Chapter 15

In B City’s most prosperous commercial district stands a 30-story golden skyscraper.

Whether it’s day or night, the building gleams with golden light. Even though it’s located in the most bustling area of the city, its unique charm can’t be overshadowed. This is the headquarters of Shengyi Game Company, the leader in domestic game development.

On the 23rd floor, in the work area, the rhythmic sound of typing echoes from every cubicle, so hurried as if racing against time.

Only in the corner next to the tea room, one cubicle doesn’t produce such a rhythmic melody, but instead, there’s an odd sound: “Ah~~~ so beautiful, I can’t hold back~ I really want… I really want…”

Zhao Xiaoque couldn’t hold back either. She paused her work, opened the small window in the lower-right corner of her computer, and sent a message: “Please, just edit the pictures, don’t make those weird noises. It’s making the whole office so awkward!”

The blue penguin plushie sitting in the corner editing photos was the same one that took Yan Ning’s photos earlier that morning. His name was Tutu. His companion, the black penguin plushie who was acting as a judge, was called Sese. Both of them work at Shengyi now.

Seeing the complaint from a colleague, Tutu quickly replied: “Sorry, sorry! I got too excited. The quality of this year’s contestants is so high, I just can’t wait to see the finals~ Hehe, hehehe…”

After sending that, he remembered the poster he had just finished, and with a silly grin, he sent it over: “This year, Tutu is most looking forward to seeing these two make fools of themselves, hehe~~~”

Zhao Xiaojue couldn’t help but enlarge the poster Tutu sent.

Although the company’s two penguin plushies were perverted and shameless, their taste was impeccable. Even someone as experienced as her, a seasoned office worker, couldn’t help but feel a rush at seeing the image.

At 2:30 PM, Minghua Middle School’s campus forum announced the list of the top 20 contestants in the school sports competition’s individual event, along with high-definition close-up photos of each contestant. The forum also included details about the next round of the competition and its timing, along with a bombshell—an increase in the prize money. The prize for the individual competition champion was now raised to 500,000 yuan.

At first, this news didn’t attract much attention. After all, it was just a school event and it was Saturday, so not many people saw it.

The poster’s author, seeing that there weren’t many replies, then posted a second poster, which was also shared on Shengyi Game’s official promotional account.

—

After Tang Minrou and Yan Yu carefully comforted Yan Wan, she calmed down and said she wanted to go upstairs to rest. As soon as she returned to her room, her phone vibrated, and she received the message saying she had passed the preliminary round.

This level of competition wasn’t anything special to her, but when she saw the list of those who passed the preliminary round, even though she had already expected it, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy when she saw Yan Ning’s name.

As she flipped through the promotional photos, her eyes reddened when she saw Yan Ning. When she reached the last page of the poster, she threw her phone across the room.

“Master, please don’t be angry. As long as I’m here, she won’t be able to threaten you,” said the system’s voice, which surprisingly sounded like a young man.

“I’m not angry,” Yan Wan replied, sitting on the bed, her fingers tightly clutching the sheets. “But she is indeed a nuisance. I want to get rid of her as soon as possible. Without the Yan family’s protection, what could she possibly do?”

“Master, it’s easy to deal with her. But right now, the most important thing for you is the competition.”

“The competition, the competition… it’s just a beauty contest. Why do I have to participate?” Yan Wan was confused, even angry.

She really looked down on the competition, finding it beneath her. Someone like her, would she really need that 100,000 yuan?

She was already the campus beauty. Entering a beauty contest would be embarrassing.

But the system kept persuading her, so she finally signed up.

“Master, this competition is very different from previous years. Based on my analysis, if you win first place this time, it will greatly enhance your reputation, and your position in the Yan family will be more secure.”

“I understand,” Yan Wan said, calming down. Over the years in the Yan family, ever since binding with this system, her life had indeed become more comfortable. “We can’t make a big move, but small actions are fine, right?”

“As you wish,” the system quietly replied.

—

Yan Ning shared the news of passing the preliminary round with a few friends and arranged to meet up in the evening.

Feeling reinvigorated, she picked up her bag that had been discarded and took out the jewelry she had casually thrown in earlier. She carefully organized each piece and placed them back into the jewelry box before putting the box back into her space ring.

She then casually pulled out the stage concept she had written earlier from the space ring. She had originally thought the idea would be hard to execute, so she hadn’t taken it out. But since there were no restrictions on the talent show, she felt tempted to bring this plan out again.

