From Simp to National Heartthrob - Chapter 13:

Chapter 13: Provocation

An hour later, Chen Yi stood up and said to the staff member who brought him in, “Alright, the system is now functioning properly.”

“So fast?” The young man looked shocked.

Chen Yi nodded calmly.

The young man then led him to the office of the Engineering Department Manager at Gu Corporation.

“Manager Song, the system is now working normally.”

The middle-aged man in a suit frowned behind his desk. “It’s fixed already? And the bugs in the system before—were they handled too?”

The staff member beside him quickly nodded.

Seeing that the manager had concerns, Chen Yi said lightly, “Manager Zhang can have someone test it.”

Zhang Yaohui nodded and opened the system. Sure enough, the upgrade and repair were complete.

What surprised him most was that it had only taken about an hour. For someone else, even upgrading the system alone might have taken that long.

“Not bad, not bad. You’re new? Haven’t seen you around Xinqi before.”

Chen Yi smiled, “Manager Zhang, I’m Chen Yi. Today is my first day.”

“Impressive. With you here, I can be at ease.”

After returning to the company, Chen Yi found out that after he left, Zhang Yaohui had called their department manager and praised him highly.

Jiang Kai had been in the office when he overheard the entire conversation.

“Didn’t expect you to be this good!” Jiang Kai patted Chen Yi’s shoulder and teased, “Someone this capable doesn’t need any connections!”

“I really don’t know any higher-ups.”

“Sure, pretend I didn’t say anything.” Jiang Kai raised an eyebrow, then placed a pair of headphones on Chen Yi’s desk. “The brand you asked for. Latest model. A bet is a bet.”

Just then, the system’s mechanical voice rang out in Chen Yi’s mind.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the Hidden Male God Mission.]

[Reward: +1 Charm Value, 10,000 yuan in cash.]

At the same time, when Gu Mingxue learned that Chen Yi was the one who had upgraded and repaired the internal system, she personally tested it. Finding all the previous issues resolved, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Seems like Chen Yi’s abilities exceeded my expectations. This project was handled excellently—both performance and stability have improved significantly.”

As her words fell, Assistant Xu Xuan, standing beside her, immediately felt displeased.

It was rare for CEO Gu to speak so highly of anyone. A trace of resentment flickered in his lowered eyes.

In his view, Chen Yi was just a programmer. Solving technical issues was his job. What had he done to deserve such praise and recognition from Gu Mingxue? It made no sense.

He had originally hoped that Chen Yi would mess up this project and get kicked out of Xinqi. Who would have thought not only did he succeed, but he also earned Gu Mingxue’s favor?

Xu Xuan clenched his teeth secretly. His anger toward Chen Yi only deepened.

…

After lunch at the company cafeteria, Chen Yi rested for an hour and returned to his workstation. Just then, Department Manager Xie Yaohui walked up with a serious expression.

“Chen Yi, stay late tonight. We’ve got an urgent project to handle.”

Chen Yi froze. Was this a joke? Working overtime on his first day? That would set a precedent.

He had changed jobs precisely to avoid working overtime.

“Manager Xie, I’m sorry. I already have plans for tonight and won’t be able to stay late.”

Xie Yaohui’s face darkened instantly, his tone full of displeasure. “Overtime is mandatory. It’s a business need. You must follow orders.”

Chen Yi smiled politely but firmly said, “Manager, if the work can be completed during office hours, I believe there’s no need for overtime. After all, that would be wasting company resources.”

Xie Yaohui’s sharp gaze locked onto Chen Yi. Seeing that Chen Yi remained calm and unflinching, he was momentarily choked and speechless, then turned and went back to his office.

Chen Yi quietly breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.

But unexpectedly, his workload in the afternoon increased significantly. Still, he didn’t complain and finished all of it thirty minutes before the end of the workday.

Just as he was tidying up to leave, a colleague informed him that the manager had asked everyone to stay late for overtime.

Chen Yi sighed helplessly. He had switched to this job so he could clock out on time.

So, he stood up and went straight to the manager’s office.

“Manager Xie, I already mentioned at noon that I do not agree to work overtime.”

Xie Yaohui flared up. “Chen Yi, have you thought this through? It’s your first day, and you’re already refusing to obey your superior?”

“Manager Xie, I’ve already completed all my assigned tasks. There’s no need for me to stay late.”

“Then you can help your colleagues with theirs. This project is urgent. Everyone must work overtime today.”

Chen Yi took a deep breath, dropped his smile, and looked at Manager Xie seriously. “Manager Xie, when I joined, HR didn’t mention any mandatory overtime. And isn’t overtime based on personal willingness? Forcing me to work overtime violates the labor contract.”

Xie Yaohui raised his head, his gloomy gaze locking onto Chen Yi. He sneered, “Are you threatening me?”

Just as Chen Yi was about to snap back, the system’s voice echoed in his mind.

[Friendly Reminder: Offending your superior may make your days difficult.]

[System recommends using Adaptability Skill Card.]

Chen Yi thought the system had a point. He had finally landed a job he liked and didn’t want to ruin it over something so trivial.

So he immediately used the Adaptability Skill Card.

With the card’s help, Chen Yi smoothly talked his way through the situation. After listening to him, Xie Yaohui suddenly felt everything he said made perfect sense. Plus, Chen Yi’s skills truly were among the best of the new hires.

Even the system couldn’t help but admire Chen Yi’s ability to talk his way out—it was more impressive than expected.

Chen Yi clocked out on time. But as he stepped into the elevator, he ran into Xu Xuan.

Xu Xuan gave him a once-over and asked coldly, “Why are you leaving?”

Seeing his arrogant attitude, Chen Yi replied directly, “Assistant Xu, you were the one who made our manager force me to stay late, weren’t you? But since I’ve already finished all my work, naturally I can leave on time.”