There was still about a month left before the werewolf gathering. When Gu Qianran "casually" brought up stock trading and investments with Li Junsheng, Li Junsheng was immediately gratified by Gu Qianran's business acumen and promised to take her along to negotiate with the Hu family of the mysterious organization.
Gu Qianran could not help but once again sigh at how bizarre this world was. Sure, she did have the ability, but was her father not being far too hasty? Did it never occur to him to question whether this was something a normal high school student should be able to pull off?
Do not ask. The answer is simply: brainless logic rules the day.
In truth, another reason was that Li Junsheng had been failing to secure cooperation for so long that he was becoming desperate, willing to try anything.
Gu Qianran checked the storyline and quickly realized the system's task diverged from the original plot. According to the original story, it should have been the halo of the male lead that worked its magic, with the male lead helping his father overcome a crisis and take his first step toward becoming an overbearing CEO. So why had the male lead's task landed on her shoulders?
The system awkwardly explained: [The brightness of the male lead's halo depends on his charm value toward the female lead. But because of your, uh… operations, his charm value is currently negative. This meeting is very likely to fail, so only you can fill this pit.]
Oh, so "charm value" basically meant how much he could bluff and posture. But just how much did the little one dislike the male lead, that his charm value had dropped into the negatives?!
Gu Qianran could not stop smiling. Fine, she would take over then. That trash male lead learning finance was never going to happen. His halo was useless, all he could do was pose and act flashy just to survive.
And this? This clown thought he could compete with her for the company?
The dining table had always been a battlefield where hidden daggers and arrows flew. Each side occupied their corner, engaging in swift verbal sparring and fierce clashes of the eyes. It was the "Fast and the Furious" of family feuds.
Liu Cuimei gnawed her teeth as she glared at Gu Qianran and her mother. What kind of spell had this mother and daughter pair cast on Li Junsheng that he suddenly decided to bring Gu Qianran along for such an important meeting?
Shouldn't it have been her son? The Li family's company should not be cheapened by outsiders! She deliberately adjusted her tone, sharp and sour: "Well, well, I heard our Qianran is going with her father to talk business? How come it's not the eldest son, Xiao Yao, who's going along?"
After saying this, she cast a sideways look at Li Junyao, signaling him to play along. That son of hers was useless too. Normally, if he pestered Li Junsheng enough, his father would give in. Why was it Gu Qianran today, of all times?
Li Junyao took the hint and muttered, "Actually, my management skills are stronger. The CEO's seat will be mine sooner or later."
Gu Qianran's chopsticks paused mid-bite.
What kind of nonsense was that? His so-called management skills—did he mean time management? Gym routines?
Did he really think being CEO was just sitting in an office, looking cool while skimming a few documents, then magically pocketing billions and having women throw themselves at him? No way. No way, right?
Gu Lian wanted to speak up. On this matter, at least, she stood on the same side as Gu Qianran, and she felt she should say something. But she was also afraid of Liu Cuimei, so she hesitated.
Liu Cuimei scrutinized Gu Qianran, but failed to see any anger or fear on her face. Gu Qianran looked utterly calm, even continuing to eat.
What was Liu Cuimei to her? Nothing more than background noise. She wasn't about to let her meal get cold.
What an unshakable little brat! Liu Cuimei ground her teeth in fury.
She raised her voice: "Gu Qianran! I'm talking to you!"
Gu Qianran glanced at her impatiently. "Ah, I also heard something. Recently, you've been getting awfully close with some man, haven't you?"
Li Junyao, seeing her change the subject, snapped: "Don't change the topic! That has nothing to do with what we were discussing!"
"Of course it's related." Gu Qianran gave him a meaningful look. "Because both things are true."
The moment the words left her mouth, Gu Qianran's expression flipped. She suddenly looked pitiful, her big watery eyes gazing at Liu Cuimei. "Aunt Mei, I really respect you, I see you as a mother. But if you insult my dignity over rumors about me being close with men, then my mother and I would rather never set foot in this house again!"
Saying this, she clung to Gu Lian and burst into tears. Gu Lian hugged her back, silently warning herself in bold, underlined text: never provoke Gu Qianran.
