The Mysterious Heiress: Researcher In Disguise

Panda Novel

Song Fang’s decision had shattered the final glimpse of hope of the students in other classes.

Class 21, Class 20, and Class 19 were like the three musketeers. These 3 classes had the poorest academic performance amongst the other classes, so never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that such a good thing would happen to them.

The class monitor of Class 19 took a large stride forward and appeared in front of Song Fang. “Although we were born on different days, I wish we could die on the same day. Song Fang, from this day onward, you will be my best buddy. I will never forget your kindness today for the rest of my life!”

Song Fang did not know what to say.

‘Let go of my hand, you p*rvert!’

1

—

The Mathematics extra class was scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

In the afternoon, Fu Zhi was invited to have lunch at One Sense Restaurant. When she arrived, there was already someone waiting for her there.

“Ms. Fu.” Gu Yanqi greeted her. He was wearing a suit today, and there was a genial smile on his face.

Fu Zhi bobbed her head in response and followed him. When they reached the elevator, Gu Yanqi pressed the floor button and turned to look at her with a warm smile. “I heard from President Li that you’ve invested in a movie?”

“Yeah,” Fu Zhi replied flatly before walking into the elevator. It seemed to Gu Yanqi that Fu Zhi did not want to have much of a conversation with him, but it did not matter to him. He knew he could not give up just yet.

As the elevator moved up, Gu Yanqi continued. “If my memory serves me right, Red Sun is a war movie, right? Well, the market has been rather slow now, so I wonder if you’ve found a suitable channel to promote your movie? Like a variety show?”

Fu Zhi raised her head to look at him.

Gu Yanqi was smiling gently at her.

“What do you want?”

“You’re a smart girl, Ms. Fu. I will stop beating around the bush then,” Gu Yanqi said as he handed a proposal to Fu Zhi. “I hope you haven’t forgotten this yet. It’s about the bet between my second uncle and me.

“This time, the Gu Corporation will invite a rank of A-list celebrities to attend the live-streaming session. Since a lot of people are interested in this match, and considering Glory’s popularity, I’m sure there will be a lot of spectators there when the time comes. Therefore, I think this is a great opportunity for Ms. Fu to participate in the game. This way, not only will you be able to promote your movie, but it could also boost our chances of winning. It’s a win-win situation, don’t you think? I hope you’ll consider it carefully, Ms. Fu.”

After Gu Yanqi handed the proposal to Fu Zhi, he said nothing more. He did not press Fu Zhi, as he knew she needed some time to think about it. That said, he was certain that there was a great chance Fu Zhi would accept the offer. After all, this was one of the greatest opportunities for Fu Zhi to publicize her movie, and honestly, he did not see any reason for her to reject the offer.

The door of the elevator opened with a clear ding.

Thanks to the light in the hall, Fu Zhi saw the remuneration package on the last page.

If she won 3 out of the 5 rounds, Gu Yanqi would pay her one million yuan.

Truth be told, it did not really matter to Fu Zhi if she won or lost the game, and she was pretty certain that Gu Yanqi thought the same way as well. All they wanted was to raise copyright awareness and put an end to forgery.

‘Should I use Li Wan’s specialty, Phoenix Descent?’

As Fu Zhi was immersed in her own thoughts, Gu Yanqi pushed the door open.

The private room was lavishly decorated, and the dishes on the table looked more like artwork than food. At the very back, across the curtain, were several masked girls playing pipas.

Li Nanli was making tea at the table in the center. He looked impressive under the light, his jawline was well-defined, and his skin was fair. When he raised his head and looked at Fu Zhi, she had no idea why, but he reminded her of a jaguar in the jungle, deadly but majestic.

“Zhizhi.”

The man’s voice came, snapping Fu Zhi back to reality. She then walked up to him, and Li Nanli jovially ruffled her hair before helping her take her scarf off.

Perhaps she was afraid of the cold. After he took her scarf off, he realized that she had even buttoned up her collar, covering half of her face and leaving only her two big eyes visible.

She reminded him of the kitten that Huo Ningxin had two years ago. When this thought popped into Li Nanli’s head, he chuckled and ran his fingers across the girl’s cheek.

After a long while, he opened his mouth and sighed. “Why are you so cute?”

He deliberately drew out his vowels, and the smile on his face was more than just a lazy grin. He cocked his head slightly and parted his thin lips as he looked at Fu Zhi.

