"Let's get one thing straight, Chu Feng. This engagement is a corporate merger. I will smile for the cameras, but do not expect me to share your bed."
The icy voice snapped me awake.
I blinked against the dim, ambient lighting of the VIP restaurant booth. Sitting across from me was a woman with silver-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She was stunningly beautiful, but looking at me like I was a piece of trash stuck to her designer shoe.
Before I could even process who she was or why I was sitting across from her, a sharp, mechanical chime pierced my skull.
[Ding!] [Transmigration Complete. Welcome to the world of 'The Ultimate Medical Immortal'.] [Host Identity: Chu Feng. Billionaire Heir. Destined Villain.] [System: Destiny Plunder System Activated!]
The migraine hit me instantly, but it brought clarity. I wasn't just hungover. I had crossed over into a trashy urban web novel.
I was the arrogant young master destined to be financially ruined, publicly humiliated, and ultimately killed by the "Protagonist"—a slum-dwelling guy named Lin Tian who had secretly inherited ancient medical martial arts. And the woman glaring at me? Su Qingran. My fiancée, and the Protagonist's future number-one harem member.
[Main Mission: Survive and rewrite your fate by plundering the Protagonist's Destiny Points!] [Immediate Threat Detected: The Protagonist is approaching to initiate the 'Hero Saves the Beauty' plot line.]
I didn't have time to panic. I didn't have time to info-dump about my past life. I just looked up.
The heavy oak doors of the VIP room swung open. A young man in a cheap waiter's uniform walked in, carrying a silver tray with a $20,000 bottle of red wine. He had a messy mop of hair and a subtle, arrogant smirk on his face.
Lin Tian.
As he approached the table, his eyes locked onto Su Qingran. I saw the raw, predatory hunger in his gaze. According to the original plot, he was about to "accidentally" trip and spill wine all over Su Qingran's white dress. I was supposed to throw a tantrum, and he was going to use his hidden martial arts to easily dodge me, making Su Qingran intrigued by his rebellious aura.
Watch me tear this script to pieces, I thought.
"Sir, your wine," Lin Tian said, his voice dripping with fake politeness.
He stepped forward, his foot deliberately snagging on the perfectly flat carpet. He pitched forward, tilting the tray so the heavy bottle aimed directly at Su Qingran's chest.
"Ah! Watch out!" Lin Tian yelled.
Su Qingran gasped, freezing in place as the heavy glass and dark liquid hurtled toward her.
I didn't yell. I didn't panic.
I simply planted my foot against the heavy mahogany table and kicked hard. The table slid three inches across the hardwood floor with a harsh screech.
Crack.
Lin Tian's shin slammed violently into the solid wood edge right as he shifted his weight. His balance was instantly destroyed.
"F*ck!" Lin Tian choked out.
Instead of a graceful stumble, he face-planted. The tray flew from his hands. The wine bottle shattered against the table leg, splashing dark red liquid entirely over Lin Tian's own uniform and face. Not a single drop touched my fiancée.
The room fell dead silent, save for Lin Tian groaning on the floor.
I calmly set my water glass down. Reaching into my breast pocket, I pulled out a silk handkerchief, stood up, and offered it to Su Qingran.
"Did any glass catch you?" I asked. My voice was low, steady, and entirely devoid of the obnoxious arrogance the old Chu Feng was known for.
Su Qingran looked up at me, her blue eyes wide with shock. The man she hated had just reacted with lightning reflexes to protect her, and he wasn't even raising his voice at the clumsy waiter.
"I... no. I'm completely fine," she whispered, her icy facade cracking for the first time.
[Ding! Su Qingran is shocked by your composure. Affection +5!] [Lin Tian's 'Hero Saving the Beauty' plot destroyed! Protagonist's Destiny Points -50!]
On the floor, Lin Tian scrambled to his knees. Wine dripped from his nose. He looked pathetic. He glared up at me, his eyes burning with sudden, venomous rage.
"You did that on purpose!" Lin Tian snarled, dropping the waiter act. "You kicked the table!"
I looked down at him, letting a mask of aristocratic pity wash over my face. "I kicked the heavy dining table? You walked into a stationary object and smashed a bottle on yourself. Are you drunk on the job?"
"You piece of trash—!" Lin Tian roared. His fists clenched, and a faint ripple of heat radiated from him. He was getting ready to use his internal martial arts.
I didn't give him the chance to show off. I reached over and pressed the silver intercom button on the wall.
"Security," I said smoothly. "The waiter in VIP Room 1 just tried to assault my fiancée. Remove him. Permanently."
Lin Tian froze. He looked at Su Qingran, desperately trying to trigger his destined charm. "Miss Su! You saw it, right?! He's framing me!"
Su Qingran looked at the wine-soaked, screaming man like he was a cockroach.
"You nearly assaulted me with a glass bottle, and now you are screaming at my fiancé," she said, her voice dropping back to absolute zero. "Get out before I call the police."
Lin Tian's jaw went slack. The heroine who was supposed to fall for him was looking at him with pure revulsion.
[Ding! Protagonist's destined heroine feels severe disgust toward him!] [Protagonist's Destiny Points -200!]
The doors burst open, and four massive bouncers rushed in, dragging a thrashing, screaming Lin Tian out into the hallway.
I turned back to Su Qingran. "My apologies for the ruinous dinner. I'll have my driver take you home."
She stood up, her eyes narrowing as she studied my face. The disgust was gone, replaced by intense, burning suspicion.
"Who are you?" she asked quietly. "The Chu Feng I know would have screamed at that waiter, thrown a plate, and made a fool of himself. You didn't even blink."
I smiled faintly, stepping past her toward the door. "People change, Qingran. Especially when they realize what's truly at stake."
As I grabbed the door handle, the System's voice suddenly chimed with a blaring red warning right in my retinas.
[WARNING!] [The Heavenly Dao has detected the Host's anomaly!] [The Protagonist, Lin Tian, has experienced a Luck Backlash. He has just serendipitously encountered the City's Underworld Boss in the alleyway behind this restaurant and is currently saving his life with medical arts!] [If the Protagonist secures the Underworld Boss's loyalty tonight, the Host will be assassinated in three days!] [New Mission: Intercept the Underworld Boss within 10 minutes!]
My hand tightened on the brass door handle.
Assassinated in three days? I guess the game was starting on hard mode.