Mutual Rupture [GB]

Ling Xiao is bored and starts playing a full-dive game.

Her mission is to bring down He Duo, the cold-blooded and ruthless villainous tycoon.

Corporate battles are too exhausting, so she decides to take a shortcut:

make him fall for her.

On the rooftop, faced with the inescapable trap He Duo has laid, Ling Xiao advances instead of retreating, hooks a finger in his tie, and kisses him.

"Mr. He, haven't you figured it out yet?"

She lightly strokes his Adam's apple, smiling radiantly and wickedly.

"I oppose you at every turn and make you angry, of course, because... I like you."

He actually believes her lie.

Later, the aloof, decisive ruler of the business empire becomes the most obedient man at her feet.

By day, he's the Mr. He everyone fears.

At night, he willingly kneels before her, looking up as he begs for a kiss.

Sometimes, when Ling Xiao is in the mood, all she has to do is give him a light tap on the waist.

The man turns around with red ears, braces himself against the sofa, and quietly waits for her.

Ling Xiao insists on teasing him.

"Mr. He, you're quite practiced at this."

He Duo clenches his jaw and refuses to answer.

Only when she deliberately pulls her hand away does the man finally give in and beg her in a hoarse voice:

"Ling Xiao... don't tease me."

Ling Xiao smiles and kisses him.

"Good boy."

He reins in his sharp edges for her, offers her his entire fortune, and even holds her in the middle of the night, eyes red as he asks in a humble voice:

"Ling Xiao, could you... love me a little more?"

"Of course."

Ling Xiao answers without hesitation.

After all, how hard can it be to soothe a dog who already knows who owns him?

Until his enemies come for him.

Ling Xiao takes a fatal bullet for him and dies in his arms.

System:

[Target's mental state has completely collapsed.]

[Congratulations, player, on achieving the hidden ending: The Tamer's Victory!]

Ling Xiao removes the headset with satisfaction.

She feels no guilt or reluctance, only a little lingering regret.

After all, a dog that beautiful and proud, yet willing to wag its tail and beg for her, is a rare find. It's a shame he's only a string of data.

She casually uninstalls the game.

A few days later, late at night.

The apartment doorbell rings sharply.

Ling Xiao opens the door.

Beneath the dim hallway light stands the man who should have been trapped forever in the virtual world.

He Duo.

How is this possible?!

Her eyes widen and she instinctively steps back.

But the man stares straight at her.

The eyes that were once full of infatuation and love now seethe with an almost insane hatred.

"Ling Xiao."

He calls her in a hoarse voice, then suddenly smiles.

"I thought you were dead. Turns out... you just didn't want me anymore."

Also known as "After Faking My Death, the Paper-Doll Man Came to My Door"

[Reading Guide]

1. A shameless, thrill-seeking gamer heroine x a cross-dimensional, obsessive tycoon who's been played and broken

2. Details may be adjusted before the story officially begins, but the fake-death and sworn-enemy tropes will stay

3. The blurb has been saved

Theme: What is missed will always echo back