When the wrought-iron, vintage-style elevator doors clattered open, a roar of shouting, cursing, and shrill laughter rushed into their ears.
Inside a space identical to a regulation boxing arena, the sons and daughters of the rich—dressed in bizarre, otherworldly outfits, hair dyed in every color of the rainbow, wearing leather jackets and extremely short shorts, clearly nowhere near the legal age—leaned over the railings. They frantically pounded on the chain-link fence while hurling their beer bottles into the ring in a fit of excitement.
Inside the cage, two fighters were going at it, their hands wrapped in knuckle dusters. Blood splattered as they fought with eyes burning red.
So it was an underground fight.
Such lawless “exhibition matches” were designed to please bloodthirsty guests. A proper, regulated boxing match certainly couldn’t be played like this.
The system let out a shriek of “Ah!” and covered its eyes with its wings, shrinking behind Gong Ze. [How terrifying! How could we possibly find the protagonist top in a place like this? Host, let’s leave quickly—this system is scared!]
Gong Ze, however, curled his lips and kept his hands in his pockets, letting out a loud, clear whistle that was swallowed by the screams.
“Don’t rush.”
Manager Cai led him upward.
There was a small door at the top of the stairs. When opened, it revealed a semi-enclosed glass private room.
High-end guests who didn’t want to be disturbed—or didn’t want their cruel side exposed to others—watched the bloody boxing match below through this glass.
Compared to the wailing, wealthy brats downstairs, the guests here were much more presentable.
On the coffee table sat cigars, alcohol, and assorted fruit platters. A few young men and women, having taken off their suit jackets, were cuddling with boyish-looking male and female models, elegantly puffing smoke while flirting without the slightest restraint.
When someone entered, they paused and turned their gazes toward the man with the split lip, a handsome face, and a somber expression.
Gong Ze’s face was known to everyone.
After all, Sang You’s father had proudly kept Gong Ze by his side for so long. Later, when such a big incident happened to the Sang family in Black City, an outsider actually rose to power because of it.
Who would believe there wasn’t something shady going on?
In the past, these rich young ladies and gentlemen looked down on Gong Ze—a poor dog trying to curry favor with their circle. Now that he had taken over the Sang family and risen to a position where he could do business with their parents’ generation, these young masters and ladies, while not exactly trying to curry favor with him, wouldn’t provoke him like before.
One by one, the scrutinizing gazes fell away.
Only one remained.
Gong Ze followed it and saw, in the farthest corner of the private room, a young man around twenty-four or twenty-five.
He was lounging on a sofa, wearing casual, light-colored clothes, looking like a student who hadn’t quite graduated from university yet. His hair was dyed a light chestnut brown, with soft curls. His features were well-proportioned and handsome, and his eyes, gentle and warm, seemed to carry a natural three-point approachability and smile.
He had a broad build and was tall. Even in such an environment, his back remained straight—enough to prove his good upbringing. His temperament was like the only clear stream in this muddy current, making people’s eyes light up.
The protagonist top, Qin Chuan.
Gong Ze met his gaze directly. But instead of looking away after being caught staring, the other man simply smiled and raised his glass in greeting toward Gong Ze.
Gong Ze’s eyes curved, and he immediately put on a smug, arrogant smile—the kind that carried a faint hint of a petty man’s sudden success.
But the protagonist top, Qin Chuan, didn’t get angry at all. He simply lowered his glass and continued talking calmly with the person next to him.
Gong Ze’s expression darkened, revealing a vicious, annoyed look.
Anyone watching could immediately see the contrast. They thought, So what if a poor guy climbed up the ranks? Compared to a true child of destiny like Qin Chuan, he’s just small-time, unfit for the big stage.
The rich young men and women who had been secretly watching covered their mouths with their wine glasses, snickering and exchanging glances, casting dismissive looks toward Gong Ze.
The original Gong Ze had already been twisted by the childhood trauma of his family’s massacre.
He believed that he, too, was inherently of noble birth—that these despicable people had stolen what rightfully belonged to his family.
Moreover, to win over the Sang family, he had humiliated himself in countless ways, acting like a groveling sycophant. Now that he had finally risen to power, he was swollen with pride and could no longer bear even a hint of contempt from anyone.
These unspoken judgments made the original Gong Ze feel humiliated.
So he looked at Qin Chuan with even more jealousy and hostility, almost certainly harboring deep resentment.
But in reality—
Gong Ze (the transmigrator) thought: So much for “the protagonist top would never show up in a place like this.”
The system: …
Gong Ze mimicked the system’s earlier words, his tone dripping with sarcasm: “How could the protagonist top be a bad person~ If he had returned from abroad, he would have gone to save Sang You long ago!”
The system: …
Gong Ze: “The protagonist top would find such decadent, pleasure-seeking occasions utterly beneath him~”
The system: …
Gong Ze: “Ha.”
The system: …
Ahhh, what a venomous, sadistic, chaos-loving troll!
The system let out a pathetic “Wah!” and cried in frustration.
Like a broken record, it kept muttering to itself: “No, no, no… at this point in the timeline, how could the protagonist top have returned? And if he did return, why wouldn’t he save Sang You? It doesn’t make sense, it’s not logical, blah blah blah…”
“Why not?” Gong Ze deliberately sat down next to the protagonist top, putting on a provocative demeanor, staring at Qin Chuan like a venomous snake while lazily responding to the system in his mind. “The Sang family fell. He’s got beautiful women by his side now. With better options available, what’s that little fool to him?”
[You’re lying!]
Gong Ze nonchalantly signaled toward Qin Chuan. “Look over there.”
