Secretly Seducing the Third Female Lead Behind the System’s Back - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Electric Shock

Jiang Yisheng originally hadn’t spotted Bai Chu, but thanks to Xie Xin’s reaction, she immediately saw Bai Chu sitting nearby.

Her eyes lit up, and she jogged over to her.

“Bai Chu-jie, the traffic was terrible today. I would’ve been here way earlier otherwise. I was so anxious!” Jiang Yisheng squatted beside her, resting both hands on Bai Chu’s knees, still out of breath.

All eyes turned toward Bai Chu, including Xie Xin’s.

Xie Xin stood frozen in place, swallowing hard. So this is President Jiang? She was nothing like the rumors. And judging by their interaction, President Bai and President Jiang seemed to know each other well.

“You must be President Xie,” Zhang Tao stepped in to ease the tension upon seeing Xie Xin standing awkwardly.

“Assistant Zhang, nice to meet you,” Xie Xin greeted respectfully, hands clasped in front of her.

“No need to be so formal, feel free to relax.” Zhang Tao patted her shoulder and motioned for her to take a seat.

Xie Xin obediently sat down, listening closely to the conversation between Jiang Yisheng and Bai Chu.

“You’re here for training at Yujiang and didn’t even tell me? If Zhang Tao hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known,” Jiang Yisheng pouted.

“But you still found out anyway, didn’t you?” Bai Chu said as she reached for an empty chair nearby and helped her up by the elbow.

Just as Jiang Yisheng was about to sit down, a voice came from the side.

“Chu Chu.”

Jiang Yisheng turned her head and saw He Youran standing beside them, with An Hao following behind.

At the sight of the male lead, Jiang Yisheng’s expression flashed with annoyance. Why is he everywhere?

“Oh, President Jiang is here too,” He Youran greeted, only noticing her after she turned around.

“President He, here for the training as well? Welcome.” Jiang Yisheng nodded politely. “Which seat are you taking?”

He Youran glanced down at the chair Jiang Yisheng was about to sit in and gave a light chuckle.

The smile instantly vanished from Jiang Yisheng’s face. She straightened her posture. “You’re sitting here?”

He Youran nodded.

Jiang Yisheng stood up, gritting her teeth and squinting at Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao: “!!!”

Crap. Originally, she’d arranged the seating to be more flexible by letting people sit with their colleagues. She totally forgot about the whole He Youran and An Hao situation.

Jiang Yisheng shot a cold look at An Hao.

Sure enough, An Hao had chosen a seat directly behind He Youran—only the aisle separated them.

Jiang Yisheng: “…”

“If you two could just fill out this procurement form, then later—” the staff member guiding An Hao began, but he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Fortunately, his professional instincts helped him finish the sentence.

“Do either of you have any dietary restrictions?”

“I usually don’t like spicy food,” An Hao replied.

Jiang Yisheng stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at him with clear disdain. Why didn’t the spice kill him already?

Suddenly, she felt warmth on her wrist.

She turned her head and locked eyes with Bai Chu.

Just as she was about to smile, a voice echoed in her mind:

Mission 3: Eat lunch with An Hao in the company cafeteria.

Jiang Yisheng immediately frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Chu looked at her, puzzled.

“Nothing.” Jiang Yisheng shook her head, reversed the grip on Bai Chu’s hand, and forced a small smile.

What bad luck. She had planned to take Bai Chu back to her office for lunch.

She sighed inwardly.

“Excuse me, lunch is now being served. Everyone can head to the 8th-floor cafeteria,” the staff announced.

Jiang Yisheng tugged Bai Chu’s hand. “Come on, Bai Chu-jie, let’s go eat.”

Bai Chu followed her. After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and looked back toward Xie Xin.

Jiang Yisheng followed her gaze and saw Xie Xin nervously wave her hands. “President Bai, don’t worry about me, I’ll eat on my own.”

No way would she dare eat with President Jiang.

Bai Chu nodded, finally turning back with peace of mind and followed Jiang Yisheng downstairs.

The cafeteria was one floor down, and most people took the stairs.

But the crowd gave Jiang Yisheng and Bai Chu a wide berth. Everyone kept a significant distance when passing by them.

“The girl who spoke to you earlier—she’s from your company?” Jiang Yisheng made casual conversation.

“Mm, a new grad. She’s rotating through departments. I brought her to observe and learn a bit,” Bai Chu replied.

“Ohhh.” Jiang Yisheng didn’t ask further, leading her into the cafeteria.

They chose a few dishes and sat down. Jiang Yisheng began to mull over the system’s words, a bit distracted.

This is my first meal at Yujiang with Bai Chu-jie. I don’t want it ruined.

Electric shocks can’t be that bad, right? I can endure it, she thought.

She mentally prepared herself for a few minutes, took a deep breath, then looked up with clear eyes and a sweet smile.

“Bai Chu-jie, our cafeteria is really good. None of these dishes have scallions or ginger—try them!”

“Okay.” Bai Chu obediently ate whatever Jiang Yisheng picked out for her.

Suddenly, a new voice echoed in Jiang Yisheng’s mind:

Lunch period is nearly half over. Please have lunch with An Hao promptly.

