Restructuring of values

Back in the original owner's not-so-large but cozy apartment, Qu Shiyao threw herself heavily onto the sofa, like a melting slime.

Only now did she have time to sort out this bizarre day, one that was so extraordinary it could be included in a story magazine.

In the real world, she was a relentless corporate slave, codenamed "007." After working overtime all night, everything went black, and when she woke up, she found herself bound to something that called itself a "novel adaptation system."

The system said that as long as she transmigrated into this old-fashioned, melodramatic CEO novel, played the role of the female lead Qu Shiyao well, and gained high praise from readers through "reasonable adaptation" of the plot, she could be resurrected on the spot once she accumulated enough points.

Conversely? Game over.

So she came.

This system is stingy; the initial modification permissions are pitifully low, and it only allows you to exploit a tiny loophole each day.

The effects of the modifications and the upgrades in permissions depend entirely on the readership and positive reviews in the other world.

Usually, once changes are made here, feedback won't be available in the other world until 9 a.m. the next day.

It's said that because the update is at 1 a.m., it would take several hours of data to determine the ratings for those chapters based on reader comments.

"System!" Qu Shiyao asked, slumped over, "Time is flowing like crazy here, but what's wrong with my body in the real world? Is it going to stink?"

[Don't worry, host!] The system will assure you immediately.

[Your body in the real world is currently in a deep dormant state, medically known as a vegetative state, lying in a VIP ward with professional caregivers providing 24-hour care!]

[Your vital signs are stable! As long as you complete the mission, you can be fully recovered at any time! Therefore, please do your best to improve reader ratings!]

Improve the evaluation? Qu Shiyao sat up with a somersault.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!

"System! Quickly go through the melodramatic outline at the end of the original story for me! I need the key points! I need the essence! I need to see where to start cutting... no, I need to start rewriting!"

The system cleared its non-existent throat and began chanting:

[In short, the subsequent plot: The female lead gains entry into the male lead's company. The male lead quickly recognizes her as the audacious woman from that night.]

Thus began a torturous ordeal that lasted for N chapters! But! Because the female lead looks exactly like the male lead's beloved first love...

"Wait!" Qu Shiyao called out urgently, looking like she'd been struck by lightning. "A stand-in trope?! What era are we living in? How outdated is that?!"

Well…

The system data is flickering.

[I heard that when this novel was published, the stand-in trope was all the rage? A relic of a bygone era?]

It added uncertainly, and seeing that Qu Shiyao only rolled her eyes and didn't interrupt, it continued reading:

Furthermore, in the original novel, after that night of intimate interaction, the male protagonist unexpectedly discovered that the female protagonist's body was very compatible with his.

[And so, the torment escalated! Abuse at work during the day, and at night... well... afterwards, they ended up living together, half-heartedly.]

"Wait a minute!" Qu Shiyao got goosebumps all over her body and her voice rose octaves.

"Did this female lead get her brain slammed in a door?! She's abused like a dog during the day, and then she can still sleep with her abuser at night?! Does she have Stockholm Syndrome or is her masochistic nature just suddenly unleashed?! Does this make any sense?!"

【How is that possible!】

The system also seemed to be crashing.

Based on my analysis, it's highly likely that the male lead has some leverage over the female lead and is using it to blackmail her, forcing her to comply?

As a proper system that has been influenced by modern civilization, it also cannot accept this distorted logic.

Qu Shiyao waved her hand weakly: "Okay, okay, you can continue. I'm mentally prepared."

[Meanwhile, the eldest daughter of the Su family, as the number one villainous female supporting character, falls deeply in love with the male lead and is parachuted into the company.]

[She discovers the male and female leads are living together and begins bullying the female lead at work! Meanwhile, the male lead accidentally discovers that the female lead actually had a crush on her childhood sweetheart, the devoted second male lead!]

[The domineering CEO is consumed by jealousy and possessiveness! When he sees the female supporting character bullying the female lead, he not only doesn't stop it, but also watches coldly and even occasionally adds fuel to the fire...]

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Qu Shiyao felt like her CPU was about to burn out, clutching her throbbing temples.

