Su Banxia didn’t know what was wrong with Shang Lu. On the day she caught a cold, he generously allowed her to sleep in bed, but for the past few days, he had been making her sleep on the couch. Tonight, he had once again driven her out of bed.
While the couch was large and comfortable, it couldn’t compare to the bed. Su Banxia returned to her fateful spot on the couch, holding her phone as she lay there, feeling puzzled.
She couldn’t figure out what she had done to upset him. Everything had been fine before. These days, he would leave early and return late, and not only did he avoid physical contact, he even refrained from touching her hand, acting like a saintly figure upholding the virtues of chastity.
It was so frustrating; even her emotional value had plummeted, leaving her feeling unhappy.
Unable to find a reason, Su Banxia opened her phone and logged into a game. She was a junior at University A, and during the summer vacation, with nothing else to do and no plans to travel, her daily entertainment consisted of playing games and watching TV.
In the original story’s plot, she played a significant role as the malicious supporting female character, a foil to the female lead. In the story, she and the female lead were in the same class.
She didn’t chat much in the group, but a few days ago, she happened to play a game with Mu Ruxue and had a winning streak against her in the game. This had earned her a lot of emotional value.
The system was right; characters related to the main plot of the story yielded higher emotional values. For example, Mu Ruxue and the male lead Shang Jingyao would surely have emotional values of 999+ or more, while ordinary NPCs only had single-digit values.
Mu Ruxue and her friends might not like her, but the more negative emotions they felt towards her, the more emotional value she could gain. Therefore, she almost played games with Mu Ruxue every day.
Mu Ruxue liked to use her to show off in front of others, even though she pretended to dislike her. Until they reached the point of open hostility, Mu Ruxue couldn’t refuse her game invitations.
Unfortunately, Mu Ruxue’s gaming skills were quite poor, and while male players tolerated her due to goodwill, Su Banxia couldn’t stand it and would often tease her in the game.
Mu Ruxue was seething with anger, and her negative emotions surged. In the game’s voice chat, she would pretend to be distressed and apologize softly, which only made her feel more triumphant.
After logging into the game, Su Banxia saw that Mu Ruxue was online and immediately sent her a message.
“Hey, I’m here.”
Mu Ruxue had just finished a game when she saw the message from Su Banxia, and her expression turned dark.
Shang Jingyao was interning at the company with his father, so he didn’t have much time to spend with Mu Ruxue. Recently, she had met a high-ranking player in the game who helped her improve her rank. She had been enjoying the game, but a few days ago, Su Banxia, who had always been on bad terms with her, suddenly invited her to play a game together.
There were a few mutual acquaintances in the group, and Mu Ruxue couldn’t easily refuse. So, she reluctantly brought Su Banxia into the group, which drew complaints from several people.
They all disliked Su Banxia, and Mu Ruxue had selfish motives for inviting her into the team, hoping that Su Banxia would be scolded by others in the game.
To her surprise, Su Banxia’s gaming skills were quite good, and she specifically targeted Mu Ruxue’s weaknesses, making her feel particularly embarrassed in the game. Fortunately, she had several admirers in the group who supported her.
Mu Ruxue really didn’t want to play games with Su Banxia again, thinking that Su Banxia wouldn’t play tonight. However, she unexpectedly logged in.
As usual, Su Banxia swept through the game, occasionally using game terms to taunt Mu Ruxue.
“You’re still farming in the jungle? Why don’t you come out?”
“Sis, you’re really a living bodhisattva, not even killing this.”
At first, Mu Ruxue was quite happy, responding with a soft tone of voice in the chat. However, Su Banxia’s constant taunting left her unable to speak and feeling a bit wronged. The assassin in the team, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.
“It’s just a game; don’t go too far.”
Su Banxia retorted, “Are you still letting a noob talk?”
“Solo, you lost, apologize to Snow.”
“Are you soloing for someone else? Isn’t that bullying?” Su Banxia wasn’t fooled; she had only been playing the game for a short while and couldn’t compare to top players.
The system announced a sudden increase in emotion value, and a somewhat unexpected name appeared: “From: Shang Mingkai, Negative Emotion Value 999+.”
Su Banxia’s eyes lit up; someone was here to provide experience points. This name belonged to Mu Ruxue’s dedicated male supporting character.
Shang Mingkai was the son of the second branch of the Shang family, the new heartthrob of A University. As Mu Ruxue’s loyal follower, whenever Mu Ruxue was upset, he would make the other party suffer.
Shang Mingkai’s voice was very cold, “Shut up if you dare!”
“You’re quite authoritative.” Su Banxia chuckled.
Mu Ruxue, with a hint of helplessness, said, “You two, stop arguing. It’s just that my gaming skills are bad. Sister, you can play by yourself in the future, don’t invite me.”
Su Banxia seemed not to hear her meaning and said, “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Games are more fun when everyone plays together.”
Mu Ruxue thought, “I do mind.”
…
After Su Banxia logged out of the game, she looked at Shang Lu, who was at the bedside, working on his notebook to handle business affairs.
The delicate contours of the man’s profile were cold and indifferent, making him exceptionally handsome. Su Banxia’s heart fluttered inexplicably as she watched him. She didn’t dare to disturb him while he was working, so she remained silent.
She had initially planned to wait for him to finish his work before asking him about something, but her eyelids kept closing, and she suddenly fell asleep on the couch.
As Shang Lu worked, he placed the notebook aside and was about to turn off the light when he subconsciously glanced at where she was.
The girl’s body was slouched on the sofa, her sleeping posture twisted. If she moved even a little, she would fall off the couch.
Shang Lu pursed his lips, pushed himself up with difficulty into the wheelchair, and rolled over to where she was.
