The School Hunk's Troubles

At the chip exchange counter, Chu Bai's face was flushed, barely able to contain his excitement.

He had just tallied his chips and knew he'd won thirty-five thousand.

With that, the medical bills were covered, and he'd still have a few thousand left for pocket money.

Truth be told, Chu Bai wanted to win more, but being cautious, he feared catching the wrong kind of attention and stirring up unnecessary trouble.

Of course, having tasted the sweetness, he had no intention of stopping just yet.

He'd already decided to switch venues and keep milking the system.

With his X-ray Vision Ability, the casino was his personal ATM.

Getting rich was almost too easy.

"I'm done. Cash it all out for me."

Chu Bai handed his chips to the hostess, but before she could count them, seven or eight grim-faced young men closed in from behind.

Scarface Man walked over, his voice dark: "Kid, daring to cheat in my Sang Kun's joint—you tired of living?"

"Cheat? How did I cheat? Point it out to me, then?" Chu Bai's heart raced, but he forced himself to stay calm.

Sure, he had technically "cheated," but there was no evidence to prove it.

"I should be the one asking you that." Scarface Man shot Chu Bai a glare, then barked at his underlings: "Grab him and tie him up first."

"Screw you!"

Chu Bai wasn't weak in Combat Power and had a ruthless streak. Seeing things go south, he kicked straight at Sang Kun's groin.

The blow sent Sang Kun sprawling.

The other underlings froze in shock, then scrambled to help their boss up.

Chaos erupted.

Chu Bai threw another punch, knocked down two young men blocking his way, and bolted out the door.

"Boss, boss, you okay?"

A group of underlings hauled Sang Kun to his feet.

Sang Kun clutched his crotch, grimacing in pain.

He never expected a kid who looked under twenty to strike so dirty.

"Chase him! Go, bring him back!"

Sang Kun roared at his men.

For cheating alone, Sang Kun would've at least chopped off one of Chu Bai's hands. Now, with the cheap shot added on, Sang Kun wanted at least one more leg.

--

Outside the joint, on a street corner.

Wang Haoran sat in the Cullinan and spotted someone fleeing through the entrance.

The disheveled figure was none other than Chu Bai.

Behind him, seven or eight young men were shouting and giving chase.

In the pursuit, they quickly vanished from sight.

About five minutes later, the young men returned empty-handed.

Clearly, Chu Bai had escaped successfully.

Wang Haoran found the outcome unsurprising.

Chu Bai's Protagonist Halo might have weakened a lot, but he was still the protagonist—how could he be caught so easily?

Ding, host successfully prevented protagonist Chu Bai from earning his first pot of gold. Chu Bai's Protagonist Halo -20, host's Villain Halo +20, and received 200 Villain Points.

After all that effort and spending 500k, there was indeed a payoff.

Wang Haoran happily checked his panel.

Host: Wang Haoran

Combat Power: 89

Charm Value: 268

Villain Halo: 169

Villain Points: 500

Skills: None

500 Villain Points were just enough for one draw, but Wang Haoran thought it over and held back.

Spending all 500 Villain Points on a draw would leave him at zero.

If I run into someone who might be a Female Lead or other important supporting character, I can't use Villain Points to check their info anymore.

Better save up a few hundred and then draw again.

--

During the remaining day and a half of break, Wang Haoran kept a real-time eye on Chu Bai's movements.

After Chu Bai escaped from Sang Kun's gambling den, Sang Kun sent word to his peers in the trade, so Chu Bai didn't dare try hitting up other casinos for easy money.

Monday came, and classes resumed as usual.

Wang Haoran strolled into the classroom whistling. When he opened his desk, he found it stuffed full of envelopes.

He tore open a few and skimmed through them—all love letters from girls confessing their feelings to him.

Such was the burden of being the School Hunk.

Still, reading love letters felt pretty damn good.

Every girl who wrote one poured out all her affection, using every flowery phrase to bare her heart, hoping to win his response.

Wang Haoran enjoyed the read, but after going through them, he couldn't remember a single girl.

Except for one unsigned love letter that left a stronger impression.

And the handwriting felt oddly familiar.

But Wang Haoran didn't dig any deeper. After finishing the unsigned letter, he tossed it back into his desk.

Elsewhere.

Chu Bai showed up for class too.

But his expression was terrible—anyone could tell he had something on his mind.

Chen Zishi pulled Chu Bai aside to talk.

"Did you win any money over the break?" Chen Zishi asked, his voice a bit shaky.

"I was up over thirty thousand, but something went wrong, and it all... all disappeared." Chu Bai grimaced.

"Weren't you bragging you couldn't lose? How'd you blow it?! When can you pay me back that thousand? I need to get Wen Jing a gift by the end of this month!" Chen Zishi's panic flared.

"Don't get mad. Wen Jing's birthday isn't for a while yet, right? I'll find a way to pay you back, I promise." Chu Bai tried to soothe him.

"It better be that way!" Chen Zishi snapped, deeply annoyed.

Men's friendships might form fast, but they can just as easily crack over a woman.

Chen Zishi was head over heels for Wen Jing. He'd saved up a thousand over nearly a year, sometimes skipping meals and going hungry.

He'd suffered all that just to buy Wen Jing a decent gift.

If Chu Bai's screw-up ruined everything, it was easy to imagine how furious and desperate Chen Zishi would be.

--

"Bro Wang, Chu Bai and Chen Zishi almost got into a fight."

Wang Haoran had people watching Chu Bai's every move, and they reported back the moment anything unusual happened.

So, right after Chu Bai and Chen Zishi's talk, someone came to tattle.

"What were they saying?" Wang Haoran asked.

The underling relayed the conversation word for word.

"So out of Chu Bai's twelve hundred in capital, a thousand was borrowed from Chen Zishi. Those two are pretty tight."

"Which means Chen Zishi is probably a supporting character from the protagonist's camp, right?"

Wang Haoran speculated silently.

Following the usual urban novel formula, a lot of protagonists have a chubby best buddy.

Chen Zishi's build fit that mold perfectly.

"System, pull up Chen Zishi's info." Wang Haoran wanted to confirm.

Query costs 100 Villain Points. Proceed?

"Yes."

A screen appeared instantly.

Important Supporting Character: Chen Zishi (Protagonist Camp)

Combat Power: 69

Charm Value: 57

Supporting Halo: None

Skills: None

"Just as I thought." Wang Haoran confirmed, then asked, "System, if I sabotage the relationship between an important supporting character from the protagonist's camp and the protagonist, do I earn Villain Points and Halo Points?"

"To answer the host, this type of operation would affect the original plot and can earn Villain Points and Halo Points as rewards."

"I understand."

Wang Haoran nodded to himself, then began to think.

Chen Zishi was currently having a minor conflict with Chu Bai, and the key point was Wen Jing.

So, he could start from there.

But how should he go about it?

Just as Wang Haoran thought of Wen Jing, he suddenly felt a flash of realization.

He picked up the unsigned love letter from before, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

No wonder the handwriting looked familiar.

This was Wen Jing's handwriting! Wen Jing always had little study notes stuck on her desk, all in her own handwriting.

Wang Haoran and Wen Jing often swapped seats, so of course he'd seen it.

"Secretly crushing on me? That makes things easy."