Best Actress
The crowds leaving get off work poured out of the elevator like a floodgate bursting, merging into the city's twilight.
Having successfully carried out her mission of justice and made a perfect escape, Qu Shiyao now strutted out of another elevator with her head held high and an arrogant gait that seemed to say, "I'm the best in the world, and I don't care about my family."
The main point is to portray herself as self-righteous, innocent, and as if she wasn't the one who caused trouble in the parking lot just now.
The system was frantically scanning blind spots and erasing any remaining traces, its data stream nearly tangled. Although it had temporarily blocked relevant monitoring before taking action, it still felt a sense of unease, like a thief caught in the act.
Judging from their current state, someone unfamiliar with the situation might think that the system had attacked the domineering CEO.
[Host, let's make a deal! Next time, could we not resort to violence directly? This...this isn't exactly legal!]
Qu Shiyao, carrying her bag, walked steadily out of the impressive building. Hearing this, she scoffed inwardly, "Weren't you cheering me on when I was fighting? Now you're scared?"
She walked to the electric scooter parked by the roadside and unlocked it with a flourish: "Besides, this is an old-fashioned domineering CEO novel. The male lead can rape and imprison the female lead and nothing happens to him. As the female lead, I can just put a sack over my head and nothing will happen to me?"
"This is different, host!" the system pleaded earnestly.
We're going to change the plot! We have to be careful with every step! What if we leave any clues, and once the plot's influence weakens, reality will revert to its previous state...?
"Okay, okay, I know, I know," Qu Shiyao waved her hand dismissively, "I'll definitely do it next time!"
Next time, we must be more discreet.
System: [...] It always felt that the host's guarantee was not very reliable.
Just as Qu Shiyao was about to mount her beloved electric scooter, her keen ears caught a faint, gentle, and familiar sound coming from the depths of a quiet alleyway beside her:
"...Eat slowly, don't grab it, you must be starving! Here, eat more..."
Qu Shiyao paused, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Oh wow? The plot line that was bound to come, though late, has finally arrived.
According to the outline, this scene should be where the female protagonist is feeling down after being bullied, and she "accidentally" meets Sun Mei feeding cats after get off work, receiving an apology and a glimmer of hope from her.
She could have ignored it and simply left.
But then I thought about how I would still have to deal with them later, so I decided to go and take a look over there.
She turned and headed into the dimly lit alley.
At the far end, a corner half-hidden by a pile of clutter came into view—
It was Sun Mei, squatting on the ground, surrounded by several stray cats working diligently.
Hearing footsteps, Sun Mei looked up alertly.
When she recognized Qu Shiyao, a look of panic flashed across her face, and she jumped up like a startled deer.
The movement was too loud, startling several cats into scattering and running away. Only one or two bolder ones were still eating the cat food on the ground.
"Oh! Sister Sun Mei!" Qu Shiyao exclaimed in surprise, seemingly not expecting that the person who had helped her workstation this morning would be so kind-hearted.
System: Host, you've got great acting skills!
Sun Mei quickly composed herself, tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, and her voice returned to its usual timid and soft tone:
"Shiyao? Didn't you leave work a long time ago? Why are you still near the company..."
Qu Shiyao seemed oblivious to her panic, and naturally walked over to a yellow cat that was still engrossed in eating, squatted down, and gently scratched the back of the cat's neck.
She complained casually, "Ugh, don't even mention it! I wanted to talk to President Si about some personal matters, but I couldn't find him anywhere in his office! How strange!"
Her tone was slightly annoyed.
System: [...] Nonsense! You beat him so badly his own mother wouldn't recognize him, how could you possibly find him!
Sun Mei lowered her head, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of jealousy flashed across the depths of her eyes, so quickly it was almost an illusion.
She looked up and, feigning concern, reminded him, "It's already past get off work hours. Perhaps we should discuss work-related matters tomorrow morning?"
“It’s not really work,” Qu Shiyao continued petting the cat. The orange cat got annoyed by her scratching and turned its head as if to slap her.
She nimbly withdrew her hand, not looking at Sun Mei, her tone tinged with annoyance, "Mainly... sigh, I beat him up before I came to CAQ Group."
She lowered her voice, with a hint of mystery, as if she were "sharing a secret," and said, "But he recognized me not long after and dropped me to the 66th floor! Don't you think he was trying to torture me under his nose?"
"Huh? You...you hit President Si?!" Sun Mei was genuinely shocked this time, her eyes wide open as if she had heard a fairy tale.
Immediately, her face filled with worry. "Then...then won't you be in even more trouble?!"
Qu Shiyao sighed heavily, looking distressed: "Who says otherwise! So I was thinking of quickly apologizing, but before I could even start, he shoved a hot potato project into my hands! Sigh!"
She perfectly portrayed the helplessness of a "newbie in the workplace".
