Chapter 1: Reborn again, My Fiancée Wants Me to Apologize to the Male Lead?
In the wilderness, the setting sun bled like an open wound.
A man, eyes streaming with blood, lay gasping on the ground, his life hanging by a thread.
Having been struck with full force by an off-road vehicle, he was beyond speech.
Soon enough, several figures alighted from the vehicle and approached him, gazing down at his struggling form.
Among the newcomers, the women bore icy visages, but the sole male sported a smile.
He gently stroked the hair of one of the women, whose beauty was ethereal and whose demeanor was otherworldly.
"Thanks to you, my good LuoLuo~"
"Master~" The woman smiled joyfully in response.
Following that.
The man then produced a handgun—
"Who among you will send him off?"
"""I will!!"""
Everyone rushed to volunteer.
"…Then, Xiaoyan, you do it!"
"Yes, Master!"
A youthfully cute girl responded eagerly.
Though she had never killed before, upon receiving the gun, she hesitated not a moment to fire thrice at the man on the ground, "Bang—Bang—Bang—"
"Xiaoyan, quite efficient. I thought you'd hesitate, considering you were on good terms before!"
The woman cooed as if seeking praise: "Master, Xiaoyan had no relation with him!"
At this time, another woman gathered her courage, speaking timidly:
"Master, Shuang'er wants to take part, too…"
The man glanced at her and nodded, "Then go ahead!"
Joyously, the woman eagerly accepted the weapon, "Yes!"
Following that.
"Bang—"
Thereafter, the other women took turns with the handgun.
"He who troubles Master deserves death!"
One bullet per person.
Until the man on the ground was utterly devoid of life.
The man couldn't help but stare at the sky.
Dusk was upon them, the sky should darken.
But he noticed, the dimness this time was abnormal—
"The reset is a bit slow this time…"
Muttering to himself, he was about to turn back to the vehicle when suddenly, someone grasped his hand—
"LuoLuo?"
"Master…"
For some reason, she felt a surge of unease.
"You… won't abandon us, will you?"
Unable to help herself, she asked, yearning for a reassuring answer from her master.
Looking around, others seemed equally uneasy.
"…"
"Let's go, we should head home."
He simply stated, then turned to get into the vehicle.
Home.
However.
Before they could reach home, all light from the world had vanished.
Everything succumbed to silence and darkness.
After a long while.
A familiar voice slowly reached their ears—
"…Hello everyone, I'm Cai Cai, a trainee for just two and a half days, who likes singing, dancing, rap, and basketball. Miao Zei Ke~?"
As the basketball was tossed, the song that would dominate the Ghost Animal Praise scene in the future began to play.
Listening to the familiar tune, Wang Haoran sighed, shifting his gaze from his phone screen to the door.
As expected—
"Wang Haoran, how can you still sit there?! Go to the hospital right now and apologize to Lin Ming!"
Seeing this familiar scene, hearing this scolding he had heard before, Wang Haoran merely lifted his eyelids slightly, then continued watching his Iron Mountain Lean tutorial video.
"Miss Liu, are you done?"
"You… Wang Haoran! What do you mean by this!"
Seeing Wang Haoran's indifferent demeanor, a departure from his usual response, Liu Yunshuang was initially stunned, then anger surged from within.
"Wang Haoran, can't you be reasonable?!"
"Lin Ming is just my student, and because I tutored him, you had someone hospitalize him?"
"Even if I'm your fiancée, you can't do this! Don't I even have this bit of freedom?!"
Hearing these series of questions, Wang Haoran was unfazed, merely sipping his tea slowly, waiting for Liu Yunshuang's voice to fall silent before he finally spoke.
"Once you're done, please leave. Don't demean yourself and the Liu family's upbringing by acting like a shrew."
"—Shrew?!"
Hearing this term, Liu Yunshuang exploded.
The usually pleasing Wang Haoran, who feared her slightest unhappiness, now mockingly called her uneducated, a shrew?
This was his fault, to begin with!
"Wang Haoran! If you don't apologize to Lin Ming today, we're breaking off the engagement!"
"Fine, let's break it off then."
"Hmph! Then you better hurry to the hospital… wait, what did you say?!"
Liu Yunshuang couldn't believe her ears. Previously, merely mentioning a breakup would have Wang Haoran apologizing and clinging, why agree so readily now?
Although she was resistant to this marriage arrangement, planning to dissolve it once she was capable, she was merely threatening Wang Haoran, not intending to actually break it off.
She subconsciously believed, Wang Haoran wouldn't give up on her.
"I said let's break it off. Alright, that's it then, I have other things to attend to."
"Miss Liu, please leave. I'll discuss the breakup with your father tonight."
