Let's do this properly:
Linen, male, sixteen years old — a transmigrator.
After posting suggestive memes in a webnovel comment section and racking up 99+ replies with "Good Guy, Ten-Woman Harem," he ended up in this world as the third prince of the Zijinghua Empire.
Although he had zero arcane talent, he was forced to endure a cruel fate — spending his days enjoying lap pillows from black-stockinged maids. Tragic, truly.
This luxurious misery didn't last long.
When he received word that he was being shipped off to Eden Academy for mandatory study, Linen had a terrible revelation:
This world perfectly matched several dumpster-fire webnovels he'd read in his previous life.
And in this world, he wasn't some blessed protagonist.
He was the ultimate stepping stone.
A prince with noble blood, a face so handsome it could make poets weep — and absolutely no magical ability. Linen was born to be humiliated. A walking, talking punchline.
Nearly every protagonist in the author's lineup had used his beautiful face as a springboard to success. In the end, he was even given the glorious nickname: The Royal Doormat of Zijinghua.
He finally awakened a system — and of course, it had to be a weird one: Get Stronger by Being Rejected.
Sounded bizarre, but the effect was brutally straightforward.
As long as he got rejected by major characters from this brainless wish-fulfillment world, he'd earn rewards.
The more savage the rejection? The better the loot.
And just now, the one who rejected him was none other than Elena — the classic "rising-from-nothing" protagonist of the original novel.
[Ding! Host, system alert: Due to your recent actions, your overall image in Elena's perception is improving. Rejection difficulty has increased. Please adjust your behavior accordingly.]
"Hmph. System, you're still too green."
[Would you like to ignore this message? A small fee will allow the system to suppress perception monitoring.]
Linen just snorted in disdain.
"No need. Trying to charge me for warnings? Ridiculous. It's all part of the plan."
If Linen was born to be the ultimate stepping stone, then Elena was the foot perfectly molded to step on him.
A country girl, yet beautiful, well-built, and talented beyond reason — of course she'd attract jealousy and scheming from the noble students.
Naturally, that would bring a constant stream of low-IQ antagonists to harass her — only for Elena to slap them down in satisfying fashion.
Case in point: the hallway drama just now, and that earlier incident during the entrance ceremony. Both were scenes lifted straight from the original novel.
Even if Linen hadn't stepped in, Elena would've handled them just fine.
Those two conflicts were what shaped her signature low-key style — hiding her strength until the moment of brilliance. Classic "ordinary cultivator" protagonist setup.
But now, things had changed.
In the original plot, Prince Linen was among those who envied her talent and lusted after her looks — a petty, mocking obstacle.
Yet now, he'd swooped in like some noble protector. Naturally, her impression of him improved.
Which was exactly why the system warned that the chances of rejection might drop in the future.
Linen curled his lip. He wasn't worried in the slightest.
"Low-level thinking, System. Your vision's too narrow."
According to canon, after Elena counterattacked a few times, the clown squad realized she wasn't someone to mess with. With Academy rules looming over them, they eventually backed off.
At that point, the author would reassign Linen — this perfect doormat — to get stomped on by another protagonist.
If Linen stuck to the script, he might be able to milk a few rejection points from Elena before she faded out of his arc.
But as a transmigrator? Knowing that Elena was a walking treasure trove of rewards, yet letting her slip away because of the plot?
Just imagining it made Linen itch all over, like ants crawling under his skin.
And yet, if he completely ignored the script and offended Elena too hard, too early… he might not survive long enough to cash in.
For all her gentleness, Elena wasn't some helpless little bunny. Even a rabbit bites when pushed — and she was a main character, no less.
If she ever saw Linen as a true threat to her life or secrets, she wouldn't hesitate to eliminate him.
And Linen had zero faith that, if push came to shove, he'd come out on top.
The royal family's support wasn't as generous as outsiders imagined. In fact, once the truth about his lack of magical talent came to light, his Empress-mother barely blinked before cutting him off.
That was a huge part of why Linen had become such an easy chew toy in the original story.
In some endings, the protagonists even killed him off with flashy schemes — and barely anyone cared. The few who did mention revenge only said it out of politeness.
Elena's cherry lips looked soft. Jiggly. Like jelly. Probably tasted great.
Linen wouldn't mind getting bitten.
But he wasn't about to get bitten to death.
He wasn't some generic, disposable villain. He wasn't interested in those drippy, second-rate system rewards.
No — he, Linen Norton, had a dream:
To become the Final Boss of Getting Rejected, and claim the most brutal rewards in existence!
So no, he wouldn't go around deliberately provoking Elena.
On the contrary — he'd cozy up to her. Be her buddy. Play the part of her closest friend.
Maybe even make her think he had feelings for her.
Imagine that: a shoulder-punching, joke-cracking, partner-in-crime bestie… who was secretly farming her for system points. Who'd ever suspect it?
But that was just the appetizer.
The real main course?
Once he earned Elena's full trust — when her story arc reached its climax — he'd stab her in the back, confess his love, and cash out.
A wise sailor once said: "Only betrayal stings like salt in an open wound."
By then, Elena wouldn't just reject him. She'd go nuclear. She might even curse out all eight generations of his family. Well — of the Norton family.
All that from just two soft rejections so far — and Linen had already become a legitimate Wind Mage. Among Eden Academy's top-tier students, he stood out.
So what would happen when she really snapped? When she tore into him with righteous fury?
He'd probably ascend into some ultra-rare Arcane God tier, right on the spot.
And then? He wouldn't have to fear some middling underdog protagonist anymore.
But time was short.
Sure, for now he was still basking in royal glory. The girls swooned at his feet. But once the Academy formally confirmed that he was a magical deadweight, everything would turn on its head.
He needed to get strong before that happened.
That's why he'd already chosen the perfect moment for Elena's betrayal arc.
In the original story, Elena struggled through her first year due to a lack of training resources. She ended up taking a crucial Arcane exam — but problems kept piling up before the test. She fell into a slump, lost in self-doubt, and only scraped by thanks to good old protagonist luck.
Linen planned to show up right then — to pour gasoline on the fire, to snap the final straw.
He'd become her best bro... then on the night before the exam, he'd confess in the most knife-twisting, psychologically devastating way possible.
Backstab confession combo: locked and loaded.