Ge Mengshi returned to her bedroom.
After closing the door, she leaned blankly against it, her eyes unfocused.
How could it be so melodramatic?
Why did she impulsively invent such an excuse back then?
What if she gets exposed later?
Another little voice in her head kept screaming.
What else could she do?
They nagged her every single day, to death.
Maybe this way she could get some peace and quiet.
After hesitating for a long time, Ge Mengshi still dialed that number.
After answering, Chen Pingjiang put down his phone, equally stunned.
Is this damn thing really that melodramatic?
Isn't this the kind of plot exclusive to those Korean romance novels?
However, Chen Pingjiang didn't refuse.
Mainly because Ge Mengshi offered too much.
Fifty thousand a month, he couldn't even imagine that his 140 pounds could fetch such a high price.
Orcs will never be slaves, unless food and lodging are provided.
Chen Pingjiang had his bottom line, but if there was money, that thing could be discarded.
Of course, this was also because Ge Mengshi was exceptionally beautiful.
If it were Luo Yufeng, let alone fifty thousand, he'd have to think about it even for five hundred thousand.
It wasn't until around noon, twelve o'clock, that Dai Sheng and the other two were woken up by a call from the hotel reception asking if they would extend their stay.
"Brother Chen, where did you get your clothes? Oh, I overslept! I was going to get up early this morning to buy you clothes. By the way, where's General Manager Ge?"
Dai Sheng yawned, then said,
"I barely slept a wink last night. Zhou Guanghan's snoring tortured me into neurasthenia."
On the other side, Zhou Guanghan chuckled with his head down.
Chen Pingjiang had lived with Zhou Guanghan for three years and was deeply impressed by this guy's snoring and teeth grinding.
"She's already left. She bought me clothes before she went."
After returning to Entrepreneurship Park 202, Chen Pingjiang checked the vote count for the Top 16 PK matches.
It had only been online for two days.
As expected, the campus belle of Dongjiang University, a venerable 985 institution, was utterly crushed by Su Manli from the University of Technology, leaving her defenseless.
The reason was not only that the University of Technology had strong, organized, and disciplined combat power, but also because students at Dongjiang University were not as enthusiastic about Renren.com's Campus Spokesperson Competition.
Of course, when comparing Ai Xin, the campus belle of Dongda, with Su Manli of the University of Technology, there was still a noticeable gap.
Xiao Qin, the campus belle of the University of Technology, also significantly outvoted Gong Qing, the campus belle of the Agricultural University.
At the University of Finance and Economics, Zhang Xinyue was unsurprisingly eliminated.
It wasn't that she wasn't beautiful, but rather that she had too little interaction with her supporters.
In contrast, Leng Na was different.
She posted at least 7-8 personal updates daily on Renren.com, sharing food, her outfit of the day, and casual scenery.
Renren.com's editors were also quite skilled.
Originally, Chen Pingjiang had arranged for one feature interview with a campus belle from each school to be published daily, but the editors surprisingly published two per day.
The reason was solid: if only one person's interview was published per day, it would be unfair to their PK opponent in the same group.
Now, publishing feature interviews of two campus belles from the same group each day ensured fairness, generated buzz, and encouraged people to vote.
All feature interviews were handled by the vice president of the Literature Society, who tailored different writing styles for different interviewees.
In fact, people weren't too concerned about what the feature interviews actually said, but rather paid more attention to the various accompanying photos.
After all, these photos were taken by professional photographers arranged by Chen Pingjiang, shot outdoors and in studios, truly giving them the feel of a blockbuster photoshoot.
Renren.com's Campus Spokesperson Competition was originally only popular within the small circle of Dongjiang universities, but as the competition entered the PK phase, its popularity expanded to the societal level.
Gao Songbin's ground promotion team of three had been continuously cultivating the white-collar market.
Although the core still couldn't escape handsome men and beautiful women, essentially it was a campus belle beauty pageant, but regardless, the name was still a "Spokesperson Competition," and Renren.com cleverly created a new image for university students of the new era.
It even caught the attention of some schools, who teamed up to promote the event.
