It was as expected!
The key to the hidden reward was Gu Yaoyang!
Xia Qingtian's eyes lit up, feeling as though she were Sherlock Holmes reincarnated – she was Xia Holmes!
However, just holding hands didn't seem to increase her points, so Xia Qingtian tried to pull her hand away, only for Gu Yaoyang to hold it back.
Xia Qingtian blinked and looked at Gu Yaoyang. What did he mean?
"I don't want Wen Yao to come back," Gu Yaoyang said, looking at Xia Qingtian, revealing his inner thoughts. "At least, not right now."
He wanted to spend time alone with Xia Qingtian, without any third party disturbing them.
"Then don't let her come back..." Xia Qingtian already knew Wen Yao wasn't related to her reward, so Wen Yao's return didn't matter. Spending time with Gu Yaoyang was more important.
But a new problem arose: this repeated physical contact seemed to have no effect.
The first time Gu Yaoyang pulled her right arm, the second time he grabbed her left wrist, and now they were holding hands. What would it be next time... the time after that... and the time after that...?
Xia Qingtian couldn't help but look at Gu Yaoyang's lips. She suddenly realized she hadn't paid attention to his attractive lip shape and good skin around his mouth before.
"Can you tone down your gaze?" Gu Yaoyang coughed lightly and turned his head away.
Hearing this, Xia Qingtian's cheeks turned red, and she averted her gaze.
Heaven knew she didn't mean anything by it, nor did she want to take advantage of him!
Xia Qingtian tried to withdraw her hand but found Gu Yaoyang holding it tightly. She couldn't pull it away.
"Is this... considered you making the first move?" Gu Yaoyang cleared his throat and asked.
"There are some misunderstandings I can't explain," Xia Qingtian quickly said. "I didn't mean anything by it."
"Misunderstandings? Including this?" Gu Yaoyang raised the hand he was holding with Xia Qingtian's and asked, "And your gaze just now?"
"What... what gaze did I have?" Xia Qingtian blinked, playing dumb.
"It seemed like..." Gu Yaoyang, usually distant and cold, seemed uncharacteristically flustered, his cheeks flushing and earlobes burning. "It seemed like you were craving me..."
"Me!" Xia Qingtian was stunned. Where could she possibly argue this?
She was really just thinking about the tricks of that darn system!
No!
Wait a minute!
The darn system's tricks?!
Xia Qingtian replayed everything in her mind and suddenly grasped something. She immediately raged internally, "You cheat system! What kind of system are you! Why are you meddling and pairing people up like this!"
"This system doesn't change its name and doesn't abandon its surname. This system is a hundred percent real, omniscient, omnipotent, great sage, intelligent, prophetic, chosen one system!" The system seemed very insistent on this point. "This system doesn't do any matchmaking!
Please, host, look for reasons within yourself! The system is not responsible for the host's own imaginings!"
Hearing the system's response, Xia Qingtian choked. That conclusion was indeed a product of her own imagination...
But it was also due to the reward guidance from that darn system!
Gu Yaoyang looked at Xia Qingtian's face and pondered for a moment before suddenly saying something that completely stunned her: "Xia Qingtian, I think I like you."
"Huh?" Xia Qingtian had been considering whether the darn system was shirking responsibility and setting a trap for her, and in the next second, she heard Mr. Gu's thunderous declaration.
"Before, you asked me for an explanation for avoiding you. I didn't understand it then, but I understand it now," Gu Yaoyang said earnestly, looking at Xia Qingtian. "I think I like you, but I'm not good at managing such emotions, which is why I've been avoiding you."
Gu Yaoyang couldn't think of any other reason; he liked Xia Qingtian.
In fact, this feeling might be more complex than simple "liking."
"Gu Yaoyang, no, Mr. Gu, I don't think you know what you're saying right now," Xia Qingtian quickly interjected. She struggled to pull her hand out of Gu Yaoyang's palm and then took a large step back. "We've always been in a cooperative relationship. You might be mistaken about this... this revolutionary friendship between us."
"I like you, and I infer that you like me too," Gu Yaoyang said seriously, looking at Xia Qingtian.
"How is that possible!" Xia Qingtian instinctively avoided his gaze, shook her head with a dry laugh, and waved her hands. "Mr. Gu, you might be too tired. I'll bother you again next time. Bye!"
"Answer me," Gu Yaoyang reached out and pulled Xia Qingtian, who was about to slip away, back to him. "Back then, on the phone, when you mistakenly thought I had something going on with Wen Yao, how did you feel?"
"I..." Xia Qingtian recalled for a moment and was suddenly speechless.
"After clearing up the misunderstanding, how did you feel?" Gu Yaoyang didn't give Xia Qingtian a chance to escape and pressed on. "And how do you feel now?"
"Stop!" Xia Qingtian pushed Gu Yaoyang's chest, her cheeks red, and said irritably, "Feelings, feelings! You keep asking! It's annoying! I feel like you're too close!"
Seeing Xia Qingtian's avoidance, Gu Yaoyang's lips curved up slightly, and he cooperatively took a step back. "You don't have to answer, but you should know in your heart."
"I don't know!" Xia Qingtian glared at Gu Yaoyang, turned around, picked up her handbag from the sofa, and strode angrily toward the door. After opening the door, she took two deep breaths and, turning back, looked at Gu Yaoyang irritably and said, "Don't think you can arbitrarily define others just because you're a genius! I won't..."
It was supposed to be a simple "I don't like you! Don't be so narcissistic, you pig!" but Xia Qingtian just couldn't say it.
It was as if the words were stuck, perhaps unwilling to say that to his face, or perhaps she didn't have the same confident resolve herself.
After holding it in for a long time, she finally managed to exclaim, "I won't... I won't talk to you! Na-na-na!"
Sticking out her tongue in a childish gesture, Xia Qingtian fled as if escaping.
Assistant Lin, standing at the doorway with a tray of snacks, looked as if he had been scared stiff. His first thought was: even if they survived today, they would all die tomorrow... This was terrifying!
Steeling himself, Assistant Lin entered the office, only to find Mr. Gu in what seemed to be a good mood, showing a rare smile and gentle eyes.
Assistant Lin was baffled. After a long while, he muttered, "Could it be... this is Mr. Gu and Qingtian's flirtatious banter? They... like this kind of thing?"
He couldn't understand.
Assistant Lin shook his head, a look of distress on his face.
These days, being an assistant was getting harder and harder, especially Mr. Gu's assistant...
It wasn't easy.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian, having fled Gu's Entertainment, was in such a hurry that she didn't notice Yu Yinyin as she brushed past her.
Yu Yinyin, standing in place, waved as if to say hello but missed.
Qingtian seemed to be in quite a hurry.