Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Third Day of Being a Stingy (Frugal) CEO~

Wen Qingyun lived alone; she was the sole occupant of her 200-square-meter apartment.

Having gone out to get some fresh air on Saturday, her mission for Sunday was to complete the house cleaning and clear out unnecessary clutter.

The sweat worked up during cleaning was no less than a workout. By the time Wen Qingyun emerged from the bathroom and tossed her clothes into the washing machine, it was already noon.

She was tired and didn’t feel like cooking.

Picking up her phone, before she could even open a food delivery app, she saw an unread text message.

It was a message from Chu Qi sent two hours ago, saying she had purchased many ingredients at the supermarket to prepare a hotpot lunch. Claiming that eating alone was too lonely, she specifically invited Wen Qingyun to join her at her home.

The excuse was flawless, but since it was already twelve o’clock—peak lunchtime—would Chu Qi have really waited for her for two whole hours?

Wen Qingyun was curious, so she replied to the message sent at ten.

Wen Qingyun: Sure. Is it convenient for you to come pick me up now?

Before Wen Qingyun could even set the phone down, a new notification popped up.

Chu Qi: It’s convenient. I’m heading out now; I can be at your building in half an hour.

Wen Qingyun: Okay.

Chu Qi: Mm. I’ll text you when I arrive.

Wen Qingyun put her phone down and squinted at herself in the mirror.

She had striking features. When expressionless, her face looked slightly sharp; if she frowned, she appeared even more aggressive.

No matter how she looked at it, she didn’t have the face of a “silly sweet” ingenue. Surely Chu Qi’s flattery wasn’t aimed at deceiving her?

“System, you said this world evolved from a popular novel. What kind of role does Chu Qi play in it?”

【Please wait, the system is searching…】

【The plot summary is: An orphan start, overcoming countless hardships to become the CEO of a listed company.】

【The protagonist will become the actual person in power at Hongyi Electronics at the age of forty.】

Wen Qingyun: “Give me more details.”

【In the later stages, Chu Qi is dragged into a succession battle for the listed company. With her outstanding abilities, she becomes a figure that the potential heirs must win over. Relying on her unique intuition, she navigates between the two heirs and eventually emerges as the ultimate winner.】

【During this period, she repeatedly prevents malicious infighting between the heirs, saves innocent employees from becoming targets of someone’s wrath, and successfully gains the trust of middle management. Eventually, she becomes a leader the employees genuinely respect.】

【The villain the Host plays is a partner of Hongyi in the early stages of the work. In the mid-to-late stages, the villain attempts a hostile takeover of Hongyi, but is thwarted by the protagonist at critical moments. Finally, due to poor strategic positioning during a financial crisis, Taixue Technology’s market value is overtaken by Hongyi, resulting in a total loss.】

Wen Qingyun stopped admiring her beauty. “Are you sure? Taixue’s total market value exceeds 100 billion, with many factories in other countries. It would be overtaken by Hongyi Electronics, which isn’t even worth 10 billion?”

【Precisely because she achieves the near-impossible, Chu Qi is the protagonist of a blockbuster literary work.】

【Of course, literary works have certain irrationalities. The resulting small world has fragmented rules and requires the Host to perform a ‘rationalization’ of the narrative to ensure the world can upgrade further.】

【Friendly reminder: The Host proactively chose the high-difficulty task. If the Host chooses to give up now, this system can provide a free transfer to the next world.】

“No need. To complete the task, I just need to stay one step ahead of Chu Qi in everything, right?” Wen Qingyun refused decisively.

“The current Chu Qi has only just begun to show her talent. If I can’t even handle her now, I might as well leave the Villain Department and transfer to the Protagonist Department.”

As a powerful woman with a refusal to lose etched into her soul, Wen Qingyun would never allow herself to back down.

【Alrighty, the system wishes the Host every success,】 the system said.

Originally, the system wanted to offer a friendly tip: according to the timeline, the protagonist’s ambition only develops after being sucked into the succession war; currently, she is just a slightly motivated office worker.

But seeing her Host so full of drive, the system silently canceled the tip.

