Every Male Lead love Me

Xia Tian had transmigrated. The moment she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a completely unfamiliar room. The interior was old and worn, unmistakably American in style from the 1970s or 1980s. The furniture looked secondhand, and when she climbed out of bed, the frame let out an ear-splitting creak. This was certainly not her bedroom. Xia Tian stood there in a daze for a long moment, then unconsciously turned her head toward the vanity mirror in the corner. What she saw nearly made her jump. The figure reflected in the mirror looked just like her—long black hair, eyes of the same dark hue, a simple white nightgown—but her body had inexplicably shrunk by more than a decade. She now appeared to be no more than eight or nine years old. She grabbed at her hair in shock. At that instant, a crisp ding echoed through the void. 【Welcome to the Horror Film Transmigration System. I am System 001 and will accompany you throughout the entire game.】 【The horror world is fraught with danger, and survival is no easy task. Players are advised to persevere. Each world must be cleared by fulfilling its conditions. Complete all worlds to receive a surprise grand prize!】 Oh… she got it. Realization dawned on Xia Tian: this was an infinite-flow setup. She had read plenty of web novels—being thrown into a horror-instance world was a trope she knew all too well. “All right,” Xia Tian said aloud. “So what are the clearance conditions for this world?” System: 【The male lead: Matthew Dennish.】 Xia Tian: “……” Wait a second—wasn’t this supposed to be a horror-film system? Why had it suddenly taken a romantic turn? She rifled through her memories and quickly confirmed that she had never seen a horror movie with a male lead named Matthew Dennish. By convention, shouldn’t the system at least provide a background summary? “I haven’t seen this film,” Xia Tian asked. “Is there an introduction?” 【Yes. Please wait.】 After encountering countless chatty, troublemaking systems in fiction, this concise and efficient one made Xia Tian quietly breathe a sigh of relief—hiss, that hurt! A sudden pain struck her head. She clutched her forehead, stumbled back, and collapsed onto the bed. Dazed for a moment, she then realized that a flood of memories—ones that did not belong to her—had appeared in her mind. The horror film was titled Bloodshadow m******e, a name that screamed low-budget cliché. The plot was just as hackneyed, indistinguishable from countless other bad movies: the protagonist, Matthew Dennish, had grown up in foster care. Because of his withdrawn and volatile temperament, he was relentlessly abused by older children. Worse still, he never encountered a single responsible adult. The foster families who took him in did so purely for government subsidies, showing no concern whatsoever for the children’s mental well-being. Thus, Matthew Dennish naturally developed a cold and cruel disposition. At fifteen, after being shuffled through multiple foster homes, Matthew finally snapped. He murdered a classmate who had humiliated him and was subsequently confined to a criminal psychiatric hospital. Ten years later, Matthew Dennish escaped—without warning. By then, the twenty-five-year-old Matthew had grown into a tall, powerfully built man. After fleeing the asylum, he hunted down every child who had once bullied and humiliated him, murdering them with ruthless precision. In Bloodshadow m******e, there happened to be an Asian girl named Summer who lived in the same foster home as six-year-old Matthew Dennish. Because she was clever and charming, she was formally adopted early on by a wealthy couple. This “Summer” never personally abused Matthew, but she was a cold bystander to his suffering. Later in the story, after witnessing Matthew commit murder with her own eyes, she went mad from terror. After reviewing all the memories, Xia Tian had only one thought— What kind of ultimate Frankenstein mash-up was this?! Just Matthew Dennish alone reminded her of several different character archetypes. As for the tired plot and recycled backstory, Xia Tian felt that if she threw a brick into any random horror movie, she would hit at least one murderer with a nearly identical narrative—and probably attract several more to watch. And why on earth was this a romance route in a horror movie world—and with the killer, no less? Was the system malfunctioning?! In her memories, Matthew Dennish was undeniably beautiful—beautiful was, in fact, more accurate than handsome. He stood over six feet tall, with a body sculpted like marble. His overwhelming physical advantage made him a natural predator. Add to that his golden hair, blue eyes, and angelic face—features Americans adored—and the result was devastating. In short, he was gorgeous. From that perspective alone, Xia Tian wouldn’t be losing out. But Matthew Dennish’s personality… strictly speaking, he had none. Like Michael Myers or Jigsaw, he existed purely to kill. No dialogue. No emotions. No character depth. In Bloodshadow m******e, Matthew Dennish was nothing more than a killing machine, his so-called childhood trauma conveyed through a few perfunctory montage flashbacks. How was this even possible?! Xia Tian’s head started to ache again. No. She had to go home. She didn’t even bother asking—based on the nature of quick-transmigration worlds, returning home without clearing the instance was impossible. Though this was a hell-difficulty opening, she still had to struggle. She refused to end up like the original Summer, driven insane by fear. If she forced herself to look on the bright side, she did have a chance. The story made it clear that Matthew Dennish’s personality was shaped by childhood abuse. Right now, he was only six years old. Everything was still reversible. “Let me ask something first,” Xia Tian said hesitantly. “You only said Matthew Dennish—you didn’t specify that it has to be the killer version of him, right?” 