QT: Don't fall in love with the Male Lead

This time, when Xi Zirui comes to on the Transmigrator 4000's chair he isn't startled by the sudden weightless drop, or by the itchy feeling at the tip of his fingers.

The shopkeeper leans against the machine and smirks down at him as soon as his eyes blink up open. "Ready for another go?"

"No," Xi Zirui says, and climbs out of the chair.

The shopkeeper's smile falters. "Hey, wait!" she calls after him, but Xi Zirui is already making his way out the shop.

She drops her full weight down into a squat and hides her face into her crossed arms with a groan of frustration.

"Well that didn't go well."

The little dragon in her small lizard form slithers her way up the shopkeeper, and makes herself comfortable inside her bra. 

She pokes her scaly head out of the shopkeeper's collar, and says, "This time it was really brutal on him."

"Well, tough titties, this is the best I could come up with," she pops the pink bubblegum in annoyance. "Does he think any of this is easy?"

Ni Ni's forked tongue licks at her lipless mouth. "He doesn't really remember the events that happened when we were still-"

The shopkeeper frowns. "More reason for him to respect what I'm trying to do here."

Ni Ni doesn't bother arguing with her lover, it's no use when she gets like this. 

"What are we going to do now? If he doesn't want to hop on to another world?"

"He has too, we still have a ways to go," she pops her bubblegum again, but this time a self-assured smirk curls on her lips. "Besides, he won't be able to stay away for long...it's Fate."

---

Xi Zirui stays away for exactly one month.

During that time he does his best to go back to his usual life and try to forget about Han Yu. 

It's not an easy feat considering everything reminds Xi Zirui of him.

One day after his terrible office job, he decides to unwind in a nearby park, but the sight of a weeping willow sends him into a crying fit so strong a few passersby ask him if he's alright.

He isn't any safer inside his shitty apartment, where even a passing glance at his forgotten Switch will suck all the air out of the room and his chest feeling like it will cave in on itself.

He tries to lose himself in work, maybe even stop being an intern and get an official position, but he can never pretend to take his pointless job seriously, or fake interest in the predatory soul-sucking company he works for.

His manager calls him into his office to complain about performance reports highlighting his lack of 'company pride', and 'team spirit'.

"The reports are right, I lack both those things," he says, giving the flustered manager a dead-eyed stare.

The manager pushes his glasses further up his nose bridge. "Well, I appreciate your candidness. Which strategy do you think would help you work on these opportunities for improvement?"

"A fat fucking paycheck," Xi Zirui says, smirking widely. 

Now the manager is squirming in his fake leather chair. "A raise...well...I can bring it up to our department's head, get his opinion on the matter."

"I want to make as much as the CEO," Xi Zirui deadpans.

"What?" Now the manager has well and truly lost the plot.

"Why not?" he shrugs, "I'd wager I work much more than him, you too. Maybe we should both ask for a raise. Maybe all the employees should. What are they going to do? Fire us all?"

His smile is a little manic, but he has no intention of reigning it in. This is the most fun he has had in weeks.

The manager is looking up at him in full blown panic now, the poor fuck. "I don't think that's going to be possible, but I can book you some time in our wellness clinic."

That's what the company calls the dingy broom closet where an employee, with nothing resembling psychology degree, advises other employees to look on the bright side and be grateful for the chance of being exploited every day for minimum wage.

Well, fuck that.

"No need, I quit," Xi Zirui says, and it's as if he has gotten 10 kilos lighter.

"What?" The poor manager really has no hope of understanding any of what's happening.

"If this company is not going to pay me what I'm worth, then I'm not going to work here." At this point Xi Zirui is just saying whatever will make the manager's expression grow more horrified.

"I'll send you my notice by email," he says and raps his knuckles against the glass desk before leaving the office.

"Wait! What about a gym membership card?"

The only answer he gets is Xi Zirui's laughter drifting down the hallway.

---

Quitting his job has managed to shake Xi Zirui out of the pit of apathy he was letting himself wallow into.

He has newfound clarity now. Instead of commiserating about how sad and hopeless his situation is, he can take matters into his own hands.

It's with that mindset that he walks into the suspicious shop a full month after walking out.

The shopkeeper breaks into a huge grin as soon the as the annoying chime announces his presence. "I knew you'd be back!"

Xi Zirui ignores her and makes his way towards the back of the shop.

When she reaches him he's already strapping himself to the Transmigrator 4000.

"Eager aren't, we?" she says, her eyes flashing with delight as she turns on the machine.

"Listen here, I know that whatever is happening here is not only extremely fucked up, but bizarre as well," Xi Zirui says giving her a chilling glare. "Luckily for you, I don't care about any of that as long as I can see Han Yu again."

The shopkeeper taps the control screen while nodding distractedly. "I'll be honest with you, the best I can do is make sure you end up in a world, and a situation, where he's also involved, I can't really guarantee that the two of you will be in a relationship."

