Invalid penalty
After living peacefully for so long, Lin Jingshang almost considered that period of fighting wits and courage against the will of the world as something from a past life.
On Monday morning, as usual, he was eating the sandwich Xie Dang had bought on his way to work when he suddenly saw something flash before his eyes. A pink light, with a cheap, plastic feel, flickered in front of him, as if due to a faulty connection.
[Ding! Core emotional bond energy fluctuations detected are below the threshold! World stability is threatened!]
[Urgent Sweetness Level Boosting Task Issued!]
[Scene: Company corridor.]
[Key Event: Xie Dang and Lin Jingshang accidentally bump into each other, spilling coffee. Xie Dang forcefully grabs Lin Jingshang's wrist, offering a concerned look: "Did you get burned? Clumsy! From now on, I'll make your coffee."]
[Task deadline: This morning.]
[Failure penalty: Randomly deprive one of your senses (such as taste) for 24 hours.]
Lin Jingshang: "..."
He stared at those few lines of text, silently chewing his sandwich, his heart completely unmoved, even feeling a little like laughing.
Seriously, what kind of outdated tropes are these? Spilling coffee, and a domineering CEO forcing love? This broken system did reboot, but did they just rip the database from ten-year-old romance novels?
He calmly picked up his phone and opened the chat window that was pinned to the top and whose nickname had been changed to "BUG Partner".
[Lin Jingshang]: Here we go, the same old routine, pouring coffee.
[BUG Partner]: Received. The version is outdated. Proceed with the original countermeasure plan A.
At 10 a.m., people from various departments went to the break room to get water and make coffee. Lin Jingshang, timing it perfectly, carried an empty mug and strolled leisurely toward the president's office.
Sure enough, a familiar figure appeared at the corner of the corridor.
According to the script, Xie Dang should be holding a scalding cup of coffee, bumping into Lin Jingshang, spilling the coffee, and then starting his forced care mode.
However, Xie Dang is empty-handed today.
He walked with ease, and when he saw Lin Jingshang, he didn't stop, but merely glanced at the empty cup in Lin's hand, and said in his usual tone, "Go get some coffee?"
Lin Jingshang nodded: "Mm."
"Together."
The two walked side by side, very naturally, to the tea room, perfectly avoiding the physical conditions that would lead to a collision.
system:【? ? ? 】
[Warning! Accidental collision conditions not triggered! Attempting to fix...]
[Logical interference triggered... Target Xie Dang wasn't holding a coffee!]
Lin Jingshang could see the pink subtitles flashing wildly in front of him, and he was so anxious he was practically smoking.
Upon reaching the break room, Xie Dang picked up the coffee pot and elegantly poured himself a cup of black coffee. Then, he glanced at Lin Jingshang's empty cup.
What would you like to drink?
Lin Jingshang: "Latte, please. Thank you, Boss Xie."
Xie Dang skillfully operated the coffee machine, frothing milk and creating latte art with fluid movements. He even managed to create a crooked rabbit, or rather, an unidentified creature, on the surface of the latte.
Lin Jingshang looked at the cup of coffee, remained silent for two seconds, and said sincerely, "Not bad."
It's at least better than the stick figure of love he drew himself.
Xie Dang handed him the cup without changing his expression: "Try it."
Lin Jingshang took it, took a sip, and found it surprisingly good.
Just then, the system seemed unwilling to accept defeat and resorted to desperate measures.
Lin Jingshang felt his wrist suddenly being controlled by an invisible force. His hand trembled, and the latte in his cup was about to spill, staining the shirt he had just changed into that morning.
Xie Dang, who was standing next to him, seemed to have anticipated this and reacted very quickly, reaching out and firmly supporting the bottom of the cup.
Their fingers inevitably touched, and the strange power on Lin Jingshang's wrist vanished instantly.
"Be careful." Xie Dang released his hand.
Lin Jingshang looked at his calm face, then at his own perfectly intact shirt and steadily placed coffee, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Okay, I'll be more careful next time."
system:【……】
[The "Forced Care" dialogue cannot be triggered! The logic chain has completely broken!]
[Mission...zzzz...failed!]
[Punishment Execution: Deprive target Lin Jingshang of his sense of taste for 24 hours!]
As soon as the notification tone ended, Lin Jingshang immediately felt the rich aroma of the latte in his mouth vanish instantly, replaced by the taste of plain water. He raised an eyebrow, looked at Xie Dang, and mouthed silently, "Coming."
Xie Dang nodded and took out his phone to operate it a few times.
A minute later, Lin Jingshang's phone vibrated. It was a document sent by Xie Dang, titled "Targeted Dietary Plan During Sensory Deprivation (Taste Affected Version)".
It lists all the nearby restaurants and dishes in detail, from shrimp dumplings to tempura, and even thoughtfully notes that "this restaurant's mango pomelo sago relies mainly on the aroma of mango and grapefruit pieces, so you can skip it."
