Chapter 5

Chapter 5

◎Fu Feng is unkind and unjust. Will you lend me a hand to send him to hell?◎

The system shrieked in Shen Ruzhen's ear: "Host, that's the Male Supporting Lead!"

Just as a CEO romance novel must feature a female rival, a Male Supporting Lead is an equally indispensable element.

The female rival pines for the male lead, while the Male Supporting Lead loves the female lead. Like moths to a flame, they are drawn to a fire that will inevitably consume them.

However, unlike the female rival, the Male Supporting Lead typically meets a far more tragic end.

After all, the domineering CEO despises anyone who covets his woman.

In this novel, the Male Supporting Lead is named Song Fuzhou, a university classmate of the female lead. With outstanding grades and striking looks, he was dubbed the "once-in-a-millennium" campus heartthrob upon entering University A. Yet, despite his otherwise smooth-sailing life, he met his match when it came to the female lead. Just as he began harboring a youthful crush for her, she met the domineering CEO, leaving his burgeoning affections forever unrequited.

Later, when the female lead, Shen Rujiao, went abroad to study, the Male Supporting Lead, ranked first in his major, stayed to pursue his master’s degree at the same university.

Shen Ruzhen recalled that at this point in time, Fu Feng shouldn’t yet know of the Male Supporting Lead’s existence.

The Male Supporting Lead’s role mainly comes into play after Shen Rujiao returns from abroad. By then, Shen Ruzhen would already be dead. Fu Feng would stumble upon the love letters Song Fuzhou had once written to Shen Rujiao, fly into a rage, and crush him like an ant.

It was that simple—after all, the author created this character purely to showcase Fu Feng’s jealous nature.

Later, when Shen Rujiao learned of this, she naturally had a huge fight with Fu Feng, only to be appeased with affection and a night of passion.

......

Shen Ruzhen studied the Male Supporting Lead before her, who was just as doomed. For some reason, she felt his demeanor didn’t quite match the campus heartthrob described in the original novel.

Perhaps he was OOC (Out Of Character).

"I’m Shen Rujiao’s cousin. My name is Shen Ruzhen."

Song Fuzhou didn’t show any disappointment. He blinked and said, "Shen Ruzhen? I’ll remember that."

Strangely, Shen Ruzhen sensed a faint glimmer of eagerness in his blink.

Something felt off. She asked the system, "The Male Supporting Lead and the female rival didn’t know each other before, right?"

The system replied, "No, they didn’t. Not before, and not after either."

Shen Ruzhen squinted, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Let’s talk over there."

She pointed toward a coffee shop.

...

The waiter brought two cups of coffee. Shen Ruzhen took her Americano and stirred it. She loved the aroma of coffee—more than the slightly bitter taste on her tongue, she enjoyed the heady fragrance of coffee beans filling the air, clearing her thoughts and sharpening her senses.

"Thank you for saving me earlier."

Song Fuzhou was also stirring his coffee. He replied softly, "No need to thank me," then continued stirring. His movements were elegant but seemingly endless, the small cup of coffee whirling wildly as he stirred, froth churning violently.

Shen Ruzhen’s gaze fixed on his hands.

They were truly beautiful.

It would be a shame to let the owner of such hands perish.

Moreover, not long ago, she had been thinking that no one in this world would help her—yet here was someone who shared her enemy.

Shen Ruzhen said quietly, "You must think I look a lot like my cousin, don’t you? After she went abroad, Fu Feng found me to be her replacement."

Song Fuzhou’s stirring paused. He seemed stunned, taking a long moment to process the information before looking up and saying, "How could he do this to Shen Rujiao? How could he do this to you?"

Shen Ruzhen told the system, "Good, this Male Supporting Lead hasn’t been poisoned by the domineering CEO’s mindset. He still cares about the female rival’s feelings, barely qualifying as a normal person. He’ll be my ally. After all, it’s only natural for the Male Supporting Lead and female rival to join forces."

She took a sip of coffee, her eyes never leaving Song Fuzhou. "You like my sister too, don’t you?"

Song Fuzhou nodded. "Yes."

Though for some reason, his "yes" sounded flat, almost robotic.

Shen Ruzhen smiled, meeting his gaze directly. "You knew my sister first, yet Fu Feng stole her away—that’s unjust. My sister was only gone for a year, yet he forced me to be her replacement—that’s unkind. Fu Feng is unkind and unjust. Will you lend me a hand to send him to hell?"

Without waiting for his answer, she continued, "If you refuse, that’s fine. But Mr. Song, we’re already in the same boat. Sooner or later, Fu Feng will discover your past connection to Shen Rujiao. When that happens, you won’t escape either."

Song Fuzhou froze. He searched Shen Ruzhen’s expression and found her radiant, calm, and self-assured—just as she had been when she spoke of breaking the rules earlier.

By all logic, emotion, and self-interest, he shouldn’t agree to her proposal. Yet her reasoning was so sound that Song Fuzhou couldn’t think of a single reason to refuse.

So he said, "What do you want me to do?"

Shen Ruzhen smiled in satisfaction, lowering her voice. "I’ve already gathered evidence of Fu Feng forcing me to sign the replacement agreement—both documents and recordings. We can charge him with duress, but that might not be enough for a conviction."

