The Sound of a Heart Shattering

The air in the CEO's office seemed to freeze solid.

Those pale scraps of paper lay silently on the handwoven Persian rug, looking exactly like Jian Ning's heart, which had just shattered into a QR code. He maintained that stiff smile, but the twitching of his lips could barely keep up with the rhythm of his heart stopping.

Huo Si watched him with leisurely composure.

The man sat back down behind the wide leather chair that symbolized power. His long fingers rested on the armrest, his fingertips tapping lightly now and then. His gaze was deep and amused, like he was admiring a hamster that had fallen into a trap yet still pretended to be sunbathing.

"What? Haven't you been happy enough yet?" Huo Si's voice was low, carrying a faint trace of barely perceptible mockery.

Jian Ning took a deep breath and used every ounce of acting skill he had accumulated in his life to forcibly turn the tears in his eyes, originally brought on by the "loss of a huge sum of money," into tears of "overwhelming joy."

"Mr. Huo..." Jian Ning's voice trembled. He slowly crouched down and reached out with shaking fingers to pick up the scraps one by one. "I'm just... so touched. In order to keep me, you actually tore up such a valuable check. In your heart, I'm more important than five million..."

He held the scraps in his palm as though they were the most precious treasure in the world, then looked up at Huo Si with soulful eyes. "I'll glue these pieces back together, frame them, hang them by my bed, and remember your kindness day and night."

At the same time, however, Huo Si's mind seemed to explode like a pot of boiling porridge—

[To hell with remembering your kindness! Huo Si, you wasteful bastard! Is that a check? That's my life!]

[Can it still be cashed if I glue it back together? The bank teller will definitely throw me out for being insane, right? Definitely, right?!]

[System! Where the hell did you die? Hurry up and check this world's laws for me! Can a torn check be reissued? If not, I'm putting laxatives in Huo Si's water tonight! I'll make him shit until he's dehydrated! Shit until he questions his entire life!]

Huo Si's hand paused slightly as he lifted his coffee.

Laxatives?

This little thing was getting bolder by the day.

If it had been before, hearing someone dare to curse him like that, Huo Si would have had them thrown into the river to feed the fish. Yet strangely, listening to that furious roar mixed with the sound of a breakdown, he actually found it... oddly appetizing?

Especially when he looked at Jian Ning's outwardly obedient little-white-rabbit act. That stark contrast gave him a long-lost sliver of pleasure on this dull, tedious afternoon.

"Enough. Stop picking them up." Huo Si set down his coffee, his tone indifferent. "Since you're staying, then act like someone who's staying. Go sit on the sofa over there. Without my permission, don't make a sound and don't move around."

Jian Ning's hands froze around the scraps, then he obediently nodded. "Yes, Mr. Huo. As long as I can watch you work, I'll be completely satisfied."

Like a put-upon little wife, he slowly shuffled over to the genuine leather sofa in the corner and sat down.

The moment his butt touched the soft sofa, Jian Ning began frantically calling out to that unreliable system in his mind.

[System! Get out here and work! Can you stop playing dead? I haven't even settled the score with you over those five million! If this job falls through, I'm unbinding! Let's all perish together!]

A mechanical voice devoid of emotion sounded in his mind:

[Host, please remain calm. It has been detected that the host's emotional fluctuations are excessive. Deep breathing is recommended. This system is the Entertainment Gossip Wealth System. Its purpose is to assist the host in reaching the pinnacle of life through mastering gossip. Although the five million is gone, as long as the host remains by target Huo Si's side, you will gain access to more core gossip sources from wealthy families and the entertainment industry.]

Jian Ning rolled his eyes internally and adjusted into a slightly more comfortable position. Outwardly, though, he still had to maintain an elegant, straight-backed posture, afraid that the living King of Hell over there would find fault with him.

[Stop feeding me empty promises. I'm broke right now. The original owner was dirt poor, and there's only two hundred and fifty left in his card. I spent fifty taking a taxi here, and now I don't even have dinner money. How am I supposed to stay calm? Can gossip fill my stomach?]

The system replied, [Gossip cannot directly fill your stomach, but gossip means traffic, and traffic means money. In view of the host's recent major financial loss, the system has specially issued one novice compensation gift pack. Would you like to open it now?]

Jian Ning's eyes lit up, and the roar in his mind instantly changed its tune.

[Open it, open it, open it! Hurry and open it! Is there some hidden black card inside? Or a cheat that lets me see lottery numbers?]

[The novice gift pack has been opened. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the passive skill—Absolute Gossip Sense.]

[Skill description: When a person carrying major gossip appears within a ten-meter radius of the host, a special text bubble visible only to the host will appear above that person's head. Click the bubble to unlock explosive gossip about that person, including but not limited to cheating, bribery, plastic surgery, illegitimate children, and more.]

