Chapter 192: Drawing an A Card |
How do you balance relationships between men and women?
For Jiang Linyuan, that was a simple question—just keep pulling and tugging.
But how do you balance a relationship between one man and multiple women? That kind of tugging doesn’t work anymore.
Especially with a heavyweight player like Xiao Su—continuing to pull and tug just wasn’t feasible anymore.
If he kept it up, Xiao Su would super-evolve, charging at him in the dead of night with a steel plate, shouting fiercely, “I’ll kill you, you jerk!”
Then she’d lock him in a bear hug from behind, pressing down so hard he could barely breathe.
And he could only sigh, “What a misfortune!” before being captured, trained every day, and turned into a slave.
Just imagining such a life made him feel weak.
He had to charge forward and fight back! Go all-in with that first strike!
Jiang Linyuan looked at the expressionless Su Muzhi in front of him and spoke slowly.
“I get it. You want to be a shared boyfriend.”
Su Muzhi nodded.
[He used to at least make some excuse to cover it up. Now he doesn’t even bother pretending?]
[I really don’t know whether to be happy or sad.]
What the hell is a “shared boyfriend”! That sounds terrible!
Jiang Linyuan was a bit dissatisfied:
“This is called public ownership! I’m just responding to the nation’s call!”
[…Public ownership? More like a bus system. This guy is still saying stuff like this at a time like this!]
Su Muzhi grabbed Jiang Linyuan by the collar and asked with a smile:
“So, can I take it that you don’t plan to give up on anyone you like?”
“Pretty much.”
Jiang Linyuan said.
Life’s road is long. Two people might walk fast, but more people can go farther together.
“Then, you admit that you like me, right?”
Su Muzhi curled her lips and slowly placed her right hand on his face.
[I only need this. As long as he doesn’t run away, then how I tame him is my business.]
[You want to play with multiple boats? I can accept that—it’s just an idea. Then it’s not too much for me to want you to have eyes only for me.]
[Let’s see who loses first.]
Gah! This Xiao Su!
Even when I’m like this, you’re still thinking about catching me as your toy!
Listening to Su Muzhi’s thoughts, Jiang Linyuan helplessly covered his face.
Why did he dare to be so frank with Su Muzhi?
Because she already knew everything.
She knew about his relationship with the Thief Saint, knew about his thing with Xiao Yilin, and knew about his thoughts on Shen Wanyu…
With her temper, if she wanted to go after those love interests, she would have done it long ago.
She didn’t care if he was a jerk; she cared that if he played her, he wouldn’t stay by her side anymore.
“Xiao Su, do you still remember our little competition about who fell first?”
Jiang Linyuan asked again.
“Of course. Looks like you’re losing, Jiang Linyuan.”
Su Muzhi smiled smugly.
[No, to be honest, I might have lost even earlier, but I’ll win the next round.]
A lying-through-her-teeth Xiao Su. At this point, let’s just pull a card and see.
“How do you prove it? If you confessed to me, I’d refuse one hundred percent. That can’t be called liking.”
Jiang Linyuan pressed on.
“Hehe, if you confessed to me, I’d refuse too.”
[Agreeing or refusing—neither means anything. As long as he holds that idea, no label matters.]
[I’ve wised up now. If you’re going to force your thoughts on me, then I’ll force mine on you!]
So domineering, this Xiao Su—scary as hell.
It was tough, but he had to keep going. It was like when a plane has an accident and hits trouble but doesn’t crash—you emergency land first, then check the damage!
Achieve the goal first, then deal with the aftermath!
“Xiao Su, then, I like you. Can you be my girlfriend?”
Jiang Linyuan asked.
“No.”
Su Muzhi shook her head, but now she was smiling happily.
[I’m not hung up on that kind of relationship anymore, Jiang Linyuan.]
[I’m going to possess you! Completely!]
[I want you thinking about me twenty-four hours a day—thinking about me when you talk to other women, thinking about me when you kiss them, thinking about me when you hold their hands…]
“Jiang Linyuan, this is the consequence of your greed.”
