Lin Jue stood frozen in the doorway like a deer staring directly into oncoming headlights—
Except "headlights were four women".
Four women are sitting in Li Cheng's living room.
Four women are staring at him.
Four women silently judged his bouquet of roses.
Li Cheng watched the scene with a deep sigh of resignation.
"At this point," he muttered, "I'm more endangered than you are."
Lin Jue swallowed.
"Why are… all of them here?"
Chen Yuxi adjusted her glasses.
"Work."
Mengyu crossed her arms.
"Coincidence."
Feng Shuxian smiled.
"Investigation."
Auntie Mei tapped her teacup.
"Supervision."
Lin Jue stared at Li Cheng.
"…Are you sure you're not trying to steal my fiancée?"
Li Cheng threw a pillow at him.
"THERE IS NOTHING TO STEAL!"
Shuxian coughed delicately.
"Let us all sit and discuss tomorrow."
Lin Jue "stiffened, horrified."
"Tomorrow? What about tomorrow?"
Li Cheng dragged him inside, fully, and closed the door behind him.
"We're talking about my company's launch event."
Lin Jue blinked.
"…You're LAST-MINUTE planning the biggest tech presentation in the city?! At home?! With THESE people?!"
Li Cheng rubbed his temple.
"Please don't phrase it like that. It makes me sound irresponsible."
Auntie Mei patted his head.
"You are irresponsible."
He nearly fell over.
---
The Bouquet Misunderstanding
Lin Jue awkwardly held up the roses.
"Uh… these are for Shuxian."
Shuxian accepted them calmly.
and placed them on Li Cheng's table.
Lin Jue panicked.
"No—no, wait—why are you putting them there?!"
Shuxian blinked at him.
"I assumed this was a neutral location."
Mengyu muttered, "Sure didn't look neutral earlier."
Chen Yuxi smirked.
"It looks more like a battlefield."
Lin Jue pointed dramatically at the table.
"That is HIS table! Anything you place there becomes HIS territory!"
Li Cheng groaned.
"This is not how tables work."
Auntie Mei moved the roses farther away calmly.
"They will block my view."
Lin Jue almost cried.
---
Emergency Planning Meeting (Disguised as Chaos)
Chen Yuxi opened her laptop.
"We still need to finish planning the entrance route, timing, and Li Cheng's speech."
Li Cheng tried to protest.
"Can't this wait until tomorrow—"
"NO," every woman said in unison.
He sat down obediently.
Mengyu tapped her chin.
"What about outfits? He needs something that screams 'handsome genius CEO.'"
Chen Yuxi nodded.
"I've already prepared two suits."
Shuxian raised a finger.
"I brought a third."
Lin Jue shot up from his seat.
"WHY DO YOU HAVE A SUIT FOR ANOTHER MAN?!"
Shuxian looked at him calmly.
"I bought it for you originally."
"THAT MAKES THIS WORSE!"
Li Cheng banged his head against the table.
"Please… stop…"
Auntie Mei clapped her hands.
"We will use all three."
Li Cheng lifted his head slowly.
"…What?"
"You will try each one," Auntie Mei said. "And we will choose as a group."
Li Cheng felt his "soul leave his body".
---
The Fashion Show from Hell
Ten minutes later—
Li Cheng stood in his bedroom wearing the first suit: a sleek, modern charcoal-grey one.
Auntie Mei inspected the fit with a critical eye.
"Hm. Shoulders need more definition."
Chen Yuxi nodded.
"The sleeves are perfect, but the waist needs adjusting."
Mengyu puffed her cheeks.
"I like it! He looks like a rich husband!"
Li Cheng turned red.
Shuxian wrote notes in a notebook.
"This suit gives the impression of a quiet, competent man. Understated. Approachable. Too safe."
Lin Jue facepalmed.
"Why does she sound like she's analysing a male lead from a romance drama?!"
Li Cheng escaped into the bathroom.
Suit #2 followed.
Then suit #3.
After forty minutes, he was exhausted, sweating, and questioning the meaning of clothing.
Finally, they chose Suit #2.
A deep navy, trimmed lightly with silver.
Sophisticated, sharp, and confident.
Auntie Mei approved.
Chen Yuxi approved.
Mengyu blushed and approved.
Shuxian merely wrote "satisfactory."
Lin Jue muttered, "I need therapy."
---
The Rehearsal Disaster
Chen Yuxi positioned him in front of the living room TV.
"Start your speech. We will all listen."
Li Cheng took a deep breath.
"Good evening, respected guests, partners, and members of the press—"
Mengyu raised her hand.
"Too stiff!"
Chen Yuxi frowned.
"No, that part is good. Keep going."
Li Cheng continued.
"With this new processor, our goal is—"
Shuxian lifted her hand.
"Your tone lacks dominance."
Lin Jue threw up his hands.
"WHY ARE YOU COMMENTING ON HIS DOMINANCE?!"
Auntie Mei silenced all of them with a single cough.
"Cheng'er. Try again. But relax."
Li Cheng inhaled slowly.
Then spoke.
"When I created this company…"
Everyone went silent.
The confidence in his voice surprised even himself.
"…I didn't expect to be standing here so soon. But I stand here because of effort, stubbornness, and a desire to prove something—not to the world, but to myself."
