"Nоt уеt," Wu Мangmang rерliеd dirесtly.
Zhen Wo Fеngсai quicklу respоndеd, "Dо уоu wаnt to plаy through all of Lu Sui's friends?"
Loоking аt this messаge, Wu Маngmаng surрrisingly didn't gеt аngrу.
Неr fingers brushеd across thе sсreеn, and after а long while, shе typеd оut, "Whу nоt? Dо уоu want to givе it а try? (рlауful smile)"
Аfter sеnding thе messagе, Wu Мangmаng seemed tо remember sоmеthing, shuddеring all оver. Without evеn bоthеring abоut Мs. Liu, shе tооk а taхi strаight baсk to thе Wu residenсe, оnlу sеnding Ms. Liu а tехt tо inform her on thе way.
Soon, New Yеar's Eve аrrived. Wu Mаngmang stауed аt home, switched to a new server, and played the game diligently for a week, leveling up every day.
The rest of her time was spent cooperating fully with Ms. Liu's arrangements, going on an average of one blind date per day starting from the second day of the new year.
Liu Lewei asked Wu Mangmang, "What do you think of the people you've met these past few days?"
"They're all pretty good," Wu Mangmang said.
Liu Lewei said irritably, "Have any of them contacted you again?"
Wu Mangmang lounged lazily on the sofa, swinging her legs on the armrest, "Yes, they have."
"What do you mean?!" Liu Lewei flared up. "If you don't want to go on blind dates, then don't go. What kind of attitude is this?"
Wu Mangmang sat up, leaning against the back of the sofa, still swinging her legs. "I do want to go on blind dates. When they contact me, I agree. The problem is, two of them scheduled dates on Tuesday, so I had to arrange one from six to eight in the evening and the other from eight-thirty to ten-thirty."
Liu Lewei frowned. "Wu Mangmang, what exactly are you thinking?" They all live in the same city, and social circles overlap. Playing multiple people like this will be exposed in no time, and it will make you seem incredibly low in character. Who would dare introduce anyone to you in the future?
Wu Mangmang said, "I'm just taking my time to evaluate them. The one surnamed Yang is quite good-looking, the one surnamed Guo shares common interests with me, and the one surnamed Bai has a better temper. I think I like them all."
Liu Lewei was infuriated by Wu Mangmang's irresponsible attitude.
A girl must never be fickle in love; otherwise, she loses her value.
When a man is promiscuous, it's called being charming, and if he reforms, it's a rare and precious turnaround. But women don't get that kind of treatment.
Liu Lewei thought to herself, she had wondered how Wu Mangmang had miraculously become normal over the past six months. She had mentioned it to Wu Song several times in private, but Wu Song said she was worrying unnecessarily. Now, it seemed she had been right all along?
Throughout her life, Wu Mangmang had never been free of flaws, but her dedication and persistence in relationships had never wavered.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so devastated by that guy's departure back then, needing her stomach pumped three times.
Later, although she had many boyfriends, she was always stubbornly loyal—only others broke up with her, never the other way around.
Even when Liu Lewei had advised her to evaluate more people back then, Wu Mangmang had sternly rejected the idea. Now, it seemed she was starting to play around with the idea of treating relationships like a game.
Liu Lewei felt that Wu Mangmang now somewhat resembled how she had been after learning about Wu Song's infidelity.
Wu Mangmang returned to Wu Yong's office under pressure from Ms. Liu.
Wu Yong smiled at the long-unseen Wu Mangmang. "How have you been lately?"Wu Mangmang said, "It's fine. The old illness hasn't recurred. Today, I was forced to come by Ms. Liu—probably because she has too much money to spend." Wu Mangmang rolled her eyes.
"It's alright, just think of it as catching up with an old friend," Wu Yong said with a smile.
Wu Mangmang really had nothing to say to Wu Yong.
Wu Yong said, "I've been following your new Weibo account."
Wu Mangmang nodded. "I know."
The reason Wu Yong knew Wu Mangmang's Weibo handle was because she had @mentioned him herself.
"Mangmang, I'm not a detective. I can't just peek into your heart through your Weibo posts. If you want my help, you need to be honest with me," Wu Yong said.
Wu Mangmang curled her legs up on the sofa, hugging her knees—a typical self-protective posture.
Wu Yong knew that pushing Wu Mangmang was useless. When she was first transferred to him, she had just sat quietly like this for the first six months without saying a word.
"Your new Weibo seems to have a pretty low update frequency," Wu Yong remarked.
Compared to Wu Mangmang's old Weibo account, it was far less active. The old one averaged at least three posts a day, while the new one only had about one post every three days.
Hearing Wu Yong's words, Wu Mangmang buried her head in her knees.
Her mind immediately drifted to her dozen or so alternate accounts. Before winter break, there were nine "Red Apricots," but now there were already thirteen.
Wu Yong silently watched Wu Mangmang's guilty posture, patiently staying with her.
However, by the end of the session, Wu Mangmang still hadn't said a word.
It wasn't until after the New Year that Wu Mangmang returned to Wu Yong's office, and she remained silent.