Jiang Yisheng ignored it and kept serving food to Bai Chu.

If you continue to ignore, you will receive electric shock punishment.

Her hand holding the chopsticks paused mid-air. She looked up at Bai Chu.

She swallowed hard, still not making a move.

Three… two… one.

First-level electric shock.

Jiang Yisheng’s whole body jolted slightly. She clenched her chopsticks, gritting her teeth.

Second-level electric shock.

She bowed her head, eyes squeezed shut, a buzzing sound growing louder in her ears.

“Jiang Yisheng?” Bai Chu noticed something was wrong and leaned in.

“Bai Chu-jie,” Jiang Yisheng’s voice was slightly hoarse, “how about we invite President He to eat with us?”

Sure enough, the pain vanished the moment she took action.

“You’re not feeling well?” Bai Chu still looked concerned.

“No.” Jiang Yisheng shook her head. Her body now felt like it had shed a thousand-pound burden.

Turns out the pain stops as soon as you comply.

“You invite President He. Let’s eat together,” she repeated.

If He Youran came, that tag-along An Hao would probably follow.

“Alright.” Bai Chu called He Youran and told her their location.

Before long, He Youran arrived with her tray and sat at their table.

Jiang Yisheng glanced behind her. “You came alone, President He?”

“Mm.” He Youran nodded and sat across from Bai Chu.

“Chu Chu, try mine,” He Youran said, offering food to Bai Chu.

“Yujiang’s cafeteria isn’t bad at all,” Bai Chu commented with a smile, clearly saying it for Jiang Yisheng to hear.

But Jiang Yisheng looked uneasy, eyes darting around as if looking for something.

Bai Chu’s smile faded. “President Jiang, are you looking for someone?”

“No, no. Just curious why President An didn’t come with President He,” Jiang Yisheng forced a grin.

He Youran looked up at her, puzzled.

Bai Chu lowered her eyes and said nothing, quietly eating her food.

“I’ll call him over,” He Youran said, pulling out her phone to message An Hao.

Jiang Yisheng snuck a glance at Bai Chu. She didn’t want her to think she had a thing for An Hao.

She had to fix this.

When An Hao arrived, he sat next to He Youran.

“President An, sorry to drag you over.” Jiang Yisheng put down her chopsticks, speaking in a professional tone. “The front desk told me there was a problem with your paperwork. Please update it before the afternoon meeting.”

“Got it.” An Hao passed his spare ribs to He Youran without even glancing at Jiang Yisheng.

Then, Bai Chu spoke in a low voice, “President Jiang went through all this trouble to call President An over just for that?”

“Of course! What else could it be?” Jiang Yisheng answered with an innocent smile.

“Let’s eat.” Bai Chu picked up a sweet and sour pork rib and placed it in her bowl. “You like this.”

Jiang Yisheng immediately beamed. “You remembered what I like to eat!”

Bai Chu didn’t reply, quietly eating her meal.

He Youran looked at the two of them, her expression unreadable.

…

Congratulations on completing Mission 3. However, system compliance levels have dropped. Please improve next time.

“Ugh!” Jiang Yisheng was fuming, sitting at her desk and fanning herself with a piece of paper.

The fan made loud fluttering noises, matching her frustration.

Good thing I reacted fast—otherwise Bai Chu-jie would’ve thought my feelings weren’t real.

She really liked Bai Chu, but this system kept throwing obstacles in her path. Shameless system!

Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu hit her.

She spat again, realizing: It’s always asking me to mess with others—but YOU’RE the biggest obstacle of all!

The more she cursed, the angrier she got.

Outside her door, Zhang Tao hesitated, watching her boss wave at the air and mutter to herself. She wasn’t sure whether to enter, lifting her hand to knock but then pulling it back.

Jiang Yisheng finally stopped yelling, her throat sore. She took a sip of water and noticed Zhang Tao outside.

She waved her in.

Zhang Tao quietly entered with a folder. “President Jiang, here’s the procurement list from the trainees. It’s been compiled—just needs your signature.”

Jiang Yisheng took it, immediately flipping to Bai Chu’s name, curious what she had requested.

“None”

She pressed her lips together. Just as I thought.

She quickly skimmed through the whole list.

“There’s a typo on line 25, page 1.”

“Formatting’s off on line 6, page 3.”

“…”

In less than 30 seconds, she’d reviewed the entire document.

“Fix it and bring it back,” she said, handing the folder over. “Make sure the items are ordered right away. I’ll sign after.”

“Understood.” Zhang Tao masked her surprise and turned to leave.

“Oh, and tell the front desk to re-enter An Hao’s information,” Jiang Yisheng added.

“Yes.”

Once the door closed again, Jiang Yisheng leaned back in her chair, utterly drained.

When will I stop being controlled by this system?

Today’s mission had been resolved—for now. But what if future missions were even more outrageous?

She looked out the window, trying to recall the novel’s plot.

She realized that while this world generally followed the novel’s direction, it wasn’t exactly the same. For example, this training program hadn’t appeared in the book at all.

But overall, the big events matched.

According to the plot, An Hao’s company would face bankruptcy this year. With pressure from his parents mounting, she’d probably have even more missions lined up.

Jiang Yisheng groaned and collapsed onto her desk.