“Just sign it,” Duan Chunshui replied. 

“It’s for your own good. In some ways, it’s a protection contract for you.”

“What are you saying? Don’t you know who I am?” Wang De’s loud questioning drew annoyed looks from nearby uniformed personnel.

“Mr. Protagonist,” Duan Chunshui said, the single word enough to pacify Wang De for a moment. Then, pointing to a few people nearby, he continued, “She’s a protagonist. He’s one. So is he.”

Finally, his finger landed on the little girl standing beside them. “Even she is.”

Wang De: ???

“You’re not even as good as her. Protagonists like you, straight out of outdated tropes, are nothing but laughingstocks here. What are you thinking by refusing to sign?” Duan Chunshui’s expression was one of both confusion and disapproval.

Wang De was stunned into silence. Until now, he had believed he was the protagonist of this world, standing at its very center.

And now, they were telling him he was at the very bottom of the chain?

“How is that possible?!”

Seeing that the Captain’s patience had already been stretched thin, Xiao Xu quickly stepped in. “It’s entirely possible.”

Standing beside the little girl, Xiao Xu introduced her: “This is Zhu Zhu. Her dad is a domineering CEO, her mom ran away while pregnant, and she’s the genius child prodigy who returns three years later fluent in eight languages and ready to defy her father.”

Zhu Zhu took a sip from her milk tea.

Wang De: ???

His first reaction was: “Why does that make her better than me? Isn’t her story also from outdated tropes? Running away while pregnant is no more refined than harem novels!”

He’d heard of runaway-pregnancy tropes before. Titles like “The Billionaire CEO’s Runaway Wife.” They emerged around the same time as the stories he loved and were just as outdated.

“First of all,” Xiao Xu said, “you’ve already violated the ‘Mutual Non-Mockery Contract Between Novels.’”

Ignoring the Captain’s earlier sarcastic comments, Xiao Xu kept his attention fixed solely on Wang De.

“Second, you’re overlooking one important detail: Zhu Zhu’s age.”

“Her age?” Wang De looked down at the short little girl. “What’s so special about her age? She’s just a three-year-old kid!”

“If Zhu Zhu were merely ‘the baby’ from a runaway-pregnancy story, then she wouldn’t be the protagonist—her mother would be. But Zhu Zhu is three and a half.”

Wang De was baffled. “What does three and a half have to do with anything?!”

Xiao Xu shook his head, clearly dealing with someone who only consumed harem novels and was oblivious to other genres. “Not long ago, three-and-a-half-year-olds were the hot trend dominating female-oriented novels.”

Wang De: ???

“What kind of world was this? Protagonists didn’t need to conquer beauties or slay gods anymore? Weren’t they supposed to fight their way to the top with style and flair? How could a three-and-a-half-year-old child become the protagonist?”

Still unconvinced, Wang De argued, “Even if she’s trendy for her age or fluent in eight languages, I can hear people’s inner thoughts. Isn’t that better than knowing some languages?”

“More importantly,” Xiao Xu continued, “she has an even stronger ability—other people can hear her inner thoughts.”

Wang De: ????????

“Her inner thoughts are her ability?!”

Xiao Xu, unfazed, asked, “Don’t tell me you thought hearing others’ inner thoughts was your ability and used it as proof you’re this world’s protagonist?”

“……” Wang De’s silence betrayed his awkwardness and shock.

Struggling to accept this, Wang De stammered, “No, wait—hearing others’ inner thoughts is the real cheat, isn’t it? Having your own thoughts heard sounds like a terrible thing!”

Xiao Xu sighed, clearly exasperated by Wang De’s outdated perspective. “Every cheat has its value. If her inner thoughts can be heard, it means Zhu Zhu knows things others don’t. For us, her thoughts are practically a form of prophecy.”

Even if, admittedly, her “prophecies” were often wildly inaccurate.

Wang De, now shaken and bewildered, looked down at the three-and-a-half-year-old girl. She was happily slurping her milk tea.

“Zhu Zhu also has…”

“Enough. Sign it and get it over with,” Duan Chunshui interrupted Xiao Xu’s rambling.

“Got it!” Xiao Xu, sensing his Captain’s impatience, quickly shoved a pen into Wang De’s hand. Without waiting for him to think, Xiao Xu even guided Wang De’s hand to sign the agreement contract.

Wang De barely caught sight of the first clause: “No book is inherently superior or inferior. In the Protagonist Re-Education Center, protagonists from all genres must respect one another, coexist peacefully, and refrain from mockery.”

Before he could process it further, Xiao Xu had dragged him to a nearby counter.

“Which department do harem novel protagonists belong to? I suppose they count as male-centric main leads… maybe the Domineering CEO Department?”

At that moment, Wang De noticed the names on the counters around him: Romantic Lead Department, Domineering CEO Department, and Yandere Department.

The person manning the Domineering CEO Department, an old man with white hair, poked his head out and glanced at Wang De. With a scoff, he muttered, “Don’t dump just anyone in here!”

Wang De: “……”

“An hour ago, I had been the protagonist of the world, the center of everything. Now, I was being dismissed like this?”

His entire worldview had been shattered. Completely crushed, Wang De couldn’t even think straight anymore.

“Domineering CEO? He’s just a romantic lead,” Duan Chunshui said lazily, leaning against a desk behind them. His long legs made the signing table look comically short, giving his slouched position a surprising elegance.

“You’ve got the luck of a male-centric protagonist, yet all you think about is flirting with female classmates. You didn’t even think to buy a lottery ticket?”

Wang De: “……”

“He… actually had a point. Why hadn’t I thought of buying lottery tickets? I was destined for great wealth anyway, so why not use it to his advantage early on?”

“If I had won the jackpot right away, my life over the past few days would have been so much better.”

Regret washed over Wang De, making him want to slap his own thigh.

“Excuse me?” A boy at the Romantic Lead Department counter, busy filling out paperwork, looked up.

It sounded absurd to dump a harem novel protagonist into the Romantic Lead Department.

But when he saw it was Duan Chunshui who had said it, the boy swallowed his objections and tearfully nodded in agreement.

“Fine, register Wang De under the Romantic Lead Department. We’re done here.”

Feeling suddenly energized, Duan Chunshui rose and walked confidently toward the elevator.

“Yay!” Zhu Zhu finally put down her milk tea, pattering after him with quick little steps.

Wang De: “……”

Though he didn’t understand what was happening, he—the destined male lead, conqueror of countless beauties and future creator of a business empire—had been sent to something called the Romantic Lead Department? Wasn’t this a little too casual?

When he first arrived, he thought this place resembled an orderly government affairs hall. Now, it just felt like an unprofessional, makeshift operation!

“Hey!” Wang De called out.