“A true Young Master Aura—every family member will naturally love him,” Duan Chunshui mused. 

“Send him to the Heartthrob Department.”

Wang De: ???

Xiao Xu smiled again. “Our Captain was always adept at department assignments.”

Wang De, who had been placed in the Love-Struck Brain Department, naturally didn’t want Gu Yongsheng to go to such a favorable-sounding department. He protested weakly, “Will the Heartthrob Department even want him? He doesn’t seem very heartthrob-like.”

“They will,” Xiao Xu replied.

Wang De: “Why?”

“Because our Captain is the one person the Heartthrob Department Head has always wanted but couldn’t have,” Xiao Xu explained.

Wang De: ??????

“Fine. I gave up!”

As they spoke, Gu Yongsheng remained silent. When Duan Chunshui handed him a copy of the “Mutual Non-Mockery Contract Between Novels”, Gu Yongsheng read it and finally broke down.

“They—they all have scripts too? They’re all protagonists?” He pointed at Wang De, then at Zhu Zhu, his head spinning as he glanced at the various windows and strangely dressed people. 

His voice cracked in disbelief. “Are they all protagonists?”

Gu Yongsheng vividly remembered waking up in this world. To him, it was like looking at fat sheep ready for slaughter. As a protagonist, everyone was meant to serve him. He had been ready to dominate the world.

But now? What kind of devilish world was this?

Duan Chunshui let out a faint “hmm” and said, “Hurry up and sign.”

Still in shock, Gu Yongsheng seemed not to hear. Duan Chunshui lifted his gaze and smiled faintly. “Shall I help my dear cousin sign?”

Gu Yongsheng, standing just a few steps from the signing table, felt a hand press down on his left shoulder. A wave of dizziness hit him, and before he knew it, he was pressed against the table. Duan Chunshui held his hand from behind.

Turning his head, Gu Yongsheng caught a glimpse of Duan Chunshui’s angular profile. The pale, cold tone of his complexion and the sharpness of his features stood in stark contrast to the usual impression his face conveyed.

Gu Yongsheng struggled to breathe. Suddenly, the hall seemed unnervingly quiet. It felt as if everyone was watching them. 

He stiffly lowered his head and saw his hand bleeding, though he wasn’t sure from where. The blood-stained contract below him was marked with a glaring crimson signature.

His mangled hand trembled with pain as blood dripped onto his polished shoes. The rhythmic “drip-drip” snapped him back to reality. In that moment, every cell in his body was submerged in icy fear, trembling amidst the metallic scent of blood.

Meanwhile, Duan Chunshui returned to his usual harmless demeanor. He grabbed Gu Yongsheng’s arm as if he were an older brother leading his younger sibling to college enrollment as he escorted him to the Heartthrob Department for registration.

---

Simultaneously, upstairs, Jiang Nian was helping Xu Xue complete her onboarding procedures.

Xu Xue, after seeing the accurate salary and benefits offered by the Novel Crisis Management Bureau, couldn’t quite believe it. “I can really get a job like this?”

“Of course,” Jiang Nian replied. 

“The bureau operates under a captaincy system. If the captain says yes, it’s a yes. At the very least, being a logistics staff member for our team Three is no problem.”

“But I’m so ordinary.” Xu Xue rubbed her hands on her pants, feeling so out of place in this mysterious and serious bureau that she could barely lift her head. “I don’t have any special abilities.”

“Who said you’re ordinary?” Jiang Nian looked at her in surprise, puzzled by her self-perception. 

“You’re one of the rare people who can resist the Will of the Novel. To be precise, you’re the second one I’ve ever met.”

Xu Xue looked up at her, this girl who had lived an ordinary life seemingly desperate for some affirmation. Jiang Nian asked her, “Do you know what novels originate from?”

Xu Xue shook her head.

Jiang Nian explained, “From human desires. The deepest longings in people’s hearts.”

“When people read novels, they’re experiencing emotional fulfillment, whether through laughter or tears, or satisfying some inner yearning,” Jiang Nian continued. 

“For instance, you enjoy CEO romances, and Wang De loves harem novels.

“When someone deeply envies the protagonist and yearns for that kind of life, that’s when the novel can most easily invade. Once invaded, it’s difficult for the chosen person to break free because people rarely resist their deepest desires. To do so would go against human nature itself, leading to an ever-deepening entrapment that’s almost impossible to escape.”

“But you resisted.”

“A girl who can resist desire and see through illusions must have a vast and expansive inner world,” Jiang Nian said.

“Although I don’t know the specific reason that made you resist, it must be a radiant world within you.”

Xu Xue’s eyes were now glowing.

Jiang Nian added, “When our Captain saw your video at the police station, he immediately took notice of you. He said you were interesting and wanted to bring you into the bureau.”

Xu Xue rubbed her pants again, this time from excitement. She felt her blood heating up, almost scorching, as though her body, so ordinary on the outside, was carrying something extraordinary within.

Jiang Nian handed her the contract. “Welcome to the Novel Crisis Management Bureau.”

Xu Xue nodded vigorously, solemnly accepted the contract, her eyes reddening with emotion, and then broke into a big smile.

Curious, she asked, “You said I’m the second one. Who was the first?”

“It’s him, our Captain.” Jiang Nian motioned with her chin toward the person in the downstairs hall.

The second-floor offices and meeting rooms of the bureau surrounded the circular registration hall on the first floor. Standing by the second-floor railing, they could see Duan Chunshui walking outside.

The fact that Duan Chunshui could resist the Will of the Novel didn’t surprise Xu Xue at all. Jiang Nian had said that those who could resist had an expansive inner world. What she was curious about was what Duan Chunshui’s inner world looked like.

Previously, whenever Xu Xue was around Duan Chunshui, he always gave off the impression of being constantly tired and irritable, much like a grumpy, sleepy cat.

But now, from above, she noticed his straight back and the powerful, purposeful strides he took as he walked, exuding an unstoppable momentum.

She remembered Ren Xi’s description of him, “He bears the stars on his shoulders, serving the nation.” 

Watching him stride forward, she asked, “Where’s Captain Duan going? Another emergency mission?”

“To sleep.”

Xu Xue: ?

Jiang Nian replied, “He can finally sleep now. He’ll probably sleep for two days straight. Don’t disturb him during this time—he’ll hit you.”

Xu Xue: “……”