After the Restricted-Genre Side Character Plays the Villainous Boss - Chapter 20

Yue Mingcang never expected the plan to proceed so smoothly. The audit data submitted was not forged; rather, he truly could not complete the gambling agreement. After acting as a hands-off manager for so long, coupled with Yue Yuling’s secret interference, the final results were genuinely impacted. No matter how much the auditors checked, it was impossible to find any issues.

However, just because the auditors found nothing did not mean Long Yin would not notice. He was not entirely confident he could hide the truth from him. Fortunately, what he feared did not happen. He wondered if it was just a delusion, but whenever it involved him, Long Yin seemed exceptionally easy to fool. Even now, Long Yin was willing to believe the excuses he had just fabricated.

Yue Mingcang suppressed his internal excitement and spoke slowly, “I know it is not appropriate to keep asking you for money, but I am truly out of options. I hope you can help me one more time.”

Selling a sob story was not his specialty; he was better at expanding territory with reckless ruthlessness. However, if the target was Long Yin, he could apply that same ruthlessness to acting pathetic.

“I keep your kindness in my heart. Whatever you want me to do, I am willing.”

Yue Mingcang had originally been standing opposite Long Yin, separated by the office desk. As he spoke, he circled the desk until he stood right beside him. The distance between them was now so small that if he simply leaned down, he could kiss Long Yin’s ruby-red lips. By overstepping to this degree, words were no longer necessary to express intent. If Long Yin had no such feelings, he should have lashed out on the spot.

Yue Mingcang stared quietly into those golden eyes, waiting for the verdict. Long Yin remained motionless. He was neither angry nor responsive. In this moment, silence felt like a form of permission. Yue Mingcang’s heart pounded wildly. His vision blurred under the intensity, inadvertently taking in the glass curtain wall behind Long Yin. Outside the glass, the vast blue sky was as clear as if it had been washed, with clouds edged in silver by the sunlight. Beneath the glass were Long Yin’s eyes, brighter than the sun itself. Yue Mingcang exhaled slowly and began to lean down with agonizing slowness to seek the kiss he desired.

What he did not know was that the only reason Long Yin was not reacting was because he was completely immersed in confusion over why the plot was turning out this way. He had no mental space left to notice his surroundings. Yue Mingcang said he was willing to do anything, but Long Yin only wanted one thing from him right now: as written in the original story, to win the gambling agreement and slap Long Yin’s face in front of everyone!

Unfortunately, that wish was destined to remain unfulfilled. The audit report had already been read, the results were settled, and the plot had deviated so far from the original that it was clearly beyond salvage. The only good news was that there was hope for his humiliation value. If he wants to borrow money, let him; they would just follow the established rules.

Having reached a conclusion, Long Yin reached out and dragged the fruit plate toward himself. His wrist brushed against Yue Mingcang’s waist in the process. He did not mind and used his other hand to push Yue Mingcang, who was inexplicably close, to the side.

Yue Mingcang, having failed to get his kiss, was speechless.

In the silent office, the sound of the fruit plate sliding across the desk was harsh and grating. The intimate atmosphere vanished instantly. Yue Mingcang sighed, his gaze following Long Yin’s movements. Every time he visited, he always saw the same three things on Long Yin’s desk: grapes, melon seeds, and a hand warmer. Long Yin ate the seeds himself, the grapes were rewards for him, and he had never seen Long Yin use the hand warmer; it seemed to be there just to look cute. It was indeed cute. Unfortunately, it was only for looking at, not for touching, much like Long Yin himself.

Yue Mingcang stared at the fruit plate for a moment and said regretfully, “Grapes again?”

Long Yin’s eyes widened, and his tone was full of disbelief. “Are you being picky now? A single gambling agreement has your cash flow so tight, yet you have the nerve to be selective!”

“Yes, yes, it is all my fault. Do not be angry.” Yue Mingcang apologized sincerely, then ventured a question with a heart full of reluctance. “I heard you moved to a new house recently.”

“What? You want to go to my house to eat grapes too?” Long Yin was furious and slammed his palm on the desk. “What do you mean by that? Is this the attitude of someone borrowing money?”

Yue Mingcang replied, “I am sorry. I was wrong.”

Fine, grapes it would be. There was still a full month until the final stage of the gambling agreement. He did not believe he could not enter the “birdcage.”

