Let Go of That Black Lotus, Let Me Handle Him

Next up: I Treat the CEO as a Stepping Stone [Reborn]

Shen Zhaolan was reborn.

In her previous life, she guarded her reputation and struggled alone through the muck, with no one backing her.

After finally making it to the ranks of third-tier actresses, her scenes were still cut and rewritten, and she fell from a rooftop while filming.

When she opened her eyes, she was back seven years earlier: a background extra with a high fever, braving the cold wind as she waited to get paid.

Turning her head, she saw the legendary sugar daddy from the rival company: Jiang Linchuan, the future CEO of Chuanhe Group.

The dizziness from her fever mingled with the resentment in her memories, and a wild idea came to her.

If other people could climb to the top using someone else's ladder, why couldn't she, Shen Zhaolan, do the same?

Shen Zhaolan seized the chance to faint into Jiang Linchuan's arms.

Sure enough, Jiang Linchuan took her to the hospital.

She played the victim, flirted with him, and used him to get resources and steal roles! She would treat the CEO as a stepping stone.

She hadn't expected Jiang Linchuan to be so easygoing. Well, she couldn't be blamed for taking everything she could get.

Jiang Linchuan's mother looked down on her. Shen Zhaolan put up with it.

His first love came back from abroad to steal her boyfriend. Shen Zhaolan put up with that too.

On the day she achieved fame and success, Shen Zhaolan kicked the CEO aside, only to discover that the stepping stone had stuck to her foot.

Wait, she was only playing around. How had he started taking it seriously?

Jiang Linchuan thought he had taken in a clever little kitten who depended on him.

He gave her resources and taught her the rules. He even found her greedy side adorable.

Until one night, the easygoing CEO saw a message his good buddy had sent her: [Sis, he's asleep, right? I miss you.]

Through gritted teeth, he sent back: [?]

The other guy replied instantly: [If he's not satisfying you, come to me. I'm young and full of energy.]

Jiang Linchuan: Completely lost it!

He wasn't disposable. How could she use him and then toss him aside?

When Qiu Fengyan first met Shen Zhaolan, she was his buddy's girlfriend.

With his mind made up against her, Qiu Fengyan wanted to test just how deep this gold-digger's intentions ran on behalf of his big brother.

But once he started testing her, he was the one who fell in.

Like a rat in a gutter, he watched their interactions, the yearning inside him threatening to burst through the sky.

So what if he became the other man? The one who isn't loved is the real loser.

His big brother and he were both rich, but he was younger, wasn't he?

[Reading Guide]

The heroine is reborn, knows exactly what she wants, and has flexible morals.

A satisfying comeback story, an entertainment-industry rise-to-the-top plot, and a romance filled with the testing and tension of adults.

The complete manuscript is finished.

Zhuang Qingwen, an inveterate overachiever, wakes up as a minor character. The System tells her to win over Xu Jingyang, the black-lotus male supporting character in the book. Once she maxes out his affection, she can return to reality and claim a ten-million-yuan bonus.

Zhuang Qingwen, who worked herself to the bone only to remain an exploited wage slave: Isn't this easier than having a job?

But she had made things too simple. Was a black lotus really that easy to win over?

She treated him like her rich boss, bowing and scraping as she served him diligently and worked without complaint.

When her boss wanted a red-hearted herb, she fought a guardian beast up close, biting with her teeth when her arm broke.

When her boss asked her to sign a body-double contract, she did so without hesitation.

When her boss liked a female cultivator, she did her best to create opportunities for them.

Staring at her negative affection score, Zhuang Qingwen thought: Can I ask what is going on?

Well, it turned out she'd mistaken the wrong person for her boss from the very beginning and had been helping his rival!

Getting his affection back was no easy feat. He suspected her, mocked her, and used her. She persevered until he crossed her bottom line. Zhuang Qingwen: I'm done!

But why was this jerk suddenly clinging to her and stopping her from talking to other male cultivators? "Are you always this nice to handsome junior disciples?"

Don't tell me this is one of those "chasing your wife to the crematorium" stories? Zhuang Qingwen: I'm not falling for that!

Who was Zhuang Qingwen? Xu Jingyang searched through his memories but couldn't recall anyone by that name from his previous life.

But why had she helped someone else take first place over him when they first met? Was she an enemy? He wasn't sure, so he decided to watch her a little longer.

Yet this "enemy" stood up to a powerful cultivator for him and dragged him out of the mire. She called him her junior disciple fondly and took care of everything for him.

She even grinned and said, "You're the only one in the world who gives me butterflies."

She clung to him like a leech, and the whole sect helped her "capture" him. There was no getting away.

He mocked her and led her into danger, hoping to scare her off, but she accepted it all. Since that was the case, surely there was nothing wrong with using her a little more, right?

To test her, he brought out a body-double contract. She signed her name without a second thought.

"Are you crazy? Why did you actually sign it?"

"You told me to." She rose onto her tiptoes and tugged at both of Xu Jingyang's cheeks. He slapped her hand away in annoyance, and only then did she let go.

He had forgotten that affection could run out. When Zhuang Qingwen pointed her sword at him and said, "You're not worthy," he panicked completely. He took the initiative, only to realize that her gaze no longer rested solely on him...

Didn't she say he was the only one in the world who gave her butterflies? Then she wasn't allowed to leave him. Unless he died. No, even if they couldn't share a bed in life, they would share a grave in death!

A little scene:

Zhuang Qingwen tilted her head and looked at him. "Why won't you live to the Nascent Soul stage?"

The black-clad youth's voice rang out coldly. "Because someone will kill me and strip the bones from my body."

"Then I'll protect you!"

Two little scenes:

"I didn't take advantage of you!"

Xu Jingyang's hair was slightly damp, and his purple disciple's robe hung loosely from his shoulders. His fingertips were tinged pink, and the whites and blacks of his eyes seemed less distinct than usual.

"Can I take back what I just said?"

"What?"

She burrowed into Xu Jingyang's arms, her fluffy head rubbing against the hollow of his neck and making him itch. Xu Jingyang, with her arms around his waist, was a little dazed.

"This is what taking advantage of you looks like."

The defenses around the young man's heart came crashing down.

The girl smiled radiantly as she watched his affection score rise.

A book-transmigrated overachiever and working girl X a reborn black-lotus male supporting character

1. Set in a fictional world, not traditional cultivation, with many original settings.

2. The male lead is younger.

3. The heroine suffers a little physically in the early stages, but not emotionally.

Theme: Work hard and persevere.