What Should I do After Binding the Wrong System and the Female Lead comes Knocking at my Door? - Chapter 9

Pei Yuanxi stared at the phone with a confused expression. After she asked her question, Gu Qing said one sentence, “I’ll come to your studio to find you,” and then hung up the phone.

She thought quietly for a moment, feeling that Gu Qing must be shy. It should be difficult for someone like her, the ice-cold beauty, to give compliments. So even if Gu Qing was grateful, she wouldn’t say it out loud but would silently remember her kindness.

Thinking that she had already figured out the truth, Pei Yuanxi’s bad mood from wanting to be praised quickly lifted. She hummed a song and instructed Bai Zhou to prepare the employment contract while she waited for Gu Qing to arrive.

It didn’t take long before Bai Zhou brought Gu Qing into the office to find her.

When Pei Yuanxi saw Gu Qing, she was momentarily stunned. Then she casually joked, “Although you could just come here to sign the contract, why are you wearing sportswear?”

Gu Qing lowered her head and glanced at her clothes, her face emotionless as she said, “I didn’t have time to change.”

Got it. She’s so happy that she didn’t even have time to change. Pei Yuanxi’s mood lifted even further. She motioned for Gu Qing to sit down and signaled Bai Zhou, who was holding the contract, to begin.

Bai Zhou, receiving the boss’s signal, cleared his throat and said to Gu Qing, “Miss Gu Qing, let me introduce our studio to you.”

“Our studio is named after our boss, Pei Yuanxi Studio. I believe you must have done some research on our studio before coming. As you may know, our studio has always only worked for the boss.”

“You will be the first artist we sign, so if you have any questions or feel that we are lacking in any area, please feel free to bring it up.”

“Before we proceed, I’d like to ask Miss Gu Qing, do you have any plans for your career in the entertainment industry?”

“Actress,” Gu Qing answered without hesitation.

Bai Zhou nodded. “Acting is currently our strongest area, and we also have an award-winning actress as our boss.”

Pei Yuanxi smiled and waved at Gu Qing, who looked over at her.

Gu Qing lowered her eyes, and Bai Zhou continued, taking out the contract and placing it in front of her. “This is your contract. You can read it while I explain it to you.”

“The contract signing period is ten years.”

“Ten years?” Gu Qing furrowed her brows.

Bai Zhou observed Gu Qing’s expression while explaining, “Yes, ten years. If I may say, considering your current situation, at least five years of this period will be dedicated to providing you with growth resources and laying the foundation. We also hope that you can walk further along the path of an actress, but who can predict the future?”

“In fact, if it weren’t for the boss personally recommending you, I wouldn’t even consider you myself,” Bai Zhou added.

Pei Yuanxi, hearing this, deliberately coughed, drawing the attention of both of them.

She gave an awkward smile, “My throat itches, you two continue, continue.”

Gu Qing thought for a moment and finally shook her head, “Ten years is too long. Five years.”

Ten years was filled with too many uncertainties for Gu Qing. She couldn’t be sure if one day she would suddenly return to her original world. If both she and the original host were to switch back to their respective worlds, the person beside Pei Yuanxi would no longer be her, but the version of herself from the parallel world.

She couldn’t accept the idea that the warmth she could not have would be taken over by another version of herself.

There were also uncertainties about what might happen in the next ten years regarding her relationship with Pei Yuanxi.

So, she looked at Bai Zhou seriously and said, “Five years, just sign for five years. I will meet your expectations.”

Bai Zhou smiled, “Alright, we’ll do it as you say. But words alone are not enough. How can we trust you? This is inherently an unbalanced agreement. You can’t ask us to keep adding more weight to the scale, can you?”

Gu Qing was momentarily silent, realizing Bai Zhou was right. She had no capital in this world to make Pei Yuanxi’s studio believe in her.

At that moment, Bai Zhou, seeing Gu Qing’s silence, continued, “It’s fine. After all, you were personally chosen by our boss, so we’ll do our best to accommodate your wishes.”

With that, she pulled out another folder from beside her and handed it to Gu Qing. “This is a betting agreement. Would you like to take a look?”

Pei Yuanxi, hearing this, silently cursed in her mind, “Professional!”

She hadn’t expected Bai Zhou to seem so competent in contract negotiations. It looked like she’d have to increase Bai Zhou’s workload in the future.

Gu Qing took the new contract and asked, “What’s the bet?”

Bai Zhou clapped her hands and said, “Straightforward, we’re betting on whether you can meet our expectations within the five years. Our expectation is that you’ll win the Best Actress award.”

“If you win the Best Actress award within five years, we guarantee that you will no longer be bound by the contract. You can leave the studio at any time without penalty. Of course, if you don’t leave, your future treatment will be on par with our boss’s.”

“But if you don’t achieve it, we won’t be too harsh on you. We’ll just sign a new ten-year contract.”

“Even though this is a betting agreement, we’re still taking care of you. So, would you consider it?”

Gu Qing’s grip on the contract tightened.

Best Actress… Could she really do it?

Something she couldn’t achieve before she crossed over—could she do it within five years after crossing over?

She couldn’t help but look at Pei Yuanxi, but at that moment, Pei Yuanxi had already darkened her face and was no longer paying attention to them.

At this moment, the system, which had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.

Ding! The system detects that Pei Yuanxi is using a language trap to get the host to sign the betting agreement. Please slap Pei Yuanxi in the face.

Pei Yuanxi almost couldn’t hold back a curse. Had she said anything during the contract negotiation?

What did Bai Zhou’s actions have to do with her?!

