Chapter 108: Three Cups of Punishment Wine

Returning to the office, work hours had long since passed.

Planning to find Yu Chengmin for some casual talk and clarification, Yu Chengmin waved her off. “It’s fine, just coming back is enough. I know what you want to say.”

That was one good thing about her—she generally didn’t like supervising Xiao Ma and such. The reason she urgently called Xiao Ma back must mean something had happened.

Yu Chengmin then pointed at the computer. “My plan has been leaked.”

Xiao Ma immediately shook his hands to distance himself. “No, no, no, if you’re looking for a mole, you should look elsewhere. This has nothing to do with me...”

“Listen to me first.” Yu Chengmin interrupted. “I didn’t say there’s a mole, because no one could possibly be one. I never disclosed these plans or materials to anyone—not even my boss knows the details. But since it’s leaked, it means I’ve been hacked again. You’re paid so well, do you really just sweep the floor? Last time I asked you to fix the system vulnerabilities, and you installed the whole bundled package?”

Sweat. Xiao Ma felt a bit embarrassed and protested, “3660 is really cute, okay...”

“Cute alone is useless; it has to be effective.” Yu Chengmin thought for a moment, then added, “For now, since you’re not busy, don’t say anything yet. I’m going to be lenient with you on this matter. The night after tomorrow, come with me somewhere, and you’ll owe me three drinks as a penalty.”

Xiao Ma remembered he had already promised Jiang Yaowen for that night, so he shook his head decisively. “No, no, let’s skip the drinks. The night after tomorrow isn’t work time, and I really have other plans.”

“You...” Yu Chengmin felt she had been patient enough, yet he dared to refuse?

After some thought, Yu Chengmin, without much anger, frowned. “I won’t ask what you’re doing then. But how do you plan to solve this problem of mine?”

Xiao Ma honestly didn’t know how to solve it. He said, “Since you’ve been hacked, I’ll do my best to help you trace who did it, and maybe help you recover the data.”

She might have been grateful and worshipful, but instead she said, “What’s the use of that? First, my data isn’t lost, so there’s nothing to find. Second, I have a vague idea who did it; you might not even need to look. Most importantly, this isn’t about counter-hacking. The other side already knows my setup and plans and is acting accordingly. This will definitely obstruct my plans.”

Xiao Ma vaguely understood the situation she was referring to and immediately shook his hands again. “Listen, be calm. This looks like it involves Ni Feihong, but it’s definitely not her doing it—at most, it’s people behind her.”

Yu Chengmin's expression turned strange. “You’re really defending her... Well, that’s one good thing about you. I’ve taken care of you this much; I hope you’ll treat me the same.”

After a pause, Yu Chengmin said, “You’re overthinking. I don’t like Ni Feihong, but I know she’s not that kind of person. This has nothing to do with her. Basically, I’ve pinned this on Xu Meihui. The evidence is that only I knew the key points of the merger plan, and the latest news is that Xu Meihui has already gone to negotiate with the other party ahead of time. Although this isn’t as tricky as a hostile takeover of a listed company, it has created too many obstacles for me. It will greatly increase the cost and difficulty of my plan, and most importantly, delay the timeline—and I don’t have time right now.”

Xiao Ma weakly said, “Alright, if that’s the case, it’s beyond my job scope. So why did you think of dragging me out for three drinks the night after tomorrow? What’s your real intention?”

Yu Chengmin thought to herself, inviting you out for drinks and acting all proud—what’s there to fear?

After indulging in this fantasy, Yu Chengmin said, “I’m not inviting you out just to drink, nor is it a real punishment. I also have a boss to report to. Since something went wrong, I have to provide an explanation—explain the cause of the incident and the technical issues according to procedures and rules. You’ll go as a professional to explain to my boss that this crisis was caused by a ‘technical failure.’ They won’t ask for your solution, but this is why I hired you and your duty—understand?”

Xiao Ma nervously said, “So basically, you want me to take the blame for you? Tell them, ‘It’s not Yu Da’s fault, the other side was just too cunning’?”

