Chapter 81: Whose Scandal Is It?

The secret door was nearly indistinguishable from the white wall, save for a slender gap at its seam. If one did not look closely, it could easily be mistaken for a natural crack in the wall. Standing directly before it, Wen Nan raised his hand, halting his fingertip just before it touched the slit.

So far, he had only questioned his junior sister and the wealthy lady about the location of this hidden g-spot, but their answers were entirely different—one claimed it was in the changing room stall of the gym, while the other said it was at the emergency exit on the top floor.

Now that the emergency exit proved to have a secret door, Wen Nan had no doubt that the changing room stall had one as well. But which of these two doors was correct?

He couldn’t judge yet. Fortunately, he still had four other roles to ask, so there was no rush.

With this thought, Wen Nan withdrew his hand and turned toward his workstation. Just as he took a step, the system flashed with a notification: a new message from a target character.

Wen Nan opened it and saw a text from the young married woman, Li Shuyi—

[ShuShu: The cake is ready. Waiting for you. We’ll blow out the candles and make a wish together.]
[ShuShu: Come over after work. Don’t leave me hanging~]
[ShuShu: Kiss.jpg]

Wen Nan was startled, and a strange thought surfaced—would the cake say “Happy Birthday,” or “Happy Deathday”?

Back at his desk, Wen Nan called out to the system in his mind: [9527, check all nearby cinemas for movies showing after nine tonight, and pick the one closest to the theme ‘Let’s raise a dog’.]

9527: [Understood.]
9527: [I’ve found a screening with the closest theme. At the nearby Crown Theater, 9:45 p.m., the thriller-suspense film “The World Outside.”]

Wen Nan: ?

Wait, did this film have anything to do with the theme he wanted?

9527: [Tickets are running low for this showing. Would you like to book?]

Wen Nan: ??

In this map, most people are NPCs; who would go to the cinema? How could seats be running out?

Wen Nan: [Book it, preferably seats centered near the screen. If possible, couple seats. Two tickets.]

9527: [Done. You have successfully reserved two super VIP couple seats, row 2, seats 6-9. A total of 444 coins deducted from your account.]

Wen Nan: ???

Why were two movie tickets so expensive—over four hundred coins?

Moreover, why did buying movie tickets in this game instance use his player account balance? If he accepted the rich lady’s sponsorship as promised, would her million be deposited directly into his player account?

As Wen Nan puzzled over this, the system chimed in.

9527: [There are only three ways to earn coins during the strategy process—
1. Total live stream popularity, converted at a ratio of 10,000:1;
2. Viewer tips, with 50% credited to the player’s account;
3. Player betting, with viewers wagering during live streams.
Options 1 and 2 are exchanged in real time; option 3 is settled at the end of each task.]

He had learned these rules upon entering the trial map.

But the issue was: coins could only be earned via live streaming, not through plot progression in the instance; yet plot progression required spending coins?

Was this a scam?

No, surely not!

9527: [Your invitation to the target character for a movie has been classified as a spontaneous action, unrelated to the main or side plot, and thus requires coins from your account.]

9527: [If you wish to cancel, I can refund the tickets and return all 444 coins to your account. Would you like to cancel?]

Wen Nan: [So it’s neither side nor main plot, just spontaneous… What does this count as? Is there any extra equipment or reward for doing this?]

9527: [No equipment or item rewards. Would you like to cancel?]

Wen Nan: [Experience points then? Or at least a return of coins at several times the rate?]

9527: [No experience or coin rewards. Would you like to cancel?]

Wen Nan: …

He grit his teeth and forced out: [No refunds! Go! I’ll pay out of pocket for a date with the CEO, surely that’s allowed?]

9527: [Understood. Wishing you a pleasant evening.]

He closed the system and glanced at the time—just getting off work.

Wen Nan left the office and, following the navigation, walked toward his rented apartment—

According to the instance’s setting, he had rented a flat near the company, where he spent most nights. The company dorm, his respawn point, was kept for free—mainly for noon breaks or occasional overnight work.

Next door, Li Shuyi, the young married woman, naturally lived beside his rented flat.

Thus, Wen Nan decided to return home for a break before heading to Li Shuyi’s for dinner.

He soon reached his floor, and as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he heard two girls shouting nearby.

Wen Nan: …

What was going on?

He followed the voices and, in the flickering corridor lights, saw two girls, likely in their early teens, wrestling.

One had waist-length hair and wore a local high school uniform; the other had short hair, dressed in a tank top and shorts, her neck, arms, and thighs covered in colorful tattoos—a clear sign of a street kid.

The short-haired girl was yanking the student’s long hair, while the student girl was tearing at the other’s tank top. Both hunched over, their tangled locks framing fierce eyes locked in a stalemate.

They looked like two feisty kittens fighting on the roadside.

… Was this how girls fought?

The thought popped into Wen Nan’s mind.

The street girl lost patience, yanked the student’s hair toward her chest.

The student cried out in pain, “Bitch! Let go!”

Her opponent did not loosen her grip, only pulled harder.

The student screamed, a high-pitched alarm, “Ah—!” Simultaneously, she summoned all her strength and tore at the tank top.

With a rip, the street girl’s tank was shredded, exposing a lace-edged bra.

Seeing this, Wen Nan hurried forward, spreading his arms to break up the fight.

“Let go, both of you! Talk it out. Fighting won’t solve anything; win and you end up in the hospital, lose and you end up in jail!”

His words were barely finished when both girls instantly released each other and turned, bewildered, to look at him.

Wen Nan was stunned.

The slogan painted on the wall near their hospital, from the local police station—was it really this effective?

He was still caught off guard when, suddenly, both girls darted over, clinging tightly to his arms, each pulling him in opposite directions.

“Uncle Jiu, tell her clearly, you’re my boyfriend!”

“Mister, tell that lunatic I’m your girlfriend!”

Wen Nan: …

Was he now caught right in the middle of the drama he’d only meant to spectate?

(To be continued)