I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"Hmm." Chen Ya nodded. "What do you want to ask?"

"Hiss... this," Zhang Guodong took a deep breath, adopting an inquiring look, "Did you only meet President Gu yesterday? I mean, you didn't know her before?"

"Yesterday was our first meeting," Chen Ya said. "What happened?"

Zhang Guodong laughed and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I just find it strange because President Gu is usually quite cold to most people she knows in business. I didn't expect her to treat you differently."

"Are you treating her differently?" Chen Ya asked. "What was she like before?"

Zhang Guodong said with a smile, "Many people who meet President Gu will try to find an opportunity to meet her and ask for her contact information. You can probably guess that, right? After all, she is so beautiful."

"Yes, it looks pretty good."

“Her usual approach is to completely ignore them,” Zhang Guodong said. “If someone is particularly persistent, she will pretend to agree and then send one of her company’s employees, the kind who is big and strong—I might be being a bit impolite, but the kind that’s like a tank—to meet them.”

Chen Ya was speechless for a while. This woman was really mean.

“Most people have been squeezed out, and there are even more unscrupulous people with even more terrifying methods waiting for them,” Zhang Guodong said. “So, although President Gu has good conditions, there are very few flies and mosquitoes around him, and they dare not get close.”

Chen Ya asked, "Doesn't she have a boyfriend? Or any close male friends?"

“I’ve never met her. She’s always been a loner, probably because she’s very career-oriented,” Zhang Guodong said. “And with her standards, I reckon she wouldn’t even look at someone with average looks.”

Chen Ya nodded, analyzing in his mind what this person's purpose was in telling him all this.

Zhang Guodong changed the subject, saying, "So, we were all quite surprised that she played tennis with you today, because she's never done this before."

"Has she never fought with anyone at the company before?"

“I’ve hit her, only once, so it’s very rare,” Zhang Guodong said. “Hey, what’s your relationship with her?”

"It's alright, it's just a friendly match between tennis enthusiasts," Chen Ya said casually.

Zhang Guodong felt that Chen Ya was just brushing him off, and continued relentlessly, "It shouldn't be just that, right? If I'm guessing, did you two reach some kind of agreement? I think I heard that you two arranged to discuss business last night."

"Who told you that?" Chen Ya turned to look at him.

"Haha, don't worry about who told me, just tell me if it's true or not?" Zhang Guodong laughed and patted his shoulder.

"We didn't talk business; we hit it off immediately and decided to have a drink together," Chen Ya said.

Zhang Guodong's expression suddenly changed.

"Did you invite President Gu, or did President Gu invite you?"

Chen Ya propped his chin on his hand and said, "Is there a difference? Why do you care about this? Do you have a crush on your CEO, Mr. Gu?"

"What are you talking about? I wouldn't dare..." Zhang Guodong laughed awkwardly.

"Then why are you so concerned about her marital status? Are you her father?" Chen Ya said rudely. "Even if she and I did *that* last night, what business is it of yours?"

Zhang Guodong froze: "You...you guys did all sorts of things?"

"I was just saying something hypothetical, it's not a real shot, why are you so nervous?" Chen Ya said. "By the way, do you know how much you have a crush on your CEO, President Gu?"

Zhang Guodong was sweating profusely: "No, no, that's not true. I really don't have a crush on our CEO Gu..."

"No? Having a crush is tough, men shouldn't be like this," Chen Ya said. "I'm probably meeting Gu Yuqing tomorrow too, do you want me to pass on your message? If she knows, you'll feel better, right?"

Chen Ya felt that if it weren't for the table blocking his way, Zhang Guodong would have knelt down on the spot.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have pried into it. Please don't tell Mr. Gu anything. I have a wife and children to support. If you tell Mr. Gu, my life will be ruined..."

Chen Ya sat down, crossed his legs, and slowly took a sip of water: "Since it's not you who has a crush on your CEO, then someone else must have a crush on you and sent you to sound them out, right?"

Zhang Guodong's expression stiffened, and he lowered his head, saying, "You're really perceptive."

