Chapter 1 Love Me Like a Man
The soft morning light of summer spilled through the triple-tiered hanging flower gate, and a breeze swept through the winding corridors. Frogs in the pond and birds in the trees vied to be the first to chirp, one after another taking their turn. Amidst this commotion, a faint sigh drifted from the carved beams and painted rafters.
"Sigh." The sixteen-year-old woman lay on the ornate canopy bed, with three layers of brocade quilts beneath her, a thin plain gauze dress on her body, and a soft silk quilt covering her. She stared blankly at the ceiling.
She vaguely remembered that last night, after scrolling through her phone, she muttered to herself before going to sleep, "Can't the world love me like it loves me?"
Then, in her sleep, she was bound to a male-oriented system. The system's customer service... or should I call it customer service? Anyway, an old lady with a frail and impatient voice told her in her mind that the system would send her to a world that loves women as much as it loves men, and give her the treatment of a male protagonist in a male-oriented novel.
She agreed on a whim, secretly wondering which world loved her daughter so much.
She only realized after transmigrating that the system had merged tens of thousands of male-oriented novels to create a male-oriented gender-swapped novel, that is, a female-centric novel in a male-oriented format. In this world, the power, status, social division of labor, and strength of women and men are completely reversed.
She transformed from a destitute 24-year-old working-class woman into Lu Jinlan, the eldest daughter of Lu Jinzhao, a wealthy businessman in Huaguo.
Lu Jinlan was delighted; the initial settings were quite good!
Just as she was about to feel happy, a past event suddenly popped into her mind.
In my memory, a woman covered in blood, cradling an infant in her arms, fought fiercely amidst the flashing blades. Although she slaughtered all the attackers, she herself was also severely wounded.
Just as she was about to die, a richly dressed and dashing woman came running to her.
"Feiqing!" The newcomer picked up the injured person, tears streaming down his face. "What happened to you?"
However, the woman was now unable to speak. She moved her lips, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She could only laboriously raise one finger and point to the swaddled baby.
The newcomer instantly understood her intention and pulled a note from the swaddling clothes. It's unclear what the person saw, but their expression turned horrified, yet they still grasped the injured person's hand firmly, saying, "Don't worry."
Her memory ended there. Lu Jinlan pondered that the baby was her.
She thought to herself that she was the protagonist of this system-generated book. There were three people in the scene, but neither of the two women were her. Surely the system couldn't just give her a memory unrelated to her?
If I was hunted down as an infant, it's probably because there's something wrong with my background. Am I not Lu Jinzhao's biological daughter?
She immediately sought help from the system, "Please help me find my real identity."
"Sorry, this service is temporarily unavailable. The mystery remains, and the host must discover it for themselves."
Lu Jinlan frowned. "Then what is the purpose of this system?"
Please click on the user manual for more details.
When Lu Jinlan learned the truth, she was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
The instructions state that the host must complete system tasks to accumulate life points. Once the life points reach zero, the experience ends, and the host will die simultaneously in the book and in the real world.
Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth in anger. This damn system wants to kill me? Why didn't it say something so crucial earlier? I might have died young if things went wrong.
With an initial health of 5, she can see five small green squares in her mind, looking pitiful.
The system has a reward and punishment mechanism. The host can trigger rewards and earn life points through male-oriented behaviors. Life points not only represent the host's lifespan but also serve as the system's universal currency. Once life points reach a certain value, the host can contact customer service to access the system shop and exchange for desired items.
Human customer service is available from 9 am to 5 pm. Outside of these hours, you can contact automated customer service for system malfunctions.
Wow, this system is pretty user-friendly.
Lu Jinlan was optimistic by nature and thought: Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. No matter how bad this place is, it can't be worse than the original world. After all, this is a world where I love my daughter.
Five days is enough time for her to figure it out slowly.
As she was thinking, someone knocked softly on the door, and a clear-voiced boy asked gently, "Young Madam, are you awake?"