Chen Pingjiang rarely got off work early that day, and went to a café in Xinjiekou to wait for Ge Mengshi to finish work.
Not long after, Ge Mengshi walked in, her high heels clicking.
Everywhere she went, she was an absolute eye-catcher.
Today, Ge Mengshi was still in a mature and steady professional suit skirt, but its tailored fit accentuated her S-shaped figure.
Clearly, such a physique couldn't be achieved by natural talent alone; she must be a regular at the gym.
Ge Mengshi, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, exuded an aura of asceticism, making even Chen Pingjiang unable to help but swallow.
The gazes of many men and women around them automatically shifted to Ge Mengshi.
Men adored her, women envied her.
"How did you get here?"
Ge Mengshi asked after sitting down, ordering an iced Americano.
Chen Pingjiang genuinely felt he couldn't drink this stuff; it was both bitter and astringent.
"I took an hour-long bus ride to Metro Line 1, then took the subway here. It took about two hours in total, right?"
Chen Pingjiang said with a smile.
Ge Mengshi asked in surprise,
"Where's your car?"
"It's at the car wash. Didn't you throw up all over it?"
"Uh."
Ge Mengshi was immediately speechless, not expecting the boomerang to hit herself.
Her face was a little red.
"You could have taken a taxi; I would reimburse you."
Speaking of which, Ge Mengshi's feelings towards Chen Pingjiang were certainly complex.
First, she threw up in his car, and all over Chen Pingjiang, then she somehow ended up spending a night in the same bed, and finally, she had to bother Chen Pingjiang to pretend to be her boyfriend.
This was completely different from her obedient "good girl" life trajectory of the past thirty years, and it all happened within just two days.
This made Ge Mengshi, when facing Chen Pingjiang, have to maintain her inherent coldness, yet she couldn't treat Chen Pingjiang as a stranger, especially when she needed his help.
What made Ge Mengshi call it even more outrageous was that Chen Pingjiang was only twenty years old, while she was already thirty-two; their ages differed by a full twelve years.
"I've made it very clear on the phone: fifty thousand a month, and you need to be on call, including but not limited to family dinners, dealing with parents, Chinese New Year, and visiting relatives."
Ge Mengshi started discussing business with Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang was very straightforward.
Damn, if he hadn't started his own business, he'd be waking up smiling from dreams if he found such a good gig.
"If there are any other excessively special requests, can I ask for more money?"
Ge Mengshi was a little puzzled:
"You mean?"
Chen Pingjiang gestured,
"Ahem, well, it's just pretending after all. I should mention, I perform for money but don't sell myself. Holding hands under duress, I can do for free, but kissing or sleeping in the same bed is not out of the question, it just costs extra."
Ge Mengshi was dumbfounded, finding Chen Pingjiang quite absurd.
She couldn't tell if he genuinely felt good about himself or if he was joking.
"You're overthinking it!"
Ge Mengshi retorted coldly to Chen Pingjiang,
"We are just a cooperative relationship; there will be no transgression on my part, and I hope not on yours either. Besides, I'm afraid people will say I'm an old cow eating young grass."
Chen Pingjiang laughed, not feeling awkward at all:
"I really wanted to ask, don't you have any other friends? Why did you specifically choose me?"
After thinking for a moment, Ge Mengshi said,
"This is personal privacy, and as an employer, I have the right not to answer your question. However, for our first collaboration, with an open and candid attitude, I can answer you. It's because I have very few friends, and I don't want to trouble others.
Paying someone to pretend to be a boyfriend would seem ridiculous, or even worse, it might be taken as a hint to them. To avoid such unnecessary trouble, finding a stranger means we're not involved with other factors; it's purely a collaboration, and once it's done, we go our separate ways. I think that's more reasonable."
Chen Pingjiang understood, and nodded:
"Yes, very reasonable."
As an independent woman who wasn't short on money, this was indeed the best solution.
At this point, Ge Mengshi added,
"I asked Dai Sheng about you. Your name is Chen Pingjiang, and you're a freshman at the University of Finance and Economics, right? A boy your age makes me feel more at ease. Oh, by the way, I heard you also opened a milk tea shop, and Dai Sheng is an employee there."
