Winning the male lead

After some time, the Shen family’s servants had fully adjusted to Le Tian’s new role—so much so that they were just shy of calling him “Madam.”

The attitude of those around him only made Le Tian feel even worse. He desperately wanted to escape from the Shen estate, from this family, from this absurd reality.

Finally, seizing the opportunity while Shen Lixing was away, he found a chance to slip out. The moment he ran out of the estate and onto the road, he let out a long sigh of relief.

“Shen Lixing is being way too obvious,” he muttered.

Just a few days ago, security had been tight, but today, even the guards at the gate had been withdrawn. Wasn’t this basically an open invitation for him to run away?

Lately, Shen Lixing often touched his face with a thoughtful look. Other people smoked after sex; Shen Lixing treated him like a cigarette, constantly savoring him. Le Tian, for his part, maintained a stance of nonviolent noncooperation—he couldn’t fight back against Shen Lixing’s advances, but he also refused to respond to them.

Though, truthfully, he often felt like crying out daddy in pleasure, he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

To maintain his persona, he had put in immense effort.

Now, it seemed Shen Lixing had finally run out of patience and was pulling something bigger.

He had already figured out what Shen Lixing wanted him to see.

The system had given him a notification:

Xu Tao and Yu Miao have confessed their feelings to each other. They are now mutually in love.

You have unlocked the achievement: “Basic Cuckold.” This does not meet the system’s requirements, but it’s still green enough.

What Le Tian didn’t know was that the moment he stepped out of the Shen estate, he was placed under covert surveillance. As expected, he called the only friend he could rely on—Xu Tao.

“Xu Tao,” Le Tian bit his lip, his voice trembling, “can you come pick me up?”

Xu Tao’s heart tightened. He had already been worried about Le Tian’s sudden disappearance for nearly a month, so the moment he got the call, he rushed over immediately.

Le Tian stood by the roadside in nothing but a thin pajama set and fuzzy slippers. From the side, he looked noticeably thinner. When he saw Xu Tao’s bright red sports car, he managed a small smile, but to Xu Tao, that smile carried an overwhelming loneliness.

“Get in,” he said, this time skipping any jokes about his sleepwear.

Anyone with eyes could see that something was wrong with Le Tian.

He climbed into the car, forcing another smile. “I was supposed to sell you a yacht, remember?”

Xu Tao started the engine. “I still want it. I can learn.”

“You’re a real bro,” Le Tian murmured, shrinking into his seat. “I’m so tired… I’m just gonna sleep for a bit…”

For the past month, staying with Shen Lixing, he had barely slept. Nightmares woke him constantly, and each time he woke up, he would disturb Shen Lixing. Then Shen Lixing would soothe him back to sleep—soothe him right into another game.

Maybe he thought he slept enough during the day, so missing a bit of sleep at night wouldn’t matter.

But he didn’t know—Le Tian could never sleep during the day.

Xu Tao glanced at him. He had already dozed off, his head tilted to the side, long hair covering most of his face.

For a moment, Xu Tao had the illusion that Le Tian was… beautiful, like a fragile porcelain doll.

He took him back to his apartment in the city.

Behind them, the surveillance vehicle came to a stop as well. The person inside followed Shen Lixing’s orders and sent a message to Yu Miao.

Yu Miao, in the middle of an interview, suddenly received a text. The contents claimed that Xu Tao was in his apartment, meeting with another woman.

Her relationship with Xu Tao was highly secret—so secret that even her manager didn’t know. So how did the sender of this message know?

She panicked. She didn’t even stop to think whether the message was real or fake—all she wanted to know was who had sent it.

Interrupting the interview, she rushed into the restroom, pressing a hand over her wildly beating heart as she dialed Xu Tao’s number.

At that moment, Xu Tao was pouring Le Tian a glass of water. Seeing Yu Miao’s caller ID, he quickly declined the call and flipped his phone over, putting it on silent.

Le Tian looked up, puzzled. “Who was that? Why didn’t you answer?”

Xu Tao handed him the water, replying casually, “Spam call.”

Le Tian accepted the cup, lowering his eyes. For a long time, he didn’t say a word.

