Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Villain in a Cliche Web Novel

Northern Country, Snow City.

The business cocktail party of the Lu family was being held in a villa estate, bustling with celebrities and glittering with lights.

In a corner, Lu Chengwen shuddered and woke up.

Quickly processing the memory text in his mind, Lu Chengwen felt so depressed he wanted to die.

This was the seventh time.

He had been hit by a car while delivering food, after which he was pulled into a system and transmigrated into a web novel to act as a villain.

According to the system prompts, as long as he could survive until the very end without being beaten to death by the protagonist, he could obtain generous rewards to take back to the real world.

First, he had no choice; second, his mother's illness could no longer be delayed, and he needed to earn money for her surgery. Therefore, Lu Chengwen had no choice but to accept the challenge.

However, in his previous six attempts, he had died a more miserable death each time.

The protagonists in web novels were simply too perverted!

Completely unreasonable perverts.

They all possessed extraordinary talent and unmatched strength. Medicine, ancient martial arts, immortal cultivation, gambling skills, clairvoyance... they knew everything, anything you could possibly think of.

And the most hateful thing was their sheer, explosive luck!

No matter how the villains struggled, in the end they would be slapped to death by him with a single palm, leaving behind some badass parting line while wrapping his arm around a pretty girl and walking away.

Moreover, all the beauties belonged to him—yes, as long as a woman had some looks, she was bound to be part of his harem, with absolutely no room for negotiation.

Once, just because Lu Chengwen had spoken a few extra words to Long Aotian's woman, he had been slapped to death by him.

Where was the justice in this?

Where was the law?

Lu Chengwen hurriedly turned and ran to the bathroom, starting to tally things up.

He had already died at the hands of: Xiao Yan, Ye Feng, Chu Feng, Ye Chen, Long Aotian, and Zhao Ritian respectively.

The book this time was titled "God of War Wandering the Flower City: The Spectrum of Beauties".

Such a disgusting name!

And the protagonist was once again this fellow Long Aotian.

He was a border God of War who had returned to unify all factions in the Northern Country. Right now, he was living under an assumed identity as a security guard and getting close to Leng Qingqiu.

Today's plot belonged to Chapter Nine: during the announcement of the engagement between himself and Leng Qingqiu, Long Aotian would step forward to protect Leng Qingqiu. He himself would try to act tough in front of Long Aotian, get one of his legs broken by him, and then be written off for a few chapters to nurse his injuries.

Meanwhile, Long Aotian would capture Leng Qingqiu's heart, and the two of them would live together in blissful, shameless harmony...

Lu Chengwen fiercely washed his face, gritting his teeth as he stared at his reflection in the mirror: "This time, I'm going to survive till the very end and take the system's reward back to cure my mom!"

Calming himself down, determined to play it safe and drag things out into the late stages, Lu Chengwen walked out of the bathroom.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Leng Qingqiu standing by the doorway waiting for him.

Dressed in an upscale evening gown, she possessed a truly peerless beauty that could topple cities and shame the moon, with a flawless, exquisite face.

Her figure was curvaceous and well-proportioned, her expression cold and aloof.

There was no need to ask—this was definitely the primary female lead!

The eldest daughter of the Leng family.

The young female president of Qianfeng Group.

The goddess he had groveled to for three whole years.

And her most important label: Long Aotian's woman!

Lu Chengwen squeezed out a smile, but before he could speak, Leng Qingqiu said coldly: "Lu Chengwen, I am never going to get engaged to you. Give up on that idea!"

Lu Chengwen smiled, thinking to himself:

[Big sis, please spare me. Get engaged to you? I still want to live a few more years!]

[Your figure is not bad, and your face is top-tier too, but it's a pity you're a brainless main heroine whose IQ plummets the moment Long Aotian fools around, willingly becoming someone else's concubine in his harem.]

[Once Long Aotian takes down Leng Qingqiu, he basically takes down the Leng family as well. It's a pity for several generations of the Leng family's hard-earned estate, which is about to be handed over to this guy surnamed Long.]

Lu Chengwen smiled and said, "I agree."

"You agree?"

Leng Qingqiu was very surprised.

Something felt off. Lu Chengwen clearly hadn't moved just now, but how had so many words come out?

She had only heard the three words "I agree" spoken directly by him; what on earth were those previous sentences?

And he had groveled to her for a full three years!

