Chapter 1: Five Million for You  

“Here’s five million—leave my boyfriend.”  

Xia Nanxing confidently slid a card across the table, took a sip of coffee, and secretly reveled in the moment.  

This classic drama was finally hers to act out. And honestly, playing the role of a rich girl throwing money around was downright exhilarating.  

The woman opposite her wore minimal makeup, her jet-black hair cascading softly over her shoulders. She lowered her eyes, suppressing her humiliation, and spoke word by word, “President Lu is not your boyfriend.”  

“Not enough?” Xia Nanxing gave her a disdainful glance. “Then eight million? Ten million? Twenty million?”  

As Xia Nanxing kept raising the price, the bodyguard at the next table couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.  

He distinctly remembered that at the beginning of the month, Xia Nanxing had angered her father, and her cards had been frozen again. Lately, she’d been tight on cash—she hadn’t even bought a single new bag this month.  

Was she saving up just to throw money at a love rival?  

Even though he knew his young mistress was a hopeless romantic, the bodyguard was still slightly stunned by her audacity.  

Xia Nanxing had delivered her ultimatum with bravado, but in reality, her card was empty.  

Not that it mattered—the other party would never take it anyway. She was just putting on a show.  

After all, the woman across from her was a stubborn, high-minded White Lotus. There was no way she’d be swayed by money.  

Sure enough, the moment Xia Nanxing hit twenty million, the woman cracked.  

“Money isn’t everything! It can’t buy love. I love President Lu. I won’t leave him.”  

Knowing exactly what would sting Xia Nanxing the most, Xia Yingying deliberately chose her words carefully. Her expression was pitiful, her tone gentle, but her words were sharp as knives.  

“Miss Xia, you’ve pursued President Lu for five years. Don’t you know his temper by now? Acting like this will only make him despise you even more.”  

The air fell silent for a few seconds.  

As if struck where it hurt, the smile vanished from Xia Nanxing’s face. She threatened coldly, “Lu Huaijin will be mine sooner or later. Don’t force me to take action against you.”  

“I’m President Lu’s person. He protects me. What can you possibly do to me?”  

“Me? Well, I’d obviously…” Xia Nanxing paused, then sneered, “I obviously wouldn’t tell you. What if you’re recording this? You’re not actually recording, are you? Lit~tle~ White~ Lotus~”  

Xia Yingying, who was indeed recording, couldn’t help but nervously fidget with her fingers.  

At the next table, the bodyguard puffed out his chest proudly at his young mistress’s quick wit.  

Seriously, his young mistress might be infamous in their circles for being lovesick, but she wasn’t brainless.  

That Lu Huaijin was no pushover. For his young mistress to have clung to him for five years—despite his lack of interest—and even forced him to spend Christmas and watch fireworks with her? That took skill.  

Just as the bodyguard was musing to himself, he caught sight of Lu Huaijin out of the corner of his eye.  

His body stiffened, and he was about to warn Xia Nanxing when he turned and saw her already flexing her wrist, adopting the arrogant posture of someone ready to slap some sense into her rival.  

Oh dear heavens. The bodyguard quickly stood up and whispered, “Young Mistress! Young Master Lu is here.”  

Of course, the slap wouldn’t actually land—the system had already alerted Xia Nanxing before the bodyguard could, so she was just putting on a little act.  

The moment Lu Huaijin arrived, Xia Nanxing obediently lowered her hand, reverting to her elegant young mistress persona.  

But it was too late to play innocent now. Her earlier arrogance had already been witnessed in full by Lu Huaijin.

Lu Huaijin strode over quickly, his voice tinged with gritted teeth, “Xia Nanxing! What are you up to again?”

Without even asking, he had already pronounced her guilty.

The five years spent on this man—her time, money, and energy—had been real. And all she got in return was this attitude.

Disappointed as she was, Xia Nanxing instantly switched to an affected voice, reaching out to loop her arm through Lu Huaijin’s. “Huaijin~ What are you doing here? What a coincidence~”

Lu Huaijin’s face darkened as he disdainfully shook off her hand.

He knew how shameless Xia Nanxing could be, so he didn’t bother sparing her any dignity in front of so many people.

