The president wrote a dated cash check, but the Cinderella never showed up to claim the money. Upon the given day, he discovered her unselfish and noble heart through her modest appearance. Han Yanyan had penned this kind of storyline far too often back when she was a ghostwriter. This was all more than a decade ago, during the times when such old-fashioned Mary Sue tropes were in fashion.
Han Yanyan brushed off the paper scraps from her hands, smiled slightly, and got up to head to the bathroom.
Her brain had absorbed enough information, and now she knew everything that the Han Yanyan of this world was supposed to know. Familiar with her surroundings, she found the bathroom easily and stood in front of the mirror.
This face and body were very young. Just barely out of school, with eyes still clear and bright, and bookish eyebrows paired with long, straight, black hair, the first impression one got was "clean," really calling for the words pure and lovely.
The electronic voice was a stingy one. She desired a face of stunning beauty, but the electronic voice refused to give it, only offering her this kind of look. Considering the difficulty of conquering a domineering president, it was just barely acceptable.
Han Yanyan looked into the mirror and let out a long breath.
She had the looks, she had the script. It was like the stage was set, the costume was on, and now it was time to perform the play step by step.
But what Han Yanyan truly cared about wasn't the content of this play, but rather things outside the play.
First of all, what on earth was this so-called "quick transmigration world"? Given the high-and-mighty demeanor of the electronic voice, it likely wouldn't give her a clear answer.
So, she set that question aside for now and focused on her current situation. According to what the electronic voice said, she was now in a state between life and death, and whether she lived or died depended on the benevolence of the electronic voice. If she wanted to live, she had to listen to the electronic voice and complete the crappy tasks in this damn "quick transmigration world."
Fine, she accepted it. After all, living was more important than anything else. As for whether she was a person or a ghost, whether her soul had left her body or her consciousness was out of it, those were trivial matters that Han Yanyan didn't care about.
Then third, there was this "quick transmigration world" itself. Those four words and the name "Han Yanyan" just left her speechless.
The electronic voice mentioned doing tasks and gave ambiguous and perplexing criteria for evaluation. But when it was about to send her into this world, it had surprisingly clear and precise objectives—to make the target fall in love with her.
However, Han Yanyan distinctly remembered that the electronic voice also said, "If love really can change a person, as you said." So, when did she talk with the electronic voice about the topic of "love"? Alright, this question was unsolvable, so she set it aside for now.
From what the electronic voice said, Han Yanyan accurately grasped the key information. The task the electronic voice gave her was ultimately about "changing" the target. But why?
And... Han Yanyan looked into her eyes and was particularly bothered by one word—Builder.
It called her a very potential builder. So what exactly was a builder?
And before her mind blurred for that instant, the last word she heard was "marker"...
There were too many unsolved questions, not expected to be answered in the short or even long term. Han Yanyan looked at herself in the mirror and decided to temporarily set these questions aside and focus on completing this first task.
Just as Han Yanyan anticipated, half a month later, she received a call from another stranger.
"Hello, Miss Han, I am He, Secretary He, for Mr. Zheng." The voice on the phone said.
Han Yanyan feigned ignorance, "Mr. Zheng who?"
"Mr. Zheng Yao, CEO of Zheng Corporation."
Han Yanyan asked in a puzzled tone, "What do you need from me?"
Secretary He continued, "Here’s the thing. Previously, Mr. Zheng sent you a cash check for one hundred thousand along with a bouquet, and I show that the check has expired, but you did not go to cash it."
"Oh!" Han Yanyan feigned surprise, "I remember now! I did receive such a check, but it seemed so random, I just discarded it. Can you tell me what that was all about?"
Secretary He chuckled, "Miss Han, did you think you encountered a scam? Rest assured, you've misunderstood. Half a month ago, you donated blood to Mr. Zheng's mother, and this one hundred thousand was a token of gratitude."
