Chapter 54: The Folly of Imitation

Witnessing Zhou Ruoyu’s relentless progress, Liu Ruyan was instantly overcome with panic. Her fingers fumbled across the keyboard, mashing keys in a desperate flurry, praying for the system update to expedite its pace.

Yet, as if cursed, the accursed system update progress bar chose that precise moment to freeze.

Liu Ruyan’s vision swam, and in a fit of impotent rage, she slammed her fist down on the keyboard. She then turned her head to glance at Zhou Ruoyu.

The younger woman’s movements were as fluid as flowing water, her lips never ceasing their rapid chatter. On Liu Ruyan’s end, however, the update progress bar remained stubbornly motionless.

A cycle of escalating anxiety began for Liu Ruyan, where looking only heightened her urgency. She would swivel to check on Zhou Ruoyu, feeling a knot tighten in her chest, then pivot back to scrutinize the update’s crawl, only to find her frustration deepen.

It felt akin to the final moments of an exam, her eyes darting between the clock’s second hand and a complex math problem she’d recalculated countless times, still unsure of the correct answer, despite its formidable weight.

‘Update faster! Update, please!’ she pleaded internally. ‘If this doesn’t finish soon, I truly won’t be able to compete with her!’

Under the crushing weight of this urgent crisis, Liu Ruyan could no longer wait. She abruptly rose to her feet, reached out, and grabbed the shoulder of an employee beside her, pulling them aside.

She then hastily instructed, “I’m commandeering your workstation for a moment; you can use mine!”

Having said that, Liu Ruyan swiftly logged into her own account. The employee, displaced from their desk, stared in utter bewilderment at the frantic Liu Ruyan, while the surrounding colleagues, observing the spectacle, couldn’t help but feel a touch of disdain.

‘Tsk… didn’t she agree to give the newbie an hour’s head start?’

Zhou Ruoyu, her voice finally hoarse from speaking, decided to take a brief respite. Having secured another sale, she drew a deep breath, set down the receiver, and gulped down two large mouthfuls of water, allowing herself a moment to recover.

Incidentally, the long-haired, black-clad loli also wished to observe her opponent. She turned, only to discover Liu Ruyan had already started working. The girl immediately began to vigilantly track her rival’s actions. Liu Ruyan made a phone call.

No one answered.

The corners of the blonde woman’s mouth twitched twice in annoyance before she slammed down the receiver. It was a long moment before she picked it up again.

She dialed another number. Still no answer.

Zhou Ruoyu noticed that her group leader’s wrist was already bulging with prominent veins.

With another call, finally, someone picked up! Liu Ruyan was instantly overjoyed. She then began to speak in rapid succession, mimicking Zhou Ruoyu’s earlier cadence.

“Hello, sir, this is Dragon Wing Customer Service, we—”

“Beep, beep, beep—”

‘Ugh, she barely said two sentences.’ Listening to Liu Ruyan’s abrupt halt, Zhou Ruoyu knew she had been hung up on immediately. The girl yearned to revel in a moment of schadenfreude, but recalling her own struggles from the previous week, she ultimately suppressed her laughter.

‘I truly am too kind~’

What followed was a relentless barrage of attacks on Liu Ruyan.

“Sir, our comeback welfare rewards are incredibly generous—”

“Huh? This paltry stuff? Who are you trying to fool?!”

****

“Sir, our new game mode is truly captivating—”

“I quit because I had no time! This mode is far too time-consuming!”

****

“Sir, our cumulative top-up cashback ratio is genuinely high—”

“I’m already bankrupt, no money, get lost!”

****

“Sir, please, I beg you, come online! If not, I can even offer you free companionship activities, alright? What? You say my voice sounds like an old auntie? Say that again, you’re insulting— Ahhhhhh!”

Finally, unable to endure the torment any longer, Liu Ruyan collapsed onto the office desk, seemingly suffering a severe occupational injury.

Zhou Ruoyu tallied the results: within a single hour, Liu Ruyan had made over a dozen calls. Excluding those that went unanswered, nearly eighty percent of the remaining calls ended in her being verbally abused. Under such high-intensity attacks, few could withstand the onslaught.

‘Still, the more, the better. I love watching, hehe~’

****

‘Wh-why?’

Lying slumped on the desk, Liu Ruyan’s eyes were vacant. The barrage of insults from those esteemed customers echoed in her mind, shattering her composure. She clutched her head, unable to comprehend, even after a long while. She had been the sales champion back then, so why… why was she now unable to outperform even a newcomer like Zhou Ruoyu?

However, there was no denying it. The primary reason was that Liu Ruyan’s skills had genuinely grown rusty. In Zhou Ruoyu’s estimation, Liu Ruyan’s recent performance had been nothing short of disastrous.

It was evident that Liu Ruyan had attempted to mimic Zhou Ruoyu’s techniques, but Zhou Ruoyu’s core advantage was her ‘golden finger’—a skill Liu Ruyan clearly couldn’t learn.

Furthermore, Liu Ruyan still clung to bad habits formed in the nascent days of the industry. She relied too heavily on outdated experience, failing to keep pace with the industry’s evolution over the years. This resulted in a disjointed approach, and with her inflated ego, she habitually argued back when customers questioned her, naturally making her unpopular.

Zhou Ruoyu couldn’t help but shake her head. ‘Alas, one never truly appreciates the cost of living until they manage a household.’

‘Oh, but wait! Ah, I got so caught up watching Emperor Ruyan’s performance, I forgot about my own work!’

Snapping back to reality, Zhou Ruoyu quickly turned and threw herself back into work with renewed vigor. This time, however, she felt a little more relaxed, the previous sense of urgency gone. After all, Emperor Ruyan hadn’t achieved a single sale in an entire hour, so perhaps Zhou Ruoyu didn’t need to panic quite so much.

As she steadily continued her work, Zhou Ruoyu occasionally stole glances at the situation across the office. On one such occasion, their eyes met. Seeing Liu Ruyan’s disheveled state, Zhou Ruoyu deliberately turned away, lowered her voice, covered her mouth to prevent lip-reading, and then shot Liu Ruyan a contemptuous look. The message was unmistakable: “Stop trying to copy me~ You can’t learn it~!”

An absolute kill, unresolvable!

****

Thus, even as the workday drew to a close that afternoon, few in the office chose to leave immediately. Instead, they remained at their workstations.

Was this because everyone was eager to actively contribute to Dragon Wing? Of course not… *cough* *cough*… So why then?

Naturally, it was to witness a grand spectacle!

Tsk, tsk. By this point, anyone with eyes and a slight awareness of their performance throughout the day could easily discern the victor. Zhou Ruoyu had effortlessly closed almost every call, while Liu Ruyan required over an hour to secure a single sale. Therefore, despite one being graceful and composed while the other toiled in a sweat, the undisputed winner was Zhou Ruoyu!

Someone getting fired only to turn the tables and fire their boss? A group leader dismissed by an employee on the spot? Who wouldn’t want to see more of such a compelling drama?

After a long moment, Zhou Ruoyu slowly approached Liu Ruyan. She glanced at the sales figures on the group leader’s ashen face, then offered a slight smile.

“Group Leader,” she said, “you lost.”