Chapter 67: Even as a Woman, I'm More of a Man Than You

Li Ruonan stared at the more than one million displayed on her phone screen, feeling completely dazed.

As a mere freshman in college, the impact of such a long string of digits was unprecedented, and to say she wasn't excited would be absolute bullshit.

"Got it."

With a soft acknowledgment, Li Ruonan suddenly found that things weren't looking too bad after all.

...

The sky had already grown dark by the time Lin Bai returned to campus. He dialed Qin Ruowei's number a few more times, but as before, it went unanswered.

After dinner, Lin Bai strolled alone through the central campus playground, his mind replaying everything that had happened during the day.

He did the math: in just a single afternoon, he had spent nearly seven million!

Previously, he had thought that such a massive amount of money was impossible to spend no matter how hard he tried, but looking back now, he had been far too naive.

"I still need to make money!"

Lin Bai sighed inwardly. He would have countless places to spend money in the future, and this little bit was nowhere near enough.

At that moment, he recalled the system's main quest: Win Xu Youmeng's first night! The reward was five thousand points.

Lin Bai now had a preliminary understanding of the system. Based on its usual temperament, when he reached Level 4 next time, there was a high probability the daily allowance would be 100,000!

At this rate, a Level 5 system would grant a daily allowance of 1 million!

Level 6 would mean 10 million a day!

Level 7 would hit 100 million a day!

And this was calculated by the day! Not by the month, let alone the year!

Lin Bai suddenly felt like he was putting the cart before the horse. The most important thing about this system was completing the main quests and leveling up!

As for the family prosperity side quest, while it seemed to offer a lot on the surface, it was far less practical than increasing the system's level.

Of course, it went without saying that leveling up the system would only get harder the further along he went.

But...

How on earth could he take Xu Youmeng's first night?

Given Xu Youmeng's personality, pulling this off wouldn't be easy.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Sigh..." Lin Bai let out a long breath, thankful that the main quest had no time limit.

"Right! The time!"

Lin Bai suddenly remembered that there was only one day left before the deadline for Qin Ruowei's side quest!

In other words, if he failed to complete the side quest by midnight tomorrow night, he would be a gonner!

Once you're dead, no amount of overthinking will do you any good!

With that in mind, Lin Bai decided to go look for Qin Ruowei tomorrow, which was Monday.

...

What Lin Bai didn't know was that at the exact same time he was sighing and groaning, down in the garden beneath the girls' dormitory building, Qin Ruowei and Li Ruonan were in conversation.

"This afternoon, Lin Bai just took me to buy a house and even gave me over a million for pregnancy expenses."

As she spoke, Li Ruonan gently stroked her lower abdomen, a triumphant smile plastered across her face under the illumination of the streetlights.

Qin Ruowei's expression remained calm, her gaze lingering on Li Ruonan's lower abdomen for a moment.

"You should know that he has no feelings for you. Isn't it a bit too shameless to use a child to blackmail him?"

Li Ruonan giggled. "Hee hee hee, no, no, no. I'm not blackmailing him at all. I'm only a freshman; I didn't want this either. It was Lin Bai who insisted that I keep it, and he even said he'd provide for it after it's born. Honestly, I'm just speechless at this guy."

Despite saying that, Li Ruonan's face was brimming with happiness.

Qin Ruowei's hands clenched involuntarily. "You're lying! He would never do that!"

"Aren't you his girlfriend? Why don't you go ask him and find out for yourself?"

"Thanks for the reminder, I will!"

Furious, Qin Ruowei stood up, ready to leave. After taking two steps, she stopped and turned back around.

"Li Ruonan, the only person Lin Bai truly loves is me, and it can only ever be me."

With that, Qin Ruowei left decisively, vanishing into the night.

Li Ruonan watched Qin Ruowei disappear, her expression shifting from initial delight to sullen defiance.

"Humph! The one carrying his child right now is me! Not you!"