In these three years, she had tried every possible method, yet he refused to let go, clinging to her like a stray dog forever.Once my reputation was dragged through the mud, they mobilized their family influence, getting both sets of parents to step in, determined to force me into an engagement with him today! What is going on now? Lu Chengwen smiled and said, "Qingqiu, I've thought it over. We really aren't a good match. Let's just be ordinary friends from now on." Thinking to himself inwardly: *(Hurry up and go become part of Long Aotian's harem! You and the other nine hundred and ninety-nine women can crowd around that guy, lick the soles of his shoes, and praise his greatness! Hoo-hoo!)* *(Right now, my top priority is handling this idiot woman. She thinks she's an invincible genius, but she's actually just meat on Long Aotian's chopping block. She's already ninety percent cooked; she's just waiting for me to make this one final leap.)* This time, Leng Qingqiu was certain: she could hear Lu Chengwen's inner thoughts! What is this about me licking someone's shoes? And serving a single man alongside nine hundred and ninety-nine other women? What kind of person does he think I, Leng Qingqiu, am? How could I ever debase myself like that? What on earth is going on inside this scoundrel Lu Chengwen's dog brain? Wait, Long Aotian? The security guard I hired a few days ago? I, Leng Qingqiu, would be his lapdog?! Leng Qingqiu's expression grew increasingly furious as she stared daggers at Lu Chengwen, wishing she could pounce right on him and bite him to death. Lu Chengwen was taken aback for a moment, thinking: *(What is wrong with this idiot woman? I'm calling off the engagement, and you're still this angry?)* *(Still, since she's Long Aotian's woman, I absolutely cannot afford to offend her. Fortunately, female leads always have a screw loose in their heads, so she should be pretty easy to fool.)* He quickly forced a smile and said, "Let's go talk to the elders and get this sorted out. Come on, come on, watch your step..." Leng Qingqiu strode toward the inner room, her chest heaving violently with anger. Lu Chengwen! You've really outdone yourself! Three years! A full three years of you sending me gifts every single day, trying to curry favor at every turn... Could it be that all those three years of appeasement and groveling were fake? Now in your mind you're calling me an "idiot woman" left and right, saying my brain has a screw loose, acting like you're dying to get miles away from me... What do you take me for? I'm going to see what kind of game you're playing! Long Aotian walked behind her, thinking: *(Done, it's all done. Three years of effort might as well have been fed to the dogs! As long as I break off this engagement with this dim-witted woman, with my villainous status, where can't I pick up eight or ten pretty little things to amuse myself?)* *(She likes being someone's harem member—can't be helped, she was born with the destiny of a harem girl.)* *(I have to draw a clear line with this stupid woman. There can't be even a shred of lingering attachment!)* Leng Qingqiu simply couldn't listen anymore. She halted abruptly, spun around, and glared fiercely at Lu Chengwen. Lu Chengwen was startled, then immediately broke into a smile: "Are you worried I'm tricking you? I, Lu Chengwen, swear to the heavens, I am not pulling any stunts! When I say the engagement is off, it's off." "And from now on, I will never bother you again. In fact, it will be hard for you even to catch a glimpse of me. From this moment on, we have zero intersection—we will vanish from each other's lives! Once we vanish, you'll be happy, right?" Leng Qingqiu was on the verge of exploding with anger. What is this? I, Leng Qingqiu, used to be your goddess, and now I've turned into stinky dog shit? You find me that annoying? So annoying that you can't even wait a single minute to get rid of me? This kind of scumbag! It's simply... infuriating! At that moment, the door was pushed open, and members of both the Leng and Lu families saw them standing at the entrance in a standoff. "Oh my, why are you two arguing again?" "Exactly! Take it inside and talk, don't just plant yourselves at the doorway!" As soon as he stepped inside, Lu Chengwen went up to shake hands with Leng Qingqiu's mother and father: "Hello, Uncle, Auntie." Before the elders could speak, Lu Chengwen chimed in: "Uncle, Auntie, Dad, Mom, Qingqiu and I have already talked it over, and we've decided not to get engaged." Lu Chengwen wore an expression of utmost sincerity: "Qingqiu is strong, independent, intelligent, and decisive. She deserves to find someone more suited to her, someone who understands her better. Most importantly, that person should be the true, heartfelt love of her life. We should support her and bless her!" Lu Chengwen put on a heartbroken look, beating his chest: "Although I like her, love her, and cherish her more than my own life, true love means letting go and setting her free!" Lu Chengwen was almost moved to tears by his own act, his brain playing the cliché pop song as background music: *There is a kind of love called letting go, giving up forever for the sake of love...* Everyone froze in place. Lu Guanghong certainly didn't believe his son could be so reasonable. I'm his old man! Don't I know what kind of piece of work he is? This little bastard must be plotting something evil again! Lu Chengwen was thoroughly satisfied with his own acting skills![It's a pity for the Leng family; generations of family wealth will end up benefiting that Long Aotian.] [The heads of these elite families are something else. It's one thing for their daughters to become his harem, but handing over hundreds of billions in family wealth to him as well? Talk about having a screw loose.]

Leng Qingqiu had no idea why she could suddenly hear Lu Chengwen's inner thoughts. Yet Lu Chengwen seemed to know about some incredible matters. If things followed his predictions, wasn't this plotline far too absurd? She was going to become someone's harem? And to a bodyguard she had hired just a few days ago, no less? She couldn't let this punk Lu Chengwen off the hook; he was definitely up to something shady!

