Chapter 7: The Ultimate Assist

Zhou Xiaoru did not return Gu Liyan's call; on the contrary, she once again added his phone number and WeChat to her blacklist, showing a strong inclination toward never seeing him again.

In any case, she did not believe the nonsense that one could still be peaceful friends after breaking up.

Since it was already over, it had to be cut off cleanly and thoroughly; she did not like dragging things out, even though her heart still felt a lingering attachment to this relationship.

But thinking is one thing; she would not bring these thoughts into her real life.

It had been nearly two years, so why did this person suddenly pop up again, still haunting her like a ghost? She really could not let herself fall back into that trap!

Just as Zhou Xiaoru had adjusted her mindset and was preparing to start sending resumes to other companies again...

Two days later.

On a rainy morning, the muffled vibration of a cell phone sounded in Dorm 701.

At this time, the few people in the dorm were still fast asleep.

Zhou Xiaoru, eyes bleary with sleep, fumbled around the pillow; she had been chatting with Xiao Lan and the others until two or three in the morning the night before, and she was sleeping soundly right now...

Her brows knitted together—who was calling so early in the morning!

She finally touched her phone, glanced at the screen, and saw a string of unfamiliar numbers; she pressed the answer button, feeling both confused and impatient.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Miss Zhou Xiaoru?"

"I am. Who is this?"

"Hello, I am Ada, an assistant in the Personnel Department of Tengyuan Company. We have met before. Congratulations, Miss Zhou, you have passed the interview assessment. Please prepare the following documents by next Monday and submit them to the front desk of Tengyuan Building..."

Zhou Xiaoru did not hear a single word of what was said on the other end of the line; by now, all her sleepiness had vanished...

She had been hired by Tengyuan?

What the hell?

Was today April Fools' Day?! It didn't seem to be yet!

At this moment, a voice came from the other end of the phone again, "Hello? Miss Zhou, are you listening?"

She quickly snapped back to reality, "Ah? Oh... I'm listening..."

"Alright then, remember to bring the documents I mentioned earlier next Monday, and you can report to the Personnel Department. No problems, right?"

"No... no problems. Thank you."

"You're welcome. That's all for now, bye-bye."

"Bye-bye..."

After hanging up, Zhou Xiaoru's brain was still in the process of rebooting...

The oral interview had gone like that, so how could she have passed the assessment?

Moreover, after the interview, she had compared Gu Liyan to a dog right to his face, even though she hadn't known at the time that Gu Liyan was standing right behind her.

But...

This was just too mind-boggling!

One of the ten great unsolved mysteries of A School: Why did Zhou Xiaoru pass the interview for Tengyuan Company!

Perhaps only heaven knows...

Later, Xiao Lan and Jiang Bufan and the others unanimously concluded that it was that "Scum Gu" who had gone easy on her...

But Zhou Xiaoru did not think so; she wouldn't believe it even if it killed her.

Now, a realistic dilemma was placed before her: whether to go to Tengyuan Company or not...

If Gu Liyan were not at Tengyuan, she wouldn't hesitate at all, but now that she knew Gu Liyan was also at Tengyuan Company, wouldn't it be a case of knowingly committing a mistake if she went?

To think this through, Zhou Xiaoru stayed in the dorm for two whole days, with reason and emotion tearing at each other in her mind; in the end, she still planned to give up...

She didn't want to touch anything related to Gu Liyan again, even though in her heart, she really wanted to! She really wanted to join Tengyuan Company!

In the evening, Xiao Lan, Jiang Bufan, and the others returned to the dorm one after another; fearing that Zhou Xiaoru would starve to death, they bought her a large bowl of oden.

The three of them chipped in ten yuan each to buy a paper bowl full of fish balls, as a way to apologize for the interview a few days ago.

Sure enough, our Miss Zhou loved fish balls the most; the moment she saw the fish balls, everything else was cast to the back of her mind.

Jiang Bufan looked at the person wolfing down the food with an expression of disgust, "Tsk tsk tsk, I say, babe, we are women after all; your eating manners are just like Zhu Bajie swallowing the ginseng fruit."

Zhou Xiaoru didn't care, saying, "What's wrong with Zhu Bajie? Having food and drink, occasionally flirting with a decent woman—what a comfortable and carefree life that is."

After the others put down their things, they unconsciously gathered around...

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoru was eating with her back to them; as she ate, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and after turning her head, she was almost startled again.

A pair of eyes glowing with a faint light were staring at her...

She tried to shrink back, "What... what... what are you doing?" What was the meaning of this lecherous smile...

Xiao Lan stroked her chin and said with malicious intent, "You've been thinking about this for two days now; have you decided?"

"Oh... you mean the thing about Tengyuan Company? I've decided; I'm not going. I'll call that Personnel Department assistant tomorrow."

One must see things through to the end; even though she had decided not to go, she still had to let them know.

As soon as she finished speaking, she received two pairs of predatory glares...

Jiang Bufan had an "I knew it" expression, "I told you, she definitely wouldn't go. You two didn't believe me. A bet is a bet; hurry up and pay up. I accept Alipay and WeChat transfers."

Zhou Xiaoru was stunned. What bet is a bet?