Liu Cuimei: …a master of face-changing in this day and age?
Very soon, she understood Gu Qianran's true intent. From the staircase behind Li Junyao, Li Junsheng descended, his face dark and stormy.
He glared at Liu Cuimei. "What's going on here?"
Liu Cuimei panicked. She had been secretly diverting money from her husband's company to fund her own little side business, and Gu Qianran had caught her during a handover with her manager.
She rushed to explain, adopting a meek attitude. Li Junsheng remained suspicious, but ultimately accepted her excuse.
Ha. Cheating himself was fine, but a wife going out to meet someone? Absolutely not. What a hypocrite.
Gu Qianran dabbed her mouth elegantly with a napkin, refusing to watch any more of this farce. She rose from the table and went upstairs, her achievements hidden, her fame concealed.
Later, Liu Cuimei, furious from being interrogated by her husband, spotted Gu Qianran strolling in the garden and marched straight toward her.
Gu Qianran honestly couldn't understand why Liu Cuimei was so eager to come pick a fight. Wasn't Li Junsheng's scolding at lunch enough? Was this woman a masochist?
The lunatic looked her over with disdain and sneered: "Gu Qianran, I'm warning you, stop with your tricks. The Li family belongs to Xiaoyao, not you. Your only worth is in marrying well to bring him money!"
Gu Qianran tilted her head, confusion spilling from her eyes. "Are you some kind of leftover from human evolution?"
"?" Liu Cuimei froze, not following.
"Or maybe your brain is still stuck in ancient times? Still clinging to primogeniture inheritance?"
Liu Cuimei's eyes turned venomous. She raised her hand to slap her. "Your father isn't here this time, don't think he can protect you! Little bastard, today I'll teach you proper manners!"
Ah, there it was. The leftover remnants of feudal thinking.
"Oh… so he's not here." Gu Qianran had planned to go for round two, but seeing Li Junsheng absent, she simply restrained Liu Cuimei with practiced ease.
"If he's not here, what gives you the right to act arrogant in front of me?" She shook her head, genuinely baffled.
"Liu Cuimei, I'm the one who gives warnings. You better behave yourself. Fair competition, the capable take the seat. If your son is useless, don't make excuses. Stop putting on airs. Today I'll quote the fortune-teller for you: what exactly are you supposed to be?"
"And quoting the locksmith: keys are three yuan apiece. Do you match?"
"Is your head only there to make you taller?"
"Do your thoughts match your looks?"
"Li Junsheng isn't here and you dare come at me? Are you asking for a beating?"
Come on, if you can't handle reality, step up and see if I don't roast you alive.
Liu Cuimei was utterly dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open, unable to form a single coherent word. Was this really something a girl should say to her elder? She could only roar: "If you have guts, say all that to your father's face!"
Gu Qianran felt refreshed after roasting the idiot, and graciously arched a brow. She stopped cursing and replied smoothly, "Why are you shouting so loudly? Then go tell Li Junsheng yourself."
Double standards much? She still had the gall to accuse her? People from Zu'an insult openly, proudly, and never admit defeat.
Provoking someone and still losing to a high schooler? If she ran to Li Junsheng now, she'd only embarrass herself further. Liu Cuimei gave a furious snort and stormed away.
Watching this whole family of freaks, Gu Qianran suddenly felt drained. Sure, roasting people was fun, but wasting all her energy on them would only slow her progress.
Tch. Clearly, it was time to establish her dominance early.
On the day of the werewolf gathering, Hu Mantian personally led Li Junsheng and Gu Qianran on a tour of the shooting range. Inside, the gunfire popped and crackled like frying beans.
His message couldn't be clearer: the Hu family feared neither heaven nor earth. If you wanted to cooperate, you'd better bleed for it.
Li Junsheng was sharp enough to catch the implication. He frowned in displeasure but held his tongue. Turning, he checked whether Gu Qianran was frightened—only to find that she had already stepped inside.
Once inside the range, they saw Gu Qianran chatting happily with the staff. She had even put on protective gear and fired two shots. Clean, fluid movements. Both shots hit the bull's-eye.
Li Junsheng: !!!
What on earth had this kid gone through in the years she'd been away? Was this the sort of thing a normal high schooler could do???
