Jiangcheng, Tianhe Riverside Villa District.
Outside a Chinese-style villa, a Porsche Cayenne slowly came to a stop.
The passenger door opened, and a tall, slender woman stepped out.
She turned her head toward Lucas, who sat in the driver's seat, and smiled faintly."Thank you for sending me back."
Lucas shook his head."No need to thank me."
"Since you've arrived safely, Miss Dubois, I'll be heading back as well."
Claire Dubois nodded lightly."Mm."
After that, she turned around, pushed open the heavy gate of the villa estate, and walked inside.
Watching her figure disappear beyond the gate, Lucas smiled, started the car, and drove away.
The place Lucas lived in was not a villa district.
He owned a residence in the city—a 400-square-meter luxury flat in Yujing Garden.
Its market value exceeded thirty million.
It was considered top-tier high-rise housing.
But even thirty million was painful for Lucas now.
Although he owned a company valued at over a billion—
That was market value only.
The actual liquid assets he controlled amounted to no more than one or two hundred million.
Back home.
Lucas took a shower first, then returned to his bedroom and lay down on the soft, oversized bed.
"System?"
Soon, the familiar mechanical, emotionless voice echoed in his mind.
[What does the host require?]
Lucas thought for a moment, then said,"Can you open your interface?"
[Loading…]
In the next instant, a translucent virtual data panel appeared before his eyes.
Stability-Oriented System
Host: LucasStability Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 105
Speed: 105
Constitution: 110
Charisma: 150 (MAX)
Mission: Change the original plot (long-term)
Inventory: EmptySystem Shop: Not yet unlocked
The interface was extremely simple.
Aside from a 3D character model of Lucas himself, everything else consisted of plain data.
Lucas didn't fully understand the system yet.
He only wanted to know—
What level was he currently at?
As the interface finished unfolding, the system's voice rang out again.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining the heroine Claire Dubois's favorability +10. Current favorability: 20.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for gaining the villain heroine Camille Laurent's favorability +20. Current favorability: 40.]
Below that appeared an explanation.
Favorability Guide:
0–10: Stranger
20–40: Ordinary
50–60: Favorable
70–80: Liking
90–99: Deep Affection
100: Absolute Loyalty
Reading this, Lucas understood immediately.
His path toward changing fate had only just begun.
His relationship with both Claire and Camille was still nothing more than ordinary.
Of course—
He never expected that a single encounter would win him their hearts.
That would have been unrealistic.
He coughed lightly.
Although stealing women from his villain "big brother" felt a little… morally questionable—
It was still better than doing nothing.
And at present, it was clearly the fastest way to break the original plot.
Lucas touched his chin and muttered,"Anyway, Adrien doesn't value Camille that much. Teasing her a little shouldn't matter."
"Maybe my big brother will even thank me."
As for Claire—
Lucas felt that going after the protagonist's woman was far more interesting.
"I just don't know whether I'll be killed for it."
In the urban novels he had read, protagonists often didn't hesitate to kill people like him.
What was the use of money then?
Once someone built a network, they could wipe you out in minutes.
"Weakness is the original sin."
Lucas didn't feel ashamed using the villain heroine as a breakthrough point.
He didn't have a better option anyway.
So why not fully exploit his own strengths?
That was it.
At that moment, the system prompt sounded again.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining favor from both the heroine and the villain heroine. Stability Points +3000!]
Lucas froze for a second, then asked,"System—what exactly are stability points used for?"
He still didn't understand what "stability" even meant.
[Stability Points can enhance the host's attributes, upgrade the host's skills, and are also used as currency in the System Shop.]
[100 Stability Points can increase one attribute by 1.][1 Stability Point can increase skill experience by 100.]
[Stability Points can only be obtained by altering the plot, seizing the protagonist's opportunities, and similar actions.]
Lucas understood instantly.
So this was about stealing the protagonist's fate.
Wait—
Didn't that mean—
A villain like him, who originally existed only to serve the protagonist, was also an opportunity?
Just like—
His own villain big brother, Adrien Lefèvre.
Adrien was an early-stage boss in the original story.
Lucas's eyes lit up.
This was incredibly tempting.
"So if I take the villain heroine… or seize my big brother's inheritance…"
"Wouldn't that also count as altering fate?"
The more Lucas thought about it, the more excited he became.
"I'm sorry."
"To survive, I need not only the protagonist's opportunities…"
"I also want my villain big brother's."
"Sleep first. I'll start calculating tomorrow."
With that, Lucas cleared his mind and drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile.
In Jiangcheng's top villa district stood a European-style garden villa covering over 1,500 square meters.
Inside the master bedroom on the second floor—
Camille Laurent sat in bed, wearing pajamas, leaning against the headboard.
A tablet rested in her hands. She wore thin-framed glasses as she carefully read the information on the screen.
"Lucas. Age twenty-five. Orphan. Founded Tianying Technology at twenty-two…"
"Current market value: 1.27 billion. Holds 41.67% of shares…"
As she read, her eyes gradually brightened.
Or perhaps it was just the glow of the screen.
A few minutes later, she removed her glasses, turned off the tablet, and placed it on the bedside table.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
Camille recalled the countless times she had pursued Adrien Lefèvre.
Coldness.Rejection.Impatience.Disgust.Anger.
Those were the only emotions he had ever given her.
Every time she chased him, she lost more of herself.
But—
Adrien had never truly looked at her.
Yet toward another woman, Claire Dubois…
He was gentle. Indulgent. Careful.
As if afraid she might be hurt.
The more Camille thought about it, the darker her eyes became.
"Am I really that bad?"
Why do you hate me so much?
In truth, although Camille was the villain heroine, in the original story's later stages, she had already let Adrien go.
But Adrien remained obsessed with Claire.
Until the protagonist killed him.
Only then did Camille truly give up.
And after learning of Adrien's death, she turned her hatred toward Claire—
Eventually losing everything and being defeated by her.
Reduced to a madwoman locked in a mental institution.
But—
Camille felt something different about Lucas.
Compared to Adrien, Lucas felt far more dangerous.
And far more interesting.
Slowly, Camille steadied herself.
"…Fine."
"I'll try again tomorrow."
"If it still doesn't work…"
"…Then we'll see."