When the Male Lead Finds Out I’m the Transmigrator Trying to Win Him Over - Chapter 29
Yun Jia’s birthday party was arranged at a private clubhouse. It was supposed to start at seven in the evening. On her way there, Yun Ruo got stuck in traffic, so she told Yun Jia not to wait for her and to just have fun with his friends first.
Yun Jia said, “No rush.”
When Yun Ruo arrived, she finally understood what “no rush” meant.
There were no friends at all. Yun Jia had invited no one else—she was the only guest.
No wonder He Xitong hadn’t come.
Seeing the empty private room, Yun Ruo already had a bad feeling. She felt a little weary, but still took out the gift she had prepared and wished Yun Jia a happy birthday.
“Jiejie, about what happened before—”
Yun Ruo quickly changed the subject: “These four years, you’ve changed so much. Tell me about your experiences?”
Yun Jia was stunned for a moment. But since it meant his sister wanted to know about him, he began talking about his entrepreneurial journey.
“…Brother-in-law—Tingmo once tried to introduce me to resources, but I didn’t want to rely on him. I wanted to see if I could manage on my own.”
“Xitong helped me a lot. There were many things I didn’t understand—she explained them to me. Sister, you really made the right friend.”
“…And also Han Qi. He helped me too.”
At this, Yun Ruo finally spoke: “Han Qi?”
Yun Jia nodded twice and took the chance to sit a little closer to Yun Ruo. “Once, I offended a big shot, and Han Qi helped me handle it. He even taught me how to deal with that kind of situation in the future.”
“Han Qi is really warmhearted.”
Yun Ruo made a small “ah” sound, and anyone could hear the doubt in her voice.
Even Yun Jia felt that what he had just said sounded far-fetched. But apart from this explanation, he couldn’t think of anything else. He wasn’t close with Han Qi at all. Their connection was only: “friend of Meng Tingmo.”
“Maybe it was just convenient for him,” Yun Jia glossed over.
Yun Ruo didn’t care much. She could guess the real reason.
Her phone buzzed twice with a new message, but before she could check, Yun Jia grabbed her arm. “Jie.”
Looking at him, Yun Ruo noticed he wasn’t wearing glasses tonight. His eyes carried a bit of expectation. “You’ve divorced Tingmo… You’ve really let him go?”
Yun Ruo answered decisively, “Yes.”
“Then…” Yun Jia tightened his grip on her hand, “Then what about me?”
Are you going to give up on me too?
“These days since you came back, I’ve been so happy. But I realize it’s only one-sided. You don’t want to see me, don’t want to talk to me. If it weren’t for my birthday, who knows when we’d finally sit down like this?”
“Jie, do you still hate me?”
As expected.
Yun Ruo had known she wouldn’t escape this question tonight. In truth, she didn’t really hate Yun Jia anymore.
Her parents had left her when she was very young. Her grandmother also passed away while she was still in high school. She had no family left. When Yun Jia had cried and told her, “You’re all I have,” hadn’t she thought the same?
Yun Jia had treated her as his anchor in this world. And she had enjoyed that kinship.
But in the end, it had all been false. That night had shattered everything. Yet Yun Jia had gotten into a car accident rushing to see her—that at least proved her feelings hadn’t been one-sided.
So, she didn’t want to hate anymore.
Likewise, she didn’t want to love anymore.
The same applied to He Xitong.
They didn’t owe each other anything. She just didn’t want to go back to how things had been.
Because she could never forgive herself.
“I don’t hate you.” Yun Ruo pulled her hand free and waved her phone as an excuse. “But you’re grown up now. You have your own life. What siblings at thirty years old still cling to each other all the time?”
“You don’t need to worry about me so much. Go do what you want to do.”
What I want is to be with you! Yun Jia screamed inside. But Yun Ruo was busy checking her messages, oblivious to his turmoil. He couldn’t say it aloud—it would only make her more impatient.
The message was from Han Qi. How coincidental—just after talking about him.
Han Qi: “I heard you successfully divorced?”
Yun Ruo: “Mm.”
Han Qi: “Congratulations.”
Staring at the word “congratulations,” Yun Ruo didn’t know how to reply. “Congratulations to you too”? Why would Han Qi be happy about this?
