Manipulative Harem God

'Don't be fooled by his smiling face,' Mo Yuxin thought, she can, in fact, see a sinister devil smiling behind it. 'So terrifying...' she thought as Zhang Wei concentrated on writing something on the paper.

"I will leave you a number. As long as you call this, he should be fre—" His voice trailed off as his hand slipped, and the slip of paper fluttered toward his feet.

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"Oh, sigh... I dropped it. Can you retrieve it for me?" Zhang Wei feigned nonchalance, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, gesturing for Lisa to continue her massage while addressing Mo Yuxin.

"..."

Mo Yuxin bit her lip, feeling a hesitant unease she couldn't quite explain. Nevertheless, she rose from her seat and walked around the desk towards Zhang Wei to retrieve the fallen paper. Each step felt heavy, as if she were walking into the lion's den.

"..."

As she approached his chair, she stole a glance at Zhang Wei, still reclining with his eyes closed. A heavy sigh escaped her lips at his relaxed demeanor. With determination, she noticed a piece of paper nestled near his legs and finally crouched down to retrieve it.

Suddenly, a strong grip seized her head, causing her to freeze in terror. A scream tore from her throat the moment her fingers grazed the paper.

"Stay still," Zhang Wei's voice pierced the silence, his sudden presence overwhelming.

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Mo Yuxin's heart pounded in her chest, her breaths shallow with fear as she dared to speak, her voice trembling with apprehension. "Mr. Zhang—?"

Zhang Wei's voice was stern as he spoke, "Your brother committed genocide, and now you seek to manipulate an innocent and benevolent man like myself with your charms? Mo Yuxin, I expected more from you." He couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh.

"Eh?" Zhang Wei's words sent a jolt of confusion through Mo Yuxin, her mind racing to comprehend his implications.

But just as the tension reached its peak, Lisa's voice broke the silence, declaring, "It's done!" With a decisive tap on her phone, she halted the recording.

"Huh?"

A rush of anticipation surged through the room as Zhang Wei released his grip on Mo Yuxin's head, prompting her to spring to her feet in sudden urgency. "What's done? What did you capture?" she demanded, her voice edged with a mix of curiosity and apprehension, as Lisa's wry smile hinted at enlightenment to come.

With a swift motion, she replayed the entire scene, each moment etching itself into Mo Yuxin's consciousness, draining color from her face.

"That's not how it went..." she murmured, her inner conflict mirrored in her expression, as the video portrayed her in an ambiguous stance while Zhang Wei vehemently protested.ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet

Zhang Wei's voice sliced through the tense atmosphere, "Indeed, reality often gets twisted, but who will believe the truth?"

"Have you considered that I tried to help you, to put you in a good light, and now you've gone and done something like that?" he continued, his grin sly and knowing.

"But..." Mo Yuxin couldn't shake off the overwhelming sense of despair.

She felt a bit depressed and wronged all of a sudden...

Why was she suddenly being targeted now?

Zhang Wei noticed the troubled look in her eyes and clicked his tongue in satisfaction.

She looked rather adorable in her distress, he thought smugly.

[Host, you say that about every high schooler], the system interjected.

Zhang Wei chuckled, dismissing the comment. "No, this one is different," he insisted, relishing in Mo Yuxin's deepening gloom.

"How about we drop the act?" Zhang Wei's demeanor shifted suddenly, his expression turning grave as he made his proposition. "I can help your brother get out of jail, but there's a condition."

"Acting?" Mo Yuxin was taken aback, her emotions swirling between confusion and a lingering sense of dread. She had genuinely felt terror before, hadn't she? Tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

Zhang Wei gently cupped her cheeks, his touch surprisingly tender. "Yes, acting. Do you honestly believe what I said earlier? It was merely an assurance. In reality, I pride myself on my honesty, and I can't stand to see women in tears. It's my only weakness," he declared with apparent sincerity, but to Mo Yuxin, it all felt like a twisted fiction.

Under the bright lights, Mo Yuxin stood frozen, aghast, as if beholding the devil in the flesh.

"Assurance?" The word slipped from her lips, laced with disbelief.

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Was this elaborate charade nothing more than a scheme to blackmail her?

And yet, he draped himself in the guise of righteousness, unyielding in his pretense.

Her rebuttals withered away, leaving her voiceless in the face of his audacity.

Zhang Wei leaned closer, his voice a blend of earnestness and calculation. "You see, I genuinely wish to assist you. However, I operate on a principle of reciprocity. I neither sustain myself nor offer aid without a price. My principles dictate that one must offer something in exchange to receive anything in return." As he proclaimed his so-called righteousness, he swept Mo Yuxin into his arms, seating her across his legs with a swift, practiced motion.

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So swift, in fact, that Mo Yuxin's mind struggled to catch up, barely registering how his hands had found their way around her waist, pulling her closer into his embrace before she could grasp the reality of her situation.

Silence fell, heavy and awkward.

From her vantage point, Lisa observed the scene with a mix of sympathy and skepticism, her smile tinged with bitterness.

She pondered whether Zhang Wei's intentions were genuine or if he was merely toying with them both.

The attempt to intimidate Mo Yuxin seemed so transparent, so feeble, that it was almost laughable she'd fallen for it.

Caught in the whirlwind of her emotions and his unexpected boldness, Mo Yuxin found herself struggling for words, her discomfort palpable.

"W-What do you want?" she managed, her voice a whisper, as Zhang Wei's fingers danced provocatively along her waist, kindling a flush that crept over her cheeks, silent yet screaming.