When the Male Lead Finds Out I’m the Transmigrator Trying to Win Him Over - Chapter 6

There was never a shortage of milk tea shops or coffee shops near the office building. Since Yun Ruo didn’t drink coffee, she ordered a cup of hot milk. She hadn’t waited more than a few minutes before He Xitong appeared.

“Xitong.” Yun Ruo rose from her seat.

It was a workday. He Xitong wore a fitted suit, her hair neatly tied up high, giving off a clean and efficient aura—just like her personality: straightforward and never coy.

She noticed the coffee on the table—her usual favorite. Yun Ruo had already ordered it for her.

So, she still remembered details like that.

“That figures,” He Xitong suddenly said, pulling out the chair and sitting down. “If you didn’t remember my tastes, how else could you butter me up?”

The smile Yun Ruo had just lifted froze on her lips. “Butter you up?”

“Yes.” He Xitong forced down her anger. If she didn’t bring it up, she could hold it in, but the moment she mentioned it, the flames surged. If Yun Ruo weren’t pregnant, she would have already exploded into a shouting match.

Calm down, He Xitong. They had been friends for so long. At the very least, Yun Ruo deserved a chance to explain.

Her face cold, she asked, “I only have one question.”

Yun Ruo looked straight at her.

He Xitong said, “When you first became friends with me, was it just to get closer to Meng Tingmo?”

Yun Ruo’s eyes flickered. She answered quickly, “No.”

But He Xitong laughed. “You know it yourself—you can’t lie. Whenever you lie, your expression turns unnatural, and you can’t look people in the eye.”

After eight years of friendship, He Xitong believed she knew Yun Ruo well enough.

“So it’s true.” She sneered. “From the beginning, you only befriended me for Meng Tingmo.”

“Yun Ruo, Yun Ruo, I really…” got played like a fool by you.

She recalled a few days ago when she had a strange dream. In it, Yun Ruo was a visitor from another world, here for the sole purpose of amassing wealth. She chose a target and did everything she could to get close to him.

Meng Tingmo was that target. And since He Xitong grew up in the same circle as him, knew him since childhood, and could naturally introduce people to him, she became Yun Ruo’s way in.

Meng Tingmo’s background made him unreachable without connections—daily outings, private gatherings, exclusive parties. Without an insider, there was no way to participate.

And at the beginning, Meng Tingmo completely ignored Yun Ruo. So Yun Ruo had chosen the roundabout route—making friends with her.

She had always been the “warm-hearted” type. If her good friend liked Meng Tingmo, of course she’d help. Every time there was an event involving Meng Tingmo, she made sure to bring Yun Ruo along.

Exactly what Yun Ruo needed. She had been used as a tool.

At first, He Xitong dismissed it as just a dream. But Meng Tingmo’s words kept echoing in her mind: “Do you really think Yun Ruo treats you as a friend?”

She thought perhaps he knew something, so she asked him directly. To her surprise, Meng Tingmo had had the same dream.

Not just him—Jiang Yufei too.

If several people had the exact same dream, and looking at Yun Ruo’s guilty reaction now… what more was there to doubt?

He Xitong stood up without drinking a sip of coffee. “I have no other questions. I’ve got my answer. From today onward, we’re no longer friends.”

The so-called Wealth-Harvesting System—it wasn’t only Meng Tingmo’s money. It was hers as well, wasn’t it?

Hadn’t she always shared her best things with Yun Ruo? And in the future, she was supposed to inherit her entire company.

Yun Ruo shook her head. Could a few words really erase their friendship of eight years? She couldn’t accept it.

“Xitong!” She rushed to her feet, nearly bumping her stomach, startling a passing waiter.

“Miss, are you okay?”

Yun Ruo waved him off. He Xitong also turned back. Yun Ruo looked at her earnestly. “After eight years of friendship, do you really believe I’ve just been using you?”

He Xitong said nothing, a flicker of conflict in her eyes.

Yun Ruo pressed on: “You said yourself—I can’t lie. If I can’t even lie properly, how could I possibly fool you for eight whole years?”

Her eyes reddened. “And can someone really act perfectly for eight years straight, without slipping up once?”

He Xitong faltered. She wanted to believe Yun Ruo did care for her.

“But I’m not irreplaceable.”

If it weren’t her, Yun Ruo would have just found another Li Xitong or Wang Xitong—anyone who could help her get closer to Meng Tingmo, or who was wealthy enough to be useful.

“Our friendship was full of deceit.”

“And shallow.”

This time, He Xitong didn’t stop again.

Yun Ruo no longer had the strength to chase after her. Shakily, she sat down. Why was it that both He Xitong and Meng Tingmo doubted her feelings?

She knew why she’d felt guilty when He Xitong questioned her. It all went back to the System’s suggestions.

Back when she first bound to the System, it was both her and the System’s first mission. Two fools who knew nothing, and after confirming her target was Meng Tingmo, they binge-read hundreds of romance novels together for “research.”

Meng Tingmo hadn’t been interested in her at first. Their contact was limited, so the System suggested: “We can change strategies. First win over his friends, then win him.”

“Step one: get into his circle.”

That rookie System didn’t know much, but it proposed what it thought was the most effective plan.

Yun Ruo had been just as foolish, obeying it completely. But before she could even figure out who Meng Tingmo’s friends were, she stumbled into He Xitong.