【Target’s favorability has changed】
The system suddenly spoke.
【Current favorability: 65%】
Yun Ruo: ?
【……】
Just getting divorced can increase his favorability this much?
“Jie, what’s wrong?” Yun Jia noticed her odd expression and asked.
“Nothing.” Yun Ruo put away her phone. Her eyes fell on the birthday cake on the table, and she suddenly thought of Han Qi’s birthday coming up.
Being an orphan didn’t mean he had no birthday, nor that he didn’t celebrate it.
Yun Ruo stood up. That was enough for today—time to head home and prepare.
“Blow out the candles.” she said briskly, quickly unwrapping the cake, sticking in candles, and lighting them one by one.
Her speed left Yun Jia no time to react.
By the time he was standing outside in the cold with her gift, waiting for the driver, Yun Ruo had already gotten into a car she had booked earlier and gone home.
Yun Jia: ……
Yun Ruo’s pursuit plan restarted.
【Same rules as before. Every 10% increase in favorability, you’ll receive one reward. Since it was the system’s error that caused your current predicament, the rewards will be stronger this time. Also, there’ll be no extra tasks. As long as Han Qi’s favorability reaches 95%, you pass—even without hitting 100%.】
Because of the oversight in supervision, the main system had given Yun Ruo the greatest leeway possible.
【Han Qi’s current favorability is 65%, so you can receive six rewards.】
Yun Ruo clapped her hands: “Feels like I’m getting them for free.”
In the past, earning rewards had been so difficult. Meng Tingmo was stingy—his favorability rose only by 1% at a time. Han Qi was completely different.
【Doesn’t Han Qi feel like the classic male lead in a romance novel? As long as the heroine takes one step forward, he’ll take the other ninety-nine on his own.】
The system mused, growing more convinced: 【Why on earth did I choose Meng Tingmo as the male lead in the first place? I should’ve chosen Han Qi!】
Yun Ruo ignored its rambling. Love and romance—she couldn’t be bothered to think about them now.
She messaged Han Qi: “Want to have dinner together?”
Han Qi replied quickly: “Your pursuit has started?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m very busy tomorrow. Not sure I’ll have time.”
Yun Ruo threw her phone into the blanket.
Han Qi! He’s starting to play hard to get!
How does one pursue a thirty-two-year-old man who has never dated and cares only about work?
Two hours later, sitting downstairs at his company, she crossed that question out and replaced it with: “How do I overcome the psychological hurdle of pursuing my ex-husband’s best friend right after divorce?”
Terrifying.
Yun Ruo buried her head in her arms.
【Tags: Irresistible Charm | Male Rivalry | Love Triangle | Brotherhood Turned Hostile】
“What are you mumbling about?”
【A new romance novel I read.】
Yun Ruo buried her head even deeper.
She had wanted to invite Han Qi to dinner, so she came to his company at five in the afternoon to wait. Not being a familiar face and without an appointment, the receptionist naturally didn’t let her go upstairs. Still, since she was the one chasing him, she had to show determination. So, she simply sat in the lobby to wait.
From five to seven, Han Qi never once came down.
As the receptionist left, she kindly advised, “You should go home. President Han is always busy. Sometimes he works until nine or ten—you may not be able to catch him.”
But Yun Ruo didn’t believe it. Mainly, she couldn’t bear the sunk cost—she had already waited this long. It was already seven; she might as well wait longer.
At eight, Han Qi finally finished his meeting. With his assistant beside him, he stepped out of the elevator—and the first thing he saw was Yun Ruo, entertaining herself in the lobby.
His footsteps faltered.
“President Han?” the assistant asked, puzzled.
Han Qi waved him off. The assistant left alone, while Han Qi quietly walked over and looked over Yun Ruo’s shoulder, seeing her happily immersed in a game.
Her patience was truly remarkable.
He had seen it before—how she used to wait for Meng Tingmo. Anyone else would’ve been irritated long ago. But she had never once lost her temper.
Maybe that’s why Meng Tingmo had never learned to cherish her.
“Here, this way.” Han Qi reached out and tapped the screen. The game successfully cleared the level.
