The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 12

“What should I do? I don’t know any of them.”

She thought she would suffer from insomnia, but she ended up sleeping soundly. Yao Yuan, dressed in her work attire and with her employee badge hanging around her neck, stood awkwardly in the elevator.

Colleagues beside her nodded kindly. The elevator doors opened, and people stepped out one by one.

“Don’t worry, they remember you attended the training for the past two days.” The devil, now wearing a pair of glasses, appeared at the end of the line, dressed exactly the same as Yao Yuan.

Although they both wore the white shirt + suit skirt uniform, it looked much more capable and commanding on Xingkong than on her. Xingkong didn’t look like a company newcomer; she looked more like an executive sent from a higher company to inspect.

“I don’t remember them… well, it’s the last day anyway, I shouldn’t cause trouble.” The embarrassing memory from yesterday prevented her from making eye contact with Xingkong. She turned her face away and walked out, muttering to herself, then sat down at the spot with her name card.

Xingkong sat down behind her.

There was still a little time before class started, so she could look at her phone. Her eyes scanned the group of newcomers and noticed that one person’s contact note was labeled “Class Teacher.”

Using the same title for the new employee training instructor as for a student-era teacher felt quite familiar.

“Good morning, students, class is starting now.”

Yao Yuan immediately put away her phone, muted it, and placed it in the basket next to her for collecting phones.

The person who walked into the classroom looked surprisingly young at first glance, not wearing a work uniform, with a long dress that reached below her knees and translucent sandals on her feet.

Only when one’s gaze fell on the corners of her eyes could one guess her age to be over 30.

Even so, this person looked intelligent and gentle.

However, the first impression was immediately shattered the next second.

“I’m super fun, and we’re going to play games today!” The Class Teacher got excited on her own: “Come on, everyone stand up.”

Why were they playing games in new employee training? Yao Yuan looked around. Since the others seemed to have no objection, she also had to stand up.

That’s fine, playing games should be more relaxing than class time.

Under the Class Teacher’s guidance, everyone first lined up, and then formed a loose circle around the classroom.

“The rules are very simple. I’ll specify a category, and you quickly say the corresponding word according to that category~ For example, if I say ‘vegetables,’ you take turns saying ‘greens,’ ‘radish,’ ‘Chinese cabbage’… Whoever pauses, repeats, or says the wrong word will be punished.” The Class Teacher quickly patted the shoulder of the person next to her: “Starting with you, vegetables!”

“Greens.” “Cucumber.” “Bitter gourd.” “Winter melon.” “Water…” A young man stepped out amidst everyone’s laughter and obediently stood on the stage. The game continued.

“Starting with you, animals.” “Cat.” “Dog.” “Fox.”

Yao Yuan quickly opened her mouth: “Hamster.” The devil also calmly joined the game: “Parrot.” This time it lasted longer until someone paused for 1 second in the second round and had to step out.

The game quickly ended, with a total of four people standing on the stage.

“Oh, good luck, exactly two men and two women. I have an idea.” The Class Teacher winked with an exaggerated tone: “Let’s play something fun. What’s a punishment if it’s not severe?” Regardless of whether anyone was applauding, she decisively gave the order: “The women lie on the bottom, and the men do push-ups on top.”

Yao Yuan frowned and muttered softly, “What kind of punishment is this…”

But the people around her were unmoved, and some even chuckled softly, ready to watch the show.

The man next to her, hearing her soft words, instead scoffed: “Feudal. Everyone’s just playing a game. Why be so concerned?”

Yao Yuan wanted to retort, but on second thought, push-ups were indeed quite normal. She felt that something was wrong, yet she couldn’t articulate what it was.

Everyone around was laughing, everyone was relaxed. Maybe the one who was wrong was not them, but… herself? Maybe she was really overthinking it?

Her hesitant mood quickly dissipated during the course. There was nothing in the lessons that she couldn’t understand; anyone with normal intelligence could fully grasp it. It was much simpler than the classes in school.

But soon, the afternoon arrived.

“Come on, class is starting, this session is for group activities.” When the Class Teacher said this, Yao Yuan’s heart suddenly sank.

She couldn’t say what kind of premonition it was, but it wasn’t good.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Teacher, when you say that, I get nervous.”

“Hahahaha.”

The classroom was filled with cheerful air, but only one person was uneasy.

“Alright, enough small talk. Let’s play this together.” The Class Teacher took out a deck of poker cards. Just when Yao Yuan mistakenly thought she was going to talk about poker, she changed direction: “Mouth-to-Mouth Poker Pass!”

How do you pass poker cards with your mouth? One person holds a card in their mouth and passes it to the next? If an entire team passes it down like this, wouldn’t they bite into the saliva of the previous person?

The Class Teacher, afraid there were simpletons like Yao Yuan in the crowd, quickly demonstrated. She put her two hands together: “One male and one female per group. The poker card is sandwiched between your mouths. You have to use a kissing posture to pass the card to the finish line.”

This time, someone asked even faster: “Teacher, does it have to be one male and one female? Can it be male-male or female-female?”

Amidst the laughter, the Class Teacher solemnly refused: “Of course not! It’s no fun if it’s not one male and one female!”

“Why do we have to play this kind of game…” Yao Yuan really wanted to object loudly, but in the end, she was just trembling with anger. She always held some respect for the role of “teacher” and was very uncomfortable speaking in front of a large group of people.

