Jiang Yue stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror long after Li Zhenkai left her standing in the hallway. His words "You're a full-time disaster" were still echoing in her head.
Not because they were insulting (she knew they were true), but because of the way his lips had twitched, just barely, like he was amused.
"Focus," she muttered, splashing water on her face. "This isn't about him. This is about survival."
Her system pinged:
[Survival Dependency Confirmed: ML Proximity = Increased Luck Output.]
[Recommendation: Maintain close distance.]
"See?" Jiang Yue whispered to her reflection. "The system agrees. He's not my crush. He's my… portable good-luck charm."
The next morning, Jiang Yue called Tessa.
"Emergency," Jiang Yue said the second her best friend picked up. "Coffee shop. Ten minutes. Life or death."
Tessa sighed. "If this is about you running out of snacks again, I will....."
"Not snacks. Actual survival!"
By the time Jiang Yue arrived, Tessa was already seated with two lattes and the look of someone expecting another round of ridiculousness.
"Okay," Tessa said, stirring her coffee. "Talk."
Jiang Yue leaned forward and whispered, "I figured it out."
Tessa raised a brow. "The secret to not tripping every other day?"
"No," Jiang Yue said. "The curse."
That got Tessa's attention.
"You know how I keep almost dying?"
Tessa gave her a flat look. "I was there for the falling chandelier, remember?"
"Right! Well, I realized something." Jiang Yue tapped the table like she was presenting a groundbreaking scientific discovery. "Whenever Li Zhenkai is near me, my luck… improves. I'm still cursed, but bad things don't kill me. He's like… a human shield!"
Tessa blinked. Then slowly said, "So… you want to stick to the coldest man in the city… like a bodyguard… to save yourself?"
Jiang Yue beamed. "Exactly!"
Tessa stared at her for a full five seconds before muttering, "You're insane."
"I'm alive," Jiang Yue shot back. "Big difference."
Jiang Yue yanked a small notebook out of her bag and opened it to a page covered in messy diagrams.
LUCK-SYNC THEORY:
ML = walking four-leaf clover.
FL = walking disaster magnet.
Solution: stay glued to ML equals to survival rate increase.
Tessa leaned over the page, reading aloud. "'Danger Probability Without ML: 97%. Danger Probability With ML: 35%.'"
"I ran the numbers," Jiang Yue said proudly.
"You made the numbers up," Tessa corrected.
"Same thing," Jiang Yue said, waving her hand.
Tessa groaned. "And what's your plan? Move into his office? Sleep under his desk?"
Jiang Yue paused. "I mean… if it comes to that…"
Tessa pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable. You're turning this into a survival strategy romance."
Jiang Yue puffed her cheeks. "Hey, this isn't about romance. This is about living long enough to go home!"
But her system chose that exact moment to chime in:
> [Emotional Impact on ML: 18%.]
Tessa noticed Jiang Yue's expression falter and smirked. "Uh-huh. Not romantic at all."
"Shut up," Jiang Yue muttered, sipping her latte aggressively.
Just as Jiang Yue was about to argue more, a waiter carrying a tray of hot coffee stumbled near their table.
"Oh no—!"
Instinctively, Jiang Yue ducked. The coffee sloshed, but somehow, not a single drop hit her. The tray wobbled… then stabilized.
Her system pinged:
[Survival Event #19: Success.]
[Reason: ML Nearby – Indirect Range Effect.]
Jiang Yue froze.
"Indirect range effect," she whispered. "Even when he's not here, his influence lingers! He's like… Wi-Fi for luck!"
Tessa facepalmed. "This is getting worse by the minute."
But Jiang Yue was already scribbling in her notebook. "Luck Sync has a range! I need to test this!"
"Or," Tessa said, "you could stop acting like you're in a video game and try being normal for five minutes."
Jiang Yue looked up at her with absolute seriousness. "If I was normal, I'd be dead."
Tessa opened her mouth, then shut it. "…Fair point."
Later that day, while Jiang Yue tested "optimal proximity" by timing her near-death encounters, Li Zhenkai sat in his office reviewing a report.
From the corner of his eye, he could see her through the glass wall of the adjacent break room—arguing animatedly with Tessa while waving around a notebook like it held state secrets.
"Is she… drawing graphs?" Fang Zixuan asked, peering over his shoulder.
Xu Jianyu adjusted his glasses. "She's probably plotting how to survive you."
Li Zhenkai didn't respond. His gaze lingered a second too long before he returned to his paperwork.
Qin Yunze smirked from the couch. "You know she's insane, right?"
"She's effective," Li Zhenkai said flatly.
Fang grinned. "Effective at making you look at her every five minutes?"
Li Zhenkai's pen paused mid-signature. "Get out."
Fang laughed all the way to the door.
Jiang Yue, oblivious to the teasing in the CEO's office, wrote one final note in her book:
Conclusion: Stay close. Stay alive. Ignore how attractive he looks while doing literally anything.
But it's easier said than done, after all they already have the contract and she going to survive this crush