Chapter 55: The Humiliation of a Bet

“Uh… this…”

Liu Ruyan immediately fell silent. Facing the eager gazes of her colleagues, who were all watching the spectacle, it took her a while before she stammered out, “This… we haven’t finished yet! Why are you in such a hurry?”

“It’s already after work, Liu Ruyan. Didn’t we agree that the deadline was the end of the workday?”

Zhou Ruoyu pulled out her phone and showed her the time. Only then did Liu Ruyan, who had been lost in her humiliation, suddenly snap back to reality. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked at her colleagues, finally understanding.

It was already after work. So… these people hadn’t left because they were waiting to see her become a laughingstock?

“Well, have you come to your senses, Team Leader? Do you want to check my performance on my computer? Or can you see it directly on your system? In any case… you lost, and you lost completely~ Now, shouldn’t you fulfill our previous bet?”

The long-haired loli immediately began to gloat over Liu Ruyan. Liu Ruyan, however, took a deep breath, still not quite believing it. She quickly pulled up the girl’s performance report, and after a single glance, Team Leader Liu’s face instantly paled.

“How… how is this possible! Your performance today is… a cliff-edge first place? No… this, this can’t be! You must have… cheated!”

After a long moment, Liu Ruyan, feeling her face burning with shame, abruptly stood up. She slammed her hand on the table in a fit of rage and shouted at Zhou Ruoyu:

“You stinking brat, you must have contacted your clients in advance today and bribed them with money! Otherwise, how could you go from last place in performance to first place after just one weekend back?!”

“Huh?”

Zhou Ruoyu looked at her with a hint of exasperation, then dug in her ear. “Client numbers are assigned randomly. How could I know who to contact today? It’s simply that I studied diligently this weekend, while you, Team Leader Liu, have long grown rusty in your work~ What? Are you using cheating as an excuse because you can’t afford to lose?”

Faced with Zhou Ruoyu’s retort, Liu Ruyan froze. She desperately wanted to retort, but couldn’t find a single argument. She tried to find a reason, even an unreasonable one, but came up empty. After much stammering, her colleagues began to whisper amongst themselves.

“Hiss… the Team Leader got absolutely crushed~”

“Interesting, interesting. Looks like someone’s getting fired now~”

“If I were her, being schooled so logically by a newcomer, I’d pack my bags and run right then and there. How utterly humiliating~”

“Hilarious. Liu Ruyan always acted so arrogant. Now she’s getting exactly what she deserves!”

“I didn’t expect Ruoyu to be so amazing. My heavens, she’s capable and beautiful. I declare Ruoyu to be my goddess from now on! Ah, she’s too cute~”

“Goddess or not, I don’t know, but looking at Ruoyu-chan’s execution, she might just become your team leader~”

“Goodness, isn’t Liu Ruyan on good terms with the director? Will she really accept this?”

“Gao Lan? She’s a pure chameleon, her stance is very flexible.”

“My Ruoyu-chan, my Ruoyu-chan, heheh~”

****

Listening to her colleagues already discussing her being replaced by Zhou Ruoyu, Liu Ruyan trembled with fury. After a moment, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the girl’s collar. The long-haired loli was startled, thinking that Empress Ruyan was about to hit her in a fit of rage. But to her surprise…

Liu Ruyan actually pressed her into her own seat, then huffily picked up the phone, dialed a number, and handed the receiver to Zhou Ruoyu.

She was indeed furious, but what she was desperate for right now was to prove that Zhou Ruoyu had cheated. So, Liu Ruyan immediately said in a cold voice:

“I don’t care! Unless… unless you can close this… this client, then I’ll admit you didn’t cheat, and I lost! Otherwise… heh, the bet is off!”

Ugh…

Zhou Ruoyu rolled her eyes at Liu Ruyan, a wave of disdain rising within her. Taking the receiver, the girl snorted at Liu Ruyan:

“Fine. It seems you really can’t afford to lose, so we’ll do as you say! Everyone, pay close attention, this phone number was personally dialed by Liu Ruyan. I certainly haven’t had any private chats with this client, humph. I just wonder what kind of relationship this person has with Team Leader Liu? Parents, relatives, friends? It couldn’t be Team Leader Liu’s boyfriend, could it~ Humph, no matter who it is, I’ll make sure you lose convinced! On the condition that you don’t interfere!”

Zhou Ruoyu was brimming with confidence. With her cheat code, she could probably even convince an eighty-year-old man to go to an internet cafe and create an account. She didn’t care what number Liu Ruyan had dialed for her, as long as there were no dirty tricks!

However… a moment later, the instant the call connected and the person on the other end spoke, the previously confident Zhou Ruoyu was stunned.

“Hello? This is the Chairman’s office of Chensi Group. I’m CEO Gu’s assistant. Who are you looking for?”

…Eh?

No, no, no… wait, why did she dial CEO Gu Jiachen’s office number?!

Seeing the girl’s face instantly flash with panic, Liu Ruyan immediately sneered and then activated the speakerphone function on the desk phone.

You didn’t expect this, little one, did you? The person this call is going to is none other than Gu Jiachen, the chairman of Chensi Group, Dragon Wing Group’s biggest competitor, whom I meticulously selected!

Hmph, Zhou Ruoyu still thought too simply. Relatives, friends, lovers, parents — none of them are reliable in a situation that demands absolute victory. Only the boss of a rival company, with that identity alone, no matter how eloquent your tongue, I refuse to believe you can make him play Dragon Wing’s game!

I truly am a genius~ Hahahaha—

Glancing at Liu Ruyan, who was smiling wildly beside her, Zhou Ruoyu felt truly speechless. Oh my god, was *this* why she was panicking? No, it wasn’t because the person on the other end was Gu Jiachen! It was because it was Gu Jiachen, the perverted CEO who was keeping her!

The girl immediately, frantically, tried to turn off the speakerphone, but Liu Ruyan grabbed her wrist. The blonde woman glared at the girl with cold eyes, her meaning clear: *Don’t you dare turn it off. I want everyone in the department to hear how you get the boss of a rival company to play Dragon Wing’s game!*

Hiss—

With no other choice, Zhou Ruoyu could only turn her head away bitterly. Then, she timidly spoke to Xiao Lin, the assistant on the other end:

“Hello, I… I’m looking for CEO Gu.”

“Ah… you are… Zhou…”

Xiao Lin seemed to recognize Zhou Ruoyu’s voice. Indeed, it was practically identical to Ms. Zhou’s voice from her previous interview at the company. But Zhou Ruoyu quickly shook her head and blurted out:

“No… I’m a customer service representative!”

“Ah? Uh… then this…”

Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment, but then Gu Jiachen, who was beside him, suddenly turned his head and asked softly, “What is it, Xiao Lin?”

“A customer service representative who sounds a lot like Ms. Zhou called…”

Xiao Lin covered the receiver and told Gu Jiachen. The rival CEO’s eyes immediately lit up, and he said, “Oh? Phew~ Give me the phone, I’ll take it~”