Chapter 59 "You wouldn't happen to be a rabbit..."

The phone rang for only three seconds before going dead.

He hung up?

Lin Chaoyue muttered unhappily, "Why are you still busy at this hour?"

He guessed that Pei Shuwen would see it and reply to him.

Lin Chaoyue did not send any more messages.

He fiddled with his phone absentmindedly, not paying attention to what the people on the bus were saying.

Occasionally, sniffs of "live stream," "link," or "showing off for the law firm" would drift into her ears, but these were all interspersed in the gaps of her absent-mindedness and were ignored.

"What are you thinking about so seriously? You're not even watching the live stream. If HR catches you, your performance review will be penalized."

Suddenly, Lin Chaoyue felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around in confusion: "Huh? What performance review?"

"The law firm's values ​​assessment will be a disaster; anyone who fails will have all their bonuses docked!" the girl joked playfully.

"Stop teasing Lin Chaoyue, she's upset right now, and her paintball team is short of players."

"Really?"

Originally, only a small group of people around Lin Chaoyue were listening, but as soon as she said this, the boys in the front row turned around in surprise and asked.

It's said that the highest prize money for this team building activity is for the live-action CS game.

"Really? Otherwise, why do you see Lin Chaoyue always so absent-minded?"

"Damn it! For the sake of the bonus, you have to at least get enough people, otherwise it's so unfair. Anyone who doesn't come, just kick them off the list! You wait, when we get off the bus I'll take you to HR and administration to protest."

The girl's righteous indignation made everyone burst into laughter, and Lin Chaoyue was also infected by it, her eyes crinkling slightly.

Before she could even respond, someone reminded her, "Sister Tong, even though Attorney Pei isn't coming, he still sets a good example for our firm. It wouldn't be right to just kick him out."

Liu Tong, who had just been spamming the chat with comments during the live stream, turned around abruptly upon hearing this: "What? Pei Lu? You and Pei Lu are in the same group?"

"No, you can't kick that! I'm waiting for Pei Lu to finish his live stream today so I can come to the camp and see his divine face. Chao Yue, you can just keep being sad!"

Everyone burst into laughter at the girl's antics.

Only Lin Chaoyue was oblivious to the situation, and she tugged at the girl's hand that was holding the phone.

What live stream?

"Regarding the interview with Ningcheng Lawyer Magazine, which was previously pre-recorded, this time they followed the trend and did a live broadcast. Everyone in the group is talking about 999+. Didn't the HR department come to the bus just before we left to talk about it? Didn't you know?"

Of course I don't know.

If I had known that Pei Shuwen was giving a live interview...

How could she be so clueless as to call directly?

A bad feeling immediately arose in my heart.

Aside from her nose, which was red from the bump last night, Lin Chaoyue's ears were also burning hot.

Before letting go.

She pursed her lips, clinging to a sliver of hope, and asked, "Has the live stream just started?"

"What?! It's almost over. It started when we got off at the service station."

The girl glanced at the road sign on the highway: "We're almost at Ping County, and the campsite is another 70 kilometers away."

Lin Chaoyue's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, felt somewhat dead.

--

Intermission for the interview.

The backstage planners and directors are discussing the filming of the second half of the show.

Pei Shuwen declined the lounge prepared for him and went down to a quiet place to return the call.

The call didn't go through.

Lin Chaoyue didn't not want to answer, but she hadn't turned down the volume. As soon as her phone rang, everyone in the car stared at her.

Feeling guilty, she hurriedly hung up.

The apologies were sent out at almost the same time.

Lin Chaoyue: [I'm sorry, I didn't know you were being interviewed.]

Pei Shuwen replied: [Time is running out.]

Lin Chaoyue didn't understand this sentence.

Pei Shuwen then sent another message: "Let's talk on the phone."

The phone rang again.

Lin Chaoyue accepted the offer with a heavy heart this time.

Fortunately, she kept quiet this time, so no one's attention was on her.

"Hello?" Lin Chaoyue's voice was unusually cautious.