Better to act early than late! If her Host finishes the task quickly, the system can go back to idling and slacking off!

The information provided by the system was very useful to Wen Qingyun, confirming that Chu Qi was no simple character.

Therefore, she deduced that Chu Qi’s motive for approaching her was definitely not as simple as it appeared—there had to be a deeper, undiscovered goal!

Half an hour later, Wen Qingyun appeared downstairs and expressionlessly accepted Chu Qi’s attentive service.

Wen Qingyun reverted to her previous cold demeanor, responding to Chu Qi only with “mms” and nods.

This made Chu Qi wonder: Was Wen Qingyun unhappy because I bailed on her yesterday?

It was all the fault of that brainless R&D Director, not letting people rest even on a big weekend! Simply detestable!

Seeing the green light ahead counting down, Chu Qi released the accelerator and began to brake. Just as the car came to a perfect stop before the crosswalk, the green light turned into a flashing yellow.

BANG—

A distinct sound of impact came from behind the car, followed by a noticeable jolt. If Chu Qi hadn’t been holding the brake, the car likely would have been pushed forward by the collision.

The two women in the car performed a synchronized movement: they both turned to look at the rearview mirrors to see who had hit them.

Finding the right mirror blocked, Chu Qi turned to the left. A delivery rider who had fallen over with his electric scooter appeared right in the center of the glass.

Shifting to neutral, pulling the handbrake, and turning on the hazard lights—Chu Qi’s movements were crisp. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, she didn’t forget to tell Wen Qingyun, “Wait a moment, I’ll go check. Don’t get out yet.”

Wen Qingyun didn’t reply, but her brow furrowed as she looked at the familiar Meituan delivery uniform, which triggered some unpleasant memories.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I was just replying to a customer’s message and didn’t notice the road.” The delivery guy looked a bit youthful, and his tone was full of fear and trepidation.

Chu Qi inspected the damage; a bit of paint had been scraped off the bottom. It wasn’t a major issue and could be fixed at any shop.

“Can we settle this privately? I’m about to go overtime on my deliveries.” The rider gripped his phone tightly, looking very panicked.

“Fine. Leave your contact info with me. I’ll send you the repair details once it’s fixed.” Chu Qi didn’t refuse; she was in a hurry too.

Being delayed by work yesterday had already tanked her impression points in Wen Qingyun’s eyes; she couldn’t let more problems arise today.

“Thank you, thank you! Thank you so much!” After exchanging WeChat, the delivery guy apologized profusely before twisting the throttle to continue his route.

Seeing that Chu Qi had completed the interaction in less than three minutes, Wen Qingyun couldn’t help but ask, “It’s handled?”

“Yeah, probably a college student working part-time on the weekend. I’ll go get the paint touched up when I have time and settle it privately,” Chu Qi said. Seeing there were still ten seconds left on the green light, she immediately started the car and drove forward.

Truly, the protagonist and the villain don’t get the same treatment. Both were rear-ended by delivery riders, yet she met a typical arrogant and unreasonable one, while Chu Qi met a college student who understood right from wrong.

Is this the disparity of the world? It’s quite unbalancing.

Chu Qi sensed that Wen Qingyun seemed a bit unhappy, but she didn’t guess the right reason, assuming Wen Qingyun was annoyed by the delay.

Unable to find a conversation starter, Chu Qi turned on the car radio, letting some hit songs break the somewhat stifling atmosphere.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at a slightly old residential unit.

Chu Qi diligently opened the car door, receiving only a faint “thank you” from Wen Qingyun.

This left Chu Qi feeling a bit dejected, but she maintained her smile as she led Wen Qingyun back to her rented loft apartment.

The ingredients for lunch were lavish: rolls of beef and lamb, vegetables and mushrooms, and even freshly fried milk cubes. Paired with the hotpot base Chu Qi had fried herself, the aroma soon surrounded Wen Qingyun.

“This side is the spicy beef tallow base, and this side is the mushroom base. Qingyun, just eat according to your taste,” Chu Qi said, proactively preparing a dipping sauce and placing it by Wen Qingyun’s hand.

