A week after the college entrance exam, the System had gone completely silent, as if it were dead. Gu Qianran frowned. She hated situations like this, where her enemy lurked in the shadows while she was left in the open.
But she couldn't figure out where the System might strike next, so for the moment she could only stay on the defensive. Absentmindedly scrolling through WeChat, she noticed a notification in her dorm group chat tagging her.
It was Bai Zilu, asking if she had seen Ji Tang. Bai Zilu said Ji Tang hadn't messaged her all day, and no one could find her. She wanted to know if Ji Tang was with Gu Qianran.
Gu Qianran's pupils contracted. She had been so focused on Bai Ziyuan that she had neglected to protect their friends. But how had the System managed to act this covertly, without even Li Junze catching on?
Ji Tang's Captivity
Tianyao Tower—once Li Junsheng's grand office building—now carried an air of decline. Ji Tang sat in a reception room, flanked by two burly bodyguards.
Ji Tang's father rubbed his hands together, gloating. His own "useless daughter" had ruined the company, and now she was finally under his control. As long as she could lure Gu Qianran here, the man backing him had promised money would be no issue.
Ji Zhu, who was supposed to be abroad, stood before his sister with a sneer.
"Ji Tang, as a woman, you should've stayed home and helped the family, but instead you stirred up trouble and shamed our name. Now you'll see what happens when you anger the Ji family. None of your little friends will get away with this either!"
Satisfied with his threat, Ji Zhu sat down with a smirk. If not for strict orders to leave her unharmed, he would've slapped her senseless already.
Ji Tang snorted. These two clowns. She had supported them for decades for free—what a joke. Judging by Ji Zhu's behavior, they couldn't touch her, at least not yet.
She had only been caught because she let her guard down and got into a Ji family car. Sighing, she wondered if Bai Zilu knew what had happened. If she did, she'd probably be bawling her eyes out.
At that moment, the landline rang. Ji Tang's father answered respectfully.
"She's here," came a smug, familiar voice. Ji Tang rolled her eyes. Bringing Gu Qianran here? Let's see who gets out of this building alive.
Well, she'd definitely caused Boss Gu trouble this time. She'd have to buy Bai Ziyuan an entire milk tea shop to make it up to her.
Ji Zhu thought Ji Tang was still bluffing and smirked even harder. He didn't believe Gu Qianran could cause any real waves on Li family turf.
Li Junze's Entrance
Just then, Li Junze entered the room. He nodded politely at the Ji father and son.
"You can go see Brother Yao for your payment. I'll watch her," he said.
The Ji men grinned so wide their faces nearly split. They rushed off with their men, eager to get the money, leaving Li Junze shaking his head at how quickly Ji Tang's 300-pound father had moved.
Once they were gone, Li Junze leaned in toward Ji Tang and whispered, "Good news and bad news. You…"
"Spit it out." Ji Tang's glare made him flinch.
"Good news is… I'm on your side," he said sheepishly.
Ji Tang arched an eyebrow. She had suspected as much. Li Junze was too bumbling to pull off being a double agent; even Bai Zilu outsmarted him regularly.
Li Junze: What's with that look?!
"Bad news is… Bai Zilu's here too," he added, giving her a look that screamed are you kidding me.
"What?" Ji Tang was stunned. When Bai Zilu was angry, her destructive power rivaled Gu Qianran's. She was also a master of chaos and sneak attacks. Putting these two sisters in the same place… wouldn't they demolish the entire building?
"No, we have to stop her, now!" Ji Tang shoved Li Junze toward the stairs.
"Aw, worried about your girlfriend?" Li Junze teased. Ji Tang rolled her eyes. She was worried about the building.
Chaos on the First Floor
Leaving Bai Zilu with the bodyguards on the ground floor, Gu Qianran calmly entered the elevator. At first, she'd been worried about Bai Zilu, but Bai Zilu had commanded the guards like a general, single-handedly taking down the gang of mercenaries Li family had hired.
That wasn't even the shocking part—every single thug was on the ground, clutching a particularly sensitive part of their anatomy, faces twisted in agony. Even Gu Qianran winced at the sight.
Bai Zilu: "What? We're art students. We know the human body inside and out." [Hands on hips.jpg]
Mercenaries: So who's the real mercenary here?!