She would modify it one more time before showing it to Zhao Xiaolu and the others in the evening.

Yan Ning was revising the plan when her phone suddenly started ringing with notifications. Her thoughts were rushing, and she found the noise annoying, so she ignored it. But the ringtone persisted, relentlessly ringing without stopping.

She put down her pen and picked up the phone. It was a chat group created by Zhao Xiaolu, a small group of five people, buzzing with activity as if there were hundreds of people.

In just a few minutes, there were over a hundred unread messages.

Yan Ning opened the chat, and the content quickly scrolled upward. At the bottom, there were a string of comments full of flattery:

【She and the Sun and Moon are unreachable (Shi Lei): I’m speechless, this is amazing!】

【Day by Day (Zhou Ye): A goddess!】

【Yuki (Qiao Yingxue): Oh my gosh! Our Ningning is too badass~~~ I love it!!!】

【Fairy Lu (Zhao Xiaolu): This is absolutely explosive!】

【Yan Ning: What happened?】

【Yuki: Ningning, you’re here! Have you seen the promotional poster?】

【Yan Ning: What poster?】

【Fairy Lu: Promotional poster.JPG.】

When Yan Ning saw the poster, she also received a few new messages on WeChat. However, she didn’t rush to check them, her gaze fixated on the poster on the phone screen.

In the image, a young girl sits lazily on a throne, with her left foot crossed over her right knee. She wears a crown on her head, and every piece of jewelry on her is exquisite. Her eyelids are half-closed, and her right hand rests on her chin, her light gray eyes casting a sidelong glance downward.

The whole image is shrouded in melancholy, giving off an aura of world-weariness and languor, like a lonely and proud young monarch.

Someone is leaning against the throne, sitting at the young monarch’s feet. Their clothes are loosely undone, exposing evenly toned skin across their chest. The young monarch has a tear mole at the corner of his eye, his face stained with blood. However, his brows and eyes curve softly, and his lips are slightly curled. His delicate, long fingers gently touch the young monarch’s hand, which hangs above his head, as he reverently tilts his head to kiss it.

The tear mole boy shows only half of his face, but the tear mole at the corner of his eye, the wicked curve of his lips, and his slightly exposed chest all leave much to the imagination.

The entire poster uses golden, black, and red tones, creating a luxurious yet dark atmosphere. But the two protagonists in the image have such perfect looks and temperament that they seem to have stepped straight out of a comic, adding a strong narrative feel to the visual.

She lightly tapped the screen, and a smile involuntarily appeared in her eyes. It seemed a bit out of place, yet it was particularly dazzling, making it hard for her to look away.

【She and the Sun and Moon are unreachable: Yan Ning wouldn’t be staring at her own poster, right? Hey~~~ come out and talk!】

【Yuki: The graphic design this time is really excellent, it totally captures our Ningning’s essence. I really love it! I must print a hundred copies of this poster to keep!】

【Zhao Xiaolu: The person with Ningning in the poster is the one we met at the entrance of the auditorium this morning, right?】

【Yan Ning: Yes, but we didn’t take the photo together. The photographer said they wanted to use a photo of me and him for the poster, so it should be this one.】

【Yuki: Good job! Your promotional photo looks amazing, like a solitary king!】

【Yan Ning: The promotional photo is out too? Where can I see it?】

【Fairy Lu: Ningning doesn’t know yet? Shi Lei, hurry and send her the link @She and the Sun and Moon are unreachable】

【Day by Day: The prize money increased too.】

【Yan Ning: ??? How much did it increase?】

【She and the Sun and Moon are unreachable: School Sports Day Individual Competition Preliminary List.JPG.】

Shi Lei then sent the link to the post, and Yan Ning quickly opened it. She didn’t even have time to read anything else and her eyes immediately locked on the words “Prize increased to 500,000.” The one-thirtieth became one-sixth…

Ahhhhhhh!!!

She had to win!

【Yan Ning: I’m revising the plan. Let’s meet at the usual place tonight!】

After quickly typing a line, she put the phone aside, picked up the pen again, and continued to perfect the parts of the plan that were not yet finished.

【Yuki: Ningning is so full of energy!】

【Fairy Lu: I still have a bit of business to take care of, so I’m leaving. See you tonight!】

【Day by Day & She and the Sun and Moon are unreachable & Yuki: See you tonight!】