“Okay, thank you.” Wen Qingyun picked up a piece of beef tripe, dipped it in the spicy pot, and fished it out fifteen seconds later. After tasting it with the sauce, she immediately dropped two more beef rolls in.

After eating for a while, Wen Qingyun noticed that Chu Qi barely used her chopsticks. She was either eating side dishes or helpfully blanching food for Wen Qingyun, acting exactly like a waitress.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Wen Qingyun used her chopsticks to block Chu Qi’s attempt to feed her, using a bit of wrist strength to push the other’s chopsticks back.

“I had a late breakfast, so I’m not very hungry right now,” Chu Qi said with a smile, obediently placing a beef ball into her own bowl.

Wen Qingyun raised an eyebrow. To have finished a big grocery run by ten o’clock, she must have headed out by nine.

A breakfast eaten before nine could keep Chu Qi “not hungry at all” until one?

She didn’t buy it.

“You’re lying,” Wen Qingyun ruthlessly exposed Chu Qi’s falsehood.

Chu Qi’s movements paused, a look of helplessness appearing in her eyes. “Okay, I admit, I ate quite a few fried milk cubes while making them. I haven’t finished digesting them yet, so I’m not eating much.”

Of course, this excuse was also a lie.

The truth was that Chu Qi thought she had been rejected, so she had no heart for hotpot and had just boiled a bowl of noodles in the extra mushroom broth.

She had just finished when she saw Wen Qingyun’s reply and hurriedly washed the dishes before heading out to pick her up.

Wen Qingyun stared into Chu Qi’s eyes. After locking eyes with her innocent gaze for three seconds, she looked away and stopped refusing Chu Qi’s help in cooking the food.

Finishing the last slice of fatty beef, Wen Qingyun set down her chopsticks and entered a brief “sage mode”—it was too delicious, and she had accidentally overeaten.

“Qingyun, do you have any plans for the afternoon?” Chu Qi asked while clearing the table.

Wen Qingyun: “None for now.”

“Then how about seeing a movie? There’s a suspense film out recently that’s supposed to be very good.” Chu Qi issued an invitation. “Going alone feels too lonely. Qingyun, can you go with me?”

Noticing Wen Qingyun’s inclination to refuse, Chu Qi quickly added: “As a thank you, I’ll treat you to dinner at that new Japanese restaurant. I heard their salmon is very fresh.”

Wen Qingyun began to think. A Japanese restaurant in a mall—if it was all-you-can-eat, it would be at least 300 yuan per person.

Such an expense was no burden for Wen Qingyun; she had enough on her bank cards to squander for a lifetime.

However, she couldn’t help the fact that she had been raised by parents who practiced “hardship education,” forcing her to develop a habit of meticulous calculation. Even after finding out she was a “Super Rich Second Generation” upon entering university, she couldn’t change the habits of the first eighteen years of her life.

“Since you’ve invited me, I suppose I can accompany you,” Wen Qingyun found herself unable to refuse.

Travel expenses, movie tickets, snacks, and Japanese food—totaling about 500 RMB. Free money was too tempting for someone with ingrained frugal habits.

Seeing this, Chu Qi also breathed a sigh of relief. “Then you watch some TV; I’ll go clean the kitchen.”

Wen Qingyun gave an “mm” and took the remote Chu Qi handed her.

“Do you want a fruit plate?” Chu Qi asked as she stood up.

“Sure,” Wen Qingyun replied. Not particularly interested in TV shows, she happened to click on Tom and Jerry.

It was a classic animation, but for the young Wen Qingyun, it had been a luxury.

In her memory, she was only allowed two hours of TV on weekends if she achieved a high ranking in school.

What did she do the rest of the time? Naturally, homework, chores, and helping her parents with whatever she could.

Why treat Wen Qingyun like that? Of course, it was to have a successful child so that a certain incompetent father could inherit the company from her grandfather.

After watching three episodes of Tom and Jerry in one go, a smile appeared on Wen Qingyun’s face. Chu Qi finished the dishes and walked out with a hand towel.

“Qingyun, do you need to rest more, or shall we head out now?” Chu Qi asked.

Wen Qingyun habitually checked her phone. It was 2:03 PM. Assuming a half-hour drive, the movie would end just in time for dinner.

