At night, the wind was a little strong.

Streetlights lined both sides of the road.

Lu Chengzhou walked through this quiet rich neighborhood, yet he still felt a little creeped out.

Most of these European-style buildings carried a cold, eerie presence.

And most of the houses weren't even lived in.

Here, when rich people bought houses, it usually wasn't to live in them, but to invest.

Lu Chengzhou strolled along with both hands in his pockets.

He had just reached the intersection when he heard someone call his name from behind.

Lu Chengzhou froze for a moment.

A red Porsche drifted past him at an unhurried pace, then gradually came to a stop.

The door opened, and Meng Jingting stepped out.

She leaned against the car door and sized up Lu Chengzhou in the distance.

"It's this late, and you're only just coming from my little sister's place?"

A cigarette was pinched between her fingers.

She exhaled a puff of smoke, her gaze slightly hazy.

To be honest, Lu Chengzhou had never really liked girls who smoked before. But now, seeing Sister Meng, he finally understood the kind of charm a smoking woman could have.

Of course, he was only appreciating her. Nothing more.

"Just got off work," Lu Chengzhou replied.

"Mhm. Then let me give you a ride?" Meng Jingting stubbed out the cigarette in her hand.

She pulled open the car door.

Then tapped the window lightly, making a soft click.

"Get in."

...

Lu Chengzhou didn't even know how he'd ended up in her car.

Anyway, by the time he realized this might not be very appropriate, he was already sitting inside.

Thankfully, Sister Meng treated him with plenty of respect.

She looked like the frivolous type, but in reality, she wasn't like that at all.

Even the perfume in the car had a light, elegant note. It didn't make him uncomfortable.

Still, Lu Chengzhou could only turn his head and look out the window.

From the corner of his eye, he kept catching sight of Sister Meng's long legs, and that black rose tattoo.

If he looked too much, it was easy to start thinking too much.

So if he didn't look, then fine. Better that way.

They didn't speak the whole ride.

When they reached the destination, Meng Jingting opened the door for him and let him out.

Lu Chengzhou let out a sigh of relief.

He waved goodbye and thanked her on the way.

"Phew. Maybe taking the bus is more comfortable after all."

Lu Chengzhou rubbed his neck.

At last, he could look straight ahead again!

After getting home, he followed his usual routine and counted the money he had on hand.

A few thousand yuan couldn't really do much.

Still, it was definitely enough to cover his life for a while.

Next, what he needed to pay attention to was the plot progression of the original story.

"Before long, it'll be Lin Chen's birthday."

Lu Chengzhou drank his soda while sorting through the plot in his head.

"It wouldn't matter if this guy was just having a birthday. The problem is, he's about to spawn himself a brand-new love rival."

The Lin family's sworn enemy was the Qin family.

At the banquet, the Qin family's young master, Qin Ke, would fall in love with Su Qiaoman at first sight.

After that, of course, came the all-too-familiar pursuit arc.

In the original story, this was another painfully frustrating stretch of plot.

After all, those two were holding the script for a tragic, angsty romance. Mutual distrust was basically standard procedure.

To piss Su Qiaoman off, Lin Chen deliberately drank and danced with hostesses at the party. Heartbroken, Su Qiaoman ended up leaning on Qin Ke for support for a while, and nearly made the male lead cough up blood from rage.

Of course, aside from Qin Ke, the original story also had Lu Chengzhou himself, the number one simp, at her disposal.

Back when he was reading the book, Lu Chengzhou always wanted to say: you two should either break up or die for love together. Can you stop throwing your lives away?

Why torture each other like this?

It would've been one thing if only the two of them were self-destructing. But they also dragged a whole crowd of supporting men and women down with them. That was just immoral.

"So, what can I do?"

Lu Chengzhou stroked his chin and thought it over carefully.

"Help the male lead defeat his love rival? Personally deliver the heroine to the male lead's bed? Lock those two in for good?"

No matter which way he did it, it would mean changing the plot, while also stopping those two from self-destructing.

As long as they got together sooner, he, the supporting male character, would be safer too.

...

Three days until Lin Chen's birthday banquet.

By now, the news had already spread everywhere.

After all, in this part of Yi City, a family like the Lins stood at the absolute top.

The slightest stir from them could set off huge waves.

Old Master Lin had rushed back from abroad specifically to celebrate his son's birthday.

He'd heard that Miss Meng from the Meng family of Jingzhou was now in Yi City, and the thought struck him at once. He wanted to use this chance to make contact with her.

"I'll go invite her myself."

Old Master Lin was a seasoned old fox. In terms of dealing with people, he was hundreds of times better than his son, Lin Chen.

"And Old Wang, make sure to remind that little brat Lin Chen. He can offend anyone he wants, but he absolutely must not offend the Meng family!"

Butler Wang nodded.

He had already warned the young master in advance.

And right now, Lin Chen was still confined at home, which just happened to leave him no time to run wild at school.

When Old Master Lin heard that his son had been grounded, his expression turned a little displeased, but he still said it was for the best.

"Go bring Lin Chen out. I'll take him with me and personally visit the Meng family to deliver the invitation."

Lin Chen finally walked out of his bedroom.

He'd spent too many days lying around. His limbs felt like they were about to waste away.

The moment he stepped out, he hurried to act spoiled with his dad, trying to show how hard he'd had it and how well-behaved he'd been lately.

Old Master Lin snorted.

"You brat. If you were really as obedient as you say, Uncle Wang wouldn't have locked you up!"

Lin Chen was annoyed, but he still answered with a "Yes."

Father and son went out one after the other and got into the car.

While sitting in the car, Lin Chen still had no idea where he was being taken.

It wasn't until he got out and saw a completely unfamiliar villa that he vaguely guessed what his father was planning.

"You're inviting Meng Wanyu?!"

Lin Chen curled his lip.

"I don't want to see her. We really don't get along."

Old Master Lin shot him a glare.

"What did you say?"

"No, no, no, I mean... men and women should keep their distance."

He had no choice. Lin Chen was still afraid of his father.

So he could only swallow his displeasure and follow him out of the car.

He pressed the doorbell.

They waited for nearly five minutes before there was finally movement inside.

But the one who opened the door wasn't Meng Wanyu.

It was Meng Wanyu's driver.

"May I ask what business you two have?" The driver yawned, looking very sleepy.

"We've come to see Miss Meng," Old Master Lin said humbly.

"Oh, Miss Meng already moved out. You're too late." As he spoke, the driver gave Old Master Lin another look. "If it's nothing urgent, then please head back."

Old Master Lin had clawed his way through Yi City in his early years. He'd suffered plenty of closed doors before, so he could still endure this sort of thing.

But hot-blooded young Lin Chen was reaching the end of his patience.

If the person in front of him were Meng Wanyu, that would be one thing.

But this was just a servant. How was he worthy of speaking to his father like that?

"Hey, you—"

Lin Chen was just about to say something when Old Master Lin stopped him with a look.

"It's my son's birthday, and we'd like to invite Miss Meng to honor us with a meal. This is the invitation."

He respectfully handed the gilded invitation over to the driver.

The driver raised a brow and couldn't help looking at Old Master Lin in a new light.

"Alright. I'll pass it along for you."

With that, he shut the door.