She saw Xiao Lan and Yao Xiang staring at her resentfully, and something flashed through her mind. She pointed at them, gritting her teeth,

"You! You used me to place a bet!!" It was obvious at a glance that they had been betting on whether she would go to Tengyuan tomorrow.

She was so angry she almost threw the fish balls in her hand at them!

"You three women! You have no sense of public morality!" Although she was angry, she didn't forget to ask, "What were the odds?"

Xiao Lan and Yao Xiang both had expressions of extreme disappointment, each picking up their phones to transfer money to Jiang Bufan.

Yao Xiang pulled a long, bitter face, "One to four. We lost. Xiao Lan and I owe fifty each; if Bufan had lost, it would have been two hundred each."

Zhou Xiaoru could not help but widen her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching repeatedly, "You all are too ruthless, betting so big!"

Xiao Lan sighed while shaking her head, "Sigh... A Xiang and I had high hopes for you, and you really didn't let us 'down', sigh..." She obediently transferred the money with a pained expression.

".................." Zhou Xiaoru was speechless; who told them to make a secret bet among themselves.

At this moment, Jiang Bufan's cool voice came, "I said it long ago, as long as our Xiaoru runs into the great beauty Gu, she will hide in her own shell; she can't hide fast enough."

Zhou Xiaoru secretly gritted her teeth; was this a roundabout way of calling her a coward!

Unwilling to accept it, she retorted, "Who said I was hiding!"

The person already lying flat on the bed replied, "Then why aren't you going tomorrow? Isn't it just because Gu Liyan is at Tengyuan!"

Jiang Bufan's heart was as clear as a mirror; she was someone who had studied psychology courses.

Seeing the atmosphere of the conversation becoming increasingly wrong, Yao Xiang hurriedly came over to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, if you don't go, you don't go. It's fine, there are plenty of companies; it's not like we are counting on this one, Tengyuan."

At this time, the cool words from Jiang Bufan on the bed came again, "I don't care, but I'm not the one who kept saying I forgot Gu Liyan and that I didn't like him anymore."

These words caused the breath that Zhou Xiaoru had not yet managed to hold back to be brought right back up!

She looked somewhat agitatedly at the person lying on the bed playing with her phone, "Jiang Bufan, what do you mean by that!"

"No special meaning. If you want to hide, then keep hiding. Anyway, if it were me, if I really didn't like someone, I wouldn't care where they were, whether they were human or a ghost! Anything that affects my future, I'd kill without mercy!"

Seeing that the conversation was becoming increasingly explosive, Xiao Lan also hurriedly acted as a peacemaker, "What is this for? It's just a piece of trash, is it worth getting so worked up over?"

Jiang Bufan glanced at the person under the bed, "I'm not worked up, I'm just discussing the matter as it stands. It's rare for Tengyuan Company to accept Interns this year; I just think it's a real pity to give it up."

"Just say a little less," Xiao Lan glared at her, then looked with a beaming smile at Zhou Xiaoru, who seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

"Xiaoru, Fanfan just has that sharp mouth of hers, she doesn't mean anything else..."

"Do you also think that if I don't go to Tengyuan, it means I still like Gu Liyan?" Zhou Xiaoru suddenly spoke calmly.

"This..." Xiao Lan and Yao Xiang looked at each other; wasn't that obvious!

After a moment of silence, Zhou Xiaoru took a deep breath, and when she raised her eyes again, there was a touch of determination in them. She looked at the person on the bed to her right and announced.

"I'll go!" After saying that, she even lifted her little chin.

As the words fell, the person on the bed immediately flipped over and sat up, "You're going to Tengyuan?!"

"That's right! Since I can't avoid it no matter how I hide, I might as well face it directly!"

Once these words were out, it made Xiao Lan and Yao Xiang overjoyed. Xiao Lan even patted Zhou Xiaoru's shoulder vigorously, saying with a look of gratification.

"Xiaoru, I knew I didn't misjudge you; you are truly teachable!"

Yao Xiang also hurriedly followed up with flattery, "Yes, yes, I said Xiaoru is not someone who lets emotions dictate her actions."

Now the three people standing below all looked up at the person still sitting on the bed, and Yao Xiang and Xiao Lan looked at her with treacherous smiles.

The corners of Zhou Xiaoru's mouth curled up, revealing a cunning smile, "Wuli Fan'er, don't forget to pay the bet."

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Jiang Bufan could not sit still, "Didn't you say you weren't going?" How did she suddenly change her mind.

Wearing a light purple fuzzy pajama set, with a large "mom-style" clip in her hair, the person stood with her hands behind her back, her face showing more composure, and her eyes revealing clarity.

"I just thought about it. Although we are in the same company, the position I applied for is in the Personnel Department. Gu Liyan studied computer science in college; it's impossible for him to be in the same department as me. Tengyuan Company is so big, and there are so many employees; maybe I won't even see him a few times throughout the year. Besides, I'm going to work, not to collect a debt. The past is like yesterday's death; the present is like today's birth! I should consider my future more." If she couldn't find a decent job here, she would have to return to her hometown.

Zhou Xiaoru's grand speech instantly won over the room with admiring gazes; she herself was almost moved by her own words.

It's just that there is a saying: life is unsatisfactory eight or nine times out of ten. Saying it is one thing, but doing it is another.

There were still many unknowns waiting for Zhou Xiaoru ahead; her life as an Intern was about to begin...