Chapter 49 — The CEOs Cross Swords

“Why can’t you pretend?” Bai Lisu asked, puzzled. “Life is a stage; it’s all about acting. Without a bit of talent, how can you call yourself a transmigrator?”

Hearing that, Yan Dun felt deeply ashamed of his own incompetence and ignorance. He really didn’t seem qualified to be a transmigrator.

Remembering that Bai Lisu had rushed off because she’d received another mission, Yan Dun asked:

“By the way, Sister Bai, you’re doing a mission right now, aren’t you? Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Bai Lisu replied. “My current mission was ‘walk to the roadside and get kidnapped.’ I’ve already completed that plot point. Now I’m tied up in a secret room waiting around, so I have time to chat.”

Yan Dun was horrified.

“You got kidnapped?!”

No wonder he couldn’t reach her by phone and could only contact her through the system.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Bai Lisu comforted him instead. “Who hasn’t been kidnapped before?”

Yan Dun felt despair for the public safety in this world.

“Me. I’ve never been kidnapped.”

“You’re the protagonist bottom, right?” Bai Lisu said. “You’ll probably get that chance soon.”

“…”

The more Yan Dun talked to Bai Lisu, the more unqualified he felt as a transmigrator.

Then Bai Lisu said:

“My kidnappers are here. They’re probably about to torture me. I’ll stop chatting now. Good luck, and stay safe.”

A kidnapped woman was telling him to stay safe.

Yan Dun felt both ashamed and touched.

“You stay safe too, Sister Bai!”

The system customer service agent listened to their conversation and once again marveled at the friendship between this villainess and the protagonist.

After ending the telepathic connection, Yan Dun fell into deep thought.

How am I supposed to pretend I’ve been drugged?

After thinking it over, he decided he could imitate people who had actually taken the drug.

So he turned his gaze toward the two salted-fish CEOs lying on the bed.

Earlier, Yan Dun had assumed they were limp because they were “bottoms,” but in reality they were still in the drug’s initial dizzy phase. Now that enough time had passed, they had entered the “tops get hard, bottoms get soft” phase.

Chi An and Hua Daimao were both domineering CEOs, meaning both were naturally “tops.”

The moment the drug took effect, they immediately stood at attention.

As everyone knows, in novels with this kind of magical aphrodisiac, the victims lose all reason. They don’t care who the other person is—they just want sex.

The moment Chi An and Hua Daimao opened their eyes and saw each other, they didn’t care whether the other was male or female, friend or foe, top or bottom.

The only thing on their minds was:

Don’t ask who I am. Just connect with me.

Yan Dun was sitting at the desk by the window.

When he looked up, he discovered that the two CEOs had started fighting on the bed.

He nearly jumped.

What the hell?!

Why are they suddenly holding a Sword Tournament?!

The so-called “sword contest” compared prowess.

To cross swords was to determine whose was longer and whose was superior.

Now both men believed themselves to be the greatest in the world. Neither would submit.

So they fought. Tearing each other’s clothes.

This duel was extraordinarily fierce.

Yan Dun watched, dumbfounded, forgetting entirely what he was supposed to be doing.

He could only stare as Hua Daimao and Chi An rolled across the bed like a washing machine, fiercely competing for the dominant position.

Yan Dun wanted to break up the fight.

But as a “bottom,” he feared becoming involved in such a conflict.

Instead of breaking the deadlock, he might end up breaking something else.

For a moment he considered calling a worker.

Then an ambulance.

At one point he even thought about calling the police.

But the system talked him out of it.

The customer service agent said:

What protagonist calls the police in a situation like this?

A real protagonist just charges in!

Otherwise, what’s the point of carrying this role?!

Yan Dun discovered that after all this time, he still hadn’t adapted to the logic of this world.

His skin tingled, getting goosebumps.

“So I’m just supposed to watch? That feels incredibly rude.”

The customer service agent replied:

You can leave the room and focus on your own mission.

Yan Dun shook his head.

“But they’re not in their right minds. I’m worried.”