[Note: The beginner-level skill may only be used three times per day. Please choose your gossip targets carefully.]

Jian Ning clicked his tongue in disappointment. [That's it? I thought you'd just transfer a hundred million into my account. What use is this skill? I'm not a paparazzo...]

Just then, someone knocked on the heavy mahogany office doors.

"Come in." Huo Si did not even raise his head.

The door opened, and a rich, somewhat pungent perfume scent drifted in first. Then a tall woman in a fitted business skirt and ten-centimeter stilettos walked inside. She carried a thick stack of documents, and her makeup was exquisite, though the sharply winged eyeliner made her look somewhat mean.

This was Huo Si's first secretary, Lily.

Jian Ning searched through the original owner's memories. This Lily had never been kind to the original owner. Every time he came looking for Huo Si, she would stop him outside with one excuse or another. She had even mocked him in public as "a wild chicken dreaming of flying onto a branch."

Lily walked up to the desk, her voice sweet enough to seem mixed with three pounds of saccharin. "President Huo, these are the quarterly reports submitted from downstairs. They need your signature. Also, your formalwear for tonight's charity banquet has arrived. Would you like me to help you try it on?"

As she spoke, she leaned forward deliberately or otherwise, her neckline cut extremely low.

Huo Si continued reading the document in his hand without even sparing her a glance. "Put it down. Leave."

The smile on Lily's face stiffened, though she was clearly accustomed to Huo Si's coldness. She straightened up, her gaze shifting, and only then did she seem to notice the person sitting in the corner. Her eyes landed on Jian Ning.

In that instant, the contempt in her eyes was almost undisguised.

"Well, if it isn't our big star Jian." Lily gave a strange, mocking laugh. "Why are you sitting here? I thought President Huo had already told you to leave. This is the CEO's office, after all. It isn't a place where just any irrelevant person can stay."

Jian Ning was about to snap back when his vision suddenly blurred.

Above Lily's high-volume hairstyle, practically drenched in hairspray, a huge exclamation-mark bubble suddenly appeared, glowing red.

There was even a small tag beside it: [This is a flavorful piece of gossip.]

Jian Ning froze.

Was this the system's Absolute Gossip Sense?

[Holy shit? Flavorful gossip? What does that mean? Has she not washed her hair in days?]

His intense curiosity—mainly his desire to watch the drama—instantly defeated the frustration he had felt moments ago. He blinked and lightly poked the bubble with his mind.

With a soft pop audible only inside Jian Ning's mind, the bubble burst. A line of enlarged, bold text floated above Lily's head:

[Shocking! The glamorous top secretary of the CEO's office is secretly a major player in the "original scent" industry chain! On the secondhand trading platform Seafood Market, she is auctioning off Huo Si's discarded used tissues, empty mineral water bottles he drank from, and even... a strand of Huo Si's hair that fell onto the carpet!]

[Current results: By selling Huo Si's "original scent merchandise," she earns one hundred thousand a month—more than her salary!]

[Newest listing: The wet wipe President Huo just threw into the trash after wiping his hands. Starting bid: 500 yuan.]

"Pfft—"

Jian Ning could not hold it in. The mouthful of plain water he had just drunk sprayed straight out.

The office's originally grim atmosphere was instantly shattered.

Lily stepped back in disgust and shrieked, "Jian Ning! Do you have any manners? This is a Persian rug! Even selling you wouldn't be enough to pay for ruining it!"

At that moment, Huo Si, seated behind the desk, also lifted his head. His brows furrowed as he looked at Jian Ning.

He had been about to reprimand the restless little hamster, but Jian Ning's deafening laughter immediately rang through his mind:

[Hahahahahahaha! Help! I can't do this anymore! My stomach hurts from laughing!]

[Sister Lily, you're working way too hard, aren't you? A hundred thousand a month? Are you some kind of business genius?]

[Huo Si, Huo Si, you think she wants to sleep with you? She wants to sell your trash! Hahahaha! In Sister Lily's eyes, you aren't some domineering CEO at all. You're a walking trash-production machine! A money tree!]

[Oh, no, I can't breathe. Didn't Huo Si just throw a wet wipe he used to wipe his hands into the trash? Is Sister Lily staring at that trash can right now? No wonder she deliberately leaned forward earlier. She wasn't trying to seduce him—she was trying to see whether the goods in that trash can were good quality! Hahahaha!]

Huo Si's grip around his fountain pen suddenly tightened, nearly snapping the expensive pen in half.

His expression darkened at a visible speed, like storm clouds before a tempest.

Selling his... trash?

Original scent?

