Chapter 35: Absolutely Impossible!
Lin Xiaoxiao pouted at his words, thinking to herself: If he doesn’t like it, why does he smell of perfume? Liar!
She started to get up, but at that moment, the door opened.
Zhou Yang walked in and froze, seeing his dad hugging his classmate on the sofa.
It took him several seconds to process. “Uh, what are you guys doing?”
Panic flashed in Lin Xiaoxiao’s eyes, but Zhou Ting, calm as ever, closed his eyes.
He was just a drunk guy—what did this have to do with him?
Of course, that was assuming his hand wasn’t gripping the “boy’s” waist…
Lin Xiaoxiao, thinking fast, blurted to Zhou Yang, “Come help! Your dad’s drunk and acting crazy.”
Zhou Yang blinked, then stepped forward to separate them. “Oh, makes sense. Dad does get restless when he’s drunk.”
Just moments ago, he’d thought there was something shady between them.
Now, he realized how absurd that was. Sure, Lin Xiaoxiao liked guys, but the age gap with his dad was huge.
Relieved she’d fooled him, Lin Xiaoxiao went to the kitchen to make hangover soup.
With Zhou Yang back in his room, she returned with a bowl to find Zhou Ting on the sofa, playing with his phone, looking anything but drunk.
The scent of perfume on him came to mind, stirring irritation. She set the bowl down curtly. “Drink this. I’m going to my room. Dump it if you don’t want it.”
She left without looking back.
Zhou Ting blinked, puzzled by her mood.
Glancing at the bowl, he picked it up and drank. The taste was… indescribable. He wondered if she’d botched it on purpose. Who made hangover soup like this?
Back in her room, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn’t sleep. She tried reading but couldn’t focus, soon lost in thought.
Her mind spun chaotically, circling one question: Whose perfume was on Zhou Ting? What was their relationship? Had they sparked something romantic? Was she the third wheel?
The more she thought, the wilder her imagination ran. Finally, realizing what she was obsessing over, she ruffled her hair and let out a frustrated groan.
God, what was she thinking? Why did she care if Zhou Ting was with another woman? She was just his kept “canary.”
As someone who’d once been a man, she shouldn’t care. He was rich, handsome—having women around was normal.
Besides, if he had someone else, maybe this arrangement could end. She could go back to being a man…
But the thought faltered, her eyes dimming. Why did she still feel so annoyed? Was something wrong with her?
As she questioned herself, a cold, robotic voice jolted her.
[Host, you’re not sick. In human terms… you’re jealous.]
Lin Xiaoxiao’s body stiffened. She shot up from her desk, the chair scraping loudly.
“No way! System, don’t talk nonsense! That’s impossible!”
How could she like that jerk who always forced and bullied her? No way…
[Ding, your heart rate is abnormal.]
She froze, then snapped, embarrassed and angry. “Weren’t you offline? Why pop up now, spying on my thoughts?”
The system hadn’t appeared in days—she’d almost forgotten it existed. Now it was spouting nonsense.
[…]
After a pause, it explained, [Host, you lack ambition, so I upgraded. This is Bad Woman 2.0 System—smarter, with more humane tasks, dedicated to making you a cunning, heart-breaking femme fatale.]
Lin Xiaoxiao’s mouth twitched. “Can you not upgrade? Go back to the old version!”
[No can do! Host, you can act, play coy, but don’t catch real feelings. It goes against the system’s purpose and won’t end well for you. Those who fall first are likely to get dumped.]
She bristled. “I’m not! Stop talking nonsense!”
“Just say what you want, or shut up. I’m going to bed.”
From experience, the system only showed up to assign tasks.
She flopped onto the bed.
As expected, a task arrived.
[Ding, Main Quest: To be a successful bad woman, you need power, status, and a trail of broken hearts.]
[Task: Seduce your current sugar daddy, capture his heart, then dump him and seize all his assets.]
[Time Limit: 3 years.]
[Reward: Comprehensive physical optimization.]
[Penalty: Intelligence -50.]
Lin Xiaoxiao wanted to curse. Forget seducing Zhou Ting—dumping him and taking his assets? That wasn’t just immoral; the system wildly overestimated her!
“The penalty’s too much! My IQ’s only 140—losing 50 would ruin me!”
[Ding, human IQ averages 90–110. Yours is 100. If you fail, you’ll just be… a bit dim.]
She was speechless. Just a bit dim? Was that even humane?
“Some upgrade…”
“Fine, what’s Zhou Ting’s攻略度 (affection level)?”
She felt an inexplicable tension asking.
[Ding, current affection level: 30%.]
Her heart sank. As expected… it was just a transaction.
That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Zhou Ting’s image and the system’s task haunted her.
Frustrated, she punched her pillow, sighing. “Fine, if the system’s forcing me, I’ll seduce that jerk first…”
Unaware, each step she took distanced her further from her past as a man…