Chapter 57: The Price of Victory

“Uh… wh-what?”

Listening to the strange condition proposed by her rival CEO, Zhou Ruoyu fell silent for a moment. Soon after, an ominous premonition stirred within her, and she mumbled softly:

“What exactly do you mean by ‘hand-holding’? I mean… if it’s just about needing someone to guide you, surely ten game companions would be more than enough?”

“No, no, no~”

From the other end of the phone, Gu Jiachen quietly curved his lips into a smile, then chuckled:

“What I mean is, I want a live tutorial! Oh, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I haven’t really played computer games much. So… if no one is sitting beside me to guide me, I might not even be able to install the game~”

Gu Jiachen struggled to suppress his laughter, essentially taking advantage of the situation to extort the long-haired loli. These words made Zhou Ruoyu’s vision blacken, and she instantly realized her mistake: this was targeted at her!

Her rival was trying to make her play offline with him!

What was going on? Had ten cute-voiced game companion girls not been enough for this pervert? No… why did he have to fixate on her? This… wasn’t he going to keep more girls on the side? At least help her divert some of the attention!

After a long moment, Zhou Ruoyu awkwardly turned her head to glance at the crowd around her. She watched as everyone’s gazes gradually shifted from expectation to suspicion, then to pity, as they now felt Gu Jiachen was deliberately toying with the girl and that she was finished. Zhou Ruoyu gasped sharply, then steeled herself!

“I… I can. I can be responsible for the liaison!”

“Pfft~ Alright, alright, alright, little customer service rep. You’re truly dedicated to your work. I was just teasing you earlier, but… I am actually quite interested in the game you recommended. I was planning to look into it anyway, so… I will download it, rest assured~!”

“You… you agreed, right? So, sir, you agreed, right? Nice! Cough, cough. Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now. Remember to download the game, goodbye!”

With that, the girl promptly hung up the phone. She then took a deep, nervous breath. After calming her emotions, she turned her head to look at Liu Ruyan, who was utterly dumbfounded beside her.

How, how was that possible?

Zhou Ruoyu, that person, actually managed to convince the CEO of Chenxi Group to play Dragon Wing’s game?!

Was this the legendary, ‘sweet and naive girl conquers the big boss’ phenomenon?!

“Do you have anything else to say this time?”

Zhou Ruoyu’s eyes twinkled with amusement, and she crossed her arms in a mocking gesture.

“Your plan was quite clever, but Liu Ruyan, you seem to have forgotten something. You don’t actually believe that the bosses of these leading companies would have no interest in experiencing a competitor’s product, do you? Whether it’s to learn from strengths or review shortcomings, they wouldn’t be so arrogant as to not even play a rival’s game!”

The long-haired loli’s words became the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Meeting the gazes of all her colleagues, which seemed like a farewell celebration, Liu Ruyan began to tremble. But before she could concoct another excuse to wriggle out of it, Gao Lan suddenly appeared behind her and patted her shoulder.

“Alright, Liu Ruyan, stop making a scene here. Hurry up and pack your things to go home. You don’t… need to come in tomorrow.”

“Don’t… need to come in?!”

Liu Ruyan immediately whirled around, then stared at the solemn Gao Lan and shouted in shock, “What do you mean, ‘don’t need to come in’?部長, you’re not actually taking that bet seriously, are you? I… I’m one of your people, after all!”

“Stop with the nonsense, I’m not familiar with you!” Facing Liu Ruyan, who was so loud it seemed she wanted the entire department to hear, Gao Lan frowned deeply, cutting ties at lightning speed. After a moment, she leaned into Liu Ruyan’s ear and hissed, “Alright, stop causing trouble! Do you think I can still protect you? Our mysterious boss personally gave the order, saying they want to rectify the workplace bullying culture and fire you immediately. Besides, I can barely protect myself! I told you not to provoke people indiscriminately, and this time you’ve hit a brick wall!”

With that, she glared at Liu Ruyan again, then dropped a final command, “Finish packing your things, go to finance to collect your pay, and then accept your loss. Now, scram!”

“This… this…”

Listening to these sudden, mandatory measures, Liu Ruyan felt utterly at a loss. After a long moment, she suddenly remembered that Zhou Ruoyu seemed to be someone who got in through connections, without an interview…

“You… what exactly is your background?!”

After another long moment, Liu Ruyan turned back, her voice tinged with a resentful sob. Zhou Ruoyu, however, wore a look of disdain. She had faintly overheard some of Gao Lan’s words, and it surprised her that Dragon Wing’s boss had acted so quickly to resolve this matter for her, even though he had seemed so reluctant during their WeChat chat.

*Heh~ Is my boss a tsundere, perhaps? Eheh~*

As for Liu Ruyan’s concern about Zhou Ruoyu’s background, the long-haired loli could only express that she had endured humiliation for the company and sacrificed far too much! This was all the treatment she deserved!

Following this, Zhou Ruoyu and her colleagues silently watched as Liu Ruyan returned to her workstation in a daze and began packing her things. After forlornly bagging her belongings and watching Liu Ruyan’s silent departure, the majority of those whom she usually scorned and bullied couldn’t help but gather around Zhou Ruoyu, cheering:

“Good! This is great! The auntie who rode on others’ coattails is finally gone, haha~”

“Ruoyu-chan is truly amazing; she can even handle the rival company’s boss!”

“Some people just bring shame upon themselves~ Sigh, why did you have to provoke Ruoyu-chan~”

“Serves her right! Where’s that arrogant attitude she used to bully us? She should have been fired ages ago!”

“I propose that Ruoyu-chan become our new Team Leader for Group Nine! Who supports it, who opposes it?!”

“Ruoyu-chan, Ruoyu-chan, Ruoyu-chan!”

Oh my, oh my…

Seeing the excited crowd gradually turning into Zhou Ruoyu’s knight-like fan club, Zhou Ruoyu quickly waved her hands shyly, indicating she couldn’t accept such praise.

However, after a moment, she turned around, looked at Liu Ruyan, who was leaving amidst a chorus of insults, and suddenly spoke up, calling out to her!

“Hey, Liu Ruyan, don’t leave yet! You still… haven’t apologized for bullying me in the workplace!”

Liu Ruyan froze for a moment, then turned around. She had intended to curse the girl out right there before leaving… but considering the girl’s seemingly unfathomable background, after a long moment, the blonde woman could only shiver. She then profoundly demonstrated her tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong, tears welling up and streaming from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Zhou Ruoyu, it was all my fault, so… can you explain to the boss for me…”

“Yes, exactly, it’s all your fault. Now go!”

Liu Ruyan, who had intended to elicit sympathy, was once again swiftly dismissed by Zhou Ruoyu. Immediately, a burst of laughter erupted from behind the girl. Liu Ruyan’s mouth twitched, and after a moment, she stomped her foot fiercely, then angrily turned and scurried away like a stray dog.

*Phew~*

Finally, she had vented her frustration. Zhou Ruoyu’s lips curled up in triumph. After a moment, she glanced down at her phone, and her triumphant smile instantly faltered…

Because…

It read…

[Gu Jiachen: Tomorrow is Tuesday. Remember to take leave and come to my office for offline gaming~]

*Hiss—*

Wait, didn’t he say he was just kidding?!