The air between them seemed to sizzle, and a faint waft of mint tickled Fu Zhi’s nostrils. Her heart skipped a beat, and she tried to take a step back to no avail, for Li Nanli had secured her firmly in his embrace.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his voice filled with emotion. “Little girl, do you know that you’re playing with fire?”

Fu Zhi was stunned.

‘No! No! I’m not! Please believe me!’

“Pfft—”

Before Fu Zhi could reply, a discordant noise erupted and forced both of them back to reality.

Honestly, Gu Yanqi had never seen Li Nanli flirt with a woman before, and this was the first time he saw him adore a woman so much other than his own mother, Huo Ningxin. As he watched the lovey-dovey scene, he accidentally choked on his tea and his face turned red.

When he finally recovered from the coughing spell, he lifted his head and saw something that he would never forget in his entire life.

Li Nanli had wrapped his arms around Fu Zhi, trapping her tightly in his embrace. Then, as if he was being controlled by a mysterious force, he lifted his hand, pulled Fu Zhi’s collar down, and planted a swift kiss on her lips.

Gu Yanqi did not know what he should say. He used a paper towel to clean his mouth and said, “I’m sorry, you guys can keep going.”

“Why are you still here?”

‘Why am I still here? What the hell? I’ve been here the whole time, dude!’ Gu Yanqi thought as he shook his head.

Women before friends. Although Gu Yanqi had heard a lot about this phrase, he had never expected that it would happen to him one day. In any case, he was someone who came from a prestigious family, so his good upbringing and gentlemanship prevented him from cursing Li Nanli. Thus, he took a deep breath, put a grin on his face, and said, “I’m the one who brought Ms. Fu here.”

In other words, since he was the one who had brought Fu Zhi there, he also had the right to take Fu Zhi away.

Although Li Nanli knew what he was trying to imply, he did not care. He chuckled, but before he could say anything, Fu Zhi tugged at his sleeve and shook her head. Then, she glanced at Gu Yanqi and said, “Regarding the remuneration package in the proposal, I think…”

“It’s a bit too much, isn’t it?” Gu Yanqi interjected. “But since you’re President Li’s girlfriend, I think you deserve the pay.”

“I’m his girlfriend, and this is all you can offer me?” Fu Zhi looked at him expressionlessly. “Do you think one million yuan is a lot?”

Gu Yanqi was dumbfounded.

‘Is it not? It’s 5 rounds of a game, 30 minutes per round. It will only take two and a half hours at most. Who the hell can earn one million yuan in two hours? Do you think you are the president of a company?’

In Gu Yanqi’s opinion, Fu Zhi was just a girl whose biological parents were researchers and knew a little bit about medicine. She had a few patents in her hands and she had been adopted by the Lu Family. Shouldn’t a girl like her be showing off to her friends that she could earn so much money in just two hours without relying on her family?

Well, Gu Yanqi knew there were some questions that he could not ask.

“Here’s the thing, Ms. Fu,” Gu Yanqi said. “I’m Nanli’s best buddy. We have been through a lot of life-and-death situations before. As for you, you’re his girlfriend, so that makes us family. Since we’re a family, I will be very honest with you. I know the pay is kinda low, but I really hope that you can help me this time. After all, we’re a family, aren’t we?”

Fu Zhi did not know what she should say.

In other words, Gu Yanqi just wanted cheap labor!

Fu Zhi turned and looked at Li Nanli.

Li Nanli lifted his brows and said, “You want me to help you?”

Fu Zhi nodded. A second later, she heard the man say in a lazy voice, “Well, it isn’t impossible to get her to help you if one million is the maximum price you can offer.”

As he was talking, he pulled his sleeve up and revealed his muscular forearm.

Gu Yanqi had no idea why but he had a feeling that Li Nanli was up to no good.

Just as the thought popped up in his head, he saw Li Nanli look at him with a smile in his eyes. “Fight me. If you defeat me, I will ask her to help you. However, if you lose, you’re going to give her 10 times the pay.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “What do you think? Are you up to the challenge?”

Gu Yanqi did not know what he should say.

One of them was ex-military, while the other did not know how to fight. If he accepted the challenge, he would certainly lose and have to give 10 million yuan to Fu Zhi. If he refused to accept the challenge, it would make him look bad. No matter what he picked, he was going to be the loser.

With that thought in mind, Gu Yanqi touched his nose, looked at Fu Zhi, and sneered, “Sis, let me tell you something. The heart and mind of an old man are as complex as a labyrinth.”

Li Nanli ran his finger over Fu Zhi’s wrist as he said, “Yeah. That’s very true. Don’t you think so, Zhizhi?”