“This…” Sun Mei looked troubled, her eyes flickered, and she hesitated to speak.
"What's wrong, Sister Sun Mei?" Qu Shiyao immediately noticed the change in her expression and became tense. She even stopped petting the cat and stared at her expectantly.
Sun Mei looked around warily, and only after confirming that there was no one else in the alley did she approach Qu Shiyao.
Her voice was very low, filled with the sincerity of a close friend: "Shiyao, listen to my advice! You absolutely mustn't bring this up with President Si! He's very busy, he might have even forgotten about it himself! But if you bring it up..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but gave Qu Shiyao a knowing look, full of implication and worry.
"Ah!" Qu Shiyao gasped in surprise, shrinking back slightly.
Her face turned pale, and her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes helplessly. "What... what should I do? What if he makes things difficult for me every day and assigns me a bunch of impossible tasks..."
Sun Mei struggled for a moment, a resolute look flashing across her face, as if she had made up her mind.
She held Qu Shiyao's hand, her tone firm: "Shiyao, don't be afraid! If he ever assigns you excessive work in the future, you can tell me! I'll try my best to help you share the burden!"
"Really?" Qu Shiyao's eyes sparkled like stars. She gripped Sun Mei's hands tightly and shook them vigorously, her words tumbling out in excitement.
"Sister Mei! You're so kind! I... I don't know how to thank you enough! Um... could I get your contact information?"
Thus, witnessed by several stray cats, the two "movie queens" successfully exchanged WeChat contacts.
Sun Mei left with a secret sense of pride.
Qu Shiyao stood there, watching her back with a playful expression on her face.
The system was awestruck: [That was brilliant! You two deserve an Oscar! Seriously, quit CAQ, you're wasting your talents! You two should team up and conquer the entertainment industry! I've even thought of a name: the Plastic Sisters Duo!]
Qu Shiyao hopped on the electric scooter, turned the key, and listened to the system's words, even seriously considering them for a moment: "Hmm...sounds promising? But..."
She then changed the subject, her tone slightly roguish, "I have a bad temper and can't stand haters jumping around. If anyone dares to criticize me, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist climbing over the internet and having a friendly chat with them."
System: [...] It has no doubt that the host is absolutely capable of doing it!
Nighttime, in the apartment.
After washing up, Qu Shiyao sat cross-legged on the bed, her wet hair casually draped over her shoulders.
She checked the data in the system backend and saw that the number of real fans reached 593, but...
"System, how do you determine genuine fans?"
The system explained: "Simply put, it requires: collection + subscription to follow updates + the account has a history of valid spending. Otherwise, it will be considered invalid. This is also to prevent data manipulation."
Qu Shiyao nodded, not dwelling on it much.
She was more concerned about the next steps: "Wasn't the new chapter supposed to be released early this morning? Where's the manuscript? Let me review it and see if there's anything that needs to be added!"
【Alright!】The system immediately projected the upcoming chapter content onto the light screen in front of Qu Shiyao.
Qu Shiyao watched with great interest, from the office workstation incident that morning to the project allocation...
The plot is full of twists and turns and suspense.
"Huh? Where's my pig brother?" Qu Shiyao swiped her fingers across the screen, flipping through the pages, her brows gradually furrowing.
System: [Uh... maybe the system determined that part wasn't part of the main plot of the novel, so it didn't appear?]
"No way! Then add it!" Qu Shiyao raised her chin, her words resolute: "How can such a glorious deed be buried? This is an important manifestation of the female lead's rebellious spirit and independence! Quickly add my handsome figure!"
System: [...] Is that the same heroic figure who looks like a ruthless bandit?
It resigned itself to searching through today's log for that record, picking and choosing, and trying to use artistic language to fit that content into a key position in the new chapter.
Qu Shiyao reread the revised chapter. The whole thing was fast-paced and satisfying, especially the last part about overthrowing capitalism, which made her feel very comfortable.
Finally, she opened the "Author's Note" editing box, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed out a line of enticing text:
In the past, there were domineering CEOs who ruthlessly seized power and acted like outlaws; now, there's a heroine who stands up for justice with an iron fist! Don't miss out, everyone! Add this to your favorites! For every 1000 valid favorites, a short, unfortunate episode of the domineering CEO's misfortune will be unlocked to add to the fun!
System: [...]6! Big 6!
“There’s nothing I can do,” Qu Shiyao shrugged and shut down the background app.
"If we don't upgrade quickly, those forced love storylines will be coming. We can't change the outline now, so we can only rely on fans and ratings to boost our privileges."
The thought of the explicit outline in the original work, especially certain indescribable scenes, sent chills down her spine.
Before going to bed, she refreshed the backend again, as was her habit.
Yes, the number of followers has increased by one, reaching 594, which is great.
She lay down contentedly, closed her eyes, and hoped that she would wake up tomorrow with 10,000 followers!
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