Winning the male lead

Han Qi didn’t use much force, afraid of accidentally killing Lin Le Tian. However, after an entire lesson, Lin Le Tian’s delicate skin was still covered in blue and red bruises. His thin back bore overlapping finger marks and bite prints, resembling a rugged landscape painting. The system, temporarily emerging from its shielded state, took one look at Le Tian’s condition and thought: What kind of human suffering is this? I’m the one who’s truly living a fate worse than death.

Le Tian coughed up another mouthful of blood, his pearly teeth stained crimson. His face was pressed into a soft pillow by Han Qi’s hand gripping his throat as he gritted out, “If you don’t kill me today, you will die by my hand in the future.”

Han Qi had already calmed down, regretting his sudden loss of control. But hearing Lin Le Tian’s words reignited his anger. With a cold sneer, he said, “Is that so?” Then he pinned him down and gave him another lesson.

Le Tian, of course, resisted.

“Don’t touch my waist!”

His slender waist was immediately pinched hard. Ah, damn, that actually feels good.

“You beast, stop it!”

The pace of the lesson instantly quickened. Ah, damn, that feels even better.

…

By the end, he had coughed up so much blood that the soft pillow beneath him was stained red. His breath was shallow, barely coming in and out, and he no longer had the strength to curse. He lay there, completely at Han Qi’s mercy. After everything was over, Han Qi hesitated for a moment before swiftly getting off the bed. Lin Le Tian’s eyes followed the movement of his strong, well-built body. Feeling rather pleased, he said to the system, “He really does have an eight-pack. So damn strong.”

System: “…Aren’t you in pain?”

Last time, when Han Qi applied medicine on him, he had screamed like he was dying. Was that all an act?

Le Tian replied honestly, “Painful… but enjoyable.”

He was a waste, incapable in many ways. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t experience pleasure. In fact, since this body had remained innocent for nearly thirty years, the sudden pleasure was overwhelming. Seeing Han Qi lose control made it even better.

The air in the room was thick with a faint scent of blood and a strong, intoxicating fragrance, creating an atmosphere of indulgence. Han Qi’s hands trembled slightly as he tried to tie his robe, failing several times.

He didn’t know what had possessed him just now, why he had acted like a madman toward that eunuch. Looking back, he saw Lin Le Tian with his eyes tightly shut, his pale lips stained with blood, half-buried in a crimson pillow. He looked so fragile, as if he would shatter with a single touch. Yet, instead of remorse, he felt an odd sense of satisfaction.

So that ruthless, scheming person was just like this. Just a mere mortal.

Despicable or shameless, it didn’t matter. As long as Lin Le Tian suffered the same pain and humiliation that Han Qi once endured, his goal was achieved.

The resentment in his chest dissipated significantly. He grabbed Le Tian’s chin, his fingers inevitably stained with the blood trickling from Le Tian’s lips. The man still kept his eyes shut, seemingly exhausted, his lips trembling as if trying to speak but unable to form words. Judging by his expression, he was probably trying to curse him.

Han Qi said coldly, “don’t worry. I won’t let you die.”

Le Tian: “Glug, glug.” Thanks. Don’t worry. Not dying.

Han Qi heard the incoherent response and let go. He stood over him, admiring his weak, pitiful state with satisfaction before turning away. Only when he pushed open the door did he realize that the sky outside had begun to brighten. He had spent the entire night tormenting that eunuch…

For some reason, anger flared up in him again. He kicked over a food box on the stone bench in the courtyard and stormed off.

Once Han Qi was gone, Le Tian stopped pretending to be dead. Slowly, he sat up. Though his steps were unsteady, and he limped slightly, he wasn’t nearly as miserable as Han Qi imagined. He even took his time wiping his face with a handkerchief before saying seriously, “Little brother showed incredible skill for a first-time lesson. Genius-level talent. With time, he’ll definitely be great.”

The system was too furious to speak. It immediately started reviewing the timeline, determined to figure out when Le Tian had begun scheming to cause trouble.

Le Tian noticed and lazily said, “Don’t bother. Isn’t your mission just to ensure I complete my task? Why are you so hung up on my methods?”

The system fumed. “This is a punishment task! You haven’t suffered at all!”

“I have suffered.” Le Tian lifted his arm, letting the white robe slip down to reveal soft, fair skin covered in red marks. “Look, I’ve been tormented to the point of disfigurement.”

System: “…”

It had long suspected that he had seen through its attempts to train him. It thought resisting him was enough, but clearly, it wasn’t. They said systems were just simple beings governed by code—how true that was.

After a long silence, Le Tian coaxed softly, “I actually hurt really badly, so much that I want to cry. I’m just holding it in.”

System: “Liar.”

Le Tian: “Boo hoo hoo?”

System: “Scumbag! You lied to me! I even prepared such a perfect body for you in the next world!”

Le Tian chuckled. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s just call a truce, alright? Don’t hold me back. Let’s finish the punishment tasks smoothly. Besides, who will ever know what really happens in these small worlds? The League only cares about task completion, not how we do it. You won’t be embarrassed.”

Despite his attempts to sweet-talk it, the system still felt incredibly frustrated. In a way, it could completely empathize with Han Qi’s emotions now.

