I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

"Xiaoman, what brings you here?"

Qin Xue's voice was gentle, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

Su Man and Lin Yang immediately stood up from the sofa.

At that very moment, the system interface started popping up on Lin Yang's retina.

Lines of dark blue data appeared out of thin air above Qin Xue's head, forming a semi-transparent information box.

Name: Qin Xue

[Wealth Rating: Star Level]

Overall rating: 9.4

[Appearance: 9.2, Figure: 9.3, Charisma: 9.6]

[Tags: Qin family heir, unmarried, misogynistic]

Lin Yang's breath hitched for a moment.

Diamond rank!

That's something above the diamond level [100 million] in the system's rating system!

A net worth of at least one billion!

His heart began to pound violently, and a surge of heat mixed with greed and excitement rushed to the top of his head.

【Ding! 】

A crisp notification sound rang in his mind.

[A target matching the system's requirements has been identified. Since the target is over thirty years old, the host can choose whether to mark them as a potential romance target.]

Is this still a choice?

This is a super-rich woman! Someone who could save him from struggling for several lifetimes!

Must be marked!

Lin Yang roared inwardly.

[The third target for romance has been announced]

[Task Name: Obtain a Gift from the Third Romance Target]

[Mission Objective: Qin Xue]

[Task Objective: Obtain a tangible gift from Qin Xue within one year. (Gifts may include, but are not limited to, money, items, opportunities, etc.)]

[Mission Successful: You have been granted the opportunity to choose one of three "gold digger" skills.]

[Mission Failure: Penalty Executed—Host's height will decrease by 15 centimeters.]

Why is the reward for success so limited?

Lin Yang gasped when he saw the penalty for failure.

He's 15 centimeters shorter? Does that mean he went from 185cm to 170cm?

This punishment is too harsh!

He internally raged: This system understands men too well! This punishment is even harder for him to accept than penis shortening!

"The system has given us a year to complete the strategy, so it seems it knows how difficult this strategy is."

Lin Yang muttered something to himself, and with a thought, he opened the "Soft Rice Encyclopedia".

[Successfully logged in as No.3 Qin Xue, initial obedience level 50%.]

As expected, just like the previous two, the initial value was 50%.

However, the obedience levels of No.1 Su Man and No.2 Chen Wanjun have already been won over to around 90%.

In the brief few seconds that he interacted with the system, the conversation had already begun in the real world.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Qin."

Su Man's voice pulled Lin Yang back to reality.

He quickly followed suit, bowing and greeting him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Qin."

Qin Xue's gaze lingered on Su Man for a moment, then she glanced indifferently at Lin Yang beside her and completely ignored him.

That look in his eyes was as if he were looking at an insignificant piece of furniture.

Just then, the maid from before walked in.

"Miss, the tea and refreshments are ready. Would you like to eat here or in the courtyard?"

Qin Xue strode out barefoot towards the sunny courtyard outside the side hall.

"Let's go to the courtyard."

Her voice drifted over softly.

"Call Wu Tong and Li Fei over to keep watch."

The maid answered respectfully.

"Yes, miss."

Before long, faint footsteps could be heard outside the side hall.

Two women dressed in black fitted suits appeared at the entrance to the side hall from the courtyard, standing on the left and right.

They were tall and slender, expressionless, with their jet-black hair neatly tied up at the back of their heads, and transparent spiral communication earpieces plugged into their ears.

Qin Xue led Su Man toward the pavilion deep in the courtyard, and Lin Yang subconsciously followed behind.

But just as he was about to step out of the side hall and into the courtyard, one of the women in black stepped to the side and stretched out an arm.

The movements were clean and efficient, without any unnecessary actions.

That arm simply blocked his way.

Su Man stopped and looked back, her brows furrowing slightly.

Qin Xue seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She didn't turn around, but simply reached out and grabbed Su Man's hand. The grip wasn't strong, but it was firm enough to prevent her from breaking free.

"It's alright, he can eat inside."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached Lin Yang's ears clearly.

After watching Qin Xue and Su Man's figures disappear into the flowers and trees of the courtyard, Lin Yang turned his gaze back to the two women in black in front of him.

