Gao Wu: I'll enjoy the benefits, but you'll bear the side effects.

The crowd waited anxiously and nervously for a long time, every minute and second seemed to stretch out infinitely, and the air was filled with a tense and oppressive atmosphere.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the entrance to the arena, eagerly anticipating seeing the opposing player, but as time passed, they still hadn't seen him arrive.

Looking at Gao Jie and his friends, they were leisurely eating snacks on the side, their relaxed and carefree demeanor completely out of place with the tense atmosphere around them.

Davidra watched this with a puzzled expression, unable to understand why they were so calm.

It wasn't until the referee strode onto the stage, loudly announced the end of the match, and declared that the event had to be canceled because Kang Hao and his team hadn't sent anyone that David finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, she was still somewhat unhappy, her brows furrowed slightly as she pondered to herself.

Originally, David was looking forward to taking this opportunity to completely defeat the opponent, to bring glory to his side, and to make all the hard work everyone had put in during this period worthwhile. But he never expected that it would end up being such a disappointing result. It was a complete waste of a great opportunity.

She sighed softly, feeling both unwilling and helpless.

After leaving the venue and escaping the suffocating tension, everyone's mood improved considerably. Davida, in particular, seemed to have shaken off her gloom and enthusiastically invited everyone to dinner, her face beaming with warmth.

"Come on, it's my treat today, let's go out and have a good meal!"

Gao Jie and Huang Xu exchanged a glance and waved their hands. Gao Jie said with a smile:

"Let's have this meal another day. We're going to go back and get some rest today. After all, none of us have slept well these past two days. We've been worrying about this game day and night, and we're all exhausted. We need to go back and rest to recharge."

As he spoke, he rubbed his slightly sore eyes and yawned.

David scratched his head, thought for a moment, and felt that there was nothing wrong with what he said. Everyone had been on edge for the past two days, and their physical and mental energy had been greatly depleted. They really needed to rest.

So she readily agreed to their suggestion: "Let's go back and rest. We'll go again whenever you want to eat."

Gao Jie and the others said goodbye to David and turned to walk back.

On the way back, Huang Muran and Xu Rourou sidled up to Gao Jie, their eyes gleaming with an all-knowing intelligence, clearly already understanding the situation.

Under these unusual circumstances, they could understand it immediately after a little thought.

"Gao Jie, tell us the truth, did you do this?"

Huang Muran spoke first, staring intently at Gao Jie with curiosity and a hint of certainty in his eyes, as if he had already determined that this matter was inextricably linked to Gao Jie.

"To be honest, we didn't expect things to turn out this way. We spent a lot of time preparing last night, going over tactics and countermeasures repeatedly, but unfortunately, we didn't get to use them."

He shrugged helplessly, his tone full of regret.

Gao Jie smiled, made no attempt to hide anything, and frankly said:

"Since you've asked, I won't joke with you anymore. That's really the case."

He paused, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice and continued.

"To tell you the truth, there wasn't anything wrong today, but then I noticed some suspicious signs and worried that something might go wrong, so I resorted to this tactic and locked Kang Hao and the others up. But don't worry, they'll be fine inside."

"Should we get together at the library tonight?"

Since they were chatting and laughing as they walked, they thought Gao Jie's suggestion was quite good.

When Gao Jie felt the time was right, he released Kang Hao and President Wu from the imaginary space.

The moment the two landed, before they even had a chance to adjust to their surroundings, they realized that the game was over—they had lost this crucial match.

Kang Hao knew that he had completely lost face in the industry for a while now, and he dared not show his face in public again, for fear that he would be ridiculed and mocked as soon as he went out.

Guo Lan'er, on the other hand, was in an extremely bad mood.

Filled with resentment, she went straight to Kang Hao's house and waited there for a whole day before finally seeing him return.

Upon seeing the person, Guo Lan'er's pent-up anger exploded instantly, her face turning red with rage:

"What the hell are you doing? Do you know I've been waiting for you for ages?"

She yelled and stormed towards Kang Hao, her finger almost poking his face. "I just don't understand, what are you doing?"

Kang Hao, his face full of annoyance, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, replied impatiently:

"What do you think I'm doing? Well, here's what I'm doing, okay? Anyway, I'm exhausted today, so exhausted my bones feel like they're falling apart. Don't talk to me about these things."

As he spoke, he shoved Guo Lan'er away forcefully without any regard for her safety.

You know, while he wasn't exactly gentle and considerate towards Guo Lan'er, he had never been this rough before. This was something that had never happened before!

In reality, Kang Hao was indeed full of grievances and speechless today.

He really didn't expect that he would be locked up in such a horrible place out of nowhere!