Although, this time, it was indeed her fault. After all, Pei Yuanxi was her contract girlfriend, so she shouldn’t push her too hard.

After a pause, Pei Yuanxi took the initiative to speak to Gu Qing, “If you’re not comfortable with it, forget it. There’s no need to bet on an uncertain future. How about this, I’ll decide. Let’s sign the original five-year contract.”

But as soon as she spoke, Pei Yuanxi’s mood turned dark again.

Ding! The system detects that Pei Yuanxi has doubts about the host’s abilities. Starting a series of tasks.

The system detects that the series of tasks is compatible with the main storyline. The main task is now updated to ‘Win the Best Actress Award before turning 30.’ Please reject Pei Yuanxi’s suggestion and slap Pei Yuanxi in the face.

Pei Yuanxi almost wanted to say “Heh!” She was the one who just said not to sign the betting agreement, but now the system wanted her to sign it to slap her in the face?

This artificial intelligence really thought it could control her, huh?

Fine, she wouldn’t let Gu Qing sign this betting agreement.

Just as Pei Yuanxi decided not to let Gu Qing sign the agreement, Gu Qing took the pen and signed her name on both copies of the betting agreement.

Pei Yuanxi froze for a moment and forgot to check if the system had declared the task completed. She quickly asked Gu Qing, “Didn’t we just say not to sign it? Why don’t we just modify the original contract to five years?”

Gu Qing gazed into Pei Yuanxi’s eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. “I can’t just keep having you take care of me, and you don’t believe I can do it?”

“I definitely believe in you!” Pei Yuanxi replied loudly.

Because with her Pei Yuanxi around, and of course, there was the artificial intelligence.

It was lucky that Gu Qing asked her this after the system issued the task.

Otherwise, after Pei Yuanxi said she believed in Gu Qing, the system might have made Gu Qing quit the entertainment industry to slap her in the face.

Pei Yuanxi realized she was just helping the system complete tasks.

And why, when that shady company asked Gu Qing for five million earlier, didn’t the system issue a task then?

This wasn’t fair!

At this moment, Pei Yuanxi’s mind was full of grievances that she couldn’t express, but on the surface, she kept silent while gazing at Gu Qing.

Bai Zhou quietly gathered the contracts, not daring to disturb the strange atmosphere. She had long noticed that her boss had been acting strange ever since the night she won the Best Actress award…

She hadn’t asked why the studio had suddenly decided to sign Gu Qing, and didn’t question why she was tasked with checking on Gu Qing.

And just now, when she was trying to trap Gu Qing, Pei Yuanxi had been coughing and changing the contract.

Was she heartbroken?

White Zhou silently left the room and closed the door behind her. She hoped her thoughtfulness would be remembered by the boss and lead to better treatment in the future.

Back inside, as the door closed, both of them snapped out of their trance. Pei Yuanxi awkwardly cleared her throat, saying, “Tonight, there’s a welcome dinner for you. Let’s go have a meal.”

Gu Qing nodded and saw Pei Yuanxi give her a bright smile. “Ah Qing, welcome to officially join Yuanxi Studio.”

Gu Qing gently smiled back, her eyes soft. “Thank you.”

Just as Pei Yuanxi was about to take Gu Qing out to announce the arrival of a new artist, she suddenly remembered that their “romantic contract” hadn’t been resolved yet.

She quickly pulled Gu Qing, who was halfway out the door, back inside.

Pei Yuanxi slapped her head. “I almost forgot. Now that the business is done, we still have our private matters to settle.”

At this point, Gu Qing hadn’t heard what Pei Yuanxi was saying. She was distracted, gazing at the hand that Pei Yuanxi had just let go of.

Pei Yuanxi noticed her gaze and quickly released her hand, apologizing, “Sorry.”

Gu Qing’s hand hovered in the air for a moment before she shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m your girlfriend. It’s just a hand-holding… no need to apologize.”

“Well, what I wanted to say was that Lin Zhen has already returned the five million to me. You don’t owe me any money anymore. Do you want to…”

“I don’t want it!”

Before Pei Yuanxi could finish her sentence, Gu Qing interrupted her.

“What?” Pei Yuanxi was startled.

Gu Qing replied seriously, “The money Lin Zhen gave back to you has nothing to do with me. I only know that I took your five million and signed the romantic agreement with you. Then I gave that money to the company as penalty for breach of contract. This matter is finished, and everything after that has nothing to do with me.”

Pei Yuanxi anxiously ran her hand through her hair. “But, but…”

“There’s no ‘but.’ Yuanxi, you should understand what I mean.”

Pei Yuanxi sighed helplessly, “Okay, Ah Qing, you’re really stubborn.”

Gu Qing didn’t answer. She let Pei Yuanxi think of her as stubborn.

Was it a good thing to cancel the contract with Pei Yuanxi?

Yes, it was good. She would regain her freedom, and she could fully enjoy the journey as an actress in Pei Yuanxi’s studio.

But… why couldn’t she bring herself to let go?

Gu Qing gazed absently at Pei Yuanxi’s figure.

She knew this wasn’t right. This feeling came from an intense possessiveness caused by a lack of love.

Gu Qing had always thought she understood herself, but she had underestimated her own unhealthy psychology.

“This isn’t right…” Gu Qing closed her eyes and asked herself inwardly, “But… it’s what I want.”

The contract can’t be terminated, so let her be selfish this one time… just once.

She knew Pei Yuanxi wasn’t hers to have… but she still hoped, even for a moment, the moonlight would shine on her.

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