"What kind of twisted logic is this? Doesn't the male lead like the female lead? He not only doesn't help her when she's being bullied, but he also watches the show! Doesn't that mean he hates the female lead to the core?!"

"Also, if the female lead has a childhood sweetheart who she secretly loves, why does she also have that cheating scumbag ex-boyfriend from the beginning? Are these character relationships some kind of spider web that has come to life?!"

【Well……】

The system data flow is disordered and difficult to interpret.

According to big data analysis, male protagonists in these domineering CEO novels typically have three reasons for not helping the female protagonist when she is being bullied:

[First, to vent the anger of "You actually have another scumbag in your heart" to show how much the male protagonist cares;]

Second, increase the "torture" level of the plot to make readers feel sorry for the female lead;

[Third, to provide an opportunity for deeper comfort later in the night, which is said to effectively enhance the "feeling"?]

As for the female lead's ex-boyfriend... is he merely a plot device to advance the core storyline of 'getting drunk at a bar and meeting the male lead'?

The system's voice grew softer and softer, filled with awe for the complex emotional logic of humanity.

Qu Shiyao was too exhausted to complain anymore. She slumped back onto the sofa, her eyes vacant: "...Fine, you continue, I'm lying down."

The system took a deep breath and spoke faster:

[Later, the male lead's first love, his ideal woman, returns from overseas! The male lead dumps the female lead for her sake!]

After losing her job, the female lead unexpectedly lands a job at the second male lead's company. The second male lead transforms into a gentle knight, showering her with care and trying to warm her wounded heart.

However! By this time, the male lead had already "reconciled" with his first love, but at a business party, he caught the female lead behaving intimately with the second male lead, and instantly flew into a rage! He began to suppress and target the second male lead's company!

[The second male lead, Gu Yanxi, also has a secret crush—the male lead's current girlfriend. Later, under the male lead's overwhelming financial power, the second male lead's company goes bankrupt and is acquired, leaving him destitute and out of the picture.]

[After hearing the news of the male lead's engagement, the female lead was heartbroken and packed her bags to leave for a distant place...]

The system took a quick look at Qu Shiyao and found that she had a numb expression on her face, as if asking, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I listening to?" She had obviously given up thinking.

It forced itself to read out the final ending:

After the female lead disappears, the male lead realizes that he truly loves her! So he abandons his fiancée and travels thousands of miles to chase after her to the countryside.

Amidst idyllic rural scenery, the male lead pursues the female lead relentlessly. She then follows him back to the city. Only upon returning does she realize: Oh dear! This guy already has a fiancée!

Thus begins a new round of torturous romance! The vicious female supporting character discovers the female lead has rekindled her jealousy, and her methods escalate!

In a meticulously planned accident, the woman, three months pregnant, tumbled down the stairs and lost her baby!

[And what about the male lead? He's still wavering between his first love and the female lead, completely indecisive!]

[The female protagonist, utterly heartbroken, climbed a cliff by the sea on a dark and stormy night and jumped into the turbulent ocean!]

The male protagonist, clutching the shoe left behind by the female protagonist, stood alone on the edge of the cliff, living from then on in endless regret and longing...

Qu Shiyao: "..."

The air was deathly still.

She silently stood up from the sofa and, like a wandering ghost, drifted to the balcony.

The evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead. She tilted her head back, gazing sadly at the gray, almost starless night sky above the city at a 45-degree angle.

The system silently came to her side and followed her gaze, only to see the neon lights of office buildings flashing in the distance.

【Host……】

The system tried to offer comfort, even though its own values ​​had been shattered into QR codes.

The plot is a bit melodramatic, but as long as we try to revise it...

"This heroine..." Qu Shiyao spoke softly, her voice vague.

"Is the Pacific Ocean on her mind? After being abused a thousand times, she still treats the hero like her first love? Isn't jumping into the sea once enough of a warning to future generations? Why is she also called Qu Shiyao?"

She turned around abruptly, pointing to her own nose, "This name! 'Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream,' 'Poetic and Picturesque,' 'Jade Trees in a Jade Forest'! Just hearing it makes you sound like a gentle, quiet, well-read, thoughtful, and cultured young lady from a distinguished family!"

system:【……】

It secretly scanned its host's current appearance: wearing an overly elegant dress but with its hands on its hips, looking fierce and with a ruthless gaze.