Wen Qingyun stood up from the sofa and grabbed her light jacket. “Let’s go. Watching a movie isn’t exactly tiring work.”

“Okay.” Chu Qi smiled, slung her crossbody bag over her shoulder, and went to open the door.

…

The suspense film was an import. It didn’t have massive set pieces, but the logic was tightly knit; only in the last fifteen minutes was the full truth revealed.

Wen Qingyun watched intently. When the theater lights came up, there was still a trace of lingering excitement on her face.

“It’s a very good film,” Wen Qingyun evaluated.

“There’s another one of the same genre. Can I book your time for next weekend in advance, Qingyun?” Chu Qi immediately seized the opportunity.

Wen Qingyun raised an eyebrow at Chu Qi. The bright smile on the other’s face made it hard to feel much resistance.

“If I have time,” Wen Qingyun agreed vaguely.

As long as she remained wary of Chu Qi, then all of Chu Qi’s efforts would be in vain, and the only person to benefit would be herself.

The cinema was on the top floor of the mall, while the Japanese restaurant was on the fifth.

Following the escalator down, the lottery stand in the middle of the floor became exceptionally prominent, making it hard for Wen Qingyun to ignore.

For Wen Qingyun, who had lived a frugal and hard-working childhood, winning five million in the lottery was her biggest childhood dream—the kind she could wake up laughing from.

Noticing that the person beside her had slowed down, Chu Qi proactively took Wen Qingyun’s hand and walked quickly to the lottery stand.

Before Wen Qingyun could pull her hand away, Chu Qi let go and offered a cloudless smile. “Want to try your luck?”

Luck? Do I even have such a thing?

Wen Qingyun sneered internally, though her face remained flat. “You pick a hundred yuan’s worth of tickets for me to scratch.”

If she won, it was her money; if she didn’t, it was just Chu Qi’s bad luck!

“Sure! Can I just pick whatever?” Chu Qi agreed immediately.

Wen Qingyun nodded. “Whatever. Just go with your gut.”

Chu Qi looked at the denominations of the scratch-offs: one for 50, one for 30, and one for 20, totaling exactly one hundred yuan.

After carefully scanning the QR code to pay, Chu Qi took the cards and earnestly began scratching the coating.

The 20 won 20. The 30 won 30. The 50 won 1,000.

What the hell? A fifty-yuan ticket won a thousand?

Wen Qingyun frowned. She began to wonder if the first two smaller tickets hadn’t won big because her presence as a villain was dampening Chu Qi’s “Protagonist Luck.”

“Wow, Qingyun, your luck is so good! That’s a profit of 950 yuan,” Chu Qi said, handing the winning ticket to Wen Qingyun like a trophy.

Wen Qingyun took it with feigned indifference, though she spotted the ten winning numbers in less than three seconds. “Not bad. Let’s just redeem it.”

“Okay. Do you want cash, or should I scan your code?” Chu Qi asked.

Wen Qingyun gave the answer without hesitation: “Cash.”

With an extra 950 yuan in cash in her pocket, Wen Qingyun felt that Chu Qi looked quite a bit more pleasing to the eye.

For every three sentences Chu Qi spoke, Wen Qingyun would pick one to answer. The atmosphere between them seemed much more harmonious.

The Japanese restaurant Chu Qi chose was a famous local brand where the average check reached four figures.

Since Chu Qi had chosen a place of this caliber, Wen Qingyun naturally wouldn’t pick cheap items just to save her money.

“Japanese cuisine” was just a nice way of saying fresh ingredients and exquisite plating; bluntly, it was small portions at high prices. Ordering four or five things might barely line the stomach.

Wen Qingyun wouldn’t slight herself. Two orders of thick-cut salmon, one seafood sashimi platter, two skewers of grilled eel, and three skewers of yakitori. She didn’t like miso soup, but she could have a small flask of sake.

No drinking while driving, so Chu Qi was destined to say goodbye to the sake and dutifully drink miso soup.

An hour later, Wen Qingyun—exactly seventy percent full—walked out of the restaurant. Chu Qi followed half a step behind. The distance between them had shrunk from fifty centimeters to less than thirty.

