After Becoming a CEO, I Ended Up With the Gorgeous Lunatic Villainess - Chapter 8

“Crawl?”

Cen Qianyi’s ear twitched where the strands of hair brushed against it. She turned her head toward the voice.

“What? The pretty little dog doesn’t know how to crawl?”

Cen Qianyi looked away and down at the position her body had been adjusted into.

What did this mean? She was supposed to crawl like a dog?

The thought had barely formed when a memory surged through her mind. The last person who had humiliated her like this had ended up with their kneecaps hollowed out.

If He Shu had seen what Cen Qianyi was recalling at that moment, she would probably be bawling.

“A dog that can’t crawl isn’t wanted by its owner.”

As she spoke, He Shu smacked the side of Cen Qianyi’s waist, a little lower than usual, just enough to count as a mild spank. She followed the system’s instructions and gave a few more firm pats.

Cen Qianyi’s whole body tensed. The effect of the sensory enhancer only grew stronger the longer it remained in her system. The hand gripping her waist radiated heat, and the sensation on her bottom stirred up fragments of memories from the night before. That sensation returned, the one where every cell in her body felt drenched like a sponge and then jolted into a continuous tremble.

She reached to pry off the hand holding her down.

He Shu caught her wrist. “What’s wrong? After all night, you still haven’t figured out how to behave like a plaything?”

“Let go of me. I won’t be your toy.”

Of course, He Shu knew that. She didn’t want that either.

Just thinking about her own tragic future, her nose stung with the urge to cry again.

“It’s not up to you.”

Cen Qianyi pressed down the murderous thoughts and forced herself to act panicked.

“You dragged me here. Aren’t you afraid the police will come after you?”

He Shu would welcome that. If the police took her now, maybe she could plead for leniency.

“Cen Qianyi. Genetic defect. Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Charity Bureau. Raised by a benevolent institution. Graduated from its affiliated high school. Been working part-time to survive ever since. Age twenty-seven. No home, no car, no savings, no friends, no job.”

He Shu’s eyes welled with tears as she spoke. What a miserable story. Even worse than her own. At least she had a roof over her head, a bit of savings, a few friends, and her dog Qianqian.

And a job that worked her to death.

Okay, maybe scratch that last one. There really was always someone worse off.

“People like you, when you die or decay, no one even notices or cares. Look at you. You’ve been missing for a whole day. Did anyone report you missing?”

Cen Qianyi frowned. The woman had clearly investigated her public records thoroughly.

She looked at He Shu. Shouldn’t these words be mocking, humiliating jabs? Why was she crying instead?

Crying at what a monster she was.

He Shu took a deep breath and gripped Cen Qianyi’s chin.

“Here’s a piece of friendly advice. Be a good toy. Please me.”

She bit Cen Qianyi’s earlobe as she spoke. He Shu sighed. She had become so numb and practiced with these twisted actions.

She even had the presence of mind to wonder why she always seemed to bite the same ear.

“Want to see again?” He Shu gently touched Cen Qianyi’s eyes. “Please me, and I’ll restore your sight.”

She made it sound like she was some kind of miracle doctor. The blinding agent’s effects were only temporary and would wear off within the day. Still, the original scumbag had used it as leverage.

What He Shu didn’t know was that Cen Qianyi could already see.

Cen Qianyi’s brows furrowed slightly. She played the role of a delicate and pitiful girl, but her voice was firm. “What if I don’t listen?”

He Shu squeezed her cheeks. This damned psychotic CEO-type couldn’t stop touching or talking.

“Do you know what happens to a toy that’s no fun anymore?”

Cen Qianyi stared as a tear slid from He Shu’s eye. She frowned and asked, “What happens?”

He Shu leaned in, as instructed, to whisper in her ear. She misjudged the distance, her cheek brushing against Cen Qianyi’s ear and smearing her own tear there.

“Then you’ll be the most beautiful flower tree—” He Shu paused as she saw the dash in the prompt, then finished, “turned into fertilizer in the garden.”

What kind of lunatic casually handed out death threats like that?

Cen Qianyi narrowed her eyes. The tear on her ear chilled quickly in the morning breeze.

He Shu shivered. The temperature around them seemed to drop sharply.