She gives him with an appraising glance. "But you knew all that."

"I figured as much, after you sent me to a world where I was married to his father."

The shopkeeper doesn't try to make any excuses to herself and continues adjusting settings on the screen.

"I don't care about the kind of world I go to, but I want to be in a position where I can get back at Su Xueyi for what he did to me and Han Yu." The muscles in his jaw contract in a disdainful rictus as soon as he says Su Xueyi's name.

"I can do that," she says popping bubblegum. "You might have to be creative though, the first world was the one where he had the lowest social standing."

"As long as he isn't an Emperor again, I think I'll be fine." 

He hopes those words don't come back to bite him in the ass, but right now he's being fueled by righteous anger and a thirst for vengeance. 

If he allows himself room to think about anything else he's afraid he'll crumble into dust.

"All set," the shopkeeper says stepping away from the Transmigrator 4000. "See you on the other side."

Xi Zirui loses consciousness while thinking about how much he'd like to flip her off.

---

There's something soft under Xi Zirui's cheek. So soft, it almost feels slippery.

He brings up his hands to touch it and realizes it's a silk pillow, finer than even those at Su Xueyi's palace.

His eyes fly open in a panic. For a dizzying moment he thinks he's back in the palace, living the life of a concubine again.

He lets out a grateful sigh of relief when the reality he wakes up to is decidedly modern, albeit extremely lavish.

The room he wakes up in alone must be more expensive than entire buildings. He's laying on a huge king size bed, complete with a crushed velvet headboard. The sheets are pure cream silk, the floors are made of carrara marble and outfitted with oversized fluffy grey and white rugs for comfort.

From the bed, Xi Zirui can see a wall of glass windows and doors overlooking a meticulous garden and a pool. All of it dozens of stories high in the sky, and tastefully decorated in calming shades of blue and silver.

He's clearly on a penthouse somewhere.

The bad taste of the rich will never stop surprising him. Who would put marble on a bedroom? What a good way to make one of the coziest and most intimate rooms in a house feel like a shopping center bathroom.

"Ni Ni, what's the damage this time?" Xi Zirui asks, jumping out of the large bed and groaning in dismay at his trophy-husband, tight-fitting, silk pajamas.

"Welcome back, Host," she chirps excitedly. "Ni Ni really missed Host during the time he was away."

Well, the feeling isn't mutual. 

"In this world, Host is again named Xi Zirui. The original came from a regular middle-class family, and didn't do particularly well in school, he had some achievements with the drama club, but never ever came out of it. The original got a degree in Art History but never worked in his field, or at all."

"At all?" Xi Zirui asks, opening the drawers on the bedside table and inspecting its contents.

"The original started a string of relationships with wealthy men straight out of highschool and was financially supported by them, until his current relationship and marriage."

Xi Zirui makes his way across the room and sitting on top of a short dresser he finds a silver picture frame.

He doesn't need to ask Ni Ni who this world's Xi Zirui is married to.

Xi Zirui's fingers tighten on the frame as he looks at Su Xueyi's pleased smile while carrying a blushing Xi Zirui in his arms. The background is a paradisiac beach somewhere, likely the place they traveled to on their honeymoon.

"How long have they been married?" he asks, the glass creaking ominously under his thumb.

"A little over three years," Ni Ni informs him. "Host's goal in this world is to rekindle the flames of passion and prevent Su Xueyi from straying. Host will have a favor meter, like in the past world."

Xi Zirui almost cracks a smile at the knowledge that Su Xueyi has been married for such a short time and is already growing bored of his new husband.

Ni Ni tells him that this world's Xi Zirui met Han Yu when both of them were in school - a familiar setup - but didn't pay him any attention back then, because Su Xueyi came from a poor family and Xi Zirui already had his sights set on higher flights.

Su Xueyi, obsessive motherfucker that he is, never got him out of his mind, and in a surprisingly short time, made himself the owner and CEO of one of the country's fastest growing tech companies.

With that kind of clout, it wasn't hard for him to orchestrate a chance encounter with Xi Zirui, at the time dating the heir of a famous hotel chain, and woo him into a whirlwind marriage.

Predictably, as soon as he had his new toy, Su Xueyi grew tired of him.

"Is Su Xueyi having an affair? With whom?"

If he gets and answer, Xi Zirui doesn't hear it, because someone barges into his bedroom and all the air leaves Xi Zirui's lungs as soon as he sees who it is.

Han Yu walks in dressed in a tight-fitting black suit, with chin-length hair tied up in a short ponytail. There's a gun holster strapped to his hip and an ear piece going around the outside of his ear.

He doesn't acknowledge Xi Zirui before taking out the ear piece, unstrapping the holster, and loosening his tie. The tantalizing peek of his smooth chest is enough to make Xi Zirui's mouth water.

"Well, your husband is out, what are you waiting for?" Han Yu asks, raising an eyebrow at him. "Take off your clothes and get on your hands and knees."