Chen Pingjiang's expression was strange, and he tentatively asked,
"So what else did Dai Sheng say?"
"Nothing else,"
Ge Mengshi shook her head.
After contacting Chen Pingjiang, she still felt uneasy, so she called Dai Sheng and subtly inquired a bit about Chen Pingjiang.
Undoubtedly, Chen Pingjiang's student status greatly satisfied Ge Mengshi.
Young, with fewer malicious intentions, he would be much more honest and well-behaved. Most importantly, he would be easy to control.
Dai Sheng, for some unknown reason, only told half the story, merely mentioning that Chen Pingjiang opened a small milk tea shop and nothing else.
Therefore, Ge Mengshi regarded Chen Pingjiang as an ordinary, passerby university student.
Although starting a business as a freshman was decent, it was merely decent.
"Alright, let's go over the lines then,"
Chen Pingjiang said seriously.
At this point, his playful spirit far outweighed the fifty thousand yuan.
This sum was nothing to Chen Pingjiang now, but a sophisticated, beautiful, and dominant woman like Ge Mengshi was rare.
Thinking about it, it was quite interesting.
Speaking of which, Ge Mengshi took out a printed script from her handbag and handed it to Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang exclaimed that she was a professional; this "elder sister" had even prepared his persona.
Suppressing a laugh, he softly read aloud:
"Chen Pingjiang, a freshly graduated university student, currently employed at Youli Group. Uh, what is this Youli Group?"
"My company,"
Ge Mengshi said, feeling somewhat embarrassed and covering a bit of awkwardness by sipping her coffee.
"Hmm, an office romance, very reasonable. Otherwise, we'd have to explain a whole lot about how we met."
Chen Pingjiang nodded and continued reading:
"Because of a business trip opportunity, feelings developed between us..."
Feeling the strange glances from around them, even the mentally strong Ge Mengshi felt a bit of social death, and quickly spoke to stop him:
"Just look, don't read it out loud."
Ge Mengshi and Chen Pingjiang as a couple were already a bit odd, and combined with Ge Mengshi's cool beauty, people around them seemed to be chatting, but were actually all eavesdropping on their conversation.
After hearing the whole story, everyone wished they could slap their own thighs in frustration.
Damn it, why didn't such a good thing happen to them?
Some even wished they could step forward and offer themselves to Ge Mengshi.
I don't need fifty thousand, five thousand is fine.
Chen Pingjiang cautiously glanced at the potential "competitors" around them and suggested,
"How about we get in the car first and talk as we go?"
With that, the two left the coffee shop.
"You drive,"
Ge Mengshi said, handing Chen Pingjiang the car keys.
An ordinary Mercedes-Benz car key.
Chen Pingjiang didn't pay much attention at first, but after reaching the parking lot, he still gave a thumbs-up:
"Tsk tsk, Sister Ge, you have good taste."
A 2007 G55 AMG!
He had thought a woman like Ge Mengshi would drive a small supercar for commuting, but she was driving a rugged off-road G-Wagen.
Compared to her image as a beautiful CEO, it wasn't just different, it was completely unrelated.
And as the latest model, an imported G-Wagen that had only been launched on January 1st.
It was only April now, and Ge Mengshi was already driving it, indicating she was among the first batch of owners for the new G-Wagen.
"I didn't expect that beneath Sister Ge's cool exterior, there's also an off-road heart,"
Chen Pingjiang said with a smile after getting into the driver's seat.
"What do you mean?"
"Generally speaking, full-size SUVs are driven more by men. Girls who drive this type of car might be lacking a sense of security. Its wide hood is like a man's shoulder a woman can lean on; it fits the image of a tough guy boyfriend. Moreover, girls who drive such cars often have straightforward, uninhibited, and adventurous personalities, possessing a wild and confident demeanor."
Before Chen Pingjiang could finish, Ge Mengshi rolled her eyes and interrupted him:
"Focus on driving, and talk less."
(End of Chapter)
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