The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 13

“I accidentally agreed too soon!”

Yao Yuan quickly covered her mouth. Xingkong smiled and shook her head, “It’s fine, this time doesn’t count either.”

“Hehe… So what are we betting on this time? Let’s agree beforehand that any bet that violates morality or is too exaggerated is out.”

The people sitting around them faded into a gray background; in the Devil’s domain, only they were vibrant.

“This time we’re betting on the consequences of you writing that line on the evaluation form.” A coin appeared between the Devil’s fingers, flipping on the evaluation form.

“Speak in plain language, I don’t understand. What consequences could just writing a line have? Oh, if it affects others, forget it. The homeroom teacher is just following company rules.”

“Not her, but you.” Xingkong tossed the coin into Yao Yuan’s lap, enjoying her pouting expression. “If your job is severely troubled by this matter within three days, I win. If almost no change occurs, you win.”

Yao Yuan pondered for a moment, “Be honest with me, did you use mind-reading?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Tell me the stakes.”

“If I win, you must prioritize moving into a place I’ve bought when you move later. If you win, you can request a new mode of relationship from me.”

So this Devil understands that their current relationship mode is too subjective?! He’s doing it on purpose, this guy must be doing it on purpose!

“Fine, I accept the bet.” Yao Yuan twitched her mouth and pinched the Devil’s index finger: Even if she loses, she just won’t move, right?

It’s just an anonymous five-star review form, and the suggestion is harmless and even a little humble. What impact could it have?

Even if the homeroom teacher thinks she’s a conservative relic, it shouldn’t affect her job, right? How could it? Report to headquarters that she’s too conservative and unsuitable for this job?

The surrounding colors began to flow again. Yao Yuan pulled out her phone in front of the Devil and her fingers flew across the screen.

She found the teacher’s profile picture in the class group chat and messaged privately: “Hello, Homeroom Teacher. I actually didn’t mean to interfere with your teaching, I just felt that the curriculum arrangement could take everyone’s acceptance level into more consideration. Thank you~”

“Heh.”

“What are you laughing at? You didn’t say I couldn’t send a text message…” Yao Yuan blushed and put away her phone.

Xingkong pinched her cheek, “Naive. You’d have a chance of winning if you hadn’t sent this message.”

“Huh? How could sending it decrease my chances? You’re lying!” A small fist playfully hit the Devil.

Night quickly fell, followed by the alternation of day and night.

Yao Yuan was in a good mood on Tuesday. After the new employee training ended, all that was left was signing the official contract. She entered the company early, looking for the colleague Xingkong had mentioned to help mentor new hires.

“Are you Xiao Yao?”

It took Yao Yuan a few seconds to realize she was being called, and she quickly nodded, “Yes, that’s me.”

The person in front of her seemed so unfamiliar… No, wait, looking closely, wasn’t it the HR colleague who registered people in the hallway on the day of the interview?

“Xiao Yao, I have something to tell you.” The HR person’s expression was a bit strange. Yao Yuan quickly followed behind her to an empty small office.

The glass door closed behind them. “Sit, please sit first.”

She obediently sat on the sofa. The HR person sat opposite her, and there was even a cup of tea on the table.

“I don’t know how to tell you this…” The HR person was only a few years older than Yao Yuan and seemed unaccustomed to saying such things. “Actually… the company is not planning to sign the official contract with you. The email has already been copied to the leadership.”

It wasn’t entirely unexpected; her mind suddenly went blank.

Yes, Xingkong must have sensed some pattern, a pattern that an innocent person couldn’t see.

Seeing Yao Yuan’s dejected face, the HR person’s tone was apologetic, “There’s no helping it; not passing the probation period is regrettable. You are so young, you still have many opportunities.”

“I understand. The probation period means trial, so naturally, there’s a possibility of not passing the trial.” Yao Yuan looked up, her expression calm.

The HR person breathed a sigh of relief, “Yes, don’t overthink it. Pack up your things at your workspace; the probation salary will be settled as usual.”