It must be said that the imaginary space was truly eerie and terrifying, utterly silent, and pitch black. The two of them were trapped inside, starving for an entire day. Hunger was relentlessly gnawing at their sanity, and in the end, they even had the horrifying thought of cannibalizing each other. Fortunately, they were eventually released...

Now, just thinking about that experience makes Kang Hao shudder. At least for now, he doesn't want to talk about this upsetting thing anymore. He even has a feeling that there must be some powerful figure backing Davidra to dare to act like this.

In fact, the chaos in this competition was originally orchestrated by Guo Lan'er, and Kang Hao was merely caught up in it.

When did he take on such troublesome matters?

Besides, since this matter hasn't completely blown up into the public eye yet, it's better to let it go. If we let it escalate and it blows up, then it will be a real problem, and nobody will have an easy time.

Guo Lan'er was completely enraged by Kang Hao's push. Her eyes widened and her chest heaved violently. She was about to yell and curse, but Kang Hao didn't give her the chance at all. He then shoved her away forcefully.

Guo Lan'er staggered back a few steps, filled with disbelief—she had probably never suffered such a great injustice in her entire life, but what could she do now that things had come to this? She could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger.

Life went on at a leisurely pace, and all the chaos and mishaps that had occurred before finally came to an end.

Despite the bumps and stumbles, everyone managed to pull through this difficult situation.

In the following days, life seemed to be restarted with one click, returning to a calm and peaceful state, with basically no more major storms.

The students moved between the classroom, library and dormitory in an orderly manner, and devoted themselves to their daily studies. Their study life gradually got back on track, and everything was stable and orderly.

In this peaceful atmosphere, Gao Jie suddenly felt a tremor in his heart, as if an invisible string had been gently plucked. He suddenly realized that he hadn't called his parents for a very long time.

The longing I felt surged like the rising tide, overwhelming my heart, impossible to suppress.

So he quickly submitted an application to the school and, after much pleading, managed to get two days off, eagerly preparing to go home and see his parents.

As luck would have it, my parents moved to Nanjing a while ago, which makes it much easier to see them now, without having to endure the hassle of a long journey.

After a long and arduous journey, Gao Jie finally arrived home.

Along the way, he changed buses, squeezed onto the subway, and even jogged for a while. This hustle and bustle made him look a little tired, and a few beads of sweat on his forehead slid slowly down his cheeks.

Filled with anticipation, his mind was filled with the familiar and loving faces of his parents, and his steps became increasingly hurried.

But when he opened the door, he was greeted by complete silence; there was not a sound, and the lively scene he had imagined did not appear.

Dad Gao Zhanlin wasn't home; only Mom Wang Fang was standing by the kitchen sink. She skillfully rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender forearms, and was intently washing a bunch of vibrant green vegetables. Judging from her posture, she was clearly preparing to cook.

Hearing the door open, Wang Fang subconsciously turned her head. The moment her gaze fell on Gao Jie, her face lit up like a lantern, and a radiant smile bloomed on her face. The smile spread from the corners of her eyes and brows, full of surprise and love.

She quickly and warmly greeted them, "Why did you come back so suddenly? We thought you would have told us in advance."

Her voice was filled with barely suppressed joy, and she hurriedly walked out of the kitchen without even bothering to wipe the water droplets off her hands.

Gao Jie chuckled as well, bending down to untie his shoelaces and change his shoes, while casually saying:

"I wanted to give you both a surprise. Things have been a bit less busy at school lately, and I finally managed to find some free time, so I took the opportunity to come back and visit."

As he spoke, he quickly changed his shoes, walked over to his mother in a few steps, naturally stretched out his arm, affectionately put his arm around her shoulder, and gently shook her, just like when he was a child and acted spoiled.

"I was planning to give you a surprise, wasn't I? By the way, where's my dad?"

As Gao Jie spoke, he slightly craned his neck, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the other rooms in the house, his eyes full of doubt.

At this time in the past, Dad would either be lounging lazily on the living room sofa, wearing his reading glasses and reading the newspaper, occasionally commenting on current events;

He'd usually be hiding in his study, carefully handling his treasured old objects, but why is he nowhere to be seen today? This is so unusual.

Wang Fang suddenly seemed to have been paralyzed, stammering and her eyes darting around nervously, like a child who had done something wrong, refusing to reveal where Gao Zhanlin had gone.

She pretended to be focused as she gently placed the washed vegetables into the basket beside her, her fingers casually fiddling with the vegetable leaves a few times.

She would raise her hand to smooth her hair, her eyes darting around, but she wouldn't dare to meet Gao Jie's gaze.

Gao Jie found his mother's unusual behavior increasingly strange.