Customer service replied:

Looking at how energetic they are, you should worry about yourself more than them, Customer.

That actually sounded reasonable.

Still, Yan Dun asked again:

“Nothing bad will happen, right?”

The customer service agent guaranteed:

The plot will protect them. Nothing will happen, Dear Customer.

Yan Dun had already witnessed how overpowered the plot was.

If the plot was protecting the two CEOs, then a weak little protagonist-bottom like him had no business interfering.

Once reassured, Yan Dun hurriedly left the room and gave the two men some privacy.

The scene he had just witnessed had left him blushing.

He went into the hotel restroom, splashed cold water on his face, and stared blankly into the mirror.

The customer service agent reminded him:

Your top priority is still triggering your plot mission!

Yan Dun groaned.

“Right. I need a CEO to rescue me after learning I’ve been drugged.”

Customer Service confirmed:

Correct, Customer. Good luck.

After a pause, Yan Dun asked:

“About what Bai Lisu said… pretending to have taken the drug… that really works?”

Customer service explained:

Yes. Her interpretation is correct.

The mission is ‘Make the CEO learn that you accidentally took an aphrodisiac.’

The important part isn’t whether you actually took it.

It’s whether he learns about it, Dear Customer.

Even after finding that loophole, Yan Dun still felt this mission was absurd.

Carefully recalling Chi An and Hua Daimao’s symptoms, Yan Dun realized they had simply appeared dizzy and flushed—almost identical to being drunk.

That was why the hotel staff hadn’t suspected anything.

After some thought, he went to the front desk and asked for a room.

They immediately gave him one.

Holding the keycard, Yan Dun was baffled.

Wait... Didn’t Bai Lisu say there were no rooms available?

The customer service agent explained:

In this world, a protagonist can never fail to book a hotel room, Customer.

Yan Dun laughed helplessly.

So my protagonist halo can do that too?

The room he got was a standard guest room.

The moment he entered, he headed straight for the minibar, grabbed a large bottle of liquor, and started chugging.

Based on his own alcohol tolerance, he drank until his face turned red, his heartbeat sped up, and his limbs felt slightly numb.

It looked exactly like the symptoms of the drug.

He staggered to the mirror and checked himself.

His cheeks were flushed.

Very convincing.

But then a new problem arose.

How do I let An Zao know I’ve been drugged?

Wouldn’t it be weird if I just called him directly?

The customer service agent offered a solution:

Don’t worry, Customer.

Our system can provide a high-tech phone.

Any calls or messages sent through it are completely anonymous and untraceable.

Yan Dun was delighted.

“There’s such a thing? Give it to me!”

The next moment, a phone appeared in his hand.

It was the same mysterious phone Bai Lisu had used before.

Opening the messaging app, he saw the old group chat still existed.

The group name remained:

“Yan Dun’s Guardian Angels.”

Curious, he opened the chat history.

There he saw the message:

『 Yan Dun is currently being force-fed alcohol by a dirty old pervert in the White Dragon Club VIP room. Danger! Come quickly! 』

Only then did he understand.

So that’s why everyone arrived so fast that time...

Yan Dun decided to send An Zao a similarly formatted anonymous message:

『 Yan Dun is in Room 1111 of XX Hotel. He has been drugged. Danger! Come quickly! 』

An Zao immediately replied:

『 What happened to him? 』

『 Who are you? 』

『 How do you know this? 』

Yan Dun thought Chi An was in even greater danger—after all, he had actually taken the drug.

So he sent another message:

『 Chi An is in Room 2222. He has also been drugged. Danger! Come quickly! 』

An Zao replied:

『 Oh. 』

The response made one wonder whether Chi An was actually his biological brother.

According to the story setting, they were biological brothers.

But An Zao didn’t truly have deep feelings for Chi An.

His soul had never known this person. The “brotherhood” existed only as implanted memories.

His concern for Chi An was more a sense of responsibility than affection.

Usually he treated Chi An well enough.