Su Muzhi reached out a finger and gently pressed it to Jiang Linyuan’s brow, smiling as she spoke:
“You’ll be bound to me for life. When you’re with other girls, I’ll grab your hand and kiss you without a second thought, making them watch. Then they’ll get angry, question you, press you… and in the end, this bad, stupid country bumpkin of a man will be mentally and physically exhausted, forced to reluctantly lie in the warm embrace of this young miss of mine. Finally, you irredeemable jerk will tragically become my love slave…”
[You’ll lose, Jiang Linyuan. Loving many people is much harder than loving one.]
[If one day you get tired of me, it means your whole ‘not abandoning anyone’ spiel is nothing. I’ll haunt you for life.]
Su Muzhi’s thoughts and words echoed in Jiang Linyuan’s ears. He looked at her sparkling eyes and said:
“Xiao Su, it’s still not too late to back out now.”
“Why would I back out? Are you scared, Jiang Linyuan?”
Su Muzhi looked at him, her smile full of delight.
[Even if you regret it, I won’t.]
At that moment, the Ferris wheel slowly came to a stop.
“I’m not scared, Xiao Su.”
Jiang Linyuan nodded.
“Then come with me tonight. Just the two of us.”
Su Muzhi grabbed Jiang Linyuan’s hand and said.
Jiang Linyuan opened his mouth, but in the end, he just nodded.
The two walked out of the Ferris wheel—Su Muzhi was beaming with energy, while Jiang Linyuan remained silent.
Shen Wanyu looked at them and let out a sigh.
This Department Head—what’s she sighing about!
Jiang Linyuan looked over. [Heart Slave] was still in effect.
[Congratulations, Su Muzhi.]
What do you mean, “congratulations, Xiao Su”! What about me? The Department Head doesn’t have me in her heart?!
“Department Head, what were you sighing about?”
Jiang Linyuan walked over and asked.
“I have no obligation to explain to you.”
Shen Wanyu said.
[You really are annoying, Jiang Linyuan.]
Gah! Department Head, why are you annoyed at me?
I’m a man with mind-reading powers just like you!
She didn’t happen to overhear that private thought, did she?
Jiang Linyuan glanced at Shen Wanyu, who simply turned and walked away.
[Jiang Linyuan, I’m different from you. Fortunately, we never really started anything, so we can still remain friends.]
Wow, this Department Head.
“Still staring at her?”
Su Muzhi clamped Jiang Linyuan’s face between her hands, turned his head toward her, and then bit him again.
“Xiao Su, the Department Head got mad at you again. You two were just starting to get along a little better, and now it’s back to being worse.”
He pushed her away and sighed.
“Doesn’t matter. This is fine between us, the way it is.”
[Actually, I should thank her. Heh, this woman is just like she always was—nothing has changed.]
[That way, I don’t have to worry about a thing. Let Jiang Linyuan go smash his head against the wall and suffer a bit.]
Smash his head? That would be going in too hard. He still knew his limits.
“Xiao Su, that way of thinking isn’t good. You should keep good relations with friends.”
“Hehe, even if I got along with her, she still wouldn’t accept you.”
“What if?”
“No chance.”
With that, Su Muzhi kissed Jiang Linyuan again.
Ah, who knows?
Jiang Linyuan sighed and looked at the system.
[Host has been emotionally toyed with by a bad woman. Target: Su Muzhi. Bad Woman Quality: A. A-rank reward pool card issued.]
He’d gotten an A card for the first time, but it came at the cost of the rest of his life.
Cut ties with Xiao Su and go for a chase-and-repent story?
Wouldn’t that be stupid? Why cut ties? Got an itch on his neck or something? If he really pulled that, Xiao Su would suffer, and he’d get nothing out of it. Wasn’t it better to keep battling wits with Xiao Su, eating kisses every day?
Oh, after cutting ties, could he go find Xiao Yilin to take over? As if not cutting ties meant he was abandoning Xiao Yilin.
Forget it. Let’s just pull a card first.
Card draw!
[A-rank reward in progress…]
[Special Skill Obtained: Mother’s Eye Gift.]
[Mother’s Eye Gift: Receive an advanced technology report from the future. Cooldown: 6 months.]
666, accelerating the development of the times, huh?