QT: I hijacked a harem system and now I'm ruining every plot(GL)-Chapter 51: Unsettling feeling

Chapter 51 – Han Li’s POV

So this is how the system wants to play, huh?

I stare at the fresh smear of blood in the sink, the taste metallic and bitter on my tongue. It’s not the first time. Apparently, the system has upgraded its tactics. No longer content with making every one of my plans backfire or mysteriously ensuring Jiang Wei always comes out on top—it’s now aiming for my body.

Lovely.

I rinse my mouth out, spitting the crimson-streaked water down the drain. The blood swirls away like a quiet warning.

There used to be an invisible wall. A constant force that bent reality just enough to stop me. Projects would collapse, connections would dry up, and yet somehow, Jiang Wei always landed on his feet. Always blessed. Always protected.

Plot armor, they call it.

But now... it’s not just resistance.

Now, I’m bleeding for it.

My grip on the porcelain sink tightens until my knuckles whiten. I know what this means. The system is retaliating. Hard.

Fine.

I’ll back off—for now.

Let the golden boy enjoy his victories. Let him have his little spotlight. I won’t touch him. I’ll keep my distance. I’ll play nice.

But that doesn’t mean I’ll let him win.

Especially not when it comes to her.

The real problem isn’t him anymore. It’s the universe bending things back into place. Yuxi’s path is slowly—too slowly—being pulled back into alignment with Jiang Wei. More projects keep pairing them up. More offers that just happen to include both their names. She’s being summoned home by the Jiangs more often, and every time she steps outside, it feels like fate conveniently throws them together.

Running into each other on the street? Seriously?

It’s not a coincidence.

It’s manipulation.

I clench my jaw. Right now, she still loves me. I know that. She tells me. Shows me. But something’s changed. A few months ago, her hatred for Jiang Wei was white-hot. Pure loathing. Now?

Now it’s lukewarm. Mild distaste at best.

That’s not going to cut it.

I won’t sit back and watch her fall back into the orbit of a man who doesn’t deserve her. I won’t let her become just another dot in the constellation of his harem. Not while I’m still breathing.

If the system wants to punish me for trying to rewrite fate, it’ll have to do more than this.

I let out a breath and roll my shoulders. I need to leave before I go insane, with Yuxi.Take her somewhere. Far away. Somewhere fate can’t reach her. Somewhere Jiang Wei won’t just "happen" to show up.

Luckily, my birthday is coming up.

A perfect excuse.

Maybe a quiet, luxurious resort in a tropical country. Just me and Yuxi. No cameras. No interruptions. No damn plot strings weaving us into a fate I refuse to accept.

Let the world pause for a while.

Because I need her to remember—

She chose me.

And I intend to keep it that way.

***

Jiang Yuxi POV

I place my knife down with a soft clink and reach for the napkin, wiping my mouth and hands with deliberate calm.

>"I won’t be around for the next two weeks."

I say casually, though I can already feel the tension in the air sharpen.

>"Where to?"

Jiang Wei asks, setting his cutlery aside.

His tone is deceptively neutral, but I can sense the interest behind it. I’ve never liked being around him—not lately. He makes my skin crawl in a way I can’t explain. There’s something off about him. A quiet wrongness that tugs at the back of my mind like a whisper I can’t quite catch.

>"I’m going on a trip."

I answer, giving no further details.

>"For work?"

Mrs. Jiang interjects, her eyes narrowing.

>"No," I say smoothly, "personal business."

That sets her off.

>"You’re a young, unmarried woman. You can’t be acting like this! Running off with some man—staying out overnight, getting picked up like—"

Her voice pitches higher, righteous and scolding.

>"Do you think we don’t see it? You spend nights at his place! What is this? We didn’t raise you to be this way!"

Raise me?

That’s a laugh.

They fed me. Clothed me. Sheltered me.

But raised me?

No.

Everything I am, I built myself. From my first paycheck to the success I own today, not a single piece of it came from them.

>"You seem confused," I say, voice sharp but even.

>"This isn’t your generation anymore. I’m not asking for permission—I’m informing you. I will go."

>"Yuxi!"

Mr. Jiang snaps, his voice sharp for the first time all dinner.

How convenient of him to care now.

"Ahem."

Jiang Wei clears his throat, his expression mild as he tries to smooth things over.

>"It’s not what you think. She’s not meeting a man. It’s just a female friend. I’ve met her before."

He offers a pleasant smile to the older woman at the head of the table.

> "Nothing can happen between women, right?"

I hide my smirk.

Oh, if only he knew.

Plenty can happen between women. In fact, quite a lot has. Mrs. Jiang isn’t wrong in her assumptions—just about the gender.

>"I’m leaving."

I say, standing up and brushing imaginary lint from my slacks.

*

Outside, the Jiang household looms behind me as I wait on the steps for Han Li’s arrival. The cool evening breeze brushes past, tugging at the hem of my coat.

>"Why didn’t you just tell them you were meeting a woman?" a voice says beside me.

Jiang Wei again. He never knows when to stop.

I don’t respond.

>"You and CEO Han are close, huh?"

He adds, watching me too carefully.

Just then, a sleek black car pulls up to the curb.

I smile. There she is.

"Yes," I say clearly, my voice leaving no room for interpretation.

"We are."

Han Li steps out, moving with that smooth confidence that always draws attention. Her suit is perfectly tailored, and—

My gaze catches.

Her hair.

Shorter. Messier. Styled into something sleek and tomboyish. It sharpens her jaw, makes her look even more dangerously attractive.

Without a word, she opens the car door for me. I slip inside. She rounds the front, settles behind the wheel, and merges into traffic with one hand on the wheel, the other casually resting on my thigh.

>"Hey."

She says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

I glance at her, my fingers brushing against the edge of her newly trimmed hair.

>"You cut your hair," I say softly, sweeping a few strands behind her ear.

"Yeah. Don’t like it?" she asks, flashing me that lazy, crooked smile that makes my stomach flip.

I shake my head.

> "No. I think it suits you."

And it does.

She looks freer. Looser. Like she’s shedding something heavy—and I wonder if I’m a part of that too.

In response, her fingers squeeze my thigh gently, reassuringly. It’s nothing overt. But it grounds me in a way words never could.