"So that’s what it was," Han Yanyan appeared relieved and lightly laughed, "There's no need for a thank-you gift, it was what I should have done."
Secretary He chuckled too, "Gratitude must be expressed. How about this, I’ll have someone send another check to Miss Han, this time with no date."
Han Yanyan replied, "Don't bother sending it, I won't take the money anyway. I said it’s no big deal, you’ve already sent flowers, please thank Mr. Zheng for me, I love lilies."
Secretary He didn’t press her, readily agreeing, "Alright, I’ll relay your thanks."
The next day, when another bouquet of lilies was delivered to her office, Han Yanyan knew the fish had taken the bait.
Though she had said that one bouquet of lilies was enough, Madam Zheng had Rh-negative blood. With the rareness of such panda blood, Zheng Yao, the filial son, wouldn’t ignore the mobile blood bank that was Han Yanyan without expressing gratitude.
Sure enough, she received Secretary He’s call again: "Miss Han, Mr. Zheng said if you like flowers, then he will make sure you receive flowers every day. I hope Miss Han will like them."
This time, Han Yanyan did not refuse, she said, "Please tell Mr. Zheng thank you, I... really like them."
Following that, Zheng Yao indeed sent a bouquet to her office every day. For a time, rumors in the company swirled about her being pursued by a rich heir, or said she was being kept by a wealthy man.
The office buzzed with gossip, but Han Yanyan didn’t care. Sometimes she’d raise her head from her desk, resting her chin on her hand, and glance around to see the lively people. Some smiled at her, some looked at her with disdain, some with envy and jealousy.
But none of it mattered, because in this world, for the task she had to execute, these people... were just NPCs.
That’s all.
As a task-doer in this quick transmigration world, when Han Yanyan looked at them, she knew who they all were, what backgrounds they had.
For example, Li Yan, from the first glance, she knew who she was, knew she came from a small southern city, had parents and a brother twenty years younger, knew she had a college crush who also lived in this city and called her once in a while to string her along as a backup.
As with Secretary He, Han Yanyan knew exactly what kind of person he was from the first call, knew he was tall and thin with fair skin, knew where he was from, even knew what brand of lipstick his girlfriend preferred.
These were pieces of information she was allowed to hold as a task-doer by the electronic voice. With these insights, like having the heavenly eye open, Han Yanyan wasn’t anxious, patiently waiting for an important NPC to appear.
True to her expectations, after a month of receiving lilies, the crucial NPC showed up.
A rich girl flaunting a diamond the size of a pigeon egg on her finger, accompanied by two bodyguards, stormed past the receptionist who couldn’t stop her, barged into the office, and after confirming who Han Yanyan was, slapped her across the face.
There was a collective gasp in the office. Blood stained Han Yanyan's mouth from the slap.
"I’m Zheng Yao’s fiancée, here to give you a little lesson today, know your place and stay away from my fiancé." The heiress tossed a check dismissively, "Take this money and leave the city. If I see you again, it won't be just a slap."
With that, the heiress left with her bodyguards, head held high.
Under the complex gazes of her colleagues, Han Yanyan wiped the blood from her mouth, picked up the check from the floor, tore it in half without even glancing at it, and tossed the pieces into the nearby wastebasket before walking out.
Colleagues eager for drama quickly retrieved the torn check from the bin and exclaimed, "So wealthy, a million!"
Han Yanyan... stumbled at the office exit!
The receptionist kindly steadied her, worried, "Yanyan, are you okay?"
"I’m fine... please put in a leave request for me, I’m not feeling well today, leaving early," Han Yanyan said, trying to keep her pained face steady, and left in big strides.
God! Just a million!
With how fierce that heiress looked, Han Yanyan assumed it’d be at least five million or ten million!
Why be so stingy!
When Han Yanyan used to ghostwrite those domineering president stories, the president's mom, fiancée, admirer, or white moonlight would nonchalantly toss a check: "Here’s a hundred million, leave my son/fiancé/him!"