"Next, he’ll lock me in a villa where he’ll force me to learn and mimic everything about Shen Rujiao. Once he does that, we can charge him with false imprisonment, which carries a sentence of up to three years in prison, control, or detention. Your task is to sneak in a hidden camera in the villa to capture the evidence."

"But how do I get into the villa to install the camera?"

Shen Ruzhen had an excellent memory, reciting the book’s contents almost word for word.

"The villa is near the faculty housing of your university. In the next few days, to save costs, Fu Feng’s assistant is recruiting student volunteers from the university to help decorate the rooms. You can volunteer."

Yes, no one else could ever imagine—Fu Feng would build his prison right next to a school.

Even openly enlisting students to help decorate it.

Shen Ruzhen remembered this scene from the book.

"Shen Ruzhen had stopped counting how often it had happened—Fu Feng, enraged by her failure to play her role, would yank her by the scruff like a disobedient pet to the window.

She didn’t want to look down, but he forced her head down.

Just beyond the window was University A’s sports field. On the red track and green turf, countless students her age were playing soccer, cheerleading, or running.

They worried about P.E. exams, further studies, or job hunting, clueless that a stone’s throw away, a girl was being brutalized to the brink of death.

Fu Feng hissed in her ear like a demon: ‘Look how vibrant they are. Now look at yourself. You’ll never compare to Shen Rujiao—you can’t even pretend to be her properly. Shen Rujiao and I were students here, but you? You’re just a stand-in!’

...

Shen Ruzhen had been racking her brain for proof from the ‘black room.’

Since she couldn’t sneak in early or collect proof, she decided to first use the replacement agreement to stir the pot with Fu Feng.

But this was risky—not only might it fail to take Fu Feng down for good, but it could also spook him.

With Song Fuzhou’s help, things would fall into place.

Song Fuzhou asked another question, "So where do I get one of those... pinhole cameras?"

Shen Ruzhen thought for a moment. "I don’t know either. Maybe one of those stores would have them?"

"What kind?"

"You know... that kind!"

Shen Ruzhen happened to see a brightly colored shop across the street through the coffee shop’s window, its name leaving nothing to the imagination, with pulsing red and purple neon.

"Hmm."

Song Fuzhou nodded. "I'll go pick one up later then."

Shen Ruzhen stood up and exchanged contact information with him. "I’ll leave first. Text me anytime."

"Hey! You didn't even take one sip of the coffee I bought you. It’s going to get cold—don’t forget to drink it."

The girl left.

Song Fuzhou lowered his head and looked at the dark brown liquid like it was actual poison. After a long pause, he raised the cup and took a big gulp, then started hacking uncontrollably.

Ugh! God, that's awful! Bitter, sour, and harsh—it really must be poison!

...

Song Fuzhou crossed the street and entered the shop flashing red and purple lights, that looked like the sketchiest place imaginable.

"Hello."

He spoke to the clerk sitting behind the counter scrolling through his phone. "I’d like a pinhole camera."

The clerk looked up and grinned. "Pinhole camera? Dude, you don't look the type to be into this kinky stuff. You’re going all out, huh?"

Song Fuzhou couldn't see the connection between a pinhole camera and "going all out," but he had always believed that everything in the world had its own inherent logic, so he didn’t ask further.

The clerk slid the pinhole camera across the counter. "4K HD, 800 yuan."

Song Fuzhou paid.

At least he remembered how payments worked.

Miraculously, his account actually had funds.

Song Fuzhou dropped the still-boxed camera into a plastic bag. Before tying it up, he thought for a moment, took a photo, and sent it to Shen Ruzhen.

...

"Buzz, buzz, buzz."

The phone on the table vibrated. Shen Ruzhen picked it up and saw that Song Fuzhou, whom she had just added as a friend, had sent a photo.

The moment she opened it, her eyes nearly bugged out.

Some bold text practically screamed at her—

"Want to satisfy your voyeuristic desires? Want to fulfill your need for control? Want to capture those moments when things get messy between you?"

Shen Ruzhen typed into the chat box: ???

Just before sending, she noticed the product name in the bottom right corner of the packaging.

Then, she deleted all three question marks.

Who knew they'd spell it out so blatantly on the box? At that moment, her eagle eyes spotted something else in the photo Song Fuzhou had sent—next to the camera’s packaging was a clear plastic bag.

Please tell me he's not actually going to carry that around in a see-through bag?

If anyone sees him walking around with that...

Shen Ruzhen furiously texted into the chat box:

"For god's sake use an opaque bag!"

Putting down her phone, Shen Ruzhen was drumming her fingers impatiently.

Is this what they mean by 'clueless college guy'?

She wasn't exactly experienced either, but she wasn’t this naive!

Song Fuzhou was practically a newborn lamb!

"Author’s Note"

PSA: Readers, please don’t try what the female lead is doing. First, buying those cameras is sketchy at best. Second, even if you do manage to record evidence, it probably wouldn't hold up in court due to being unlawfully obtained. However, since our girl here's the victim, the villa isn’t a public space, and Fu Feng has zero privacy rights in this situation, I personally believe her actions don’t constitute illegal surveillance but rather self-protection, so there's some wiggle room.

Female lead: Song Fuzhou is way too innocent and pure!

Enjoy the male lead's wide-eyed innocence while it lasts... he won't stay this clueless forever.

Next update: midnight in two days.