The system woke me at 4:32 AM with a mission prompt that felt like a threat: [Protocol: Impeccable. Meaning: You have 4 hours to become un-ignorable. Recommend starting now.]
Lily's voice filtered through her bedroom door: "If you wake me up before six, I'll murder you and make it look like a pole-dancing accident."
I tiptoed to the bathroom, where the system had projected my morning routine like a military briefing: [Step 1: Cold Water Plunge (Wakefulness +20). Step 2: System-Provided Serum (Glow +15). Step 3: Mental Rehearsal (Confidence +10).]
The serum was in a tiny vial that materialized on the sink. I drank it. It tasted like optimism and battery acid. My skin immediately looked... tighter. Less like I'd slept on a couch, more like I'd slept in a cryogenic chamber.
[Physical Stat Boost: Complete. Charisma: 45 → 48. You are now "Woman Who Walks Into a Room and People Whisper."]
By 6:00 AM, Lily stumbled out, took one look at me, and muttered, "Okay, witchcraft." She made us protein shakes while the system helpfully displayed her internal stats: [Lily: Loyalty 999/100 (Overflow). Energy: 42/100 (Needs Coffee). Threat Level: Will Fight Your Battles.]
"Your mom's surgery is at 9," Lily said, handing me the shake. "You sure you want to be at work for the CEO parade?"
"The system says the timing is 'optimal for dramatic tension.'" I took a sip. It tasted like chocolate and determination. "Also, Jiang Huai'an personally approved my leave for this afternoon."
"Jiang who?" Lily's eyes narrowed. "The barista CEO?"
[Security Warning: Do not disclose Entity Jiang's dual identity. Lily's Protective Instincts: 89%. She will attempt to stab him.]
"He's the CEO," I said carefully. "Not a barista. I was confused."
"You're a terrible liar." She stared at the floating system warning only I could see. "But fine. Keep your magical stalker secrets."
---
Starlight Tech's lobby at 8:00 AM was a hive of performative productivity. Everyone was at their desks, typing furiously at blank documents, pretending they'd been there for hours. The system's collective scan was brutal:
[Department Morale: 62/100 (Fake It Till You Make It)]
[Bai Lianhua's Desk: Empty. Current Location: CEO's private elevator. Attempting to intercept tour. Recommend counter-move.]
My new desk was a battlefield. Overnight, someone had "accidentally" spilled coffee on my keyboard and deleted my project files from the shared drive. Bai's signature scent—Chanel No. 5, the one Gu Chenyu said he loved—lingered like a threat.
[Sabotage Detected. Counter-Mission: The Unshakeable Professional.]
[Objective: Fix disaster before tour arrives. Reward: [Indestructible Reputation], [Bai's Frustration: +100].]
I pulled out my token and placed it on the desk. [Stealth Mode: Active. True Files: Restored from Hidden Backup. Keyboard: Replaced with System-Provided Model (Noiseless, Self-Cleaning, Smug).]
The keyboard was matte black and felt like typing on a cloud's spine. My files reappeared, now with added annotations that made my strategy look genius-level. I was still reading them when a commotion rippled through the office.
He's here.
Jiang Huai'an emerged from the CEO elevator with a retinue of executives who orbited him like satellites around a black hole. He wore a three-piece suit the color of graphite, no tie, and the same glacier-blue eyes that had seen me at my absolute worst. His gaze swept the room, passing over Bai—who'd planted herself at the front desk with a strategically low-cut blouse—and landing on me.
[Romance Value: 999 (Still Overflowing). Current Glitch: Host's presence causes minor system lag. Jiang's Composure: 98/100 (Cracking).]
He walked straight to my desk. The office held its breath.
"Miss Song," he said, voice pitched for everyone to hear. "Your launch proposal for Project Nightingale. Walk me through it."
This wasn't in the tour script. The executives shuffled their iPads nervously. Bai's smile froze.
I stood, grateful for the killer heels. "Of course, Chairman Jiang."
[Mission: Impromptu Pitch. Difficulty: Nightmare. Reward: [???]. Recommendation: Use the secret weapon.]
A file appeared on my screen. Not mine—Jiang's. It was his personal notes on Project Nightingale, hand-annotated in red: "Weakness: Vendor reliability. Solution: Secondary supplier clause. Implement before Week 2."
I implemented it now.
"While our primary vendor is Chenyu Holdings," I said, and felt the room's temperature drop, "I've negotiated a contingency with Skyline Tech. If delivery delays exceed 48 hours, we switch, penalty-free."
Jiang's eyebrow lifted a millimeter. "Chenyu Holdings won't appreciate that."