Fu Zhi nodded and replied, “Yeah.”

“Hah.” Li Nanli sighed. He couldn’t help pulling Fu Zhi into his arms, torching her with the passion in his eyes as he said with a smile, “Zhizhi, you’re really the most adorable girl in this world.”

Gu Yanqi was stumped. That said, he tried to reason with the couple one last time. “Well, you see, Nanli, I’m your best buddy and I’ve helped a couple of times in the past. Don’t you think you should…”

“Yeah, you’re my buddy,” Li Nanli chimed in before Gu Yanqi could finish his sentence. “However, although we’re buddies, we should settle any financial matters clearly. I’m sure you’re aware of Zhizhi’s worth, so don’t you think you shouldn’t take advantage of her just because she’s my girlfriend? Besides…”

He paused for a moment, picked a piece of sweet and sour pork from Fu Zhi’s bowl, and said, “It would make me look bad in front of my girlfriend if my buddy was a stingy man. Therefore, it’s time for you to do something. After all, we’re buddies, right?”

Gu Yanqi did not know what he should say.

It was only now that he realized he was just a stone Li Nanli had stepped on so that he could get closer to Fu Zhi. He was nothing but a chess piece that could be discarded anytime!

Li Nanli then helped Fu Zhi gather the hair in front of her forehead and pull it behind her ear. “How do you rate my performance, Zhizhi?”

“Excellent,” Fu Zhi replied.

“I thought so too.”

Gu Yanqi had already lost count of how many times he had been left speechless today.

—

The meal lasted an hour.

Fu Zhi agreed that she would attend the live-streaming session.

“Your grades aren’t bad, so you shouldn’t have to listen to classes all the time, right? The Gu Corporation has invested in several Esports teams with good development prospects, so if possible, can you take a leave of absence this afternoon? I will take you to train with them,” Gu Yanqi suggested.

“That is not necessary.” Fu Zhi turned down his suggestion. “The person that your second uncle invited is the leader of SR Squad, right? I know him. He’s weak, so he’s no challenge at all. There’s no need to waste our time on him. Besides, my final examination is around the corner, so I have to go back to school to revise.”

SR Squad was the strongest Esports team, as it had won three consecutive international Glory tournaments.

Their team leader, Caesar, had gotten the Finals Most Valuable Player Award for three consecutive years as well and he was the best swordsman player.

Of course, humans were not robots, so it went without saying that Caesar had made a few mistakes on the field.

However, he was definitely not as weak and incompetent as Fu Zhi had said. Gu Yanqi felt that Fu Zhi overestimated herself, so he said, “Erm, don’t you think you’re a bit too harsh with your comments?”

‘Am I?’

Fu Zhi shrugged and said, “Well, being weak in Esports is a sin.”

“Then I’ll be looking forward to the day you defeat Caesar, Ms. Fu,” Gu Yanqi said.

Li Nanli took a look at his watch and added, “Come on, I will take you to buy milk tea and then get you back to school.”

“Let’s go back to school now. It’s time for Hu Lei’s class, and Xiao Liu will take attendance.”

After saying that, she got to her feet and went into the car.

Li Nanli sat in the driver’s seat, while Gu Yanqi sat in the back of the car. When he heard Hu Lei’s name, he asked, “Hu Lei? Isn’t he one of the question setters for the college entrance examination?”

“Yeah,” Fu Zhi replied flatly.

“No way, sister. Can your school afford to hire Hu Lei?” Gu Yanqi pressed on, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Yeah,” Fu Zhi replied. Again, her voice was plain.

“Sis, do you have my WeChat ID? Let’s add each other on WeChat!”

“Why?”

Gu Yanqi then smiled. “I have a brother who’s going to take the college entrance examination as well this year. If you have any good learning material, I will buy them from you at five times the market price.”

‘Oh, really? That’s wonderful,’ Fu Zhi thought as she said, “Alright, let’s do it.”

—

At 1:30 p.m, a car slowly came to a stop outside No.1 High School. Fu Zhi opened the door, and just as she was about to get out of the car, she felt a tug on her wrist.

She turned her head around and realized that the man was looking at her. She did not know what he wanted from her this time.

Li Nanli then said, “You don’t have anything to say to me? After all, we’re a couple now. Don’t you think a couple should say something to each other before saying goodbye?”

Fu Zhi thought for a while and then said, “All roads lead to Rome, but drive safely, or they’ll all lead to tombs. Stay focused and don’t play with your phone while you’re driving.”

Both Li Nanli and Gu Yanqi were speechless.