They weren’t walking arm-in-arm like best friends, but anyone passing by could tell they were together.

“Qingyun, will your car be fixed and delivered tomorrow?” Chu Qi asked proactively after getting in the car.

Wen Qingyun: “It will be delivered to my company tomorrow afternoon.”

“Do you need me to take you to work?” Chu Qi continued to look for openings.

Wen Qingyun refused decisively. “No need. I usually don’t go to the office until after nine; I’ll just take a cab.”

“Alright. Then I’ll wait for the latest price quote at the office,” Chu Qi said with a hint of regret.

Following her previous habit, Chu Qi dropped Wen Qingyun off at her door. Only after Wen Qingyun opened the door and started changing her shoes in the foyer did Chu Qi turn to press the elevator button.

“Drive safely,” Wen Qingyun said. She stood in the foyer in her slippers, not closing the door immediately as she usually did.

“Okay, I’ll drive slowly,” Chu Qi noticed this, and the smile in her eyes grew even warmer.

Before entering the elevator, Chu Qi gave a very happy wave.

Seeing the elevator floor numbers start to change, Wen Qingyun closed the door and locked it swiftly.

【Host, is this also part of your plan?】 The system couldn’t help but pop up.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Wen Qingyun sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and continued watching Tom and Jerry.

“Chu Qi’s intention to please me is very obvious. If I give her a little hope, and then, just when she thinks she’s about to succeed, I tell her it’s all fake… wouldn’t that count as playing the protagonist like a fiddle and staying one step ahead of her?”

Logically, the system couldn’t find a flaw, but it felt the atmosphere between the two was a bit too harmonious.

Oh well, it wasn’t the first time a Host had ended up in the same bed as a protagonist anyway. As long as the mission progress moved forward normally, everything was “rational.”

…

“President Wen, the car has been parked in your reserved space. The other party became very cooperative after seeing the lawyer and paid all costs, including legal fees, totaling 17,360 yuan.”

The General Assistant reported, then handed over the documents brought by the insurance manager.

Wen Qingyun took them and flipped through. “Will this accident affect my insurance premiums next year?”

GA: “No. The insurance representative specifically emphasized that next year’s premium will only decrease, not increase.”

“Have the Cost Control department rush out the price list for the cooperation with Hongyi Electronics. It’s best to complete the hand-off before work ends today,” Wen Qingyun said.

“Also, have HR and Finance look into simplifying the reimbursement process. Stop with the layer-upon-layer approvals; the whole process shouldn’t exceed three working days.”

“Understood. I’ll notify both departments and have them coordinate internally.” The GA noted the points in a small notebook.

After diligently staying in the office for six hours, Wen Qingyun stood up to stretch.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, she looked down at the city streets. The crowds at the intersection looked exactly like busy worker ants—either on their way to work or on their way to find food.

Bzz— Bzz—

Her phone vibrated. Seeing the caller ID as “Father,” Wen Qingyun instinctively frowned.

Remembering that this man had transferred all his shares to her name three months ago as agreed, Wen Qingyun suppressed her patience and answered.

“Qingyun, I saw your license plate on a short video. What’s going on? Why are netizens saying you’re a bully who makes things difficult for a lowly delivery rider?”

“You need to be clear about your status now. You aren’t an ordinary person; you are the CEO of a large group. You don’t just represent yourself; you represent the entire Taixue Group.”

Before Wen Qingyun could even say “Hello,” she was met with a barrage of accusations.

“Do you know the details of what happened?” Wen Qingyun asked.

The person on the other end of the line was choked up for a second. “What do I not know? Didn’t you just collide with a delivery guy’s electric bike? You aren’t short of money; why couldn’t you just be generous and not ask him for compensation?”

Wen Qingyun was already too tired to explain. Hearing the other person get more worked up, she simply hung up the phone, giving her ears some peace.

For someone who accuses you without knowing right from wrong, there’s no need for trouble—just make sure their words can’t reach your ears.

As for the truth of the matter, there’s no need to explain it to someone who doesn’t trust you at all.