By the time Qiao Qingman forced herself to fight off the drowsiness and returned home, it was already past one in the morning.
While wondering why tonight’s coffee had been completely ineffective, she did a quick wash-up, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep in a second.
The next day, warm sunlight streamed in through the window. Bathed in the light, Qiao Qingman groggily stretched.
Only then did it slowly dawn on her that she was living inside a novel. Not only did she have to follow the plot, but she also had to kiss the male lead for one hundred consecutive days to keep herself alive.
Qiao Qingman: “……”
Wait. When she left the Gu family villa last night, it was already past midnight?
Then does that mean…
Qiao Qingman asked the system, [If I had kissed the male lead one more time before leaving the Gu family villa last night, would it count as yesterday’s or today’s?]
The system replied, [In theory, as long as the kiss happened after twelve o’clock, it would count as the next day’s.]
Qiao Qingman: “!”
So after she kissed Gu Qianshi last night, what exactly was she doing? How did she forget to ask something so important?
No, wait. Not long after kissing the male lead last night, she had started feeling sleepy. When someone was that tired, let alone thinking about things like this, they did not even feel much like eating.
But why had she been so sleepy?
Qiao Qingman could not quite understand it.
At the same time, she remembered another crucial issue. What about today’s kiss?
Honestly, Qiao Qingman had never imagined that one day, the very first thing she would think about after waking up in the morning would be how to take advantage of a man.
A “ding-dong” from a WeChat message interrupted her thoughts.
She picked up her phone and saw that it was a photo sent by her mother, showing her parents elegantly having breakfast together.
There was also a message: [Has my precious daughter missed Mommy? Daddy and I will be coming home at the end of this month. What gift do you want?]
Her father had taken her mother abroad for business talks. At present, they still did not know that their daughter had made such a spectacle of herself pursuing the male lead, Gu Qianshi.
Once they returned to the country and found out that the daughter they cherished in the palm of their hands had thrown herself at a man, only to be publicly kicked out, and had even chased after him to deliver a handmade lunch that was casually tossed into the trash—
As parents, they would be both heartbroken and furious, and would immediately arrange blind dates for her. The candidates would naturally all be elite heirs of comparable families and outstanding young talents.
Thinking of her parents because of her…
Qiao Qingman’s nose stung.
At that moment, a plot summary from the book related to this appeared in her mind:
[In order to successfully win over Gu Qianshi before her parents returned home, Qiao Qingman decided to follow the age-old principle: to win a man’s heart, first win his stomach. She spent a large sum of money to hire a chef as a teacher. After two exhausting days of lessons, she even burned blisters onto her hands.
Unfortunately, the lovingly prepared lunch was thrown into a nearby trash can by Gu Qianshi the moment he saw the girl he fell in love with at first sight in a bar. Qiao Qingman’s eyes reddened on the spot.]
That girl was the female lead, Su Xia.
Gu Qianshi happened to meet the female lead at the entrance of a bar. She was like a bright moon in the sky, and his cold heart melted instantly.
Then, just a few days later, he saw the female lead again at a cafe near his company. And she, the vicious supporting female character, had the bad sense to appear there as well.
After having her lovingly prepared lunch thrown away, Qiao Qingman watched helplessly as the male lead gazed at the female lead with deep affection. So angry she nearly vomited blood, she shoved the female lead aside on the spot.
Gu Qianshi reacted quickly and caught the female lead. As their eyes met, a strange emotion flowed through the air between them.
After that, Gu Qianshi launched a fervent pursuit of the beautiful and kind female lead.
And she, Qiao Qingman, was nothing but a tool character.
A tool character who not only had to rack her brains over how to kiss the male lead, but also had to be disliked?
So suffocating.
Wait. Qiao Qingman asked the system, [When exactly do the male and female leads meet?]
After a quick search, the system replied, [August 25th.]
August 25th? Wasn’t that today?
Then didn’t this part-time job—no, this kissing opportunity—just arrive right on time?
Having made up her mind, Qiao Qingman cheerfully replied to her mother: [Anything is fine. I like whatever Mommy buys.]
After thinking about it, she sent a kissing emoji and added: [Mommy, I miss you and Daddy.]
The moment the message was sent, Shen Lan’s call came through.
Qiao Qingman was slightly puzzled as she answered it.
Shen Lan’s anxious voice came through the phone. [Baby, do you have something on your mind? Can you tell Mommy about it?]
Qiao Qingman froze, thinking that her mother really knew her too well.
She truly had just run into a troubling issue, and a major one involving her life.
She thought she had hidden it well. How did her mother know?
But this matter was far too depressing and absurd. She should not let her mother worry along with her.