Meanwhile, Lu Chengwen was still putting on a show up front, passionately expounding on how his refusal of the engagement stemmed from his noble character and upright nature, and that he was acting from the bottom of his heart for the good of Leng Qingqiu and the Leng family. Standing right beside him, Leng Qingqiu watched his performance with an icy gaze, so furious her lungs felt like they were about to explode.

Everyone else was utterly bewildered. Lu Guanghong looked at Leng Qingqiu and asked, "Qingqiu, my dear, what do you think?" Leng Qingqiu offered a faint smile and dropped a bombshell that stunned everyone present: "Uncle and Auntie, Dad and Mom, I agree to get engaged to Brother Chengwen."

Lu Chengwen spun his head around, his eyes widening wider than they ever had in his entire life! He stared at Leng Qingqiu as if he had just seen a ghost. Leng Qingqiu's expression was icy cold, and she even wore a trace of a provocative, sneering smile.

Chapter 2: The God of War Appears, the Villain is Going Mad

Silence descended upon the entire room. What was going on here? What kind of situation was this?! For three whole years, Lu Chengwen had clung to Leng Qingqiu like a stubborn piece of plaster, pulling every trick in the book to make any man near her keep their distance, all for the sole purpose of winning her over. Yet throughout those past three years, whenever anyone so much as mentioned the marriage arrangement with Lu Chengwen, Leng Qingqiu would blow a gasket, practically radiating an aura of "I'd rather die than submit."

Today, had these two swapped scripts or something? Lu Chengwen no longer wanted to marry, but Leng Qingqiu had actually agreed to it? Lu Chengwen was losing his mind completely! He whipped his head around and stared at Leng Qingqiu in utter shock, thinking to himself: [Big sister, what on earth are you doing? Agreeing to the engagement, what kind of madness is this? Big sister, you're supposed to be Long Aotian's harem member! You're supposed to go lick the soles of Long Aotian's shoes! If you pull a stunt like this, Long Aotian is going to beat me to death!] [That guy painstakingly got close to you just to play the pig to eat the tiger, showing off and acting cool at the crucial moment so that you and your family would look upon him favorably.] [Then you'd offer yourself to him heart and soul, and your family's fortune would all belong to him! Would you please just follow the damn plot properly!]

Leng Qingqiu shot Lu Chengwen a cold sneer. You want to call off the wedding? Did you even ask for my permission? You disgusted me for three years, and now you want to wipe your hands clean just like that, assuming I'd willingly go become some bodyguard's harem toy? Today, I'm going to disgust you right back! I want to see exactly how that so-called Long Aotian manages to pull me into his harem!

Furthermore, the sudden ability to hear Lu Chengwen's inner monologue had left Leng Qingqiu deeply shocked, especially since Lu Chengwen seemed to know so many bizarre secrets. Though she had no idea what game he was playing, right now, ensuring that none of his objectives were met was definitely the optimal choice.

The adults from both families started chatting warmly, discussing with great excitement how the couple's upcoming wedding should be handled, how their life together would unfold, and which family would take care of the grandchildren once they arrived...

Lu Chengwen pulled Leng Qingqiu off to the side and asked urgently, "Qingqiu, are you out of your mind today?" Leng Qingqiu let out a cold hum. "I think you're the one who's out of your mind." Lu Chengwen tried hard to steady his emotions. "Alright, alright, let's not argue about that. But this engagement—we simply cannot go through with it. We have to change this, seriously."

Leng Qingqiu felt as though she had won. For three years, she had been utterly helpless against this jerk. He was utterly shameless and devoid of dignity, acting like a clingy pest who would resort to any despicable tactic. She had been driven nearly crazy by his harassment. Now, watching him covered in cold sweat and running around in circles, Leng Qingqiu felt an indescribable rush of satisfaction in her heart. She, the great lady, was going to keep this scumbag right under her thumb!

Lu Chengwen: "Qingqiu, are you doing this because of pressure from the elders...? Just think about it, am I annoying?" "Annoying." "Am I detestable?" "Detestable." "Am I disgusting?" "Super disgusting." "Then do you still want to get engaged to me?" "I do."

Lu Chengwen stared at her in shock, suddenly feeling like he didn't understand this woman at all.

By this time, the two families had finished their discussion and excitedly ushered the pair out into the small garden. Lu Chengwen's brain remained in a complete fog the entire time. Standing on the stage next to Leng Qingqiu, his mind was still racing: [Isn't this completely screwed! In just a few minutes, Long Aotian is going to rush out, kick my leg until it snaps, and snatch Leng Qingqiu away.] [Is this a calamity I simply cannot escape? Even after knowing the direction future events will take, am I still destined to be utterly powerless to stop anything?] [Leng Qingqiu is acting far too abnormally! Doesn't she utterly despise me? What is going on today?]

