The Abusive Novel System Pleads with Me to Resign

Pei Ying probably realized how awkward it was to backtrack on canceling their collaboration, so he never brought it up again afterward, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Given Shen Ying’s reputation for being exceptionally attentive to her clients, she naturally played along.

Thus, when Pei Ying shifted his focus to entertaining her, Shen Ying accepted his hospitality with ease, and for a while, the atmosphere was perfectly harmonious.

Pei Ying said, "If you enjoy scenery, we can have dinner here tonight."

"There’s a room with a transparent dome ceiling for stargazing. I’ve already asked the butler to prepare it."

Seeing that Shen Ying was pleased with all the arrangements, Pei Ying made some casual conversation before asking offhandedly, "Earlier, I happened to notice the scar on your ankle. It looks quite deep—how did you get it?"

Shen Ying sipped her fresh mulberry juice and replied nonchalantly, "Just an accident when I was little."

Pei Ying: "Your sister has an identical scar in the same spot. Did you know that?"

Shen Ying: "Of course."

She smiled meaningfully. "We’re twins, after all. We like to keep everything the same. I never expected it to be such a coincidence—even getting injured in nearly the same place."

"But I suppose it just proves the unbreakable bond between us sisters."

Her frankness made Pei Ying wonder if he was overthinking things. If it really were—

She wouldn’t have been so indifferent about it.

Suppressing his doubts, Pei Ying steered the conversation elsewhere and was unexpectedly impressed by Shen Ying’s vast knowledge.

It wasn’t arrogance—given his background, education, and breadth of experience, few people could keep up with him on every topic, not even Yu Shishi.

But Shen Ying, an orphan who had turned down adoption by an elite intellectual family, a graduate of an ordinary university—

Even if she had a natural talent for reading people, knowledge and experience weren’t things her environment could have easily provided.

Yet, Pei Ying never felt like he had to dumb himself down when talking to her. Their conversation flowed effortlessly.

Before they knew it, evening had arrived. When Shen Ying mentioned craving barbecue, Pei Ying had the kitchen staff set up on the balcony.

By then, the sky had darkened completely, and the starry vista over the mountain valley was breathtaking.

As Shen Ying admired the night view, she savored the teppanyaki prepared right before her—and then noticed that the head chef was a strikingly handsome young man.

Clearly mixed-race, he had sharp, deep-set eyes, fair skin, and exquisitely chiseled features. Dressed in a pristine white chef’s coat, he focused intently on the ingredients.

Shen Ying immediately struck up a conversation and learned that, at just 27, he was already an award-winning international chef. Her admiration was plain on her face.

During their chat, the handsome chef mentioned being of Chinese-French descent and complimented Shen Ying’s eyes.

She was clearly pleased and promptly asked to exchange contact information.

Pei Ying quickly stepped in, scowling. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Shen Ying answered innocently, "What does it look like? The chef’s skills have deeply moved me, so I’d like to stay in touch for potential collaborations."

Pei Ying: "Are you sure it’s his skills that moved you?"

Shen Ying: "Well, of course, there’s also his wit, charm—"

—and his handsome face and eight-pack abs. Not that anyone should doubt Shen Ying’s sharp eyes; she could easily gauge a man’s physique beneath his clothes.

Pei Ying took a deep breath. "What kind of collaboration could you possibly have?"

Shen Ying: "Don’t underestimate me. You know exactly how much I’m worth now."

"I may not compare to you, CEO Pei, but I can certainly afford to hire a top-tier chef for the occasional party."

Pei Ying said flatly, "He’s a private chef. Doesn’t take outside jobs."

Shen Ying flashed a smile. "Given our excellent working relationship, surely borrowing a chef wouldn’t be an issue?"

Pei Ying took a sip of wine to suppress his rising irritation. "Any other chef, fine. Not him."

He thought she’d get the hint by now.

Instead, she dropped all pretense and challenged him outright, "Are you really this dense, or are you pretending? Do you think I’m actually here for the cooking?"

Pei Ying: "You’re here for the witty, charming, and handsome chef, right? As his employer, I have a duty to protect my staff."

Shen Ying gave him a sulky look. "One day, I’ll make you hand-deliver him to me."

Pei Ying scoffed, about to say she was dreaming, but then remembered how Yu Ting, that idiot, had taken her to a club to pick out male escorts.

A sudden frustration rose in him—nothing about her could ever be taken for granted.

Still, despite the chef incident, Shen Ying had thoroughly enjoyed her day.

After dinner, she was shown to her specially arranged room, where the near-transparent ceiling offered an unobstructed view of the starry sky.

Falling asleep under the stars—she had to admit, the trip had been worth it.

Meanwhile, Pei Ying wasn’t having such an easy time drifting off.

Back in his room, he stood silently on the balcony for a long while before finally calling Yu Shishi.

When she answered, he said, "Your sister’s situation is resolved. I used your money, so don’t worry."

Yu Shishi’s voice stiffened. "That fast?—That’s great."

"Where is she now?"

Pei Ying: "At my place."

"—What?" For a moment, Yu Shishi lost her composure before hastily adding, "I mean, she agreed to go with you?"