The girl, lost in her dreams, had her mouth slightly open, resembling a breathing little fish, looking somewhat adorable.
Shang Lu squeezed his hand, thinking that what was so adorable about her? In the end, she was just like everyone else, disgusted by him for being a man with disabled legs. He had tasted a hint of sweetness and lost himself.
He reached out to gently pull the girl down from the couch, covered her with a blanket, and thought that if he weren’t afraid of hearing a loud thud in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t have bothered.
After doing so, he returned to his bed, covered himself with a blanket, and turned off the light.
A dreamless night.
Su Banxia woke up abruptly from her near-death experience and crawled up from the couch, looking towards the bed.
She cursed herself for falling asleep last night and missing the chance to talk to Shang Liang.
She picked up her phone and checked the time; it was just after seven. Shang Lu probably hadn’t left yet. These days, he disappeared by eight in the morning. She asked the servants, and they said he had gone to the company.
So, she had set an alarm clock, hoping to use the early morning to talk to him.
She heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom. Thankfully, he hadn’t left yet.
Su Banxia snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of the door opening, and the wheelchair was moving towards the dressing room.
Without thinking, she rushed over, pushed open the door to the dressing room, and was met with the sight of a half-naked man—Shang Lu had just taken off his pyjama top, and the light illuminated his body, making him appear exceptionally fair.
Due to his disabled legs, he couldn’t exercise, so his physique was lean, like one of those beautiful boys from manga.
Su Banxia was momentarily stunned.
She hadn’t expected him to undress so quickly.
She stared at the man’s fair back, her heart beating fast, passionate and fervent. Her cheeks even began to blush.
Su Banxia had seen men’s backs before; her previous dance partners often had well-defined abdominal muscles. But none of their bodies had ever elicited such a peculiar feeling in her.
Someone suddenly barged into the dressing room, and Shang Lu naturally sensed it. The servant wouldn’t have the audacity, and only one person would be so reckless.
With his back to her, Shang Lu took off a white shirt, put it on leisurely, and then turned to look at her.
“Have you seen enough?”
Su Banxia abruptly lowered her eyelashes and stammered, “Enough, um, not enough, wait, I didn’t mean to.”
Shang Liang hadn’t changed his pants yet and looked at the girl standing at the dressing room door with a cold gaze. “Is there something you need?”
Su Banxia took a few steps towards him and asked, “Did I make you angry?”
“No,” Shang Lu replied in a cold tone.
Su Banxia took a few more steps and inquired, “Then why are you ignoring me?”
“No,” he repeated those two words.
Su Banxia began to suspect that she was having a conversation with a robot and quickly took a few more steps towards him. Accidentally, she tripped on something and lunged towards him.
Shang Lu instinctively tried to dodge, but she was too fast, and there was no time to react.
Su Banxia threw herself into his arms, her hands clutching his shirt, and a few buttons popped off, falling to the floor with a crisp sound.
“…”
Both of them were petrified.
The man, who had gone from cold and aloof to half-undressed, exuded a dangerously seductive aura. His slightly disheveled appearance added an ambiguous charm to the moment.
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.
Shang Lu lowered his dark eyes and stared at the girl buried in his arms, her hands clutching his shirt.
“Let go.”
Su Banxia, feeling embarrassed, reluctantly released her grip. Fortunately, she hadn’t applied any lipstick; when she had thrown herself at him, she had accidentally kissed his chest.
She reached out to smooth out the wrinkles on his shirt. “What brand is this shirt? It seems like the quality isn’t very good.”
Shang Lu pushed her away and said, “Go out.”
Su Banxia bit her lip and crouched in front of him, gently tugging at the cuff of his pants. “Shang Lu… Can you please not be angry? I don’t understand why you…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the wheelchair suddenly moved backward, and her hand fell into the empty air.
Shang Lu stared at her coldly. “Do you remember what I told you when you first arrived?”
Su Banxia was slightly stunned and replied, “To behave myself.”
But why was he suddenly so sensitive, even though he didn’t resist her getting close? That day by the pool, she had grabbed onto his leg, and he hadn’t moved away. She couldn’t figure out why he had become so sensitive all of a sudden.
Perplexed, she hung her head low.
Shang Lu was about to urge her to leave the dressing room when he suddenly saw something fall to the ground.
He thought he might be mistaken, but then he saw tear-like droplets, like broken pearls, hitting the ground with a soft pitter-patter sound.
Su Banxia hadn’t intended to cry, but the thought of Shang Lu completely ignoring her in the future, possibly leading to her own demise, instantly made her heartache uncontrollably, and tears flowed involuntarily.
Shang Lu clenched his fists, trying not to care.
From a young age, he had been taught that crying couldn’t solve problems. Even when business rivals wailed and begged for mercy in front of him, his heart remained cold and unmoved.
However, her silent tears felt like someone was lightly hammering his chest. It was gentle but brought an unfamiliar and oppressive sensation.
“Don’t cry,” he stiffly uttered.
Su Banxia retorted, “I’ll cry if I want to. Do I not even have the freedom to cry?”
Shang Lu fell silent.
After some time, she finally stopped crying and looked at him with her tearful eyes. There was a hint of distress, mixed with emotions he couldn’t quite understand.
Sometimes, crying was a process of self-relief.
To conquer someone like Shang Lu required great courage and relentless determination.
In essence, it was about having a thick skin.
Don’t forget that he was a pure-hearted young man. She needed to say sweet words, be exceptionally good to him, and not believe that he would maintain his cold exterior forever. Just as Shang Lu was about to speak, the girl in front of him suddenly got up and threw herself into his arms.
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