So Qiao Qingman deliberately responded lightly, “Huh? No. Mommy, what could possibly be wrong with me?”
Shen Lan was not quite convinced. “Really nothing?”
Qiao Qingman replied, “Really nothing.”
Shen Lan hesitated for a moment and did not press further.
The mother and daughter chatted about a few other things before ending the call.
After the call ended, Qiao Qingman changed into a casual outfit and went down to the first-floor dining room.
Looking at the abundant breakfast spread on the table, her gaze casually swept over the expensive, exquisite furnishings before her and the extremely luxurious five-story villa. Thinking of her beloved father and mother, Qiao Qingman could not help sighing. She was loved and cherished, and she was this rich. Why would she need a man?
After finishing breakfast, Qiao Qingman, who only needed to “work” in the evening, returned to the second-floor bedroom. She comfortably soaked in a hot spring bath, then lay down on the soft bed and caught up on some extra sleep.
After spending the entire day at ease, she ate dinner and then drove to the bar where the male and female leads would meet for the first time.
This bar was located on a street adjacent to the city center. The environment was elegant, the lighting dim and hazy, and the music gentle and soothing, completely different from the flashy, noisy bars.
Qiao Qingman ordered a glass of white peach soda and wandered through the bar. Before long, she locked onto a familiar figure.
Wasn’t that the male lead, Gu Qianshi?
He was walking forward while listening to someone beside him who looked like an assistant.
The male lead was tall and upright, with refined features and a cold, steady gaze. The well-tailored high-end custom suit he wore exuded an indescribably powerful aura.
Even standing among a crowd, he was hard to ignore.
As for that assistant, Qiao Qingman had no impression of him at all. He was probably newly promoted.
Then he should not know about her “bold declaration”… right?
Thinking of last night’s kiss that left her short of breath, as well as the question he had asked that she could not answer, Qiao Qingman silently swallowed.
She clenched her fists and pushed through the crowd until she reached the man.
“Gu Qianshi?”
Qiao Qingman called out his name.
Meeting his deep gaze, which clearly had not yet grasped the situation, she casually placed the glass in her hand into the hands of the unfamiliar assistant beside him.
She took a deep breath, lifted both hands to cup the man’s face, rose onto her tiptoes, tilted her chin up, and planted a loud kiss on him.
Immediately, the system’s broadcast sounded in her mind: [Second day’s kiss, check-in successful.]
A thought flashed through Qiao Qingman’s mind. Huh? There’s a notification now?
Right after that, she covered her mouth and prepared to make a swift escape.
Qiao Qingman had planned this in advance.
Since she did not want to maintain any damn deeply-in-love persona, other than kissing him while he was asleep, she only had one other option.
That was to find another way. Catch him off guard and steal a kiss.
However, she had barely taken one step when the man behind her, whose eyes were filled with shock after being kissed by her, grabbed her by the back of the neck, stopping her in her tracks.
The man’s broad palm exerted slight pressure, forcing Qiao Qingman to turn around.
Just like that, she inevitably met the man’s composed, unhurried gaze. “Miss Qiao, care to explain?”
Explain why she suddenly kissed him again?
Qiao Qingman, who had intended to kiss him amid the chaos and run: “……”
The distance between the two was too close. Even though the surroundings were rather noisy, the oppressive presence emanating from the man still rushed toward Qiao Qingman without restraint.
On top of that, she was already in the wrong. Left with no choice, after thinking it over, Qiao Qingman could only maintain her original character setting.
She sighed softly in her heart. On the surface, she forced out a sweet smile, blinking her charming large eyes and imitating the affectionate look seen in television dramas. “Gu Qianshi, you know I like you. As they say, one day apart feels like three autumns.”
“Now that I’ve seen you, of course I couldn’t help but… want to kiss you.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, while her heart was screaming internally: help! What kind of ridiculous obsessive-lover nonsense is this?
If anyone ever told her that just seeing her made them unable to resist kissing her, she would really punch them without mercy.
The moment that thought surfaced, Qiao Qingman felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.
But in the next instant, the back of her head was wrapped by the man’s arm, and an unexpected warm touch descended upon her.
Qiao Qingman’s breathing stalled. Her eyes widened abruptly as she reflexively pressed her hands against the man’s chest, her entire body enveloped in his embrace.
H-how did she get kissed again?
The man once again pried open her teeth, fine, dense softness roaming over the tip of her tongue, bringing waves of tingling numbness.
Qiao Qingman’s mind immediately fell into chaos.
She quickly regained her senses, noticing that the force restraining her had loosened. Seizing the chance to breathe, Qiao Qingman shoved the man away and stared at him in shock. “You… how could you…”
She saw the man calmly lift his eyelids. “One day apart feels like three autumns?”