Logically speaking, Dad's schedule is always as regular as a precise clock, so he should definitely be at home at this time!

"Could it be that my dad went to look for a job?" Gao Jie couldn't help but blurt out.

As soon as he said it, the image of his father working hard and toiling away to make a living flashed through his mind, and he felt a pang of sadness.

"I've already told you that you don't need to worry about so many things while living here, but you never listen."

What kind of job did you look for? Have you been working there for several days already?

Gao Jie fired off a barrage of questions, his tone tinged with reproach, but mostly with worry.

Wang Fang knew she couldn't hide it anymore, so she smiled awkwardly, a faint blush rising on her face, as if she had been caught red-handed as a thief.

She coughed lightly and quickly explained the actual situation in detail.

It turns out that after Gao Zhanlin moved here, he was not used to the new living environment. He was unfamiliar with the place and people and didn't have many ways to entertain himself.

At first, I would just go out for a walk occasionally to stretch my muscles and bones. As I walked, I would chat with other elderly people in the neighborhood who were also at home with nothing to do, which helped me pass the time.

As time went on, his restless nature started to kick in again, and he suddenly felt that it was too boring to just sit around doing nothing all day. So, by chance, he found a place to work.

Before I knew it, I had already been working for seven or eight days.

Gao Jie scratched his face, lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, and said with a hint of guilt:

"I've been quite busy these past few days, with all sorts of things piling up at school, and I haven't had a chance to ask about things at home."

Wang Fang smiled nonchalantly, waved her hand gently, and her eyes were full of tolerance:

"Going to school must be tiring and busy, I understand that. It's okay. Your dad and I don't have anything important to do lately. He's just sitting around doing nothing anyway. If he wants to go to work, let him. Some people get sick from being idle all the time."

As she spoke, she seemed to feel sorry for Gao Jie for losing weight, and gently touched Gao Jie's face with a tender and loving gaze.

"How have you been these past few days? You've even lost some weight."

Gao Jie smiled and comforted his mother:

"I'm fine, I'm just really exhausted these past two days, since things have been a bit complicated at school lately."

Indeed, the controversies surrounding the competition and the conflicts among classmates left him exhausted. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tired.

The mother and son chatted for a while, then Wang Fang seemed to suddenly remember something, slapped her forehead, and said:

"Oh dear, I've been so busy chatting, I need to go out and buy a fish to cook you a nice meal."

As she spoke, she took off her apron and walked towards the door, instructing Gao Jie, "Wait for me at home, I'll be back in a bit."

Gao Jie scratched his head and responded. After his mother left, he began to tidy up the messy things in the room. Only after tidying up did he realize that his room was actually very neat.

It seems Mom has helped him clean a lot; it warmed my heart.

He sat down, calmly thought about it, and suddenly realized that he was getting closer and closer to graduation, like a high-speed train rushing towards its predetermined destination.

But what should he do after graduation? This question, like a fog, instantly enveloped his mind.

I can't possibly follow my dad's example and look for jobs everywhere. With the current job market, just thinking about it makes me feel incredibly stressed, like I can't breathe.

The problem was that he really couldn't figure out what to do after graduation, and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He couldn't help but scratch his head, making a few strands of hair messy. But just as he was immersed in thinking, suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of something.

Why don't I talk to David about making money?

Davidra is knowledgeable and well-connected, so he must know all sorts of ways to make money.

Thinking of this, Gao Jie immediately took out his phone, ready to send a message to David.

His fingers flew across the screen as he typed a warm and sincere greeting and inquiry before clicking send.

What puzzled him was that Davidla, who usually replied to messages very quickly, remained completely silent this time.

Logically speaking, at this time, Davidra is most likely relaxing on his phone, so how could he not answer the phone?

Moreover, the incident involving General Manager Wu was still fresh in his mind, and he had a bad feeling about this matter.

Especially remembering Mr. Wu's previous attempt to harm Davidra, Gao Jie's heart skipped a beat. He immediately called Huang Xu, his voice becoming increasingly hurried:

"Huang Xu, are you free right now? Go find Davida quickly, I sent her a message but she hasn't replied, I'm a little worried."

Unexpectedly, Huang Xu on the other end of the phone was also completely confused, his tone full of doubt:

"Huh? I haven't seen Davida since the competition. I thought she was with you."

Gao Jie immediately realized something was wrong. Without thinking, he hung up the phone in a panic, put on his coat, and rushed out the door without even tying his shoes properly, heading straight for Kang Hao's house.

Upon seeing Kang Hao, he grabbed the man by the collar, his eyes bloodshot, and demanded urgently, "Tell me right now, where is General Manager Wu?"