After the Strategy Mission Was Exposed, the Childhood Friend Became a Sinister Male Ghost - Chapter 6

“Was it really a coincidence?”

Ling Luo had a bad premonition. Before she could even make it back to the hotel, she saw a message from Di Yu.

Di Yu: 【Luo Luo, I just saw someone who looked very much like you. If I did not know you were in the capital preparing for your exams, I almost would have thought you were right here beside me.】

Ling Luo’s pupils contracted.

“System, he is testing me!”

【Hurry up and fool him! Make him leave Guangzhou! If he and the Male Lead cross paths, your cover will be completely blown!】

Ling Luo knitted her brows and racked her brain to type out a reply: 【You fickle man, are you playing the “stand-in” trope now? If you like her so much, go find her then.】

The System was dumbfounded: 【Is it really okay to send that?】

“Do not question me.”

Ling Luo continued typing.

Luo Luo: 【Bring a small cake to see me right now. If I do not see you before midnight tonight, we are breaking up immediately!】

Di Yu: 【Transferred 1,000,000】

Di Yu: 【I am not fickle. I only love you.】

Di Yu: 【I promise to find you with a cake before midnight. If you cannot stay awake and fall asleep, I will wait at your door until dawn.】

Luo Luo: 【Excuses! There is no way you can arrive on time. I do not believe you.】

Di Yu: 【Wait for me.】

Ling Luo did not reply further.

“If he wants to fly a private jet back to the capital, he still has to apply for a flight route. That takes time. There is no way he can arrive before midnight.”

【And if he actually makes it? You are not home. How will you handle that?】

“I have my ways.”

【I have a bad feeling about this.】

“Stop being such a pessimist.”

Ling Luo was actually very nervous herself. The ride-share car pulled up outside the five-star hotel. She carried her many shopping bags into the building. Lin Zhouci’s suite was right next to hers. She walked over and pressed the doorbell.

Lin Zhouci opened the door. He had removed his black suit jacket and vest, wearing only a white shirt with the top button fastened, giving him an air of cold restraint. His eyes, usually as calm as a lake, shimmered with a gentle light. He offered a faint, elegant smile.

“President Lin, I have bought everything you needed.” Ling Luo handed the items to him. “The credit card is in the red bag.”

Lin Zhouci pursed his lips and accepted the bags. “This business trip was rushed. You may use my card for these few days. This is not part of the official company expenses, so please use it freely.”

“Really? If I accidentally max out the card, will you force me to sign a lifetime contract to work like a horse at Xincheng?” Ling Luo’s tone went up at the end, clearly joking.

Lin Zhouci answered seriously: “I would not.”

“In that case, I will keep the card!”

Ling Luo reached into the red bag. As Lin Zhouci held the drawstring, the back of his hand was accidentally brushed by her arm. A faint, pleasant scent of apples lingered in the air. Lin Zhouci hurriedly lowered his eyelashes.

Ling Luo retrieved the credit card, held it between two fingers, and waved it in front of him. Her voice was exceptionally cheerful: “President Lin! Get some good rest. We have to ‘patrol’ the factory early tomorrow morning.”

The woman’s smile was bright. Her round, spirited eyes curved into crescents, and she exuded a warm, comfortable aura. The light in Lin Zhouci’s eyes wavered.

“You should get some rest too, Assistant Ling.”

“Goodnight!”

Ling Luo walked a few steps away and entered her own suite.

“System, where is the Male Lead’s affection meter?”

【Soon, soon! You should be able to see his affection level by tomorrow evening at the latest.】

“Five years ago, you were so weak that you just shut down. Now that you are back on, you are still weak. I do not know if I should keep working with you.”

【Oh, do not be so mean! Back then, I was attacked by an unknown force that drained ninety percent of my energy. It is a miracle I woke up at all to talk to you.】

“What kind of mysterious power was it? A Book Spirit or the Will of Heaven?”

【I do not know. The higher-ups are investigating. There should be results in a year at the earliest, or three years at the latest.】

“How inefficient.”

【It is the protocol! These procedures are complicated. I am not a System with connections. I am very humble.】

“Sigh, I understand. Without connections and a network, everything gets dragged out.”

Ling Luo gathered her pajamas and went into the bathroom.

In the suite next door, Lin Zhouci charged his laptop. He took out the items Ling Luo had bought for him: clothes, and… under… underwear?! Lin Zhouci had never mentioned buying intimate apparel; he only told her to buy three random outfits.

Ten minutes later, Lin Zhouci emerged from the bathroom. A crimson flush stained his handsome, gentle face. The underwear was surprisingly well-fitted.

How did she know his size?

Assistant Ling is truly dedicated to her work.

Next door, Ling Luo was lying on the bed checking her phone.

“System, check Di Yu’s whereabouts. I want to see if he really went back to the capital.”

【Insufficient energy. I cannot check.】

“In the novels I read, the Systems are omnipotent.”

【One should not be too competitive, and that goes for us Systems too.】

Ling Luo was speechless.

A message came from Di Yu: 【I will be at your house in thirty minutes.】

There were only thirty minutes left until midnight! Ling Luo sat up immediately. The rapid sound of typing filled the room.

Luo Luo: 【You are arriving right at the deadline. You have no sincerity at all!】

Luo Luo: 【I have been studying all day and I am exhausted. Do not come. I am resting.】

Luo Luo: 【I do not want to see you right now. Come find me when I am no longer angry.】

Luo Luo: 【I hope that next time, you can be here whenever I call!】

Luo Luo: 【If I do not reply in a moment, it means I have fallen asleep.】

Di Yu: [Meme of a pathetic crying kitten.jpg]

Di Yu: 【Baby, do not be angry anymore. I will come over tomorrow morning.】

Ling Luo was stunned for a moment. Her brain shifted into high gear as she continued typing.

Luo Luo: 【You have no respect for me at all! You have no sense of boundaries. I already said I do not want to see you, so do not come tomorrow morning! Seeing you would ruin my mood for the whole day! No, no, no!】

Luo Luo: 【If you keep this up, I will get angry. When I get angry, I block you!】

Back in the capital, Di Yu sat inside a helicopter. His handsome face was shrouded in shadow. Beneath his high brow, his deep black eyes looked down at the neon lights of the bustling city. On the seat beside him sat a cute, rabbit-shaped cake.

“Go back,” Di Yu said indifferently, his displeasure evident. He reopened his phone to Ling Luo’s chat interface.

The word “boundaries” seemed to have flipped a switch.

“We have already broken up. We need to maintain a sense of boundaries. Asking so many private questions is not only classless but also a total turn-off!”

Her words looped in his mind. A flash of ruthlessness crossed Di Yu’s brow. Why had she suddenly changed? Even though he wanted to rush over and demand an explanation, he instinctively imagined the scene of her proposing a “breakup,” and he forced himself to regain his reason.

The next morning, Di Yu arrived at Ling Luo’s apartment complex carrying a bouquet of lisianthus. He reached her front door without any obstacles. He pressed the doorbell three times.

There was no movement inside.

The black snake coiled around his wrist flicked its tongue and said sinisterly, 【There is no one inside.】