"President Ji! Watch out!"
While Ji Hanxing was still wondering who President Ji was, an unidentified object suddenly flew straight at his face.
Bang!
With his head wrapped in gauze and his neck immobilized in a brace, Ji Hanxing stared blankly at the ceiling of the luxurious hospital room.
He had transmigrated into a book.
Into a romance novel about a domineering CEO falling in love with the heroine. The good news was that he had become the domineering CEO male lead, who shared his exact name.
This domineering CEO would be drawn to the innocent intern heroine at his company, endure countless hardships with her, and finally get their happy ending.
The bad news was that he was gay! Ji Hanxing wasn't interested in girls at all!
Yesterday, after transmigrating, he had even done... with a man.
Remembering that man, Ji Hanxing felt a wave of guilt.
That man wasn't the rich kid who had hit him while street racing in the real world, and none of the things Ji Hanxing had imagined existed here either.
Once he calmed down, Ji Hanxing seemed to remember a little of what had happened last night. He had been the one clinging to that man...
At that thought, Ji Hanxing's face suddenly flushed crimson. Yesterday had been his first time, too. Honestly, it had felt pretty good.
But soon, Ji Hanxing grew worried, because he hadn't just transmigrated into a book. He had also been bound to a system.
More precisely, the system had brought him into the book.
Except the system seemed to have a delay. Only after he had done that with the unknown man had it finally arrived.
And slammed straight into his forehead.
[Hello, host. I am System No. 004. My mission is domineering CEO development, with the firm objective of cultivating a perfect male lead for every heroine of a domineering CEO novel.] [Confirming your information: Ji Hanxing, orphan, twenty-four years old, university dropout, owner of an egg fried rice stall at a night market. On the evening of November 1, 2023, while picking up trash on your way home after closing your stall, you were unfortunately struck by a car.]
Ji Hanxing frowned. "That was a drink bottle, not trash!"
The system fell silent for a moment. Rather than argue with Ji Hanxing, it continued:
[Through a chance coincidence, you have been bound to this system. You will receive an opportunity to be reborn.]
Ji Hanxing thought, Something that good could happen? Was an unlucky guy like me finally getting a change of fortune?
[Mission: successfully play the domineering CEO male lead. You will receive life points for every plot point you complete. Upon reaching the book's ending, you will be able to remain in this world permanently.]
Ji Hanxing was shocked. "I don't even like women! How could I possibly reach the book's ending?"
He was gay! He had only just done that sort of thing with a man!
The system paused. This answer wasn't within its preset parameters.
Seeing this, Ji Hanxing had a guess. "You didn't know that, did you? Did you bind yourself to the wrong person? I really am gay!"
But Ji Hanxing didn't want to tell the system what had happened between him and that man. To him, it was an extremely private matter.
Apparently, this system of unknown origin didn't know about it either. After all, it had arrived late.
Ji Hanxing pressed his advantage. "Isn't this asking the impossible? It wouldn't be good for the heroine either. How about finding someone more suitable?"
The system's cold, mechanical voice sounded:
[If you refuse the mission, please unbind. This system will send you out of this world.]
Ji Hanxing brightened. "I can go back?"
Although he was now a domineering CEO, one look at this luxurious private hospital room told him that this identity possessed more money than he could earn in dozens of lifetimes.
But Ji Hanxing was a very practical person. None of this belonged to him in the first place.
Still, remembering that man, Ji Hanxing smacked his lips, a little reluctant to leave. But the man was clearly either rich or influential, not someone he could dream of having. He would just treat it as a dream!
That man hadn't lost out yesterday either!
Ji Hanxing had to go back. His younger brother and sisters were still waiting for him to take care of them!
[No. Your soul will be scattered and destroyed. Your body has already entered the cremation furnace.]
Ji Hanxing choked. He didn't insist on having wealth, but that didn't mean he wanted to die.
[Host, are you certain you wish to become particles of dust?]
Somehow, Ji Hanxing heard a threat in the system's unvarying tone.
"Then what about this body's original owner?"
Now that he was here, hadn't he taken someone else's identity?
[You came to this world precisely because the soul originally serving as the domineering CEO male lead has vanished without a trace.] [Therefore, you are needed to fill this gap and ensure the smooth progression of the plot.] [As a Domineering CEO Development System, this system will continue assisting you until the mission is complete.] [Upon completing the mission, you will remain in this world permanently. If the mission fails, you will return to your original state.]
Ji Hanxing's mouth twitched. His original state? Particles of dust?
"Will he come back?"
[The rift in the world has already been repaired. No other souls will enter.]
Ji Hanxing fell silent. It seemed staying here was his best option.
But without him, what would happen to his younger brother and sisters? They were still so young...
"I... after I died, my..."
Ji Hanxing's throat tightened, and his eyes reddened. He didn't dare imagine what his younger brother and sisters would suffer without him.
