Chapter 3: Don’t Defile My Love  

[System, are Lu Huaijin and Xia Yingying pouring their hearts out to each other again in the back?]  

[Yes. Back then, Lu Huaijin was almost crushed by your father’s five million. Now you’re throwing another five million at him and even made threats. There’s no way he’d stay indifferent.]  

Once again playing the role of the Love Catalyst, Xia Nanxing wore a wooden expression and sneered, “Hah~ Men.”  

What comes easily, he scorns. What everyone tells him he can’t have, what they forbid him from taking—that’s exactly what he’ll fight for.  

Noticing Xia Nanxing’s dark expression, the bodyguards didn’t dare speak while in the elevator.  

Only after leaving the Lu Corporation building did one of them ask with a murderous glare, “Miss, when are we going to deal with Xia Yingying?”  

The bodyguard knew exactly who could be provoked and who couldn’t.  

The Lu and Xia families were evenly matched—they could afford to poke at each other.  

In the eyes of the older generation, these petty squabbles over love between youngsters were like watching kittens fight.  

As long as things didn’t get too out of hand or affect the companies, even if Xia Nanxing tied Lu Huaijin to a bed, Lu’s father might just laugh it off, enjoy the drama, and happily push for a marriage alliance between the two families.  

If even Lu Huaijin could be touched, then Xia Yingying, whom he protected, was even less of a concern.  

But stirring up trouble alone wasn’t enough. The bodyguard asked, “Miss, should we return to the old mansion tonight and ask the Chairman for more men?”  

“Yes!”  

Xia Nanxing understood well that those who paid the bills called the shots, so she personally funded her own bodyguards.  

With her current limited finances and no need to frequent dangerous places, maintaining two trusted bodyguards on rotation was enough for daily needs.  

When it came to making a grand display or needing extra manpower, she always went home to rally the troops.  

Her father, Xia Zhengyang, was wealthy—and paranoid about his safety. Like most tycoons, he frequently traveled internationally for business. Without a team of skilled protectors, he wouldn’t feel secure.  

The bodyguard dared to act as an Outlaw precisely because, in this parallel world, corporate conglomerates held exaggerated influence, even swaying national politics and economics.  

Under the Xia family’s protection, the bodyguard had no shortage of strength and methods.  

“Miss, tomorrow is Young Master Lu’s birthday banquet. He won’t have time to worry about that Xia Yingying. We could kidnap her, take her to international waters to scare her, or dump her abroad so she can’t return…”  

So illegal. Absolutely illegal.  

Xia Nanxing had been too well-educated by the Party—she truly couldn’t go that far.  

She vetoed the idea. “A Jin, no. Huaijin treats her differently. If I go too far, he’ll hate me.”  

“Miss!” A Jin was exasperated. “Why must you be so kind-hearted?! If you just let her go, what about your love?!”  

Xia Nanxing waved him off dismissively. “Oh, A Jin, don’t worry about it! I have my own pace!”  

A Jin closed his eyes lightly. Whatever. His young mistress was a hopeless love-struck fool—this kind of talk wasn’t surprising.  

Because Xia Nanxing didn’t just say this in front of him. She used the same tone with the Chairman too.  

“Dad, just give me the people. Don’t worry about how I handle things.” Xia Nanxing brimmed with confidence. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”  

Xia Zhengyang’s tone was even more exasperated than the bodyguard’s. *Know what you’re doing?* The one who had no clue was her.

“Xingxing, you’re missing the point! Even if you kidnapped Lu Huaijin, had your way with him, and then exposed it to the media, your dad could still make him your lawful husband. What’s the use of going after Xia Yingying? Even without Xia Yingying, there’d still be a Zhao Yingying or Liu Yingying.”

Under normal circumstances, a father wouldn’t teach his daughter to force herself on a man.

But Xia Zhengyang had truly had enough. His daughter had been chasing the same man for five years, and no matter how much he’d advised her, nothing had worked.

If Xia Nanxing insisted on twisting Lu Huaijin’s melon, he might as well help give it a twist—just so she could take a bite. Who knows? If it turned out to be bitter, she might finally let go.

“Listen, don’t worry about it. Just follow my plan. Tomorrow is Lu Huaijin’s birthday banquet. If you can find a way to make your move on him, I’ll force him to announce the marriage alliance between our families on the spot.”

The two families were evenly matched, so Xia Zhengyang couldn’t outright force the Lu family to sell their son. But Lu Huaijin’s parents had also been quietly pushing for this match—they just didn’t dare pressure him too hard. If Lu Huaijin showed even the slightest opening, the alliance would be sealed.

Xia Zhengyang’s domineering declaration nearly made Xia Nanxing scream like a startled groundhog.

