The Hated One's Guide to Winning Over the Popular Childhood Friend

Jiang Lai was someone everyone disliked. His father never cared for him, and his mother never loved him. He had no relatives or friends, and grew up alone, quietly making his way through elementary school, high school, and college. All that time, he was like a transparent person, never attracting anyone's attention.

Jiang Lai felt his life had never had any twists or turns. He had simply gone with the flow and followed the usual path. The only bold thing he had ever done was save a child from under a car, but it cost him his life.

When he opened his eyes, he hadn't gone to heaven or descended to the underworld. Instead, he had arrived in a strange world.

Something calling itself the System told him that this was a book, and his mission was to win over the most popular man in the story.

Jiang Lai: ...What? Me?

System: That's right, dear.

Jiang Lai didn't care about staying alive. Life seemed pointless to him. But the System promised that if he completed the mission, it would give him a world full of love, utterly unlike the one he'd known before.

Jiang Lai was tempted. He had never experienced love, so this time, he wanted to try.

Following the System's plan, Jiang Lai stood outside his childhood friend's room in a white shirt that fell below his knees, the collar wide open. “My air conditioner is broken. Can I sleep with you?”

His childhood friend remained gentle, buttoned up his shirt, fixed the air conditioner, and wished him good night.

Jiang Lai: “?”

For the second step of the plan, they were in a hot spring. His face flushed from the steam as Jiang Lai asked, “Can I kiss you?”

His childhood friend said, “Be good. You're drunk.”

Jiang Lai: ...? This childhood friend is hopeless.

Reading Guide:

[An old-fashioned, love-starved bottom who doesn't understand what love is, but is bold in his actions]

[A reserved, secretly passionate top who pretends to be gentle, has ironclad self-control, and is always holding back]

[No original host; the top only loves the bottom, with an overwhelmingly one-sided arrow pointing at him]

[The bottom has never experienced love and doesn't understand it. His bold advances toward the top are all prompted by the System's missions. The System serves as the red string of fate between them]

Coming Soon

The calico cat is the toughest cat around, able to take on tigers and kick lions. Its courage is boundless.

There's a saying among humans: if your cat goes missing, give a calico a few dried fish and it'll be like posting a bounty. Your cat will soon be caught and brought home.

And Dawang is the biggest feline overlord in Jiaxing Complex.

One day, a new man moved into the complex. Dawang went to check him out, only to find that he was incredibly weak. Since the entire complex was Dawang's territory, he wouldn't allow anyone to bully anything in it.

Dawang heroically stepped in, coolly rescued the man, and left, never expecting the man to cling to him from then on.

The man followed him around, holding dried fish and calling, “Meow, meow.”

Dawang couldn't take it anymore. He turned into a human and scolded him: “Why are you meowing? My name is Dawang! Stop following me! Get lost!”

Seeing Dawang in human form, the man's cheeks flushed and his eyes went hazy. “D-Dawang... I'll take care of you. No, wait, you take care of me, Dawang...”

Dawang meowed, “Not a chance!”

Later

Dawang roared, “Stop coming into my den! You're crushing it!”

The man gazed at him with hearts in his eyes, looking dazed. “Then come to my den, Dawang. Mine is bigger...”

Seeing all his underlings getting into the trend of keeping humans, Dawang looked at the man in front of him. Well, he supposed he could keep one, too. "Cling to the Calico Cat Overlord's Leg"

Theme: Study hard and improve every day