After Unbinding the Simp System, I'm Targeted by the Villain - Chapter 18

At this very moment, Yu Chucheng really wanted to slap himself into a state of sobriety.

He admitted that Duan Huaijin was the most handsome person he had ever seen, but look at the situation—was this really the time to be admiring someone’s looks?

“I have to go, don’t bother seeing me out.”

A strange sense of shame surged in his heart. He hurriedly dropped that line and walked toward the door with rapid strides.

Stupid legs, move faster!

If he didn’t leave now, he’d be caught with his ears turning red.

What the hell are you blushing for? How embarrassing, how spineless! Where was this sense of dignity when you were a “licking dog”? A tiny demon with a trident poked relentlessly at the inside of Yu Chucheng’s head.

As if afraid Duan Huaijin would follow, he slammed the front door shut in a panic and bolted down the stairs at the speed of an 800-meter dash.

When he reached the second floor, the door to 201 was slightly ajar. The little girl from earlier stood inside the pitch-black doorway, peeking out with one eye and whispering, “Big brother…”

“SHIT!!!”

Yu Chucheng jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, a jolt of electricity running through his body. Scared twice in one night, he nearly twisted his ankle on the stairs.

Exhausted, he looked back at the girl. Even knowing her family situation, he was still a bit spooked in the middle of the night. “W-what is it?”

The girl opened the door a bit wider and stuffed a small tangerine into Yu Chucheng’s hands. “For… for upstairs…”

Yu Chucheng understood. The girl wanted him to give the tangerine to Duan Huaijin.

“I’m leaving now, why don’t you go give it to him yourself during the day, okay?” Yu Chucheng tried to negotiate; he absolutely did not want to go back upstairs.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him blankly. Racking her brains, she managed to squeeze out a few words: “Then, then for you.”

Yu Chucheng initially wanted to refuse. According to his years of experience watching horror movies, you never accept items of unknown origin. But when he met her sincere and expectant gaze, the refusal at the tip of his tongue died.

He stared at her rounded head for a few seconds before finally, hesitantly, reaching out and giving it a quick, rough pat.

“Fine. But I’m only taking it on one condition: you have to lock the door and stay inside for the rest of the night.”

This sentence was a bit long. It took the girl a while to process it, but she slowly nodded and obediently shut the door.

“Phew…”

Yu Chucheng exhaled, tossing the tangerine up and down in his hand. He looked at the door of 201 with mixed emotions.

This girl seemed so eerie that even he was startled at first. Yet, Duan Huaijin understood this non-verbal child so well, knew her family’s situation inside out, and even carried lollipops with him…

Yu Chucheng lowered his eyes, hiding the complex emotions within. He thought to himself—

Duan Huaijin is actually a very gentle and patient person, isn’t he?

This completely upended his perception of the “villain.”

After Yu Chucheng left, Duan Huaijin’s expression darkened instantly.

In the room, Duan Haixiang was nervously monitoring Duan Huaijin’s face, terrified because he had let his tongue slip earlier.

When Lin Mei returned and saw the mess on the floor, combined with the news that Duan Huaijin had brought a stranger home, she frowned in disgust. “Don’t bring shady people home in the future.”

Duan Huaijin suppressed the chill in his eyes. “He is not a shady person.”

“What did you say?” Lin Mei looked at Duan Huaijin in surprise as he cleaned up. A faint sense of unease settled in her heart.

Although Duan Huaijin wasn’t her biological son, he had always been sensible and considerate. In the past, he never talked back to her, but lately, she felt he was changing—gradually slipping out of her control.

“Who is he?” Lin Mei asked vigilantly.

“A friend.”

“A friend? If you have friends, see them outside. There’s no need to bring them here; we have nothing to host them with anyway,” Lin Mei said stiffly.

In all these years, this was the first time she had seen Duan Huaijin defend someone. But whoever it was, she wouldn’t welcome them—it was as if she were terrified of her secrets being discovered.

Duan Huaijin brushed the corner of the desk—the exact spot Yu Chucheng had accidentally hit earlier.

“And what about you? Did you go out to see a friend tonight too?”

Lin Mei’s eyelid twitched violently. She lowered her voice and hissed, “What nonsense are you talking!”

She had gone out to see someone tonight, but it wasn’t a friend—it was Zhang Hanzhou.

Since Duan Haixiang stubbornly refused to sell the old house, she had to find a way to get more money out of her biological son. However, she hadn’t expected that even though her son was now the eldest Young Master of the Zhang family, they kept a tight leash on his spending. Fearing his father would notice, he couldn’t produce several hundred thousand yuan all at once.

Duan Huaijin lazily lifted his eyes, admiring the kaleidoscope of expressions crossing Lin Mei’s face in just two seconds.

So, this was the wonderful feeling of keeping others in the dark. He suddenly understood the people who had deceived him in his past life.

“It’s nothing. I was just worried those debt collectors were giving you trouble,” Duan Huaijin lied without batting an eye.

Lin Mei gave a silent sigh of relief and forced a maternal smile.

“No, don’t worry about that.”

Perhaps out of guilt, Lin Mei dropped her cold attitude toward Duan Huaijin and turned her fury toward Duan Haixiang.

“At least my son knows how to care about me! What about you? Duan Haixiang, I’ve endured you long enough. You’re nothing but a blood-sucking leech, draining me and then draining our son! Do you have a single ounce of manhood in you?!”

Scoladed into silence, Duan Haixiang didn’t dare say a word, let alone mention how he had nearly let the secret slip today.

Duan Huaijin bent down to pick up the documents from the floor and said unhurriedly, “Mom, Dad might have his reasons. Don’t speak like that.”

Duan Haixiang nodded frantically. “Exactly—”

“He doesn’t have a damn reason! If he wasn’t dragging us down, this family would have been living the good life long ago!” The more Lin Mei thought about it, the angrier she got. She pointed at the pile of messy clothes on the bed. “Whoever messed them up, clean them up! You’re useless enough outside; if you can’t even fold clothes, what’s the difference between you and trash!”

“I’m a grown man, why should I fold clothes? Get out of my way!” Duan Haixiang’s chauvinistic side flared up, and he began to stomp his feet.

Another argument was about to explode.

It truly lived up to Yu Chucheng’s words: You brought this on yourself.

Duan Huaijin silently retreated to the side, letting them air their grievances against each other.

He opened his phone. The person he had added during the class reunion had finally accepted his request and sent two messages.

Xin: 【If I take you with me, can you really tell me about all my father’s illegitimate children outside?】 Xin: 【I’ve checked. Your parents are just ordinary workers. What evidence do you have to make me believe you?】

Duan Huaijin: 【No evidence.】

Xin: 【Then how do I know you aren’t lying to me?】

Duan Huaijin: 【Suit yourself. I only want to remind you that even if my intel is wrong, you lose nothing. If you don’t even have the guts to take a deal with zero risk and all reward, how do you expect to fight three illegitimate children for the family inheritance later?】

The other person didn’t reply for a long time, likely shocked by the mention of “three” children or considering the logic.

Duan Huaijin waited patiently. He was like a confident hunter who knew the prey would eventually take the bait.

After a long while, the screen lit up again.

Xin: 【Fine. I’ll bring you in. But if you’re lying, I’ll make you pay the price.】