“Dad, what are you planning?” Xia Nanxing warned loudly. “I won’t let you tarnish my love!!!”

Hearing this, not just Xia Zhengyang but even the servants and bodyguards in the house fell into collective silence.

The culprit, Xia Nanxing, scratched her cheek awkwardly, lowering her head as her eyes darted around, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

Xia Zhengyang clutched his chest, almost unable to catch his breath.

Mindful of Xia Nanxing’s heart condition, he didn’t dare scold her too harshly—but she was the one giving *him* a heart attack.

“Fine, no bodyguards for you—”

Seeing that acting obedient wasn’t working, Xia Nanxing switched to whining.

“Waaah~ Dad, my chest hurts, my head hurts, my whole body hurts…”

“Fine, fine. Take as many as you want—just pick them yourself.”

Xia Zhengyang covered his eyes, adopting an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach.

“Thanks, Dad! You’re the best.” Xia Nanxing grinned, sidling up to massage his shoulders before tentatively adding, “So… about my cards—”

“No.” Xia Zhengyang shut her down immediately, poking her forehead. “The moment you get money, you throw it all at Lu Huaijin. You blew over a hundred million this year alone without a second thought. If I don’t freeze your accounts and let you suffer a little, you’ll never learn.”

Halfway through his rant, Xia Zhengyang seemed to remember something and added, “You can take people to deal with that Xia Yingying, but don’t go too far—no fatalities. A warning is enough.”

Hearing this, A Jin secretly scoffed to himself: *Chairman, you’re overestimating the young miss.*

Xia Nanxing repeated, “Relax, Dad, I know what I’m doing.”

“Oh, *you* know what you’re doing, do you?” Xia Zhengyang mocked.

“Of course I do.” Xia Nanxing giggled, her eyes unusually clear.

The reason Xia Zhengyang had added that warning was because Xia Yingying was his illegitimate daughter. He didn’t care about her life, but she couldn’t die by Xia Nanxing’s hand—they were still half-sisters, after all. That would be inappropriate.

Under normal circumstances, Xia Nanxing shouldn’t have known about this. But then again, she had the System.

She probably knew more about Xia Zhengyang’s illegitimate children than he did himself.

[System, was it more than a dozen illegitimate children? I can’t quite remember.]

[18. Plus the four children from your father’s three wives. Your father has a total of 22 children. You’re 22 this year—easy to remember.]

[My dad is such a scumbag. No wonder my mom was so strict with her will. My dad’s over there worrying about gold-diggers for me, but the one my mom was really guarding against was him.]

Xia Zhengyang was a complete womanizer. His marriage to Xia Nanxing’s mother was purely for alliance, with no real affection. The two wives he married afterward were only because they were beautiful and had good temperaments. Even after marriage, his affairs outside never stopped.

He didn’t care about women, but he did care about his children—though only the four at home. These four were raised under his watch, personally nurtured, and he had feelings for them.

As for the illegitimate children born to those random women outside, Xia Zhengyang never acknowledged a single one, not even providing child support.

Whenever he ended things with a mistress, the least he’d give was a few million—more than enough to raise a child.

He had warned every mistress: don’t secretly bear his child. He didn’t lack children. He had his own plans for which women were just for fun and which were suitable to marry and have children with.

Those who ignored his warnings and insisted on having children, hoping to use them to climb up—Xia Zhengyang wouldn’t even spare them a glance, let alone give them money.

After decades of dominating the romantic scene, Xia Zhengyang had never once encountered something as ghostly as ‘love.’

Who would’ve thought he’d finally witness it—through his own daughter. It was downright supernatural.

If Xia Nanxing had followed his example and kept a bunch of pretty boys around, he wouldn’t have batted an eye. But no, she had to go and dabble in ‘love.’

This was completely outside his realm of understanding. Every move Xia Nanxing made left him utterly baffled.

When Xia Nanxing was making a fuss over Xia Yingying, Xia Zhengyang had even investigated Xia Yingying. The only reason he didn’t take action was because Xia Yingying was his illegitimate daughter.

But he never breathed a word of it to Xia Nanxing, afraid she’d get upset, spiral, and trigger another heart attack.

Yet, the revelation of this illegitimate daughter became the final straw.

According to the original plot of this world, on the very night Lu Huaijin announced Xia Yingying as his girlfriend, Xia Nanxing was also told that Xia Yingying was a daughter of the Xia family.

Not only was the person she loved taken from her, but even her own father was snatched away.

Under the dual blows of love and family, Xia Nanxing couldn’t bear it. That same night, she suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital.

On the very night the male and female leads got together, the villainous female sidekick exited the stage—what a perfect ending.

Xia Nanxing could hardly wait to make her exit.

She eagerly pointed at eight bodyguards. “Brothers, come with me! Time to get to work.”