On the street.
"Oh, heavens above, is that the Prince Regent on horseback? Who is he chasing?"
"Don't you see the carriage up ahead? I heard he wants to kill the Princess Consort, and she's seeking a divorce from him."
"Tsk tsk, what a heartless bastard. But I have to say, he does cut a dashing figure on that horse."
Dashing He Gu led two thousand—no wait, two hundred hidden guards (because two thousand couldn't fit down one street)—galloping toward them. Just as he was about to let out a handsome roar, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to prostrate himself on the ground.
So, before the eyes of everyone present, he abruptly dismounted, knocked the horse unconscious with a single chop of his hand, and dropped to the ground, huffing and puffing as he hoisted the beast onto his back.
He crawled forward step by step with the horse, shouting as he went: "Princess Consort! I, your prince, command you to return to the residence with me at once!"
The passersby and the two hundred hidden guards stood dumbfounded.
Ning Ruyue covered her face and turned away: "How could I have ever taken a liking to this thing?"
The Princess Consort's carriage quickly vanished from sight.
Under the growing gaze of curious onlookers, He Gu crawled along darkly in the rear, the horse still on his back.
Shu Yan almost couldn't hold back her laughter.
"System, System, cue the Plotline for me."
At this rate, Task 2 could be completed today as well.
The System's electronic voice rang out: [I'm sorry, but you cannot modify the next Plotline until the previous one is completed.]
"Huh?" Shu Yan was taken aback. "So how much longer does he have to crawl?"
[Estimated time: one day.]
Fine, she'd do it tomorrow then. For now, she'd head back and give Zhou Chu and Lin Qinglan a nice slap across the face.
"System, after I exit the Plotline, will my task character disappear?"
[No. Your task character will be taken over by the original persona, who will receive all memories from during your task period (excluding the process of Plotline modification).]
Alright then. Shu Yan silently apologized to the little girl named Lü Yin and exited the Plotline.
"Hey, System, can I use text-editing on the Plotline happening in my real life?"
[Not for now. You can only use System Items,] the System said. [However, once the Host completes more tasks, the Reality Text-Editing Function will also be unlocked. Please keep up the good work, Host.]
Shu Yan excitedly pondered what she would edit when that time came, when suddenly her phone rang.
She opened her phone—tch, it was a call from Zhou Group, the subsidiary company under Zhou Chu's management.
Back when he was chasing her, that scumbag Zhou Chu had scared off every one of her employers one by one, forcing her to join his company as his assistant.
Then, after his White Moonlight Lin Qinglan came back, she was swiftly kicked out of Zhou Group, and the assistant position went to Lin Qinglan.
Not only that—they had withheld all her personal belongings, including the last birthday gift her mother had ever given her.
When she went to Zhou Chu to demand those things back, he and Lin Qinglan had thrown her out without mercy. They wouldn't return her belongings, and they slapped her hard across the face.
One was the young master of Zhou Group, the other the eldest miss of Lin Group. Pfft, she wondered what it would look like if those two brawled each other.
Shu Yan answered the phone. On the other end came Lin Qinglan's sweet but cold voice: "Shu Yan, come to the company."
"Oh, and who do you think you are, Lin Qinglan? I'm no longer a Zhou Group employee. I don't have time."
With that, Shu Yan hung up.
Two seconds later, the phone rang again. Lin Qinglan's voice was laced with suppressed fury: "Shu Yan, I have something to ask you. Would you please come over? Is that alright?"
This time Shu Yan agreed, hung up the phone, and headed for Zhou Corporation.
She'd been looking for an excuse to watch the Automatic Slapping Artifact in action live, anyway.
The System whispered slyly: [Yan Yan, you're too wicked.]
Shu Yan's lips curled into a hint of seduction, a hint of coldness, and a hint of nonchalance: "A wicked woman is what men love."
[Shocked. I never knew you were this kind of Yan Yan.]
"Take it easy. There's plenty more where that came from to shock you."
Shu Yan arrived at the company and was escorted to the assistant's office.
She had her phone tucked in her pocket, casually opened the voice recorder, and started recording.
Nothing special—just a precaution. When dealing with trash people, it never hurts to keep a card up your sleeve.
Lin Qinglan was impeccably made up, a silk blouse paired with a skirt, pearl earrings lending her face an air of innocence and gentleness. She swept a glance over Shu Yan's casual outfit, and a hint of disdain crept into her eyes.
"Really, I'm so sorry, sis. The moment I arrived, you got fired… Oh, but Brother Chu can't bear to see me tired. I've been here three days and still haven't figured out his schedule…"
Shu Yan rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked out.
