TMCOC CH 2

Chapter 2: Tell Me, Cash or Check? (II)

“How many percentage points did the Du Corporation drop this time?”

President Wei stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, not bothering to turn around as he asked his secretary, who was nervously clutching a stack of reports.

“…Three percent,” the secretary replied after double-checking the numbers. “Several projects that were in partnership with Du Corporation have also been successfully acquired by us.” She changed to another file. “Also, the Liu Group’s land development case you mentioned last time—this time we’ve secured that as well.”

“That old man from Du Corporation… every time I make a move, his stock only drops by a few points. Stingy to death.”

The secretary couldn’t help but respond softly, “Well, it’s a company built over three generations.”

“Heh,” Wei Gaochen sneered. “Even the pyramids built by ancient people ended up as tourist attractions.”

He turned around and opened the blinds. Against the streaming light, his secretary could only see the faint smile of a true villain on his face. “I don’t believe I can’t acquire the Du Building. Once I do, I’ll open the whole thing to the public as a national tourist site. And Du Linghe himself—” he let out a low laugh, “—will also become my personal possession.”

The secretary blinked rapidly, half-blinded by the sunlight. “…”

Wei Gaochen chuckled to himself a few times, then finally composed his expression, returning to his usual calm and approachable demeanor.

“There’s still a bit more to go…” he mused. “Anna, what do you think of President Du’s reaction this time? Do you think he’s angry enough?”

“…” Since the answer would directly affect her year-end bonus, Anna adjusted her glasses and said tactfully, “President Wei, I think you already know the answer to that.”

As the chief secretary, she had mastered the art of not answering questions—skillfully throwing them back at her boss.

Wei Gaochen sighed dramatically, putting on a look of false melancholy that was clearly hiding immense satisfaction. “I really am the treasure of his heart.”

A treasure he probably wanted to throw on the ground and stomp to pieces, Anna thought to herself dryly.

Her mind flashed back to that day when President Du stormed out of the CEO’s office, fury written all over his face, spitting venomous words as he stood by the door.

“Just you wait.”
“This won’t end so easily.”
“Wei Gaochen, don’t even think about dying peacefully.”

Du Linghe’s voice that day was cold enough to freeze someone to death. If he had a gun in his hand, the Wei Corporation would’ve lost its CEO right then and there.

Recalling President Du’s dark expression, Anna could only hope that when their company eventually lost a president, they would still be able to keep running.

“President Wei,” Anna said as she wrapped up her report, “I’ve sent this year’s operation plan to your email. Also, Du Corporation has officially backed out of the bidding—but they issued a warning.”

“Oh, that? Just ignore them.”

Wei Gaochen waved his hand dismissively, completely unbothered. What he was still hung up on was how Du Linghe had flat-out rejected his proposal yesterday. He had really looked forward to Du Linghe coming to him for a mortgage—after all, “acquiring the CEO” had been one of his proudest ambitions, and it failed spectacularly.

That day, Du Linghe had slammed the door on his way out, his face pitch-black with anger, radiating enough murderous intent to kill a man—but damn if he didn’t look devastatingly handsome while doing it.

Even if it meant risking a punch to the face, Wei Gaochen felt it was worth it to admire that man up close.

After indulging in his fantasy about the rival CEO, Wei continued speaking to his secretary. “Oh, right. Since President Du’s not going to sell himself, just sell that project we won to the mafia.”

He smiled faintly. That delicate, handsome face of his looked completely harmless. “Remember to sell it for triple the price. Don’t worry—they’ll buy it. Those people love speculating in real estate.”

So he’d rather throw it into the gutter than let Du Corporation have it? Anna jotted down her boss’s words with a numb expression, then calmly replied, “It’ll be handled within three days.”

Wei Gaochen was very pleased with his chief secretary’s efficiency. He gave her an approving nod. “Alright then, you may kowtow ^[1]and take your leave.”

Secretary Anna: “…”

For a regular office worker, earning a single paycheck is hard enough.

—Click.

The door to the CEO’s office closed. Wei Gaochen leaned comfortably back into his ridiculously expensive executive chair, casually counting on his fingers how much money he’d made this time.

After a few seconds, he realized his fingers weren’t enough to count all the zeroes in his head.

With a sigh, he murmured to himself, “Being too good at making money is such a headache.”

Then, a transparent window suddenly appeared in front of him, and a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his ears.

 【Mission Released — Conquer the Real Estate Sector: Du Corporation Takeover Failure 12/12】
【Evaluation — Completion Rate: 100%】
【System Reward Processing…】

The phone sitting on the CEO’s smooth redwood desk buzzed a few times. Wei Gaochen glanced at it — and saw a huge transfer, so many zeroes that his eyes nearly crossed.

He let out a whistle. “The system really is my sugar daddy.”

It was something that defied all logic, but Wei Gaochen acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. Still, explaining it wasn’t exactly simple.

In short, one sunny day, while he was wandering the streets half-starved and dodging debt collectors, a strange screen had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

That was when the miserable Wei Gaochen realized — the world he lived in was actually a novel, and he was the native-born villain destined to oppose the protagonist.

Unfortunately, his pathetic real-life performance had completely derailed the plot. Instead of a ruthless villain, he had been crushed by the debts left by his family.

To keep the story from collapsing, the system appeared.

It told him he had to push the novel toward its proper ending. After reading through the story, the system had asked what he wished for.

As long as he followed the missions and pushed the plot forward, his wish would come true.

Wei Gaochen didn’t have many desires — when you’re on the verge of starving, all you really want is a decent life. So, he made a simple wish to live comfortably.

And then, everything began to change.

Each phase of the story came with missions. Failure to complete them resulted in punishment, but finishing them always earned him generous rewards. So, Wei Gaochen made sure to complete every task diligently.

The system wasn’t even that strict. As long as he nudged the protagonist in the right direction — even slightly — the mission would count as completed.

So, as the story progressed, Wei Gaochen found himself simultaneously doing everything he could to sabotage the main character and sneakily admiring that handsome face of his whenever he appeared at press conferences.

He had truly grown into a mature villain.

President Wei let out a satisfied hum, pulling up the system window again to wait for his next mission.

But as the screen flickered with fresh lines of data, his eyes suddenly widened.

Those slightly narrowed eyes — a habit formed from mild astigmatism — snapped fully open, sharp and alert.

He reread the new mission several times, then slumped back into his custom-made executive chair, deep in thought.

The luxury chair, worth tens of thousands, molded perfectly to his body — like a spoiled cat basking in comfort.

Wei Gaochen’s expression was like the stock market: all green in the morning, then a total crash right before closing.

“…Well,” he finally said, a slow grin spreading across his face. “This just got interesting.”

He looked at the mission page again, his expression shifting through several emotions before breaking into a smile.

【Mission Released — Humiliate the Protagonist (Physical Interaction) 0/5】
【Time Limit — Within Five Days】
【Villain, please complete your task.】

(To be continued…)

Translator’s Note:

I can’t stop laughing—Wei Gaochen’s supposed to be sabotaging Du Linghe, yet he’s too busy thirsting over that handsome face! 😂 Like sir, are you fighting him or falling for him? The duality of a shameless man never fails!