"Who is it? Who likes that woman? That's quite a taste."

Zhang Guodong whispered, "Is this considered having a heavy taste? Someone like President Gu, very few men wouldn't like her, right?"

“No, I don’t mean that,” Chen Ya said. “I like that kind of woman, I have a bit of a masochistic tendency.”

Zhang Guodong thought for a moment and said, "...Indeed."

"So, who exactly is that person with a bit of M in their name?" Chen Ya asked with a smile. "Is it someone from your company?"

Zhang Guodong wiped his sweat and said, "I can't say..."

"If it's someone in your company who likes President Gu, it must be one of your company's senior executives?"

Zhang Guodong looked surprised: "Why would you think that?"

“You’re not a low-ranking person either, so the only ones who can order you around are the higher-ups,” Chen Ya said, observing his expression. “I don’t believe you would help a colleague of the same rank to find out what I’m thinking.”

"Uh, uh, uh... hi..."

Zhang Guodong looked as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly; he felt completely overwhelmed by the person in front of him.

He was supposed to be there to gather information, but he was suddenly turned the tables. All the little he knew could be extracted from his mouth in the blink of an eye.

He felt that if he continued talking to this person, his personal information would be exposed, and he might lose his job.

Being laid off at over 30 years old means you'll be treated like a newbie at the job market, and your salary might be halved.

Living conditions have deteriorated, and my daughter is being bullied at school, but she doesn't dare to say anything.

His wife feels incompetent and might have an affair. If he finds out, she might divorce him on the spot and run off with someone else.

When her daughter grew up, due to a lack of discipline, she could only hang out with hooligans every day. She got pregnant before marriage and then abandoned her to run away with someone else.

When you're seventy or eighty years old, unable to work, lying at home with bodily functions, looking back on your life, you'll realize that you were once incredibly successful, but all you did was treat this person to a meal, and now you've ended up in this state.

Thinking about this, the man felt a chill run down his spine.

"I'll pay for this meal. I have some things to take care of at home, so I'll have to go now. You can enjoy your meal."

Chen Ya looked up at him: "Really? The dishes haven't even been served yet, and you're already leaving? What a pity."

After watching the man leave, a steaming bowl of yogurt lobster was served, and a pretty waitress helped him peel the shrimp.

Chen Ya silently enjoyed the warm service and the steaming seafood, while secretly thinking that by tomorrow, many people would probably misunderstand his relationship with Gu Yuqing.

I wonder if it will reach Gu Yuqing's ears.

……

……

That evening, when Chen Ya returned to the Peking University campus, he ran into an acquaintance at the gate.

"Chen Ya? What are you doing here?"

Miao Aoxue walked over, and behind her was a group of men and women, all students, who seemed to be heading somewhere for a late-night snack.

Chen Ya nodded to her. Miao Aoxue looked him up and down and smiled, "You seem a little different today? You look more handsome than before. Did you go see your girlfriend?"

Chen Ya shook his head, and Miao Aoxue laughed and said, "Why dress so handsomely if you don't see your girlfriend? You're a librarian, you don't need to be this handsome."

Chen Ya glanced at his watch and said, "I have something to do..."

"We're planning to go out for karaoke, do you want to come?" Miao Aoxue invited Chen Ya before he made his escape. "You shouldn't be too busy, right? We're friends, it shouldn't be a problem for us to hang out together, right?"

"No, I have something to do." Chen Ya smiled politely. "You guys have fun."

He always adhered to one principle when it came to Miao Aoxue: "Better to provoke a gentleman than a petty person."

In his mind, Miao Aoxue was a villain.

Miao Aoxue's expression clearly showed disappointment. She continued, "You haven't been to the library for a long time. Did you find a job outside?"

"Yes, we found it," Chen Ya said.

"No way! You'll only be able to work as a doorman or screw-tightener outside anyway. You can study at the Peking University Library. Where else can you find such a good job? Come back!" Miao Aoxue said, her voice tinged with a hint of coquetry.

"If I don't do well out there, I'll come back."

"Alright then." Miao Aoxue sensed his perfunctory attitude and also lost interest. "Then I wish you a bright future."