He directed the system’s attention to a cute, coquettish girl sitting close to Qin Chuan.
The girl was practically glued to him, chattering excitedly nonstop.
As a top-tier transmigrator in the department, Gong Ze was ruthlessly sharp when it came to reading people.
He could see at a glance the impatience Qin Chuan was hiding well. But even though Qin Chuan was clearly annoyed, he still endured it, maintaining a smile and responding attentively to the girl.
The system said: [Just because they’re sitting close doesn’t mean there’s something going on between them.]
Gong Ze looked at it like it was an idiot. “Did you see the girl’s face? Notice anything?”
The system stared for a while, then suddenly widened its eyes in realization. [Oh! I see! Her nose is augmented!]
Gong Ze: …
He now seriously suspected that the main god had assigned him System Hello Big just to annoy him to death.
Gong Ze pinched the bridge of his nose. “…I meant look at her makeup. She’s wearing a full face! And she’s got on colored contacts, with individual cluster lashes.”
[Uh… what about the lashes?]
“Applying those lashes takes time. To put on a full face of makeup and then glue on cluster lashes one by one—that means she started at least one to two hours early.”
“Makeup is exhausting.”
“People only go through that trouble when they’re going to see someone they like. That’s when it’s worth spending one to three hours perfecting a full face.”
Not to mention, she had also curled her hair and carefully coordinated her outfit.
[Th-this…]
The system stubbornly insisted: [That only proves this girl likes the protagonist top. It doesn’t prove he likes her back.]
“First of all,” Gong Ze said, “your so-called perfect protagonist top has clearly returned from abroad, yet he hasn’t gone to save Sang You. Instead, he’s here watching a bloody boxing match with this girl. Right now, it’s obvious who matters more to Qin Chuan.”
“Secondly, innocent men and women don’t share a double-ended straw bent into a heart shape.”
The system was stunned.
Then it immediately looked at the cups on the coffee table.
For the sake of atmosphere, there weren’t many lights in the private room. The fruit platter on the coffee table also blocked the view. If Gong Ze hadn’t pointed it out, the system would never have noticed the cups sitting on the table.
Seeing the double-headed heart-shaped straw placed in the glasses, the system fell silent.
Gong Ze propped his chin on his hand and openly, rudely sized up Qin Chuan and the girl.
The piercing gaze angered the girl, who stood up and shouted at him, “What are you looking at?!” Before she could say more, Qin Chuan stopped her, gently coaxing her with a few soft words until she sat back down—though she deliberately said aloud, “Freak.”
Qin Chuan smiled helplessly and cast an apologetic look toward Gong Ze.
Acting like the picture of good grace.
Gong Ze feigned anger on the surface, but inside he quipped to the system, “I guarantee you, he’s secretly thrilled. He thinks she just said exactly what he was thinking.”
“Guys like him—the ones who love playing the good guy—they love keeping a hot-headed, foul-mouthed fool by their side to say the nasty things they want to say. Then, after secretly enjoying it, they step in to play peacemaker, which only makes themselves look even better.”
“…”
The system stayed quiet, not arguing with Gong Ze this time.
But Gong Ze pressed on. “And do you know who this girl is?”
When the system didn’t answer, he continued on his own: “The mayor of Black City has a daughter, around this age. Mmm… it should be her.”
“So the Sang family falls, and that poor fool isn’t just abandoned by his beloved Brother Qin—while he’s being ‘assaulted’ and humiliated by the wicked villain, his dear Brother Qin is off having a lovely time with the mayor’s daughter~”
The system retreated to a corner, a cloud of gloom over its head, and began growing mushrooms in despair.
Gong Ze, meanwhile, tilted his head, resting his cheek on his hand, watching Qin Chuan with a smiling gaze.
In his mind flashed the image of that sickly, fragile young master—the one who had been fooled by his cheap tricks, truly believed he had been violated, felt he had wronged Brother Qin, and cried his heart out.
Then he looked at this “honorable, upright” protagonist top, Brother Qin—with all that filthy black mud hiding beneath that smiling face.
His own smile slowly faded.
Staring at the protagonist top Qin Chuan, a cold glint flickered in his handsome eyes.
“See that?” he murmured, almost like a lover’s whisper, though it was unclear who he was speaking to. “I told you—you’re a little idiot.”
In his eyes, you’re just a dirty rag. And yet, you’re willing to die over someone like this.
A flicker of nameless anger sparked in his heart.
Gong Ze narrowed his eyes, letting out a displeased “Tch.”
Why are you getting angry? That lovesick little idiot deserves it. Used, stripped of everything, and probably killed in the end.
Cry yourself to death, why don’t you.
Better cry out every last drop of water that filled your brain when you chose to be a lovesick fool.
But even as he thought these things, the handsome man, still nursing the sting on his split lip, didn’t know why he was so irritated. He crossed his arms and slumped into the sofa.
Just when people thought he had fallen asleep, he suddenly opened his eyes, grumbled restlessly, and stood up…
The system, having finished growing its mushrooms in the corner, returned in low spirits—only to find Gong Ze gone.
Where is he?!
It looked around and then, by Qin Chuan’s seat, found Gong Ze standing right in front of him.
[Host—what are you doing—?!]
…
Everyone watched in astonishment as the poor dog—that petty, suddenly-successful live-in son-in-law—strolled lazily up to Black City’s famously distinguished young master Qin Chuan, hands in his pockets.
He curled his lips, radiating a hint of unhinged madness, and issued a challenge that seemed entirely disproportionate to his standing.
“Watching from the stands is so boring,” he said.
“What do you say, Young Master Qin? Would you do me the honor of stepping into the ring?”
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