...

Monday.

When the midday bell rang, Lin Bai stretched lazily, packed up his books, and prepared to head to the cafeteria with his roommates.

"Bro Bai! Bro Bai! Zunhe Industry replied! Come look at this!"

Lu Xiaobin's excited voice rang out, causing Chen哲 (Chen Zhe) and Zhao Fangting to crowd around him.

"Holy shit! They actually fired Zhou Teng?"

"Bro Bai, come look! Our whistleblowing letter actually worked! Zhou Teng got fired by Zunhe Industry,哈哈哈..."

Of course Lin Bai already knew, but he forced a look of ignorance, glanced at the email, and gave the three of them a thumbs-up.

"Awesome!"

The reason the email was only delivered today was because the previous two days were the weekend, a holiday.

The three of them were thrilled, clamoring to go out for a lavish meal. Just as they were about to head out the door, someone walked into the classroom.

Lin Bai was looking down, adjusting the cuff of his pants. Sensing Chen Zhe poke him, he stood up and looked toward the entrance.

"Ruowei?"

Seeing Qin Ruowei, Lin Bai instantly wore an excited expression and strode quickly over to her.

"Where have you been these past two days? Do you have any idea how many calls I made to you?"

Qin Ruowei was, after all, the department belle. Her appearance instantly drew the attention of everyone still lingering in the classroom, all of whom stared straight at them, including Li Ruonan.

Qin Ruowei didn't speak. Her gaze swept past Li Ruonan and landed on Lin Bai.

"Did you bring your ID card?"

Confused, Lin Bai blurted out, "No, it's in the car."

"Let's go, to the Civil Affairs Bureau."

Lin Bai froze. "Huh? What are we going to the Civil Affairs Bureau for?"

"Get married."

The classroom fell pin-drop silent. All the students stared blankly at the two of them, and Lin Bai's brain completely short-circuited.

[Ding! Side quest triggered!]

[Side quest: Meet the right person and settle down first.]

[Choose Qin Ruowei as your marriage partner and register your marriage with her.]

[Quest Reward 1: A luxury villa in Jiangcheng Dragon Villa Estate;]

[Quest Reward 2: Wedding gift of 30 million;]

Only Lin Bai could hear the system's voice. Compared to the system's quest, the reality of getting married stunned Lin Bai even more.

"Let's go, what are you standing there frozen for? Unwilling?"

Qin Ruowei frowned and tugged at Lin Bai's arm.

Coming back to his senses, Lin Bai shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, no, I'm certainly willing, but... what about your parents..."

"I call the shots when it comes to my own life. Are you going or not?! I'm a woman and I'm more decisive than you! I'll give you three seconds to think! Three!"

Qin Ruowei's reverse psychology worked wonders. Lin Bai grabbed her hand tightly.

"Let's go!"

With that, Lin Bai pulled Qin Ruowei toward the exit.

Behind them, Li Ruonan finally snapped out of her daze. She sprinted out of the classroom and blocked their path.

"No! Lin Bai, you can't marry her!"

Lin Bai frowned at Li Ruonan. "What are you doing?"

Li Ruonan's expression was panicked to the extreme. She had never been this scared before, and she shook her head frantically.

"No! No, no, you just can't! You can't marry her..."

How could Li Ruonan not understand? Once Qin Ruowei and Lin Bai obtained their marriage license, they would be a legally wedded couple. Even if she was carrying Lin Bai's child, it would be illegitimate.

To put it more bluntly, she would just be the other woman!

Knowing what Li Ruonan was thinking, Qin Ruowei looked at Lin Bai. "I'll give you three minutes to sort this out. I'll wait for you downstairs."

With that, Qin Ruowei walked straight down the stairs and left.

Lin Bai looked at Li Ruonan and took a deep breath.

"Li Ruonan, I've told you many times before, our relationship is purely transactional. I have no feelings for you."