Startled, Yun Ruo turned to see it was Han Qi. “You’re off work?”
“Mm.” He hadn’t lied yesterday—he really had been too busy to rest. “Why didn’t you call me when you came?”
“I didn’t want to disturb your work.” Yun Ruo stood up, her body stiff and sore from sitting so long. She stretched a little. “Besides, aren’t I supposed to be pursuing you?”
Han Qi glanced at her.
Yun Ruo added, “I need to show some sincerity.”
Han Qi gave a faint smile. Glancing at the time—it was past eight—he said, “Have you eaten? I’ll take you to dinner.”
She had, actually. She wasn’t the naïve eighteen-year-old who once starved all day waiting for Meng Tingmo. At six-thirty, she had already bought something at the supermarket across the street.
But at moments like this, even if she had eaten, she had to say she hadn’t. “Sure.”
They left the company together. Since it was late, Han Qi casually chose a restaurant. Business was light, and the food arrived quickly.
“I’ve been here once before. The soup is good—try some.” Han Qi ladled a small bowl for her, filled with herbs and nourishing ingredients. Yun Ruo accepted it and thanked him.
So, they managed to sit down to a meal. But she couldn’t think of a single topic.
After a while, Han Qi noticed too. Whether he poured soup or handed her tissues, her only response was “thank you.” She even kept her head down, never meeting his eyes.
“Am I really that scary?”
Her chopsticks froze. “…Between you and me, I’m the scary one.”
She returned to him the very words he had once said to her.
Han Qi chuckled. Setting down his chopsticks, he leaned back in his chair, arms folded. “Then you should look at me.”
So Yun Ruo had to raise her eyes.
“If you can’t find a topic, I’ll provide one?”
She nodded.
“I’ve never asked before, but I’ve always wondered. Why did you decide to ‘pursue’ me?”
Yun Ruo: “There’s profit in it.”
Han Qi’s eyes narrowed.
But Yun Ruo met his gaze calmly. She had learned from past mistakes—if she was upfront from the beginning, there would be no misunderstandings.
She didn’t want to deceive Han Qi.
She thought he would be angry, maybe even walk out. But after studying her for a while, he simply said, “Alright. I understand.”
“You’re not going to ask what I’m after?”
“Would you tell me?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll assume what you want… is me.”
Which wasn’t wrong. What she wanted was Han Qi himself.
Having said this much, Yun Ruo felt she ought to be braver. So what if he was her ex-husband’s brother-like friend? If he didn’t mind, why should she?
She was glad it was Han Qi—a man she couldn’t quite read. If it had been someone like Feng You, she would’ve bolted.
“I just thought of a topic.”
Han Qi picked out fish bones with his chopsticks. “Go on.”
“I don’t have anything to do right now. Is there a position available at your company?”
He raised his eyes, waiting for her to continue.
“Back in junior year, during summer break, you asked if I wanted to intern at your company. I didn’t go. Looking back, I was so shortsighted. If there’s still an opening, I’d definitely go now.”
She didn’t ask whether he thought she was capable. With five years missing from her résumé, no company would want her—especially not one like Han Qi’s, known for high standards and cutting-edge work.
So whatever position it was, she would take it.
Han Qi didn’t respond right away.
What Yun Ruo didn’t know was that he could see right through her forced calm. After all these years, she hadn’t really changed—still so pure.
She thought she looked composed, but her ears were already red.
“I’ll ask around.” he finally said, setting aside the piece of fish he had just carefully deboned.
She felt relieved. Just not being rejected outright was good enough. Having said what she wanted, the weight on her chest lifted, and she was able to eat in peace.
Only later did she notice the untouched fish.
“You picked out all those bones—why not eat it?”
Han Qi didn’t look back. “Next time.”
Huh? Yun Ruo didn’t understand. Han Qi was so strange.
After that night, Yun Ruo and Han Qi didn’t meet for several days. He hadn’t given her any update about work. She even searched job postings for his company online, only to realize she wasn’t qualified for any of them.
Just as she was about to think this plan was pointless and consider her next move, Han Qi sent her a message:
“There’s an opening for a personal assistant. Want it?”
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