Chapter 1

My family had been so poor when I was little that every day I’d say, “If only money would fall from the sky.”

Then I met Qi He.

And money actually did fall from the sky.

Another girl and I joined Qi He’s company at the same time.

Her name was Chiang Ning; mine was Jiang Ning. They sounded identical, though the characters were different.

Some coincidence.

Chiang Ning had bright eyes and a face that was pretty in a delicate, unassuming way.

But she was lively and eager, always the first to volunteer for anything.

Just like the hardworking, ambitious heroine of a novel.

On the last day of that month, the company’s CEO, Qi He, suddenly summoned all the interns who’d joined that month to his office.

So there Chiang Ning and I stood, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Qi He leaned back in a black chair, his features sharp, his presence so oppressive it was almost suffocating.

Was this the face I kept seeing in finance magazines?

Refined, cold, and dazzling enough to hurt your eyes.

Frowning, he looked back and forth between us before letting his gaze settle casually on me.

Just as I began to wonder whether I was getting fired, I suddenly heard his thoughts:

[I’ve forgotten the target’s name.]

[Jiang something, I think?]

[But the one on the right is obviously prettier. She must be the heroine.]

[And her family is ridiculously poor. Yes, definitely her.]

Right.

I was the one on the right.

On the last day of July, my poverty got me diagnosed as the heroine of a billionaire romance.

For a moment, I thought I was hearing things.

But Qi He’s bizarre thoughts kept coming, each clearer than the last.

I forced myself to look calm, silently repeating the slogans: Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony.

Not real. None of this was real.

Hadn’t I said too much overtime would rot your brain?

Qi He relaxed, lounging at ease. “The company only intends to keep one of you.”

“Jiang Ning—yes, the one on the right. You stay. The other one can go complete the exit paperwork.”

I stared at him in shock.

His thoughts sounded amused: [That should definitely give her a good impression of me.]

No.

Keeping both of us would give me a good impression too.

A company this big keeping only one person just made you look like a cheap bastard…

I turned to look at Chiang Ning.

She stared in disbelief, her eyes brimming with tears, furious and dejected.

I hesitated, then ventured, “Chiang Ning is better at her job than I… just as good as I am…”

If those thoughts were real, we could both stay.

If they weren’t, I didn’t need to work anyway.

Why keep working when I’d already lost my mind?

Qi He frowned slightly.

My heart rose into my throat.

But a moment later, his expression eased. “Then you can both stay.”

Whoa. I think I’d actually acquired mind-reading powers.