One younger brother and two younger sisters, the oldest twelve and the youngest six, all from the same orphanage as Ji Hanxing. They all had congenital disabilities, and no one was willing to adopt them.
[This system knows what the host is worried about. Since you have been bound to complete the mission, you will receive the safeguards you deserve. This system has already corrected your younger brother's and sisters' disabilities. They will also find happy, loving families in the future.]
Ji Hanxing's lips parted slightly. A tear spilled from his eye and rolled down his cheek. Suddenly, he smiled and murmured, "That's wonderful..."
"All right. I accept the mission!"
Ji Hanxing soon composed himself. Better to scrape by alive than be dead. His will to live had always been tenacious.
As an orphan, he had been abandoned in the snow by his parents as soon as he was born. It had been more than ten degrees below freezing, and no one knew how long he had been left there. When the orphanage director, whom he called Mom, found him, his entire body had turned purple, and he was struggling to breathe.
Yet Ji Hanxing had survived.
Now, he merely had to survive in a different world.
Even his younger brother and sisters had better arrangements now. What worries did Ji Hanxing have left?
The system had only said he needed to reach the book's ending. That left plenty of room to maneuver, and Ji Hanxing had always been adaptable.
For now, he would take things one step at a time and handle whatever came his way.
[Host, you currently have three days of life remaining. Please complete plot-point missions to obtain life points.]
Ji Hanxing had just inherited all this body's memories. As he sifted through the original owner's memories, he frowned.
"Wait, the heroine hasn't even appeared yet. What mission am I supposed to complete?"
There were no memories of the innocent heroine, Ruan Xin.
[This system is dedicated to cultivating a flawless domineering CEO in preparation for the heroine's arrival.] [This system has prepared a complete, structured domineering CEO development curriculum for the host. Please study diligently. Completing the assessments will earn you life points.]
Ji Hanxing thought that sounded fine. It was just studying, wasn't it?
He had only dropped out of university because he couldn't afford it. He himself was quite happy to learn.
However, when Ji Hanxing saw the curriculum the system had given him, he looked like that old man on the subway squinting at his phone.
It included, but was not limited to: domineering CEO expression and physique management, studying domineering CEO quotes and creating original ones, studying domineering CEO humblebragging...
Ji Hanxing thought, Huh? What the hell is all this?
[Now issuing the first stage of study material. As the first step toward becoming a domineering CEO, please master domineering CEO expression and physique management.] [Time limit: three days. The system will issue the assessment and judge your learning results based on your performance. Passing will reward you with seven days of life.]
Failing meant game over.
Ji Hanxing was a little bewildered. "Domineering CEOs have their own special expressions and physiques?"
[Of course. As a domineering CEO, you must possess a chiseled face, deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and lips that appear somewhat cold and heartless.]
Ji Hanxing asked, "Are you sure that isn't a plaster statue?"
The system ignored Ji Hanxing and continued:
[A physique with eight-pack abs, looking slim when dressed and muscular when undressed.]
Ji Hanxing felt his current body. His stomach was flat, with no excess fat, but he didn't have eight-pack abs either!
"I have to train myself?"
[Of course. However, that belongs to the next stage of assessment. What you need to do now is expression management.]
The system transmitted a diagram of an eye into Ji Hanxing's mind.
In the line-drawn cartoon eye, the pupil was divided into several sections like a pie chart.
Four parts heartlessness, three parts coldness, two parts mockery, with one part nonchalance hidden deep within, accompanied by an occasional wickedly alluring smile.
Ji Hanxing asked, "Are you sure this is a human eye?"
[This is a domineering CEO's eye. Please study diligently, host, and successfully complete the assessment.]
Ji Hanxing shifted his neck inside the brace. "Like this, I can barely even look in a mirror."
[According to this system's examination, you will be able to get out of bed and move around in two days.]
Two days later, Ji Hanxing finally got to take off his neck brace. Not only had his neck recovered, but other parts of him had healed as well.
He could get out of bed and move around freely.
Heaven knew how he had gotten through those two days.
Ji Hanxing picked up the colored pens his assistant had brought him. The assistant was the man wearing gold-rimmed glasses whom he had met upon leaving the presidential suite. His name was Xue Hui.
Ji Hanxing wrote and drew on the paper, then cut it out with scissors.
Facing the mirror, he stuck his hand-drawn domineering CEO eyes onto his eyelids and gave his reflection a wickedly alluring smile.
The system, which hadn't appeared for two days, suddenly spoke:
[The assessment is about to begin. Please display the domineering CEO expression you have practiced to the first person you see shortly.]
Ji Hanxing thought, What! Looking at myself in the mirror isn't enough? Someone else has to see it too?
Just as he was about to say something, someone pushed open the hospital room door.
"President Yan, please come in. President Ji is staying in this room."
Ji Hanxing's pair of "domineering CEO eyes" met the eyes of the first person to step into the room.