To understand how I ended up here, we have to rewind to yesterday.

I’d just been kicked out of my company for refusing an unspoken rule of the workplace. Utterly miserable, I dragged my best friend out to drown my sorrows. My alcohol tolerance is practically non-existent—one drink and I’m out cold. But my real fatal flaw surfaces once I’m wasted: I turn into a serial kisser, targeting any attractive guy in sight.

So, naturally, when Lin Sichen—the legendary Crown Prince of the business world—walked past our table, I yanked him by his silk tie and planted a loud, sloppy kiss right on his lips.

He froze for three solid seconds before shoving me away like I was a biohazard.

Right then, the window of a roadside Maybach rolled down. A silver-haired elderly woman stuck her head out, beaming as if she’d just hit the jackpot. “My sweet boy! You’re finally making progress!”

When my best friend recapped the night to me the next morning, her eyes were practically glowing like high beams. “You kissed the Crown Prince! Kiss me now, so I can indirectly kiss him too!”

Kiss, kiss, kiss! That’s all that was on her mind. Did anyone stop to consider the fact that I might get brutally annihilated by him? Lin Sichen was notoriously ruthless, a man rumored to crush his corporate rivals without so much as a second thought. I’d already envisioned a hundred horrific ways he might seek revenge.

What I didn’t expect was for him to hurl a mountain of cash at my face instead.

When the Crown Prince finally tracked me down, I was hunched over my phone, desperately trying to find strangers to join my group-buy deal on Pinduoduo to save a few cents.

He didn’t bother with small talk. “My grandmother likes you.”

I whipped my head up, instantly on high alert. “What kind of ‘like’? Please tell me she doesn’t want to foster a grandmother-granddaughter bond or something.”

He looked at me with a gaze reserved exclusively for single-celled organisms. “Play my girlfriend.”

“And why should I?”

“I’ll pay you twenty million. My grandmother just had surgery. Once she’s fully recovered, we part ways, no strings attached.”

My brain instantly filtered out everything else, locking onto two words: Twenty. Million.

A split second later, my phone buzzed.

I counted the zeros—seven of them—and double-checked seven times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. My knees turned to jelly.

“Any ground rules?” I stammered.

“Make it believable. Everyone needs to buy it.”

“That’s it? No requirement for me to bow and offer morning prayers to you every day?”

He gave me that same look again—pure, unfiltered idiot-friendly judgment.

“…You transferred the money so fast. Aren’t you worried I’ll just take the cash and run?”

“Do you really think you could run?”

Right. Fair point. Probably not.

I stared at my bank balance one last time and made an executive decision: forget group buys, I’m buying it full price!

I used to think being the Crown Prince’s girlfriend would be straight out of a romance novel—helicopters, luxury yachts, high tea at five-star hotels…

The reality?

Meetings.

Meetings.

And… more meetings.

Lin Sichen was so absurdly busy he practically ran on deadlines instead of oxygen. He owned a sprawling luxury villa right in the heart of the city, but most of the time, I had the entire place to myself.

Yes, I moved in. All because his grandmother offhandedly remarked, “Don’t young people nowadays live together?”

The very next day, he had my stuff packed and moved. Saving on rent felt like an extra bonus anyway.

Since I was taking his money, I intended to commit to the role. Every day, I cooked lunch and brought it to his office. The presentation was a bit lacking and the flavor was merely “edible,” but hey, it was home-cooked. Every time I dropped it off, he was stuck in a meeting, so we never actually ran into each other. But according to his assistant, he cleaned off every plate.

Conclusion: surprisingly low-maintenance.

Until one night…

My best friend got her heart broken and ended up plastered at a bar. I went along to keep an eye on her, so I didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol. Yet, somehow, I still ended up buzzed. Nobody bothered to inform me that the “fruit juice” they served had alcohol in it!

Through a hazy blur, I spotted a handsome guy through the crowd. Pale skin, clear eyes, looking vaguely familiar. I slapped my friend’s hand away and slung an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey, little bro… you’re pretty cute…”

The guy looked behind me, utterly terrified. “M-Mr. Lin! I swear I’m innocent!”

I had no idea what he was blabbering about. All I knew was that his lips looked pretty inviting. I stood on tiptoe.

Before I could make contact, a powerful force yanked me backward off my feet. Losing my balance, I instinctively wrapped my arms around the person’s neck. Once my eyes adjusted to his face, I sobered up real fast.

Lin Sichen.

Turns out, the “cute little bro” was his personal assistant.

Lin Sichen’s voice cut through the air, cold as ice. “My dear girlfriend… are you really in that much of a rush to cheat on me?”

At that exact moment, only one thought flashed through my mind: Oh god, is he going to ask for the twenty million back?!

Panic setting in, I made a quick executive decision: I buried my face directly into his chest and pretended to be asleep. His chest was surprisingly warm, carrying a faint scent of tea that felt oddly comforting. So, while pretending to sleep… I accidentally drifted off for real.

When I woke up, it was already midnight. I was tucked safely into my own bed, fully clothed, nothing untoward having happened. I let out a massive sigh of relief—thank goodness, the twenty million was still safe.

Exiting into the living room, however, I froze.

Lin Sichen was sitting cross-legged on the sofa. His face was as dark as a storm cloud, his eyes glued to a laptop screen.

I stood there, paralyzed. Honestly, since moving in, his schedule had consisted of only two states: being at work, or being on his way to work. Seeing him was rarer than catching a shooting star. But looking closely now… the man really was drop-dead gorgeous. His face looked like it had been sculpted by AI, his proportions so perfect they felt completely surreal. Just sitting there, he radiated an aura that felt entirely detached from ordinary mortals. No wonder his popularity online eclipsed actual A-list celebrities.

“Done staring?” he said without looking up, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Am I better-looking than your ‘cute little bro’?”

I took a deep breath and immediately dialed my brown-nosing up to max. “What are you talking about? How could he even begin to compare to you? It was a misunderstanding, pure misunderstanding!”

“A misunderstanding?” He finally looked up, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “Jiang Yuan, do you have any idea what the consequences would be if tonight’s stunt reached my grandmother’s ears?”

“It won’t happen again!” I raised my hand in a lightning-fast pledge. “Starting now, I’m swearing off alcohol entirely! I’ll be the most devoted girlfriend ever. From here on out, you’re the only handsome man in my eyes!”

Damage control first, figure out the rest later.

He let out a soft, mocking laugh. “How much is your promise even worth? Is it worth twenty million?”

…Definitely not.

Okay, if coaxing didn’t work, time for a tactical pivot.

“Why bring up money? It ruins the romance…”

I squeezed onto the sofa, sitting right up against him. I stared into his eyes, then slowly… very slowly… leaned in closer.

He practically bounced backward like a coiled spring. “What are you doing?!”

“Coaxing you.”

“Do you just go around kissing men whenever you feel like it?”

I presented my rock-solid logic: “You said I needed to make everyone believe it. ‘Everyone’ includes me. What’s wrong with a girl soothing her boyfriend with a kiss?”

The reasoning was airtight. I declared victory in my head.

He stared at me for several long seconds, clearly trying to suppress something, before turning on his heel and heading straight for his study.

Right before the door slammed shut, he tossed two sentences over his shoulder:

“Remember to send dinner tomorrow.”

“And… no drinking ever again.”