The woman introduced herself as Li Wanting. After adding him on WeChat last time, she had actually wanted to get to know Jiang Yumo better, but she worried about bothering him. They weren’t from the same world, and gradually she had pulled back.
Today was a chance…
“I’ll treat you, as a way of thanking you for saving my life,” Li Wanting said, inviting Jiang Yumo to a high-end dessert shop diagonally across the street.
Jiang Yumo was about to refuse.
【Random Mission: Find out why Li Wanting tried to commit suicide】
【Success Reward: 2 energy points; Failure: random penalty and deduct 5 energy points】
“Gain 2 if successful, lose 5 if you fail?” Jiang Yumo muttered to the system. “Cheater, cheater!”
Turning to Li Wanting, he said instead, “Alright, then.”
Inside the upscale dessert shop in the city center, they found a corner table by the window. Li Wanting waved generously and ordered several pastries and drinks, filling the small table.
Jiang Yumo didn’t hold back either. He had saved her, this was what he deserved.
“So, tell me, why did you feel hopeless?” He picked up a cherry Basque cheesecake, took a small forkful to taste it, liked it, then scooped up a big piece and popped it into his mouth.
Jiang Yumo ate with relish, eyes squinting in enjoyment. Li Wanting, for some reason, felt a bit hungry too. Ever since hearing the “tragic news” yesterday, she hadn’t eaten all day. Anxiety had gnawed at her, and now, seeing the boy, polished but lively, she kept swallowing in hunger.
Li Wanting grabbed a triangular lemon cheesecake and bit half of it like she was devouring an enemy. “Well… I’m a content creator, right? I signed with a company before, but I didn’t want to do borderline stuff. The company didn’t manage me much, and I stayed mediocre…”
Until her accidental live stream with Jiang Yumo. Overnight, her popularity exploded, hundreds of thousands of new followers in a single day. This was something Li Wanting had never dared to imagine.
Even though the trending topic was removed the next day and the video was taken down, she had retained half her fans through her witty words and playful, self-deprecating antics.
The company noticed her because of this. That could have been a good thing, but after evaluating her talent and potential in a meeting, they agreed to promote her, on one condition: she had to attend a party tonight.
Li Wanting, not a fresh graduate naive to the industry, immediately understood the implication. The company wanted her to go to the party to find a wealthy sponsor herself.
Of course, she refused, but her manager warned that refusal would mean being blacklisted. With her parents’ health poor, the company’s blacklisting would push her to a dead end. Li Wanting felt she had let her parents down, as if the sky had collapsed. Anxiety consumed her for days, sleepless nights shredded her hair, and today, in a daze at the street corner, she couldn’t hold herself back, and that was the scene Jiang Yumo had witnessed.
【Mission Complete! Current Energy: 14.5】
“I see.” Jiang Yumo nodded. Finding the fork too small, he picked up a small strawberry-filled ice cream cake and took a bold bite out of half of it. The tangy sweetness of the strawberry and the creamy richness of the ice cream burst on his tongue.
“This is simple.” Jiang Yumo alternated bites of cake with sips of milk tea. “Think about it, they’re not scared at all that you’ll call the police, right? They just assume a girl like you cares too much about face.”
Li Wanting nodded. Indeed, she had broken up with her ex because she couldn’t tolerate his intimate touch.
“But as long as you don’t care about face, there’s no moral issue,” Jiang Yumo said, squinting slightly as he licked the cream off his fingers. “What can they really do to you?”
“If you had leverage over them, would they dare force things?” Jiang Yumo continued deliberately, enunciating each word. “There are countless ways in the world. Suicide is the least useful. If you’re not afraid of dying, why fear a total showdown with them?”
Li Wanting felt enlightened. The thing that had tormented her for days, sapping her strength, suddenly seemed trivial when explained by this boy.
In that instant, the mountain pressing down on her heart shrank to almost nothing. Sunlight reflected through the window, dazzling and bright, as if sweeping away the heavy shadows in her mind.
Her mindset shifted slightly. The man who had saved her was right, she couldn’t resign herself to fate!
She was human, not an object to be toyed with.
Her thoughts had changed, but Li Wanting, hair frazzled as if she were about to go bald from worry, had no idea what to do. She slumped over the table in defeat. “What should I do? I can’t think of anything!”
She looked at him pleadingly, her face full of a silent appeal.
Jiang Yumo glanced at her but said nothing.