The man next to her heard her this time, but he didn’t mock her: “Don’t mind it. Variety shows have this kind of game too. We have to obey for the sake of the job.”

What he said made sense: the formal contract was signed after this new employee training. Everyone had to weigh the pros and cons; jobs are hard to find these days.

A reputable large company that provides all five major social insurances and a housing fund was already a great opportunity for people with mediocre work experience and education like them.

The game had already started. The people on the stage really began moving the cards with their mouths. Their lips were only a poker card’s distance from touching.

No, they were actually touching. The force was heavier than a kiss, heavy enough to stick to the card and prevent it from dropping.

For the sake of the job, and for the sake of “a certain team not getting punished,” pairs of men and women seriously played this game.

Everyone was grouped according to their seating position. The team that dropped the most cards would be punished.

Maybe some people found it interesting, but Yao Yuan only felt suffocated.

This suffocating feeling was even stronger than when she was choked by the throat last night: it was as if what was being choked right now was not just her body, but also her spirit and soul.

“Do you need me to provide assistance? Just say the word if you do.” The devil’s voice sounded from behind her.

Yao Yuan knew what she meant. The devil was naturally omnipotent in front of these people. Whether it was forcibly altering their memories, sabotaging the bizarre game, or even the least amount of disruption by simply playing the game with her… all seemed like good options.

She wouldn’t have to lose face in front of everyone, nor would she have to conflict with others face-to-face, appearing like the bad person who destroys harmony.

“No need.” She took a deep breath and stood up: “Teacher, I refuse to participate.”

All eyes focused on the same spot. Everyone’s expression was saying one thing: Someone actually dared to contradict the Class Teacher?!

This was not a campus; this was the real society. Tearing through the veil of cordiality required more courage.

“Is there something wrong, student?” The Class Teacher blinked innocently, her actions making her look even more like a university student than Yao Yuan. She leaned on the right side of the podium, where someone had just finished passing a card with their mouth.

Now everyone had stopped what they were doing, and Yao Yuan, standing below, looked like a deliberate, small nuisance wasting everyone’s time.

“Maybe some people here are already married, or have a partner. Is it really appropriate to go mouth-to-mouth with a stranger?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the entire scene fell silent. Some people were quiet, and some whispered “Tsk,” as if mocking someone for being old-fashioned.

The girl in her group jumped up to smooth things over: “Hey, hey, it’s like this when you haven’t dated. You’re just shy.”

“Yeah, yeah, if you really don’t want to do it, then don’t. No one is forcing you.”

More and more voices chimed in. Some people didn’t know how to mediate, so they just mixed in with the kindest smiles, making the atmosphere more harmonious.

“This has nothing to do with whether I’ve dated or not—” “Our group has decided not to participate in this game.” The one who spoke was surprisingly not Xingkong, but the girl in the same group who had tried to smooth things over.

She kindly shook her head, gesturing for Yao Yuan to stop talking.

Indeed, she shouldn’t say any more. Others might really value this job.

It was then that the Class Teacher slowly said, “Oh. The game is from a variety show, but if you don’t participate, you forfeit directly.”

“Yes, we will accept the penalty game.” The girl in the group readily agreed.

So the atmosphere immediately warmed up again. The people who no longer had to play the game hastily rearranged the tables and brought over the punishment props specified by the teacher: a large pile of paper cups, and many miscellaneous seasonings.

Inside, there were normal drinks like lemon juice and cola, as well as unpleasant things like chili sauce and wasabi.

The “pure” drink prepared for the losers naturally had a little bit of everything added.

“We’ll just make it symbolic. Just fill it a little less than half,” the Class Teacher mercifully reduced the severity.

As a result, a group of 7 paper cups contained about one-third of a cup of the disgusting mixture. All 7 people in the group were implicated and couldn’t escape.

She really didn’t want to drink it, whether from the perspective of accepting the punishment or… Yao Yuan held her breath: She had to drink it. Was this the unique suffering of an adult?

She looked up at the people around her. Not a single person was a bad person, yet they were doing meaningless cruel things and taking pleasure in it.

Xingkong raised her cup and touched it against the paper cup in Yao Yuan’s hand.

Yao Yuan shook her head, held her breath, and brought the paper cup to her lips.

The taste was truly pungent, and she really wanted to vomit, and it was super spicy… wait. In less than two seconds, the texture and taste of the liquid abruptly reversed.

If she continued to drink, there was only the pure sweetness of cola left.

Perhaps afraid that Yao Yuan or more people would turn into “contrarians,” the subsequent games quickly wrapped up, and the new employee training finally proceeded to normal coursework.

No matter how awkward it was, completing the last class was a victory. She finally understood what Xingkong meant when she said she would thank her for helping her skip two days; her mood was complicated.

A piece of paper lightly landed by her hand. Upon closer inspection, it was the survey the group leader had just handed out.

[Course Questionnaire] Fill out an anonymous evaluation of the teachers…

Yao Yuan casually ticked a bunch of five stars. Whether it was anonymous or real-name, she was too used to giving five-star reviews for all evaluations.

Even though she had strong objections to this teacher’s game, she was not going to give a bad review and cause trouble for others. She just added a sentence in the final course feedback: I hope that the choice of games will be more cautious in the future.

“Xiao Yuan, writing this sentence will bring you trouble.” Xingkong kindly reminded her: “Of course, I will solve any trouble for you.”

“You’re exaggerating. What trouble could this cause?”

“Want to bet?” The devil clicked her pen.

“…Okay.”