Chapter 38 You're not a qualified male lead...

Lu Ming hung up the phone and soon drove to the residential area.

He parked his car, got out, and looked up at the second floor of the house next door. One of the rooms had a light on.

He composed himself and went into his home. The servants were busy with their own tasks; it wasn't deserted, but it wasn't lively either.

"Young Master is back! Dinner will be ready soon!" Aunt Sun said with a smile.

Lu Ming nodded: "Yes, thank you for your hard work."

The fragrant food was served. Lu Ming, who was used to eating alone, had washed fruit on a fruit plate. He ate slowly with his head down, but he didn't have much of an appetite. He just stared at the small red tomatoes on the fruit plate in a daze.

He'd been spacing out a lot these past few days, as if he were recalling something. His feelings were vague, a mix of anticipation and disappointment, but when he came back to his senses and tried to remember what he'd been thinking about, he couldn't recall it. Lu Ming rubbed his temples, wondering if he was really overworking and suffering from some kind of mental exhaustion.

I really should go out and relax.

He rarely opens his phone to browse holiday sharing posts on lifestyle apps, looking for things to do on the weekend. As he looks, he realizes that a figure keeps popping into his mind—he's imagining Wen Chu, wondering what she might be interested in.

But he quickly convinced himself that since he was taking a girl out, it was normal to predict her preferences and it didn't mean anything.

As he was thinking, a cheerful knock sounded at the door.

Aunt Sun was in the inner room. She had just heard the noise and was about to wipe her hands and go out to open the door when she found her young master already standing at the door.

It was July, and the cicadas were chirping all evening. Wen Chu stood at the door of Lu Ming's house wearing a pink sleeveless, high-necked nightgown. Her snow-white neck and collarbone were exposed. She was dressed very casually. Her long hair, which she had just washed not long ago, was casually tied up with a hairpin. As soon as the door opened, she flashed a big smile.

"Good evening, Auntie—oh? Why did you open the door?" Wen Chu was a little surprised.

"What's so surprising about me opening my door?" Lu Ming glanced down at her attire, then looked away. "Is there something you need?"

"There are so many mosquitoes outside, close the door!" Wen Chu pushed him aside, walked in, and pointed to the dining table, saying, "I knew you were eating!"

Lu Ming frowned at her robber-like behavior, then closed the door and looked at her, asking, "What's wrong with me eating?"

“You should have invited me to eat with you. Aunt Sun’s cooking is so delicious, you can’t eat alone. I’m here to mooch a meal.” Wen Chu pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Lu Ming, then waved to the kitchen, “Auntie! Get me a pair of chopsticks and a bowl!”

Aunt Sun poked her head out, saw it was her, and smiled, "Miss Wen is here? Okay!"

Lu Ming tilted his head in confusion, surprised that Aunt Sun had agreed without asking his opinion, since she usually consulted him before making any decisions.

"Did I agree...?" Lu Ming said, but his voice was not loud and he didn't have much of an imposing manner, so Wen Chu simply ignored him.

Lu Ming took a deep breath, too lazy to argue with him, and sat down in his seat again: "Does your family have no one to cook? What are you doing at my house?"

Wen Chu waved her hand and casually made up a story: "My aunt's daughter is about to give birth, so she went back to her hometown to be with her during the delivery. There's no one to cook for me."

Aunt Sun brought over the bowls and chopsticks. Wen Chu first ladled out a bowl of soup, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and drank it. Then her eyes lit up, and she praised, "Auntie, today's corn and pork rib soup is also very delicious!"

Aunt Sun smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it!"

Xiao Yuan also came over, blinked, and asked, "Miss Wen, would you like a drink? There's some Coke chilled in the fridge."

"Yes! Bring it up quickly! The most indispensable thing in summer is soda!" Wen Chu rubbed her hands excitedly, feeling much more relaxed.

She felt very uncomfortable in her own home, which gave her a strong sense of disconnect. The servants were very respectful to her and unwilling to chat with her. She felt too much like an NPC. The room was so big and quiet. If you let your imagination run wild, it was actually a little scary.

It seems that only the people around Lu Ming gradually change and become more humane, so she can only feel a little more at ease when she is close to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming looked at the woman who treated his home like her own and his people like her own, and didn't know what to say. But when he saw the girl sitting there, engrossed in her food, it felt as if the missing piece in his heart had been filled.

He was too lazy to expose the other person's lame excuse, and simply reminded him, "Finish your meal and leave quickly."

Wen Chu: "I'm not leaving."

