At the milk tea shop near the school gate, Qi looked at the woman before her — the “Boss” Lin Yue had mentioned.
Because of the Breach of Contract Penalty, this woman was technically her creditor, yet she acted extremely friendly, as if they were long-lost friends.
The woman was younger than Qi had expected and very beautiful, looking to be in her early twenties.
However, the black-haired girl knew very well that anyone who could become the President of a large company likely had more schemes than hairs on her head.
“Little sister Qiqi, I’m so happy to finally meet you in person,” the woman sitting opposite her said with a graceful smile.
“My name is Bai Qiaoyu. I used to be a student at this school too. If you’d like, you can just call me Big Sister Bai.”
“The big Boss actually has the time to come find me? Did you forget to tell me that there’s Interest on this Breach of Contract Penalty?”
Qi had no intention of accepting her attempts at intimacy.
“How could that be? You think too poorly of us, little sister Qiqi. I don’t want to use the penalty to make things difficult for you.”
Bai Qiaoyu shook her head with a smile.
“It would be such a pity for a girl as cute as Qiqi to be constantly worried about a debt. 150,000 Yuan is nothing to me. I didn’t come here for that, so don’t worry about it.”
Her tone was unhurried, as if they were just having a casual chat.
It seemed friendly, yet it carried a persistent air of superiority that made one feel uncomfortable.
Qi didn’t want to keep talking in circles, so she laid the issue bare on the table.
“Since it’s not about the money, then what is the big Boss doing here? Just to chat?”
“Can’t I? I’ll even treat you to a cup of milk tea while we’re at it.”
“I don’t follow.” The black-haired girl waved her hand.
“The business is already done, so can you be a bit more honest? If you want something, just say it. Acting like this won’t change my impression of you.”
“You have a deep prejudice against me, but that’s okay.”
Bai Qiaoyu’s smile didn’t fade.
Her fingertips lightly tapped the table, and her eyes grew profound as she looked at Qi.
“Life is hard right now, isn’t it? I’ve heard a bit about your situation at school. You took a job just to earn money for living expenses, but ended up burdened with debt instead. You can’t possibly afford this 150,000 Yuan penalty, can you?”
The woman’s voice carried an invisible weight.
She sat up slightly straighter, forcing the black-haired girl to look slightly upward to meet her gaze.
Qi’s expression didn’t change.
She watched the woman silently, though her hands resting on her lap subconsciously tightened.
‘As expected, the contract was a trap.’
Ever since she heard Bai Qiaoyu wanted to meet her yesterday, she’d had a premonition.
Only now was it truly confirmed.
She didn’t know when she had been targeted.
It didn’t matter if the job was a setup from the start or if the woman had come up with the idea halfway through.
The moment the contract was signed, the 150,000 Yuan debt was destined to weigh her down.
Qi hated this feeling.
To appear composed, she had been suppressing her emotions from the beginning.
An emotion called anxiety.
“I can waive this 150,000 Yuan. After all, you’re so cute, and I really do like you.”
Saying this, Bai Qiaoyu stood up and walked behind the black-haired girl step by step.
She wrapped her arms around Qi’s neck, her right fingertip grazing the girl’s cheek in a gesture that was part admiration and part provocation.
Leaning down, her lips brushed against the girl’s ear.
“Be my girlfriend, and the 150,000 Yuan will be written off. How about it?”
She spoke in a low voice, her gaze on Qi’s profile confident and composed — as if she were looking at a possession she was about to obtain.
“So, the President wants to buy me for 150,000 Yuan?”
The black-haired girl asked, turning her head.
‘So much malice.’
For this kind of person, Qi’s attitude was the same as her attitude toward Jiang Wanli: it was best to avoid them.
If the unease Jiang Wanli gave her was due to being inscrutable and unpredictable, then Bai Qiaoyu’s blatant Malice toward her sounded a direct alarm of danger.
Unfortunately, Qi, who was now in debt, had lost the ability to simply walk away.
“How could you say that? I only hope Qiqi will take this chance to give me the opportunity to date you. After all, I fell hopelessly in love with you the first time I saw you~”
“Then why do you think I would fall in love with you?”
The black-haired girl gave a cold laugh.
“I was tricked by a contract trap into debt, and now I’m supposed to sell myself to the culprit to pay it off? Don’t take me for a fool, President.”
“Rejected, huh? What a shame.”
Bai Qiaoyu let go, feigning regret.
“But considering that Qiqi might still be angry, I’ll give you more time to consider.”
She walked to Qi’s side, leaning one hand on the table.
“Don’t worry about the 150,000 Yuan. You can pay it back whenever you’ve saved enough money.”
Her words caught the black-haired girl somewhat by surprise.
Instead of continuing to pressure her, this person was backing off?
“And what if I never pay it back?”
“That’s fine too. Just consider it a little privilege of my affection for you~”
Bai Qiaoyu smoothed her hair as she spoke.
“Well, I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave for today.”
After one last deep look at the black-haired girl, Bai Qiaoyu turned and left the milk tea shop without another word.
Qi was left alone in her seat, her brow furrowed as she stared blankly at the street outside the window.
‘Why would she say it’s okay even if I don’t pay it back?’
Even after returning to her dorm, Qi was still thinking about this question.
Logically, since the other party had set a trap to put her in debt, she should have used that 150,000 Yuan to keep forcing her into a relationship.
Yet Bai Qiaoyu acted as if she didn’t care at all.
Qi didn’t know what she was thinking.
If the other party were only using the 150,000 Yuan debt to pressure her, Qi wouldn’t be this concerned.
Although she had no money right now, it wasn’t as if she had no way to pay it back.
If she were really desperate, she could borrow the money from Su Xiaoqie or even seek a bank loan to get rid of the penalty.
That had been her original plan.
But the current situation made her hesitate.
Or perhaps Bai Qiaoyu had considered this as well, which was why she didn’t pressure her about the debt?
The so-called 150,000 Yuan penalty was just an opening for the other party to consume her.
Once the debt was incurred, whether it was paid or not didn’t really matter.
Bai Qiaoyu had plenty of ways to keep her pinned down until she eventually lost any room to struggle.
If that was the case, it would be troublesome.
Qi rubbed her head.
‘I shouldn’t have taken this job if I’d known. I didn’t make any money, and now I’m stuck with this malicious person.’
The black-haired girl sighed.
Regardless, she had to pay back the penalty first.
As long as this burden was on her, she wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep in peace.
As for what other tricks Bai Qiaoyu had up her sleeve, she would deal with those later.
As for the option of dating her, Qi hadn’t considered it for even a second.
Her past experiences told her that, no matter what, she should never fall in love with a dangerous person.
Otherwise, the outcome would be miserable.