Wang Haoran didn't pay her any more attention, calling his secretary to escort Liu Yunshuang out.
"Wang Haoran, you bastard!"
Unable to face further humiliation, Liu Yunshuang left Wang Haoran's office begrudgingly, guided by the secretary.
Wang Haoran watched them leave with a cold gaze, then massaged his temples.
"This is… the sixth cycle…"
Every cycle started like this.
Indeed, Wang Haoran had traveled through time, brought into a novel named "So Strong, So Romantic" by the "Villain Acting System," becoming a brainless major antagonist with the same name, constantly at odds with the protagonist, Lin Ming.
In this story, the villain Wang Haoran's father made a fortune in real estate from scratch, and after his death, Wang Haoran, in his early twenties, took over and became the richest man in S City.
After taking control of the Wang Corporation, Wang Haoran fell for Liu Yunshuang from the Liu family at first sight and pursued her relentlessly.
The Liu family, a centuries-old lineage now in decline, desperately needed a powerful ally.
One had wealth but no power; the other had power but no wealth. The two families quickly agreed on a marriage arrangement between their children, hoping to support and assist each other.
However, Liu Yunshuang was utterly against this marriage, even going so far as to become a teacher in an S City school to avoid Wang Haoran.
And Lin Ming, the protagonist, was a student in that class.
Thus, Wang Haoran and Lin Ming became adversaries.
With his golden finger, Lin Ming effortlessly bested his opponents, destroyed the Wang family, and won Liu Yunshuang's favor, making her a part of his harem.
This outcome, naturally, was rejected by the time-traveling Wang Haoran.
Acting as a pawn for the protagonist, providing women and experience only to be beaten up, was not his idea of a meaningful existence.
Ignoring the system's allure of "complete the storyline to return to reality and receive rewards," Wang Haoran used his foreknowledge and strength to change the game.
To eliminate the protagonist, he went through five cycles of rebirth.
In the first cycle, freshly arrived, he used his knowledge of the plot to seize the protagonist's opportunities, killed all the female leads, and focused all his resources on eliminating the protagonist, only for the world to reset upon the protagonist's death.
In the second cycle, not only did Wang Haoran seize the protagonist's opportunities, but he also preemptively intercepted all female leads, including Liu Yunshuang, either killing or converting them. Sadly, the world reset once more after the protagonist died.
Then came the third cycle…
The fourth…
The fifth, out of sheer boredom, he decided to try an unconventional approach, educating the female leads on obedience, turning them into docile, tail-wagging pets…
Until now, the sixth cycle.
Each cycle began in this office.
Initially, Wang Haoran found it somewhat absurd to be confronted by his fiancée for another man's sake.
Although Liu Yunshuang saw Lin Ming merely as a student, whether Lin Ming reciprocated those feelings was another matter.
But by now, Wang Haoran was desensitized, finding it all rather amusing.
He reached out to the system in his mind.
"Dog System, you there?"
[…Yes.]
The system responded reluctantly.
Was it necessary? Wasn't it enough to ask him to follow the plot? Why hold a grudge for so long?
He had been calling it a "Dog System" for five cycles now!
"What's the status?"
[…Host, you've succeeded.]
The system's voice carried a hint of disbelief.
[Indeed, after five cycles of wear and tear, the cosmic principles have grown lethargic.]
[This time, even if the protagonist dies, the world will not reset!]
"Phew——Finally…"
Wang Haoran sighed in relief.
"Dog System, you lose."
[Understood...]
Wang Haoran had made a bet with the system during the first cycle, and now, he had won.
The system had no choice but to make a decision against its principles.
[Ding! System updating...]
[Ding! System update complete!]
[The system has been officially upgraded from "Villain Acting System" to "Villain's Counterattack System".]
[The "Villain's Counterattack System" will assist the host in seizing destiny, counterattacking the protagonist, and reaching the pinnacle of life!]
"Dog System, you're finally useful!"
Wang Haoran was somewhat excited. This lousy system had slacked off for five cycles, but now it was finally going to be of use.
If the system continued to slack off and spectate, he was ready to uninstall it forcefully with a 306.
"Got any newbie gifts or something?"
[No!]
"Why not?! I see other systems have them!"
[No means no. Because it's a Dog System, that's why!]
"…"
"Who said that? That must be defamation!"
"But seriously, as a good system, if you don't offer a newbie gift, others will think you can't afford it!"
[...Congratulations to the host on receiving the "Newbie Gift Pack"! Open now?]
"Yes!"
[Ding, congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill "Appraisal"!]
[Ding, congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill "Seize"!]
[Ding, congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill "Ability Shielding"!]