Xia Yingying, hiding behind him, couldn’t help but smirk at the sight. The haughty young lady who acted so high and mighty in front of her was now as humble as dust before Lu Huaijin.

Xia Nanxing didn’t argue with him either, merely pursing her lips in grievance before carefully explaining, “I wasn’t bullying Xia Yingying. I just wanted to talk to her. It’s Xia Yingying who’s up to no good—she must’ve known you’d be here for business today and deliberately arranged to meet me here.”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Lu Huaijin’s business partner, only to realize it was the infamous and eccentric Qin Heming. She immediately straightened her posture and waved sweetly. “Hello, Uncle Qin!”

Truth be told, Qin Heming wasn’t that much older—just six years her senior—but as the head of his family, his status automatically elevated him in seniority.

Qin Heming studied Xia Nanxing for a moment, a cryptic smile playing on his lips before he nodded at her and walked away without a word.

Though he said nothing, Xia Nanxing could read his expression perfectly.

[System, he’s laughing at me.]

[Yes, I noticed that too.]

[Wahh~ Everyone’s laughing at me, and I’m the biggest joke of all.]

Her sulking lasted all of two seconds before she saw Lu Huaijin take Xia Yingying’s hand and chase after Qin Heming. Xia Nanxing immediately forgot her gloom and sprinted after them. “Lu Huaijin, wait for me! I’m coming too!”

“We’re going for a business meeting. What are you going to do? Flaunt your young lady authority?” Lu Huaijin rejected her outright.

“You’re taking Xia Yingying! Why can’t I—”

With a slam, the car door shut, leaving Xia Nanxing with nothing but exhaust fumes.

Fuming, she stomped her foot and shrieked, “How dare you! Jerk!”

[Wahh~ This just makes me look even more ridiculous.]

The system consoled her: [Don’t worry. At Lu Huaijin’s birthday banquet tomorrow night, he’ll publicly announce Xia Yingying as his girlfriend. Once the story reaches its conclusion, your mission will be over.]

That thought lifted her spirits a little.

She was so done with this bastard Lu Huaijin.

In front of Xia Yingying, he was the epitome of a gentleman. But with her? He didn’t even bother pretending—cursing and losing his temper whenever he pleased.

Harsh words cut deeper than winter’s chill. Just thinking about it now made Xia Nanxing’s chest feel icy cold.

Clutching her chest, she whimpered, [Thinking about finishing the mission and never seeing such a good system like you again makes me feel kinda sad. Am I having a heart attack?]

[Stop pretending. Your heart’s functioning perfectly fine.]

Xia Nanxing really did have heart problems—both in her past life and this one. In her previous life, she’d died young at twenty. In this life, her heart was still a mess.

But miraculously, if her heart had only one problem, she might not have lived past ten years old. Yet the various heart conditions stacked together actually allowed her heart to function normally.

Of course, the system played a part in this too.

If she completed the system’s tasks, her heart would keep beating steadily until old age. If she failed, she’d meet an early demise.

The system’s tasks weren’t difficult—she just had to play the role of the villainous female sidekick infatuated with the male lead, maintaining the world’s main storyline until the grand finale when the male lead Lu Huaijin and female lead Xia Yingying would get together amid everyone’s blessings. Not only could she survive, but she’d also receive the system’s reward.

As a villainous female sidekick, for these five years she’d showered Lu Huaijin with love, money, and warmth, yet never received a single kind look in return. Meanwhile, Xia Yingying, with just a gentle lowering of her head, could make Lu Huaijin fall in love at first sight.

The disparity in treatment was huge, but Xia Nanxing wasn’t picky—survival was enough.

A villainous female sidekick? Fine! She’d play the part perfectly.

After all, the system’s rewards were too good to pass up.

With success within reach, Xia Nanxing asked eagerly: [System, is that 10-billion reward ready?]

[Don’t worry, the money’s been here all along. Complete the mission, survive, and it’s yours.]

[It’s in the bag, system, don’t worry. Tomorrow night I’ll make a big scene to guarantee Lu Huaijin and Xia Yingying’s official announcement. After this, whoever wants to be the lovestruck fool can have the job—I’m done with it.]