Chapter 533

“You’re here to see me?” Lu Xinyi blinked, thinking she must have heard wrong, and stared at Wang Haoran in disbelief.

“Let’s find a place to talk,” Wang Haoran said calmly.

Now fully certain she hadn’t misheard, Lu Xinyi’s eyes lit up as she nodded quickly and replied, “My place is close. We can talk there.”

Wang Haoran wasn’t particular about the location. He just wanted somewhere quiet where they could speak without disturbance. Since she offered, he gave a small nod.

“This way, please,” Lu Xinyi said, still puzzled about why he was looking for her, but in her heart, she couldn’t suppress the wave of joy rushing in.

After all, getting the chance to be alone with him was something she didn’t expect today. And the fact that the place they were heading to was her own home made her heart race even faster. Was this a chance for her to leave a deeper impression?

As they walked, she was secretly turning all kinds of thoughts over in her mind.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to enter one of the apartment buildings and ride the elevator up to the sixth floor. They arrived at the door to a neatly kept apartment.

“This is my place,” Lu Xinyi said with a smile, stepping forward to unlock the door.

Wang Haoran narrowed his eyes slightly, casually glancing toward the apartment right next door. That just happened to be where Yang Jingwan lived. What a coincidence.

Thankfully, Yang Jingwan was busy working inside her unit at the moment. If she were to walk out and run into this scene, it would’ve been a little awkward.

“Come in,” Lu Xinyi said, holding the door open as she made an inviting gesture.

Without much expression, Wang Haoran stepped into the apartment, and Lu Xinyi followed behind him, shutting the door after herself.

Wang Haoran gave the closed door a glance but wasn’t surprised by it. It was normal for people to close the door when they had guests over, especially in a private apartment like this.

The place wasn’t small. In fact, the décor was a little fancy—tasteful in a modern kind of way.

Lu Xinyi motioned for him to sit on the sofa and then went to pour him a glass of water, which she placed carefully on the coffee table in front of him.

After that, she slowly took off her jacket, revealing the snug-fitting light-colored tank top underneath that hugged her figure tightly, accentuating her generous curves in a way that was impossible to ignore.

Wang Haoran’s brow twitched slightly. They only just met this morning. Technically, they were still strangers, but Lu Xinyi clearly didn’t treat him like one.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked with a soft smile.

“You splashed water on a girl named Gu Yurou at the café today. That happened, didn’t it?” Wang Haoran asked directly.

The smile on Lu Xinyi’s face faded slowly. Jealousy flickered behind her eyes.

She had already guessed earlier that he might be here because of that girl. Now that it was confirmed, her mood instantly soured.

“Yeah, she was disrespectful to me, so I taught her a lesson,” Lu Xinyi admitted without hesitation. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, “Are you her boyfriend?”

Wang Haoran didn’t answer. His voice stayed cool and distant. “Apologize to Gu Yurou.”

【Ding. Host has progressed the Female Lead Gu Yurou’s main storyline. Gained 200 Villain Points.】

Lu Xinyi felt a sharp sting in her heart the moment she heard that, and her dislike for Gu Yurou grew even stronger.

But instead of turning that anger on Wang Haoran, she forced a smile and said, “Alright, no problem.” Then she added with a casual air, “By the way, I still don’t know your name. What should I call you?”

Would a cold and domineering male lead from a female-oriented novel answer a side character’s question like that?

Of course not.

Wang Haoran ignored the question entirely and kept his icy front. “I know you’re just humoring me, but listen carefully. If you don’t apologize to Gu Yurou before sunset tomorrow, I promise you’ll regret it.”

As the words left his mouth, Wang Haoran felt incredibly annoyed.

If it weren’t for the system rewards, he wouldn’t care in the slightest whether Gu Yurou got humiliated or not. As a male lead in a female-centered novel, his role was basically to clean up after the main female character’s messes again and again until the end of the story.

【Ding. Host has progressed the Female Lead Gu Yurou’s main storyline. Gained 200 Villain Points.】

Seeing another reward pop up, he felt slightly better.

“I would never fake it,” Lu Xinyi said sweetly. “Of course I’ll apologize to her.”

But Wang Haoran didn’t respond right away. He waited.

The system didn’t say anything further.

Clearly, Lu Xinyi was only pretending to agree. Sooner or later, she’ll cause trouble for Gu Yurou again.

And what would that mean? He’d have to keep stepping in to clean it up.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

A flicker of dark intent passed through his mind. He found himself wondering—wouldn’t it be easier to just poison Lu Xinyi and be done with it?

That way, everything would be resolved once and for all.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. It would cause too much trouble if it wasn’t done cleanly, and really, there was no need to go that far.

He stood up from the sofa, deciding to head out and eat dinner with Yang Jingwan first. After that, he’ll decide how to deal with Lu Xinyi.

“You’re leaving already?” Lu Xinyi asked, her voice soft and inviting. “Since you’re already here, why not stay a little longer?”

Wang Haoran glanced sideways at her. His tone stayed flat. “No.”

With that, he turned to leave.

“I’ll walk you out—ah!” Before she could finish the sentence, she let out a startled cry.

She tripped on the corner of the coffee table, and her footing slipped. Her body pitched forward, about to fall.

Wang Haoran instinctively reached out and caught her, wrapping an arm around her slender waist to keep her from slamming into the floor.

【Ding. Female Villain Lu Xinyi’s affection for the host increased by 10. Current total affection: 80 (Unswerving Devotion).】

【Ding. Host has progressed the Female Lead Gu Yurou’s main storyline. Gained 200 Villain Points.】

So this counted as part of the main storyline, too?

Wang Haoran was genuinely surprised. He looked down at Lu Xinyi, still held in his arms.

She was staring up at him with eyes full of emotion, and instead of pulling away, she raised her hands and embraced him in return.

If this were a typical female-protagonist novel, the male lead would push her away at once and say something like, “Don’t get any ideas. I’m not interested in you.”

Wang Haoran could already see the cliché coming a mile away.

But suddenly, he didn’t feel like following the script anymore.

Sure, he could play the role by the book and pick up some points here and there, but the rewards were too small. Wouldn’t it be better to use this chance to deal with Lu Xinyi once and for all, to cut off her storyline before it caused more trouble for him?

That would save time, and more importantly, it would feel much more satisfying.

After all, he had never enjoyed playing along with these storybook routines.

“What’s that look for?” he asked coolly, looking down at Lu Xinyi.

“That Gu Yurou is pretty, sure, but I’m not that much worse than her. Why are you so cold to me? Can’t we even be friends?” Lu Xinyi’s voice trembled with vulnerability.

“Why not just say it straight—that you want to be my girlfriend?” Wang Haoran said with a half-smile.

Lu Xinyi was flustered at being seen through, but she still forced herself to answer, “Yeah, I do. So what?”

“Have you ever been in a relationship before?” Wang Haoran asked suddenly.

“No. Just because I’m the one making the move doesn’t mean I’m some easy girl. I’ve never dated anyone. You’re the first guy I’ve ever liked,” she said, her face burning red with sincerity.

“I don’t believe you,” Wang Haoran said, staring straight into her eyes. “Not unless you prove it to me.”