Chapter 7: The Sinister Hint and the Rabbit’s Gambit

‘This is just sinister, utterly sinister!’

Even now, recalling the solution that impish little ghost of a hint had offered, a twitch still played at Zhou Ruoyu’s lips.

What kind of ‘helpful’ hint would ever suggest becoming a corporate spy? Did it think she had a death wish? Just the thought of being discovered one day, then summarily drowned in the river by Gu Jiachen to feed the turtles, sent shivers down Zhou Ruoyu’s spine.

The long-haired loli began to fret, caught in a dilemma. It would be one thing if the tasks were optional, but refusing them incurred penalties—penalties that were clearly more severe and absurd. Consequently, Zhou Ruoyu found herself genuinely apprehensive about tapping that hint button again.

Hmph—

The girl scratched her head in vexation, her mind beginning to wander down unconventional paths. A moment later, Zhou Ruoyu suddenly slapped her fair, tender thigh, a brilliant idea having struck her!

‘That’s right, as long as my resolve doesn’t waver, there’s always a way around any difficulty.’ The long-haired loli put her hands on her hips, humming softly to herself, before muttering to the empty desktop before her:

“Oh, I’m so hungry! What should I do, what should I do? I’m going to starve if I don’t eat soon~! Hmm… there are several restaurants downstairs, and leftover ingredients at home, even instant noodles. Delivery is quick too, but I just can’t decide~! Fine, I’ll ask for help~!”

Cough, cough… After uttering those words, a blush crept across the long-haired loli’s face. She… she felt a little embarrassed herself. ‘Ugh… was that really a bit too contrived?’

Cough, cough… ‘Still, what can I do? With this appearance, anything I say will probably have the same effect.’

Nonetheless, a moment later, the girl’s lips curved upwards. With a smug chuckle, she pressed the lightbulb icon in the top right corner of her vision once more. ‘Heh heh, as long as the predicament I face is simple enough, I refuse to believe this impish little hint can offer any more outrageous suggestions!’

Zhou Ruoyu brimmed with confidence, even mentally applauding her own cleverness. However, after waiting for quite some time, no hint sound echoed. The long-haired loli blinked blankly in place, then slowly called out:

“Xiao Ti-chan, aren’t you going to issue a task? Xiao Ti-chan?”

[Tsk… You pathetic host, are you trying to exploit a bug with me? I’m sorry, but I must remind you, my pathetic little user: firstly, you cannot request assistance again before a previous suggestion has been fully executed! Secondly, the level of task rewards is determined by the severity of the predicament you face when seeking help. The more difficult the situation, the greater the rewards received after following the advice. For a request made in such a tranquil situation as yours just now, the reward will not exceed 10 ‘Success Points’ at most…]

“Huh?!”

Upon hearing Xiao Ti-chan’s words, Zhou Ruoyu’s previously upturned lips utterly deflated. The long-haired loli shook her head, on the verge of tears, then exclaimed:

“Your system is so perfectly designed, yet couldn’t you offer suggestions that are a little more… ‘normal’? Is there truly no better way than becoming a corporate spy?”

[Ding dong. Please, pathetic host, do not doubt. All suggestions provided by this hint are the optimal solutions for your current predicament. If you disbelieve, simply recall: at the very least, after you proposed becoming a corporate spy, did the other party not offer you, the pathetic host, a job opportunity?]

‘Uh… this…’

Zhou Ruoyu pinched her chin, falling deep into contemplation. ‘It seems… it really is as it said. Could it be that the impish little hint truly provided the optimal solution?’

‘Then…’

The long-haired loli silently raised her phone, the image of that man, Gu Jiachen, flashing through her mind.

Her sworn enemy, the scoundrel who kept Gu Xue, the successful young talent, the calculating and shrewd CEO…

Under the weight of so many labels, Zhou Ruoyu found herself taking a deep, involuntary breath.

The decision to confront him was far from easy. Yet, in the end, perhaps fueled by her unwillingness to accept her miserable current situation, the long-haired girl ultimately conceived the idea of completing the task.

‘Approaching Gu Jiachen…’

Having solidified this resolve, the first problem Zhou Ruoyu had to confront was… how exactly to approach Gu Jiachen?

Having just left school, the girl possessed neither connections nor social experience. Zhou Ruoyu rested her chin in her hand, remaining silent for a considerable while, until a sudden thought sparked within her!

‘Hey, why not directly ask the boss of Longyu Company, whom I just added on WeChat? They’re both leaders in Lihua City’s business world, and their company operations have a fair bit of overlap. They should have plenty of contact normally.’

Even if their contact wasn’t extensive, they must have met a few times and understood each other fairly well, right? Cough, cough, ‘in any case, there must be some channel for information.’

Besides, no matter how one looked at it, she was going to be a corporate spy for Longyu Company. If the other party refused to help even a little, it would be utterly unreasonable.

Thus, Zhou Ruoyu swiftly opened the chat window, then began sending messages to inquire.

[Zhou Ruoyu: Boss, are you there?]

[Zhou Ruoyu: I’d like to continue discussing how to approach Gu Jiachen. Could you tell me where he usually likes to go?]

In the CEO’s office at Chensi Group, as twilight descended, Gu Jiachen meticulously reviewed the documents before him. Suddenly, the screen of his phone, resting on the desk, lit up. He paused, momentarily startled, then picked up the device, only to see… an intriguing name.

[Little Rabbit Who Walked Into a Trap]

This was the contact name Gu Jiachen had assigned to Zhou Ruoyu. In his estimation, the girl was remarkably cunning, yet endearing in her foolishness.

He, on the other hand, was a seasoned hunter, having laid his trap and patiently, silently, awaited the little rabbit to take the bait.

Evidently, the little rabbit had now leaped from the river and bitten the hook, even showing a hint of eagerness…

Heh~ Gu Jiachen shook his head with a cold chuckle. It wasn’t that he harbored any particular interest in Zhou Ruoyu herself. Rather, in the midst of his perpetually tense work environment, such an unexpected source of amusement had appeared, sparking an involuntary flicker of interest within him.

President Gu calmly responded to the girl’s inquiry. A moment later, Zhou Ruoyu saw an instant reply from the other side:

[Boss: Oh? Are you planning to ‘accidentally’ run into him?]

[Zhou Ruoyu: Cough, cough, well, ‘know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat’! I just want to learn more about his daily life and habits first, to make approaching him easier!]

[Boss: Don’t you have a vendetta against him? Yet you know nothing about him? How about… you tell me what you know first?]

…

‘Damn it!’

Reading the unreliable boss’s reply, a sharp twitch seized Zhou Ruoyu’s lips. ‘Seriously… are you asking the questions, or am I?’

‘If you’re truly foolish enough to have never investigated Gu Jiachen, just say so! Why are you making me guess the answers…’

Zhou Ruoyu could only shake her head speechlessly, letting out a long sigh. ‘Forget it,’ she thought. ‘Otherwise, why would Longyu Company even need a corporate spy?’ The girl had no choice but to take the initiative herself, and drawing upon everything she knew about Gu Xue’s situation, she began typing immediately:

[Zhou Ruoyu: He… he’s definitely a playboy, a perverted, greasy man! Ugh… who knows how many women he keeps secretly, utterly depraved! Every day, he must be carousing and indulging in debauchery, and… frequently visiting places of pleasure like bars and nightclubs!]