After saying that, Chen Ya hurriedly left, and Miao Aoxue returned to the crowd dejectedly.

"Hey, Aoxue, who was that boy just now? Was he in your class?" a girl asked.

Another girl couldn't wait to ask, "Why didn't you invite him to come along? Are you trying to keep this handsome guy to yourself?"

One of the boys muttered, "Why are you girls so greedy? There are just enough men and women in our group. If we invite more people, it will just be too many."

“So what? We’re not forcing a match, it’s not like we have to be one-on-one,” a girl immediately retorted.

“Exactly, exactly,” someone echoed.

Miao Aoxue smiled faintly and said, "That boy is not a student, but a librarian at Peking University. He is a person from society with a rather complicated identity. I felt that he was not in line with our identity, so I did not call him."

The boy next to him said, "Alright, alright, let's hurry up and go."

Before leaving, Miao Aoxue glanced back at the dark gates of Peking University.

Chen Ya had long since disappeared without a trace.

……

At this moment, Chen Ya had already dialed Ishikawa Takashi's cell phone. As soon as the call was answered, he immediately asked:

Do you know where the school's tennis club is?

"Huh? Brother Ya, we were just about to look for you. Everything's ready here, we just need you to take charge. Why did you suddenly decide to play tennis?"

"It's very important, just tell me where it is."

Left with no other choice, Ishikawa Takashi told Chen Ya the location of the tennis club and that the club usually trained until 9 p.m.

Luan Qingying happened to have a roommate in the tennis club, and he gave Chen Ya his contact information, saying that if Chen Ya wanted to use the tennis court, he could contact this classmate to rent the court.

Chen Ya left his number as a backup plan.

Renting a venue isn't enough; he now needs a systematic training method to improve his tennis skills.

Having a venue isn't enough; you also need people to teach and practice with you.

Besides, renting a venue would cost money, wouldn't it?

Just kidding. I'm so handsome now, if I had to pay for a venue, wouldn't that be a waste of my good looks?

The tennis courts at Kyoto University are located in the Second Gymnasium, and the tennis club is situated in one of the classrooms within the gymnasium.

Following Ishikawa Tō's directions, Chen Ya entered the gymnasium.

There were slogans like "Complete Personality" and "Sports First" hanging on the court. Chen Ya entered the side corridor, passed through classrooms with signs for basketball club, track and field club, and so on, and finally found the tennis club.

According to Ishikawa Takashi, the tennis club usually trains until 9 o'clock, but it's not 9 o'clock yet, and the classroom door is already closed. You can see from the window that it's pitch black inside.

The classroom door was an old-fashioned wooden door, not only old in style but also very old, with the doorknob almost rotten.

It took Chen Ya some effort to open the door; if someone were locked inside, they might not be able to get out easily.

Upon opening the door, Chen Ya found the interior completely dark, which left him slightly disappointed.

Perhaps due to the special circumstances today, all the tennis club members are out and not in the classroom.

Chen Ya casually turned on the light on the wall next to him.

If no one is here, you can look for the key and try out the tennis court, right?

Unexpectedly, as soon as I turned on the light, I saw an incredibly horrifying scene.

There was a white, unidentified object on the ground, which seemed to sense his entry and was gurgling on the ground.

The word "cocoon" was used because Chen Ya didn't know how else to describe it.

Because this thing looks like a silkworm pupa, about to hatch, wriggling on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Ya realized that the white pupa on the ground was actually a thin gauze curtain, and the reason the curtain was moving was because it contained a person.

Chen Ya leaned closer to look at the pupa and asked:

"Hey, is anyone inside?"

The pupa wrapped in the curtain seemed to be alive; it was startled and then froze.

"Hello?" Chen Ya asked again.

The pupa, however, seemed to have suddenly died, remaining motionless.

Chen Ya squatted down and carefully examined the "pupa". He saw that the thing was not actually dead; it was moving.

It was trembling slightly, but you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.

Chen Ya poked it with his finger, and the spot he poked softly sank in, but immediately bounced back up.