"They'll appreciate finishing the project on time." I clicked to the next slide—also not mine, but better. "And this clause gives us a 15% cost reduction, which I've allocated to a marketing push that targets their demographic."
Silence. Then Jiang did something that made Bai's face drain of color: he smiled. "Impressive, Miss Song. You think three steps ahead."
[Critical Success! COO Lin's Approval: +30. Bai's Humiliation: Can Be Seen From Space.]
The tour moved on, but Jiang paused beside my chair, just long enough to murmur: "Nightingale was my sister's code name."
Then he was gone, the retinue flowing in his wake. Bai followed, but not before shooting me a look that promised murder by papercut.
---
At 8:47 AM, my phone buzzed. Gu Chenyu. Again. The system tried to block it, but I answered.
"Anran." He sounded breathless. "Bai just texted me. You... you put a contingency clause in?"
"Standard business practice."
"That contingency could cost me millions."
"Then don't be late on delivery." I kept my voice low, crisp. "Anything else?"
A long pause. The system displayed his stats: [Gu Chenyu - Regret Level: 32% (Financial Fear + Nostalgia)]
[Current Status: Realizing you were his free therapist and best project manager.]
"I miss you," he said.
The system went apocalyptic: [WARNING: Ex is attempting emotional manipulation. Host's Heart Rate: 112 bpm. Recommendation: Hang up. Hang up NOW.]
But I didn't. I held the phone, let the silence stretch, let him sit in the discomfort he'd built. Then I said: "That's unfortunate for you."
And ended the call.
[Emotional Damage: CRITICAL! Gu Chenyu's Regret: 32% → 41% (Heartbreak + Financial Anxiety).]
[Host's Coldness: 10/10. New Skill: [Ice Queen]. Passive Effect: Exes who contact you take psychic damage.]
Bai chose that moment to appear at my desk, holding two coffees. One was for me. The system screamed: [POISON RISK: 67%. Spit Test Recommended.]
"Truce?" she offered, pushing the cup toward me.
I accepted it, then "accidentally" knocked it over onto her white silk blouse. "Oops. My hand slipped."
Her shriek was internal, but her eyes promised a war.
[Mission: The Unshakeable Professional - COMPLETE!]
[Reward: [Office Legend Status]. Bai's Warpath: Initiated. Ex's Regret: Simmering. CEO's Interest: UNKNOWN (But He Smiled Twice).]
At 8:59 AM, Dr. Shen called from the hospital: "Your mother is prepped. Surgery starts in 60 seconds."
Jiang appeared at my desk for the second time that day. "Go," he said. "I'll handle the fallout."
"Fallout?"
"Bai's filing a complaint. HR meeting at 3." He handed me a folder. "Your defense. I wrote it."
I opened it. Inside: Bai's text logs with Gu Chenyu, her expense reports showing "consultant fees" that were clearly shopping sprees, and a photo of her spilling coffee on my keyboard at 6:47 AM, taken from a security camera angle that shouldn't exist.
[System Gift: Evidence Package. Delivered by: Entity Jiang. Cost: Unknown. Benefit: Host's Safety.]
"Why?" I asked.
"Because Version 1.0 died alone in a hospital." His voice was soft. "Version 2.0 won't."
I left for the hospital, my heels clicking a rhythm that sounded like I am not alone anymore.
In the elevator, the system showed my updated stats:
[Song Anran - Level 5]
Charisma: 50 (Unignorable)
Career: 45 (Rising Star)
Ex's Regret: 41% (Simmering)
Mom's Surgery Status: IN PROGRESS (System Monitoring: 100%)
[New Arc Unlocked: The Surgery & The Showdown. Difficulty: Hard. But Host is harder.]
The elevator doors opened to sunlight and a waiting car—black, tinted, with a driver who nodded to me. "Chairman Jiang's orders," he said. "To ensure you arrive safely."
I got in. The system went dark for the first time since activation, leaving a single line:
[Safe Mode: Activated. You're not alone. For once, believe it.]
The car pulled into Shanghai traffic. Behind me, Starlight Tech buzzed with rumors about the new girl who'd stared down the CEO and lived. Ahead, the hospital waited with my mother's life in its hands.
And somewhere in between, Gu Chenyu stared at his phone, at the contingency clause that could ruin him, and felt regret start to curdle into something darker:
[Gu Chenyu - Status: Realizing the one who got away didn't just get away. She leveled up without him.]
My phone buzzed one last time before I silenced it. Bai: "This isn't over."
I replied: "It never began."
[Host's Reputation: Cemented. Day 1: Survived. Day 2: Will Thrive.]
[Final Stat Update: Charisma 50 (Unignorable), Spine: Reinforced, Will: Unbreakable.]
[ Complete. Now, on to the main event.]