But whenever Chi An and Yan Dun were placed on opposite sides of a scale, An Zao practically forgot Chi An existed.

Still, out of basic decency, he couldn’t simply ignore him.

So he ordered the hotel manager to investigate Room 2222.

As for himself, he rushed straight to Room 1111.

In a normal world, hotel rooms aren’t entered at will.

But this was a CEO novel.

CEOs could enter any room they wanted.

Hotel rooms.

Private homes.

Anything.

Doors existed merely for decoration.

When An Zao burst into Room 1111, he found Yan Dun lying on the bed with flushed cheeks.

The sight was alarming.

An Zao hurried over and shook him.

“Yan Dun! Yan Dun!”

Yan Dun was groggy and half-conscious.

An Zao became extremely worried and immediately carried him to the hospital.

The doctor examined him and said:

“He just drank too much. He’s sleeping deeply.”

“…”

For a moment, An Zao had no words.

Still, this counted as good news.

At least Yan Dun had merely gotten drunk rather than taken some unknown drug.

After thanking the doctor, An Zao sat beside Yan Dun’s VIP hospital bed.

Yan Dun lay quietly beneath white sheets.

His expression was peaceful.

His cheeks were pink.

To An Zao, he looked indescribably adorable.

An Zao sat there watching him sleep.

His gaze flickered like candlelight.

No matter how it swayed, it continued to envelop the person before him with warmth and light.

Yan Dun really had drunk too much.

After a long while, he slowly began to wake.

At that moment, a system notification sounded:

Mission Complete: Make the CEO learn that you accidentally took an aphrodisiac and come rescue you ✓

Yan Dun was startled.

Completed already?!

His eyes flew open.

His first instinct was to check the condition of a certain part of his anatomy.

But the moment he opened his eyes, he met An Zao’s gaze.

“Boss An!”

An Zao smiled.

“You’re finally awake.”

Still confused, Yan Dun tried to sit up.

“Boss An? Why are you here? …Where am I?”

An Zao adjusted his pillow and helped him sit upright.

“This is a hospital.”

“A hospital?!”

Yan Dun was shocked.

That CEO was really that powerful? He sent me straight to the hospital?

Wait...

Nothing feels wrong back there...

Frowning, Yan Dun asked:

“What exactly happened?”

An Zao sighed.

“You drank too much. Don’t you know that yourself?”

“I-I drank too much?”

An Zao nodded.

“I received a message saying something had happened to you at a hotel. I rushed over and found you unconscious. I took you to the hospital, and the doctor said you were simply drunk.”

“………………”

Yan Dun was speechless.

Mostly speechless at himself.

Fortunately, this still counted as completing the mission.

The CEO learned he was in trouble.

The CEO rescued him.

The system accepted it.

A successful loophole.

Thinking of that, Yan Dun breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet at the same time, he felt an odd sense of disappointment.

What if I hadn’t fallen asleep?

What if I’d convincingly acted as though I were drugged?

What would Boss An have done?

The customer service agent answered:

An Zao would have taken you to the hospital, Customer

Yan Dun froze.

“…Really?”

Customer service explained:

Yes. According to our analysis, he approaches problems differently from the people in this CEO world, Dear Customer.

An Zao didn’t possess “CEO logic.”

If the person he loved were suffering from the effects of an illegal drug, his first concern would be their health.

He would send them to the hospital immediately.

He would never smirk and say:

“You brought this upon yourself.”

Yan Dun realized he would do exactly the same thing.

If someone had taken such a drug, his first reaction would also be to call a doctor—not unzip his pants.

Remembering the faint expectation he’d secretly harbored, Yan Dun felt deeply ashamed.

Seeing Yan Dun lowering his head, An Zao asked gently:

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Yan Dun quickly shook his head.

“I’m fine. By the way, what about President Hua and President Chi? I remember... they were drinking with me...”

Actually, Yan Dun trusted the system.

He knew plot armor would protect both CEOs.

He was simply curious.

Had they finally determined whose sword was longer?