Did it want Le Tian dead? Yes. But it couldn’t kill him. So second best would be torturing him until he begged for mercy.

This person was simply too wicked.

Torn between making peace and electrocuting Le Tian, the system decided to play dead for now. It needed time to think—ideally with a cigarette in hand.

Meanwhile, Han Qi returned to his residence, his steps surprisingly light. It seemed he had finally found an outlet for the stress of the past few days. He picked up his blade and casually practiced a set of knife techniques in the courtyard.

Sharp cuts sliced through the dense green laurel leaves, sending them fluttering down like rain. A few rice-sized laurel buds also drifted into the crystal fish tank below, where two plump red-scaled fish surfaced, opening their mouths to eat the fallen buds.

Once his excitement faded, he sobered up slightly.

The scent of Lin Le Tian still clung to him, constantly reminding him of what had happened:

In a moment of reckless impulse, he had slept with that eunuch.

And the eunuch had looked as if he was on the verge of death.

With this thought in mind, he, tidied himself up, and entered the palace as if nothing had happened.

Zong Yan no longer needed anyone to oversee his studies; he completed them obediently on his own. When Han Qi arrived, he was dressed in riding gear, training his horse. Seeing Han Qi, he beamed with joy.

“Han Qi, you’re here!” He quickly ordered someone to hold his horse and jumped down.

“How’s Little Lin?!”

Lin Le Tian refused to let Zong Yan visit him, so Zong Yan entrusted Han Qi to check on him. Rumors inside and outside the palace claimed that Han Qi and Lin Le Tian were at odds, but Zong Yan didn’t believe them. Little Linwould never let someone he didn’t trust teach him martial arts, and Han Qi was a calm and steady person, not someone who would repay kindness with betrayal.

Han Qi’s expression remained unchanged. “He’s doing okay.”

However, his mind involuntarily recalled fragments of last night—intense fragrance, sorrowful cries, like a dream.

Zong Yan wrinkled his nose and suddenly said, “Han Qi, you smell so nice. It kind of smells like little Lin.”

Han Qi lowered his gaze, remaining silent. His body was indeed tinged with Lin Le Tian’s scent, something even bathing couldn’t wash away.

Zong Yan suddenly clapped his hands. “I got it! Did you hug him?”

Every time Zong Yan hugged Lin Le Tian, he would always carry a faint trace of his fragrance. He smiled knowingly. “I told you, he likes you. He never lets people he dislikes touch him.”

Like him?

Han Qi chuckled internally. Lin Le Tian probably wished he could tear him apart right now, regretting that he hadn’t eliminated him completely six years ago.

All those deceitful words Lin Le Tian had said—Han Qi didn’t believe a single one. Eunuchs were adept at sweet-talking and twisting the truth. Every word that came from Lin Le Tian’s mouth was coated with honey but laced with poison. Han Qi was no naïve child like Zong Yan; he would never be deceived.

Meanwhile, Le Tian lay down for a while before speaking to the system. “Partner, I need to discuss something with you.”

The system instantly rejected him. “No!”

Le Tian sighed. “You didn’t even ask what it is.”

System: “It’s definitely nothing good.”

Ah, kids are getting harder to fool these days.

Le Tian sighed dramatically. “If someone sees me in this ruined state, based on Lin Le Tian’s personality…”

The system pondered for a moment and then asked excitedly, “Would he commit suicide?”

Le Tian: “No, he’d kill everyone who saw him.”

The system fell silent.

Le Tian continued, “I wouldn’t do it, but Lin Le Tian would.”

Now the system was torn. Based on his character, if anyone else found out about his humiliation today, that person would undoubtedly die. Maybe even their entire family would be wiped out.

At the temple, Wufang had specially assigned a young monk to take care of Lin Le Tian, a “generous benefactor” who had donated a significant amount to the temple. Based on the timing, the monk would be arriving soon to wake Lin Le Tian up.

After a moment of hesitation, the system said, “Then I’ll take you away?”

Le Tian: “Sweetheart, no need to ask. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Plan success—oh yeah!

The system, being a top-tier system of the Alliance, acted instantly. Within a second, Lin Le Tian was transported to his private residence in the suburbs of the capital. This was the first house he had purchased with his initial earnings, essentially his secret hideout. No one but him knew about this place.

After recuperating for two days at the residence, he felt his health slowly returning. Strangely enough, the last time Han Qi had merely poked him with a lamp, the pain had been unbearable. But this time, Han Qi had used himself to “poke” him, and it wasn’t that bad.

In fact… he was a little eager to try again.

So, he secretly summoned some of his trusted subordinates from the Jinyiwei and gave them specific instructions. He especially emphasized, “If Han Qi dares to give you trouble, just say my name.”

His subordinates agreed excitedly, thrilled at the prospect of getting involved in an Eastern Depot power struggle.

The system, having seen through everything, coldly remarked, “You’re trying to seduce him again.”

Le Tian sighed dramatically. “I didn’t expect you to be so superficial. How could this be called seduction? Han Qi and I have mutual affection—at most, you could call it a date.”

System: “…Go f*** yourself.”