Oh no. He Shu stared at the air solidifying into the shape of blades.

Killing intent. It was back again.

Given what she just said, if Cen Qianyi didn’t want to kill her, then something had to be wrong.

“Please, let me go.”

She wanted to let her go!

Seeing the pitiful girl begging in front of her, He Shu’s tears flowed even more. Cen Qianyi looked so innocent that anyone would believe she was truly helpless. No one would guess that this was the Grim Reaper offering her a reduced sentence.

“Stupid system, get out here! Can’t we just go along with her request and let her go?!”

“Deviation from script detected. Erasure imminent.”

The system didn’t waste a single word. It even sounded like it had been frightened by the killing aura. After that, no matter how much He Shu shouted, it stayed silent.

He Shu wiped her tears. Her last chance at a lighter sentence was gone.

Better to finish the storyline quickly. The sooner she died, the sooner she could be free.

He Shu pinched Cen Qianyi’s face like she was in a hospital, then mimed slapping her head to the side.

“This slap is to teach you a lesson. From now on, the only thing you’re allowed to beg me for is this. You must beg me to play with you.”

After completing the action, He Shu quickly pressed Cen Qianyi’s back down and forced her into a kneeling crawl.

“Now, crawl.”

She said it while tugging slightly on the chain attached to Cen Qianyi’s collar.

Cen Qianyi had to lift her head. She stared at that tear-streaked face, her eyes full of complex emotion.

What had this woman just said? She wanted to play with her… and had the delusional audacity to demand that she beg to be played with.

What was going on in her head…

Cen Qianyi glanced down at her manipulated posture. This woman really meant for her to crawl. That was bold.

This kind of person… Forget it. Letting her live was a waste.

Cen Qianyi decided to retract her decision from the night before.

He Shu saw the air around her turning into countless knives. Her knees nearly gave out. But she couldn’t run!

More than that, she looked at the chain in her hand. She had to whip her!

Then she had to drag her out of the room.

In one final act of desperation, He Shu cried out, “System, if I really drag her out like this, there’s no turning back!”

“Deviation from script detected. Erasure imminent.”

Tears streamed down He Shu’s face. She wanted to strangle herself with the chain.

She silently prayed to every deity she could think of. Of course, she didn’t forget her dog angel.

Qianqian, please bless your master. If I ever fall into Cen Qianyi’s hands, please let me die quickly.

He Shu shut her eyes. As the countdown in her mind ticked to zero, she raised the chain.

Just then, there was a knock at the door!

Her mind went silent in an instant!

He Shu stopped mid-motion. The whip snapped back and struck her own face. The pain jolted her.

“What’s going on, system? That wasn’t in the script!”

“Original character deviation has triggered non-scripted development. Host may proceed freely.”

Before He Shu could fully process that, a voice rang out.

“Boss, are you in there?”

It was Su Zhi. She sounded urgent.

He Shu glanced at the chain in her hand and immediately let go.

“Come in.”

The prompts in her mind stopped. It must have been triggered by this new storyline development.

Su Zhi walked straight over to He Shu and whispered, “Boss, something happened.”

“Hmm?”

Su Zhi looked at Cen Qianyi, then back at He Shu, expecting her to signal that they should speak in private. But He Shu didn’t.

That was unusual. She was treating this new plaything differently.

Su Zhi refocused and reported, “Dr. Pei is dead. Found by her colleagues during shift change five minutes ago. The police have been notified.”

Dr. Pei?

He Shu was stunned. “Pei Congxin?”

Su Zhi nodded.

He Shu turned sharply toward Cen Qianyi. Just yesterday, Dr. Pei had been fine when she gave her the injection. And now she was dead?

“When did it happen?”

“Preliminary estimate puts the time of death at two hours ago.”

That would be around two or three in the morning.

He Shu’s eyes wavered. She had only met the woman once, but the sudden news still hit her.

At the same time, suspicion crept in. She looked at Cen Qianyi. Could this have been her doing?

Cen Qianyi saw the flicker of doubt in He Shu’s eyes and wondered what she might know.

But He Shu quickly dismissed the idea. Cen Qianyi had been injected with a muscle-paralyzing agent. She was blind. She had been locked in this room, and He Shu had just unlocked the door herself. It couldn’t have been her.