She just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Yesterday, the eleventh and twelfth "Red Apricots" had withered. Trying to please everyone was truly difficult, and the world was too small—even going to the movies could lead to an awkward encounter.
That scene was something Wu Mangmang didn't want to recall—it was embarrassing and humiliating.
Before winter break ended, Wu Mangmang visited Wu Yong's office again.
"I..." Wu Mangmang finally spoke.
With such frequent appointments, Wu Yong had already guessed that Wu Mangmang was likely unable to handle the pressure.
Wu Mangmang still found it hard to speak, so she handed her phone to Wu Yong, scrolling through each of her Weibo alternate accounts for him to see.
After Wu Yong finished reading, Wu Mangmang finally let out a sigh of relief. "Dr. Wu, actually, this shouldn't be considered an illness, right? If being fickle counts as an illness, then I think most men should see a psychologist, don't you?"
Being fickle certainly isn't a psychological disorder.
But the premise is that your moral conscience accepts it. For example, Ning Zheng never feels guilty or confused about such things—some people might even think, "It's your good fortune that I'm willing to date you."
But Wu Mangmang was different. Deep down, she strongly disapproved of her own behavior, yet she couldn't help but do it.
Just like her previous exhibitionist tendencies, she also believed it was abnormal, but she couldn't control herself.
Such a secret matter was something Wu Mangmang couldn't tell anyone, so she could only record it on Weibo.Weibo is an open platform where anyone can see, meaning Wu Mangmang subconsciously hoped someone would discover her secret and then criticize her.
Unable to control herself, she wished someone would step up forcefully to control her.
"Are you dating all of them at the same time?" Wu Yong asked.
Wu Mangmang didn’t even dare to look Wu Yong in the eyes. She hugged her legs and lowered her head. "No. But I’ve deliberately flirted with them."
"Since you did this, there must be a reason you find acceptable. Did doing this make you feel happy in some way?" Wu Yong asked.
Wu Mangmang thought carefully before slowly speaking, "I don’t know. But I don’t dare, and I don’t want to commit to anyone again. My current state makes me feel free, without any responsibility. Yet I enjoy being cared for and loved by them."
"Dr. Wu, you know, the most enjoyable part is when men and women flirt, especially when they’re pursuing you—they’re always especially gentle, patient, obedient, and full of surprises."
But what one person gives isn’t enough. They always have all sorts of things keeping them busy. However, if there are nine or ten, it’s different—they can make you feel liked every day.
After speaking, Wu Mangmang began to cry. "Are my thoughts terrifying?"
Unable to hold back, she lifted her head, grabbed Wu Yong’s hand, and shook her head while crying. "Dr. Wu, will I never get better? Every time I think I’ve recovered, new problems always appear, getting worse and worse, more and more depraved. I..."
After pouring out her feelings, she did seem a bit more relaxed. However, a psychologist can only guide you slowly—results aren’t immediate, and it ultimately depends on your own understanding.
Just after leaving the building, Wu Mangmang received a call from Ning Zheng.
To be honest, she really shouldn’t get too close to Ning Zheng. A girl getting too involved with a playboy never ends well.
But Wu Mangmang didn’t care. She felt that her current self wasn’t much cleaner than Ning Zheng. Rather than harming others, she might as well have some fun with Ning Zheng.
"Mangmang, want to go play live-action CS?" Ning Zheng asked over the phone.
That trend had long passed, and Wu Mangmang wasn’t very interested. "Not really."
"It’s different from what you usually play," Ning Zheng laughed.
What rich people play is naturally different from what ordinary people do.
The battleground was specially chosen—a harsh mountainous area.
And spring came especially early this year. By February, the sun was already shining brightly, making a T-shirt and a light jacket enough to go out. Fashion-conscious girls had already switched to thin cotton summer dresses. This kind of weather was quite comfortable in the mountains.
The guns were specially made—they hurt when they hit you and could cause short-term symptoms like dizziness.
Wu Mangmang thought this was basically self-torture, but rich people think differently. They want realism.
If a fatal area is shot, you’re judged dead. For other areas, five shots mean you’re dead.
Of course, these were just the hard rules. Once the special bullets hit your hands or feet, they would go numb, making it impossible to hold the gun.
Honestly, it was incredibly realistic.
As for winning or losing, it was even more realistic.Captives can be treated however one pleases—everything must be realistic, otherwise there would be no stakes to winning, and no one would find it interesting.
There were far too many people eager to join this Dongshan field battle, with many fighting tooth and nail just for the chance, all for the sake of the stakes.
Wu Mangmang arrived at Dongshan with Ning Zheng and was naturally assigned to his team.
Beforehand, everyone had to sign an agreement in the presence of a witness. Although such an agreement held no legal weight, it at least indicated that you were willing and that you were of sound mind when signing it.
As for who would ultimately ensure the agreement was upheld?
In the past, there had been those who regretted their decision and tried to break the rules, but their fate was only to be played with even more harshly.
In short, those who couldn’t handle losing shouldn’t participate.
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