A Perfect Couple

Su Yan was still grumbling about Nie Chang's obnoxious behavior when he was entering the subway. This guy, really! What was it with these strange questions! As if any guy would try to make a move on him!

Fuck! Now that he thought about it … All of this was probably just a joke that hateful guy had played on him. Had he ever seen him unable to find what was wrong with a computer? No! That guy was crazily good with these things. It was impossible that he wouldn't find what was wrong.

And even if that hadn't been enough of a clue: How had that damned app gotten onto Nie Chang's notebook, too? Wasn't that irrefutable evidence? That should have been the original and then he somehow put a copy onto his notebook to scare him. Nie Chang had probably had a good laugh when he had called him so agitatedly.

Fuck, I can't believe I truthfully answered all those questions. Nie Chang will be laughing his ass off by now! Damn this! I'll pay him back!

He frowned. He couldn't believe he had actually fallen for it! But the way Nie Chang executed this was really too professional! He even rigged Baidu!

Su Yan didn't know if he should be impressed by his friend's handiwork or exasperated because he used it for such a matter. In the end, he could only shake his head. It probably hadn't taken Nie Chang much time and he deserved a night of disturbing dreams if he was really dumb enough to fall for it. After all, it wasn't like Nie Chang had just sent him those videos and pictures. He had searched for those terms himself. Well, next time, he wouldn't be mislead so easily.

Just when he thought that his phone buzzed. Su Yan took it out and stared at the screen with a dark expression. Are you fucking serious?!

A familiar greeting had appeared: [Welcome back, host! You unlocked a special mission: Observe the men in your surroundings and pair them up! Find at least 10 highly compatible couples. Time Limit: 1 Week.]

Su Yan took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He was of half a mind to just call Nie Chang and roar at him to stop the shit but he was in the subway, after all. He couldn't talk about these things in public.

He wanted to put his phone away and call Nie Chang back in the evening when … his old habit acted up. Not only cats were killed by curiosity. On the list of death through curiosity writers were in the second place. It was like a vocational disease: If you wanted to get inspiration, you had to try out everything you could. Thus, a lot of writers would click on every damned link they got, sign up for every workshop they were offered and read or watch everything they somehow came across.

Even though Su Yan wasn't a professional author, he had already contracted this special disease early on. He knew, he just knew, this would end like the day before but he couldn't help but start to wonder: How would it turn out? If he really paired those men up … What would happen? How would he even do it?

With a wry expression, Su Yan clicked on the message and the app opened up. He clicked on that so-called 'mission' to see if he could get any further information and indeed: A window popped up.

[The basic requirement for every successful love story is having two people who are suitable for each other even if they don't know that at the beginning. As a writer, you have to understand what kind of people attract each other and will work out as a couple. This special mission will help you sharpen your eye to spot compatible people and derive possible pairings for the novels you'll write.]

Su Yan sighed. Nie Chang had really expended a lot of effort. If he hadn't finally figured out what was going on, he would really believe this task was for his own good and would help him to become a better author!

Hmph. Don't think that I'm this dumb, Nie Chang! How would you like me to do this task, huh? Should I describe all the people involved? Or do you want me to snap photos of them?

While he raged inside, he actually did look around. The app might be a huge joke but the advice Nie Chang had put inside wasn't complete garbage. He should really have a look at possible couples and try to integrate that into his stories.

There was a young man in a business suit sitting diagonally across him. He had a clean-shaven face and some small wrinkles around the corners of his eyes that one would only see at a second glance. Overall, he seemed to be in his early thirties. A young man who had started a successful career and was still on his way up the career ladder. He might just become the CEO of a small company in the future.

Mn, let's see … Was there someone around who would be compatible with him? There! Su Yan nearly smiled. Just three seats further sat a young woman. She might have been twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun and she wore sunglasses on top of her head and a dress that might be a business outfit, though the fabric was deep pink. Mn, maybe it would better be described as the color of a raspberry. Her shoes were stilettos with 7-inch heels of the same color.

A successful man and a beautiful, modern woman. Two people with high self-esteem who would be able to compensate for the other's flaws to make a perfect whole. That should be a good pairing for a love story.

He looked at the app again just to find a new notification on his screen. [Processing answer.]

Huh? But he hadn't written anything? There hadn't even been a text box where he could insert an answer!

Su Yan frowned at the screen. Had Nie Chang just written this program to wait for a while and then do something? It wouldn't show any strange videos or something like that, right? He looked around to see if anyone was looking. What if it really did and there was even sound? Oh no, he didn't want to be embarrassed like that!

Ah, he should just switch his phone off! Su Yan scrambled to press the key but the app was faster:

[Processing complete. Calculated compatibility of the chosen couple: 3%]

Su Yan didn't even wonder about the abysmal score his seemingly perfect couple had gotten. Instead, he stared at the two pictures below the message: There were actually two photos and the people inside were exactly the businessman and the woman in the raspberry dress he had observed! This … what was going on?!

In the headquarters of the Heaven Corporation, a certain female Official slapped the desk in front of her. "Now do you finally believe that this system is the real deal? Damn it, Su Yan! Get to work! Write your next novel and get it on with Nie Chang!"

Somehow, the latter seemed even more important than writing a novel. Strange. When had her priorities changed so much?