[Note: The poem "Ballad of Mulan" contains the line "I heard no sound of my parents calling me," where "parents" refers to both parents and is considered equal. Therefore, in this text, "mother" replaces "father" as a respectful term.]
Lu Jinlan was taken aback. "Young Mistress? Is this a female-dominated novel?"
The customer service representative coldly replied: "Male-oriented gender-swap novel."
She pursed her lips and said to the outside, "You're awake. Come in."
As soon as the door opened, a handsome young male servant, about sixteen or seventeen years old, strode in carrying a basin of water.
The system's notification appeared next to his head: First-class male servant, Qing'er.
Adhering to the principle of saying and doing less, Lu Jinlan cautiously sat on the bed. Just as she was about to put on her shoes, she was suddenly punched hard in the back.
"Ouch!" she cried out in pain, clutching her aching shoulder and furrowing her brow.
Qing'er was startled, dropping the basin of water she was holding. She rushed over, anxiously asking, "What's wrong?"
Lu Jinlan waved her hands repeatedly. At this moment, the system customer service was reminding her, "The host has triggered a newbie mission. You need to carefully examine the newly appeared male character and stare at his key parts for a moment."
Lu Jinlan was utterly speechless. "Isn't this too disgusting?"
Is this kind of sordid behavior that the system is referring to as male-oriented behavior?
Before she could think it through, the five little green squares in her mind suddenly multiplied into four, and then a punch came out of nowhere and landed on her back.
Those two punches seemed to rupture her arteries, and her life points plummeted, instantly dropping from 5 to 2.
With his life hanging by a thread, Lu Jinlan didn't care about anything else and quickly looked Qing'er up and down, completing the system task of focusing on key areas.
To be fair, Qing'er is quite pretty, with big, watery eyes and a slightly adorable look. Her belt is tied tightly, accentuating her narrow waist. Although she's only about 1.75 meters tall, her proportions are excellent.
Qing'er noticed Lu Jinlan's direct gaze and felt a little embarrassed. "What...what are you looking at?"
"It's nothing..." Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jinlan let out another groan, clutching her other arm as she collapsed onto the bed.
She triggered the second beginner task, which required her to flirt casually with men and make them blush and their hearts race.
This system is impatient and doesn't give people time to react. It hastily issues tasks, and before she can figure out how to flirt, the system judges her as violating instructions, hitting her and deducting points.
The customer service representative sternly reminded her, "Your current health is 1. Please proceed with caution."
Looking at the tiny life bar flashing above her head, Lu Jinlan wanted to curse a thousand times. She was on the verge of tears; she wasn't good at flirting, and this was truly asking the impossible.
What flirting? It's just teasing. I'm not Wei Xiaobao.
Huh? Her mind raced through a bunch of cheesy TV drama scenes, and then she had it!
Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth and overcame her mental barrier, speaking with difficulty: "Qing'er, someone hit me, quickly hold me."
"Who hit you? I can't see anything!" Qing'er was also frightened. She hurriedly hugged Lu Jinlan's back and waved her arms in the air as if she were exorcising a ghost.
Lu Jinlan chuckled at his nervous expression. "I was just kidding. Nobody hit me. I just wanted you to hug me."
“You…” Qing’er blushed and got up to leave.
Watching his hurried departure, Lu Jinlan shook her head with a wry smile.
Ding! A pleasant notification sound rang out from the system.
"The system has detected that the host has completed two beginner tasks, but since these tasks were completed under the system's supervision, no rewards were triggered..."
Lu Jinlan's temper flared up instantly. "Hey! Are you alright? Don't go too far!"
The customer service representative hurriedly said, "Please don't get excited, host. The above two tasks have been included in the scope of daily activities. You can use these activities to earn life points at any time."
