Chapter 33: Guess

Chapter 33 Take a Guess

"Cross-Industry Integration for a Future! QianYue and SongXin Companies Forge Strategic Partnership, Eyeing the New Digital Tourism Sector in Southern City!"

"Today's Financial News..."

Morning light filtered through the sheer curtains, spilling into the living room and bathing the light-colored sofa in a warm, honeyed glow. The fried eggs sizzled on the ceramic plate, their steam mingling with the white mist rising from the transparent glass in front of the television.

Qin Xu poked the soft-boiled egg with his fork, watching as the golden yolk slowly oozed out, its trembling texture gleaming with a gentle luster. The buttery, pan-fried aroma, infused with the rising steam, was utterly appetizing.

Yet, Qin Xu's attention wasn't on the egg, but on Song Shimu.

"Wow! It's finally out!"

After a week, 073's voice reappeared in his mind.

"Hmm?" Song Shimu was watching the news while eating breakfast. 073's sudden voice startled him, causing his hand holding the milk to tremble and nearly spill.

In reality, it looked as though Song Shimu had been shocked by the news.

Noticing this, Qin Xu asked suspiciously, "Did you know about QianYue and SongXin's collaboration?"

Song Shimu glanced at the news out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. "No. President Xiang left such a deep impression on my brother at the last dinner that I thought he'd rather kill him."

Qin Xu repeated, "Really, you didn't know?"

"No."

Qin Xu's gaze remained fixed on Song Shimu, his eyes dark and inscrutable, giving no indication of whether he believed Song Shimu's words.

But Song Shimu didn't mind. He asked 073 in his mind, "I've been calling you for days with no response. I thought you'd already returned."

"How could that be!" 073 exclaimed. "I've been in the dark room all week! What have you been doing these past few days? Why was I locked in the dark room for a whole week?!"

Song Shimu was puzzled. "Why were you locked in the dark room?"

"Normally, the system only automatically locks me in the dark room when the host is doing... intimate acts."

"Doing... that kind of thing?"

"Yes! I was locked up for a week!! A whole week!!! I didn't see a single glimpse of light! Just how intense were you two?! I wasn't let out for even a moment!!!" Having been stuck in the dark room for a week, 073's mental state wasn't exactly terrible, but it wasn't great either—hovering on the brink of madness.

Like now, 073 didn't wait for Song Shimu to respond and vented directly, the grievances it had rehearsed a thousand times in the dark room pouring out:

"Seriously, are you even human? How can you keep going at it for a whole week? Don't you have work to do? Don't you need to eat? Or do you just feed each other mouth-to-mouth? I'm done. I was so bored in there I almost died. I couldn't see anything, hear anything, or sense anything! Next time, could you take a break after a few days? I want to see some sunlight."

"We didn't—" Song Shimu tried to explain, but 073 wasn't finished yet. It pulled up the favorability meter and said:

"And what's even worse! You spent a whole week with the antagonist, and the favorability only went up by 7 points? So it's really just one point per day?!"

"I never expected the antagonist to seem so proper on the surface but turn out to be such a scumbag?! This is just toying with your feelings!... Shimu, you can't fall for the antagonist. Just treat him as a tool to make money. When we go back, we'll spend money on male models—no need to suffer like this!"

"........" 073 blurted out a stream of words, startling Song Shimu. Even though they were communicating mentally, his tongue felt tied. "We didn't do it."

"? How is that possible?! If you didn't do it, how could I have been locked in the dark room?!" 073's volume suddenly rose. Rather than believe it was a system bug, it preferred to think the host had been intimate with someone.

"Really, we didn't."

"Then did you do it with someone else?" 073 asked incredulously.

"No. The most intimate thing I did with anyone this week was having my wrist held."

"......"

"........"

"............ Wuwuwu—" 073 burst into tears.

"This crappy program, why did it lock me in the dark room for no reason?! And for seven whole days!!!"

"I couldn't see anything outside! Couldn't hear anything either! Why?! I was so bored I almost got depressed! Wuwuwu..."

This was the first time since transmigrating into the book that Song Shimu had seen the system cry, but the situation was so absurd he couldn't help wanting to laugh. However, with the antagonist present, he had to hold it in.

After suppressing his laughter for a moment, Song Shimu began to comfort it. "Crying now won't help. You should report it to the main system and use this grievance to demand more compensation for emotional distress."

"!... Right, right!" 073 suddenly saw the light, its tears stopping instantly as it frantically sent messages to the main system, occasionally letting out a few sniffles.

"...What if that damn 001 doesn't reply?" Having been wronged, 073 grew anxious when its message went unanswered, feeling as though it had been cast into the void.

"Then keep sending messages," Song Shimu replied.

"Okay..."

Having diverted the system's attention, Song Shimu recalled the events of a week ago.

Falling ill, Qin Xu returning, going to the hospital.

They really hadn't done anything that day. The only thing different from usual was that he'd been sick.

Could his illness have caused a system malfunction? But 073 was still around during the first two days of his illness. Could it be related to the severity of the illness or something else?

"The 'Linyuan' project is one Shenjing has been pursuing recently. Did you know?" Qin Xu's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile as his deep eyes scrutinized Song Shimu.

Song Shimu replied calmly, "I've heard a little about it."

"Just heard a little?" Qin Xu pressed.

