### **Chapter 2: The CEO's Deadly Kindness**
The first thing Lin Feng smelled was not the sterile, acrid scent of a public hospital. Instead, it was the delicate, haunting fragrance of expensive lilies and high-end French lavender. It was a scent that spoke of extreme wealth—the kind of wealth that could buy silence, safety, and a private floor in the most prestigious medical facility in the country.
He groaned, his eyelids feeling as heavy as lead. His left shoulder throbbed with a dull, rhythmic ache, a reminder of the "Soldier King's" devastating kick. It felt as if a freight train had collided with his collarbone and decided to park there.
*Did I do it?* he thought, a flicker of hope warming his chest. *Did the world reset? Am I finally on my beach with a coconut in my hand?*
He forced his eyes open, expecting to see the white clouds of the afterlife or the pixelated screen of the System's retirement lounge. Instead, he saw a ceiling covered in hand-painted gold leaf and a chandelier that probably cost more than his father's first company.
[**SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: HOST HAS REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS.**]
[**CURRENT LOCATION: ST. JUDE'S ROYAL SUITE (PRIVATE FLOOR).**]
[**STATUS: RECOVERY RATE 15%. WARNING: HEROINE PRESENCE DETECTED WITHIN 2 METERS.**]
Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat—not out of romance, but out of pure, unadulterated terror. The "Heroine Presence" warning was usually followed by a slap, a cold rejection, or a death sentence. He slowly turned his head to the right, his neck popping with the effort.
There, sitting in a velvet armchair pushed right up against his bed, was Su Qingxue. She wasn't wearing her usual sharp, armor-like business suit. Instead, she was draped in a soft silk trench coat, her hair slightly disheveled, and her eyes—usually as cold as Siberian ice—were rimmed with red. She looked like she hadn't slept in a week.
In her hand, she held a small paring knife and an apple. She was peeling it with surgical precision, the ribbon of skin never breaking. The way she handled the knife was elegant, but it made Lin Feng's throat feel very dry.
"You're awake," she whispered. Her voice, usually a tool of command that made boardrooms tremble, was soft, trembling, and dangerously fragile.
Lin Feng swallowed hard. He needed to be a villain. Now. Before this misunderstanding became permanent and his retirement vanished.
"Water," he croaked, trying to make it sound like a demand to a servant. "And make it quick. Do you think I have all day to wait for a hostage to do her job? My throat feels like I've been swallowing glass."
Su Qingxue didn't flinch. She didn't get angry. Instead, her hand plummeted into the water glass on the nightstand. She didn't just give it to him; she sat on the edge of the bed, her warmth radiating through the silk, and slid her arm behind his neck. She gently lifted his head to her chest to help him drink.
Lin Feng's face was pressed against her soft coat. He could hear her heart racing—it was beating as fast as a trapped bird's. This wasn't the "Ice-Cold CEO" from the novel. This was someone else entirely.
"I'm sorry, Lin Feng," she murmured into his hair, her voice vibrating against his cheek. "I didn't know you were carrying such a heavy burden. To protect me... to make the whole world hate you just so the Shadow Web wouldn't target the Starfall Group... I was so blind. I called you a monster for years, while you were the only one standing in the dark to keep the monsters away from me."
*NO!* Lin Feng screamed internally. *I wasn't protecting you! I was trying to kidnap you! I am a greedy, power-hungry scum! I just wanted the shares!*
He pulled away, wincing as his shoulder flared with pain. "Don't touch me with your pity! I only saved you because... because if you died, I couldn't ransom you for the Starfall shares! I'm a businessman, Qingxue. I don't do anything for free. You're worth a billion dollars alive, and zero dead. That's the only math I care about."
[**DING! VILLAINOUS STATEMENT RECORDED.**]
[**ANALYZING REACTION...**]
[**ERROR: LOGIC OVERRIDE. HEROINE BELIEVES YOU ARE 'HIDING YOUR PAIN WITH ARROGANCE'.**]
Su Qingxue looked at him, a sad, knowing smile playing on her lips. She reached out and brushed a stray hair from his forehead. "Still playing the part? Even now? The doctors told me about the 'fireworks' you planted. They found the chemical composition, Lin Feng. It wasn't just powder; it was a specialized smoke screen designed to blind thermal optics and confuse the snipers. You saved the police snipers' lives too. You didn't just save me; you saved everyone."
Lin Feng felt like he was suffocating. *They were just cheap wedding poppers! The smoke was just low-quality sulfur and bad manufacturing!*
"And Ye Chen," she continued, her eyes darkening with a mix of respect and guilt. "The 'God of War' you supposedly hated? He's been standing outside your door for six hours. He refused to leave until he knew his 'brother' was out of surgery. He told me everything, Lin Feng. He told me how you didn't even raise a hand to defend yourself against his kick... because you knew you had to get to me in time to block that sniper's bullet. You chose to let him break your bones rather than let me lose my life."
