The last time I saw her, she was wearing a thick mascot costume, handing out flyers on the street.

It was 36°C. I bought her an iced drink and handed her a flyer for a high-paying part-time job at the birthday banquet.

You could say that as the devoted male second lead, not only can I act as a matchmaker for the male and female leads, but I can also add twists and turns to their relationship, spicing things up.

In the end, when they live happily ever after, I’ll quietly exit, guarding from afar, destined to be lonely forever.

I stared at Shi Qing and vented to the system: “Great! So I’m just a pawn in their game.”

“I will never forgive the cold, ruthless world of this novel or its author!”

At some point, the conversation between He Yu and the president, Mr. Wang, had stopped.

He was wearing a dark blue pinstripe suit today, his legs long and straight, tall and handsome. He walked over to Shi Qing, standing with his back to me, completely blocking the slender girl from view.

I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but neither of them moved for a long time.

I felt a bit annoyed, while the system was almost crying tears of joy:
“Finally! The plot is back on track!”
“Quick! Quick! The showdown is coming!”
“Go for it!”

---

I slowly walked over, holding a red velvet box.

Oddly, when I got closer, I realized He Yu wasn’t flirting with Shi Qing. He was lightly swirling a glass of champagne, but not drinking it.

The atmosphere between them didn’t feel like love at first sight; instead, it felt strangely unfamiliar.

It was only because of my angle earlier that I hadn’t been able to see Shi Qing.

When she saw me, she froze for a moment, her face turning red.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jiang. I thought you were a scammer that day…”

“I wanted to try my luck, and I didn’t expect it to be real.”

“Thank you so much for offering me this part-time job.”

Shi Qing was sincere, bowing deeply in gratitude.

She hadn’t accepted the drink I bought her that day, and she only hesitated before taking my business card.

I smiled slightly: “It’s fine, I prefer cautious and smart girls like you.”

Shi Qing blushed even more but had to rush back to the kitchen to serve desserts. After thanking me again, she hurried off.

I turned to look at He Yu.

He was gripping the delicate stem of the champagne glass so tightly that his knuckles were white.

The champagne inside rippled slightly from the force, reflecting his inscrutable expression.

From the moment I walked over and started chatting with the female lead, he hadn’t said a word.

I was puzzled and tapped the system: “Hey, check the male lead’s favorability level. Why does it seem like he and the female lead aren’t that close?”

The system pulled up the stats: “I can only see the male lead’s favorability toward the host, which has dropped to 90, so we’re all good.”

Suppressing the bitterness rising in my chest, I grumbled: “Ugh, ungrateful! It dropped so fast.”

“But what’s with that new black bar going up to 100…?”

The system mumbled something I didn’t catch as I handed the red velvet box to He Yu.

“This is your birthday gift. See if you like it?”

He Yu looked up at me, but instead of opening the box, he asked,
“The person you said you liked… is it her?”

I wanted to curse at him, wanted to confess who I really liked. Instead, I forced myself to nod, speaking the opposite of my true feelings:
“Isn’t she cute? I really admire her.”

With a soft click, the velvet box unlocked. He Yu took out the starry cufflinks inside and slowly fastened them to his sleeves. He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
His voice was tight with suppressed emotion as he said:
“Since it’s a gift from you, of course, I like it very much.”

I rubbed my arms, feeling goosebumps through my clothes.

How cold was the AC in here?

---

After He Yu’s birthday party, the system told me it needed to go offline for a month to fix a program glitch.

It said the male lead’s stats panel had an unusually volatile black bar with no label.

Being a new system, I was its first bound host. It had to consult experienced predecessors to figure out what was going on.

Before leaving, the system warned me:
“Don’t think you can take advantage of the male lead just because I’m gone! I’ve set up an automatic electric shock punishment in case you try anything improper.”

I retorted: “You’re really something!”

The system proudly replied: “Of course! The upcoming plot is simple; just play the devoted second lead well.”
“Looking forward to your good news, host!”

And with that, the system left.

Following the plot, I hired Shi Qing as my company’s secretary, knowing she was still looking for an internship.

But then He Yu confronted me, his expression cold:
“Jiang Jin, I hope you can maintain a professional boundary. Our company doesn’t hire people without real skills. You’re on the board, so you should be more careful when selecting a secretary. I will personally interview her.”

In the end, Shi Qing was hired because she was indeed qualified—her competition experience was impressive, and her work skills were top-notch.

No wonder she was the tough, hardworking “little white flower” type.

But what I hadn’t expected was for He Yu to make her his own secretary after the interview.

As I passed his office, I saw Shi Qing standing beside him, the two of them chatting happily.

He Yu caught my gaze and immediately pulled the blinds down.

Seeing how possessive he was of the female lead, I felt a pang of jealousy, like I had swallowed a lemon.

This world was unfolding just as the system predicted.

He didn’t even call me “A Jin” anymore.

Now it seemed he was the one acting unprofessional.

I couldn’t see his favorability toward me anymore; it had probably dropped to the level of a mere friend.

For the first time, I missed the system.

Frustrated, I began openly courting Shi Qing, and the tension between He Yu and me grew more and more palpable.

I had placed a pot of baby’s breath on the windowsill, flowers I’d grown myself.

He Yu had always loved these flowers since we were young.

When I asked him why, he replied:
“Baby’s breath symbolizes a hidden but intense love. You wish to offer all the stars in the sky to your beloved, but still, you feel that even the stars are not as bright as that person.”