Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Cheng Miao sat down with a smile, accepted the meal Qin Musong had collected for her, and stroked Qi Jiajia’s head twice. “Good job, but be careful not to break the rules.”
Qi Jiajia did not care. “My hair clip isn’t a single-use Item. I can only use it once per instance, but I still have [Shen Xin’s Long Hair].”
She prodded the chicken leg on her plate with disgust. “I’ve been suffocating these past two days. If something comes for me, it’ll be a good way to relieve the boredom.”
Cheng Miao could not stand watching her take her anger out on the chicken and teased, “Stop poking it. Have you forgotten that before we even knew each other, you hurled insults at me over a chicken leg?”
Cheng Miao had suddenly brought up an embarrassing incident from Qi Jiajia’s first instance. Back then, Qi Jiajia had been inexplicably swept into the instance, and everything felt novel and interesting.
But problems in her family had also left her temper completely unchecked, so she vented it on Cheng Miao.
Now Qi Jiajia had spent more than half a year with Cheng Miao in Survival Inn and had become a veteran player capable of standing on her own. Naturally, she felt embarrassed when that old incident was mentioned.
Seeing Qi Jiajia glare at Cheng Miao with a red face, Qin Musong laughed.
He picked the cilantro from Qi Jiajia’s egg-drop soup, then pushed the bowl toward her. “I have good news for everyone. My key employee nomination was approved.”
Cheng Miao’s eyes shone around the chicken leg between her teeth. “Really? That’s wonderful!”
Qin Musong sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Now I know sales truly isn’t easy. I’ve nearly talked my lips raw. I signed the most contracts, although the credit mainly belongs to the original owner of this identity, so the Sales Section chose me as the key employee for next month’s business trip.”
Qi Jiajia brightened at once. Forgetting her embarrassment, she smiled and began stealing meat from Lin Zhu.
Qin Musong collected himself and looked at Cheng Miao. “But I can’t leave the instance alone. What are the rest of you planning?”
Cheng Miao analyzed it unhurriedly. “If every section has an opening, I should be able to earn one if I work hard. As for Finance…”
Qiudong used his chopsticks elegantly and parted his thin lips. “The opening went to Yun Su.”
Clatter. Cheng Miao’s hand shook, and her chopsticks fell onto the tray.
“Then what do we do?!”
Did they have to endure another month and wait for the next openings?
Besides, Qi Jiajia and Lin Zhu might not qualify. Cheng Miao already knew about Lin Zhu’s reimbursement problem. Avoiding discovery would be fortunate enough, much less becoming a key employee.
Qi Jiajia was too young and had only just joined the company, making promotion even more impossible.
Cheng Miao felt the instance could not offer only one path. She had also considered Tang Shouren’s idea, but she would never act so rashly.
Few players remained. Elder Yan brought An Xin to Cheng Miao’s table and came straight to the point. “I’ve been selected as a key employee, but I can’t leave Xinxin alone in this instance.”
He was over fifty and had judged countless people. He knew Cheng Miao was unlike ordinary players and might be willing to grant him a favor.
“If I leave first, and you later find another method, could you take Xinxin with you?”
“I’m a player from White Wolf Grand Hotel. Once we’re out, I can transfer Travel Coins to you.”
Cheng Miao raised an eyebrow. This uncle handled matters directly, and she liked that.
She looked at An Xin. The quiet young woman always wore two dimples, spoke little, and shared a close relationship with Elder Yan.
“Don’t worry. If I find a way to take her out, I won’t stand by and watch her die.”
Yan Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Without disturbing Cheng Miao’s meal any further, he led An Xin away.
Cheng Miao drank her soup. Like Qi Jiajia, she did not eat cilantro. The difference was that Qin Musong openly removed Qi Jiajia’s while Qiudong removed Cheng Miao’s without anyone noticing.
“If I can just crack my password, I’ll definitely make a breakthrough. What could it be…?”
“If one person in the company could access the outside internet, who do you think it would be?”
Good student Lin Zhu rushed to answer. “The chairman!”
Cheng Miao nodded. The chairman should be the only one unaffected.
Key employees allowed outside might also have access, but the players could not contact them. If they wanted to communicate with the outside world, they needed the computer in the chairman’s office.
Cheng Miao’s gaze shifted to King, who swayed into the cafeteria only now to eat.
After several days apart, King appeared completely untouched by the instance and remained radiant.
Qiudong understood the direction of Cheng Miao’s gaze. “I’ll talk to her in a moment.”
Cheng Miao was usually the one others begged. Now that she suddenly needed to ask someone for help, she was not accustomed to it. She scratched her earlobe in embarrassment. “Would that be inconvenient?”
Looking at the tips of Cheng Miao’s ears turning pink, Qiudong’s mood improved. “No.”
As she watched Qiudong approach King, she turned toward Yun Su, who ate quietly alone. Cheng Miao did not know whether to discuss Lin Zhu’s problem with her.
Lin Zhu wanted to gamble that Yun Su would remain silent. Cheng Miao was uneasy, but she did not want to interfere excessively with his decision.
They were teammates, equals who supported one another, not a group controlled by a single person.
Perhaps sensing Cheng Miao’s gaze, Yun Su looked up. After meeting Cheng Miao’s eyes for a moment, she shifted her attention to Lin Zhu.
Lin Zhu shuddered under her gaze and was about to step forward when Yun Su looked away, wiped her mouth, and left the cafeteria.
“Sister Miaomiao, what did she mean? That look made me panic.” Lin Zhu still could not determine what Yun Su knew or whether she had spoken.
Cheng Miao could not read the woman either, but she understood that Yun Su was telling them not to seek her out. She had already made her decision.
Threats did not work inside instances, especially one as unusual as this. A single sentence from another person could make someone break the rules.
Thus, persuading Yun Su was impossible, but simply waiting…
Remembering how decisively Yun Su had abandoned Xiao Wen in the castle instance made Cheng Miao anxious again.
“Here, take this.” Qi Jiajia pulled a hair clip from her hair and tossed it to Lin Zhu.
Lin Zhu fumbled the catch and hurriedly gave it back. “I can’t. You need it too.”
Seeing Qi Jiajia’s face darken as she prepared to lose her temper, Cheng Miao took the clip and fastened it back in Qi Jiajia’s hair. “We don’t know if that would count as a violation. Don’t make trouble.”
Then she looked at Lin Zhu. “Come with me later. I’ll give you the lantern.”
Lin Zhu agreed sheepishly. The little doll on his shoulder drooped its head as listlessly as he did.
Cheng Miao smiled and stroked the doll’s head.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qiudong return and give the group an almost imperceptible nod.
Cheng Miao’s heart stirred. “You convinced her?”
Qiudong nodded. “Tell her when it’s time to act.”
Looking at King’s seductive smile, Cheng Miao felt worried. “You didn’t agree to any outrageous demands, did you?”
Qiudong folded his arms and looked at her. “What? Worried she’ll seduce me?”
Cheng Miao glared at him, her face red. Shameless!
Who was worried about him being seduced? She was worried King would pluck him into a hairless cat!