She patted Yao Yuan’s shoulder before leaving.

Continues

It’s hard to describe the feeling, as if she was only realizing for the first time that rules existed in the adult world. She stood up.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked to her seat: She was told to pack, but there was nothing to pack.

Everything was the Devil’s trick. After the trick was broken, what was there to feel lost about?

No one looked at her, and no one came forward to express regret; people coming and going during the probation period was too normal.

Yao Yuan picked up her satchel and stepped out of the electronic door.

The transparent door opened before her. Her feet suddenly stepped onto a camel-colored carpet. The lights illuminated bookcases and white walls, complete with gold and silver trophies and elegant calligraphy and paintings.

The Devil rotated the boss chair to face the door, hands clasped, resting his chin on them. “How was it?”

Yao Yuan quickly walked forward and slammed her palm onto the desk. “Hiss… If you dare say you did it, I’ll… forget it, it’s definitely not you.”

“Good, good. The pure child has grown up.” Xingkong cupped her hand and blew on it.

With the Devil by her side, what was there to be afraid of? Yao Yuan leaned against the desk, tapping the desk leg with her heel in frustration, “Damn it, being fired by an email from the training department is too much. The leadership is too exaggerated; you can’t pass probation just because you’re conservative?!”

“Think more carefully.”

“Huh?”

A pair of arms reached out from behind, gently pressing on her abdomen. “Use your brain. Leaving aside the kiss game itself, was the reason for termination really [overly conservative]?”

“Are you saying… the homeroom teacher isn’t that kind of person? Then what happened?” Being guided to lie back on the desk, Yao Yuan stared wide-eyed at the Devil’s half-smiling face.

“Wrong line of thinking. She is that kind of person, but she used other reasons to [report] you.” Xingkong’s smile widened. “Guess what the reason was?”

“…Unwillingness to participate in team activities, lack of team spirit?”

A phone screen suddenly appeared before her eyes, with lines of text scrolling.

The popped-up group chat history clearly belonged to a certain “Homeroom Teacher.”

[There is a student named Yao Yuan in this training class.]

[She might have a mental disorder.]

…

[Yes, she is indeed difficult to communicate with.]

[Therefore, it is recommended…]

Her vision blurred. “Mental disorder” was already the most “benign” speculation. In between, there were several very malicious professional terms mixed in.

A whole host of fabricated accusations were merely to cover up a simple kissing game and to punish an innocent girl who dared to stand up and object.

Yao Yuan abruptly sat up, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, then quickly wiped away with her arm. “I, I don’t have, don’t have mental problems, and, and it’s not… How can she say that?!”

The sense of grievance overflowed from her throat. She had been wrongly accused before, but she never imagined that such an ordinary person, with no personal feud, would fabricate such a terrifying lie.

All just to kick her out, like a human crushing an ant. No, even when crushing an ant, one wouldn’t shout to the people around, “It’s all this ant’s fault!” before stepping down.

“I’m sorry,” Xingkong gently embraced her, moving her to a chair.

“W-why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong! The one at fault is th-that…” Yao Yuan tightly bit her lip; no matter how wronged she was, she didn’t want to vent her anger on others.

She angrily took several deep breaths, wanting to swear, but after thinking for a long time, she managed to curse, “Dog…” Her voice trailed off.

“…”

“Go ahead and laugh at me,” Yao Yuan covered her eyes in self-pity. “What did the dog do wrong… I lost this time.”

Xingkong didn’t laugh. She reached out and gently moved Yao Yuan’s hands away. “I want to ask for your forgiveness. I was influenced by the desire to win and didn’t prevent the defamation from happening in advance.”

The Devil didn’t receive the expected answer. Yao Yuan just raised her swollen eyes. “A bet is a promise. The only one who needs to apologize is the one who breaks the promise.”

After a short silence, the Devil raised a hand and wiped away the girl’s tears.

“I will correct this mistake for you, Xiaoyuan.”