Chapter 81: The Devil’s Bargain

Uh…

Help? The best?

Hearing Gu Jiachen’s confident words, Zhou Ruoyu was momentarily taken aback. After a long pause, the girl nervously twisted the hem of her clothes, then asked again:

“Re…really? You’re not just messing with me, are you?”

“Really~ Pfft, look at you, little rabbit, so eager. If only you were that enthusiastic about going on a date with me~”

Gu Jiachen gave a sly smile, then shook his head and said: “Then… we’ll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up and take you somewhere to lock yourself in and work on your creation. I’ll definitely help you catch that backstabbing thief~!”

“Mm! Yay!” Hearing Gu Jiachen’s promise, Zhou Ruoyu was quite happy. But… after a moment, the girl suddenly realized something, and with full vigilance she frowned, then timidly asked:

“I-in that case… what are we doing tonight?”

Mm… the rival CEO was actually so willing to help her? Could there be a condition that she had to repay him with her body? If so, she couldn’t agree!

But after a while, hearing the black-haired loli’s worried tone, Gu Jiachen just smiled faintly. He reached out and ruffled her hair, then said softly:

“Don’t worry, little rabbit. You’ve had such a rough night; I really can’t bear to bully you anymore. After dinner, I’ll take you straight home and won’t disturb you any further.”

Hearing this, Zhou Ruoyu stared in shock at Gu Jiachen’s cold face and gasped. What was going on? Why was her rival being so gentle today?

Well, of course…

Because little rabbit can be bullied tomorrow.

****

After that, Zhou Ruoyu focused on eating. After dinner, the rival CEO sent her home. True to his word, Gu Jiachen didn’t even mention coming upstairs; he simply left, so quickly that Zhou Ruoyu began to wonder if he had another date.

But the girl had no way of knowing that a few days before this dinner, in the same restaurant, two other people had also shared a meal here.

However, a few days ago, the guest was Ling Bo—the one who backstabbed her and stole her design. And the host… was a mysterious woman whom Ling Bo didn’t recognize but dared not underestimate.

Because the woman before her had not only easily contacted her through the company’s top brass but had also been sternly warned not to say anything disrespectful in front of her, or else she might lose her job. So Ling Bo understood that the other party must be someone with significant influence within Long Yu.

Late at night in the restaurant, Ling Bo felt the atmosphere oppressive. The mysterious woman was wearing a branded trench coat. After a while, she asked softly:

“You… are Ling Bo?”

“Yes!”

Ling Bo replied respectfully. The woman then pressed on:

“Recently, a girl named Zhou Ruoyu joined your planning department, right? And you’re the person responsible for guiding her?”

“Yes!”

Ling Bo nodded again. The woman curled her lips into a cold smile and continued:

“I see~ So, what has she been busy with lately? How is your relationship with her?”

“We have a decent relationship… getting along well. She’s just getting familiar with the work. I’m having her collect materials on online game fashion to make a proposal for the company’s online game fashion design competition.”

Ling Bo answered truthfully, but inwardly she couldn’t help wondering about the identity of the person in front of her. Why was she interested in Zhou Ruoyu? That little girl was just a newcomer to the planning department; there was nothing noteworthy about her.

But it seemed the other party had come specifically for Zhou Ruoyu. Hearing that the black-haired loli planned to participate in the competition, the woman immediately became interested. She raised an eyebrow and asked with a cold smile:

“Oh? Zhou Ruoyu plans to enter the competition? She’s been preparing hard? No wonder there hasn’t been any commotion from her lately, hmm~”

The woman’s eyes rolled, and suddenly she had a wicked idea. Her sickly gaze fixed on Ling Bo, and she asked coldly:

“Do you have easy access to her? Does she trust you?”

“Ah? This…”

Ling Bo felt a sense of unease. But since she couldn’t figure out the other’s intentions, she could only answer honestly:

“F-fairly well… she trusts me quite a bit…”

Actually, that was an understatement. Zhou Ruoyu didn’t just trust her; she relied on and trusted her like an elder sister. Even if Ling Bo were caught red-handed as a corporate spy, Zhou Ruoyu would probably excitedly shout, “Sister Bo, you’re amazing!”

“Mm~ Good, good. Hmph, since that’s the case, Ling Bo, I have a task for you now! I want you to first get completely close to Zhou Ruoyu, and then, just before the competition deadline, steal her design proposal and submit it under your own name. When she comes to confront you, you’ll turn against her and mock her harshly, making her understand the darkness of the world~”

“Hiss… this—”

Hearing the woman’s shocking request, Ling Bo instinctively resisted. What a joke! Not only was her relationship with Zhou Ruoyu good, but this was completely crossing the line! Moreover, stealing someone’s proposal was utterly despicable!

Just as Ling Bo was about to refuse, the woman waved her hand and said coldly:

“Don’t rush~ I haven’t mentioned the reward yet. If you pull this off, I’ll give you a cash reward of 150,000 yuan. Here’s a 50,000 down payment. That should be enough to pay off those credit card debts you racked up from your lavish spending, right?”

Hearing this, Ling Bo was stunned. Looking at the 50,000 yuan in front of her, she couldn’t help but swallow.

But what really made Ling Bo nervous wasn’t just the 150,000 reward; it was the fact that the other party knew about her credit card debts. How did she find out?

Seeing Ling Bo hesitate, the woman smiled again. Sensing her lingering concerns, she added:

“You don’t have to worry about any fallout. I can guarantee your safety. And once you successfully backstab Zhou Ruoyu and break her spirit, she’ll probably resign in despair over her friend’s betrayal. You won’t have to worry about any trouble afterwards…”

Ling Bo looked at the stack of money in front of her, then slowly reached out her hand.

All the world’s bustling, all for gain.

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