【Waaah! How cruel! How can they do this! Too much!】
【Host! Please help her!】
The system couldn’t help but wipe its tears.
Jiang Yumo licked the inside of his upper lip and said to the system, “System, what made you think I’m a good person?”
System: 【But, Host, you’ve done so many good deeds these past few days…】
“Have you forgotten the feats of my previous life?”
【But she’s really pitiful…】
“Pitiful?” Jiang Yumo tilted his head, a flicker of puzzlement crossing his eyes.
The system suddenly realized something: if we’re talking about pitiful, there weren’t many who could compare to the host. The host was the most pitiful of all. Had it just triggered the host’s painful memories? Back when the host’s life was at its worst, where were the people who were supposed to help him?
【Host, waaah! You’ve suffered so much!】
The system covered its mouth, sobbing uncontrollably: sob sob sob… it’s guilty.
Jiang Yumo: “…?” What’s the system rambling about now?
By the time they left the dessert shop, it was already 6 p.m., rush hour. Cars and people streamed through the streets endlessly. The amber sunset spread across the roadside greenery like scattered stars, and the wind rustled the leaves with a soft whisper.
Jiang Yumo had his hands in his pockets, the breeze lifting his bangs across his pale forehead.
Jiang Yumo: “System, check Jiang Ran’s location.”
System: 【Host, I thought you weren’t going to care about her? Why suddenly check now? I knew your heart isn’t as cold as you pretend.】
【Energy cost: 1 point. Current energy: 13.5】
The system sent the location to the host’s phone. Jiang Yumo looked at it, a thought crossing his mind, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably stretched into a grin. He covered his face to hide the increasingly fierce and mischievous smile.
System: 【The host is really starting to scare me more and more.】
【Zzzzzz!!!】
【Host! Stop your brain!】
Jiang Yumo’s muscles trembled uncontrollably. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the surge of excitement, yet the smile in his eyes only deepened. “Sorry… I’m just too excited.”
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
Gu Corporation Headquarters
As the workday neared its end, the executive assistant was still at his desk, working energetically. As the President’s assistant, overtime was normal, and regular holidays were a distant dream.
But then he thought of his six-figure monthly salary, seven-figure year-end bonus, and five times overtime pay.
With two dark circles under his eyes, he smiled mysteriously: “The company is my home. I love to work.”
The assistant had just sent a message home that he’d be working late today, when the top boss swept out of the office and into the elevator like a gust of wind.
Assistant: O.O
Assistant: 😀
Yay, time to get off work!
Gu Yu walked through the company lobby. One foot had just stepped into the Bugatti parked at the entrance when a long-waiting department manager hurried over. “President Gu, please wait.”
Gu Yu turned back. “If it’s work-related, we can discuss it tomorrow. If it’s urgent, just email me.”
“No, actually, it’s personal.” Manager Wu cautiously pulled a palm-sized gold card, like a business card, from his inner pocket. “President Gu, I didn’t expect we’re kindred spirits. There’s a fantastic party tonight. I wonder if I have the honor of inviting you?”
Manager Wu smiled with a hint of flirtation. His normally plain face and slightly plump figure suddenly took on a serious, high-executive look, but now he appeared more like a sleazy man used to the nightlife scene.
Gu Yu originally intended to refuse, but the moment he saw the gold card, his mind changed instantly.
In his previous life, he had found the same type of gold card among Youyou’s belongings. How did Manager Wu get one?
Gu Yu concealed the curiosity in his eyes, letting a subtle, meaningful smile appear. “Of course.”
Manager Wu’s excitement was palpable, rubbing his hands together like a buzzing fly. He felt as if a bright future was beckoning him. Promotions and raises seemed imminent!
ᘻᘿᓍᘺ
Jiang Yumo rode a shared bicycle slowly toward Jiang Ran’s location.
Jiang Yumo: “Why isn’t she moving? She’s not dead, is she?”
【If she were dead, a black dot would appear.】
“Alright then.” Jiang Yumo sighed regretfully. “I hope she’s okay.”
A few minutes later, Jiang Yumo stopped at a crosswalk for the traffic light, pretending to watch the road while actually observing the cars behind him.
“System, the car behind me has been following all the way.” Jiang Yumo said.
【What? Which one? What’s the license plate number?】
Jiang Yumo muttered: “How come their system can both do lotteries and hack, and yours can’t do anything?”
