The CEO's Rules

I'd been transmigrated into a trashy CEO novel as a doctor, and the female lead had just been diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy.

The CEO domineeringly grabbed her wrist. I'm keeping this child.

Then he ordered me, Move the baby from outside the uterus to inside.

Me: ...

1.

I'd been stuck in this brain-dead CEO novel for a month, but a request like that still gave me the absurd feeling of being dive-bombed by a ninety-year-old grandma in a fighter jet.

The male lead, Leo Howell, was the king of all scumbags. He was stringing along three different women at once, and in the name of fairness and equality, he'd put all three of them through hell.

If I'd heard him say that a month ago, I would've personally escorted him to the psychiatric ward for a brain scan.

But I was a mature woman now. I understood that the world of a CEO novel didn't need logic.

Was it reasonable for a multi-billionaire business elite to not know what an ectopic pregnancy was?

In this world, it existed, and it was reasonable.

I pushed up my glasses and said nothing. My colleague, a nameless side character, couldn't help but try to explain to him why an ectopic pregnancy was a serious medical issue.

The CEO, Leo, roared in response, "Useless!"

The female lead, Elara Warren, leaned weakly against his chest. "We were never meant to have a child..."

Leo's cold gaze landed on me. His tone left no room for argument. "Dr. Chen, you can do it, can't you?"

I gave him a firm "OK" sign.

Elara smiled.

My colleague turned to stone.

...

After all, in three days, Elara would run away heartbroken after learning that Leo was entering into a business alliance marriage, and she would have the surgery for the ectopic pregnancy alone.

All I had to do was put on a show for three days. Never mind moving the baby from outside the uterus to inside.

I'd tell him I could move it into his brain if he wanted.

I'd figured it all out on my first day here.

If I wanted to change my fate as a disposable side character, Leo Howell was the best ATM I could ask for.

I needed to make money.

A crazy amount of money!

As expected, Leo was very pleased with my confidence. He immediately hired me as his private physician.

Two days later, at one in the morning, I was sound asleep when my phone rang. "Dr. Chen! Elara is in pain! I want to see you at the villa in ten minutes!"

2.

Perfect. The classic CEO novel doctor experience. Always on call in the middle of the night to treat the female lead.

I slowly got dressed, my voice feigning panic. "Oh my god, how could this be? Oh, poor Miss Warren, may the heavens protect her. I'm on my way, just around the corner, wait for me!"

When I arrived at the villa with my medical bag, Elara was wiping her nose, her cheeks rosy, looking perfectly fine.

Leo was pacing anxiously, his face dark. "Don't you worry, I will cure you. Don't you even think about leaving me again!"

I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking.

Dude, it's a common cold. A bit dramatic, don't you think?

I took a box of cold medicine from my bag. "It's nothing serious, just take this twice a day..."

Leo immediately cut me off. "My woman does not take such cheap medicine. You haven't even run any tests. Are you looking down on me?"

I was silent for a moment, then my expression changed completely. "This illness... it's very serious."

Leo: "Just tell me what to do."

I gave him a list. "First, you need to take Miss Warren for a full cardiopulmonary examination, a complete surgical check-up, a routine gynecological exam, a white blood cell count, a liquid-based cytology test, an ENT exam, an EKG, a complete blood count, liver and kidney function tests, serum total cholesterol and triglyceride tests, a fasting blood glucose test, and a quantitative alpha-fetoprotein test."

I took a deep breath after rattling that all off and continued, "And while you're at it, get her eyes checked too."

After all, for her to have missed what a massive idiot you are, it's hard not to question her vision.

Leo frowned and turned to the butler beside him. "Did you get all that?"

The butler nodded. "All noted."

Only then did I realize there was a butler standing in the room, his presence almost nonexistent. He didn't look very old, and his face was stern.

Wait...

Was that a twitch at the corner of his mouth?

Was he trying not to laugh?

When I looked again, he was perfectly composed.

Leo looked at me, his eyes filled with admiration. "Dr. Chen, you truly are someone I can trust. You're very professional."

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

I'm a professional idiot-spotter. It's a crime the hospital doesn't give me a commission.

After giving my instructions, I pointed to the air conditioner. "And if you could turn off the AC that's set to fifteen degrees Celsius, Miss Warren would probably feel better a lot faster."

Pfft.

I definitely heard it that time. The butler was laughing.

3.

The next morning, Leo took Elara for her tests.

According to the plot, she would overhear some gossip at the hospitalthat Leo was about to marry the daughter of the Howell Group.

Elara would be heartbroken and sneak out of the hospital, running away.

Leo, furious and anxious, would vow to turn the entire city upside down to find her.

While the main characters were playing their game of cat and mouse, I was busy hauling a truckload of fake antique vases and porcelain into the villa.

"Dr. Chen, what are you doing?"

The villa's maid stopped me. I froze, trying to come up with a lie, when a clear voice cut in.

It was the butler. "Dr. Chen is very health-conscious," he explained calmly. "We don't have any dumbbells here, so she's using the vases for exercise."