Lu Ming wondered if he had misheard: "Why are you able to speak so domineeringly?"

"I'm your official girlfriend now, what's wrong with staying at your place for one night? Not only one night, I'm going to stay here from now on."

Wen Chu didn't know why she suddenly became so assertive. Perhaps it was because the Lu family was at fault for drugging her. She could sense Lu Ming's apology and his softened attitude towards her, so she began to push her luck further.

Lu Ming had nothing to say, so he could only back down further: "As long as you don't barge into my room, you can stay wherever you want."

"I won't go in. What are you afraid of me doing to you?"

“You…” Lu Ming scoffed coldly, “You can rest assured, I will not have any designs on you.”

"Huh?" Wen Chu interrupted him, wagging her index finger: "Don't be too sure of yourself. Someone has a history of such behavior, and his credibility has been greatly reduced."

Lu Ming moved his lips, then recalled that foolish night, and his arrogance instantly subsided. He looked away in annoyance and said in a muffled voice, "That was an accident, it can't happen again."

Wen Chu continued in a pretentious tone: "In novels, the male protagonists would rather die than submit, and they remain unmoved even if they are bursting with desire. How come you have such poor willpower? Lu, you need to reflect on yourself. You don't seem like a qualified male protagonist."

“You were dressed like that back then… and I…” Lu Ming hesitated, then, realizing he was in the wrong, stopped trying to defend himself. “Never mind… it won’t happen again anyway.”

Seeing that the man had been humiliated, Wen Chu happily began to eat.

We really need to remind this deadbeat to uphold male virtues, otherwise what if something goes wrong when his favorability rating exceeds 30%?

I'm very worried.

As she was thinking, she realized that she and Lu Ming had picked up the same piece of meat. They glanced at each other, and Wen Chu slapped his chopsticks aside, picked up the meat, and put it in her mouth, saying, "Ladies first."

Lu Ming's face was full of disgust and indescribable frustration. He lowered his head and ate his food, ignoring her.

However, the domineering person seemed to have a change of heart after eating half of his food and started piling food into his bowl, saying in a very considerate tone: "You should eat more. If you eat so little, you won't have the energy to work. You're so tired from work, and you'll suffer from malnutrition if you eat so little. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

And she would be very upset if she lost her pectoral and abdominal muscles.

Lu Ming: "..."

Several servants had already finished eating and were chatting at the far end of the living room. Xiao Yuan glanced at the time, then secretly peeked out to look at the two people still "harmoniously" eating at the table, and exclaimed, "Young Master has been eating for forty minutes and still hasn't finished."

Aunt Sun looked pleased: "It's so nice to have Miss Wen with me."

"It seems like they're together. I just heard Miss Wen say that she's going to stay here and that she's the young master's girlfriend," Xiao Yuan added.

"Oh, Miss Wen always likes to say that, doesn't she?" another maid said, unsurprised.

"No, this time the young master didn't refute it, it seems like he acquiesced."

"real?!"

After finishing his meal, Lu Ming went back to his room. He lay on the bed with one hand under his head and closed his eyes to rest. After a while, he sat up and took out a gray notebook from the bedside drawer.

He turned to the last page and stared blankly at the name that had been written there at some unknown time; he had discovered it the night he returned from the banquet.

He touched the five-pointed star that he had drawn, lost in thought, still unable to understand when he had written the other person's name on it, and why he had given the person such a mark.

A five-pointed star represents importance.

But to which aspect of importance does Wen Chu belong?

As he was thinking, his phone vibrated again.

Chu: [Want to play games?]

Wen Chu's social media name is simple and straightforward, consisting of just one character. People who don't know her might think it's a nickname Lu Ming gave her.

Whenever he received a text message from the other party, Lu Ming would subconsciously repeat the address in his mind, and each time he felt something was off.

Swiping up on the chat interface revealed a string of "Good morning" and "Good night" messages from Wen Chu, along with some random chatter. The messages were so timely that it seemed like they were sent daily. He hadn't replied to them before, and for some reason, there had been a few days of silence. But in the last two days, this woman had started up again and continued sending messages. Lu Ming felt it wouldn't be right not to reply, so on the first day he sent an ellipsis, on the second day a period, and on the third day just an "um".

Even with such cold and perfunctory responses, this person still kept sending messages with great enthusiasm.

Wen Chu lay on the guest bed, waiting for a reply to her text message while scrolling through her past records of being a simp.