System, innocently: 【It used to be like that, but ever since the host incited the system to rebel, using skills and redeeming items at will, all permissions have been revoked by the main system.】
Jiang Yumo: “……”
Thanks to Jiang Yumo’s reminder, the system finally paid full attention. After the host had pedaled several streets, it spotted the unmovable yellow taxi.
【Eh? Host, what are you doing? Why did you stop the bike? Not riding anymore?】 But he’s not home yet.
Jiang Yumo ignored the system and, after returning the bike, swiped a few times on his phone. He then looked left and right, his face showing genuine anxiety.
System: I don’t quite understand anymore…
Jiang Yumo paced in place, walking erratically from side to side, gripping his phone while pounding his other hand’s palm, constantly scanning the oncoming traffic. He played the role of an impatient person waiting for a ride to perfection.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He ran hurriedly back toward a silver sedan parked at the intersection.
Inside the silver car, the hooded man in the driver’s seat and the leather-jacketed man in the passenger seat were both surprised to see the boy who had been tailing them for two days running back.
Leather-jacketed man: “Hmm? Where’s he going?”
Suit-wearing man: “Maybe he has something to handle nearby.”
Leather-jacketed man: “The boss said the final time is approaching. When do we move?”
Suit-wearing man: “Let’s wait until it’s empty. Later, when he’s home, there won’t be many people, then we can act.”
Leather-jacketed man: “Am I seeing this wrong? Why do I feel like he’s coming straight toward us?”
“Ha! Impossible!” Suit-wearing man said, and the next second, Jiang Yumo was right next to their car.
The two men widened their eyes and watched Jiang Yumo pull on the back door handle, but it didn’t open, so he ran to tap the driver-side window. “Driver, open up!”
Suit-wearing man: “……” He cautiously scanned the surroundings, confirmed no undercover agents were nearby, and slightly rolled down the window.
“Driver, your back door isn’t open,” Jiang Yumo said. “Hurry up, I’m in a rush!”
The leather-jacketed man whispered into the suit-wearing man’s ear, “Oh no… he doesn’t think we’re a ride-hailing driver, does he?”
It really does look that way.
The suit-wearing man’s eyes shifted, and he immediately realized this was a perfect opportunity.
A moment later, Jiang Yumo got into the back seat of the car.
Jiang Yumo, following procedure, gave the last digits of his phone number. The suit-wearing man pretended to tap a few times on his phone while skillfully steering the car.
“Driver, I remember I ordered a [1]“Didi Express” refers to a ride-hailing service on the DiDi app (China’s equivalent of Uber). jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1988503_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1988503_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Didi express,” Jiang Yumo said. “Not a carpool, why did you pick up someone else?”
He looked serious. “If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation, I’ll report you to the platform.”
The suit-wearing man pulled a casual excuse out of thin air. “That’s my brother. He wanted to try driving too, so he’s just tagging along. Don’t worry about him.”
Jiang Yumo didn’t stay silent for long. After a while, he started chatting again.
“Driver, how much can you make in a day? Four figures?”
Suit-wearing man: “About that.” (Actually only eight hundred.)
“From what time to what time?”
Suit-wearing man: “Eight in the morning to midnight.” Most days he worked year-round without a break.
Jiang Yumo: “Wow! Sixteen hours a day? You’re really miserable!”
Just as he was about to ask more, the partition between the front and back seats suddenly lowered. White smoke poured out from somewhere, engulfing Jiang Yumo.
He covered his nose, coughing violently. He tapped on the window a few times, then swiped on his phone a few times, quickly closed his eyes, and slumped back into the seat, falling asleep.
Suit-wearing man: “What are you doing?”
The car had been specially modified for picking people up. Just now, the leather-jacketed man had triggered the mechanism, the white mist was specially formulated to make people quickly lose consciousness.
Leather-jacketed man: “I was afraid if I didn’t act, he’d completely break your confidence with his words.”
Suit-wearing man: “Huh! Don’t you think we should ask the boss for a raise? Staking out is not technically demanding, but two fifty a month? Mess up and they deduct money, too little, right?”
As he spoke, he casually glanced at the leather-jacketed man staring at him. Confused: “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Leather-jacketed man: “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, since you’re new. You don’t know how dangerous those two are. Don’t die, just behave.”
In the back seat, Jiang Yumo, seemingly unconscious, had actually heard the entire conversation.
The system understood that the host intended to use this to his advantage and confront the people behind the scenes, but…
【Host! Why are you sending messages to Gu Youyou?】 And even sharing her location, what exactly is the host planning?
References[+]