"Although it's a company I dislike, I haven't been paying much attention lately, so I've only heard a bit," Song Shimu explained.

Qin Xu leaned back into the sofa, his long fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. With a meaningful tone, he said, "I'm quite interested in this project. An employee once voluntarily drafted a proposal for it, but unfortunately, I chose another one. I wonder what kind of proposal your brother and President Xiang came up with to actually beat Shenjing."

Song Shimu's eyes curved into a smile. "Actually, I'm curious too. But since both are parties I dislike, I'd be happy whichever one didn't get chosen."

Qin Xu stared at Song Shimu for a long moment. His thin lips parted as if to speak, but he remained silent for a while. Eventually, the words on the tip of his tongue took a different turn. "Hurry up and eat. You're going to be late for work."

"XX Bank, your loan (ending in 4321, loan contract number 1234) repaid 200,000 yuan on June 21, 2025."

At Qinfeng's headquarters, in the CEO's office, Song Shimu sat leisurely in his chair, one hand resting on the armrest while holding a bone china cup, casually swirling it. The amber liquid traced elegant arcs along the cup's inner wall.

A text notification popped up on his phone on the desk. Song Shimu glanced at it from a distance, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"

Within five seconds of the message appearing, Song Yinmu's call flashed on the screen.

Song Shimu picked up the phone and walked to the stairwell before answering.

"Hello?"

"Bro! I followed your plan and actually secured the partnership!" Song Yinmu's voice couldn't hide his excitement.

With someone helping to repay the loan, Song Shimu was also pleased and said, "Good work, Yinmu. You need to handle this project and the upcoming ones well—keep up the good work. Eventually, SongXin will definitely grow to be as successful as Shenjing."

"Yeah, thanks, bro! I made a payment toward your loan. If things go smoothly later, I might be able to pay it off completely for you!"

"Alright, thanks." Song Shimu nodded with a smile, casually stringing Song Yinmu along. "If we manage to secure all those projects in the future, Qin Xu will definitely come to you himself, begging you to join Qinfeng."

"Really?" Song Yinmu's voice was full of anticipation.

"Really. Qin Xu values ability above all else." This part was true, though whether he'd seek out Song Yinmu for his skills was another matter entirely.

"So, bro, what position do you think Qin Xu would offer me if he came looking?" Song Yinmu asked tentatively.

"Probably a supervisor or group leader. Work hard and play your cards right—who knows, you might even land something higher."

"Great!"

After the main discussion, Song Shimu and Song Yinmu chatted about everyday matters before hanging up.

Glancing down at the call duration—only five minutes—Song Shimu promptly added some slack time for himself and headed downstairs to chat with Yu Hua.

With that thought, Song Shimu put away his phone and turned to leave the stairwell. But the moment he turned around, he nearly gave himself a heart attack.

There stood Qin Xu, arms crossed, leaning casually against the doorframe. His dark eyes were locked on Song Shimu, never straying.

Song Shimu patted his chest in irritation. "Can you stop sneaking around like a ghost, sneaking up on me the second I step out?"

Qin Xu straightened up and walked over to Song Shimu, using his height to look down at him. "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

Song Shimu hadn't expected the lie he'd told that morning to be exposed by afternoon.

Though Qin Xu was asking, Song Shimu didn't believe for a second that he didn't already know. He shot back directly, "Why ask when you already know perfectly well?"

"I could only hear your end of the conversation," Qin Xu said casually, showing no guilt about eavesdropping.

"How much did you hear?" Song Shimu asked.

"A bit."

Song Shimu snorted. "Would that 'bit' happen to be from the moment I answered the call?"

Qin Xu replied leisurely, "Pretty much."

"..." Song Shimu raised his hand and punched Qin Xu's arm. "You think you're funny, huh?" With that, he tried to step around him.

Qin Xu shifted to block his path. "Why did you have them go after this project?"

Song Shimu met Qin Xu's gaze, his amber eyes gleaming with calm control. A faint smile touched his lips as he replied in a clear, playfully teasing tone, "Don't you know?"

Qin Xu pressed his lips together, his jaw tightening slightly.

Seeing his reluctance to admit it, Song Shimu played dumb. "What do you think my goal is? Surely you must know?"

"Two companies that don't compare to Shenjing, with reps who've only known each other for barely a month. In such a short time, they managed to put together a proposal that satisfied the organizers, even crossing industries." Qin Xu stated coldly.

"What are you trying to ask?" Song Shimu questioned.

"I want to know how they put the project together," Qin Xu said, his gaze deep and intense. Every slight flutter of his eyelashes seemed to stir something beneath the surface.

"You can ask my brother about that. He's been wanting to talk to you every day," Song Shimu replied.

Qin Xu narrowed his eyes slightly. "You used my name to set this up, but didn't fill me in. Isn't that taking advantage of me?"

Song Shimu spread his hands. "I really don't know. I just encouraged them to collaborate and gave a general direction. How they actually did it, I have no idea."

"Are you sure you don't know?" Qin Xu pressed.

"Sure."

"You'd better not know," Qin Xu said leisurely. "If that project turns out to be identical to what my team has been working on, I'll sue you for corporate espionage."

Song Shimu was startled. "What's that supposed to mean!"

Qin Xu lowered his gaze, staring fixedly at Song Shimu. "Take a guess."