"Ye Chen is an idiot!" Lin Feng shouted, coughing as his chest tightened. "He's a muscle-brained soldier who can't see past his own nose! I hate him! I want him dead! I was trying to kill him with those fireworks!"
*Click.*
The door to the suite opened. Ye Chen walked in, carrying a bag of traditional medicinal herbs. He stopped at the foot of the bed and bowed deeply—a full ninety-degree bow that showed absolute submission.
"Brother Lin," Ye Chen said, his voice thick with emotion. "I heard your words. You still hate me for being so blind. I deserve your anger. I almost killed the only man in this city with a spine of gold. I am a soldier, trained to spot enemies, yet I couldn't spot the hero standing right in front of me. From this day forward, my life belongs to you. If the Lin family uncle tries to move against you again, they will have to step over my corpse."
[**DING! HERO'S LOYALTY: 100/100 (ETERNAL BROTHERHOOD).**]
[**SYSTEM MESSAGE: THE PROTAGONIST HAS ASSIGNED HIMSELF AS YOUR SWORN PROTECTOR. YOUR ABILITY TO ACT AS A VILLAIN HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 90%.**]
Lin Feng wanted to cry. He really did. He looked from the obsessed CEO to the fanatical Hero. This was a nightmare. In the original book, Ye Chen was supposed to be the one Su Qingxue fell for. Now, they were both looking at him like he was a modern-day saint.
"Get out! Both of you!" Lin Feng grabbed a pillow with his good arm and threw it at Ye Chen. "I don't need a bodyguard! I don't need a nurse! I'm the Young Master of the Lin family! I want wine! I want models! I want to be a degenerate! Leave me alone so I can plot my next crime!"
Su Qingxue stood up, tucking the covers around him with terrifying maternal energy. "He's delirious from the pain meds. Ye Chen, go tell the Director of the hospital that I'm buying this facility. I want the entire top three floors cleared. No one enters without my personal clearance. Lin Feng needs peace to recover. If a single paparazzi gets a photo of him, I'll fire the entire board of directors."
"Wait, you're buying the hospital?" Lin Feng gasped. "That's—that's illegal! Or at least very expensive!"
"It's necessary," Su Qingxue said, her eyes flashing with a hint of her old coldness—but this time, it was directed at the world, not him. "I won't let anyone hurt you again. Not even your own family. Especially not them."
As they left the room to finalize the "purchase," the System's blue screen flickered back into view, pulsing with golden light.
[WORLD-VIEW UPDATE: CHAPTER 1 SOCIAL IMPACT]
Viral Status: A video of the 'Heart Firework' and you shielding the CEO has hit 100 million views.
Public Opinion: 98% of the public believes you are a 'Dark Knight' who has been Suffering in silence.
The 'Lin Feng Fan Club' has reached 500,000 members overnight.
[SYSTEM COMMENT: Congratulations! You are so 'evil' that the world has decided to make you a God. If you save one more person, I might have to upgrade your status to 'Eternal Savior'. Would you like to view the 'Gifts' sent by your fans? (Note: Most of them are marriage proposals).]
Lin Feng fell back against the silk pillows,staring at the gold-leaf ceiling. He felt like a man who had tried to jump off a bridge only to land in a pile of gold and be declared the winner of a marathon he didn't enter.
"System," he whispered. "Can I at least have a burger? Something greasy? Something a villain would eat?"
[RESPONSE: HEROINE SU QINGXUE HAS ORDERED A MICHELIN-STAR CHEF TO PREPARE ORGANIC CONGEE FOR YOU. BURGERS ARE DEEMED 'UNHEALTHY' FOR HER PROTECTOR.]
Lin Feng closed his eyes. He had 999 lives of experience being a bad guy, but he had no idea how to survive being loved by the people he was supposed to destroy.
Fine, he thought, a spark of defiance lighting up in his mind. You want me to be a hero? I'll be such a high-maintenance, demanding, arrogant 'hero' that you'll all grow to hate me anyway. Just wait until I'm out of this bed. The 'Scum' is coming back.
But as he drifted back into a drug-induced sleep, he didn't see the Shadow Web assassin's second failure. He didn't see Su Qingxue's phone screen, which showed her transferring billions of dollars into a "Lin Feng Protection Fund.
"The world wouldn't let him be a villain. And the world was about to become very, very dangerous for anyone who disagreed with his "sainthood."
Author's Note:
Lin Feng is officially "protected" by the two most powerful people in the city. How is he going to commit "villainy" when his bodyguard is a God of War and his girlfriend is a billionaire who buys hospitals on a whim? If you're enjoying the "failing upward," please vote with Power Stones!