Pei Shuwen's words were concise: "Grandpa had someone bring something and asked me to put it upstairs. You know the password. Remember to go and pick it up after the team building activity."

Pei Shuwen's secretary told her about this.

But judging from his tone...

"Aren't you going back after you finish what you're doing there?"

Lin Chaoyue asked the question cryptically because there were people around.

Pei Shuwen understood: "Go back, it will be later. After the team building activity, we will hold a legal education lecture. The specific procedures and location will be sent to your email. The lecture will not be large-scale. If you need anything, you can ask the secretariat to assist you."

Lin Chaoyue was in low spirits and gave a weak "hmm".

"Is there anything else?" Pei Shuwen caught a glimpse of someone approaching out of the corner of his eye and switched the phone to the other side to answer the call.

have.

She still felt guilty for affecting Pei Shuwen's work.

But with people around, she couldn't ask too directly. Hesitantly, she mentioned "live broadcast" twice in a low voice, but didn't finish her sentence.

It was the other side who finished the sentence first.

First, there was static in the earphones, then an apology.

"Sorry, my phone wasn't on silent during the live stream."

The visitor was Zhao Jing.

The person in charge of this live interview was the deputy editor-in-chief of Ningcheng Lawyer Magazine, who is also Pei Shuwen's fellow student.

He has a broad face, high cheekbones, and a slightly serious appearance, but his laughter is hearty: "Junior brother, it's only at times like this that I feel you're more down-to-earth."

"Don't worry, compared to the buzz we've generated today, this incident is just a minor incident."

Pei Shuwen smiled as well: "It's good that I didn't cause any trouble for my senior brother."

"How could that be? I should thank you for giving me face by changing the pre-recorded broadcast to a live broadcast. Because of the high viewership, I just spoke with the host, and the official pre-recorded broadcast will be released simultaneously with the magazine, and we'll be doing some editing later..."

If Lin Chaoyue heard "It's okay" from Pei Shuwen, she would think it was Pei Shuwen's way of comforting her.

But to hear it this way.

She slowly let out a breath.

It's good that you're really alright.

Pei Shuwen knew that Lin Chaoyue had heard him, so he didn't say anything more.

I hung up the phone.

The person opposite couldn't help but tease, "Oh my, sounds like a girl. What, junior brother, do you have to report your relationship every time you're in love?"

Pei Shuwen smiled, not intending to discuss her relationship issues further.

But the other side wouldn't let it go: "Last time, President Feng of the Bar Association told me that you rejected his prized student, a top female student from the China University of Political Science and Law, whose family background is also said to be among the best. Now I'm really curious, what kind of girl can catch your eye?"

"Want to bring him out to meet us at the victory celebration tonight?"

Pei Shuwen raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding the implication in Zhao Jing's words.

“Junior brother, good junior brother, don’t look at me like that. I know you don’t usually attend social events outside of work, but isn’t this celebration party also part of the work? Besides, the layout of the next quarterly magazine hasn’t been finalized yet. Old Wu has the final say on this matter, and he’s here today too.”

Wu Jianzhong is the editor-in-chief of the magazine.

But Pei Shuwen clearly didn't care who was featured in the magazine, and patted him on the shoulder: "It's not appropriate for me to go to the law firm's team building event. Let's have dinner together next time."

Zhao Jing knew that if he missed this opportunity, he didn't know when he would be able to catch Pei Shuwen again.

He quickly followed, saying, "No way! The last time I saw you was last year. What's the big deal about team building? It's okay to go later. I heard from Zhao Huai'an that this is mainly a team building activity for the new members. Why are you taking the activities so seriously? Just show your face at the end."

Pei Shuwen stopped in her tracks.

"Has Zhao Huai'an contacted you again recently?"

"Yes, we talked about the details of the interview. He was much more enthusiastic than you, but the decision-making power for the layout rests with Lao Wu. I can only offer some suggestions."

When Zhao Jing was discussing the layout, he noticed Pei Shuwen's expression again.

Still not proactive.

I'm not really interested.