Wu Tong, Li Fei.

His mind raced, and a sense of familiarity washed over him.

It looks familiar.

Why does this look so familiar?

In an instant, the crudely recorded videos from the surveillance room of the Junfu Hotel, which he had repeatedly watched on his computer that morning, flashed through his mind.

He was dragged out of room 1725 by two men in black.

He was dragged into room 2610.

The profile of one woman, the subtle swaying of another woman's body as she walks.

The pixels in the video now perfectly overlapped with the two living people in front of them.

An absurd yet audacious conjecture surged through his body like an electric current.

The person who put herself and Su Man in the same bed was Qin Xue.

Why?

He couldn't understand it at all.

Why would a woman with a net worth of at least a billion and a label of "extreme misogyny" use such methods to put an unknown new employee into the bed of her most capable subordinate?

Lin Yang slowly retreated to the reception room and sat back down on the expensive leather sofa.

On the table, the maid had already set out exquisite tea and snacks.

On a delicate porcelain plate are small macarons and mousse cakes, and the air is filled with the aroma of black tea and desserts.

He picked up a piece of matcha mousse and put it in his mouth.

The silky cream and slightly bitter tea flavor melt on the tongue, creating a top-notch taste.

But at this moment, he only tasted the bitterness of scheming.

His gaze fell once more on the two women at the doorway, who stood motionless like statues, their demeanor calm and composed.

Since learning basic combat techniques, his senses have become much sharper.

He could sense that these two women were definitely not ordinary, showy bodyguards.

Their posture and the lines of their muscles exuded an aura of danger born of long-term training.

He even considered opening the system to check their information.

But the thought only flashed through my mind.

waste.

Judging from their appearance and demeanor, their overall score definitely wouldn't reach 8.5. Their wealth rating is out of the question; at best, they'd be at the gold level. They don't meet any of the system's requirements.

The key now is Qin Xue.

……

Inside the pavilion in the courtyard, a gentle breeze stirred the white gauze curtains.

Qin Xue and Su Man sat facing each other. On the stone table was a set of purple clay teaware, and the tea had been brewed and was steaming.

Su Man didn't touch the teacup in front of her. She stared directly at Qin Xue, her voice tense.

"President Qin, why did you do this?"

Qin Xue seemed not to hear the question in her tone. She slowly picked up the teapot and added a little more water to the already full teacup in front of Su Man until the water surface formed a slightly raised arc at the rim of the cup.

"Xiaoman, you're still so impatient."

She put down the teapot, picked up a delicate osmanthus cake with bamboo tongs, and placed it on the plate in front of Su Man.

"Come, have some tea and snacks first."

Su Man's lips were pressed into a straight line, and she remained silent.

Silence fell over the pavilion, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.

After a long while, Qin Xue finally spoke, her gaze passing over Su Man and looking towards the shimmering pond in the distance.

"You slept with that little boy."

Su Man's body stiffened for a moment, and her hands, which were resting on her knees, clenched unconsciously.

She took a deep breath; her throat felt a little dry.

"Um."

With a single word, Su Man admitted everything.

A faint smile curved Qin Xue's lips, as if she was not surprised at all by the answer.

"Actually, I just wanted to push you and get you to compete for the position of president of the overseas region."

Su Man's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Then you shouldn't have done it this way." There was a hint of anger in her voice.

"Another purpose is also to give you something to worry about." Qin Xue turned her gaze back to Su Man's face. "People can't always think about work. If you keep the string stretched so tight, it will break."

"But I..."

Su Man was about to retort when Qin Xue interrupted her.

"I know you're worried about your qualifications and how short your time at the company is." Qin Xue's eyes were sharp, as if she could see right through you. "But I know your abilities. I promoted you myself, and I've never misjudged someone."

This statement is both a reassurance and a declaration.

Su Man fell silent. She knew that any argument would be futile in front of Qin Xue.

She changed the question.

"Then why not choose Guo Kaiqi?"

Qin Xue picked up her teacup, gently blew on the floating tea leaves, and took a sip.

"Kaiqi," her voice was calm and even, "she has other plans."