Working overtime is tough.

After the Sweet and Sour Battle, the world's will fell into a longer period of silence, presumably while urgently patching and upgrading the algorithm in the background.

Lin Jingshang enjoyed a few rare days of peace and quiet, and even missed the glowing subtitles that would occasionally pop up to spoil the plot; at least those proved that he wasn't just an ordinary office worker.

His collaboration with Xie Dang has entered a new phase. In addition to guarding against possible new plot developments, they have begun to consciously record and categorize the world loopholes that have already appeared.

Xie Dang's tablet contains an encrypted folder, which is categorized and recorded as follows: item texture errors (fluorescent green orchid, pixel chandelier), temporary failure of physics rules (cola and red wine, gummy candy railing), and chaos caused by logical conflicts (blue spaghetti)...

"We need to find the patterns in the occurrence of vulnerabilities and their correlation with the interference we've done," Xie Dang said in a WeChat chat.

Looking at the dense tables and graphs on the screen, Lin Jingshang felt a bit overwhelmed. He would rather go to the rooftop again and hang up than analyze this data.

So he couldn't help but complain: "Mr. Xie, we're exploiting a world bug, not writing a graduation thesis."

Xie Dang replied: "A rigorous attitude is the cornerstone of success for any project."

Lin Jingshang: "..."

Okay, you're handsome, so you're right.

Although fighting against the world is their main job, most of his life is still filled with the ordinary daily routine of a corporate slave.

Lin Jingshang still has to write endless reports, deal with Manager Zhang's nagging, and joke around with colleagues. Xie Dang remains the same busy, imposing CEO.

The only difference is that they now share some everyday moments that are limited to just the two of them.

Lin Jingshang discovers that Xie Dang has a secret—his heart beats fast and he becomes a bit talkative when he drinks too much coffee.

Once, after a five-hour meeting, Xie Dang downed his fifth cup of black coffee of the day.

Then, Lin Jingshang received a five-minute voice message from him, which ranged from optimizing the company's procurement process to discussing which coffee beans theoretically have the longest shelf life for interstellar travel.

Lin Jingshang listened to the person on the phone, whose tone was flat but whose speaking speed was obviously faster, and he was trying so hard not to laugh that his stomach hurt.

He replied, "Mr. Xie, why don't you go and rest for a while?"

The other party replied instantly: "I don't need to rest. Do you think we'll still need coffee after humans achieve consciousness uploading in the future?"

Lin Jingshang: "..."

Well, this bug is quite uniquely exploited.

Lin Jingshang noticed that small items would occasionally appear on his workstation. A box of exquisitely packaged handmade lemon candies that tasted far superior to the sweet and sour pork in the cafeteria, and a cushion to relieve his neck problems caused by long hours of desk work.

There was no signature, but he knew who it was even with his toes.

He messaged Xie Dang: "The candy is delicious, and the cushion is very comfortable. Thank you, Mr. Xie."

Xie Dang replied: [Yes, the candy was a gift from our partner, and the cushions were samples purchased by the administration department. Just make sure they suit you.]

Looking at this blatant attempt to cover up his misunderstanding, Lin Jingshang couldn't help but smile. He picked up a lemon candy and put it in his mouth, the sweet and sour taste melting on his tongue.

Another time, Lin Jingshang was working overtime until late at night when a torrential downpour began. He was wondering how to get home when his phone lit up with a message from Xie Dang: [Basement Parking, Section B, license plate xxxx.]

He paused for a moment, his heart skipped a beat, and replied, "Mr. Xie, you haven't left yet?"

Xie Dang: [Just finished work.]

Lin Jingshang ran to the underground parking lot with an umbrella, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat, still a little wet. The car's air conditioning was at a comfortable temperature, playing soothing instrumental music, completely different from the cold and hard feeling he had imagined a CEO's car should have.

Xie Dang didn't look at him, but handed him a clean, soft towel.

"Wipe it."

"Thank you." Lin Jingshang took the towel and wiped the water droplets from his hair.

The carriage was quiet, with raindrops tapping on the windows and melodious music playing in the background.

He stole a glance at Xie Dang, who was driving. His profile looked particularly cold and stern in the dim light, but his hands on the steering wheel were very steady.

There was no forced plot, no worldly will to contend with. A chance encounter on a rainy night, however, moved Lin Jingshang more than any pre-arranged romantic scene.

The car came to a stop in front of his rented apartment building.

"Thank you, Mr. Xie." Lin Jingshang thanked him again and prepared to get out of the car.

"Lin Jingshang," Xie Dang suddenly called out to him.

"Hmm?" Lin Jingshang turned around.

Xie Dang's gaze seemed to linger for a moment on his still slightly damp hair before moving away, his tone indifferent: "It'll be colder tomorrow, wear more clothes."

After saying that, she gestured for him to leave.

Lin Jingshang stood downstairs at the apartment building, watching the black sedan smoothly drive into the rain and disappear from sight before turning around and going home.

The period of silence in the world's will is longer than expected.

A week has passed, and Lin Jingshang's eyes are still as clean as if they have been washed with water. He even began to wonder if he and Xie Dang had gone too far with the bug and ruined it.