Me: "..."

The maid quickly apologized. "My apologies, that was my oversight. I'll have someone prepare a set for Dr. Chen immediately."

After she left, the butler looked me up and down. "I know you're a transmigrator too. You're trying to swap out the antiques and sell them? Don't be stupid. Leo's an idiot, but people come to this villa all the time. Anyone with a bit of knowledge will spot the fakes immediately."

I gave him a mysterious smile and continued moving my fake antiques.

Then I carefully replaced all the real ones.

Two hours later, Leo stormed back into the villa.

He was a mess of anger and laughter, pacing the living room in a powerless rage. "That damn woman! She ran away! She ran away again!"

I stood by, offering my sincere advice. "Mr. Howell, please calm down. Don't worry about Miss Warren. Maybe she's already left the city and found her freedom."

My words only fueled his anger.

He kicked the sofa violently. "She's carrying my child! Where could she possibly go? I will find her!"

I gasped. "Mr. Howell, be careful! Don't hit that vase! Miss Warren loves those vases. It would be such a shame if one broke."

Hearing this, Leo grabbed the nearest vase and smashed it on the floor. It shattered with a crisp, satisfying sound.

His eyes were wild as he started to laugh. "How dare she! How dare she leave me!"

With every word, he grabbed another vase and smashed it.

Within half an hour, the living room was a wreck.

As he stomped upstairs, he yelled, "I don't want to see anything in here that reminds me of that woman! Julian, clean up this mess!"

I stood by the door, digging my nails into my palms to keep from laughing.

I'm rich! I'm rich!

The butler, Julian, glanced at the pile of fake shards on the floor and slowly uttered one word:

"Impressive."

4.

Leo had smashed all the fakes himself, leaving no evidence. The genuine articles were all mine.

Time to ship them out and sell them.

With a racing heart and trembling hands, I grabbed my car keys, ready to leave.

But I ran right into Leo on his way downstairs.

His clear, yet utterly stupid, eyes looked me over. "Leaving, Dr. Chen?"

Duh. The female lead is gone. You expect me to stick around and be your nurse?

So I nodded.

Leo: "Good. Go home and pack your things. Starting tomorrow, you'll be living here."

Me: "?"

Leo's eyes burned with a furious fire. "I'll find her within a week, at most. That damn woman never takes care of herself. I need you on standby at all times."

What could I say? Whatever makes you happy.

I put on a somber expression. "I hope Miss Warren is safe and sound."

As I turned to leave, he called out again. "Dr. Chen, why are your hands shaking?"

Crap. I couldn't control my excitement at the thought of my newfound wealth.

But Leo had already come up with his own explanation. "You must be exhausted from the last couple of days. Julian, drive Dr. Chen home."

Julian and I exchanged a look, both of us with our own ulterior motives.

In the car, Julian's eyes scanned the row of antiques in the backseat. His icy demeanor melted away, and he grabbed my hand excitedly.

"Sis! You're my one and only sis!"

I was flabbergasted. "You change your tune fast."

Julian's face fell. "I'm an actor! I transmigrate into a book and end up as a butler whose only line is 'It's been so long since the young master has been this happy.' Ugh, I've had enough of that moron! When you get rich, don't forget about me!"

I had to admit, Julian's role as the butler was incredibly convenient for my get-rich-quick scheme.

So we put our heads together and planned to mark all the valuable items in the villa over the next few days, looking for opportunities to snag them.

But I never expected that instead of an opportunity, we'd get the second female lead.

Leo's fiance, the heiress of the Thorne Group, Lucy Thorne.

Leo was out hunting for his runaway lover, so Julian and I had sent the other staff away and were running around the villa like two weasels in a melon patch, searching for treasure.

Lucy strode in, decked out in designer heels, a Chanel suit, and a Herms bag.

She walked through the front door with an air of righteous fury.

I was crouched by a table, examining the jewels on its legs to see if they were real.

Without a word, Miss Thorne marched over and slapped me across the face.

5.

The slap echoed through the room, and I fell to the floor.

Lucy scoffed. "I heard Leo Howell was hiding his first love here. That must be you. Did you know he has a fiance? Have you no shame?"

So much drama. So much unnecessary drama.

If you want to fight, go find his first love! Why are you hitting me?

Julian rushed to stand in front of me. "Miss Thorne, how could you just hit someone without a word?"

You bastard. Did I say anything? What do you mean "without a word"?

I lay on the floor, playing dead.

Seeing me "unconscious," Julian panicked. "Oh my god, she's dead!"

He started pacing around me like a frantic monkey.

Lucy frowned at him. "Butler Julian, the last time I saw you, you were much more composed."

Julian paused for a second, then his icy mask was back in place. "This is the young master's private physician. You have just knocked her unconscious, and her life is in danger. I, a mere bystander, am concerned. As the perpetrator, do you not feel the slightest bit of guilt, Miss Thorne?"

This kid was good.

