The Female Leads Regret After the Villain Severed Ties, Leaving the Protagonist Broken - Chapter 2:
Chapter 2: A Sick Mother, a Gambling Father, a Schoolgirl Sister, and Her Broken Self:
At this moment, the bright sky was hidden beneath heavy clouds. The wind blew fiercely, carrying leaves that swirled and scattered through the air.
Gu Xiaoxiao stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the gloomy sky. “It looks like it’s going to rain…” She let out a soft breath, then turned decisively and left. Her back was neat and firm, without the slightest hesitation.
She stopped a taxi.
Inside the cab, she looked out the window again at the towering Emperor Group building. For some reason, an inexplicable reluctance rose in her chest.
In truth… Lu Chen wasn’t all that bad.
Over the past three months, he had shown her care in every detail. He insisted on driving her to and from work every day, prepared fireworks for her during festivals, and even invited one of the world’s most famous bands on her birthday just to see her smile.
He had gone against the opinions of all his staff during a company meeting and insisted that she, an intern, receive a six-figure monthly salary. From life to work, he had looked after her meticulously. Everyone in the group knew Young Master Lu liked her. Even her family knew she had a wealthy young master who quietly supported her.
But… she always felt Lu Chen’s intentions weren’t sincere. It was only a game to him.
After all, his reputation was terrible. As the youngest CEO of the Emperor Group, he was never short of women by his side, and scandals about him filled the media. No matter how she looked at it, he wasn’t someone worth entrusting her future to. That was why she had rejected him again and again, never wavering.
Still, she hadn’t expected him to personally issue the order to dismiss her. Was she truly too cold toward him?
Her heart was a swirl of emotions. Yet even though she had been fired, she remained certain that Lu Chen still loved her deeply.
With his means, he could have found a thousand ways to drag her into his bed. But he hadn’t. He had always treated her with courtesy, rarely even initiating physical contact—completely unlike the infamous young master he was known to be.
Love is restraint. If a man like him could change himself, what else could it mean but deep love?
His decision to fire her was probably just an act of anger. Perhaps, at this very moment, he was upstairs crying bitterly, overwhelmed with regret.
Picturing him full of sorrow and despair, Gu Xiaoxiao let out a light hum, and her mood lifted slightly. At most three days, she thought—Lu Chen would definitely come to her again. And when he did, she absolutely wouldn’t give him a good face!
Humming again, her pink lips curved upward, and her pale chin lifted proudly. It was like self-hypnosis, burying the lingering reluctance deep in her heart, leaving only stubbornness.
The taxi engine roared, carrying her away.
She withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes, and picked up the rabbit doll from her box. Pouting, she muttered, “How dare you fire me… I’ll beat you, I’ll beat you!” She bit her teeth and smacked the doll twice as if it were Lu Chen himself.
…
Meanwhile, the Lu Chen in her imagination wasn’t crying miserably at all—he was smiling with delight. Finally, he no longer had to play the lovesick fool. He couldn’t be happier.
He stretched out his arm, pulling the woman beside him into his embrace, ready to engage in a deeper exchange, when—knock, knock!
A light knock came, followed by the steward’s respectful voice outside. “Young Master, we’ve found the girl you mentioned, Chen Mengyao.”
Lu Chen’s movement paused briefly before he pushed the woman beneath the desk. “Come in,” he said casually.
The grand office doors opened slowly. The steward walked in, head bowed, eyes fixed firmly on his feet, ignoring the strange noises around him. “Young Master.”
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes comfortably. “Where is she now?”
The steward lowered his head even further. “Young Master, the girl named Chen Mengyao is currently in the slums of Yanjing City.”
Lu Chen nodded slightly. Not only was he the eldest young master of the Lu family and the CEO of the Emperor Group, but he also held the identity of student council president at Yanjing University.
And Chen Mengyao was the campus belle of the [Campus Belle’s Bodyguard] plotline. She was his junior at Yanjing University, about to begin her freshman year.
According to the original plot, when the semester began, he would meet her at the freshman welcome ceremony. He would be smitten and pursue her madly. After repeated failures, he would grow desperate and try to force her. It was then that the Dragon King would appear—defeating his lackeys with one against ten and even slapping him in front of everyone, utterly humiliating him.
This Dragon King was Lin Feng, the so-called King of Assassins, who also happened to be Chen Mengyao’s childhood sweetheart. Tired of bloodshed abroad, Lin Feng returned home to protect her as her bodyguard.
Lu Chen sneered inwardly.
When Lin Feng was living in luxury overseas, he hadn’t thought of her. Now that he was done playing, he suddenly remembered? Tch, scumbag.
The current timeline was just after the college entrance exams, with three months before the semester began. That gave Lu Chen exactly enough time to complete his system’s mission.
The steward continued, “Young Master, according to our investigation, she came to Yanjing early to work and earn her tuition fees. She didn’t come alone—her mother and younger sister came with her.”
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. “Her mother… does she have a serious illness?”
The steward’s eyes flickered with surprise before he quickly nodded. “Yes, Young Master. Her mother is ill and needs care, so Chen Mengyao brought her to Yanjing. Also… Chen Mengyao’s father is still back home, but he’s addicted to gambling.”
Lu Chen smiled faintly. A sick mother, a gambling father, a schoolgirl sister, and her broken self. This novel really did collect every cliché of the Dragon King plots—ailing mothers treated by the protagonist, gambling fathers beaten by the protagonist when demanding money—classic melodrama. Those had always been the protagonist’s shining moments.
But now, they were his.
“Prepare the car. We’ll go out this afternoon,” Lu Chen said as he leaned back into the sofa, eyes closed.
“Yes, Young Master.”
The steward bowed and headed for the door. Just as he reached it, he paused, turned back, and added, “By the way, Young Master, I’ve arranged for ten female paparazzi to follow Gu Xiaoxiao. They’ll monitor her twenty-four hours a day. Also, we’ve installed cameras all over her house. If anything happens, we’ll know immediately.”
Lu Chen lifted his eyelids, satisfied. “Mm, you’ve done well.”
Receiving rare praise, the steward left with joy.
When he was gone, Lu Chen leaned against the sofa, rubbed his forehead, and kicked lightly forward. “You heard all that, didn’t you?”
From beneath the desk came a muffled voice, “No… Young Master Lu, I didn’t hear anything…” before being silenced.
…
…
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