That afternoon, he was dozing off while looking at a data report when Manager Zhang swayed over with his not-so-flexible waist and placed a thick stack of documents on his desk.

"Jing Shang, headquarters needs an urgent document—an in-depth analysis of last quarter's market feedback. They need it by tomorrow morning." Manager Zhang patted him on the shoulder with a beaming smile. "The capable should do more. Thank you for working overtime."

Lin Jingshang stared at the stack of documents, which was almost as thick as a dictionary, and his vision went black.

In-depth analysis? Tomorrow morning?

This is clearly designed to keep him up all night!

He tried to explain: "Manager, this amount of data is too large, I'm afraid I can't handle it all by myself..."

"Hey, I believe in your abilities!" Manager Zhang interrupted him, then lowered his voice, "Keep up the good work, and I'll give you the top credit in the year-end evaluation."

Is this just drawing a picture of a cake to satisfy hunger?

Lin Jingshang rolled his eyes inwardly, but could only manage a dry laugh on the surface: "...I'll try my best."

Colleagues around him cast sympathetic glances, then tacitly began packing their things, preparing to leave work on time.

The office was soon empty, leaving Lin Jingshang staring at the pile of documents on his computer screen, which seemed to be mocking him.

He sighed and resignedly opened the first document.

Time passed second by second, and the sky outside the window changed from dusky yellow to pitch black.

Lin Jingshang rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling like a rag doll whose soul had been drained, and his stomach began to rumble uncontrollably. He opened a food delivery app, scrolled through it for a while, but had no appetite; he felt both irritable and exhausted.

Just then, the phone screen lit up.

[Debtor (Coffee)]: Working overtime?

Lin Jingshang was taken aback for a moment, then replied: [President Xie? How did you know?]

[Debtor (Coffee)]: I see your workstation light is still on.

Lin Jingshang subconsciously looked up at the office door, but it was empty. He guessed that someone had just passed by and seen it.

[Lin Jingshang]: Hmm, Manager Zhang gave me an urgent task, it's due tomorrow morning.

After sending the message, he tossed his phone aside, not expecting a reply. After all, the CEO was extremely busy; he wouldn't have time to care about a lowly employee's daily overtime routine.

He buried himself back in the sea of ​​data, trying to ignore the emptiness in his stomach.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard very faint footsteps behind him. Lin Jingshang assumed it was a security guard patrolling the building and didn't even look up.

Until a paper bag was placed on the corner of his table.

Lin Jingshang slowly raised his head.

Xie Dang stood by his desk, having changed out of his suit and into a simple black shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to his forearms. His face was expressionless, but he gestured with his eyes towards the paper bag.

"I passed by a store and bought too much."

Lin Jingshang looked down at the paper bag. Inside was a thermal container and a cup of freshly squeezed juice that looked expensive. He opened the thermal container, and the aroma of steam mixed with the simple fragrance of food wafted out. It was steamed egg with shrimp, several delicate vegetarian dishes, and rice that was cooked to the perfect consistency.

It didn't look like they bought too much at all; it was clearly prepared on purpose, and considering he might be too hungry, the food was all very bland.

Lin Jingshang held the still-warm spoon, his throat tightening slightly. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, such as "thank you," or "this is too much trouble for you."

Xie Dang didn't give him a chance. The man's gaze swept over the dense data on his screen, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Which part?

"Huh?" Lin Jingshang didn't react.

"Report." Xie Dang pulled up a chair from the workstation next to him, sat down naturally, and took out his tablet. "Which part is stuck?"

"So... data correlation analysis, and conclusion extraction..." Lin Jingshang was a little confused and answered subconsciously.

Xie Dang didn't speak again, his fingers quickly swiping across the tablet screen to bring up relevant information. Then he picked up another reference document from Lin Jingshang's desk and began to read it. His focused expression made it seem as if he were dealing with a multi-million dollar merger and acquisition deal.

The steamed egg was tender and smooth, and the shrimp was bouncy and springy. My stomach felt warm, and even the irritability and grievances in my heart gradually disappeared.

Lin Jingshang silently finished his meal, then took a deep breath and threw himself back into the battle. Suddenly, the data on the screen no longer seemed so repulsive.

After a while, Xie Dang handed over the tablet, which contained several key data relationship diagrams and a framework of conclusions that he had compiled, all presented clearly and concisely.

"Take a look at this line of thinking."

Lin Jingshang took it, his eyes lighting up: "Yes! This is it! How come I never thought of connecting things like this before!"

In the following hours, the two worked together efficiently, one outlining the framework and the other filling in the details. What was originally planned to be an all-nighter saw the light of victory before 11 p.m.

When Lin Jingshang typed the last period and saved the document, he almost leaned back in his chair, nearly exhausted, but he felt more relaxed than ever before.

He turned his head, wanting to say to Xie Dang, "Finally done," but found the man leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, breathing evenly and deeply, as if he were asleep.

The screen light shone on his face, his expression serene, his eyelashes long, making him look somewhat... well-behaved.