And when it was finally her turn, they only offered a stingy million?
Han Yanyan sighed: truly a letdown.
Han Yanyan left the office, cleared her throat, and called Secretary He to recount the recent events, then said, "There must be some misunderstanding, I hope Mr. Zheng can clear things up with his fiancée so there's no unpleasantness because of me."
"And about the lilies, I hope Mr. Zheng doesn’t send them anymore. It’s really unnecessary, I’ve appreciated his kind thoughts, but it was nothing, let’s leave it at that." Her voice was gentle, hiding a hint of bitterness after a subtle sob.
It sounded just like a kind-hearted girl wronged by a spoiled heiress!
Secretary He, softened, sighed and reassured Han Yanyan saying, "Mr. Zheng will definitely handle it."
Mr. Zheng’s method of handling it was to send Secretary He the next day with a large bunch of red roses and a diamond bracelet.
As a kind-hearted, pure, and noble Cinderella, Han Yanyan naturally refused the diamond bracelet clearly. But Secretary He was tasked with ensuring Han Yanyan accepted it.
To survive alongside such a powerful president, one had to be shrewd. Secretary He spun tales, convincing Han Yanyan: "Actually, it's smoke and mirrors. Miss Cao has quite a temper and drastic means. She recently had some emotional disturbances with Mr. Zheng; if you were insignificant, she might do more. Mr. Zheng is intentionally making a statement for her to see, letting her know you are someone Mr. Zheng cares about, so she won’t dare act against you. It’s for your safety."
His eyes were quick, his tongue slick: "Mr. Zheng, to make it believable, will continue to send you expensive gifts over the coming months. If you don’t want to keep them, no problem, just hold onto them first. After everything settles down, you can return them to Mr. Zheng."
Faced with this nonsensical and flimsy reasoning, kind-hearted and pure Cinderella Han Yanyan graciously agreed: "Then I'll hold onto these for Mr. Zheng, and after Miss Cao and his issues are resolved, I'll return them."
Secretary He left with a sense of accomplishment having completed his mission.
Back at her desk, Han Yanyan promptly wore the diamond bracelet, sparking envy among her colleagues. The rumors of "competing with the wealthy heiress for love" were confirmed by the bracelet’s presence.
Han Yanyan looked at the dazzling diamonds on her wrist and slightly curled her lips.
Next, Zheng Yao would send her red roses every day, occasionally sending lavish gifts, truly cementing the rumors about her and him, even though they hadn't met face to face.
The truth was, Mr. Zheng Yao did not want to marry the Cao Family heiress. Not only that, but he was secretly plotting to acquire the Cao Corporation.
He initially quarreled with the Cao Family heiress to delay the wedding. When the heiress investigated and found Secretary He sending flowers to a small office worker on Zheng Yao's behalf, she misunderstood Han Yanyan’s relationship with Zheng Yao and hence the previous slap occurred.
But Zheng Yao immediately decided to use this misunderstanding to take Han Yanyan as a smokescreen to fool the Cao family, so Secretary He’s mission was to persuade Han Yanyan to accept the gifts no matter what.
From the moment Han Yanyan opened her eyes in this world until now, every major NPC’s every word and action had been expected. The information in her mind told her all that was to happen next, because this was all just the prelude.
The prelude, that’s all.
The real drama would start when she and Zheng Yao really faced each other. Once face to face, she wouldn’t know how things would develop from there, and the next steps would depend on herself.
But now, the little bit of nervousness and doubt deep in Han Yanyan's heart when she first arrived in this world was almost completely gone. This smooth, romance-novel-like progression had relaxed her vigilance, dispelling her nervousness.
The electronic voice said this was her forte, and it was right.
Her initial curiosity about Zheng Yao, the task target, had diminished considerably.
Just a domineering president, she'd written far too many.
This kind of domineering president, who would willingly shower a Cinderella with love and riches, practically handing over his whole fortune, Han Yanyan thought lazily.