He guessed that Pei Shuwen probably wouldn't come tonight, so he didn't insist. But then he remembered his phone call with Zhao Huai'an, and suddenly something occurred to him. He snapped his fingers again.

"I heard from Zhao Huai'an that you've been mentoring a new person recently, and it's a girl,"

“Junior brother, the person on the other end of your phone just now was also a young woman. You wouldn’t happen to be,” Zhao Jing’s voice suddenly became a little excited, and his voice was noticeably louder: “You wouldn’t happen to be a rabbit eating the grass near its burrow, or an old rabbit eating young grass, would you?”

"I'm not old."

Zhao Jing was clearly determined to stick to this topic: "Yes, yes, you're not old, but others are always young."

It's because they're young.

Recalling that last night at Yuntai, a fleeting look of melancholy crossed Pei Shuwen's eyes. Those who knew him knew that he only showed this side of himself a few years ago when facing difficult cases.

--

Lin Chaoyue was distracted throughout the two days of team building, eagerly anticipating Pei Shuwen's arrival, but instead, the outdoor CS activity came ahead of schedule.

"It's raining quite heavily outside. I've brought all the equipment for tomorrow morning's activities. Remember to go downstairs and get it later."

Water was dripping outside the room; Nie Shanshan's clothes and hair were soaked.

"Why didn't you bring an umbrella when you went out?"

"Just bad luck."

Nie Shanshan wasn't happy about this. Ever since she found out that she was sharing a room with her unlucky cousin, she had been looking for an opportunity to switch rooms.

But the administration and personnel were too busy to handle this matter, so they told her to find someone to replace her privately.

We've been working together for a while now, and we all know that Nie Jingjing isn't a good person. She asked several people, but no one was willing to work with her.

A woman from the litigation department who lives in the building across the street said it was possible.

She rushed over without an umbrella.

After complaining, Nie Shanshan prepared to get her suitcase and change rooms.

She took two steps forward, then turned back: "By the way, I just went to the next building and I think I heard HR say that Lawyer Pei has some work to do and won't be coming this time. The team competition is tomorrow. I think you should talk to that young couple in the criminal litigation group and try to get another person into the group. Four people will definitely have a better chance of winning than three."

"Just so you know, if I happen to run into you, I won't let you off easily."

Lin Chaoyue frowned: "You mean tomorrow? Isn't the CS event in three days?"

"The weather forecast says tomorrow and the day after will be sunny, so outdoor activities are being done earlier than usual. Didn't you know?"

Of course, I don't know.

Not only did she not know.

Even the young couple in the same group only heard about it at dinner.

"Pei Lu isn't coming! I thought we'd won the lottery! Is he really not coming? I didn't see any of the administrative staff mention it, so there's still hope, right?"

"The administration means that if we need to find another partner, they can help us free up one person. But if Pei Lu comes tomorrow and our team is already full, we will fill Pei Lu's spot in another team that is short of people."

Lin Chaoyue went to ask before dinner.

Of course, that's not the main reason.

Rather, it was for their own selfish reasons.

But after ten minutes of back-and-forth, they still couldn't get a clear answer as to why Pei Shuwen wasn't coming.

She didn't even enjoy her dinner.

He poked around in the bowl a couple of times with his chopsticks, picked up a slice of beef roll, and then put it down without any appetite.

"Sister Wang from the administration department asked us to discuss it within our group and give her an answer tomorrow morning. I'm fine with either of us; you two decide."

The young couple clearly hadn't thought it through either; they looked at each other blankly.

After dinner, the girl muttered under her breath, "What if Pei Lu comes tomorrow? We'll just be handing over our hard-won lottery win to someone else. He didn't even say he definitely wouldn't come."

She really wanted to be on Pei Lu's team.

"How about... how about we form a team of three first?"

Fearing Lin Chaoyue might disagree, the girl added, "Even if Pei Lu doesn't come in the end, we can still split the prize money among the three of us, right, Chen Wei?"

Chen Wei?

Lin Chaoyue had seen this name on the group list before and it sounded familiar.

