What to do if I've locked myself in a book! - Chapter 17

Watching her explain herself so earnestly, with a wronged look on her face, the man couldn’t help feeling both amused and exasperated. If she was going to make an excuse, she could at least come up with a decent one.

At this point, Ling Qianqian simply thickened her skin and added, “I’m completely broke right now… I was wondering if I could borrow some money from you…”

Hearing this, he frowned, as if something had hit him. “So that’s all you wanted to say?”

“Is that not okay?”

“It is, but it depends on how you perform.”

“…”

Cheng Ye’s words left her momentarily speechless. Just as her gaze started to wander, the hand clutching the blanket over her chest was suddenly seized by the man without warning. The blanket slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor, and her naked body was instantly exposed before him.

“Mm… what are you doing…”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”

The man’s gaze swept over her well-shaped body. In the daylight she looked full and beautiful—her two pink breasts perky, and the delicate place below still bore traces of redness and swelling from where he had taken her. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times, as if he were forcibly suppressing some urge. He raised the long gray dress in his other hand to block her front and said flatly, “Dress up properly. Later, come with me somewhere.”

“Cheng Ye, what do you take me for?”

“Don’t forget, you’re the one asking for help.”

“…”

After throwing out a line that made her upset yet unable to refute, the man turned and left.

The moment he stepped out, Ling Qianqian quickly shut the door.

Facing the pile of shopping bags, she felt both annoyed and amused.

Arriving here with no money at all, she truly had no way out. Right now, aside from Cheng Ye, the only person she might be able to borrow money from was Ye Xize. But she didn’t want to look for her “ex-boyfriend.” She had nearly been taken by him at the banquet last night—just thinking about it was frightening.

The strange system prompt still hadn’t appeared. She decided to go with the flow for now and take things one step at a time.

Cheng Ye sat on the sofa in the first-floor living room, looking at his phone. When the sound of high heels—“tap, tap, tap”—came down the stairs, he glanced at the black-and-gold watch on his left wrist. It was 2:23 p.m.

Ling Qianqian had changed into a slim, smoke-gray knit dress with a light mock neck. Her jet-black hair fell loosely around her shoulders. A silver sweater chain hung at her chest, its pendant a slender cone with a strong sense of design. The dress reached her ankles, with a side slit up to just above the knee. She paired it with pearl-colored wedge heels—clean lines, elegant, and fashionable.

Cheng Ye had good taste in clothes; the outfit perfectly showed off her graceful figure.

She liked it too and matched it with a black lambskin handbag that wasn’t overly formal but had a strong design. It made her look striking and full of personality.

“Let’s go. It’s about time.”

“Where to?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

She hurried out with him and got into his black convertible sports car. After speeding along for about half an hour, the car drove into a grand estate that looked like a manor.

Seeing the exaggerated landscaping and the castle-like mansion, she immediately realized this was the Cheng family residence.

In novels, to show how rich the male lead is, writers always exaggerate as much as possible. Seeing it in real life felt a bit awkwardly over the top but also strangely fresh.

Why had he brought her here?

Ling Qianqian looked around, taking in this fake yet real world. Cheng Ye naturally took her hand and led her straight toward the main entrance.

“Young Master, the master and madam are waiting for you,” a well-trained male attendant in a black uniform said respectfully, also bowing to Ling Qianqian.

She found it quite interesting and glanced sideways. On Cheng Ye’s cold, sharp profile, there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile, as if he were preparing to deal with something troublesome.

As they stepped through the villa doors, Ling Qianqian suddenly remembered the first time this scene appeared in the novel—it was the moment when Cheng Ye brought the female lead home to meet his parents.

Now he was holding Ling Qianqian’s hand as they walked in. Could it be…

She sucked in a sharp breath. Even if she really had become the female lead, this scene should only appear near the end of the story.

Although the plot had been a mess from the start, for some reason, a faint sense of unease kept rising in her heart…