"W-welcome back, boss!" 

Lai Jiayi bent her back a bit, showing her uniform maid as she smiled like an idiot at the handsome black-haired man in front of her. 

Her ponytail brown hair swayed as the sunlight shone upon it. 

Her amber, honey-like eyes formed a beautiful crescent moon when she smiled. Her smile was so sweet that it could melt even the coldest man on earth except for this particular boss. 

The moment the man saw the girl, he abruptly halted his steps a meter away from Lai Jiayi. The white swan AI* floating around his head also stopped. 

Silence suddenly filled the modern, monochrome terrace. 

Baffled, the guy only blinked his eyes and stared blankly at Lai Jiayi. Ah, he was staring at the girl's clothes to be precise. 

Lai Jiayi's lips instantly twitched. 

'...why is this iceberg not moving?? Is my uniform that weird? At least give a reaction!' 

The girl was cursing the man, but outside, she kept her smile as she waited for the man in front of her to react. 

Sadly, even after a few seconds passed by, Zhao Yang only stood unmoving like a statue. 

He tucked his right hand inside his black pants' pocket while his sapphire blue eyes were staring intensely at Lai Jiayi, scanning her from her head to her toe. 

'....she looks fine. But what's with those clothes?'  

The man was relieved about the girl, but when his sharp, eagle-like swept the girl's clothes, it immediately sent a shiver down Lai Jiayi's back. 

BA-THUMP! 

'What– whaaaat. Why are you staring at me?? And why don't you speak?! Ah, ah! Don't look at me! Am I that pretty, huh? You're stunned?!' 

Lai Jiayi's smile began to fade when she realised that the man didn't respond to her. Her white, pale face turned even paler than before, but one could see a tinge of blush creeping into her cheeks. 

Lai Jiayi didn't know whether to feel intimidated or embarrassed. It was the first time she felt this way toward a man, so how should she know what's going on? 

Confused, the girl bit her lips and chose to be mute to bury her embarrassment. 

Well, the man also calmly shut his mouth, not intending to speak. He just stood there, scrutinising the girl from head to toe. He looked slightly amused by the girl's attire. 

Still...the silence was suffocating. 

The long silence finally bothered the girl. The sound of her heartbeat buzzing in her ears got on her nerves. 

Lai Jiayi grew more restless. Her heart kept rampaging and she knew she had to break this uncomfortable silence. 

Lai Jiayi opened her mouth and was finally about to speak when a familiar notification that she hadn't heard for a while, suddenly sounded in her mind. 

TING! [Otome game assistance is activated.] 

A black, semi-transparent hologram board appeared in front of Lai Jiayi, and no one other than the girl could see this.  

Two lines of sentence appeared on the black transparent board.

Stay silent 

Ask him something 

10. 9. 8 

A huge timer appeared at the right bottom corner of the panel. 

Lai Jiayi's head throbbed. 

'This assistance again. Why does it suddenly appear now?!' 

If the girl didn't choose, she knew that the assistance would  randomly select an option for her.

And if she picked the wrong choice, the love barometer might drop!

'How annoying.' 

Lai Jiayi gulped and pondered in her heart. 

'Stay silent? That's a dumb move, okay? Who will choose it! That's why…' 

Lai Jiayi didn't hesitate to say her answer in her heart, directed to the system. 

[I choose B.]   

TING! [You choose B. Ask him something. Please do so in 10 seconds.] 

The board disappeared, replaced by a huge countdown from 10 to 0. 

'Alright, let's do this.' 

Crumpling the hem of her maid uniform, Lai Jiayi carefully lifted her head. 

She asked in a trembling voice, "B-boss? I-is there something wrong?" 

Her sweet, mellow voice rang throughout the entrance, but the tremble in her voice could still be heard, loud and clear. 

The man finally showed a reaction. He silently sighed before shaking his head. 

"No, nothing." 

'So...she's still afraid of me.' 

Zhao Yang thought that Lai Jiayi was still afraid of him since she stuttered but little did he know it's because she's nervous. 

The man gruntled as he took off his navy blue futuristic suit and suddenly handed it to Li Jiayi without looking at her. 

'T-this…?'  

Lai Jiayi stared blankly at the man, but then in less than a second, the man who's a head taller than the girl walked away calmly. 

He passed by Lai Jiayi and patted her shoulder lightly. "After this, rest, don't push yourself," the man spoke shortly.  

! 

Lai Jiayi flinched at the shoulder pat. Her phobia of men kicked in. She subconsciously stepped back. 

"Y-yes– "   

The smell of mint instantly assaulted Lai Jiayi's nose following the man's departure. It somehow calmed her phobia for a second. 

'Okay, calm down. I still have a business with that ice block.' 

The girl immediately put the suit on a floating suit hanger not far from her place and dashed to catch up with the young man. 

'Even though the barometer didn't raise, this is still good!' 

Arriving at the lavish, large living room, Lai Jiayi immediately approached the young man sitting on the white sofa. He crossed his legs handsomely while scrolling his hologram screen.  

"B-boss!" Lai Jiayi ran at high speed toward the young man. Her ponytail swayed as she ran. 

Hearing the girl called him, the young man lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. Even the swan AI next to him also did the same. 

The young man didn't speak, but his silence means the girl should speak instead. 

Stopping right a meter in front of the man, Lai Jiayi looked down at him with a forced smile on her face. Her breath was out of order, but the girl was too nervous to notice that. 

'Alright, here we go. Time to do that fcking obligation mission. Else it's game over!'

With a flushing cheek, Lai Jiayi spoke in a coy voice, "B-boss, do you want to have dinner, t-take a bath, or…" 

Lai Jiayi paused a bit as she averted her eyes, acting bashful. 

"O-or...you want...me?" 

AAHHHH!! SO CHEESY!! 

Lai Jiayi screamed in her heart and began to fidget with her finger. Her face turned hot as she cursed a specific AI in her heart. 

The AI she was cursing, was currently holding back his laughter while hiding inside the girl's skirt. 

A sight of a yellow duck trembling while rolling in the air could be seen underneath Lai Jiayi's skirt. 

[BWAHAHAHA! You did say it, quack– ] 

[Shut up!] Lai Jiayi shouted in her mind, scolding the AI through telepathy. 

Her body trembled, and steam raised from her head. 

'To think someone who can't handle men like me, a forever single...will one day chase after one so persistently even shamelessly flirting– ' 

This was all THAT GAME'S FAULT! 

The mess began a few weeks ago...when the debt collectors were chasing after her life.  

~~~~~~

*AI= artificial intelligence/robot