After Teasing the Heroine and Running Away, I Was Forced into Love - Chapter 3

He Roushuang had considered clinging to the Female Lead like a lapdog from the moment she transmigrated, becoming her bestie and thus successfully joining the “good guys” camp, freeing herself from the role of a vicious villainess.

But after much deliberation, she concluded that this plan was fundamentally flawed. The problem lay in the drastic shift in her character.

While modern novels lacked the absurd soul-snatching tropes of cultivation worlds, such a radical personality change would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Therefore, she decided to maintain the Original Owner’s caustic persona.

This approach would not only avoid raising suspicion but also allow her to hurl insults without restraint—utterly cathartic!

In the novel, He Roushuang, aside from her sharp tongue, had no romantic interests. However, after being subjected to domestic violence and infidelity by her husband later in the story, she retaliated by keeping a few pretty boys. When this was discovered, it triggered even more brutal domestic abuse.

Worse still, these pretty boys turned out to be agents sent by the Male Lead to swindle away the entire inheritance left to the Original Owner by her parents.

Every time He Roushuang thought about how the Male Lead and the Original Owner herself had squandered such a privileged background, her heart ached uncontrollably.

She absolutely couldn’t step into those landmines.

So, she instructed her assistant to send the Female Lead a message about an apartment.

She wanted to pull the Female Lead out of the mire, but to ensure the other woman felt secure in accepting something without owing anything, she had to play out this transaction.

Shi Qing emerged from the hospital, her mother’s stomach cancer carrying a high risk of metastasis. Due to her poor digestion, her mother spent most of her time on IV drips or consuming liquid foods.

Yet it was the lucid moments that brought the most suffering.

Every time Shi Qing watched her mother gaze longingly at the families of patients in neighboring beds, her heart ached at the sight of them swallowing their meals.

This illness was the cruelest kind, with no definitive cure, forcing her mother to wage a daily battle against the disease. If it were Shi Qing herself, she would have chosen a swift death.

Shi Qing had asked her mother about it.

But her mother’s reply was simple: she wanted to live, to see you grow up a little more, to admire the fresh flowers you bring every day and arrange by my bedside.

Shi Qing fell silent, no longer revealing her darker thoughts to her mother.

If… if selling her body and soul could truly keep her mother alive, wouldn’t it be worth it?

He Roushuang’s assistant sent an apartment address.

Assistant Wang’s demeanor was cold, but as the boss’s trusted right-hand man, he wouldn’t harbor genuine malice toward the boss’s kept woman. That would be foolish.

He Roushuang had specifically instructed Assistant Wang not to show Shi Qing any flattering treatment.

Assistant Wang understood instantly.

So the boss likes playing the sadist?

Miss Shi is truly pitiful.

Assistant Wang: [Tianfu Ziyuan, Building A, Unit 08]

As a clever woman, Shi Qing understood the address at a glance, but what truly caught her attention was the information it revealed.

The “Tianfu” part was unremarkable; many real estate developments used the name. “Ziyuan,” however, held a deeper significance. In classical Chinese, “yuan” often referred to imperial gardens—lush, verdant spaces where plants flourished and animals roamed.

If there were still green spaces and recreational facilities in the city center, this would indeed be a top-tier apartment complex.

Shi Qing had investigated He Roushuang. Though she hadn’t taken the woman’s business card, she remembered the number perfectly thanks to her exceptional memory.

However, her investigation was amateurish at best—a cobbled-together resume from various online sources. It paled in comparison to the thorough background checks conducted by the Tianze Group’s president and his managers.

He Roushuang and the man who had showered her with money were siblings. He was now the president of the Tianze Group—a genuine, bona fide president.

If she could make him fall in love with her, he might become a stable source of income.

Shi Qing had never been a good person. As people said, she needed money, and she would compromise if she found someone with acceptable terms.

At least Miss He had decent features and a tall, slender figure.

Compared to those middle-aged men with their foul mouths, greasy faces, and potbellies, He Roushuang’s slight lecherous tendencies were practically harmless.

As Shi Qing pondered this, she rode the notoriously overcrowded bus, experiencing firsthand what it felt like to be squeezed into a human meat sandwich.

She finally arrived at the address Assistant Wang had sent: Tianfu Ziyuan.

The entrance was grand and imposing, with over a dozen peach trees already bearing green fruit. As expected, she was stopped at the gate.

Shi Qing had to give Assistant Wang’s name before the security guard nodded with a grin and allowed her into the residential complex.

She pressed the button for the eighth floor. As the elevator ascended, Assistant Wang sent another message, informing her of the room number and that He Roushuang was waiting for her inside.

He Roushuang, a woman with a long history of reading novels, found herself utterly unable to maintain her composure when she actually became the domineering CEO who kept the female protagonist as a kept woman.

Her mindset was exactly like when she sat in her Bentley: seven parts smug satisfaction, three parts awkward embarrassment.

As expected…

Deep down, I’m still just a despicable person.

She heard the doorbell ring. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing Shi Qing’s strikingly pure and beautiful face.

The corners of Shi Qing’s eyes tilted upward slightly, resembling the bewitching allure of Daji, the legendary fox spirit who had captivated King Zhou of Shang, driving him to sacrifice his kingdom and life for her.

But those who didn’t know Shi Qing were easily deceived by this fox-like facade. In reality, she was like a snake—coiling, lying in wait, and then striking to strangle her prey.

Back in the dimly lit bar, with its deafeningly loud, tacky DJ and blinding strobe lights, it had been nearly impossible to make out the girls’ faces on stage.

He Roushuang hadn’t bothered to scrutinize the female protagonist’s features, content with knowing she was a great beauty.

But now, for the first time, she was looking at her directly.

Only now did she realize just how stunningly beautiful Shi Qing truly was.

Heh… He Shanjian wasn’t looking for a replacement at all. He was simply acting on lust at first sight!

He Roushuang found this utterly absurd, but she soon realized she was about to fall into the same trap of lust at first sight herself.

“Sister He.”

Shi Qing’s fingers brushed against the collar of her dress, tugging it slightly downward. Her fair neck flushed a delicate pink, so captivating that He Roushuang couldn’t bear to look for long.

He Roushuang immediately lowered her head.

Oh my god, how is the female lead so good at flirting?!

I can barely resist her!

“Do you want to start now?” Shi Qing asked.

Shi Qing might not have tasted pork, but she’d certainly seen pigs run. After singing at bars for so long, she’d inevitably learned a thing or two about such matters.

The problem was, she was still an intern in college, and her meager internship salary barely covered her mother’s hospital bills.

She needed to find other ways to make money.

“Ahem, ahem, ahem…”

He Roushuang couldn’t bring herself to look at Shi Qing, turning her face away and feigning composure.

“No need,” she said.

After a moment’s thought, He Roushuang remembered her cruel persona. She stepped closer, her voice dripping with malice as she said, “I… don’t like you at all. I only snatched you away because I saw my annoying little brother trying to make a move on you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, He Roushuang felt a pang of guilt.

But she really didn’t want to get entangled with this straight-as-an-arrow female lead!