“Do you know the details?”

Su Zhi nodded and was about to explain when He Shu held up her hand.

She looked at Su Zhi, then at Cen Qianyi, then at the mental prompts.

A light flickered in her eyes.

She started walking out and called, “I’m going hiking. And walking the dog. Talk as we go.”

Su Zhi followed. At the doorway, He Shu stopped and glanced back at Cen Qianyi.

Su Zhi followed her gaze. Walking the dog… and forgot the dog.

Then she understood. Su Zhi walked back, grabbed Cen Qianyi from the floor, and dragged her out. Cen Qianyi didn’t resist at all.

He Shu stepped aside to let them through.

Once they were out, all prompts related to the room vanished.

If it weren’t for the timing, He Shu would have done a victory pose. Her brain really came through in a pinch!

This was all because Su Zhi, an original character, had triggered a deviation. Since she took Cen Qianyi out, He Shu didn’t have to.

He Shu took Cen Qianyi from Su Zhi, scooped her up, and started walking downstairs while listening to Su Zhi explain the situation.

As she was lifted, Cen Qianyi wrapped her arms around He Shu’s neck. At this distance, she could end her easily. But there were too many people around. Not the right time.

When they reached the first floor, He Shu saw the staff already assembled at the door.

She turned to Su Zhi. “Keep the news about Dr. Pei from spreading.”

She made a show of glancing at the staffs.

Su Zhi got the message and dismissed everyone.

In her mind, He Shu saw that the prompt for “make Cen Qianyi crawl out the front door” had disappeared.

She almost burst into tears. She got it now. She couldn’t defy the plot, but book characters could.

She hadn’t said or done anything. It was all Su Zhi!

What a valuable lackey. She had called her a brain-dead worker yesterday. She took it back. This was a top-tier employee.

Raise. She definitely deserved a raise!

Once the staffs were sent back to the side building and warned not to go out, Su Zhi returned to He Shu and continued her report.

They reached the base of the hill next to the garden.

This villa was built on a mountaintop. The hike was just a climb up the peak behind the villa.

As Su Zhi spoke, He Shu picked up speed, breaking into a jog. The system had instructed her to reach the top before sunrise. The sky was already beginning to brighten.

“Go find out more. We’ll talk when I get back.”

He Shu dismissed her, then looked at the steps ahead. Clean, and well-maintained. Someone clearly took care of them.

Calling it a hike was a stretch. It was more like climbing stairs.

She set Cen Qianyi down, counted the steps, then looked at her. Between the paralysis and the blindness, there was no way she could climb on her own.

There was no time!

He Shu took off her coat and wrapped it around Cen Qianyi, zipped it up, then hoisted her onto her back and began climbing.

Thank goodness it counted as hiking, even if she carried her. The system didn’t specify that Cen Qianyi had to crawl up on her own.

She let her walk a few steps, then carried her again. That counted as participation!

Her brain was really good under pressure!

Thank goodness for her decent stamina!

And luckily, the woman on her back was unusually cooperative. Not a sound, not a struggle. She let herself be carried.

Cen Qianyi had been silently observing everything since being brought out of the villa.

She hadn’t had time last night to study the place, but now she realized that the villa was built on a mountain. And this seemed to be the only building here.

This woman really played wild. As He Shu’s breathing grew heavier, and the flower tree in the garden became more distant, Cen Qianyi, hands tucked in the jacket, rubbed her fingernails together.

Whatever this woman planned to do up on that isolated peak, she didn’t believe it was just to watch the sunrise…

No matter what she was planning, Cen Qianyi’s lips curled slightly.

She would make her regret this climb.

No, she would make her regret ever being born.

He Shu was sweating and suddenly felt a chill on her back. She wanted to glance behind her, but the system’s countdown had begun!

No time! Only a few steps left!

She adjusted Cen Qianyi on her shoulder and started sprinting.

Finally, just as the horizon began to glow and daylight broke through the darkness, He Shu reached the summit.

She overstepped. Her foot slipped!

“Ah—”

A cry echoed across the mountaintop as the sun rose.

He Shu felt her shoulder lighten. Her face pitched forward.

She watched in horror as Cen Qianyi slipped from her grasp and went flying.