Jiang Yue sat at her desk, staring at the stat screen hovering in front of her like it was mocking her.
[Emotional Impact on ML: 4%.]
"Four percent," she whispered dramatically. "Four. That's… that's basically failing grade romance!"
The system dinged.
>[Mission Reminder: Increase Emotional Impact for better survival chances.]
She slapped her notebook shut. "Fine. You want emotional impact? I'll give you emotional impact. Operation: Make the Iceberg Melt starts now!"
From across the office, Li Zhenkai raised a brow without looking up from his laptop. "Are you talking to yourself again?"
"Nope!" Jiang Yue chirped. "Just… strategizing!"
He gave her a long, slow look, then returned to his work.
Three meters away. Perfectly within her survival bubble.
If only her cursed heart didn't keep doing stupid flips every time he existed.
---
That evening, Jiang Yue followed Li Zhenkai into a high-end private lounge downtown. She wasn't sure why, he'd simply said, "Meeting," and gestured for her to follow like it was the most natural thing in the world.
When they entered, three men were already there.
Xu Jianyu. Fang Zixuan. Qin Yunze.
The Golden Quartet, in the flesh.
They looked like they'd walked straight out of a luxury magazine. Xu Jianyu, sharp-eyed and dignified in a perfectly pressed suit, nodded at her with a look that was 70% judgment and 30% reluctant approval.
Fang Zixuan grinned the moment he saw her. "Look who the iceberg brought!"
"Please stop calling him that," Jiang Yue muttered.
Qin Yunze smirked from his spot at the table. "We'd stop if it weren't accurate."
Li Zhenkai ignored them all, taking his seat at the head of the table. Jiang Yue sat beside him automatically, her system dinging in satisfaction.
[Luck Boost Active.]
Fang leaned forward, grinning like a cat. "So, Jiang Yue, are you finally going to admit you're his emotional support human?"
"I am NOT—!"
Xu Jianyu cut in, dryly, "You're literally in his contractually mandated three-meter radius. That's basically ownership."
Jiang Yue sputtered. "That's for survival!"
Li Zhenkai's brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing, calmly sipping his whiskey like the picture of control.
Her system pinged.
> [Affinity: -1.]
Oh no.
She scrambled to fix it. "I—I mean… obviously, I'm just his… very loyal assistant!"
Li Zhenkai's hand stilled on the glass for a fraction of a second.
> [Affinity: +1.]
[Emotional Impact: 5%.]
Jiang Yue blinked. It worked?!
---
Operation: Make the Iceberg Melt
Alright. Step one: earn his approval.
Jiang Yue turned to Li Zhenkai with what she hoped was a professional smile. "Boss, you're the best CEO in the city. Probably the universe. Definitely better than the second-place guy… what's his name again?"
Across the table, Fang Zixuan snorted into his drink.
Xu Jianyu muttered, "Pathetic."
Qin Yunze smirked like a man enjoying front row seats to a slow motion disaster show.
Li Zhenkai glanced at her, one brow slightly raised… but he didn't tell her to stop.
The system dinged.
[Emotional Impact: 6%.]
Jiang Yue gasped. YES.
It was working.
But then Fang leaned in, resting his chin on his palm. "You're really dedicated, huh? Careful, sweetheart, if you keep this up, Zhenkai might start getting possessive."
Jiang Yue laughed. "Pfft. He's way too cold for that!"
Xu Jianyu raised a brow. "You really think that?"
"Obviously! He barely even notices I exist!"
Everyone at the table turned their heads toward Li Zhenkai.
He didn't speak. He didn't move.
But his fingers tapped against the table.
Jiang Yue's system dinged.
> [Affinity: -1.]
Oh no.
"Boss?" she said nervously.
"Eat," he said simply, sliding a plate of food in front of her.
Jiang Yue blinked.
She wasn't sure what startled her more, him casually feeding her like this was normal… or the fact that the three wolves across the table looked like they were trying not to laugh.
[Emotional Impact: 7%.]
Oh, this was dangerous.
---
Halfway through the meal, Fang Zixuan, being the reckless chaos gremlin he was, leaned over and stole one of Jiang Yue's fries.
He didn't even get it halfway to his mouth.
Li Zhenkai's hand landed on Fang's wrist like a steel trap.
Fang froze. "…Wow. That was fast."
Zhenkai's expression didn't change, but his voice was low and sharp. "Don't touch what's mine."
The table went silent.
Jiang Yue's jaw dropped. "YOURS?!"
Fang, of course, was grinning like he'd just won the lottery. "Oh, this is gold."
Xu Jianyu sighed into his glass. "It begins."
Qin Yunze smirked. "Took him long enough."
Meanwhile, Jiang Yue's brain was short-circuiting.
"Boss," she stammered, "I am not—"
"Eat," he repeated, placing another fry on her plate as if that settled it.
Her system went wild.
[Affinity: +2.]
[Emotional Impact: 9%.]
Operation: Make the Iceberg Melt was officially out of her control.
And somehow… she wasn't entirely sure she wanted it back, it's too hot to handle