I squinted my eyes and saw a flash of panic on Lucy's face.

The guilt trip was working.

I secretly tugged on Julian's sleeve and whispered, "Call an ambulance. At the hospital, tell them I hit my head. Get me a full body scan. I can save on my annual check-up fee."

Then I went back to playing dead.

Julian muttered, "You're a real cheapskate."

He knew me well. At the hospital, he ordered the most expensive check-up package, and Lucy paid for it all.

Nice.

After the tests, I took a nap in a VIP room. When I figured enough time had passed, I slowly "woke up."

Lucy looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry. It was a case of mistaken identity."

Then she frowned, as if confused. "But it's so strange. I've had an excellent upbringing, I'm well-educated and worldly. Logically, even if I knew Leo was still involved with his first love, I would have handled it in a more dignified way. Why would I be so impulsive as to hit someone?"

I really wanted to shout in her ear, "Because you're trapped by the plot!"

You're the female antagonist, so you have to be tortured by the male lead and lose all reason for his sake.

Ugh, this novel was disgusting.

6.

Lucy said that despite her exceptional abilities, her family had never allowed her to get involved in the business. They told her her only value was in a strategic marriage. She knew it was wrong, but she'd always forget by the next day.

I slowly realized that Lucy was starting to develop a sense of self-awareness.

So I tested the waters. "Miss Thorne, the reason you find it strange is because you're a character in a CEO novel. Do you want to change your character's path? I can help you."

Lucy froze, then tossed her curly hair back and laughed. "That's an interesting thing to say. Even if I were a character in a novel, I've had a perfect life, and my fianc is one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. Why would I want to change such a wonderful fate? Give me one good reason."

I was silent for a moment, then I delivered the cruel blow. "You're the shrewish, evil second female lead."

...

The world went silent.

I could almost hear the sound of her reality shattering.

Lucy's face went white with rage. "That piece of trash, Leo Howell! What a joke! I'm rich, I'm beautiful, I have men lining up from here to France, and he makes me the evil second female lead?"

She pointed a finger at me, her voice filled with newfound determination. "Fine. You've convinced me."

...

Getting through to her was much easier than I expected.

Lucy and I hit it off immediately.

I asked her, "Your family and Leo Howell are both trying to acquire a software company called WindSignal, right?"

Lucy nodded. "But my uncles and cousins all say we should let the Howells have it..."

I said, "Let them have it, my ass! Listen to me, you have to get that company. A game they're currently developing is going to blow up in a year."

My words fired Lucy up, but we quickly realized there was a major problem.

Lucy had no say in her family's business, and her personal savings weren't enough to acquire the company on her own.

I calculated the value of the antiques, and even with that, we were still about twenty million short.

Lucy and I slowly turned to look at Julian, who was standing in the corner.

Julian looked like he was about to cry. "You finally remembered I exist."

I walked over and patted his shoulder. "Get over it. That's your character. The butler with a nonexistent presence."

Julian looked at my shifty expression and clutched his chest. "You could sell me and you still wouldn't get twenty million."

Me: "..."

I threw an arm around his neck. "Let's go. The golden goose should be home by now. Back to the villa to pluck some more feathers!"

7.

Julian and I snuck back to the villa.

The moment we walked through the door, we saw the golden goose, I mean, Leo, smashing things again.

He had the classic CEO red-rimmed eyes as he sulked on the sofa.

He frowned when he saw us. "Why were you two out together?"

I lied without batting an eye. "My colleague called and said she saw someone who looked just like Miss Warren. Butler Julian and I went to check it out, but it was a false alarm. Sigh."

I sighed again. "Miss Warren is so small and helpless. Where could she have gone? She doesn't have any other friends. Sigh..."

The more I sighed, the more remorseful Leo became. He clutched his head and muttered, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her find out about the engagement. Elara must hate me."

Pah! You scumbag!

Even now, your first thought is to hide it from her, not to call off the engagement.

I'm not leaving until you're bald!

I gritted my teeth and casually mentioned, "If we offered a reward for information about Miss Warren, we could probably find her pretty quickly. It's just a shame..."

I sighed again, shook my head, and started walking toward my room.

I counted down in my head. Three, two, one...

Leo: "Wait."

Hehe, the sheep has taken the bait.

Leo thought for a moment. "Why did you say it's a shame?"

I feigned ignorance. "Because a reward would cost a lot of money, right? Is it worth spending so much just to find someone?"

Then I covered my mouth with my hands, my eyes wide with mock disbelief. "OMG, I forgot! Miss Warren is the love of your life! You'd spend any amount of money to find her, right?"

Leo's eyes were firm. "Of course!"

He sat on the sofa, thinking for a moment, then gestured to Julian. "Julian, you handle this. Notify the major news outlets, put it on the giant screens in every city, get the word out about this reward. We'll pay for any information about Elara, based on how useful it is."

Julian asked, "What's the total budget?"

Leo was the epitome of a CEO. "Whatever it takes."