Now, looking at the face opposite her, she finally remembered.

He was the guy she shared a ride with when she first joined the law firm and had the new employees' dinner party.

She had a so-so impression of this person.

First, they belittled the French restaurant that Yao Yao liked, saying it was "pretentious but impractical."

Later at the dinner table, the implication was that some girls, in order to climb the social ladder, routinely engage in materialism.

Lin Chaoyue glanced at him a couple more times.

With all eyes on him, Chen Wei was clearly pleased and raised his voice a few decibels.

"Sure, why not? The ladies' opinions come first."

Lin Chaoyue pursed her lips, feeling that Chen Wei's attitude was somewhat off, but since the matter had already been settled, and she wasn't particularly familiar with either of the two people in her group, she prepared to go back to her room to rest.

It rained for a while during the day, but it stopped before we ate.

She came out without an umbrella and was about to go back when she found that it had started to drizzle again.

The rain wasn't too heavy.

But looking at her freshly washed hair and new clothes, she silently took two steps back, preparing to walk around to the other side of the staff passage.

She remembered that back door, which was directly in front of the lobby on the first floor of the building where she lived.

Even if she gets wet in the rain, she can walk quickly and not get wet much.

With that thought in mind, she walked back against the flow of people.

The camp canteen was bustling with activity, but the further down the corridor you went, the quieter it became. If it weren't for the small crack in the door at the end, Lin Chaoyue would have thought the door was locked.

There are quite a few people living in her building.

She didn't think she would be the only one taking a shortcut on a rainy day like this.

Moreover, there were obvious wet stains on the ground, and several clear footprints were also visible.

Lin Chaoyue walked over quietly, afraid that she might accidentally fall. This time, Pei Shuwen wasn't there to catch her.

As she approached the door, her hand was almost on the slightly ajar doorknob.

A fire was started outside, accompanied by a few familiar coughs.

"Cough cough cough, what's up? Speak up. That fat woman wants fried chicken. Doesn't she even look at herself? All she knows is how to eat all day long."

"Not buy? How am I supposed to coax her into spending money on me if I don't buy? I'm not bragging, but the prize money for tomorrow's competition is 200,000 yuan. Fatty said if I win, I'll get my share too. After I get the money, how about we go for a ride with some red lights in Ningcheng? I've been so bored lately..."

Ningcheng Little Red Light.

The bath and massage street in Ningcheng is legal on the surface, but judging from the man's last moan, you can guess that he was referring to the illegal part.

As expected, no matter how respectable one's profession is, it can't stop a person from being vulgar.

Just now at the dinner table, she kept calling me "baby," but behind my back she's calling me such an awful name. Besides, that girl only has a little bit of fat on her face; she's not fat at all.

Lin Chaoyue rolled her eyes and only went out after she heard the people outside walk away.

Staring at that dapper-looking back, he cursed, "What bad luck!"

She played three games in bed that night, and each time she almost won, which made her feel even more unlucky.

"Ugh, am I having Mercury retrograde lately? It's one thing to encounter awful people in real life, but why am I having such terrible teammates in games too?"

She and Li Cong were randomly matched into a four-player squad.

In the last game, a guy was playing with a girl, and when he died, he yelled at them for shooting and revealing their position; in this game, the old man didn't yell at anyone, but his grenade throwing was terrible, hitting her health bar twice, and she only had two first aid kits left.

"Oh, it's no big deal. After all, there aren't many good men like me anymore."

"Anyway, you're outnumbered and won't win tomorrow. You won't even get your share, let alone your love-struck girlfriend's money."

"He's probably just a gold digger. He'll dump you when he's done getting what he wants. You don't even know him well, so why are you worried about this?"

Li Cong, who never holds his tongue, blurted out without thinking, "You'd better worry about your own relationship problems."

That makes a lot of sense.

Lin Chaoyue pressed her entire face against the bed, her voice filled with utter despair.

Don't talk about others.

She's been feeling like she's in love lately.