"Hey, hey!" Lin Qinglan panicked, hurrying around the desk: "Shu Yan, don't go!"
"Don't leave, I really have something to ask. When you were his assistant, how did you arrange his schedule, how did you write the business plans, how did you organize the weekly meetings?"
She was indeed the eldest daughter of the Lin family, but the Lins were barely a third-rate clan in Tuchuan these days.
Her parents wanted nothing but to marry her off for connections—everything she'd learned was how to charm men. The job of a CEO's assistant? She had no clue how to do it!
Shu Yan looked at her with perfect composure: "Miss Lin, what makes you think I'd teach you?"
"You—"
Lin Qinglan was momentarily furious. Just then the door swung open, and Zhou Chu strode in, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit. Lin Qinglan's eyes instantly welled with tears: "Sister Shu, even if you refuse to forgive me, there's no need to be so arrogant!"
"Shu Yan?" Zhou Chu's sharply chiseled brows knitted in a deep frown: "What are you doing here? What did you do to Lanlan?"
"Tsk. You two really are a pair of troublemakers."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Chu's expression turned icy: "Shu Yan, we have nothing to do with each other anymore. I'm warning you—you're nothing but a little stand-in. Don't forget your place!"
Shu Yan didn't bother responding. She walked briskly out of the office and ducked into the break room.
Ten minutes later, the CEO called a meeting.
Shu Yan watched as key personnel from every department filed into the conference room, then quickly summoned the System: "Quick, System, now's the time. Use that package on them."
[Alright. 20 slaps total, limited to 2 people.]
"Isn't that perfect? Give Zhou Chu and Lin Qinglan ten slaps each."
[Got it, Yan Yan.]
Conference room.
"So, now let's have Miss Lin report on her work." Zhou Chu turned to look at Lin Qinglan, his gaze full of affection.
Lin Qinglan smiled shyly and cleared her throat.
This was her first time appearing before so many people after replacing Shu Yan, and she had to project the aura of a future CEO's wife.
Lin Qinglan straightened her back, letting her aristocratic elegance flow naturally. She'd barely gotten through a week's worth of work when Zhou Chu's expression suddenly shifted—and smack, he slapped her across the face!
"Ch-Chu gege?" Lin Qinglan clutched her cheek, staring at him in shock: "You… you hit me?"
Zhou Chu stared at his own hand in disbelief.
Was he insane? Why had he suddenly—
His expression shifted again, and with lightning speed, he delivered another slap to Lin Qinglan's face!
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
What was Young Master Zhou doing?
Even if he was dissatisfied with Miss Lin's work, there was no need to slap her in public, was there?
Lin Qinglan's eyes brimmed with tears as she lifted her head pitifully: "Brother Chu…"
Before she could finish her sentence, smack, smack—she delivered two slaps to Zhou Chu.
"Lanlan, how could you do this…" Zhou Chu's face twisted in pain, and he gave her two slaps in return.
The crowd stared in shock at the two of them brawling.
Truly, the ways of the wealthy—they sure knew how to play.
Smack, smack, smack, smack.
Snapping back to their senses, everyone rushed to break it up, but the two were like rabid dogs, each refusing to let go of the other, until they had each delivered a full ten slaps.
"Brother Chu!"
"Lanlan!"
After finishing, the two embraced each other with heart-wrenching cries.
The crowd: "…"
Are you two alright?
Bang—
The conference room door had somehow opened, and some troublemaker had dragged in Wang Dazui the janitor. Wang Dazui's big mouth hung wide open in an O shape, utterly entranced by the scene, as a broom slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.
Shu Yan slipped away quickly, concealing her deeds without a trace.
Descending to the second floor, Shu Yan stepped out of the elevator, turned a corner, and lightly knocked on an office door.
Behind the door, a woman sat with her legs propped up on the desk, utterly unrestrained. She didn't bother to compose herself upon seeing Shu Yan: "Oh, Shu Yan, what brings you here?"
Diao Si—female, Zhou Corporation's genius fashion designer and design director, whose works had repeatedly won international awards. She was wild and untamed, with a fierce love for money.
Zhou Corporation's fashion brand had climbed to the forefront of the nation, and Diao Si was the indispensable soul behind it.
Shu Yan walked in, recalling this person's background, and plopped herself down: "I'm here to poach you."
"Oh? I'm not easy to poach." Diao Si raised an eyebrow. "If you can't meet my price, there's nothing to discuss."
"And how do you know I can't offer what you're asking?"
Diao Si's expression turned serious: "Shu Yan, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is," Shu Yan straightened up and said slowly, "leave Zhou Corporation, and together, we'll build our own business empire. How about it?"