Apologies to high schoolers everywhere—he had lost face for them all.
Hu Mantian was impressed. He had thought this lanky girl was just being paraded around by Li Junsheng, but she was clearly hiding some real skill.
He strolled over, fired two shots of his own, and also landed bull's-eyes. Spinning the revolver's cylinder in one hand, he smiled at her. "Perhaps this deal still has some room for discussion."
Inside, Gu Qianran mocked the system as usual: See? The Hu family respects strength. My years in America weren't wasted. Could that useless male lead pull this off? Did the system pick him as male lead with their feet? Even if you want to respect the original script, there should be a limit.
The system had known from day one that Gu Qianran was a multi-talented black-bellied white lotus. If she acted out shooting herself in the head, it would still believe she could pull it off.
Then Gu Qianran said, "Why don't we make a bet? Give me two bullets."
System: ! Big problem!
Hu Mantian handed her two bullets without hesitation. He wanted to see what this little girl could possibly do.
Gu Qianran loaded them into the revolver, spun the cylinder twice, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Let's bet like this. Spin once, I pull the trigger at my own head. If I don't die, you add five percent more funding to the deal. How about it?"
Li Junsheng and the system shouted in unison: "No way!"
Li Junsheng wasn't about to let his star investor risk her life for a bit of money. The system even less so—if she died, the whole world's plot would collapse.
But Hu Mantian, with his dark sense of humor, nodded. "Very well, I accept." He had thought she might have some clever gambit, but never imagined she'd make such a foolish bet. His men swiftly brought out two copies of the contract. Gu Qianran didn't even read them, just signed.
Hu Mantian had no need to play word games with someone about to die.
Once the contracts were signed, everyone in the range crowded around. They called themselves mercenaries, but in truth, they rarely had a chance to see something this exciting.
And so they watched Gu Qianran spin the cylinder, aim at her head, pull the trigger. Spin again, pull again…
Her head remained intact. She went through dozens of rounds. Finally, when she figured the Hu family would start panicking about the money if she kept pushing, she stopped.
The moment the gunfire ceased, silence fell. The atmosphere was unbearably awkward.
Hu Mantian stared, speechless. One-in-six odds, dozens of times in a row, and she hadn't been hit? She had to be cheating. But he had clearly seen every move—there was no way she cheated…
Could this kind of luck be real?
Whether he liked it or not, the contracts were signed. He had no choice but to swallow the loss and hand over the money.
Li Junsheng looked at her in shock. Those were real bullets, yet she hadn't even blinked as she fired at her own head. But dozens of times without a single hit—it couldn't possibly be just luck, could it?
Gu Qianran lazily waved her hand and set the revolver back down. "That's enough. Deal closed. Let's go, Dad."
When they had come, it was Gu Qianran trailing behind Li Junsheng. On the way back, it was Li Junsheng following her. He tried to find words to say, but Gu Qianran looked utterly indifferent, as if she had merely taken out the trash.
Li Junsheng fell silent. This daughter of his was destined to be extraordinary, yet she was ungraspable, unreadable.
Gu Qianran, of course, wasn't spacing out. The system was pestering her nonstop. [Host, how did you do that? Did you use a cheat?]
"I slowed down every motion. How is that cheating?"
[Did you glue the chamber with 502? Spit-mark it? Hide a magnet in your palm?]
Gu Qianran: …you sure know a lot.
She grinned wickedly inside. "Want to know? Beg me." Hahaha, the number one system teaser: Gu Qianran.
The system unexpectedly went silent for a while before finally speaking up, sounding reluctant. [Host... please, Host, tell me.]
Hmm, what a soulless way of begging.
Gu Qianran laughed triumphantly, her scheme a success. "System, didn't you say that to restrict me, I'm not allowed to harm the male lead or the female lead, nor am I allowed to commit suicide?
So, any gunshot wounds I inflict on myself would be judged as suicide and erased by this so-called Heavenly Dao. Which means I can pull the trigger infinitely and keep making money." She clicked her tongue. "Another cheat code for wealth. Once I have enough money, I'll head over to this world's America and clean out their casinos."
System: "..."
Are you seriously bug-abusing me right now?