Everyone in the office was whispering the same question: Who on earth was the mysterious lover who’d actually managed to conquer President Zhou—the man who loved power more than beauty?
But no one knew the truth.
Xiao Jia watched Secretary Chi leave, heart pounding, fingers trembling, and felt an overwhelming urge to post:
It’s Secretary Chi!!!
As the first person in the entire company to bite into this piping-hot piece of confirmed gossip, Xiao Jia desperately wanted to share the joy with someone. After thinking it over, he found the perfect target: intern Jiang Yi, who was currently slacking off.
Jiang Yi had long been relegated to the cold palace by Zhou Yanxing—not that he minded. Being able to admire Secretary Chi’s dazzling looks every day more than made up for the discomfort of seeing President Zhou.
Xiao Jia leaned in.
“I’m gonna tell you something, but you cannot tell anyone else!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Jiang Yi responded half-heartedly, not really paying attention. Xiao Jia looked around to make sure they were alone, then whispered,
“President Zhou’s lover… is Secretary Chi! Can you believe it?!”
“…???”
***
Half an hour later.
Chi Zhan was downstairs when he suddenly received a call from Zhou Yanxing.
“Secretary Chi. Come to my office.”
Zhou’s voice over the phone carried its own special effects—Chi Zhan could almost see the flames blazing behind him. Completely confused, Chi Zhan didn’t have time to ask questions before the call abruptly ended. Setting aside his current task, he headed back upstairs.
“President Zhou, you wanted to see me—”
The moment he stepped in and saw the scene before him, Chi Zhan fell silent.
Zhou Yanxing’s expression was ice-cold, his whole body radiating an aura of suppressed fury—just stepping into his presence made the room drop ten degrees, and meeting his eyes was like being slashed with icy blades. Negative debuffs activated instantly.
He was dripping coffee from head to toe, looking utterly miserable.
“What happened?” Chi Zhan asked.
Probably because this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, he didn’t panic—instead, the absurdity of it all made him want to laugh. This was something straight out of a TV drama. Poor President Zhou.
He held back a chuckle and said, “Young Master Bai shouldn’t be coming back upstairs again.”
Even if he tried, the front desk wouldn’t let him through. Bai was now officially on Zhou Yanxing’s blacklist—with a favorability rating hovering near the negatives.
“That intern, Jiang—he suddenly stormed up here and started screaming gibberish at me, then tossed this paper at my face and dumped another— Secretary Chi, what’s with that look?” Zhou narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What are you thinking?”
Chi Zhan couldn’t hold it anymore. He let out a soft “pfft” of laughter.
Zhou’s face darkened like the bottom of a burnt pan.
“You’re laughing?”
“I just think… lately, you’ve been especially unlucky. Getting splashed with coffee three times in a row? That’s impressive. I even took a hit for you, but I guess it didn’t help.”
“Get him out of here,” Zhou snapped. “And don’t bother pleading on his behalf. Nothing you say will change my mind.”
Chi Zhan picked the paper up off the floor—it was Jiang Yi’s resignation letter.
Scrawled at the bottom was one extra line: Zhou Yanxing, you two-faced bastard!
“……”
At this point, it felt like coffee itself had it out for Zhou Yanxing. Either he was getting splashed or was about to be splashed. Even Chi Zhan was starting to feel bad.
“I’ll make you tea next time. No more coffee.”
Zhou snorted coldly.
“No, make it. I want to see just how many more people out there are dying to throw coffee at me.”
He’d never been the type to back down from a challenge. On the contrary—the rougher the road, the more stubborn he became. Rebellious. And Chi Zhan… kind of admired that about him.
Of course, that had nothing to do with how entertaining it was to watch President Zhou get coffee dumped on him.
Fortunately, there weren’t any important documents on the desk—everything had been stored in the file cabinet. Zhou went to change clothes while Chi Zhan stayed behind to tidy up the desk.
The computer screen was still on.
A notification popped up. Chi Zhan glanced at it instinctively—and caught sight of a Word document behind it.
[Marriage Agreement]
Party A: Zhou Yanxing
Party B: Chi Zhan
“…???”
What the hell is this?
The document was clearly a fresh draft, full of incomplete clauses and bullet points. But the moment Chi Zhan saw his own name listed as Party B, his calm façade nearly cracked.
He’d always assumed Zhou Yanxing merely liked him. But why had things escalated all the way to a marriage contract? And how was he, the supposed Party B, completely unaware?!
Even more alarming—next to the draft was a file titled:
[Engagement Proposal]
Unlike the messy marriage agreement, this engagement proposal was over a hundred pages long. The table of contents alone took up three full pages. It was clearly the product of a professional planning team. Chi Zhan flipped through it, feeling dizzy. There was no end in sight.
Even though the document didn’t name him directly, Chi Zhan’s heart still skipped a beat.
This is bad.
He’d underestimated just how action-oriented Zhou Yanxing was.
They weren’t even officially dating yet. Hell, if it weren’t for the system, Chi Zhan wouldn’t have known Zhou liked him at all. Meanwhile, Zhou had already started planning their engagement.
Secretary Chi’s brain was fried.
A romance target getting engaged to an NPC—If this got out, the entire game world might just implode.
The need to find a boyfriend had never been more urgent. It was practically life-or-death.
Chi Zhan quickly messaged Tao Ran, asking if he knew any reliable boyfriend-for-hire services—terrified that if he hesitated even a second longer, Zhou Yanxing might drag him off to the civil affairs bureau for a marriage license.
“Secretary Chi,” Zhou called as he stepped out. “What are you still doing here?”
He noticed Chi Zhan standing at the desk, and instinctively quickened his pace—only to slow down when he saw the monitor was dark. Chi Zhan had just been messaging Tao Ran. Upon hearing Zhou’s voice, he swiftly locked his phone.
“I was just leaving.”
Zhou didn’t say a word. Chi Zhan, meanwhile, exited the office at lightning speed—as if there were some wild beast hot on his heels.
