Xiao Ruoruo wiped the sweat from her forehead and nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned to find a handsome man standing alarmingly close. "Ah!" she gasped, stumbling backward. Just as she was about to fall, the man caught her in his arms, and their eyes locked in a moment of intense connection.
"Ruotang..." Yan Beichen murmured dreamily.
Fang Zhiyi, who had just stepped out, covered his eyes in exasperation. Seriously? Of all the people to run into each other...
"Pervert!" Xiao Ruoruo snapped, wrenching herself free from Yan Beichen's embrace. She hopped onto her electric scooter and sped off, leaving Yan Beichen staring wistfully after her.
"Thirty minutes. I want all her information," Yan Beichen declared, slipping into full domineering CEO mode.
Fang Zhiyi sighed, rummaged through his bag, and handed Yan Beichen a document. "Here."
Yan Beichen blinked in confusion. Fang Zhiyi waved the paper impatiently. "Her resume."
As Yan Beichen hurried away, Fang Zhiyi stared at the deep scratches on his car, lost in thought.
Back home, Xiao Ruoruo spent the next hour cursing Fang Zhiyi’s name before her thoughts drifted back to the handsome stranger. Her heart fluttered, and her cheeks flushed pink—until a sharp knock at her door interrupted her reverie.
"Who is it?"
She froze when she opened the door to find two police officers standing outside.
"Xiao Ruoruo? You’re under suspicion of intentional property damage. Come with us," one officer said, holding up his phone. "The surveillance footage is pretty clear."
No sooner had she been taken away than Yan Beichen arrived at her apartment. After knocking repeatedly with no answer, he resigned himself to waiting in his car.
At the police station, Xiao Ruoruo sobbed dramatically but refused to admit any wrongdoing or offer compensation—until Fang Zhiyi’s lawyer arrived. Reluctantly, she scrawled her signature on the settlement agreement, all the while muttering curses under her breath.
The lawyer coolly turned to the officers. "My client declines mediation. That car was his cherished companion, and he insists on pressing charges under public security laws against this... young lady."
Xiao Ruoruo exploded. "I already paid! What more do you want? Rich people think they can just bully others, huh?"
Even the officers sighed in exasperation. Lady, with that attitude, did she really expect any leniency?
Though the male and female leads of this world were clearly unhinged, at least the side characters had common sense. In the end, Xiao Ruoruo—still unrepentant—was sentenced to five days in detention.
Meanwhile, the domineering CEO Yan Beichen camped outside her apartment for five straight days. When a disheveled woman trudged up the stairs, glaring daggers at the world, he barely glanced her way. He’d been sleeping in his car for days, obsessed with finding the woman who resembled Ruotang.
But then—his gaze flicked upward. The building was lined with small studio apartments, their doors visible from the hallway. And there she was, the same disheveled woman, unlocking the very door he’d knocked on days before.
"Huh?" Yan Beichen’s eyes widened. A burglar? He bolted from his car and raced upstairs. The door was left slightly ajar as the woman slumped onto a stool in the entryway, still grumbling—something about Fang Zhiyi.
The next second, the door was flung open. Xiao Ruoruo barely had time to register the loud thud against her forehead before she looked up and saw a sleep-deprived man peering down at her.
"You—" The world spun, and she blacked out.
Yan Beichen reached for her, only to freeze when he recognized her face beneath the tangled hair. Despite the grime, it was her—the girl from that day!
"What’s wrong? Hey?" He dropped to his knees, cradling her.
Back at the company, Fang Zhiyi wasn’t idle either. With Yan Beichen absent for three days, paperwork had piled up. Normally, Fang Zhiyi would handle it, but now? Not his job, not his pay grade. If he messed up, who’d take the blame?
He made a few perfunctory calls to Yan Beichen, but the CEO—still holding a grudge—ignored him. So Fang Zhiyi kept calling, hanging up the moment Yan Beichen answered. Furious, Yan Beichen shut off his phone. Nothing mattered more than his elusive white moonlight.
Realizing Yan Beichen had gone off-grid, Fang Zhiyi contacted the semi-retired chairman—Yan Beichen’s father.
"What? The bidding deadline’s approaching, and Beichen’s unreachable? Where is he?" The old man, currently indulging abroad, was livid. "Unreachable? Is he having another episode?" This wasn’t the first time Yan Beichen had vanished—last time, it was for a month after parting ways with Xie Yutang.
Fang Zhiyi feigned concern. "Chairman, if Young Master Yan doesn’t return soon, the board won’t be pleased..."
The chairman fell silent. The Yan Group wasn’t his alone—other shareholders had stakes too.
Fang Zhiyi cut to the chase. "Should I bring Young Master Nanzhe in?"
"Nanzhe’s still young... but with you overseeing things, it should be manageable." After a pause, the chairman agreed. His younger son could at least stabilize the situation temporarily.
"Don’t worry, Chairman. I’ll handle everything!"
Soon, Yan Nanzhe was escorted to the company, where Fang Zhiyi led him straight to the CEO’s office.
Yan Nanzhe shifted uncomfortably as Fang Zhiyi seated him at the desk. "Brother Fang, isn’t this... inappropriate? If he finds out—"
Fang Zhiyi waved him off. "Just sit." Then, lowering his voice, "Haven’t you ever wanted this seat?"
Yan Nanzhe clenched his jaw. "Fine. I’ll sit."
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "Leave the rest to me." He’d learned about Yan Nanzhe from the system—the script’s antagonist, appearing after his own death. A spoiled playboy, Yan Nanzhe had a notoriously volatile relationship with his brother, as if their very names clashed.
Yan Nanzhe’s ambition had been sparked at a party where someone mocked him for living in Yan Beichen’s shadow. Enraged, he vowed to seize the throne. Though he’d schemed his way into the company, how could a side character defeat the protagonist? His fate was a tragic plunge from a rooftop.
Fang Zhiyi worked swiftly. Since Yan Beichen spent most of his time playing CEO while Fang Zhiyi did the actual work, it took less than half a day for the entire company to recognize Yan Nanzhe as the new authority.
Employees had no complaints—Yan Nanzhe was far more approachable during meetings than his brother, who’d threaten to "bury" people at the slightest provocation.
With everything in place, Fang Zhiyi arranged a shareholders’ meeting for Yan Nanzhe. Though the chairman had only asked for a temporary stand-in, Fang Zhiyi intended to make it permanent. After all, Yan Beichen had burned plenty of bridges.