It was only on the day Qi Siyan added her that she discovered she had Lu Ming's social media account. When she opened the message list, the pinned contact was someone with the nickname "Brother Lu," which disgusted her. When she clicked on it, she saw her fawning tone, the regular messages of concern, and the manipulative, attention-seeking behavior of faking illness. Who else could it be but Lu Ming?

Wen Chu secretly marveled at how comprehensive the system's background design was.

Since that's the original plan, she decided to follow it and periodically make her presence felt. Psychology says that even if someone isn't particularly interested in something, if it appears in front of them frequently and is remembered often, it can create a kind of bodily memory. This is why products advertise heavily.

Brother Lu: [What are you hitting?]

"Ugh." Seeing the cheesy note pop up, Wen Chu rubbed her arm to wipe away the goosebumps. It was just disgusting.

She tried to change it, but found that it immediately reverted back, probably because she can't be too out of character (OOC) yet. There was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and get used to it.

Chu: [Nova, huh.]

After sending the message, she suddenly realized and exclaimed "Oh!" She'd forgotten that this guy had lost his memory. Did that mean she'd also lost all the levels she'd gained that day?

She quickly logged on to check, and then, speechless, she found herself back to level 180.

Brother Lu: [How did you know I play this?]

First: [Those who love you will find ways to understand you.]

Brother Lu: [...]

Wen Chu was overjoyed and sent the other person an invitation link, urging them to log in as soon as possible.

This time, Wen Chu didn't rush to invite the other party to team up, but instead issued a battle invitation.

Lu Ming dawdled, seemingly doing nothing, and only logged on after a long while, still in the form of the black-clad swordsman. Wen Chu, on the other hand, chose the ancient beauty in blue again.

Wen Chu originally just wanted to play games to relieve boredom, but suddenly had a bright idea. She opened the chat box and said, "Let's play a game. Whoever wins grants the other a request. Are you in?"

She didn't even reply; she just agreed to the match.

"Wow, pretty arrogant." Wen Chu stroked her chin and gave a wicked smile.

Although Lu Ming's skill level was slightly higher than hers last time, she learned very quickly and had already seen Lu Ming's tactics. However, he obviously wouldn't remember her moves and would still know how to counter them.

Since the other party is so confident, she must deflate his arrogance.

Wen Chu sat up in bed, focusing all her attention. Upon entering the battle arena, she didn't react or have any pre-cast animation. She flashed to the opponent's side and kicked them before they were ready, reducing their health bar by 10.

Lu Ming's eyes widened, seemingly surprised by the man's lack of sportsmanship. He quickly regained his composure and began to counterattack.

The beautiful woman in green, her skirt fluttering, nimbly dodged and feinted numerous times, winning with speed. It was all close-quarters combat. Lu Ming dodged most of the attacks. Seeing that she didn't use any items, he tacitly understood and didn't use any either, just pure skill in the fight.

He used his usual feint, hoping to deliver a surprise attack, but the woman seemed to have anticipated his move, quickly dodging and taking the opportunity to kick him hard, reducing his health by 10.

Lu Ming tilted his head, his expression a little stunned and surprised. He was almost always right with this move, rarely making a mistake.

Is this woman really that smart?

Lu Ming finally got serious. The two fought for several rounds, and their health bars had dropped below 50, but they were still evenly matched. He was increasingly surprised because Wen Chu avoided several moves that he thought were impossible to avoid. Not only that, but she also managed to make him suffer a few losses. She was very skilled and her moves were smooth.

Even in a stalemate, there's always a chance. Lu Ming patiently waited for the moment when his opponent would reveal a weakness. Then, the woman flashed to his side again. Lu Ming thought she was about to use her legs, so he dodged while preparing to find a weak spot to attack. But then the woman threw a landmine at him, instantly depleting his health bar.

Lu Ming stared at the huge failure message on the screen and fell into a long silence.

He really wanted to ask a question mark.

Wen Chu then sent him a "V" sign.

Chu: [I won! Hahahaha!]

Still annoyed, Lu Ming surprisingly offered, "Let's play another round."

Chu: [No, I'm exhausted after playing for twenty minutes. You can't cheat, you have to accept the consequences!]

Lu Ming typed a few words on the keyboard, wanting to say that the other person was cheating, but then deleted them, feeling that there was nothing to say to this scoundrel.

Being kind to this woman is indeed being cruel to oneself.

Wen Chu rolled around on the bed laughing, the image of the man's utterly speechless face flashing through her mind. Of course, she knew her victory was unfair, but so what? She hadn't explicitly said she wouldn't let him use props; it was just his assumption.

