Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Victim

She dashed all the way to the underground parking lot and slipped into her car, her heart pounding wildly. How could it be such a coincidence! No—she still couldn’t believe it; could the world really be this small?

She pulled out her work phone and carefully examined Qi Leyu’s WeChat ID. Then she compared it with the one in the small three-person gaming group on her other phone. She’d always been careless and never looked closely at the account details.

There, in the group, was the “Cheapskate’s” WeChat ID. She compared the two: identical!

No way! Panic-stricken, she hurriedly called the Unreliable One.

“Hello, Heiress?” The Unreliable One picked up quickly, sounding cheerful.

“Um, Cheapskate, in the game—could there be anyone else with the same name?” Yuan Zhong’s words were still a mess.

The Unreliable One thought for a moment, then said, “No duplicate names in the game. Why? Did you meet another Cheapskate? Take a closer look, but it’s impossible for them to be the same.”

Yuan Zhong thought, I’ve looked very closely, which is why I’m so frightened.

“So, is Cheapskate in the same city as us?” she asked.

The Unreliable One paused. Previously, Qi Leyu had asked him about the Heiress in real life—now it was the other way around? What was going on between these two?

Still in shock, Yuan Zhong pressed on: “And Cheapskate’s profession—is he a writer?”

“Uh…” The Unreliable One thought, You sure know a lot.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yuan Zhong simply asked, “Is Cheapskate actually Qi Leyu?”

“How did you find out! Did I say too much by accident?” Now the Unreliable One was just as shocked.

So it was true! Yuan Zhong hung up—she needed time alone to process this.

A WeChat voice call request from the Unreliable One popped up and rang for a long while before Yuan Zhong finally accepted.

“Heiress, what’s going on? Did you actually meet Cheapskate?” After all, Qi Leyu was somewhat well-known, with his own fans. Had Yuan Zhong found something about him online?

“I’ve met him,” she replied.

“Ah! Alright. Did he seek you out? Cheapskate asked about you before, so maybe…”

Yuan Zhong interrupted, “No.”

“So you two…”

“I’ve seen him. In fact, I’ve always known him,” Yuan Zhong said quietly.

“Always known him? What do you mean?” asked the Unreliable One.

Yuan Zhong briefly explained her job. “So, he’s technically my client.”

“OMG! OMG!” The Unreliable One burst out in English, utterly surprised.

“Don’t doubt it. The world really is this small,” Yuan Zhong said.

After a moment, the Unreliable One laughed. “Well, this must be fate.”

Yuan Zhong didn’t know how to respond.

“So, does Cheapskate not know who you are?”

“Anyway, I haven’t told him.”

“But you two have contact for work. He still hasn’t realized?”

“For work, I use my work phone. There’s no way he’d know. I never noticed it myself before, either,” Yuan Zhong explained.

The Unreliable One chuckled, not entirely kindly. “So now, we all know the truth—except for Cheapskate himself.”

It seemed so. Thinking about it, Yuan Zhong felt a bit… something she couldn’t quite define.

Since Yuan Zhong fell silent, the Unreliable One asked, “Are you thinking about telling him?”

“I don’t know,” Yuan Zhong replied.

She genuinely didn’t know—didn’t know how to say it, if she should say it, what might happen if she did, how Qi Leyu might react, or whether it would affect her work in the future…

But if she didn’t say anything, it felt wrong to keep him in the dark, as if she were withholding something from him…

The Unreliable One couldn’t understand her dilemma. If you want to tell him, just tell him. If you don’t, then don’t. What’s so complicated about not knowing?

“I…I’ll think about it. You…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. It’s up to you two,” the Unreliable One assured her, not wanting to get involved.

“Alright, I’ll think it over,” Yuan Zhong said, still unable to make up her mind.

And think she did—for a whole week. She even stopped playing games at night, leaving Qi Leyu puzzled, wondering if he’d done something to displease his mentor.

The Unreliable One gritted his teeth and played ranked matches with Qi Leyu for an entire week, watching their stars plummet, weeping silently inside. Fortunately, there was Cong Wenbin to help them win back some games.

Cong Wenbin refused to rank with Qi Leyu, claiming that not only was he unskilled, but he also liked to show off.

Qi Leyu, for his part, disliked Cong Wenbin, saying that besides showing off, he was also a coward who always abandoned teammates in team fights—utterly heartless.

The Unreliable One tried to persuade Qi Leyu: “Isn’t saying someone’s heartless a bit much? Maybe your positioning isn’t safe enough—that’s why you get abandoned?”

Of course, the effort was in vain.

He then tried another approach, seeking out Yuan Zhong. No matter whether the truth was revealed or not, could their gaming friendship continue?

Yuan Zhong was troubled, and with good reason. Now that she knew Cheapskate was Qi Leyu, playing games with him felt awkward.

The Unreliable One understood—after all, the real-life Qi Leyu and the online Cheapskate were difficult to reconcile as one and the same.

But, he thought, the same could be said for Yuan Zhong and the Heiress.

Ah, it seemed the tough days would continue a while longer.

Yuan Zhong stopped urging for drafts as persistently, something Wang Shanshan soon noticed and questioned her about.

Yuan Zhong didn’t know how to answer—she certainly couldn’t say that Qi Leyu had consulted a lawyer.

