A suffocating pressure at her nape jolted Jian Xingyou's consciousness out of a chaotic abyss of darkness.
Her eyes flew open, locking onto a pair of eyes blazing with towering rage.
A man's heavy body pinned hers down. His handsome features twisted with unbridled fury, while his large, knuckled hands clamped brutally around her throat—so tight she could barely breathe.
"Ugh... Let... go..." She struggled instinctively, broken syllables forcing their way out of her constricted throat.
"If you had the guts to drug me, you should've known you'd pay the price." A low, menacing voice rumbled beside her ear, every word dripping with rage and undisguised disgust.
Jian Xingyou's mind went blank. Drug him? What drug?
Before she could process the absurd accusation, a sharp, tearing pain exploded through her lower body, nearly sending her into unconsciousness.
She thrashed harder, only for her wrists to be easily seized by a scorching hot hand and pinned immovably above her head.
The man lowered his head, his cold lips brushing her ear as mocking words slithered out like a venomous snake's tongue:
"Why run? Isn't this exactly what you schemed for? Jian Xingyou, are you that desperate for a man? Willing to stoop to such cheap tricks?"
Confusion overwhelmed her. She clearly remembered rushing to save a child darting into the road, then being hit and thrown flying by a speeding truck...
The brutal impact, the sharp crack of breaking bones, warm blood, endless darkness... She should be dead.
So what is this now...?
Ding! Host vital signs restored, consciousness active. The [Love Tribulation Collection System] officially activated!
A mechanical voice abruptly rang in her mind.
[Welcome to the binding, Ms. Jian Xingyou. We regret to inform you that you passed away in a car accident in your previous life. Due to your outstanding potential in emotional manipulation and strong will to survive, you have been selected by this system.]
[Your main mission: simultaneously capture the hearts of five target characters and raise their love points to 100% each.]
[Current identity: Fu family's stepdaughter, Jian Xingyou (shares the same name as you).]
[Mission success: Host will be granted one chance at resurrection. Mission failure: System will directly erase the host's consciousness.]
[Warning: Critical starting situation! Target character Fu Chenzhou has misunderstood you for drugging and seducing him; current love value: -30% (extreme disgust). Please respond immediately, host!]
A flood of absurd information poured into her brain, making Jian Xingyou dizzy and disoriented.
But her years of honed resilience forced her to quickly process everything.
She was dead, yet accidentally bound to a system—completing its tasks would grant her a chance to live again.
The mission was to simultaneously win over five men?
And the man currently violating her was one of her targets, her nominal older brother—Fu Chenzhou!
According to the original owner's memories and the system's prompt, Fu Chenzhou had been drugged and firmly believed the original owner—his obsessive, love-crazed stepdaughter—had spiked his coffee.
A gross injustice! The drug was clearly planted by their nanny Chen Jie, who wanted to climb into his bed but feared responsibility; the original owner had foolishly been used as a scapegoat to deliver the tainted coffee.
As a result, all of Fu Chenzhou's violent rage after being drugged was unleashed on the "culprit"—her.
And now, the one enduring this unprovoked disaster and violent assault was her, Jian Xingyou!
"Ugh... Brother... don't... it hurts... it hurts..." She turned her head away with difficulty, avoiding his punishing bites.
Physiological tears instantly filled her eyes—not from passion, but from pure pain and terror.
Fu Chenzhou lifted his eyes, his cold gaze slicing across her face like a blade, the disgust and rage within it nearly burning her to ash.
"Now you know to call me brother?" His voice was low and gravelly, his scorching breath fanning her ear. "Why didn't you think of the consequences when you drugged me? Jian Xingyou, are you really this cheap?"
His movements showed no mercy, growing even more brutal in response to her resistance.
Pain... agonizing, tearing pain...
But far worse than the physical agony was this utterly hopeless situation.
No! She couldn't let things go on like this!
To be violated and framed right at the start—forget about conquering the targets, she might not even survive in the Fu family!
Her survival instinct and the acting skills honed in her past life surged to their peak at this moment.
Jian Xingyou abruptly stopped struggling, yet her body trembled even more violently. Tears poured down like a broken dam, sliding along her porcelain cheeks into her temples. Her voice was shattered, brimming with extreme grievance and terror:
"Coffee... the coffee was from Sister Chen... she asked me to bring it... she said you worked hard... I didn't know... I really didn't know what was in it..."
She sobbed, every syllable trembling on the verge of collapse, fragile and vulnerable.
Fu Chenzhou's pupils, clouded with lust and fury, constricted slightly. His brows furrowed tightly, as if trying to discern the truth in her words.
Jian Xingyou lifted her eyes, which were now crystal clear and bright from being washed by tears, meeting his scrutinizing gaze without flinching.
"Brother... it hurts so much..." She whimpered, her eyes overflowing with grievance, terror, and a hint of heartbreak at being misunderstood. "Don't treat me like this... please... I really... I don't know anything..."
Her performance was flawless. Every glance, every micro-expression, every sob struck precisely at the lingering pity deep within the man's heart.
Especially that tearful "brother"—a stark contrast to her usual infatuated, clingy demeanor, carrying a heart-shattering fragility.
The violent rage in Fu Chenzhou's eyes seemed to be doused by her tears. He looked down at the girl, who was trembling violently and on the verge of fainting.
Her eyes were clear and transparent, filled with genuine pain and fear—she didn't look like she was lying.
Could it be... that he really misunderstood her?
The thought had barely crossed his mind before it was instantly swallowed by the surging drug effects coursing through his body again. The string of reason snapped completely.
He suddenly lowered his head, seizing her lips to silence her unfinished sobs and explanations.
"Better not be you..." he whispered threateningly against her chafed lips, his breath scorching and dangerous, "Or else..."
Jian Xingyou's last faint struggles were completely crushed. Under the searing physical pain and the immense mental shock, her consciousness blurred once more.
In the final moment before blacking out, she vaguely saw the system panel unfold automatically in her mind:
[Target 1: Fu Chenzhou]
[Current Love Value: -30% (Extreme Disgust)]
Jian Xingyou cursed violently in her head.
Negative thirty? You bastard! You slept with me and still hate me? This mission is impossible!