Xiao Mei was officially the Chief Security Officer of the Liang Group. The 50th floor, which used to house the company's rarely-used archive, was now her sprawling command center.
Her first act as CSO was not a security audit, but an interior design overhaul. Her spacious, minimalist office was now a glorious mess of cables, snack wrappers, and two oversized, neon-pink beanbag chairs. She had also installed a full-sized hammock in the corner, much to the silent horror of Ms. Chen, who had been assigned as her personal liaison.
"Mrs. Liang," Ms. Chen whispered, holding a stiff clipboard. "The Executive Board meeting starts in ten minutes. And... are those gummy bears attached to the network cable?"
"They are 'emergency stress absorbers,' Ms. Chen," Xiao Mei replied, not looking up from her terminal, where she was coding a new encryption patch while simultaneously watching a cooking show tutorial. "And the Chairman told me I could decorate however I liked. Did you bring the quant-processor?"
Ms. Chen sighed internally. "It's installed, ma'am. But your meeting is with the most traditional members of the board. Please, try to keep your hands out of the Cheetos bag until the presentation begins."
"No promises," Xiao Mei chirped, finally tearing her gaze away from the screen. She stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from her severe black suit. "Let's go make some old men nervous."The boardroom was a temple of mahogany and silence. The elders, still smarting from the Family Feast of Fury where Xiao Mei exposed the Uncle's corruption, sat rigid and skeptical.
Liang opened the meeting, maintaining his 'cold CEO' facade. "CSO Xiao Mei will present her security plan and report on the Li Wei breach."
Xiao Mei didn't use a PowerPoint presentation. She walked to the central screen and, within thirty seconds, projected a dynamic, multi-layered graphic showing the financial vulnerabilities of every single board member in the room.
"Good afternoon," she greeted them. "I've secured the company. Now, let's talk about your personal assets."
The elders gasped.
"Mr. Wang," she pointed to the Treasurer. "Your offshore accounts use the same weak two-factor authentication protocol as your grandson's gaming profile. A mid-level hacker could drain it in twenty minutes."
"Mr. Shen," she continued, pointing to a rigid old man. "Your property management company's server is running on a five-year-old operating system. Li Wei's botnet is still lurking in the shadows, waiting for your next major property sale."
She then projected a simple, colorful image of a sleeping housecat. "This is the 'Firewell Shield.' It's a self-learning AI defense that recognizes and neutralizes all of Li Wei's past and future coding signatures. The Liang Group is now protected. Your personal accounts are not."
She then presented a simple, one-page document detailing her new mandatory 'Executive Security Protocol'—a complex multi-layered defense that was non-negotiable. The elders, humiliated by her knowledge and terrified by her demonstration, signed it without a single protest. Xiao Mei had won their respect not through decorum, but through fear and competence.After the meeting, Xiao Mei returned to her 50th-floor chaos. She was exhausted but triumphant. She sank into a neon-pink beanbag chair and immediately began eating a jumbo bag of sour gummy worms.
The door swished open and Liang entered, shedding his coat and tie. He had watched the entire board meeting from his hidden camera feed.
"You terrified them," he murmured, his voice low with deep admiration. "You are magnificent, CSO Xiao Mei. You secured my empire with the same ease you managed the 100% love rating."
"It's just code, Hubby," she said, offering him a gummy worm. "Predictable behavior. The elders fear losing money more than they fear an unconventional wife."
Liang took the gummy worm, but instead of eating it, he looked around the empty office floor. Ms. Chen was long gone.
"CSO Xiao Mei," he said, stepping closer. "As the Chairman, I need to remind you that workplace conduct prohibits excessive sugar consumption."
He leaned down and expertly plucked the gummy worm from her lips with his own, turning it into a slow, deep kiss.
"That," he murmured against her mouth, pulling back slightly, "was a necessary deduction of your illegal sugar intake."
Xiao Mei giggled, pushing his impeccably tailored suit jacket back. "That was highly unprofessional, Chairman Liang. The company firewall will register an intrusion."
"Let it," he replied, kissing her again, this time harder. "My new hobby is to find new ways to break the CSO's focus. I call it Operation: Flirting with the Firewell."Liang lifted her from the beanbag and carried her over to the full-sized hammock in the corner.
"I need a security briefing, CSO," he insisted, burying his face in her hair. "A very detailed, very private briefing."
"It's a contaminated zone," she reminded him playfully, pulling off his loosened tie. "You'll break the protocol."
"I am the Chairman," he said, smiling wickedly. "I write the protocols. And the new protocol is this: For every minute CSO Xiao Mei successfully defends the company, she owes the Chairman ten minutes of non-code-related intimacy."
Xiao Mei wrapped her arms around his neck, the programmer melting away into the wife. "That's an exceptionally mantiqsiz (illogical) protocol, Chairman."
"I'm an illogical CEO, remember?" he said, capturing her lips again. "And you chose me. Now, about that security briefing..."
The 50th floor became quiet, the only sound the soft creaking of the hammock. The company was secure. The family was subdued. And the love rating may have been deactivated, but the love itself was now the most powerful system running in the Liang Group. Xiao Mei had secured her position as the indispensable wife and the corporate savior, proving that the price of leveling up was worth every single absurd public flirtation.