C2 Chapter 2

“Truth, huh?”

Lingxiao shot a sideways look at the well-dressed woman across from her. All that smug, self-righteous nonsense… yeah, she really did need a dose of truth to wash her mouth out.

The system sounded deeply comforted. This girl was the calmest, cutest one it had ever seen!

“Roach? Roach?”

Okay, I take that back!

The system continued playing dead.

The café manager quickly pulled out his phone and called the cops, then bent over backward to help the woman change out of her dirty clothes.

The woman basked in being waited on, her expression still haughty, with a sharp, mean edge in her eyes.

“Roach? How do I use your social skills? Hurry up!” Lingxiao was getting impatient.

You’re the roach! Your whole family’s roaches!

The system grumbled to itself, but answered responsibly anyway: “Snap your fingers and open a soul link with me.”

Snap my fingers?!

What am I, Thanos? I’m not about to sacrifice myself for some universe-wide population-control plan!

Lingxiao asked suspiciously, “Roach, be honest with me—did you latch onto me because you’re trying to… mess with me?”

The system put on a dramatic sigh. “Three minutes. The police will arrive at the scene at a hundred miles per hour. Miss, please prepare for battle as soon as possible.”

This thing’s ability to change the subject was seriously next-level.

But Lingxiao had always been the type to roll with it. She stood up at once, whipped out her phone, and made a call.

What’s the fun if she’s the only one who gets to enjoy the wicked lady’s “truth”?

If you’re going to play, play big.

“Hello! Orange Daily newsroom… What? Mrs. Li is going to say something at the police station entrance?”

“A ‘truth speech’? Is this solid? Good, good—if it checks out, you’ll be rewarded.”

Mrs. Li Qiong didn’t notice Lingxiao’s little move. She was busy in the restroom changing into clean clothes and touching up her makeup.

The café manager brought four servers to surround the booth, just in case Lingxiao tried to slip away.

Lingxiao slipped her phone away and gave him a calm once-over. “So how’s it feel being somebody’s lapdog?”

The café manager froze for a beat. He was sharp enough to catch on fast—she was taking a shot at him.

“Hmph! A toad dreaming of a swan. You really think you’re good enough to set your sights on Mrs. Li’s son? If she hadn’t asked to see you, you couldn’t even afford a cup of coffee in here today!”

Lingxiao answered evenly, “Anything a lapdog says has never been very credible.”

“...” The manager’s face went livid. He was about to charge over and slap her when a police cruiser pulled up outside the café.

“Hmph! Keep running your mouth. In a minute I’ll have them slap a charge on you, and then you can look forward to jail!”

Beaming with smug satisfaction, the manager hurried to the officers and exaggerated every detail as he described Lingxiao’s “crime.”

“Miss, you’ll need to come down to the station with us.”

“Sure.” Lingxiao offered a sweet, well-behaved smile.

The officers’ first instinct was that this pretty girl didn’t look like some scheming criminal.

Lingxiao sat quietly in the back of the cruiser.

The wealthy woman drove herself in her luxury car—of course she had no interest in riding in an ordinary police vehicle.

On the way, Lingxiao closed her eyes to rest. Xiaoqiang took the opportunity to send over the main storyline for this mission world.

A domineering CEO and an innocent “good girl” fall into a love-hate spiral—drawn to each other at first, then turning into enemies, and finally ending up as strangers.

Li Yifeng was a well-known heir in Harbor City: devastatingly handsome, cold-blooded and ruthless, with a firm grip on power. Under his name was the Li Group, ranked among Asia’s top 100.

He had a fiancée from another elite family, the Zhu family’s daughter, Zhu Linger.

Li Yifeng and Zhu Linger had grown up together—childhood sweethearts, perfectly matched, and on good terms.

But when Li Yifeng attended a lecture for business elites, he happened to run into Wang Lingxiao on a college campus—a “pure, delicate” girl—and fell for her at first sight.

So, despite her struggling and begging, the CEO refused to let her go. He kept her close, practically locking her at his side and treating her like a pet.

No one expected that somewhere between being spoiled and being hurt—body and soul—the two of them would end up falling for each other...

When Zhu Linger found out, she didn’t cry or make a scene. She held it together, almost unnervingly calm.

At a banquet, the CEO was plied with drinks and slipped something. In his haze, he mistook Zhu Linger for his innocent “white lotus,” and the night turned into a blur of heat and tangled sheets.

When he woke up, Zhu Linger chose to leave the country on her own. She didn’t leave him a note, a text—nothing.

Meanwhile, the “white lotus” heroine discovered he’d cheated, slept with another woman. She spent her days crying, screaming, and clinging to him—unable to love him, unable to hate him, unable to let go.

It wore him down. Little by little, she started to feel like trouble.

Three years later, Zhu Linger returned in triumph, now a world-class jewelry designer.

The CEO got his hands on her private résumé and saw the award-winning pieces she’d created overseas. He was stunned. Compared to Zhu Linger’s brilliance, the “white lotus” heroine was... hard to put into words.

Zhu Linger reluctantly accepted his invitation to join the Li Group. Step by step, she climbed to the position of chief designer, earning new respect from the CEO and the entire Li family.

At the same time, the “white lotus” heroine was caught getting cozy with the male supporting lead—hugging in the rain, arms wrapped around each other—captured by reporters.

The CEO was furious. He had a blowout fight with her, then went to Zhu Linger to drink and vent.

Fueled by alcohol, he ended up in bed with Zhu Linger again.

That long-barren love seemed to find a brand-new way out—no longer the cold, obligatory match he’d once tried to avoid.

The CEO grew colder and more ruthless toward the heroine by the day. She was sensitive and sharp, and once she uncovered Zhu Linger’s scheme, she decided to expose her in public.

But then Zhu Linger pulled out evidence from back then. The CEO had been giving a lecture in college when a rival set him up, and he nearly drank a glass of poisoned wine. Luckily, the original owner spotted it in time and stopped him.

Except Zhu Linger had more than enough proof that the “poisoned wine” incident... was never a setup by the rival at all. It was a staged performance the original owner orchestrated with the CEO’s business enemy!

That so-called kindness and innocence? Just a disguise—like a sweet-looking flower with a rotten core.

In the end, the original owner managed to turn everyone against her. She lost the CEO she loved most. Instead of the future she’d imagined—living large and throwing money around—she got news that the CEO had married Zhu Linger and started a family. Humiliated beyond words, she poisoned herself and died.

...

Ling Xiao: Xiaoqiang, so I’m the rotten-core “sweet flower” now?

System: Yep, yep! Your main mission is to turn things around for the original owner and become the ultimate winner in life!

Ling Xiao couldn’t help cursing under her breath: What is this, some kind of role-playing game?

Couldn’t she just quit and walk away?