She exhaled, her hair fluttering briefly in the wind, then wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and said, "It's really not easy."

She turned on the team microphone, cheerfully said "hello" three times, and asked, "Calling, calling, are you there?"

Two seconds later, the sound of rustling fabric came from the receiver, followed by a deep male voice, which seemed to be tinged with exasperation: "What are you doing?"

"Let me confirm whether this gentleman will break the contract."

Lu Ming scoffed, "I won't agree to anything too outrageous."

"Don't worry, I'm beautiful and kind-hearted, I won't make things difficult for you. I haven't thought about the specifics yet, so let's just leave it at that for now."

Lu Ming couldn't help but ask again, "When will we come again?"

Wen Chucai wouldn't give him a chance to win. "Hmm, it depends on my mood."

The man seemed to take a deep breath, but didn't say anything, perhaps annoyed that the initiative had fallen into Wen Chu's hands.

Wen Chu's smile deepened. She found herself somewhat enjoying listening to Lu Ming's voice on his phone—clear and aloof, yet not unfamiliar. She said, "Alright, let's go fight the boss now."

The other person turned off their microphone, but the black-clad swordsman moved and followed Wen Chu to the next map.

Wen Chu is a very boisterous and talkative person when playing games; she kept chattering away for several rounds.

"I want this equipment. Don't try to take it from me. Give it back!"

"Oops, I accidentally punched you. Forgive me a little..."

"Are you standing there motionless because you're captivated by this old boss?"

Why aren't you talking?

"I'm dead again, come and heal me!"

"I'll hide and ambush him, you go and distract him."

As she spoke, she realized it was boring to talk to someone alone, and the microphone on the other end was firmly off, refusing to utter a single word. So Wen Chu started acting up again. She cleared her throat and switched to a cunning, manipulative voice: "Wow, you're so amazing! How are you so talented! Teach me~"

"Big brother, please take me on a trip!"

"Ouch, I'm injured again! Partner, help me beat him up! Avenge me!"

"Look what he did to me! How could I stand for that? Don't you feel any pity for me at all?"

Then Lu Ming went to help her get revenge, and she said, "Wow, you're so awesome~" Wen Chu originally wanted to add "brother," but when the title came to her lips, she couldn't quite say it; it felt a bit too disgusting.

Lu Ming had been silent, focused on the battle with his lips pursed. He had tried to fulfill all of the girl's initial requests and avoided communicating as much as possible. However, as her tone became increasingly strained and her manner of speaking became more and more inappropriate, he felt a chill run down his spine and his whole body ache. He tried to hold back but couldn't, and finally opened the microphone to speak: "Can you please stop talking to me like that?"

What tone did I use?

"Then why bother with that? It makes me uncomfortable."

Wen Chu was laughing uncontrollably. "You're right to be upset!" she thought, suppressing her laughter and continuing to feign ignorance, saying in a high-pitched voice, "Don't you men all like this kind of sweet, girly voice?"

"If you don't like it, then get back to normal."

"Then talk to me. If you don't talk, you're like a dead person. When I'm bored, I can only talk to myself."

Lu Ming: "..."

Wen Chu glanced at the microphone icon in the upper right corner and realized the other person hadn't turned it off. She smiled triumphantly and continued playing.

She returned to normal, and the man seemed afraid of her voice. To avoid it, he finally began to respond. She would say something, and he would pause for a while, then just hum in response.

"Let's go this way, let's hide in the bushes to avoid getting hurt."

"Um."

"Do you think my move just now was cool?"

"good."

"You go to the right later, and we'll attack from both sides."

"knew."

"That was a pretty cool move of yours."

"Um."

Gradually, Lu Ming also began to speak, his voice low and soft: "Come here, what are you doing standing so far away?"

"Stop spinning around, I'm dizzy."

"Pick up the equipment."

"Replenish my blood, hurry, I'm going to die."

“It resonates with me.”

Is something on your mind if you're not using your skills?

"How could you put it out of place like that? Was it intentional?"

"Why are you following me? Hit it."

"I've never heard of your playing style before."

As Wen Chu listened to the man's increasingly rapid-fire speech through her earphones, her lips curled into a wider, more subtle grin. His clear, sexy voice echoed in her ears, making her feel a little embarrassed, her ears burning slightly.

Men really do need to be trained, especially algorithm-based boyfriends.

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Author's Note: I updated 5,500 words today—so it's a little late. [Let me see][Let me see]