Hmm... Clearly, the current host's compatibility with this name is a tiny bit lower than that of the original female lead.

"So... who gave you this name, host?" the system asked cautiously.

"My dad." Qu Shiyao's tone became calm, tinged with reminiscence.

“My mother is a professor of political science at a university; she is gentle and intellectual. My father runs a martial arts school and is very muscular. When I was born, he probably hoped that I could perfectly combine the advantages of both of them and become a well-rounded lady who is good at both academics and martial arts.”

She shrugged. "Unfortunately, the martial arts school's genes are too strong."

system:【……】

Got it! No wonder her fighting skills are off the charts! It's a family tradition! The martial arts school owner probably felt a bit lost when he discovered that his daughter had only inherited the "martial arts" skills and not the "literary" ones.

"If I'd known the male lead was this kind of scumbag who'd be eating what he already had while eyeing what he didn't..."

Qu Shiyao looked at the night sky, her voice filled with deep regret, "I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to put him in cold water! I should have just dumped him at the door of room 119! Let the three of them play mahjong together!"

system:【……】

You weren't exactly "soft-hearted" back then! That bottle was smashed really hard!

Qu Shiyao didn't take her anger out on the innocent white moonlight Shen Qingyi. Shen Qingyi was the one who was really miserable. She was stalked by her ex-boyfriend as soon as she returned from abroad. She was engaged to him, but her fiancé was still having an affair with a "stand-in".

The second male lead, Gu Yanfeng, is an utterly innocent victim, as his sweetheart is his rival's girlfriend, and his company is even ruined by his rival.

As for the female villain Su Wanwan? Although she is hateful, she is nothing compared to the male protagonist Si Cheng, who is the "source of all evil".

If the male lead had given Su Wanwan a clear warning, she wouldn't have been so arrogant as to directly cause the female lead to miscarry.

"Just as I thought," Qu Shiyao took a deep breath of the night air, which smelled of car exhaust, and tried to calm herself down. "As I get older, I really can't handle any stress. I'm prone to breast hyperplasia, and breast cancer is a warning sign!"

system:【……】

Host, when you were rubbing the male mistress to the ground and knocking the domineering CEO unconscious and soaking him in cold water today, you kept saying "I'm in my prime"!

"Oh right," Qu Shiyao thought of the key question, "How is this masterpiece, a culmination of melodramatic drama, rated in that world?"

System quick search: [Beep... Original work's overall rating: 8.5! A high-scoring masterpiece in its genre!]

"How much?!" Qu Shiyao almost jumped off the balcony, her voice so sharp it could shatter the glass.

"8.5?! What makes it so special?! Because the female lead died tragically enough? Because the male lead's hair was messed up by the sea breeze enough? I'd think the readers are blind if this lousy book even gets a 7!"

【Well…】

The system displayed several highly praised and popular comments.

[Reader A: I cried so much! I cried my eyes out during the scene where the female lead jumped into the sea! It was melodramatic, but so addictive!]

[Reader B: The greatest punishment is that the male protagonist ends up alone! He lost his only true love! This kind of mental torment is more painful than death!]

[Reader C: You don't understand the loneliness of a domineering CEO! He possesses trillions in assets, yet he can never buy back that stubborn little substitute! This is the ultimate in tragic ending aesthetics! A 9/10 rating—don't be arrogant!]

Finally, the system summarized it as, "So...it probably...is because the female lead died decisively enough, and the male lead's 'pain' was profound enough?"

Qu Shiyao was completely petrified after hearing this.

She slowly, very slowly squatted down, holding her head in her hands, as if bearing an unbearable weight of life.

"Holy shit..." After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out two philosophically meaningful words through gritted teeth.

Is mental torture more valuable than physical torture? Is the loneliness of a domineering CEO more valuable?

Has this generation of readers' taste been repeatedly squeezed by the door of old-fashioned domineering CEO novels?!

One person and one body, both squatting on the narrow balcony, facing the city's dazzling yet empty lights, lost in a deep emo of artistic value and human aesthetics.

The night wind was bleak, but it couldn't blow away the question marks and exclamation marks that filled my mind.