Leng Qingqiu narrowed her eyes, listening to Lu Chengwen's inner voice, and felt even more shocked. Not only could she hear this guy's inner thoughts, but he also "knew the direction future events would take"? Would Long Aotian... really stand up and object?

The master of ceremonies said with great excitement, "Respected guests, entrusted by the Lu and Leng families, I am here today to announce a momentous piece of news! Lu Chengwen, the young master of the Lu family, and Leng Qingqiu, the eldest daughter of the Leng family, will hold their engagement ceremony on the tenth of next month—"

"I object!"

At that moment, a security guard stepped out from the crowd. It was none of other than the story's rightful male protagonist—Long Aotian. The master of ceremonies glanced at him. "Someone, get this low-level guard out of here!"

The moment Lu Chengwen saw Long Aotian, his calves turned to jelly. He involuntarily took a step back.

Leng Qingqiu looked over at Lu Chengwen, a deep sense of shock gripping her heart. He had predicted it precisely!

Long Aotian strode right up to the master of ceremonies, and when the host tried to push him away, Long Aotian tossed him off the stage with a single heave. Leng Qingqiu glared at him angrily. "Long Aotian, what do you think you're doing?" Long Aotian grabbed Leng Qingqiu by the shoulders with both hands. "Qingqiu, please rest assured, I will never allow anyone to force you. Your destiny should be in your own hands."

Frankly speaking, if things had followed the original plot—with Lu Chengwen acting like a shameless pest, the Lu family throwing their weight around, and her own parents willing to facilitate this marriage of convenience... if Long Aotian had stepped forward at that moment, Leng Qingqiu would have been quite surprised and deeply moved. That bodyguard had performed exceptionally in an unexpected incident a few days earlier, displaying extraordinary martial arts skills that genuinely made her look at him in a new light. That was why she had specially brought him under her command as her personal bodyguard, and over the past few days, her impression of him had indeed been continuously refreshed and elevated.

Yet, with Lu Chengwen's preliminary mental conditioning, the flavor of the entire situation had completely changed. At this moment, Leng Qingqiu only felt that this guy had painstakingly gotten close to her with designs on her family's estate. He was insidious and utterly sickening—even more revolting than Lu Chengwen!

Leng Qingqiu slapped his hands away. "Long Aotian, you are merely my bodyguard; my family affairs are none of your concern." "Qingqiu, I know your worries. Rest assured, with me here today, no one will be able to force you into this arranged marriage."

Lu Chengwen nodded to himself. [Of course, look how magnificent you are!] [You must still have plenty of righteous-sounding lines left, right? Go ahead and say them, getting it all out in the open clears the air. As the God of War, you've got to let everyone know you're standing on the side of justice.] [Please begin your performance!]

Long Aotian turned around to face all the guests and proclaimed in a resonant voice: "As members of Snow City's Four Major Families, instead of engaging in legitimate business and profits, you actually resort to sacrificing a young girl's happiness to bind your interests together! Do you have any shred of shame left? Have you ever truly cared about Qingqiu's happiness?"

From the back, Lu Chengwen started applauding for Long Aotian. [Brilliant! Qingqiu, it's your turn. Cry for me, will you!] [The guy has laid it out this thick; it would be unreasonable for you not to be moved. Seriously, go ahead and cry!]

Leng Qingqiu stared at Lu Chengwen, her icy gaze reflecting the fires of anger at being humiliated. Catching the fierce look in Leng Qingqiu's eyes, Lu Chengwen awkwardly lowered his hands and pretended to look elsewhere.

Long Aotian continued, "Uncle Leng, Auntie Leng, Qingqiu is your own biological daughter. How can your hearts bear to push her into a pit of fire? What kind of person Lu Chengwen is, isn't it common knowledge across all of Snow City? By marrying your daughter to such a scumbag, do you not feel even a tiny shred of heartache and pity?"

Furious, Leng Qingqiu snapped angrily, "My affairs are not for a mere bodyguard to meddle in! You are fired! Leave this place immediately."

Long Aotian was stunned as well. Huh?! How... could things... seem a bit wrong? Events were not supposed to unfold this way!

At that moment, murmurs and voices arose from the surrounding crowd. "Who is this guy? How can he be so devoid of basic manners?" "They're celebrating a happy occasion here, what is he barging in to cause trouble for? Looking at him, he's just a pervert. With that kind of attitude, he's actually eyeing the eldest miss of the Leng family?" "Go piss in a puddle and take a good look at yourself, buddy!" "Wow, this guy's vibe looks so greasy and sleazy!"

Lu Chengwen was nearly frantic with tension. [Why are you all shouting so loudly?! If you ramp up the hostility any further, he's going to resort to violence!]