“...”

Yu Chengmin was irritated again. That sounded painful to hear. But since he was basically right, she couldn’t really scold him, and she even blushed slightly.

“So you plan to burn bridges and pin this on me. Maybe that’s political sacrifice of the pawn to save the king because you were sidelined,” Xiao Ma continued.

Yu Chengmin slammed the table. “Is that how I am? You’re overthinking. Even if there are some hiccups, don’t you think I’d protect you? I protect you plenty! You know nothing about power. If I didn’t protect you, Chen Haodong would have sent you to share a hospital room with that robber long ago. You little bastard... As my staff, you can’t even help me out. If you don’t want to, just get out.”

She sat back down, put on her anti-radiation glasses, and resumed working.

Xiao Ma felt a bit resentful but also somewhat embarrassed, unsure what else to say.

“Anything else?” Yu Chengmin didn’t even look up this time.

Xiao Ma pointed and said, “Should I just reinstall your computer...?”

“Reinstall 3660 again?” Yu Chengmin raised her head and looked at him.

Xiao Ma broke out in a cold sweat.

He really had no choice but to do that because he wasn’t sure when the next “Sword Demon’s Return” would happen. However, Xiao Ma had some resources himself. He kept many demon women locked in the Demon Lock Tower for just this kind of emergency. Han Siyi was a specialist in this area and could lend a hand.

If all else failed, the two-dimensional girl Zhou Dongyun, who owed Xiao Ma a favor, would probably help too.

Of course, if even these first- and second-tier experts couldn’t hold out, then all that remained was tearful waiting for the Sword Demon’s Return.

After indulging in this thought, Xiao Ma said, “I know I was somewhat negligent in this matter. I can’t guarantee that fixing your computer last time would prevent hacking because no system is without vulnerabilities—only timely emergency mechanisms exist. Even so, installing 36660 last time counts as me not doing my job properly. But it's never too late to mend fences. What needs to be done still must be done. After you finish using it, I’ll take your computer home and fix it up. Doing something is better than nothing.”

Yu Chengmin was taken aback for a moment, hesitated, then nodded slightly without saying more.

Xiao Ma finally added, “Also, I know you’re someone who can handle things. What I said earlier wasn’t my real intention—I was a bit brainless. I’m not going with you because I’m afraid of trouble; I really have other plans. Someone already made an appointment with me before you did.”

Yu Chengmin was surprised again. Thinking about it, what he said was believable. He was brainless, and precisely because he knew nothing about power, he wasn’t afraid of trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have thrown pepper powder at Chen Hong or foolishly provoked Chen Haodong.

These actions proved he was brainless, but also that he wasn’t a coward.

With that in mind, Yu Chengmin nodded slightly. “Alright, I got it. Leave your computer with me when you leave. But if you ever install the whole bundled package on me again, I’ll kill you. My philosophy is that going bare with the system’s built-in tools is fine.”

Xiao Ma’s expression was peculiar. “Even Microsoft headquarters uses third-party antivirus, and that was when they were at their peak. Now, with Indians running Microsoft, Yu Da, are you sure you want to rely on the built-in stuff?”

“Uh...” Yu Chengmin heard the mention of Indians and stopped arguing.

After Xiao Ma left, Yu Chengmin took out her phone, made a call, and after a brief conversation said, “That’s it. Please help me look into the matter with Wang Xiaai at the Third Elementary School. Don’t let her get expelled.”

“Alright, I’ll call the principal right away,” a male voice responded immediately.

Yu Chengmin cautiously asked, “There won’t be any surprises, right?”

The man laughed, “Don’t worry at all. I know their principal well—it’s an old acquaintance. His pants are full of crap; he wouldn’t dare refuse me. Otherwise, he’d be ‘doubly dismissed’ before Wang Xiaai. If he’s a principal, he’s not that stupid.”

“Okay. Talk later.” Yu Chengmin hung up.