The Genius Game - Chapter 38

Ou Bao’er pointed at Du Jiaojiao: “She’s slacking off. Teach her a proper lesson!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Du Jiaojiao wanted to beg for mercy, but she was quickly dragged away by two female bodyguards.

Everyone was somewhat worried, unsure what punishment she would face.

After a while, Du Jiaojiao returned with a bruised and swollen face.

It turned out she had only been beaten up, and her health points decreased by 10.

At this moment, Ou Bao’er turned to Ding Zelan and said, “Sister Lan, come swim with me. I’m too bored by myself.”

Ding Zelan replied, “Bao’er, I have a cold today and can’t go in the water. Can I swim with you next time?”

“How dare you! It’s just a cold, and you dare not accompany me?”

With that, Ou Bao’er pushed Ding Zelan into the water.

Ding Zelan flailed in the water for a while before steadying herself, but she didn’t dare come back up.

Although the pool was temperature-controlled, Ding Zelan still sneezed several times.

Ou Bao’er said displeasedly, “Who told you to sneeze? You’ve contaminated the pool. How am I supposed to swim now?”

Ding Zelan frowned but could only say, “I’m sorry, Bao’er.”

“Hmph.”

Jian Tanxi noticed that Ding Zelan didn’t address Ou Bao’er as “Miss Bao’er.” Perhaps Ding Zelan wasn’t a nanny but a guest of the Ou family.

But who treats a guest like this?

Maybe Ding Zelan was a poor relative staying with the Ou family?

But if she were a poor relative, why would Ou Bao’er play with her and have the nannies call her “Miss Ding”?

Jian Tanxi was puzzled and couldn’t figure it out.

Just then, three young men heard the commotion and came over.

Two of them were the Ou family’s Third and Fourth Young Masters, whom Jian Tanxi had seen earlier.

The other man looked more mature than the Third and Fourth Young Masters but resembled them.

Seeing the three young men, Ou Bao’er ran over and said somewhat pitifully, “Big Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Sister Lan sneezed in the pool and contaminated the water. Now I can’t swim.”

So the other, more mature young man was the Ou family’s Eldest Young Master.

The Eldest Young Master frowned at Ding Zelan in the pool and said to Ou Bao’er, “Then don’t swim today. Hurry and wrap yourself in a towel so you don’t catch a cold.”

The Third Young Master yelled at the nannies, “What’s going on? You see Miss Bao’er standing on the shore in her swimsuit, and none of you thought to give her a towel?”

Qin Man, who was holding a towel, quickly came over to wrap it around Ou Bao’er.

But the Third Young Master slapped Qin Man across the face and scolded, “Do I have to remind you to come over? What kind of nanny are you?”

Even though Qin Man had a good temper, being suddenly slapped made her angry. Her anger level increased by 4 points, and all players’ health points decreased by 4.

Current health points: Jian Tanxi 52, Qin Man 77, Du Jiaojiao 86, Meng Yuening 25, Shen Kexin 45, Wang Juanhua 75.

The others were fine, but Meng Yuening’s health points were down to only 25. Moreover, she had been electrocuted by the lightning ball earlier and was already very weak.

She couldn’t stand steadily and fell to the ground.

The Eldest Young Master frowned and said, “What? Are the nannies these days not doing their jobs properly and only know how to use seductive tricks to lure us? What’s with the fake fall? Do you think we’d give you a second glance?”

The Third Young Master also remarked, “Some young women these days have impure intentions, only dreaming of marrying into wealth to skip twenty years of hard work. It’s a pity their schemes are too shallow and get exposed, making a spectacle of themselves.”

The Fourth Young Master chimed in, “Aren’t you going to get up? Who are you trying to impress with this fragile act?”

Meng Yuening had always been a strong, independent woman who earned her way into a Fortune 500 company through her own abilities and even became a junior manager. In her career, she relied solely on her skills, never resorting to shortcuts or using her looks to get ahead.

Being falsely accused by the Ou family’s young masters today caused her anger to uncontrollably spike by 10 points.

Jian Tanxi and Qin Man were also infuriated by the situation, each gaining 4 anger points.

As a result, all the nannies’ health points decreased by 18.

The current health points were: Jian Tanxi 34, Qin Man 59, Du Jiaojiao 68, Meng Yuening 7, Shen Kexin 27, Wang Juanhua 57.

With only 7 health points left, Meng Yuening closed her eyes and fainted, her breathing faint.

The Ou family’s eldest young master sneered, “Acting, keep acting. No matter how you perform, I could never be moved by you.”

Qin Man quickly stepped forward and gave Meng Yuening her last remaining healing pill.

Meng Yuening’s health immediately restored to 100, and she woke up, standing up right away.

Qin Man explained to the young masters, “Young masters, it’s not what you think. Mother Meng was injured by a lightning ball earlier and was weakened, which is why she fainted. It wasn’t an attempt to get anyone’s attention.”

The eldest young master frowned. “Injured by a lightning ball? So, Bao’er was forced to use her lightning ball earlier? How angry and upset must she have been to resort to that?”

He then turned to Ou Bao’er, his voice filled with concern. “Bao’er, are you alright?”

Ou Bao’er replied, “I’m fine. Mother Meng didn’t do as I wished, so I punished her with the lightning ball. I feel much better now.”

