World 2: Mixed-Race Madman Mafia Boss × OG Female Lead’s Roommate – Socially Anxious Little Stutterer 01

“Still trying to run?”

“Y–Young Master, I beg you, please don’t kill me. I—I was just momentarily confused, that’s why I helped your brother. Please, just give me one more chance!”

In a narrow alley beside the Seine River, a man with a battered and bruised face knelt on the ground, desperately kowtowing over and over.

“Young Master, please! Just this once, I swear I’ll serve you like a horse or an ox—offer my life without hesitation!”

Thud. Thud.

The man trembled and looked up.

Above him came the sharp sound of metal scraping—

The sound of leather soles brushing against the cobblestones.

Cold, damp rain splattered across Cosimo Lorenzo’s face.

He slowly took the dagger handed to him by his subordinate and began twirling it carelessly.

Just days ago, after his father passed away, Cosimo inherited the syndicate according to the will.

But this provoked jealousy from his older brother—

Who not only sent people to assassinate him but also bribed some of Cosimo’s own men to frame and betray him.

Casually, Cosimo undid his cufflinks and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, one fold at a time.

His thin lips curved into a cold, mocking smile.

“I promised Father I wouldn’t get blood on my shirt during the mourning period.”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’ll have to break that promise today.”

As he spoke, he grabbed the traitor’s hair and pressed the dagger to his neck.

Bang.

Just as he was about to strike, a group of gunmen suddenly burst out from around the corner at the end of the alley.

All of them pointed their guns at Cosimo.

The first shot hit his arm squarely.

“Young Master, it’s an ambush!”

“Damn it! Protect the Young Master and retreat immediately!”

Urgent Italian commands and a hail of bullets echoed throughout the alley.

Cosimo’s eyes glinted blood-red, but the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk—

Like a child who had just found a new toy, wondering how to play with it to his heart’s content.

—

Just 500 meters from the alley, in a foreign student apartment—

Qin Xue numbly fumbled with her keys at the door. Just as she slid the key into the lock—

Her hand trembled involuntarily.

Her eyes, dazed from an all-nighter at the club, suddenly lit up.

She was reborn!

Back to the very night she first met Cosimo.

After graduating high school, Qin Xue had come to study in France. A genuine overseas student.

In her third year of college, she met Chu Huainan, an art student.

The two shared similar values, no drama, no betrayal—just a quiet, natural love.

A simple, happy life—until Cosimo appeared and ruined everything.

That night, Cosimo was ambushed in Paris and stumbled into the vicinity of her apartment.

Seeing him badly wounded and unconscious, Qin Xue, in a moment of insanity, brought him back to her dorm to patch him up—distracting the gunmen chasing him.

She thought he was just some thug. She never expected any repayment.

But it turned out Cosimo was the most feared mafia boss in Sicily.

A man whose hands were drenched in blood.

Cosimo insisted on repaying her.

He wanted to give himself to her—to make Qin Xue the most revered woman in all of Sicily.

Terrified, Qin Xue dropped out and fled back to China.

But Cosimo followed her.

He found ways to control her parents and even her boyfriend Chu Huainan, forcing her to submit.

From a young age, Cosimo had never tolerated being denied.

If he wanted something—it was his.

His love was twisted and terrifying.

Locking her up in a villa was the least of it.

Any man who looked at her too long?

Had his eyes gouged out.

“Xue’er, you can only look at me.”

Just closing her eyes, Qin Xue could recall Cosimo’s clinging, low voice.

To protect Chu Huainan, she had to break up with him—

Saying cruel, heartless things.

Chu Huainan never recovered. He stopped painting.

He drank himself into oblivion every day, haunting the dorm where she used to live, hoping for a glimpse of her.

That’s when he met Fu Yu, Qin Xue’s roommate.

One thing led to another, and the two got together. With Fu Yu’s encouragement, Chu Huainan picked up his brush again—

Creating masterpiece after masterpiece, and soon becoming a genius painter in the art world.

Maybe it was the heartbreak from Qin Xue, or his continued alcohol abuse—

But by their seventh year of marriage, Chu Huainan passed away from illness.

He left Fu Yu three legacy paintings and a massive inheritance.

And Qin Xue?

Yes, life with Cosimo gave her luxury and comfort—

But she had no freedom.

What was the point of money without freedom?

When she heard of Chu Huainan’s death, she only shed a few tears.

But Cosimo went into a jealous rage.

Qin Xue despised Cosimo to the core.

She even helped his older brother in a coup attempt—

Hoping Cosimo would fall.

But his brother turned out to be an incompetent fool. Not only did he fail, he ended up driving Qin Xue’s car off a cliff.

As the icy seawater flooded her lungs—

Qin Xue realized how stupid she’d been.

If she had just stayed away that night—
If she hadn’t returned to her dorm—

She would’ve never met Cosimo.

She could’ve lived happily with Chu Huainan.

Chu Huainan would still be alive.

It was all Cosimo’s fault.

As she began to lose consciousness—

A mechanical voice rang in her mind:

“Dear heroine, would you like to restart your life? Press TD to unsubscribe.”

Rebirth?

That’s when Qin Xue realized she was the female lead in a yandere (sickly obsessive) romance novel.

Cosimo—was the possessive, dangerous male lead.

Fu Yu and Chu Huainan were automatically paired by the system’s “balance mechanism.”

Which meant—

If she avoided Cosimo in her new life, she could escape being imprisoned and forced into love.

Qin Xue didn’t hesitate for a second.

So now, standing once again outside the international student apartment—

She yanked her key back out and furiously jabbed the elevator button to flee.

By her estimation, Cosimo was about to arrive—bleeding and on the run.

She had to get out now before she crossed paths with him!

Wait—was Fu Yu home?

Should she warn her…?

Qin Xue opened her social app, but her finger paused in midair.

Fu Yu had been spending all her time studying in the library lately—usually returning only after it closed.

Besides—

If Fu Yu could stall Cosimo, Qin Xue would have more time to escape.

More time to avoid ever meeting him.

She closed the chat window.

Just then, Fu Yu texted her:

“A’Xue, was that you at the door? Is the lock broken again? Want me to help you open it?”

Qin Xue bit her lip—then turned off her phone and shoved it deep in her bag.

I’m sorry, Fu Yu.

But don’t worry—Cosimo’s taste in women is very particular.

Qin Xue had always been known as a seductive beauty in the student circle.

His standards were too high. He wouldn’t bother with you.

—

Staring at the unanswered message, Fu Yu sighed quietly.

She was currently preparing for the international CPA exam, grinding from dawn to dusk—

So much so that her dark circles looked like they had layers.

Stretching her arms—

Since it wasn’t Qin Xue, she figured she might as well go take a nap.

She had just taken off her thick-rimmed glasses and rubbed her eyes—

When a loud crash sounded from the hallway.

There was a faint trace of blood in the air.

Fu Yu swallowed nervously and cautiously opened the door—

Only to find a man curled up at the entrance.

His black suit was in disarray.

The silver cufflinks gleamed faintly in the dark.

His half-European face was as pale as paper—

And the tear mole at the corner of his eye was hauntingly seductive.