Heartbeat Rewind

Three Seconds Isn't Enough

[Location: Silva Tech Tower, Penthouse Boardroom]

The afternoon sun of Faria Lima Avenue poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the top-tier boardroom of Silva Tech in a bright, yet sterile light.

A high-stakes investment meeting for the "Silva Tech x Lu’s Sweet Stop" AI joint venture was underway. As the specially invited "Community Experience Consultant," Luciana (Lu) sat obediently at the end of the long table wearing a modest beige cardigan, gripping an iced Americano, trying her best to look professional.

At the head of the table, Lucas Silva was facing pushback from a group of old-school, stubborn investors.

"President Silva, I don't understand," a pot-bellied investor tapped the table, casting a dismissive glance at Lu. "We possess the most advanced algorithms in São Paulo. Why are we partnering with a little girl who only knows how to bake cupcakes? Does she understand logistics nodes? Does she understand route optimization?"

Hearing this, Lu’s fingers tightened slightly around her coffee cup. As the hidden "Queen L," she could write code in her sleep that would crush these corporate dinosaurs. But right now, she had to bite her lip and play the fragile baker.

However, before she could figure out how to smooth things over, Lucas’s expression darkened instantly.

His long fingers tugged at his tie, and a dangerous, fiercely protective glint surfaced in his normally cold eyes. He stood up abruptly, planting both hands on the table. His overwhelming aura instantly silenced the entire boardroom.

"Whether she understands route optimization or not is not for you to judge," Lucas’s voice was as cold as an icebox. "The fact is, Miss Luciana’s order prediction accuracy in this district is two hundred percent higher than all of you sitting in your air-conditioned offices. Her investment in data predictive models is even..."

At this point, Lucas’s voice abruptly cut off.

Damn it! He cursed internally. In his rush to defend Lu, he had accidentally slipped and dropped a clue about Lu’s hidden identity as the "Investor Queen L"! If these old foxes followed that thread, Lu’s secret cover would be blown.

Time was of the essence. Lucas didn't hesitate. He closed his eyes and mentally pressed the golden switch.

[System Triggered: Active Rewind]

Accompanied by a familiar migraine, time jumped back 3 seconds.

Lucas was just preparing to speak again, changing "investment in data predictive models" to "insights into community tastes."

However, the exact second he opened his mouth—

Lu, sitting in the corner, was staring at him in awe. The sunlight hit Lucas’s broad shoulders perfectly. The way he stood up to defend her, even the slight loosening of his tie, was overflowing with fatal masculine pheromones. His side profile as he aggressively shut down the investors for her was so handsome it made her knees weak.

Thump-thump—! Lu’s heart rate instantly broke 120.

[System Triggered: Heartbeat Rewind]

The world violently warped, followed by an intense sensation of weightlessness.

The scene flickered and froze.

Lucas had just massaged his furrowed brow when he heard the pot-bellied investor tap the table again, repeating the exact sentence he was already sick of hearing: "President Silva, I don't understand... Why are we partnering with a little girl who only knows how to bake cupcakes?"

Lucas froze. He looked at the wall clock in disbelief.

Time had reverted to the exact second the investor had just finished his question!

Lucas felt a surge of frustrated blood rush to his throat. Because Lu’s "Passive 5 Seconds" completely overwrote his "Active 3 Seconds" on the timeline, the precious quota he had just endured a migraine to use was completely rendered void.

And worse, he had to do that entire cool, protective speech all over again!

"The absolute worst investment of my entire life," Lucas roared internally through gritted teeth, casting a dark, brooding glance at Lu, who was still looking down pretending to be innocent. "Is spending my precious three seconds on a woman who will forcibly reload the save file at any given moment just because she thinks I look handsome."

[Two Hours Later - Liberdade Night Market]

As the largest East Asian cultural district in São Paulo, the weekend night market in Liberdade was bustling with noise and energy. Red lanterns hung high, and the air was filled with a mix of takoyaki, grilled skewers, and Brazilian cachaça.

Lu had set up a small stall here, exclusively selling her weekend-limited "Matcha Brigadeiros."

Her phone buzzed. A w******p message.

[The Grumpy King of Hell (Lucas)]: Miss Luciana, please control your heartbeat next time. My temples are still throbbing.

Lu stuck her tongue out guiltily and replied with a "bunny bowing in apology" sticker.

Just then, another message popped up in the work group chat from Rafa the courier.

[Rafa (Motoboy)]: Boss, I just confessed to Vivi! I said: Vivi, my heart for you is like my express deliveries, always on time and piping hot![Lu]: Wow! What did she say?[Vivi (Support/Hacker)]: I said, if you send me another cheesy pickup line like that, I will reroute all your dispatch orders next month to deliver pizzas to the top of the mountains.[Rafa (Motoboy)]: (Crying Emoji) Boss, Mr. Silva, teach me how to date![The Grumpy King of Hell (Lucas)]: Don't ask me. My margin for error for the day has already been maxed out by a certain i***t. I have zero seconds left.

Lu looked at her phone and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Give me a box of Matcha Brigadeiros," a deep, familiar voice suddenly rang out above her head.

Lu snapped her head up. In the middle of the crowded, smoky night market, Lucas Silva stood in front of her stall wearing that expensive bespoke suit, looking like a supermodel who had wandered onto the wrong movie set. Several girls walking by were secretly glancing at him.

"Mr... Mr. Silva? Why are you at the night market?" Lu stood up in surprise.

"Just passing by." Lucas never blushed when he lied, even though his Rolls-Royce was parked two streets away and his driver had almost had a breakdown trying to find parking. He glanced at the remaining fifty or so boxes of sweets on the stall. "I'll take them all."

"All of them?" Lu's eyes widened. "But you can't eat this many sweets by yourself, you'll get diabetes!"

"Who said I'm eating them myself?" Lucas looked at her nose, which was slightly red from the chilly wind, and his gaze softened involuntarily. "I'm bringing them back for the employees working overtime."

He scanned the QR code to pay immediately, then took the heavy shopping bags from Lu’s hands.

"Now, your inventory is empty." Lucas stood with one hand in his suit pocket, looking down at her with a commanding yet awkwardly tender expression. "Pack up your things and go home to sleep. If you stand in the cold wind any longer and your system catches a cold, who is going to predict the orders for me tomorrow?"

Looking at his awkward way of showing care, Lu felt her heart fill with soft cotton.

Under the dim streetlights, this man who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside was actually sweeter than her brigadeiros.

Thump-thump—! Oh no. That familiar palpitation was back.

Lucas acutely sensed the subtle ripple in the air. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately took a half-step back, pointing at Lu in warning: "Luciana, stop! Do not let your heart flutter! I genuinely do not have three seconds left to save us today!"