Gu Qianran genuinely thought Bai Zilu should star in a variety show. Something like Sisters Who Make Waves, but for chaos queens.
The Final Battle
The elevator ascended slowly. Gu Qianran exhaled deeply, eyes fixed on the rising numbers. This was it. The final battle between her and the System.
"Li Junyao" was already waiting at the top floor. When she stepped out, he greeted her with a mocking smile.
"I thought you'd spend your life hiding," he sneered.
"I was just waiting for your time to run out," Gu Qianran replied casually, her tone indifferent. "You picked a fine day to die."
She walked closer, smiling lazily as if they were discussing the weather.
"Li Junyao" faltered. Why was this woman so confident?
"Don't forget," he said, stepping forward after instinctively retreating, "I'm the male lead, Heaven's chosen. Only the heroine's aura rivals mine. No matter your tricks, can you fight Heaven's will?"
Gu Qianran smiled and drew a dagger. "How would I know if I don't try?"
The System panicked. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! It searched for weapons, darting around the office in desperation. Thus began a bizarre game of cat and mouse on the top floor of Li Tower.
Zero-One swore this was the most humiliating moment of its existence—being chased in circles by a madwoman.
Spotting a sword on a rack, one that resembled Gu Qianran's weapon from her past life, the System made a break for it, taunting her along the way.
Gu Qianran flicked her wrist, and her dagger whizzed past "Li Junyao's" face, embedding itself deep into the wall. He swallowed hard, lunging forward to grab the sword.
Gu Qianran hesitated briefly, recognizing the weapon's pattern, but in that instant "Li Junyao" lunged, stabbing at her. She twisted aside, letting the blade graze her left arm. Blood welled from the wound.
The System snarled, attacking again, but this time the blade froze three inches from Gu Qianran's face, unable to move closer.
"What?!" Fear flooded its voice. Even Heaven's favor couldn't overpower her.
Gu Qianran calmly disinfected and bandaged her wound. "Surprised?" she asked lightly. She couldn't let Bai Ziyuan see this cut; her little darling would cry.
"You didn't really think Li Junyao still held the male lead aura, did you?" she said with a smirk. "Months ago, I injured him. Gave him multiple injections. You said supporting characters can't harm leads or Heaven would erase them. Well… I'm still here."
She looked him dead in the eye. "From the start, I suspected the male and female lead auras were interdependent. And between me—always by Bai Ziyuan's side—and the fallen Li Junyao, who do you think Heaven chose?"
The System realized its fatal mistake.
Gu Qianran's tone was soft but cutting. "I became the true protagonist. You're the vicious supporting character. And you succeeded… because you truly carried out the role of a villain."
She smiled coldly. "Oh, and don't bother threatening my friends. Li Junze is on my side."
"What? Impossible! He wouldn't betray me!"
"The original Li Junze wouldn't. But this one's from my hometown. He's with me."
The System remembered a strange temporal rift it had encountered, now realizing Li Junze's original system had perished there.
"No!" it shrieked as its body faded, starting from its sword-wielding fingers. "I have no emotions, I can't die, I—"
Gu Qianran folded her arms. "If you truly felt nothing, you wouldn't fear death."
The System dissolved into ashes.
Aftermath
Gu Qianran cleaned the sword and placed it back on the rack. She had won.
The police stormed Li Tower minutes later, but with Li Junyao's erasure, all his crimes had been rewritten into the Ji father and son's records. No one even remembered Li Junyao existed.
The Ji men protested wildly, but Ji Tang's testimony and years of evidence sealed their fate.
Bai Zilu clung to Ji Tang, fretting over every scratch. Ji Tang grinned sheepishly.
Satisfied, Gu Qianran returned home. Bai Ziyuan, oblivious to everything, greeted her with a bright smile. Gu Qianran kissed her gently, and the warm sunset wrapped around their silhouette, peaceful and serene.
From the neighboring apartment came faint, suspicious noises. Gu Qianran raised an eyebrow. "Did Bai Zilu… actually top Ji Tang tonight?"
But Bai Zilu soon regretted her moment of dominance. As she whimpered the next morning, Ji Tang proved herself the undisputed queen.