few words with the men in black, and then approached Shen Ying.
His gaze was now filled with affection: "I have to go back."
Shen Ying's face was full of reluctance: "You're leaving already? Can't you stay a few more days?"
Even the seasoned men in black couldn't help but glance at the woman standing before their boss.
Lu Linwei felt a surge of joy and his voice softened: "There are some matters I need to settle. Once I'm done—"
He took a deep breath, struggling to say something he had never expressed before: "This is the only time I'll say something like this to you."
"You are the light that shines into my life—"
Before he could finish, he saw the light of his life reach into her pocket, pull out a payment QR code, and say to him, "Since you're leaving, how about settling the aid fee first?"
