Reborn with Consumption System-Chapter 498 - 231: Extra Charge Required_2

Then, just as she had typed out an "Oh," another message came through on WeChat.

Han Lie: "Call me Daddy!"

The wretch immediately lit up with joy, rolling around in her bed. Without hesitation, she promptly deleted the "Oh" and hastily typed out a new, enthusiastic reply—

"Dada~~~"

Han Lie: "Good, just like that. Call me Brother Lie in public, and when we’re alone, we’ll have our little ’devoted father, doting daughter’ dynamic."

Xi Luting suddenly raised her head, looking at Han Lie in utter shock.

This son of a bitch is toxic!

Damn it, flirting while maintaining distance—how does his mind even work?

How many hundreds of times did Nuwa prick him when she was creating humans?!

The naive girl on the other end of the chat didn’t realize it, but Xi Luting saw right through him. That damn man didn’t regard the girl as a girlfriend at all. In fact, it was highly probable that a whole series of schemes awaited her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have distinguished between public and private interactions, nor would he have specified particular terms of address.

Whose unlucky daughter is this?!

So young, and she’s already met Scumbag Lie. Her life is pretty much over...

Xi Luting wasn’t feeling sorry for the girl; she wasn’t one to inexplicably sympathize with a stranger. She was just... well, she was reminded of how she herself had fallen into this massive pit, and then she began to feel sorry for herself.

Damn it!

If I had been just a tiny bit smarter back then, I wouldn’t have fallen for that bastard’s trap!

Xi Luting’s judgment wasn’t far off. However, what she didn’t expect was that compared to the wretch’s previous serious boyfriends, Han Lie wasn’t just *not* a scumbag—he was actually the most decent and loyal of them all. At least Han Lie wouldn’t stab her in the back; instead, he would support her, helping to boost her career.

Han Lie paused. Huh? That sounded a bit off, didn’t it? Never mind, let’s just get this done.

In the brief moment Xi Luting was lost in thought, the wretch had replied with several more messages.

"Lewd! Hooligan! Shameless!"

"But I like it so much... hehe~~~"

"Good Dada, when are you coming back to keep me company?"

Xi Luting got goosebumps all over, her face full of disgust. "Where did you trick this girl from? How can she be like this?"

Han Lie thought to himself, This is nothing. You’ve only seen how clingy she can be when she’s infatuated; you haven’t seen how infuriatingly persistent she can get when she’s not... Ah, if only I could write about that.

The scoundrel coaxed the wretch with a few more words, then began to paint a rosy picture for her.

Han Lie: "Go back to school soon, study hard, and build a solid foundation. Stop taking those minor roles that just rely on your looks. Once I’ve secured the investment on my end, I’ll have a lot of resources for you. Make sure you’re capable enough to take on the opportunities when they come."

Wretch: "Don’t worry! That definitely won’t happen! I’m studying very hard!"

Great. What a waste of advice! Han Lie thought. You really have no clue about the state of your own fundamental skills, do you?

Han Lie understood human nature all too well. From her response alone, he knew this girl lacked any true reverence for the art of acting. She and Meiba were contemporaries and rivals, both having attended professional academies. However, the gap between her and Meiba was as vast as the gap between Meiba and Han Lie himself. Though the public often lumped them together, criticizing them for "having no acting skills," the truth was that the gulf between them was massive.

The wretch hadn’t even grasped the basics; she hadn’t put in the effort when she was supposed to be building her foundation. So she could only take the experiential approach, and she shone only when playing roles that fit her own image. Meiba, on the other hand, had at least mastered the fundamentals. If given enough time to develop character backgrounds, create mental images, and map out her performance, she could play most roles passably well. Not extremely strong, but certainly good enough for the female lead in an idol drama.

But what about the wretch? She couldn’t even convey a remotely complex or sustained emotion... So apart from her role as Ding Jianguo, she had no other roles that genuinely attracted fans. It wasn’t an issue with the scripts or character concepts; her acting was simply terrible. There was really no helping it.

Han Lie earnestly planned to give her a hand. After dealing with Su Xiao, there would be plenty of opportunities. But if she herself wasn’t interested and was preoccupied with chasing him, then no matter how many resources he fed her, it would still be unlikely for her to rise to the top tier.

"Alright then, as long as you understand. We can chat more when you’re back. I’m busy now."

Han Lie couldn’t be bothered to lecture her further. A lack of career ambition isn’t entirely a bad thing, anyway, he figured. I’ll see how it goes later.

He locked his phone screen, casually placed it face down on the desk, and then turned his head toward Xi Luting.

"What about you?"

"What?" Xi Luting was taken aback by his question.

"How did you manage to get back together with Pan Ge?"

Han Lie stared at her, a sly smile playing on his lips. "What, feeling insecure because I haven’t sought you out in a week?"

"Hmph! I wish you’d stay far away from me!"

She refused to admit it, but his speculation was most likely true. Han Lie didn’t press the issue. His main goal, after all, was to break the alliance between her and Pan Ge. Nothing else mattered.

"I’ve been really busy lately. I’m at a crucial juncture and need to concentrate. Our story is far from over, Little Cucumber~"

BAM! Xi Luting slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and stormed out.

"Get lost, get lost, get lost! I can’t be bothered with you, you scoundrel!"

Heh, I guess that was pretty rotten of me... Han Lie mused. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But an isolated Xi Luting wasn’t much of a threat. In the end, she didn’t even dare to ask who the other girl was. Whether she would have gotten an answer if she asked was one thing; whether she even dared to ask was another entirely.

The smug bastard chuckled twice, thoroughly pleased with himself as he ambled towards his office.

The Cultural Department, under Yin Qin’s capable management, was thriving. Not only were the girls with scheduled performances full of energy, but even the models without regular shows were finding plenty of work. Second Sister Jin was exceptionally reliable in this domain. The assignments coming through the company were both plentiful and high quality. The girls were making good money and all sang Han Lie’s praises. Only one person was cursing her misfortune—Second Sister Jin, who had suffered a devastating double loss.