At the time, she hadn’t known who He Xitong was. She’d only seen a girl cornered in an alley by a group of people. Naturally, she stepped in, called the police, and got herself cornered too.

After the police broke it up, Yun Ruo just left without thinking further. But He Xitong tracked her down later.

They had a meal together, and He Xitong declared, “From now on, we’re friends.”

At that time, Yun Ruo had no friends in this world. She agreed instantly.

Only afterward did she learn He Xitong grew up with Meng Tingmo.

Without Yun Ruo saying a word, He Xitong had heard rumors of her crush on him and had enthusiastically promised to help.

Yun Ruo held her head in her hands.

The System had suggested targeting Meng Tingmo’s friends, and then right after, He Xitong appeared. That was why she’d looked guilty—whether she wanted it or not, He Xitong had been used.

“I told the truth,” she whispered. “I was sincere about our friendship—it wasn’t just to get closer to Meng Tingmo.”

“The System…” After the mission ended, the System had detached from her body to find a new host. It had been gone for three years.

Now, she had no one to confide in.

Yun Ruo paid the bill and left the café.

She walked along the street toward home, her whole body heavy with exhaustion. It felt like she had ruined everything again, just like when she was a child—always failing, always ending up empty-handed.

She had believed her choices would guarantee her a lifetime of happiness.

At a red light, Yun Ruo stopped. What could she do now to erase He Xitong and Meng Tingmo’s doubts? Did this sudden mess have something to do with Jiang Yufei? What exactly had Jiang Yufei said…?

“Miss Yun?”

“Yun Ruo?”

Several voices called at once, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up. The light had already turned green, but only a few seconds remained—not enough to cross.

She turned toward the voice and saw a familiar face—strong and sharp-featured. What a coincidence. Another one of Meng Tingmo’s friends.

“Han Qi?” She blinked, still dazed.

“It’s me.” Han Qi looked her over from head to toe. They’d known each other for a few years, though they’d only met occasionally, usually at gatherings with Meng Tingmo or mutual friends.

He knew she was pregnant. What he didn’t understand was why Meng Tingmo would let her walk home alone.

Something was clearly off about her state.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Yun Ruo shook her head. The wind whipped her hair into a mess. She tried to smooth it back, but it wouldn’t stay, so she pushed it all behind her ears instead.

“Nothing. I was just heading home. I thought I hadn’t exercised today, so I’d walk a bit.”

“It’s rush hour now,” Han Qi said coolly. “Plenty of reckless drivers on the road. It’s not safe for you to be walking.”

He wasn’t fooled. From what he knew of her, Yun Ruo had always been thoughtful and careful—she wouldn’t do something this careless without a reason.

Yun Ruo gave a bitter smile. “You’re right. I’ll take a cab.”

Han Qi fell silent for two seconds, then pointed toward the curb. “My car’s right there. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

They could at least be called friends. If he hadn’t run into her, fine. But since he had, there was no way he’d let her take a taxi.

If Meng Tingmo found out, he’d say Han Qi was being irresponsible otherwise.

Yun Ruo hesitated, then agreed. She knew her body was fragile now.

“Thank you.” Once in the car, she thanked him again. For safety’s sake, Han Qi had her sit in the back, which made him look like her chauffeur.

Han Qi chuckled. “It’s nothing.”

The car started smoothly, heading toward Liuli Road. Yun Ruo gazed out the window.

Han Qi was different from Meng Tingmo. Meng Tingmo came from an old-money family, destined to inherit the company as long as he did well in school.

Han Qi, on the other hand, had built everything from scratch. Orphaned, quick-witted, he clawed his way up and eventually founded his own company.

In Yun Ruo’s memory, Han Qi was remarkable—a self-made man so impressive that Meng Tingmo’s circle had invited him in, not the other way around.

But the truth was, she hadn’t met Han Qi through Meng Tingmo at all.

Back in her senior year, during her internship hunt, Meng Tingmo had already joined his family company. To be closer to him, she applied to Meng Corporation.

…And got rejected.

Not even past the résumé screen.

Frustrated, she sat on the curb, clutching her résumé, thinking it was hopeless no matter how she revised it—almost ready to cry. That’s when Han Qi appeared.

At the time, she didn’t know his identity. She thought he was just another fresh graduate job-hunting like her. He glanced at her résumé and said it looked too amateurish. Believing she had stumbled upon a résumé expert, she bought him coffee and asked for his guidance.

Han Qi had been momentarily taken aback, but he actually sat down and rewrote her résumé.

“Are you sure this will work?” she’d asked.

“At least, this is what I would find interesting.”

She submitted the polished résumé again on a recruitment platform…

And still got rejected.

Because the résumé was too high-level, suspiciously so. It made her look like a fraud.

Later she realized Han Qi had written it like he was applying for an executive role. It had nothing to do with her actual qualifications as a marketing intern.

The next time they met, Han Qi found out his résumé still hadn’t worked. In frustration, he told her to just apply to his own company instead. But by then, she had already secured an internship at Meng Corporation.

Their third encounter was at a gathering in Meng Tingmo’s circle. That was when she finally learned Han Qi’s true identity.

“We’re here.” Han Qi’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. He had driven smoothly the whole way, not a single bump. Getting out, he even opened the door for her.

Yun Ruo hurried to thank him and asked if he wanted to come in for tea. Naturally, he declined. They parted ways.

Just a small interlude.

Yun Ruo entered her home.

The housekeeper greeted her with a broad smile: “Madam, the master has returned.”

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