The eldest young master said, “Good. In the future, if you need to punish a servant, just do it. There’s no need to get so worked up yourself, understand? It’s not good for your health.”

“Mm.”

Meng Yuening: “…”

The other players: “…”

Fortunately, after the earlier incident, everyone understood the true nature of the Ou family’s young masters, and this time, no one got angry again.

Jian Tanxi felt that the most terrifying aspect of this game wasn’t the various punishments but its ability to create situations that provoked anger, sometimes making it impossible to control one’s temper.

And once anger flared up, health points dropped, it was hard to guard against.

While the others were still relatively fine, Shen Kexin’s health points had dwindled to just 27.

All the healing pills and revival elixirs had been used up.

The only useful ability left was Jian Tanxi’s healing power, but it could only be used three times.

So, for now, Jian Tanxi couldn’t heal Shen Kexin, at least not until her health dropped into the teens.

After all the commotion, no one paid any attention to Ding Zelan, who was still soaking in the pool and ill.

Ding Zelan climbed out on her own, wrapped herself in a towel to avoid catching a cold.

It was only then that the eldest young master noticed her and said disapprovingly, “Ding Zelan, what’s wrong with you? If you have a problem with Bao’er, just say it outright. There’s no need for underhanded tactics!”

Ding Zelan retorted coldly, “What underhanded tactics are you talking about?”

“You deliberately came to swim with Bao’er while you had a cold, sneezing and contaminating the pool water, making it impossible for Bao’er to swim. Do I need to spell it out any clearer?”

“Bao’er insisted I get in the water to swim. I told her I had a cold.”

“You could have refused.”

“Could I really refuse? How noble Bao’er is, the pampered darling of the Ou family, the wealthiest clan. Everyone dotes on her; she has six nannies alone. How dare I refuse any request she makes?”

“Ding Zelan, cut the sarcasm. You’re just jealous of Bao’er! Let me tell you, our Ou family won’t tolerate a jealous woman! Don’t think just because you’re engaged to me, you can rest easy. If you dare bully Bao’er again, I can call off the engagement anytime!”

Ding Zelan laughed in anger. “Fine, call it off. I’d be more than happy.”

The eldest young master of the Ou family grabbed Ding Zelan by the throat, furious. “Ding Zelan, how dare you speak to me like that!”

Jian Tanxi and the others were startled and tried to pull the eldest young master away, but he shoved them aside.

Fortunately, the eldest young master wasn’t actually trying to strangle Ding Zelan. After threatening her a few times, he let go.

The third young master sneered, “Elder Brother, don’t spoil this woman too much. If she continues to treat Bao’er poorly, I won’t acknowledge her as my sister-in-law.”

The fourth young master added, “Exactly. Bao’er is the most important person in our Ou family.”

The eldest young master nodded. “I know. I won’t let her bully Bao’er. Ding Zelan, did you hear that? You’d better know your place.”

Ding Zelan frowned, about to say something, but she sneezed several times first.

The eldest young master snapped, “Who are you putting on an act for? Scheming woman. If it weren’t for the marriage arrangement our grandfathers made back in the day, do you think I’d be engaged to someone from a fallen family like yours? If you behave yourself, I might still grant you basic respect. But if you try to compete with Bao’er for favor… Hmph… you know the consequences.”

Ding Zelan retorted, “Do you think I want to marry into the Ou family? If it weren’t for my parents pressuring and tempting me, I would never have set foot in your household!”

With that, Ding Zelan left the pool.

The eldest young master didn’t go after her. Instead, he and his two younger brothers continued to belittle Ding Zelan while praising Ou Bao’er.

Ou Bao’er looked smug, while Jian Tanxi and the others were seething with anger.

Although the Ou family’s domestic affairs had nothing to do with them, the way the Ou family members trampled on one person while elevating another, twisting right and wrong, was utterly contemptible.

As nannies, Jian Tanxi and the others dared not speak their anger aloud.

However, their anger levels increased, causing their life points to drop further. Their collective anger value reached 20, and their life points collectively decreased by 20.

Their current life points were: Jian Tanxi 14, Qin Man 39, Du Jiaojiao 48, Meng Yuening 80, Shen Kexin 7, Wang Juanhua 37.

Jian Tanxi didn’t hesitate, she healed herself first, then Shen Kexin, restoring both their life points to 100.

But with the two of them restored, Wang Juanhua and Qin Man were left with only over thirty life points each, teetering on the edge. It was like trying to plug one leak only for another to spring up, there was never a moment of peace.

Fortunately, since the pool was contaminated, Ou Bao’er didn’t swim anymore, and the task was considered completed.

A mechanical voice announced: “Congratulations to all players for completing Main Mission Two: Accompany Miss Bao’er for a swim. Surprisingly, no one died. There are still seven days left in the game. Please continue to work hard.”

Everyone returned to the nanny’s room to rest first.

Du Jiaojiao clamored for Jian Tanxi to heal her. Jian Tanxi said helplessly, “Miss, your health points are still at 48. Even if healing were needed, it wouldn’t be your turn.”

Du Jiaojiao: “But I’m really in poor health. I’m about to die… Ah…”

Jian Tanxi: “Stop pretending. I don’t believe you.”

“Don’t you still have one healing ability left?”

“That should be reserved for critical moments.”

“I am the critical moment.”

“Shut up.”