The third instance of grape humiliation yielded four points of humiliation value. During the following week, although Long Yin reported to the company every day, his heart was not in his work. He spent his days huddled in his executive chair with Xiao Bai, sighing repeatedly. An excellent roleplayer should be able to maximize humiliation value while ensuring the plot does not collapse. A mediocre roleplayer might sacrifice some plot to max out the value. He, on the other hand, was quite something: the plot was skewed and the value was not maxed out. It was a failure on all fronts.

He had managed to snag a bargain once, but only got four points, leaving him five points short of the passing line. Five whole points. What was he supposed to do? When else would Yue Mingcang have a reason to beg him?

The special assistant knocked on the office door. “Boss, Mr. Yue is here to see you. He is already downstairs. You have a meeting soon; should I cancel it for you?”

“What?” Long Yin jumped out of his chair, his beautiful golden eyes full of shock. “He has something else to ask me? Did he not just visit a few days ago?”

The assistant was silent for a moment before suggesting, “Should I ask him to come back in a few days?”

“No, he is already here,” Long Yin muttered. “Cancel the meeting for me.”

The assistant’s lip twitched twice as he turned to fetch the visitor. Soon, Yue Mingcang appeared in the office. Today, he looked different than before. His hair was slicked back with pomade, and instead of his usual white shirt and black suit, he wore a patterned ice silk polo shirt and trousers. He might as well have written the word flamboyant on his forehead.

Fortunately, the Long Family Group had a private passage leading to the CEO’s office for special guests. Otherwise, if Yue Mingcang had walked through the rigorous and conservative halls of the conglomerate dressed like that, he would have been scrutinized by countless eyes. Even so, the assistant found it an eyesore and broke his habit of personally escorting Yue Mingcang upstairs, making an excuse that he was busy and letting him find Long Yin himself.

However, what appeared inappropriate to others still looked incredibly handsome to Long Yin. He even felt that Yue Mingcang was a bit too handsome today, making his heart race. His golden eyes flickered and landed on the paper gift bag in Yue Mingcang’s hand. Long Yin had a sudden realization and asked in horror, “You are not borrowing money again, are you?”

“A pastry shop opened at the port. I thought you might like it, so I brought you some soft centered almond cakes. I am not sure if you like them.” Yue Mingcang acted as if he had not heard Long Yin and naturally placed the gift bag on the desk.

“Oh, a weasel giving a New Year’s greeting to a chicken.” Despite his cold words, Long Yin’s body was very honest as he took the bag and removed the contents.

Soft centered almond cakes sounded delicious. A gift from the Chosen One came with a bit of Aura of Destiny, which could prolong one’s life. The value was incredibly high. This was the first time in Long Yin’s career that he had received a gift from a protagonist. While happy, he did not forget his role.

“To show courtesy without cause is surely a sign of ill intent. Speak, how much do you want to borrow this time?” Long Yin tossed the gift box aside, pretending not to care at all. However, the expression on his face betrayed him.

Seeing the smile Long Yin could not hide in his eyes, Yue Mingcang’s own mood brightened significantly. If Long Yin was happy, he was happy. But it was not just that; he had started being happy the moment he saw him. He had not brought the pastries just to borrow money; he had passed the shop, thought Long Yin might like them, and specifically stopped to buy them.

Yue Mingcang said softly, “The weather is nice today, and the sun feels very comfortable. Do you want to go for a walk downstairs together?”

Trying to enter the birdcage immediately was a bit too rushed. He decided to take it step by step, first creating some beautiful memories exclusive to the two of them.

Long Yin looked at him with confusion. “Has your company recovered? Can you handle the gambling agreement? Are you not borrowing money anymore?”

Yue Mingcang rubbed his nose. “Not quite.”

Long Yin was furious. “Then you still have time to go for a stroll at Longmen Port! If you put this effort into running your company, you would not have to come begging me over and over!”

Yue Mingcang thought, “Well.” In reality, it was quite the opposite. Only by not putting effort into the company could he keep begging Long Yin and gain opportunities to be alone with him. Compared to Long Yin, the gambling agreement meant nothing; he would not mind losing ten more.

In the end, while Long Yin accepted the pastries, he still forced Yue Mingcang to eat grapes before agreeing to the loan. This time, Long Yin gained two points of humiliation value, leaving him three points short of his goal. Just two days later, Yue Mingcang visited again, bringing walnut cakes and one point of humiliation value. Long Yin was completely numb. The plot where the protagonist borrows money only appeared once in the original story. How many times had it been now?

Could it be right for a power fantasy protagonist to face a cash flow crisis every few days?

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