Hackers Meet Up, Zero Swagger

[Ding!]

[Brilliant move! The host executed a subtle tactic, successfully creating a rift between the Faceless Owl and the Thousand-Faced Fox!]

[Reward: Spiritual Stones x20]

[...]

[Ding!]

[Brilliant move! The host’s sharp words escalated the rift between the Faceless Owl and the Thousand-Faced Fox!]

[Reward: Spiritual Stones x20]

[...]

Lin Yu, who stayed behind at the flower shop.

While cleaning the store, he leisurely collected his system rewards.

It seemed—

That phone call worked like a charm.

For any man, unless he had some peculiar taste—

This ‘wearing the hat’ kind of business would be downright unacceptable.

Of course—

Lin Yu didn’t believe this alone would bring those two down so easily.

With He Jing’s exceptional business acumen—

Even if she found herself in a difficult position, she would still likely handle that fool Yi Haizhou with ease.

This was just the beginning.

Merely the prelude before exacting a true act of revenge.

This phone call? It wasn’t just a disruption tactic.

It was also to send them a clear message—“There’s a flaw here!”

If those two didn’t split, their next move would undoubtedly involve targeting him.

The days were still long ahead.

For now, securing the contract crisis and ensuring Aunt Qimeng’s safety took priority.

Next—

Lin Yu had all the time in the world to toy with them.

Compared to maneuvering against those two—

Aunt Qimeng was arguably much harder to handle.

After Yi Haizhou and He Jing left earlier—

Lin Yu casually mentioned paying off the remaining mortgage on the apartment in one go.

The result?

Aunt Qimeng outright rejected it, even going as far as threatening to “go on a hunger strike.”

Her temper and determination—

Were solely reserved for those closest to her.

Lin Yu was hustling to rake in a sizable amount of money, all in a bid to resolve her financial crisis.

But for now, he had only managed to solve half of it.

Nothing could be done—

He would have to wait until their relationship developed “further” before bringing up the other half of the matter.

[...]

In the parking lot of the park—

Inside Yi Haizhou’s car.

The two occupants had been locked in dead silence for over a minute.

He Jing leaned toward the driver’s side, closing her eyes—

“Go ahead, hit me!”

“Didn’t you want to hit me?”

“I’m letting you hit me! Let’s see if hitting me will solve all your problems!”

“...”

If Lin Yu’s provocative words had hit Yi Haizhou at the height of his temper—

And if there had been something handy nearby, he might’ve lashed out in a fit of rage.

But after going in and coming back out—

Facing He Jing’s unshakable confidence, Yi Haizhou... had chickened out, yet again!

Seeing Yi Haizhou frozen without any reaction—

He Jing crossed her arms over her chest, sitting upright.

As expected, he’s spineless...

And thank heavens he’s spineless!

Truthfully, when she had leaned forward just moments ago, her heart was racing with fear.

A man like this? She had to cut ties with him sooner rather than later.

Otherwise—

If he ever caught onto something in the future, things could spiral into catastrophe.

For now, though—

She had metaphorically slapped him across the face with her words and actions.

Now it was time to toss him a sweet carrot again, keep him steady for a while longer.

“Look at you, acting all jealous at your age—over a kid, no less?”

“So what if I tasted something from his bowl? I wasn’t full. Is that such a big deal?”

Using her typical coquettish tone—

He Jing deftly rebranded the hat-wearing debacle into something else entirely: a narrative that Yi Haizhou was jealous and cared about her, while she delighted in his attention.

Yi Haizhou tossed the wrench at his feet, letting out a huff of frustration as he muttered helplessly—

“What part of you isn’t full?”

These words just slipped out.

He Jing immediately understood that she was safe.

So—

She raised her hand and firmly poked Yi Haizhou on the head:

"You silly guy, with you here, would I need to go somewhere else to eat?"

"Your woman is so alluring that she drove a naive boy out of his senses, and you're not pleased?"

"Look at how flustered you were in the store just now. You even blurted out that you'd raise the price by thirty percent."

In just a few words and swift action, He Jing successfully steered the topic away from herself and Lin Yu, back to the contract matter that Yi Haizhou cared about most.

Yi Haizhou shrugged and said:

"What the hell am I supposed to say?"

"The deficit is already a few million. If we actually sign the contract, won't the hole get even bigger?"

"And it’s all your fault. You didn't even do a thorough background check on the people around Chen Qimeng!"

He Jing leaned in closer to Yi Haizhou, speaking flirtatiously:

"How can you pin the blame on a woman when something goes wrong, Mr. Yi?"

"Now isn’t the time to panic. I noticed that naive guy who writes novels might really have some fantasies about me."

"Why not exploit that and let him keep playing along to help you with the contract charade?"

You don’t say.

You really don’t say!

He Jing's idea might have been bold, but it was indeed a tactic worth considering.

Yi Haizhou eyed her suspiciously:

"You wouldn’t be thinking about seducing him, would you?"

He Jing pinched Yi Haizhou’s arm:

"What are you thinking? I guarantee I won't let him take advantage of me."

Yi Haizhou: "So what's the plan? Spill it."

He Jing: "Here's what we could do…"

…

Switching to Lin Yu's side—what a miserable predicament he’s in.

After receiving flowers from Aunt Qimeng for Mo Shangying, Lin Yu reached the location Mo Shangying had given him forty minutes early.

He thought to himself:

Since the other party represents a big company and is a prominent figure, surely they’d have the habit of arriving early on-site, right?

Wrong.

In the entire forty minutes, he wandered aimlessly around the roadside nearby.

Not only did he fail to see any so-called clients—

Mo Shangying and Ye Mengfu didn’t show up either.

They only exchanged words with him over the earpiece, shrouded in mystery like members of a gang about to inspect goods before the deal.

"Shangying, what exactly is your plan here? Are we discussing business or not?"

"I'm seriously so bored right now. Where are you guys? Why can’t the three of us just meet face-to-face?"

After his complaints, Mo Shangying’s voice came through the earpiece:

"Master, don't be impatient. If we met right now, we’d risk being spotted and blowing our cover."

"One of the two people coming today is a tech-savvy pain in the neck."

"Of course, there’s no need to worry. With me here, no one can trace you!"

Lin Yu: "…"

If someone could be described as "tech-savvy" by Mo Shangying herself—

It didn’t take much imagination to deduce that this person was at least a top-level professional in the network world.

Looks like there’s some history between this person and her too?

No wonder this rebellious disciple didn’t reveal earlier which people they were dealing with.

Had Lin Yu known he’d be facing such a dangerous character—he’d have charged extra!

"Alright, alright, aren’t you just the perfect disciple, doing such a stellar job with the secrecy!"

"Not afraid a professional will expose me, huh? You truly have guts."

"Do me a favor and tell me—if my guess is correct—"

"These flowers I’m holding… are for that ‘tech-savvy pain in the neck’ you mentioned, aren’t they?"

Mo Shangying’s voice came through again:

"Hehehe, Master, you know your disciple well."

"I opened her information box last year—guess that was my way of apologizing to her, huh?"