Meanwhile.
"What?!"
Qin Meimei sprang up from the beauty bed upon seeing the reply on her phone, startling the socialites who were also having spa treatments next to her.
"Meimei, what's wrong?" one of them asked.
Realizing she had overreacted, Qin Meimei chuckled and casually lay back down.
"It's nothing major, just discussing a collaboration with a hacker named 'Crow'," she said, feigning ease.
Inside, however, she was in turmoil. 200 times!
That was over 600 million yuan!
In just a few days, the price had increased a hundredfold again!
Did they really think money grew on trees?!
"Crow? The number one ranked hacker in the country? Oh my, my son talks about him all the time, says he's amazing. Just a finger-snap from him costs eight figures to start. Meimei, you're actually discussing a collaboration with him, that's incredible." another socialite chimed in.
"My son also talks about Crow and Crow all day, doesn't study properly, and insists on learning hacking and programming too."
"Meimei, if you can secure Crow, the Gu family will have someone to protect them, who would dare to touch the Gu family then?"
"With this momentum, it's only a matter of time before the Gu family becomes the head of the prominent families and is incorporated into the four great families."
"In the future, it won't be the four great families, but five great families..."
The socialites' words filled Qin Meimei with delight, significantly diminishing the shock of the 200x price increase.
Yes, her ambition was for the Gu family to stand alongside the four great families.
She had obtained Crow's contact information from Gu Yan with the intention of bringing him under her wing.
Six hundred million to buy a solid stepping stone for the Gu family's glorious future was a worthwhile investment.
She sent a message with a flick of her finger.
--
Kaiwei Academy, Class 21.
The English teacher was lecturing, while Yu He propped her chin with one hand and played the match-three game recommended by Chu Ying with the other.
A WeChat message arrived.
A Pig: [Crow, the Gu family madam agreed to the 200x price!]
A Pig: [However, she has a requirement to deal with you personally.]
A Pig: [They agreed so quickly this time, it seems they are truly desperate.]
Yu He narrowed her peach-shaped eyes. Desperate, or plotting something else, it was yet to be seen.
Still, she was the one controlling this game.
Crow: [Agreed. But the price will no longer be the same.]
A Pig: [You're adding more? Big shot, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?]
Crow: [If she agrees, I'll give her this account.]
A Pig: [Then how much more will it be? 300x?]
Crow: [Depends on my mood.]
A Pig: [/strong. Confirmed, you're definitely going to extort the Gu family.]
--
At the beauty salon.
Qin Meimei's brows furrowed upon receiving the message.
Adding more to the price!
This kind of price increase was like an bottomless pit!
However, as she thought of the Gu family's ambition and saw the admiring glances from her companions, she figured they had already gossiped about the Gu family's collaboration with Crow.
If the Gu family failed to cooperate with Crow, they would lose immense face, not to mention their company system would be paralyzed.
The Gu family's stock had already plummeted, evaporating two billion yuan out of thin air. If it continued to fall, it would hit its limit.
Qin Meimei gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and agreed to the deal.
She obtained Crow's contact information, sent a friend request, and let out a long sigh.
This troublesome affair was finally coming to an end.
Lately, she had been suffering from immense anger due to the surveillance video incident instigated by Yu He. Once this was over, she would see how she could crush that bumpkin!
...
Yu He left Qin Meimei's friend request pending for two days, and only after "A Pig" urged her for the nth time did she leisurely accept it.
Coincidentally, it was Saturday today, and tonight was the auction at Xing Que.
Qin Meimei: [Crow, finally added you. Shall we find a place to meet and discuss in person? /smile.]
The drooping smiley emoji that followed likely represented her anger at being kept waiting for two days, yet her determination to cooperate.
Yu He chuckled and replied.
Crow: [Give me the task requirements, I'll look them over, and then I'll give you the price and account later.]
After sending the message, she switched to another account and found Qin Beiting's WeChat.
Their chat records were from half a month ago.
She pondered if it was necessary to inform him about the auction.
However, as she typed and deleted in the input box, she felt that anything she said sounded odd. In the end, she tossed her phone aside in frustration.
She was the one who wanted to draw a clear line back then, so why did she feel a faint reluctance now?
That dog of a man wasn't even in a hurry about her, so why should she be?
"Buzz—" The phone she had thrown aside rang.
Yu He immediately picked it up. Seeing that the caller ID was "Sweetheart," not Qin Beiting, a flicker of disappointment crossed her mind, but she quickly answered the call.
"Xiao He Miao, I'm back in the country! I've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to contact you. How have you been living with the Ye family?"
A soft, sheep-like female voice came from the other end of the line.
Ruan Tianxin, an international movie star and Yu He's good friend.
The two met on an international flight. Ruan Tianxin's period had started early, and she was in excruciating pain on the plane. Yu He, sitting next to her, casually gave her a few acupuncture needles, which cured her lifelong menstrual cramps.
Ruan Tianxin was so touched that she insisted on getting Yu He's contact information and treated her as a savior.
Yu He's refusal was in vain, and over time, they became good friends.
"Fine," Yu He replied.
"Is it really fine? I just saw the scandal about the Ye family from a while ago, and you didn't even tell me. They treated you so badly before. I'm on my way to the Ye family's place now, ready to blow them up!" Ruan Tianxin said indignantly.
"Do you want to be unable to enter the country in the future, and never see me again?" Yu He countered.
Ruan Tianxin immediately denied it, "No!"
She was a foreigner with a quarter Danish royal bloodline.
"Then be good and don't blow them up. I don't want to move again," Yu He said.
"Move again?" Ruan Tianxin smelled something fishy.
"We'll talk when we meet," Yu He said, deliberately leaving her in suspense.
She wanted Ruan Tianxin to see the relationship between her and Qin Beiting and offer some advice. After all, Ruan Tianxin had a rich romantic history.
"Okay!" Ruan Tianxin readily agreed. "However, we might not have much time to meet. I'm going to Xing Que for an auction tonight. Do you want to come with me? They're auctioning all sorts of rare treasures inside."
Yu He: "What a coincidence, I'm going too."
They arranged to meet in a private room at a coffee shop.
After exchanging pleasantries, Yu He briefly explained her situation with Qin Beiting.
Upon hearing it, Ruan Tianxin's eyes lit up. "Wow, isn't this a tragic German romance novel?"
Yu He: "..."