“What’s the use of worrying? He still hasn’t given me a clear answer. The thought of having to be his assistant and live downstairs from him makes me feel uncomfortable.”

She was more hopeful than disappointed before.

But so much time has passed, even if Pei Shuwen didn't mention it, she could roughly guess the outcome.

Li Cong is currently enjoying great success and has a lot of experience in matters of the heart.

He urged Lin Chaoyue to quickly confirm and start the next game, then analyzed: "I think there's something wrong with your way of pursuing her. You asked her to think about it, but you didn't clearly explain what she should think about."

"Should we consider an arranged marriage, a one-night stand, or a romantic relationship?"

"That's a very different story."

"Tell me more about it."

"A one-night stand, as the name suggests, is for one night. Once you're in bed, you're all good to each other, and once you're out of bed, you go your separate ways. A good one-night stand should make the next meeting feel like the first one. Your relationship is definitely not going to work out; it can only be long-term."

"Then the remaining options are either dating or marriage; your two families might have been interested in marriage at first, but neither of you is willing to do it."

"Who said he didn't want to!"

"He's willing to make you sign some kind of cohabitation agreement, and he went to all the trouble of coaxing you to work at his law firm. Why choose such a difficult option instead of the easy one? Is he the one who's sick or you?"

Lin Chaoyue's voice was even lower and hoarse: "Okay, you're right, he doesn't want to."

"So I think he probably didn't figure out what you meant either, and he had some concerns, so he didn't know how to handle it. Otherwise, why would he be avoiding you?"

Lin Chaoyue rolled over and sat up cross-legged: "What you said seems to make some sense. Tell me more. No, don't just talk, you have to tell me how to do it. No matter how strong my theoretical knowledge is, I still need some practical skills!"

"Yuebao, your comprehension is so poor right now. The rest is easy. What's the point of dating these days? It's about being direct! As the saying goes, even a strong woman can be won over by persistence. These career-oriented guys have never seen anything like this before. Look at my wife, that amazing business elite, I won her over so easily!"

How do you hit a straight shot?

She directly said she liked Pei Shuwen and wanted to sleep with him.

This might be acceptable abroad, but would people in China accept this level of declaration of love?

"Is it really possible? But he's Pei Shuwen."

"No matter who it is, this trick will never fail. If he really doesn't like you, he can just reject you outright, and you'll be able to give up. If you ask me, your taste isn't very good. If you want someone like this, just tell your brother. There are tons of them... Hey, hey, hey, why don't you open the umbrella already? You're almost flying off the map..."

Lin Chaoyue played games all night.

She also silently spent the whole night rehearsing her confession.

But pursuing someone is something that's unprecedented for a young woman getting married.

She felt a little embarrassed when she woke up in the morning and thought about it again, which made her somewhat timid about seeing Pei Shuwen.

We gathered at the CS team building camp and noticed that Pei Shuwen hadn't arrived.

She wasn't disappointed at all; instead, she instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chaoyue, this time it really is the three of us in a group." Yu Ying twisted the hem of her team-building white T-shirt, looking at the entrance with some regret. The staff had closed all the camp gates, so Pei Lu definitely wouldn't be coming.

God knows how excited she was when she was drawn into a group with Pei Lu.

I'm even happier than if I had been drawn into a group with my boyfriend.

Chen Wei clearly understood what Yu Ying meant, a flash of disdain in his eyes, then he put on a fake smile and said, "Don't worry, Yingying, leave it to me. I used to go to the shooting club all the time, I'm sure I can win the championship this time."

After saying that, he glanced at Lin Chaoyue, as if afraid she hadn't heard him after he finished showing off.

Lin Chaoyue frowned.

He didn't reply.

Although I think the chances of winning are slim if three people team up.

But she was quite interested in this kind of shooting game and listened attentively as the team leader explained the rules of the competition.

Theoretically, all employees of the law firm should participate in this live-action CS competition, but since the senior employees all have their own jobs, only new employees and management are required to participate in the practical stage.

