Damn This Plot, Go Away

Ji Shi’an had fought her way through every obstacle to become the chairman’s assistant at Chengyue Group. Then one day, she discovered a System in her head.

The System told her that she was the protagonist of the novel Pure White Rose and had to complete the storyline to gain her freedom.

The other protagonist was her direct superior, Qin Yinghuai, chairman of Chengyue Group.

Ji Shi’an, who loved gossip: What do you call it when the gossip comes back to bite you?

Her dignified, self-possessed boss had become an overbearing CEO in the novel, darkly charismatic and obsessed with nothing but torment and punishment.

Ji Shi’an: That makes no sense. My boss knows the labor laws by heart.

And she, usually clever and capable, had become a useless little white flower who couldn’t even pour a cup of coffee without spilling it, and did nothing but cry all day.

Ji Shi’an: That makes no sense. My boss only drinks tea, not coffee, because he thinks it’s bitter.

Because of one misunderstanding after another and their stubborn refusal to communicate, the two protagonists stayed entangled for millions of words, while the company they worked for faced one crisis after another.

Ji Shi’an: I don’t agree, and neither does my wallet. If the company goes under, how am I supposed to make a living?

With a rebellious streak, Ji Shi’an was determined to find out what would happen if she refused to follow the plot.

As it turned out, she pretended to be sick and tried to fool everyone, only to get caught by her boss.

Ji Shi’an: @￥…#&**@!

Qin Yinghuai woke up one morning to find a pile of plot points about himself in his head. In them, both he and the capable assistant he had personally trained acted completely absurdly.

In the story, the heroine stammered and suffered as everyone at the company bullied her.

Qin Yinghuai: Impossible. The only things more popular than Assistant Ji at the company are the year-end bonus and paid leave.

In the story, the heroine was put on the spot by a rival company’s boss at a conference, asked him for help, and, after he refused, was diagnosed with depression.

Qin Yinghuai: Impossible. Assistant Ji is fluent in ten languages. I even paid for her lessons.

In the story, the heroine was tempted by a high salary and stole the company’s secrets.

Qin Yinghuai: That can’t... Wait, maybe I should give her a raise?

She was the capable assistant he had trained himself, after all. Qin Yinghuai trusted her completely and dismissed the whole thing as a few nights of absurd dreams.

Until, while out inspecting the company, he caught his assistant, who had called in sick, alive and well.

In his anger, he blurted out a line from the dream plot, and the two accidentally recognized each other’s secret signal.

Qin Yinghuai: ???

Ji Shi’an: !!!

Assistant Ji burst into happy tears and squealed, “Boss, help, I’m scared!”

Qin Yinghuai took two steps back as the hot coffee was about to splash onto him. “You little menace, calm down, back away.”

A pair of characters who can actually communicate, stumbling through the ridiculous daily life of an old-fashioned romance novel packed with overbearing CEOs and pretty secretaries, mansion basements, runaway canaries, stand-in first loves, and the heroine being chased after the breakup.

Includes a small amount of celebrity-gossip content (no real-life inspirations, and no personal attacks).

The heroine is 23 and the hero is 29 at the start, with a six-year age gap. The hero is older.

(Please don’t ask why they’re so young. The author is on her knees, wailing: Why would you need a brain to read a silly novel? Waaaah!)

Theme: Freedom is the most precious treasure in the world