【Correct.】 Xia Tian immediately perked up. “Then if I take the wholesome route—becoming a caring older sister, protecting him from abuse, helping him get adopted by a warm and responsible family, turning him into a productive member of society—that wouldn’t violate the rules, right?” 【As long as your target is Matthew Dennish and you achieve a 100% affection rating, you will clear the level. Even if you blacken on the spot and lock him in a little dark room for certain activities, it would still be permitted.】 Ha. Nice try. The protagonist committing crimes was one thing—she wasn’t about to do so herself. And restricted-play with a serial killer? She wasn’t that far gone, thank you very much. In the original story, Summer was adopted by a wealthy family a year later. Mrs. Smith, unable to continue fostering children after her husband’s sudden bankruptcy, sent Matthew Dennish on to yet another foster home. That meant the system had given her only one year. The difficulty was still high, but far better than dealing with a fully grown murderer. Besides, if Matthew could grow up normal, it would be a genuine act of virtue for Xia Tian as well. Decision made. Having settled on her route, Xia Tian let out a long breath and flopped back onto the bed. Her small body landed heavily on the rickety mattress, producing a piercing screech. Almost immediately, a reaction followed. The soundproofing in the house was atrocious. Xia Tian heard furious footsteps pounding closer, followed by a violent kick against her door. “Xia Tian, damn it, will you keep it down? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” A girl was screaming outside. Before the echo faded, there came a cacophony of running feet and crashing objects. Several boys were shouting in the hallway. “Matthew, stop running!” “What’s wrong with this little freak—does he know magic? How can we never catch him?” “Just wait till we find him—I’m gonna beat him half to death!” Well then. She had just transmigrated and was already dropped straight into a bullying scene—without even time for mental preparation. Since she was here, there was no way she could allow them to torment the protagonist. Xia Tian had no choice but to get up, smooth the wrinkles in her nightgown, and fling the door open with fierce determination. Her room was at the very end of the hallway, beyond which stood a row of storage cabinets. As she stepped out, she saw the oldest foster child, Frank, yank Matthew Dennish out from one of the cabinets. “You little bastard, I finally caught you—let me—” Before Frank could finish, the frail figure being dragged out immediately blew the pepper powder in his hand straight into Frank’s face. “Holy—what the hell is this?!” “Matthew, I’ll kill you!!” Blinded by pepper, Frank instantly released Matthew, coughing and crying as his face turned a violent shade of purple-red. Six-year-old Matthew Dennish seized the chance to bolt forward. Frank wiped his eyes and roared, “Catch him! I’m gonna s*******r him!” A six-year-old was no match for teenagers. He slowed for just a moment before Frank’s lackey, a boy named Justin, slammed him to the ground and struck him hard across the face. Xia Tian panicked. She shoved the girl blocking her doorway aside and rushed forward, shouting, “Stop it!” The sudden interruption stunned all the boys present. The foster home was run by Mrs. Smith. To her, foster children were nothing more than tools for collecting subsidies. Ensuring their basic needs were met was already generous by her standards. Their relationships and mental health? She couldn’t care less. Matthew had been here only a short time before becoming a target of abuse due to his personality. The two girls in the house usually watched indifferently, keeping their distance from the boys. This was the first time anyone had stepped in to stop the bullying. What was more, the person intervening was Xia Tian—an academically excellent child, praised throughout the neighborhood, who usually watched Matthew’s abuse with detached, faintly disdainful eyes. While the boys were still stunned, Xia Tian swiftly pulled Matthew up from the floor and dragged him behind her. “Are you hurt?” She turned her head to look at Matthew Dennish. The future serial killer was, at this moment, nothing more than an ignorant child. His pale, rounded face was swollen and bruised from the slap. Even so, the handprint could not obscure the delicate beauty of his features beneath his radiant blond hair. At just six years old, he was so pretty he could almost be mistaken for a girl. When he heard Xia Tian’s voice, his blue eyes lifted slightly—utterly devoid of emotion. He was neither angry at being hit nor grateful for her concern. His crystal-clear eyes were like a dried well, empty and lifeless. Matthew stared at her with chilling indifference, offering no response. “Xia Tian, who asked you to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?” Frank finally managed to wipe the pepper from his face and stumbled over, snot and tears streaming. He looked ridiculous—and terrifying, his flushed face twisted into a vicious snarl. “Get out of the way, or I’ll beat you too!”