By the end of the statistics, 80 people had participated, divided into 20 groups of 4 people each. The team numbers were Roman numerals from 1 to 20.

As for the game mode, it's similar to battle royale games. At the start, everyone will be randomly dropped into the arena, and guns, paint ammo, protective gear, and food supplies will randomly spawn inside buildings.

All guns have the same attack power. Each player is given three electronic health bars. Each time a player is shot, they lose one energy bar. When the energy bar is empty, the player is eliminated. The announcement will be broadcast throughout the game. Each paint ammo can be used for five shots. Each piece of protective gear can withstand one shot.

Infrared drones will designate areas and patrol the skies at any time.

"Isn't it enough to just find a good spot and hide until the game ends?"

"Yeah, if everyone tries to survive to the end, will everyone be tied for first place?"

The prize money for this live-action shooting competition is quite high. If that's the case, everyone would probably be happy to just wait until the end of the game so that everyone can get the prize money. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?

Lin Chaoyue curled her lip, thinking to herself, "They've even used infrared drones. Do they really think the planners are idiots? They managed to exploit such an obvious loophole."

"Of course it's not that simple."

"Look at this box in my hand, everyone."

Similar to the airdrop crates in battle royale mobile games, the red crates with blue lids are very eye-catching from a distance.

"During the game, 80 identical airdrop crates will be randomly dropped. A total of 20 law firm badges will be randomly spawned in these airdrop crates. The team that collects 4 badges in advance, or the team that survives to the end without collecting all the badges, wins the game."

"This team building activity tested not only everyone's individual abilities but also the team's cooperation and coordination..."

If that's the case, the game becomes more difficult.

Four badges are neither a small nor a large number. Originally, everyone was thinking of finding a place to hide and survive until the end, but what if a team got lucky and didn't hide, but instead split up to search for airdrop crates, and the team members were also lucky enough to each get a badge and quickly end the game? In that case, hiding would be too disadvantageous.

Sure enough, I heard this rule.

The previously quiet group suddenly erupted into a restless discussion.

Especially those teams with incomplete squads, who were hoping that if they won the championship, each member would get more money.

Now they are all starting to regroup and register at the front.

"Chaoyue, how about we find another guy to team up with? Otherwise, if Chen Wei leads the two of us, I'm afraid we won't be able to win."

Chen Wei's face darkened, clearly dissatisfied with the girl's ability to see through him.

"Yingying, there are three of us, and the rest of the teams are mostly two people. Don't you trust me?" The boy deliberately lowered his voice, probably thinking that speaking like that would make him sound more magnetic.

Lin Chaoyue wanted to say that she was about to throw up her dinner from the night before.

She initially thought that since Pei Shuwen wasn't coming, she could be on any team, but now her opinion has changed.

Lin Chaoyue suggested, "I'm not feeling well today, why don't you guys team up with them, I'll just play by myself."

"Huh? Is this going to work?" Yu Ying looked at the two boys who were alone, clearly somewhat tempted.

Fearing she might change her mind, Lin Chaoyue quickly waved over and finalized the matter in a few words. She didn't even give many people a chance to back out; after getting the personnel list, she immediately highlighted her own and Pei Shuwen's names separately with a pen.

Lin Chaoyue: "Then let's leave it at that for now. I'll be on my own team for the time being."

Others may not know Lin Chaoyue, but the people in the personnel department have all heard of this newcomer. She was put into Juntian Liangmu through back channels, and later Pei Lu asked her to be his special assistant.

Rumor has it that this girl isn't actually working at the office; she was probably sent there by some client.

Since that's the case, everyone in human resources and administration is shrewd and capable, so naturally they would agree.

Moreover, I heard that Pei Lu is already on his way.

If Pei Lu really needs it, they can temporarily grab two more able-bodied men to make up the numbers.

"Your team number is 20. Here's the corresponding wristband and entrance map. You can randomly choose one of the next 10 entrances. The game starts in half an hour. Do you want to wait and enter?"

"No need." Lin Chaoyue entered the paintball camp without looking back, just as a pure black Aston Martin drove in.