Wang Shanshan then told the editor-in-chief, who called Yuan Zhong in for a talk.

Although she knew what it was about, having a meeting with a superior still made Yuan Zhong nervous.

The editor-in-chief opened with the usual pleasantries, asking if she was busy, showing concern for her life, telling her to communicate more and reach out if she had difficulties.

Yuan Zhong thought to herself, I wouldn’t dare.

Then the editor got to the point, asking about Qi Leyu.

Yuan Zhong steeled herself and said, “I’ve been urging him. I remind him daily on WeChat.”

The editor: “Has it worked? If not, you need to call him too. You must make more effort.”

Yuan Zhong was a bit confused. Did this mean they really wanted Qi Leyu to submit drafts on time? If that was their stance, why not agree to change the contract?

Seeing the editor looking at her, Yuan Zhong quickly hid her confusion. “Alright, I’ll call him every day from now on.”

The editor nodded, apparently satisfied.

Leaving the office, Yuan Zhong couldn’t make sense of it. That evening, she went to see Miao Shu and Lin Hui.

She found Miao Shu in a classroom, following the directions to the appointed room. When Miao Shu saw her, he grinned, said something to his classmates, quickly packed up his books, and hurried out.

“You’re doing self-study this early?” Yuan Zhong was surprised that he was staying late for study.

“It’s nothing, come on, let’s eat at the small canteen,” Miao Shu said lightly.

Was there something to celebrate? Yuan Zhong wondered, following him.

Before they entered the canteen, Miao Shu emphasized that he was treating her. Yuan Zhong shrugged, indifferent.

After ordering, Yuan Zhong relayed what the editor had said and then asked, “Do you think he’s being contradictory? Or maybe he does want to change the contract, but the head office won’t allow it?”

“Contradictory, yes, and that’s possible too,” Miao Shu replied.

Yuan Zhong frowned. That was a pretty perfunctory answer.

Miao Shu took a big gulp of beer, looking content. Seeing Yuan Zhong’s frown, he put down his glass. “Don’t worry about it. Just do what your boss tells you—make the call. It’s just a phone call.”

“Easy for you to say.” The mere thought made her embarrassed. She wasn’t even playing games anymore, let alone calling or meeting in person.

Sensing gossip, Miao Shu tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong, did you offend him?”

“No.” Not playing games together hardly counted as offending him.

“Then what are you afraid of?”

“It’s not really fear.” Yuan Zhong began to eat.

“Then what is it?” Miao Shu pressed.

Yuan Zhong glanced at him, admiring his curiosity but not intending to answer.

“But honestly, Qi Leyu’s been in a bad mood lately. I’m troubled by it too,” Miao Shu said.

“What’s troubling you?” Yuan Zhong asked curiously.

“I asked him to mentor me in the game. I’m stuck at the Glory rank and can’t climb higher. He’s a King tier, after all.”

“You…you asked him to be your mentor?” Yuan Zhong was shocked. With Qi Leyu’s mediocre skills, he actually took on disciples!

“Yeah, he’s the highest-ranked player I know,” Miao Shu said.

Yuan Zhong thought to herself, You must be blind. She added quietly, “Lin Hui’s rank is higher than his.”

“Don’t mention Lin Hui. I can’t even have a meal with her anymore,” Miao Shu said a bit awkwardly, remembering his classmates’ words.

Lin Hui was regarded by everyone as the campus beauty, but she was rather aloof. Thanks to Yuan Zhong, Miao Shu had once had a meal with Lin Hui, and he’d boasted about it to his classmates.

They didn’t believe him, thinking it impossible for Lin Hui to dine with him. To prove he wasn’t lying, Miao Shu tried to invite her again, but she ignored him.

Just as he was at a loss for how to save face, Yuan Zhong called, inviting him to dinner. What a perfect opportunity!

So Miao Shu seized it, claiming his girlfriend refused, then “arranged” for Yuan Zhong to show up at the classroom door.

Perfect!

“Come on, eat. If you don’t like it, order something else,” Miao Shu said, growing more pleased with Yuan Zhong.

She thought Miao Shu was acting strange, but she had more pressing matters, so she asked about Qi Leyu. “What are you all planning to do?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Yuan Zhong nodded. “Don’t give me some answer about positions and whatnot. Just reassure me.”

Miao Shu patted his chest. “With me here, you can relax.”

What a boast! Yuan Zhong thought, but only said, “I barely know you.”

“Fine, listen up. If Qi Leyu breaches the contract, the company is still responsible. So in the end, copyright can still be negotiated.”

“That simple? But what if the company refuses to negotiate?”

“If they refuse, let the law decide. As the creator, Qi Leyu has the initiative,” Miao Shu took another swig of beer. “I’ve read all those overreaching clauses—those unequal terms won’t do your company any good.”

Yuan Zhong pondered this.

“Since I’m telling you all this, you should keep quiet. Just play the part of a small, innocent employee,” Miao Shu advised. “If you say anything, your company will be at a disadvantage, and you’ll be blamed for not reporting or for missing an opportunity. Stay out of it.”

“So, Qi Leyu is prepared to breach the contract.”

“Wrong—it’s not breach. He’s the victim,” Miao Shu emphasized.