Looking at this outrageously detailed plan, Lin Jingshang was even a little excited, wondering what new tricks this outdated and ridiculous system could come up with next.
He and his partner are masters at dealing with anyone who dares to defy them.
Lin Jingshang strictly followed the "Diet Plan" provided by Xie Dang, focusing on the taste of the food, which gave it a unique flavor. He also discovered several hidden gem shops that he hadn't noticed before.
His sense of taste returned, and that afternoon, as he was enjoying the long-lost aroma of food, the pink subtitles in front of him popped up again, unwilling to be left out:
[Warning! Sweetness replenishment task failed repeatedly! Activate advanced tutorial!]
[Forced push: "The Self-Cultivation of a Domineering CEO (Complete Collection of Classic Quotes)" to the target person Xie Dang's portable device.]
[Requirements: Read and memorize the text thoroughly, and complete the scenario application before leaving work today.]
[Application Scenario: Company underground parking garage.]
[Key line: "It's getting cold; it's time to bankrupt the Wang Group." (Note: Company name can be replaced according to actual circumstances)]
[Failure Penalty: Target Xie Dang will be forced to watch 24 hours of montage-style melodramatic romance drama clips.]
Lin Jingshang almost choked on his saliva when he saw the outrageous task requirements.
He quickly sent a message to Xie Dang.
[Lin Jingshang]: It's getting anxious! It's sending you study materials! And it wants you to stay after work and act like a domineering CEO in the parking garage!
[BUG Partner]: Received, data received.
After a while, Xie Dang replied again.
[BUG Partner]: The content lacks logic and uses poor rhetoric. It has been archived in the invalid information folder.
Lin Jingshang could picture Xie Dang frowning, looking disgusted, as he browsed through lines like "Woman, you're playing with fire" and "I've taken over this fishpond."
When it was time to leave work, Lin Jingshang, with a sense of anticipation, dawdled as he packed his things, and was the last to leave the office area.
The lighting in the basement was dim.
He spotted Xie Dang leaning against his car at a glance.
The man was tall and straight, wearing a suit. Just standing there, he exuded a powerful aura and definitely had the air of a domineering CEO.
Lin Jingshang walked over and asked casually, "President Xie, you haven't left yet?"
Xie Dang raised his head and looked at him, his gaze deep.
It's here! It's about to begin!
Lin Jingshang's inner self had already prepared a small stool.
Xie Dang parted his thin lips slightly and, speaking clearly and distinctly, uttered the line required by the system: "It's getting cold."
He paused for two seconds.
"It is recommended to increase the cleaning frequency of the central air conditioning filters in the office area to avoid dust accumulation affecting the heating effect, and to remind employees to keep warm."
Lin Jingshang: "???"
system:【! ! ! 】
[Core dialogue used incorrectly! Severe mismatch with the context!]
[The keyword "it's getting cold" was detected, but the subsequent logic deviates from the scope of domineering CEO romance novels!]
[Punishment... *sizzle*... Evaluating...]
Xie Dang seemed not to see, or perhaps didn't care at all, about the garbled text appearing before him. He looked at Lin Jingshang and asked, "How's the heating in your neighborhood?"
Lin Jingshang's stomach ached from trying to suppress his laughter, but he managed to maintain his composure: "It's...it's alright."
"Okay." Xie Dang nodded, took out his car keys, "Get in the car, I'll take you home. We can discuss the optimal indoor humidity range for winter on the way."
system:【……】
[Punishment Execution: Target Xie Dang is forced to watch a 24-hour compilation of highly emotionally charged and heart-wrenching scenes from the novel "XX's Eternal Love"! Execute immediately!]
As soon as the notification tone ended, Lin Jingshang saw that a clip from a TV series, with shaky visuals, cheesy dialogue, and mournful background music, suddenly started playing automatically on the car's screen at a very loud volume.
"Why don't you love me! What is it about me that she doesn't love me!"
"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have met you..."
Xie Dang paused, staring blankly at the male and female protagonists crying their hearts out on the screen. Then, he raised his hand and pressed the physical power button on the screen.
The world is peaceful now.
Xie Dang fastened his seatbelt.
Lin Jingshang quickly got into the passenger seat, closed the door, and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Mr. Xie... your domineering CEO manners... are probably not up to par..."
Xie Dang started the car and drove out of the underground parking garage: "Suggestions based on facts and logic are more valuable than ineffective threats."
"What about the TV series? Aren't you going to watch it? I heard it's really heart-wrenching."
Xie Dang looked ahead, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Noise pollution has been blocked."
As the car merged into the traffic during the evening rush hour, soothing classical music flowed from the car stereo, isolating the little incident in the underground parking garage.
Lin Jingshang looked at Xie Dang's profile as he focused on driving.
This version of the domineering CEO has subpar dialogue, but it's more to my liking. The Wang Group won't go bankrupt for no reason; he'll just remind you to clean the air conditioner filter.
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