Heartbeat Rewind

Love Letters in the Source Code

[Location: Lu’s Apartment, 2:00 AM]

The night rain of São Paulo tapped rhythmically against the windowpane. Luciana ("Lu") sat cross-legged on her sofa, wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants pajama set, her laptop balancing precariously on her knees.

As "Queen L," she was performing a code review on the backend of the upcoming "Silva Tech" app update.

"Vivi said this version fixes the GPS drift bug; I need to verify that..." Lu yawned, scrolling through lines and lines of dense code.

Suddenly, her finger stopped at Line 520.

Usually, programmers write comments to explain what a function does. But here, right in the middle of a complex route optimization algorithm, she found a line of green text written in Portuguese, tagged with "High Priority."

// TODO: Optimize the route to Lu’s heart. Current status: Traffic jam expected, but persistence required.

Lu froze.

She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was hallucinating from staring at the screen too long.

She scrolled down further. Inside the "User Feedback Interface" function, another line was hidden:

if (User == "Lu" && Mood == "Sad") { trigger_emergency_cheesecake_delivery(); }

Lu’s face instantly burned hot.

These lines were in the encrypted core layer. Only someone with root access could modify them. That meant... Lucas Silva.

The man who, during the day, buttoned his shirt to the very top and never smiled in meetings, had stayed up late into the night to write these incredibly cheesy "love letters" into a commercial software worth hundreds of millions of dollars?

"Idiot..." Lu bit her lip, but the corners of her mouth shot up uncontrollably.

A massive wave of sweetness hit her like an electric shock.

Thump—!

[System Triggered: Heartbeat Rewind]

Lu blinked.

The screen returned to just before Line 520.

She skillfully scrolled down.

She saw the comment again: // TODO: Optimize the route to Lu’s heart...

Thump—!

The third time.

Lu scrolled down again.

Saw the code again.

Blushed again.

In the solitude of her apartment late at night, without Lucas there to interrupt her, Lu allowed herself to indulge in this sweet loop. Like a child stealing candy, she "read" these few lines of code over and over again—five times in total—each time feeling the heart-flutter as if seeing it for the first time.

Only after the fifth time did she finally close the laptop, her face burning, and bury herself into her SpongeBob cushion, rolling around on the sofa.

"Foul! This is cheating! I'm going to report him to the Programmers' Association for improper commenting!"

[The Next Morning - Silva Tech Tower, Grand Conference Room]

If you want to know what "Split Personality" looks like, look at Lucas Silva right now.

He sat at the head of the table, listening to Henrique, the COO, present the quarterly report. He was wearing a dark gray three-piece suit, his expression as solemn as if he were attending a funeral. He twirled a fountain pen in his hand, radiating a chilling aura that screamed, "I will fire anyone who speaks nonsense."

Lu sat opposite him, trying hard to maintain her professional "Consultant" image. But every time she looked at his face, those lines of code from last night would automatically scroll across her mind like subtitles.

"Regarding the cold chain logistics in Zone B," Henrique pointed at the PPT, "we suggest introducing a new supplier..."

Just then, Lu’s phone buzzed.

It was a push notification from the app's Beta version.

[System Notification]: Dear User Lu, we have detected that your heart rate is currently elevated. It is recommended not to stare at the CEO opposite you for more than three seconds, or you may trigger a circuit breaker.

Lu almost spat out her coffee.

She looked up in horror.

Lucas was still looking blankly at the PPT, as if a ghost had sent that message. But the pen-twirling in his hand paused for a second, and the corner of his mouth twitched up in an arc visible only under a microscope.

Lu gritted her teeth. This man was using backend admin privileges to flirt during a meeting!

She took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and typed a reply in the app’s "User Feedback" section:

[User Feedback]: System Bug Report. The CEO opposite is too narcissistic. Recommend uninstalling and reinstalling.

Two seconds later, Lucas’s tablet lit up.

He glanced at it, and his eyebrows shot up even higher.

Everyone else in the room—Henrique, the department managers—trembled slightly, unsure why the air was suddenly filled with a weird atmosphere that was equal parts terrifying tension and pink bubbles.

[Meanwhile - Ground Floor Lobby]

This is the "Adult World."

Juliana, the elegant Supply Chain tycoon, was looking rather disheveled at the moment.

A typical São Paulo rainstorm had hit out of nowhere. Her truck had a blowout right in front of Silva Tech while delivering supplies. Wearing a silk blouse and high heels, she was forced to stand in the rain directing the workers.

"Damn it, the spare tire jack is broken." She looked anxiously at her watch; she had an important supplier meeting in ten minutes.

A large black umbrella suddenly appeared over her head.

The sound of the rain instantly dampened.

Juliana turned and saw Henrique.

As Silva Tech's COO, Henrique always gave off the vibe of a "sleep-deprived dad." He had deep dark circles and permanent stubble, looking like a scruffy, tired uncle.

"Ms. Juliana," Henrique’s voice was raspy but gentle. "Manual labor doesn't suit your dress."

He handed the umbrella to Juliana, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped into the rain.

Without any unnecessary chatter, he skillfully took the tools from the worker, crouched down, and began changing the tire with efficient movements. The rain soaked his expensive shirt, clinging to his broad back.

Juliana froze. In the business world, she was used to men who only bragged at cocktail parties. She rarely saw this kind of man... practical, silent, yet incredibly reassuring.

Five minutes later, the tire was changed.

Henrique stood up, casually wiping the rain from his face, revealing a tired but sincere smile. "Done. Don't be late. Lucas hates lateness."

Juliana looked at his grease-stained hands and soaked shoulders.

She pulled a handkerchief embroidered with orchids from her bag, stepped forward, and gently wiped a drop of engine oil from his forehead.

"Thank you, Henrique." Her voice was eight octaves softer than her usual 'Iron Lady' tone.

Henrique paused, the tips of his ears turning slightly red. He scratched his head awkwardly. "It was nothing. Um... if you really want to thank me, could you approve an extra two tons of Grade A flour from your warehouse next time? Lu is always complaining about shortages."

Juliana burst out laughing.

"Plenty of flour. And plenty of coffee, too. Are you free tonight? Let me buy you a drink."

[Back in the Penthouse Conference Room]

The meeting ended.

Everyone filed out, but Lu deliberately dawdled until the end.

The moment the door clicked shut, Lucas’s icy persona melted away instantly. He slid his rolling chair over to Lu and rested his chin on her shoulder, like a large golden retriever seeking praise.

"Well? Are you satisfied with the 'patch' in the new version?" he whispered in her ear.

Lu turned her head to look at him. "Lucas Silva, do you know what would happen if hackers saw those love letters in the code?"

"So what if they see them?" Lucas shrugged indifferently. "I don't mind if all of São Paulo knows that my algorithms run for you."

Lu’s heart raced traitorously again.

This time, she didn't rewind.

She reached out and gently poked his chest. "Then let me fix a Bug for you, too."

"What?"

"Your tie is crooked." Lu gently straightened his tie, then stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Also... I really like that 'Emergency Cheesecake Delivery' feature."

With that, she grabbed her bag and ran out like a cat that had successfully stolen the cream.

She left Lucas sitting alone in the empty conference room, touching his cheek. The man known as the "Living King of Hell" was smiling like a fool in love for the first time.

He glanced at his watch.

[Active Rewinds Remaining Today: 3/3]

"Looks like I don't need to use these today," he muttered to himself. "Because reality is already perfect enough."