Finally, he whispered, trembling, “How… how is Miao Miao doing?”

Yu Miao had already told Xu Tao about her contract relationship with Le Tian. Xu Tao believed it, but he didn’t think Le Tian would go as far as playing a love game with a stranger just to avoid marriage pressure.

From what he knew of Le Tian, there was only one explanation—he had fallen for Yu Miao but didn’t know how to approach her. So, he had resorted to this childish tactic.

And now, the fact that Le Tian’s first concern upon escaping was Yu Miao only confirmed his suspicions.

Le Tian touched his face. As he raised his hand, the silk sleeve of his robe slipped down, and Xu Tao’s sharp eyes caught sight of scattered red marks on his arm.

Le Tian gave a weary smile, lowering his head and pressing his lips together. “Really? My body hasn’t been doing too well lately. I’m just a little tired.”

“Do you want to go to the hospital for a check-up?” Xu Tao asked with concern.

The moment Le Tian heard that, he immediately reacted with agitation, rejecting the suggestion outright. “No!”

Xu Tao was startled by his intensity and quickly reassured him, “Okay, okay, we won’t go if you don’t want to. What do you want to do? Whatever you want, it’s up to you.”

His words were partly driven by guilt—after all, he had stolen Le Tian’s girlfriend—and partly by genuine concern for Le Tian’s mental state. He seemed overly sensitive, on the edge of a breakdown.

Realizing that his reaction had been too extreme, Le Tian hurriedly covered it up. “I just hate the smell of disinfectant in hospitals.”

Xu Tao rubbed his hands together, suddenly unsure of what to say.

Le Tian, on the other hand, was growing impatient. Why isn’t Yu Miao here yet? How long do I have to keep making awkward conversation with Xu Tao?

Shen Lixing wanted to make sure he lost all hope, so he definitely wouldn’t be satisfied until Le Tian saw everything with his own eyes. Yu Miao was bound to show up.

Or maybe he should ask Xu Tao to call her over himself?

Just as he was about to speak, the sound of the door unlocking echoed through the room. The melodic chime of the passcode being entered rang clear in both their ears.

Xu Tao immediately stood up, trying to block Le Tian’s line of sight, but it was already too late.

Yu Miao’s shocked, panicked face was completely exposed before Le Tian.

Le Tian inwardly critiqued the situation: Classic love triangle positioning. The system really loves dramatic, soap opera-style plot twists.

Immediately, he shifted into character. First, his face lit up in joy—only for that joy to gradually give way to doubt.

“Yu Miao, how do you know the passcode to Xu Tao’s apartment?”

From the moment Yu Miao appeared, Xu Tao had been in a state of panic. Hearing Le Tian’s question, he rushed to explain.

“It’s like this—you asked me to take care of her, right? Sometimes she comes over to discuss things about Auntie. She’s a public figure, and it’s inconvenient for her to be seen outside, so I gave her the passcode. Please don’t misunderstand, we—”

“We’re together,” Yu Miao interrupted firmly. She looked straight at Le Tian, her expression unwavering. “Let’s cancel the contract.”

Le Tian’s face twisted in shock, as if thunderstruck. Yu Miao stepped forward and took Xu Tao’s hand.

Xu Tao lowered his head in silence, which was as good as an admission.

Le Tian’s lips trembled. He had so much he wanted to say, yet in the end, no words came out. He simply turned and walked away from the apartment, one step at a time.

By the time he ran down the stairs, his eyes were red.

At the bottom of the steps, he saw a familiar figure leaning against a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Shen Lixing.

A suit jacket was draped casually over one of his strong, lean arms. For once, he had a cigarette between his lips, the smoke curling around his deep, shadowed eyes.

Le Tian’s thoughts short-circuited: Oh my god, he looks so hot. Please, just fck me already!*

Shen Lixing stubbed out his cigarette and opened his arms generously, welcoming his poor, heartbroken little nephew.

“Le Tian,” he murmured. “Come to me.”

Le Tian hesitated for only a second—then threw himself into his embrace.

Shen Lixing held his precious treasure tightly and sighed, “I told you before… Only the two of us are truly connected. Only I will never betray you.”