Today Jiang Yue should have been at her desk, sipping tea and quietly avoiding danger.
Instead, she found herself following Tessa down the corridor like a moth drawn to an industrial strength flame.
"Why am I here again?" Jiang Yue whispered.
"Because," Tessa said, adjusting her glasses like she was about to deliver a TED Talk, "our boss just called an emergency meeting, and it's about to be the corporate equivalent of a bloodbath. Do you want to miss this kind of drama?"
Jiang Yue hesitated. "Drama equals trouble. Trouble equals danger. Danger equals—"
"Cake," Tessa interrupted.
"…What?"
"They always order cake for strategy sessions."
Jiang Yue's brain flatlined for a second. "Fine. Cake."
---
The conference room was a fortress of glass and steel, packed with senior executives, analysts, and the Iceberg himself.
Li Zhenkai sat at the head of the table like he'd been carved from cold precision, his fingers tapped on the table as a series of charts flashed on the massive screen.
Xu Jianyu stood on his left, expression sharp. Qin Yunze was on his right, tapping a tablet, while Fang Zixuan lounged in a chair like he was only here for the entertainment value.
Jiang Yue hovered in the back with Tessa, who was already demolishing a slice of chocolate cake.
"Competitor leaked internal reports," Xu Jianyu said, his voice clipped. "If we don't counter, we'll lose three clients in seventy-two hours."
The room tensed. Jiang Yue's palms grew clammy.
Li Zhenkai didn't flinch. "Pull the financial strings," he ordered. "Buy out their supplier. Quietly. By tomorrow morning."
One executive sputtered, "That's—impossible—"
"Then make it possible," Li Zhenkai cut in, his tone soft but lethal.
Even from the back of the room, Jiang Yue's breath hitched. Wow.
This wasn't just a man. This was a hurricane in a tailored suit.
And when his gaze slid briefly, deliberately towards her?
Her system chimed.
[Luck: 72%.]
Her eyes widened. Okay… this is new.
---
"Yunze," Li Zhenkai continued, his voice steady, "trace the leak. I want names, locations, timestamps. No mistakes."
Qin Yunze gave a single, calm nod. "Already on it."
"Jianyu, draw up the acquisition contracts. Fang, distract the press. Spread a rumor if you have to."
Fang grinned like a wolf. "Consider it done. I have three journalists on speed dial who owe me favors."
Li Zhenkai's gaze swept the room, sharp enough to pin the executives in their seats.
"This isn't a setback," he said. "It's a test. And I don't fail tests."
The room collectively exhaled. Jiang Yue, on the other hand, nearly forgot how breathing worked.
Beside her, Tessa leaned closer and whispered, "I'd say I'm attracted to his brainpower, but honestly? I'm a little scared."
"Same," Jiang Yue muttered, gripping her notepad like it was a lifeline.
---
As the meeting dissolved into controlled chaos, orders flying, executives scrambling,
Li Zhenkai glanced up again.
Directly at her.
It wasn't long. Just a second. But it was enough to make her feel as if he'd looked straight through her, stripping away every flimsy excuse she'd told herself for staying near him.
Her heart stuttered.
Her luck bar jumped again.
[Luck: 75%.]
"Okay," Jiang Yue whispered under her breath, "either this man is literally my charm… or I've developed some kind of survival based crush."
"Crush?" Tessa perked up.
"I SAID LUNCH," Jiang Yue hissed, reddening.
The meeting wrapped up two hours later. Executives left pale faced but determined, and Li Zhenkai stayed behind, talking quietly with his friends.
Jiang Yue made the mistake of lingering.
Xu Jianyu spotted her first, his sharp gaze narrowing slightly. He leaned toward Li Zhenkai. "You ever notice she's… different? That's not the girl who used to work here."
Fang Zixuan smirked. "She's cute. Definitely chaotic. Kind of like… a very lucky cockroach."
Qin Yunze didn't even look up from his tablet. "Cockroaches don't raise stock values."
Li Zhenkai didn't reply.
But later, when the room emptied and he was alone, his hands resting on the polished table, he caught himself thinking back to her wide eyed stare.
Who are you, Jiang Yue?
later on he silently when behind her
"Still alive?" He asked.
Jiang Yue yelped, spinning around. Li Zhenkai stood behind her, silent as a ghost.
"I—I was just"
"Eavesdropping?"
"Learning!" she corrected quickly. "Educational… observation!"
One brow lifted slightly. "You have a strange definition of educational."
She forced a smile. "Thanks… for saving the company from imploding?"
"I wasn't saving it," he said calmly. "I was crushing anyone stupid enough to test me."
Her system pinged again.
[Emotional Impact on ML: 38%.]
Oh, fantastic. Now she was falling for a ruthless businessman with a heart colder than Antarctica.
And the worst part?
He held the door open for her on their way out.
Like a gentleman.
And she realized, She was doomed.