Chapter 108: The Little Lamb Must Pretend to Be Well-Behaved
Back to that villa estate where opulence and deathly silence coexisted.
Ye Zhen lay silently on the bed, staring blankly at the locked floor-to-ceiling window.
Today's events forced her to reconsider her approach to dealing with Ye Fuli once again.
Ye Fuli wasn't entirely unresponsive to reason, but communicating with her demanded careful tactics.
Going head-to-head with a Phoenix like her would only result in getting skinned alive.
"She wouldn't mind me following her, even if my presence caused her genuine inconvenience."
"She wouldn't mind me doing things for her, even if I botched them completely."
Her understanding of right and wrong was vastly different from others'.
At this thought, Ye Zhen narrowed her eyes.
She exhaled softly.
"In any case, if I try to run away or defy her orders, I'll only provoke her."
"So I have to work hard to put on a show of obedience."
"I can't let her words or actions break my resolve anymore."
Likewise, she mustn't show any lingering attachment to the outside world in front of Ye Fuli.
But she couldn't pull it together instantly either.
That would only make Yefuri suspect she was putting on an act.
With Ye Fuli, Ye Zhen felt her acting skills were rapidly improving.
[Host, are you okay? (′?ω?)?(._.`)]
"Yeah, I'm great."
Ye Zhen rolled over, settling into a more comfortable position.
"Just kidding. My will to survive has been tempered over those ten years, becoming as unbreakable as my old companion once was."
[Σ(⊙▽⊙"a… Is that something you should be saying?]
"Huh? Why can't I say that?"
Ye Zhen perked right up when she brought this up.
Her spirits visibly lifted.
"He was the patient in the bed next to mine. Caught cheating by his girlfriend—who happened to be a nurse—right in the act. She stabbed him over twenty times, each blow carefully avoiding vital organs. He howled in agony every single day, forced to watch as his girlfriend and her new boyfriend came to check on him together."
Hearing this story, the system froze for several seconds…
It began questioning whether something was wrong with itself.
[Hmm… Right, Host, wanna see what goodies this cute little thing snagged today?]
"Let me see."
[Ta-da~ This cutie snagged a hydrogen bomb! But it's about to explode—more accurately, it'll detonate the moment it's extracted… Less than half an hour left before the storage deadline expires.]
"Holy shit?!"
Ye Zhen bolted upright.
"What did you say?!"
Her first thought was, "Why don't you just blow this place up?"
But then she thought—she hadn't even gotten a second chance to screw things up. If she died, she'd be gone for good, and she'd drag a bunch of innocent people down with her.
Her conscience wouldn't allow it.
[Hah, don't even think about blowing this place up. The original owner of this thing is currently on a mission in Little Notebook Country. This is his mission reward—a product of another system. It's ineffective outside the system's jurisdiction! So, it can only detonate within that area.]
Ye Zhen couldn't help but slap her forehead.
Alright, then…
Yeah, that spot it is.
Those in the know get it.
"Tongzi, toss it. Aim carefully."
…
Late at night, all was quiet.
Ye Fuli sat in the office area, her arm wrapped in bandages, tapping away at the keyboard.
Creak—
The door on her left opened.
Ye Zhen entered, bringing a chair with her.
As before, she sat down beside Ye Fuli without a word.
Ye Fuli paused her typing.
Feeling the reassuring presence beside her, a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
Ye Fuli sighed softly, swiveled her chair to face Ye Zhen.
"It's past midnight. Ye Zhen, you should go to sleep."
Ye Zhen didn't speak, merely lowering her head slightly as her fingers traced the hem of her skirt. It wasn't that she was deliberately acting deep—she simply didn't know how to ask for money… how to ask for more.
She needed to complete the ten million yuan task faster.
After all, the longer she stayed with Ye Fuli, the more likely something would go wrong.
He Ying and the others were already involved, and blood had been spilled today!
Ye Zhen couldn't bear to imagine what even greater chaos might erupt if she delayed any longer.
"Ye Zhen, I'm talking to you."
"Yeah, I know, but I want to stay with you for a bit."
"Stay with me?"
"Yes, stay with you."
The proactive companionship of a partner was indeed something to savor.
But now… isn't the time.
Ye Fuli paused for a moment, then pulled open the drawer beneath the desk. She took out two stacks of crisp hundred-yuan bills and placed them on Ye Zhen's skirt.
She knew Ye Zhen wanted money, so she deliberately fetched several boxes of fresh bills.
The instant Ye Zhen saw the drawer filled with cash, her eyelid twitched.
Unfortunately, the system task required that the money must be earned from Ye Fuli—not stolen or robbed.
Therefore, every single dollar she obtained had to be justified.
Even if that reason is utterly ridiculous…
"Consider this time spent with me. You can go to sleep now."
"How did you come up with that price?" Ye Zhen held the two stacks of bills and asked the question earnestly.
"Ten thousand yuan per hour?" Ye Fuli had just handed over some money casually, not considering the question Ye Zhen had raised.
"Then I want to keep you company for a thousand hours." Ye Zhen immediately picked up her thread, looking at her expectantly.
A thousand hours?
Ye Fuli's mind swiftly converted the time into days.
Just over a month?
Ye Fuli let out a soft "tsk."
No way. That price is too high. I won't be able to play around later.
She pushed her glasses up and said coldly, "Fine. You can accompany me for a thousand hours, but I'll only pay you today. After that, it's your obligation."
Ye Zhen: "…"
Trying to get away with it, huh?
Fine, fine, whatever you say.
"Then I'm going to bed."
This round, Ye Zhen admitted, she had indeed been greedy. It was her own fault.
Watching Ye Zhen's retreating figure, Ye Fuli let out a soft chuckle.
This girl really is pragmatic.
But it was precisely this pragmatic side that made her rather endearing.
"Looks like I'll have to make more trips to withdraw cash from now on."
This meant she'd have to work even harder to earn money.
Ye Fuli refocused her attention on the computer screen and continued working.
Knock knock knock—
Before long, the knocking sounded again.
Ye Fuli's train of thought was interrupted once more.
She turned to look.
Ye Zhen pushed the door open a small crack.
Ye Zhen looked timid as she gazed at her and whispered softly, "You got hurt today. You should go to bed early, so you don't end up like before… with inflammation, high fever, and all that."
"Are you concerned about me?"
Ye Fuli chuckled mockingly.
"And next you'll say… 'This concern isn't free either—I'll charge you for it'?"
"No, this one's free."
Ye Fuli's usual mocking expression froze for a moment.
Ye Zhen pushed open the door.
In her hand was a bowl of milk at just the right temperature, freshly warmed by her.
She handed it to Ye Fuli.
"And this one's free too."
"Oh? Huh, is that so?"
Ye Fuli pointed at the milk in the bowl, then placed her index finger over her lips and tapped it lightly.
"With such a great opportunity, how could a little sister not charge for it?"
Ye Zhen, who understood instantly, flushed bright red.
She had to admit, she loved Ye Zhen's stunned expression right now.
What to do?
If she wanted to earn money from Ye Fuli, it couldn't always be so easy.
Let's play a game—spice up her boring overtime life with some fun.
"If you can trick me into taking a sip, I'll give you five thousand. How much you earn depends on your skills. What do you say?"