The words of accusation Qiao Qingman had been about to say would not come out.
She bit her lower lip tightly. Sensing that the assistant-like man beside them seemed to glance at her, Qiao Qingman felt too embarrassed to continue questioning him. Her mind in a daze, she immediately ran off.
She did not notice at all that the man she had kissed first watched her slender figure disappear through the doorway. He then glanced toward the man who had just walked into a private booth in the corner of the bar and shortly afterward stepped outside to answer a call, and casually rotated the watch on his wrist.
It seemed that this Miss Qiao Qingman had once again mistaken him for his older brother, Gu Qianshi, and remained completely unaware of it.
Although he knew the two of them looked exactly alike, could a girl who supposedly “loved him so deeply that she wanted to kiss him the moment she saw him” really be unable to tell them apart twice in a row?
“Sorry, Boss. That lady probably mistook you for… rest assured, I’ll have her escorted out of the bar and make sure she never steps inside again.”
After recovering from his initial shock, Secretary Jiang quickly spoke respectfully.
He had followed Gu Qingshan for many years, watching him rise step by step from obscurity to a level so powerful it left others far behind.
During that time, quite a few women had tried all kinds of methods to climb into Gu Qingshan’s bed. Not only had none of them succeeded, they had all been warned to varying degrees. Some had even seen their family businesses…
This kind of situation, where a woman walked up and directly held his boss’s face to kiss him while calling him by the wrong name, was something Secretary Jiang was seeing for the first time.
What was even more astonishing was that his boss had actually responded. And the way he responded was quite…
Even so, Secretary Jiang did not believe this woman would come to any good end.
Then he saw his boss’s cold lips curve slightly. “No need.”
In Gu Qingshan’s view, Qiao Qingman had clearly come to the bar for Gu Qianshi, but it did not seem to be out of “liking.”
Rather…
At that moment, Gu Qingshan felt something under his foot. He lowered his head and saw a set of car keys on the floor.
Hanging from the keys was a cartoon green kitten, and on the kitten’s little ear was printed the character “Man[1]漫 jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1779629_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1779629_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
Thinking of the girl who had inexplicably kissed him again, Gu Qingshan bent down and picked up the keys.
His fingertip pressed against a slightly sharp spot on the keychain. Looking at the indentation left on his fingertip, there was no fluctuation in the man’s eyes.
As expected, he could not feel pain anywhere, even when it came to that girl’s belongings.
Except… that girl herself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the glass in Secretary Jiang’s hand. Under the other man’s surprised gaze, Gu Qingshan took the glass and brought it to his lips for a light sip.
He tasted nothing.
Instead, when Qiao Qingman kissed him, there had been a faint, sweet fragrance.
“What drink is this?”
Secretary Jiang took a second to react. “It looks like… white peach soda.”
White peach?
So that scent was the taste of white peach?
After last night and tonight, Gu Qingshan was almost certain that Qiao Qingman was probably the only girl so far who could make him experience normal sensations of pain and taste.
Qiao Qingman—
What exactly was special about her?
“President Gu, Nie Huaiming has arrived,” Secretary Jiang said nearby.
Hearing this, Gu Qianshi gave a flat “Mm” and issued an instruction. “Have someone keep an eye on this place. If she comes back, inform me immediately.”
He turned and strode away.
“Yes!”
Secretary Jiang was shaken and bewildered inside. On the surface, however, he calmly followed, while wondering about all of his boss’s behavior today and continuing to report on the work that had just been interrupted by that young woman, as well as the matter of Nie Huaiming taking over the bar’s management.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Qiao Qingman did not slow down until she ran out of the bar. Her heart was still pounding wildly.
She covered her lips, which had been deeply kissed for the second time, her nose stinging.
Wuwuwuwu. She had clearly prepared herself. So why had that man kissed her back again?
Why did the male lead keep kissing her?
Qiao Qingman clutched her chest in distress. When she looked up, she saw that the male lead had actually chased after her?
He chased after her? And at the moment their gazes met, his brows knitted tightly?
He was frowning?
He had already kissed her deeply, leaving her speechless with his questions for two days in a row.
And he was still frowning?
Qiao Qingman’s bad temper flared.
Since she did not need to maintain the deeply-in-love-with-the-male-lead persona when she was not following the plot, Qiao Qingman sprinted back to the bar entrance and stomped hard on Gu Qianshi’s foot.
Then she lifted her chin and snorted coldly. “Hmph!”
Damn man!
She shoved him away, greased her feet, and darted off.
Leaving behind a completely baffled Gu Qianshi, his face dark. “Qiao Qingman—”
What the hell are you doing?!
References[+]