Huo Si felt a wave of discomfort, both physical and psychological. He knew he had plenty of crazy admirers, but he had never imagined that his most trusted secretary would be doing such things behind his back.

Lily, meanwhile, had no idea that everything about her had been exposed. Seeing Huo Si's ugly expression, she assumed he was disgusted by Jian Ning's lack of decorum, so she worked even harder to fan the flames.

"President Huo, look at him! He doesn't understand the rules at all. Should I call security to escort him out? He'll only disturb your work."

As she spoke, Lily's eyes uncontrollably and greedily darted toward the metal trash can by Huo Si's feet.

Inside it lay the wet wipe Huo Si had just thrown away.

That was money! That was at least five hundred yuan!

Jian Ning wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, suppressing his laughter as he looked innocently at Lily. His tone was soft and sweet, but carried a subtle hint of mischief.

"Sister Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just... I think I saw you looking at President Huo's trash can? Is something wrong with it? Did some document fall inside?"

Lily's expression changed as though someone had stepped on her tail. "What nonsense are you talking about? Who was looking at a trash can?"

Jian Ning blinked his big eyes, looking utterly innocent. "But I saw you swallowing while staring at it just now. Sister Lily, if you're hungry, you can go to the employee cafeteria. Although President Huo is a feast for the eyes, the things in the trash can... really shouldn't be eaten."

[Hahahaha! Look, she's panicking! She's panicking! Huo Si, take a look at your trash can already! Protect your wet wipe! That's Sister Lily's dinner money tonight!]

Huo Si: "..."

He slowly turned his head, his gaze like two icy blades stabbing directly at Lily.

Then he looked at that completely ordinary trash can.

He had never noticed before, but now that he thought about it, every time he threw something away, Lily always rushed to clear the trash bag. He had thought she was simply diligent.

So that was why.

Huo Si felt a crack form in the worldview he had spent decades building.

"Lily." Huo Si spoke, his voice colder than before, carrying a chill that made one's spine go numb.

Lily trembled all over, suddenly seized by a sense of panic. "P-President Huo? What is it?"

Huo Si slammed the fountain pen in his hand heavily onto the desk, producing a crisp smack.

"Take this report away. Also..." Huo Si leaned back, his gaze sinister. "Have the HR manager come up. And have Security investigate the IP records for the company intranet and certain... secondhand trading platforms."

Lily's face instantly turned as white as paper, and the documents in her hands scattered across the floor with a rustle.

How did he know?!

Jian Ning sat on the sofa, watching the scene unfold as he gave a loud whistle in his mind.

[Whoa! K.O.! President Huo is amazing! Looks like this Absolute Gossip Sense is pretty useful after all. I didn't get the five million, but watching this show was worth it. Totally worth it!]

[But... Huo Si's reaction was way too fast, wasn't it? I hadn't even said it outright, and he already figured it out? Tsk tsk, he really is an old fox.]

Listening to the lavish praise in Jian Ning's mind—even though it included words like old fox—Huo Si's mood improved in a subtle way.

He looked toward the little thing in the corner, who was enjoying the spectacle immensely.

Since this little thing could bring him such interesting information...

Then he could keep him around for now.

After all, Jian Ning was the first person who had made Huo Si's world feel less boring.

Huo Si withdrew his gaze and said lightly, "Jian Ning, come here."

The barrage of comments in Jian Ning's mind instantly stopped.

He immediately put on an overwhelmed, flattered expression and jogged over. "Mr. Huo, you called for me?"

Huo Si looked at those sparkling eyes and suddenly felt the urge to tease him.

"Does it hurt, losing those five million just now?"

Jian Ning paused, then his eyes quickly reddened. "It doesn't hurt! I'm more than willing to spend money for you!"

[My heart is bleeding! Pay me back! Pay me back!]

A faint smile curled at the corner of Huo Si's lips. He took out a black card from the drawer, held it between two fingers, and handed it over.

"Take it."

Jian Ning stared at the black-and-gold card, and his breathing nearly stopped.

Was this... the legendary unlimited supplementary card?!

Could happiness really come this suddenly?!

But in the next second, Huo Si's words were like a basin of cold water dumped over him.

"Go downstairs and buy me a coffee. The remaining money..."

Huo Si deliberately paused, satisfied as he heard Jian Ning's frantic anticipation in his mind.

"With the rest, buy yourself a big, sturdy trash can. After all, you seem very interested in those."

Jian Ning: "..."

[Huo Si, you bastard!!!]

It was already Chapter Two! Dear little princesses and young masters, have you still not added it to your bookshelf?!

Quick, click [Add to Bookshelf] and keep reading! Jian Ning will teach you how to conquer everyone with the power of money!

Finger heart, thank you~