Lu Jinlan's stubbornness flared up, and she retorted, "If I don't want to make money, why are you treating me like this? You set all the rules, and I have no room for maneuver. You don't even give a newbie a chance to try and fail. You're trying to kill me right away. Even heartless capitalists aren't this ruthless. I'm not playing anymore. Take my life if you want. So what if I die? Go ahead and kill me now if you dare."
After she finished speaking, she lay straight down on the bed, looking like she was giving up and waiting to die.
Lu Jinlan admitted that there was an element of gambling involved, but this feeling of being completely oppressed with no room for resistance was extremely unpleasant, hitting her sore spot. Being so unfree, she'd rather be dead.
"You think you can read my mind? Come on, read it then, and see if I'm just bluffing. What a lousy system! I didn't get a single reward, and I even got beaten up. Is this what you call loving me like a man? Isn't this just torturing me like a woman?"
"It's a misunderstanding." The elderly customer service representative's tone softened. "I didn't mean that. It's just that the new system has just started running, and it might not have considered the host's experience in some areas. I'll arrange three painkillers for you; each one restores 0.5 health points."
"That's it?"
"I will provide feedback to extend the system's response time, which will reduce the difficulty of the task to some extent. In addition, you can seek customer service guidance and assistance at any time while I am online."
Lu Jinlan pursed her lips. The conditions were good, but she wanted to gamble a little more.
"What happens to the health points I just lost?"
The old lady remained silent for a moment, as if she had never encountered such a difficult host before.
Just as Lu Jinlan was about to compromise, a pleasant notification sound rang out.
The system has notified you that the new player compensation pack has been received, granting you +10 health!
Her life bar instantly extended tenfold. She sprang out of bed with a quick movement, saying, "Thank you, Auntie, I'm all set."
The old woman gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "Once you're past the beginner phase, you can't bargain anymore. Remember, you need to engage in more male-oriented activities to earn life points. Only by getting ahead of the system can you have a chance to trigger high rewards and win generous prizes."
I understand. Taking the first step is to grasp the system's essence. Currently, it's known that male companionship and casual flirting can earn life points. Following this line of thought…
Lu Jinlan had a vague strategy in mind, but it needed to be tested in practice.
She currently has 11 lives, but if punished, they'll be gone in the blink of an eye. She can worry about her past later; her priority is survival.
Let's proceed cautiously and focus on gaining a month's worth of health points first.
Lu Jinlan arrived in the courtyard, but had no interest in admiring her spacious and luxurious mansion. He only glanced at it briefly before pondering what constituted male-oriented behavior and male-oriented spirit.
Suddenly, a weight settled on her shoulder. Qing'er had returned without her noticing and draped a cloak over her shoulders, gently advising, "Although it's summer, it's still a bit chilly in the early morning. Please put this on."
Lu Jinlan silently apologized, "Qing'er, you've delivered yourself to me, so I have no choice but to use you as an experiment."
She raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "You care about me so much? Then help me tie it up."
Qing'er felt that the eldest young mistress was acting strangely today, strangely trying to make people happy.
He smiled as he skillfully tied his cloak, but his nimble fingers were suddenly grasped by Lu Jinlan. Qing'er was startled, and her heartbeat suddenly became disordered.
Ding! Congratulations on unlocking the behavior of lusting after beautiful women and taking advantage of others. Health +15!
Lu Jinlan was happy and guilty and wanted to make it up to Qing'er in some way when a cough suddenly came from behind her.
Qing'er, who had just been smiling, quickly withdrew her hand upon seeing the man and took a few steps back in a panic.
Lu Jinlan was experienced; she remained still, keeping her back turned, and asked customer service, "Who is it?"
A note from the author:
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Ding! The story has started! This is purely a work of passion; everything I want to say is in the story. I'll try my best to be logical and maximize the enjoyment. I hope you sisters enjoy reading it. My writing skills are limited, but I can guarantee that the female lead will never be wronged or suffer. She's super strong and cool, and she'll definitely show off if she can, and she'll take advantage of others with a clear conscience. She wants it, she gets it, and she deserves the best of everything.
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