Chapter 5: The First Date ( With 1,000 Bodyguards)
Lin Feng stared at the outfit laid out on his bed. It wasn't the standard hospital-issue silk pajamas he had grown to loathe over the last forty-eight hours. It was a charcoal-grey, three-piece suit, tailored so perfectly it felt like a second skin. Beside it sat a watch that cost more than a small island.
"A date?" Lin Feng asked, his voice echoing in the vast, silent suite. "I'm a prisoner. Prisoners don't go on dates. They eat tasteless gruel and plot escapes through the ventilation shafts."
"You aren't a prisoner, Brother Lin," Ye Chen's voice boomed from the balcony. The God of War stepped inside, wearing his full tactical gear, looking like he was ready to invade a medium-sized country. "You are the most important man in the city. And President Su has decided that your 'recovery' requires fresh air. Also, I have vetted the restaurant. It is now the most secure location on the planet."
Lin Feng sighed, slipping into the jacket. He checked his reflection. He looked like a million dollars, which was a problem. He was supposed to look like a haggard, wretched villain, not a romantic lead.
[**SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: REPUTATION CHECK — 'WORLD-CLASS HEARTTHROB'.**]
[**MISSION OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE THE DATE WITHOUT BECOMING ENGAGED.**]
As he walked out of the suite, he didn't find a taxi. He found a convoy. Twelve armored SUVs stood idling in the hospital driveway. Above them, the distinct *thud-thud-thud* of a surveillance helicopter beat against the air.
"Is the helicopter really necessary?" Lin Feng asked, gesturing wildly at the sky.
"It's for the snipers," Su Qingxue said, appearing from the lead vehicle. She looked devastating. She wore a deep violet dress that matched the strange glow in her eyes, and her hair was swept back in a style that screamed 'Queen of the Business World.' She walked up to him and adjusted his tie, her touch lingering just a second too long on his neck. "I won't let anyone take you away before I'm finished with you, Feng'er."
Lin Feng felt the weight of her words—999 lives of baggage wrapped in a single sentence.
The restaurant was a glass dome perched on the highest peak of the city. Usually, it was the most romantic spot in the country. Tonight, it looked like a military command center. There were men in earpieces at every table. The chef was being monitored by two of Ye Chen's elite soldiers. Even the waiter looked like he could kill a man with a toothpick.
"You've cleared the place out," Lin Feng noted, sitting across from her.
"I bought the place," Su Qingxue corrected him, taking a sip of vintage wine. "I didn't want any 'random encounters' with hidden protagonists or clumsy waitresses who might spill tea on you and trigger a romance sub-plot. I know all the tropes, Lin Feng. I'm closing them all."
Lin Feng gripped his fork. *She's blocking every possible plot point.* In the original story, this was where a group of thugs was supposed to harass the Heroine, allowing the Hero to save the day.
"System," Lin Feng whispered. "Create a disturbance. Anything. Give me a villainous opening."
[**DING! ERROR. THE AREA IS SATURATED WITH 'OBSESSION RADIATION'. VILLAINOUS ACTIONS WILL BE REWRITTEN AS 'ADOREABLE QUIRKS'.**]
Suddenly, a man burst through the kitchen doors. He wasn't a thug. He was a middle-aged man in a stained apron, looking terrified. "Please! I just want to serve the food! Why is there a man with a thermal scanner checking my soup?"
Lin Feng saw his chance. He stood up, knocking his chair over with a loud crash. "This is an outrage! You! Chef! This soup is cold! This service is pathetic! I demand you be fired immediately! I am Lin Feng, and I will ruin your life for this minor inconvenience!"
He waited for the notification. He waited for the Chef to cry and for Su Qingxue to look at him with disgust.
Instead, the Chef fell to his knees, sobbing with gratitude. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, Young Master Lin! My wife told me the soup was too hot and would burn the President's tongue! You saved my career by pretending it was cold! You truly are as kind as the rumors say!"
[**DING! REPUTATION INCREASED: 'PROTECTOR OF THE WORKING CLASS'.**]
[**PROTAGONIST YE CHEN IS MOVED BY YOUR HUMILITY. LOYALTY +5.**]
Lin Feng slumped back into his seat. "I hate it here."
Su Qingxue leaned forward, her eyes locked onto his. "It's no use, Feng'er. In the 600th life, you tried to burn down a building to get away from me, and you accidentally saved a litter of puppies and a hidden orphan prince. The world wants you to be a hero. And I want you to be mine."
She reached across the table and took his hand. Her grip was like iron.
"What happened in the 999th life, Qingxue?" Lin Feng asked, his voice finally serious. "Why are you doing this now?"
The violet glow in her eyes deepened. The air in the restaurant grew cold. "In the last life, you finally succeeded. You died in my arms after 'betraying' me to the final boss. You looked me in the eye and told me you never loved me, just to make sure I wouldn't mourn you. But I saw your System screen as you faded. I saw the mission 'Sacrifice Yourself for Her Happiness'."
She squeezed his hand so hard the bones creaked.
"You cheated me out of a happy ending for a thousand years, Lin Feng. You played the villain so well that you forgot I was a person, not just a goal post." She leaned in, her voice a deadly whisper. "Now, my System has a new quest for us. It's called 'The Eternal Lockdown.' And the first step... is this."
She pulled out a small, black velvet box. Inside wasn't a ring. It was a micro-thin, silver collar encrusted with diamonds.
"It's a GPS tracker, a vitals monitor, and a neuro-sync device," she said calmly. "Put it on, or Ye Chen starts arresting everyone in this building for 'treason' against the Lin Group."
Lin Feng looked at the "God of War," who was currently nodding in approval at the collar. He looked at the 1,000 bodyguards surrounding them. He looked at his own flickering System.
He was the greatest villain in the history of transmigration, and he had just been outplayed by his own victim.
"You really won't let me die, will you?"
"I'll keep you alive until the stars burn out," she promised.
Lin Feng picked up the collar. The metal was cold. As he clicked it around his neck, the System chimed one last time for the night.
[**DING! MAIN PLOT SHIFTED.**]
[**CURRENT GENRE: ESCAPE THE YANDERE.**]
[**GOOD LUCK, HOST. YOU ARE GOING TO NEED IT.**]