Over the years, however, Jiang Nian had softened. Everyone could see that. 

“Captain Duan!”

“Captain’s here!”

Joining the others, Duan Chunshui watched Jiang Nian skillfully guide He Jun through her thoughts.

For most people influenced by a novel’s will, distancing them from the protagonist was enough to help them recover, though the process varied in duration.

But for those most deeply affected, careful guidance was needed to help them return to normal life quickly.

[Duan Chunshui’s troubles are about to start.]

As Duan Chunshui lowered his head to look at the three-and-a-half-year-old girl, the door to room 07 opened. Jiang Nian stepped out with He Jun and told Duan Chunshui, “All sorted.”

“Stay here for two more days to calm down before going back to school,” Duan Chunshui advised He Jun. “Taking a leave shouldn’t be hard, right?”

He Jun, who had been staring at him, quickly replied, “Not hard, not hard. Um… Captain Duan, can I add you as a friend? I’m afraid…”

Jiang Nian pressed her temples.

[I knew it, hmph!]

In the office, two other female staff members wore expressions of avid curiosity. Their synchronized movements as they leaned left and right to eavesdrop so practiced it was obvious this wasn’t their first time.

Duan Chunshui immediately glanced at He Jun’s hands. Before going to A University, they had reviewed her background: Middle-class family, only child, pampered by her parents growing up. Her pale, delicate hands showed no sign of ever doing household chores.

“You don’t know how to cook or do laundry, do you?” Duan Chunshui inquired with a hint of subtle rejection.

He Jun: ???

Xiao Xu arrived just in time to witness this exchange. With a thoughtful tone, he explained to the school belle, “Our Captain prefers someone who can cook and do laundry for him. Basically, a traditional ‘virtuous wife and loving mother’ type.”

????

He Jun stared at the young Captain, who looked like he’d stepped out of a manga, clearly wealthy and holding a trendy, cutting-edge job—with utter bewilderment.

[Again with this.]

[Duan Chunshui is never getting married in this lifetime.]

Still dazed, the school belle was led away to rest by one of the curious onlookers.

Jiang Nian turned to Duan Chunshui and asked, “Why haven’t you gone back to sleep yet, Captain?”

Duan Chunshui, known for being a bit of a night owl due to the nature of his work, had been dragged out early in the morning for this mission, after only a couple of hours of sleep. He should have been back in bed by now, fast asleep.

His long brows furrowed, a delayed irritation from sleep deprivation seeping through. “There’s another mission.”

“……”

[……]

---

The four who had just come from the registration hall passed through it again.

Wang De was still at the Romantic Lead Department counter. Since each counter rarely handled more than one person a day, the staff member had little to do and casually chatted with Wang De, answering some of his questions.

The Novel Crisis Management Bureau operated under a Captain-based system, with three Captains in total. 

Captains held high status within the bureau, answering only to the director. However, the three Captains’ rankings differed based on the level of crises they managed.

First Team: Handled Level 1 Novels, where protagonists posed extreme danger. Missions were high-risk and had the highest mortality rate, making this division the most prestigious.

Second Team: Managed Level Two Novels, where the protagonists were less dangerous, but the degree of novel invasion was high. These novels’ worldviews could affect bureau staff, forcing them to become part of the story. Resolving these cases often required fully playing out the novel’s plot.

Third Team: Took care of Level Three Novels, the simplest and most common cases. Though not particularly difficult, these cases were tedious and earned the nickname “cleanup crew” from the other two teams.

“Duan Chunshui used to be the Captain of the First Team. Just yesterday, he was demoted to Third Team Captain. Your harem novel was his and his team’s first Third Team mission. Feel honored, won’t you?”

Wang De: “……”

He wanted to pull out the “Mutual Non-Mockery Contract Between Novels” he had just signed and wave it in protest. 

The atmosphere in the bureau was thick with subtle mockery, but he then understood that the agreement contract applied solely to the protagonists undergoing re-education, leaving everyone else unaffected.

“Why was he demoted?” Wang De asked, holding back his frustration.

Though he didn’t know why, he found himself unusually curious about this man. Someone he had initially seen as an antagonistic stepping stone, only to be captured and dragged into this surreal world.

The staffer glanced at Wang De’s face.

Wang De touched his cracked lips and swollen cheek.

“Assaulting a protagonist,” the staffer said.

“……”

“Classic Captain Duan. Demoted, yet still unrepentant.” The staffer’s tone carried a faint mix of admiration and amusement.

“It wasn’t him who hit me; it was Jiang Nian,” Wang De said numbly.

“Jiang Nian?!” At the mention of her name, an older staff member from the Domineering CEO Department immediately perked up. Their eyes sparkling with excitement—a stark contrast to their earlier grumpy demeanor.

The Romantic Lead staffer shrugged and explained casually, “Jiang Nian—someone the Domineering CEO Department has always desired but can never have.”

“But… Jiang Nian is a woman. What does she have to do with the Domineering CEO Department?” Wang De was baffled. Why would this department, which had rejected a promising, future CEO protagonist like himself, want a woman?

The older staff member’s mood shifted back to irritation. “Where in the words ‘Domineering’ or ‘CEO’ do you see anything about gender? It’s a trait, tied to ability, personality, and aura—not gender!”

The older staff member’s expression changed exceptionally quickly. Just a moment ago, he had been stern and intimidating, but now, a dreamy smile, almost like that of a young girl, suddenly appeared on his face.

Following the direction of his gaze, Wang De looked over and saw Duan Chunshui and his group of four coming down from upstairs, with Jiang Nian walking just to Duan Chunshui’s right.

Among the four of them—except for the three-and-a-half-year-old Zhu Zhu—their long legs drew envious attention. As they walked, they carried an aura, something unmistakably magnetic, that naturally became the focus of everyone’s gaze. 

Not only did the older staff member look at Jiang Nian, but even the “Romantic-at-Heart” department staff member leaned forward for a better view.

When Wang De first entered the registration hall, he hadn’t noticed, but now he realized that many people in the hall were secretly watching Duan Chunshui.

Besides the “Romantic-at-Heart” staffer, Wang De also noticed the pale-faced staffer from the “Mysteries” department. His pitch-black pupils followed Duan Chunshui’s every move. The haughty staffer from the “Heartthrob” department also cast several fleeting glances in their direction.

The atmosphere in the registration hall subtly shifted, as though a faint trace of something thrilling had permeated the air.

As Duan Chunshui was about to step into the elevator, the “Love-struck Brain” staff member nearly bumped into Wang De’s chest in his eagerness, saying, “You wanted to know about Duan Team Captain’s abilities, right? I can tell you one of them right now. We’ve given it a nickname in private, and it’s called—”

“The Final Beauty Trap of the Novel Crisis Management Bureau to Dispel Miasma!”

“……”

Wang De felt that this so-called “Novel Crisis Management Bureau” was a thoroughly unreliable organization. Yet, for some reason, as the four people entered the elevator, he took a step forward, and an overwhelming, fateful impulse burst from within him.

“Wait! I want to join too!”