Pei Ying: "At first, she refused. But the loan sharks suddenly showed up—guess she got scared. Bringing her back went smoothly after that."

Yu Shishi: "Oh—oh! Well, at least she’s safe with you for now."

Pei Ying: "She’ll need to lay low. Those collectors are more capable than I thought. She’d just changed addresses, and they tracked her down by afternoon."

Yu Shishi offered a rehearsed excuse: "Maybe the friend she was staying with accidentally leaked it?"

Pei Ying’s mood darkened further. "Maybe."

How could a nonexistent debt lead to leaks?

Then, just as he had with Shen Ying, Pei Ying asked casually, "Earlier, I noticed your sister has a scar on her ankle—just like yours."

"Did you know about that?"

Yu Shishi paled but quickly reassured herself. She had prepared for this. With years of shared history, even if her sister confessed, she could prove it was a lie.

Suppressing her panic, she answered calmly, "You saw it too?"

"Honestly, I still feel guilty about that."

Pei Ying: "How so?"

Yu Shishi: "My sister’s always been stubborn. When we were kids, she insisted we match in everything."

"Clothes, ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‍shoes, school supplies—if she cut her hair short, I had to do the same, no matter how much I wanted to keep mine long."

"After I got hurt and came home, she was furious. But I never imagined she’d go so far as to give herself the exact same scar."

Yu Shishi sighed with a complicated expression. "She really did a lot for me, even at the cost of her own health. That’s probably why she feels betrayed now that I left with my parents."

By the end, her voice trembled slightly with emotion.

But this time, Pei Ying didn’t immediately comfort her. Instead, there was a brief silence before he continued the conversation.

"Time flies—we’ve known each other for over a decade now," Yu Shishi reminisced. "I still remember the first time we met. We were such a mess back then, hiding in a sewer, too scared to make a sound..."

The vivid details she described seemed to pull Pei Ying back to that day.

He let out a silent, self-mocking chuckle, chiding himself for being overly suspicious.

Just because Yu Shishi’s image had shattered in his eyes didn’t mean he should doubt even their first encounter.

After chatting a while longer, Pei Ying hung up and went to rest.

But Yu Shishi stayed awake all night, the situation clearly spiraling further out of her control. Just before dawn, she abruptly sat up—

She couldn’t stay outside any longer.

The next morning after breakfast, Pei Ying had Shen Ying leave with him, planning to drop her off at his place before heading to the office.

In the car, Pei Ying remarked casually, "I told Shishi I’m letting you stay with me temporarily, just to avoid any lingering trouble from the loan sharks."

Shen Ying immediately retorted, "Letting me stay?"

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and fabricate a story about me stealing, getting caught, and being kicked out in disgrace!"

Pei Ying nearly choked. "Why would I slander you for no reason?"

Shen Ying gave him a disdainful look. "And you’re just going to let my sister suffer like this?"

"Speaking of which, why did you even make up this ‘letting me stay’ story? Didn’t you know it would upset her?"

"What kind of suitor are you?"

Pei Ying: "..."

So what exactly was he paying for?

The Pei family residence wasn’t exactly close to Shen Ying’s place, but the conversation made the trip feel shorter.

However, Pei Ying hadn’t expected to run into Jiang Liuxu—or rather, it wasn’t a coincidence. The man was clearly waiting there.

Then he remembered what Shen Ying had said yesterday about their "private affair."

His tone dripped with sarcasm. "Waiting here first thing in the morning? I had no idea you two were so close."

Jiang Liuxu smiled. "We just clicked. Friendship came naturally."

The explanation matched Shen Ying’s words perfectly, deepening Pei Ying’s frown. "You’re spending so much effort pursuing Shishi, yet here you are, fawning over another woman?"

Jiang Liuxu sighed. "Let’s not talk about that. I’ve given up on chasing Shishi."

"In fact, I already told her I wanted to go back to being just friends. Who knew she’d start paying even more attention to me afterward?"

Pei Ying felt a pang of frustration. Ever since he’d seen Yu Shishi’s true nature yesterday, every move of hers was transparent to him.

He knew exactly why she was still stringing Jiang Liuxu along—the man was the perfect accomplice for situations like yesterday.

He wouldn’t ask too many questions, wouldn’t judge her morally, and knew exactly when to back off. How convenient.

But none of this could be said outright. Even if they both understood, Pei Ying could only jab from another angle. "You’re full of it. Just a few days ago, you were still bidding against us."

Jiang Liuxu: "I wanted to back out, but Miss Shen wouldn’t let me."

"She even threatened me to keep pace with you three, or else she’d cut off your chances and make Shishi focus solely on me."

"Since I don’t like Shishi anymore, I couldn’t take that risk. So, under Miss Shen’s tyranny, I had no choice but to keep playing along."

He sighed dramatically. "I’m being forced."

Pei Ying nearly coughed up blood from sheer irritation. "You don’t seem very ‘forced.’ In fact, you’re awfully enthusiastic for someone under coercion."

Jiang Liuxu: "I’ve developed Stockholm syndrome."

Pei Ying: "..."

Have you no shame?!