Shen Tang - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I sat on the sofa, admiring my freshly done manicure.

There was blood on the edges.

Disgusted, I wiped it off and lifted my eyes, meeting Huo Zhao’s dark, vicious stare.

He was kneeling on the floor. His left cheek was swollen red from the slap, and a bloody scratch from my nails still marked his skin.

He stared at me, jaw tight, his pitch-black gaze fixed on me without blinking.

As if in the next second, he would lunge forward, clamp his teeth around my throat, and tear me to pieces.

On the rosewood coffee table beside us lay the opened admission letter.

The System said, “Host, you secretly changed the villain’s college entrance exam application and caused his failed escape from you. This is a key turning point where the villain’s Darkening Value skyrockets.”

“No matter what, you have to act out this scene properly.”

Wasn’t it just playing a vicious older stepsister?

With six years of experience in this line of work, I had this in the bag.

“Huo Zhao, you’ve truly broken your sister’s heart.”

My red-bottomed high heel stepped onto his chest.

The System said, “Not enough, Host! Step harder! Grind him down! Humiliate him!”

I pressed down with the tip of my shoe.

Huo Zhao let out a muffled groan, his body tensing as his eyes locked onto me. “What exactly do you want?”

“What do I want?”

My lips curved into a cruel smile.

“Huo Zhao, I picked you up from the orphanage and raised you for six years.”

“Six years. Even if I’d raised a dog, I’d have grown attached by now.”

I slowly lifted my leg higher, stepping onto his shoulder and forcing him to kneel even lower.

“And you? You thought you could fill out your application behind my back and leave without a word?”

Huo Zhao’s gaze fell to my raised, bare calf beneath my skirt, his voice taut.

“I’m your dog?”

“That’s right. You’re the dog I raised.”

I paused. “Don’t think that just because I’ve been busy lately and haven’t had time to deal with you, I wouldn’t notice-”

“Busy with what?”

Callused fingertips clasped around my ankle, rubbing over it inch by inch.

Huo Zhao looked up, his eyes sinister. “Busy dating?”

Chapter 2

I froze. How did he know?

The sensation around my ankle grew clearer and clearer.

Like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, testing its prey little by little, waiting for the perfect chance to swallow it whole.

I yanked my foot back hard.

Then I stood, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled at his scalp in warning.

“Huo Zhao, go to Jing University and behave. Don’t try any of your little tricks. In this lifetime, you’ll never escape the palm of my hand.”

I narrowed my eyes and drawled, “Unless I die.”

That hint should have been obvious enough, right?

Besides, I was genuinely doing this for the villain’s own good.

If Huo Zhao didn’t go to Jing University, how was he supposed to meet the Female Lead, receive her warmth and redemption, and then compete with the Male Lead?

In the end, after failing to win her love, he would have no choice but to become successful and famous.

A diligent, conscientious vicious older stepsister like me was practically impossible to find!

“If you’ve done something wrong, you need to be punished.”

I let go and patted his face.

“Same old rule. My clothes in the dirty laundry basket upstairs-wash every single one by hand.”

Huo Zhao looked at me without saying a word.

His stare made my scalp prickle. I hurriedly woke the System. “Quick, quick, check Huo Zhao’s Darkening Value.”

The System said, “Sixty-five percent.”

Huh? Why had it only gone up by five percent?

I was just about to ask the System if it had checked wrong when my phone rang.

A gentle male voice came through the receiver, thick with exhaustion. “Baby, I miss you so much.”

I softened my tone. “How did it go? Did the partnership talks go smoothly?”

Behind me, an indescribably strange feeling crawled up my spine, sending a chill across my back.

I subconsciously turned around.

And met Huo Zhao’s eyes.

In those long, narrow eyes, black as spilled ink, there seemed to be a vast net about to swallow me whole.

My heart abruptly skipped half a beat, and the words caught in my throat.

The System said, “Host, update on the villain’s Darkening Value!”

“Huo Zhao’s Darkening Value has reached ninety percent. Please keep up the good work, Host!”