The room froze.
Even Shuxian stopped writing.
Lin Jue stared.
Chen Yuxi lowered her glasses.
Mengyu whispered, "…He sounds… cool."
Li Cheng blinked.
"…Was that okay?"
Auntie Mei smiled softly.
"That was you. Purely you."
He "flushed."
Chen Yuxi cleared her throat, trying to stay professional.
"Yes. Use that tone tomorrow. It makes you sound like you actually run the company."
Li Cheng groaned.
"I do run it!"
Mengyu laughed.
---
Dinner… Or Something Like It
Auntie Mei whipped up dinner—
But it was less "meal" and more "five-person silent tension ceremony."
Lin Jue nearly dropped his chopsticks every time Shuxian looked at him.
Chen Yuxi made notes while eating.
Mengyu stared at Li Cheng's bowl to make sure he was eating enough.
Shuxian ate like a noblewoman from an imperial drama.
Li Cheng "ate like a man preparing for execution".
Then—
Auntie Mei said something terrifying.
"From tomorrow onward… You all need to coordinate yourselves."
Everyone "paused."
Chen Yuxi frowned.
"Coordinate what?"
Auntie Mei pointed her chopsticks at Li Cheng.
"Him."
Li Cheng "nearly choked."
Shuxian nodded.
"That is what I've been trying to suggest."
Mengyu dropped her chopsticks.
Chen Yuxi pinched her brow.
Lin Jue whispered, "This is the worst harem meeting I've ever seen."
Li Cheng slammed his hands on the table.
"THERE IS NO HAREM!"
Shuxian: "Not yet."
Chen Yuxi: "I refuse to be part of one."
Mengyu: "I'm not ready for that level of chaos!"
Auntie Mei: "I'm just stating the truth."
Lin Jue: "I want to go home."
Li Cheng: "I WANT TO GO WITH YOU."
---
The Night Dragged On
After dinner:
– Lin Jue retreated to the corner, traumatised.
– Chen Yuxi typed furiously, finalising schedules and interviews.
– Mengyu pretended to read but actually stared at Li Cheng the entire time.
– Shuxian silently observed everyone like a scientist studying rare animals.
– Auntie Mei cleaned calmly, radiating authority.
Li Cheng "sat on the couch, head buried in his hands."
"I'm not surviving tomorrow…"
Chen Yuxi closed her laptop.
"You will."
Shuxian nodded.
"I will ensure it."
Mengyu pumped her fist.
"I'll cheer for you!"
Lin Jue sighed.
"I'll… try to prevent my fiancée from stabbing anyone."
Auntie Mei smiled.
"That is the spirit."
Li Cheng stared at the ceiling.
"…I'm doomed."
Auntie Mei placed a blanket on his shoulders.
"No. You're growing."
He "exhaled quietly."
"…Thank you."
For the first time that night—
He genuinely relaxed.
Just a little.
---
The Sleepover From the Underworld
It was late.
Ridiculously late.
Auntie Mei walked into the living room with a futon in her arms.
"Cheng'er. You sleep here."
Li Cheng blinked.
"What? Why? It's my house—"
She pointed at the hallway.
"All their rooms are occupied. It is safer if you sleep here."
Li Cheng froze.
"…All their rooms?"
Shuxian: "I took the study."
Chen Yuxi: "I have the guest room."
Mengyu: "I… accidentally took your bed."
Li Cheng screamed.
"WHY DID YOU 'ACCIDENTALLY' TAKE MY BED?!"
Mengyu hid under a blanket.
" I-I thought it was a spare!"
Chen Yuxi coughed.
"It was labelled with his name."
Shuxian nodded.
"The label was large."
Mengyu shrank.
"I panicked!"
Li Cheng nearly cried.
Lin Jue lifted a finger.
"…Where am I supposed to sleep?"
Auntie Mei pointed to the floor.
"Next to Cheng'er."
Li Cheng obliterated his face on the futon.
"I refuse. Absolutely refuse—"
But ten minutes later—
He and Lin Jue were lying like corpses on matching futons.
Shuxian tucked Lin Jue in.
Chen Yuxi tucked Li Cheng in.
Mengyu peeked around the corner of the hallway, conflicted.
Auntie Mei turned off the light.
"Good night."
The room went quiet.
…
…
Until Lin Jue whispered:
"Li Cheng."
Li Cheng groaned.
"What?"
"…Are you sure you're not trying to steal my fiancée?"
Li Cheng threw a pillow at him in the dark.
---
The Final Scene Before Morning
Li Cheng opened his eyes in the middle of the night.
The room was dim.
Quiet.
He saw silhouettes:
– Chen Yuxi is asleep on the couch, glasses dangling.
– Mengyu curled up by the doorway, hugging a pillow.
– Shuxian is meditating on a chair like a martial arts master.
– Auntie Mei is sleeping upright like a guardian statue.
– Lin Jue was snoring softly beside him.
Li Cheng stared at the ceiling.
So many people…
All were watching him.
Supporting him.
Fighting because of him.
He whispered to himself:
"…Tomorrow. I can't screw this up."
His heart thumped.
Fear.
Nervousness.
And something warm.
Responsibility.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow would be insane.
But for the first time—
He felt ready.