Miss Beautiful C.E.O and her system

Chapter 775: Kate's inner conflict

Ling Qingyu played along with Astrid and joked. Until later, she showed her phone screen to Astrid, who asked,

"What?"

Ling Qingyu didn't say anything but waved her phone again. Astrid took the device and studied it suspiciously.

She definitely didn't recognize the model or see any signs of a brand. Instead of checking what Ling Qingyu was trying to show on the phone screen, she focused more on the device itself, rendering Ling Qingyu speechless.

"Hey, hey, I'm not asking you to play around with it. Check the content I'm trying to show you," Ling Qingyu said helplessly.

She wasn't too surprised that Astrid's curiosity had been piqued by the new phone. After all, there was only one in the world with such thinness and lightweight specifications—a gift made exclusively for Ling Qingyu by Athena.

Her Spirit Electronics' products in the fields of mobile phones, PCs, and televisions still required a complete industrial overhaul and logistics chain for mass production. However, small products equipped with the latest black technology were already being used by her girls and those around her.

Perhaps Gu Yi, Assistant Su, Cai Ning, and her lover Yang Qingyue were the only ones who had received such gifts.

"Shush, I'm trying to figure out the manufacturer. Why doesn't your phone have the slightest label? Is it a new brand like Nothing?"

She wasn't wrong to consider Ling Qingyu's phone as something similar to Nothing, since the brand clearly experimented with designs completely outside conventional styles.

"Don't think too deeply. There is no brand. It's mine. Completely produced by me. Customized."

"Wait, you're into the phone manufacturing business?"

"What? Is it surprising for your dear bestie to excel in the mobile phone industry?" Ling Qingyu shrugged. "Just wait a while before I launch it to the public."

"Although I know you have always been clever and full of ideas, I doubt you can venture a new path in the engineering industries."

"Hey, hey, what do you mean, Astrid? Being successful doesn't mean that I must possess research and scientific talents myself. There are skilled professionals who I can seek to help myself."

"Woah, I didn't expect you to be this successful," Astrid said with a smile.

"Alright, my dear Astrid. Just look at the content I want to show you. It's about our friend Kate."

Ling Qingyu's words stopped Astrid from thinking further about the phone and Ling Qingyu's businesses and instead piqued her curiosity.

She had heard Ling Qingyu speaking to the phone earlier about how Kate was about to be betrayed, though she hadn't really believed her words.

Even so, she wanted to confirm how Ling Qingyu had reached such a conclusion, and soon began reading the files summarized by Athena.

At first, there were doubts about how Ling Qingyu's investigation had reached such conclusions. But as time passed, with evidence clearly listed and assumptions supported by proportionally conclusive proof, Astrid couldn't help but believe the report. The more she read, the more her brows furrowed.

Especially the part where Kate was about to be betrayed—used and discarded like a tool by the powerful figure she had once helped. Then Astrid was horrified to realize how Ling Qingyu's team had managed to spot the discrepancies in Kate's market operations and even infer the opponent's plan.

Even if some doubts remained, Astrid was convinced at least eighty percent. The remaining skepticism existed because she was relying on only one investigative source.

While lamenting Kate's misfortune and sighing in relief that she and Ling Qingyu had discovered such secrets before it was too late, she was now terrified of the power in Ling Qingyu's hands.

How in the world had her best friend built such a remarkable intelligence network? This wasn't the kind of power a simple businesswoman possessed.

Even powerful capitalists and aristocratic clans might take a long time to compile a report like the one she had just read—especially one so well organized. Even the current AI tools available shouldn't have been that fast.

Although she held some negative opinions about Kate's behavior and disliked the way she climbed the social ladder, being assassinated because of her wealth completely crossed Astrid's moral line.

She could still accept "fair" market competition and manipulation with insiders to siphon away wealth—but murder? No.

Unlike Ling Qingyu, she wasn't too keen on helping Kate out. Once someone chose this arduous path of mingling with powerful and wealthy figures, such risks were expected. However, she wasn't the type to watch one of her classmates get killed once she knew about it.

"Are you going to call the police?"

"Please, Astrid. Do you think the police can get involved in our arena? Kate won't be safe unless this bastard is extinct," Ling Qingyu said in a bland tone.

"Extinct?" Astrid was too stunned to speak.

"Although I have connections with the mayor and other officials to completely ban this bastard, it really isn't worth exchanging such favors for a small person," Ling Qingyu explained. "Tell me, Xiao Yue, how should I eliminate him? I think assassinating him should be fine, right?"

"Qingyu? You?" Astrid could no longer hide her shock.

"You're not going to snitch on me, right, Astrid?" Ling Qingyu stared at her friend with a pair of puppy eyes.

Astrid's forehead throbbed as she knew her friend was pretending to act cute and pitiful, though she still wondered why Ling Qingyu had changed so much.

How could she know that Ling Qingyu had completely changed from the inside out—even the core of her soul?

"Of course not, Qingyu," Astrid gulped and asked, "What would you do if I did snitch, though? I'm curious."

"Well then, you'd be locked up with me for the rest of your life, hehe," Ling Qingyu teased.

Astrid rolled her eyes and tried to dissuade her best friend. "Qingyu, let's ask Kate first and see how she wants to deal with him."

"Oh? I thought you were going to keep persuading me otherwise."

"Come on. I'm not that innocent about the world, nor do I see everything as purely black and white. Even though I disagree with the idea, it doesn't mean I can't understand it."

"Perfect." Ling Qingyu grinned, silently relieved that she didn't need to hide too much.

The group returned to the hotel. Still, Ling Qingyu didn't answer Astrid's attempts to fully uncover what her Spirit Group was doing. The slight disclosures—such as gaming, animation, and financial firms—were more than enough to satisfy Astrid's curiosity.

All of those industries generated great revenue and profits in today's consumption-driven market. Fortunately, Ling Qingyu limited Athena's products to avoid pushing real creators out of their jobs.

Honestly, Ling Qingyu believed that AI and humans must cooperate to create something meaningful, and she was a strong supporter of that idea. That was why she made Athena create a virtual studio to work together with real human beings, even if they were only connected online—despite knowing her daughter could do all the work herself.

Yes, Athena behaved no differently from human beings, but at the end of the day, more minds meant more ideas to follow through with—and fewer arduous tasks slowing down the creative process.

It was one of the reasons why the Spirit platform and studios succeeded in competition compared with others.

On the other hand, Kate's mind was no longer as calm as when she usually discussed deals with her partners. Ling Qingyu's words rang in her head repeatedly, much to her dismay.

As much as she wanted to believe she was overthinking and dismiss Ling Qingyu—telling herself she didn't need her help at all—her intuition told her the complete opposite.

That evening, Kate checked her email and found a message from a completely unknown source.

The message appeared secure and serious. At first, she suspected it was some scammer who had somehow bypassed her email security system to avoid being flagged.

Nonetheless, as she read further, her brief relief vanished. Disbelief clouded her eyes.

The anonymous email had completely grabbed her by the throat—her lifelines laid bare. Others might not know her weaknesses, but how could she not recognize them herself? For the first time since gaining her great wealth, Kate felt truly vulnerable.

If this information reached her competitors, the consequences would be unbearable.

The worst part came when the message warned her about traitors and a "friend" who might be plotting to kill her.

Impossible. How could he do that when she had saved him?

But Kate couldn't help smiling bitterly as evidence supporting the wildest conclusion surfaced. Even the discrepancies and strange irregularities she had once noticed in her own data were carefully extracted and analyzed—as if the sender feared she wouldn't realize the danger she was in.

Clearly, someone outside her circle understood her business—and the psychology of the people around her—better than she did.

Remembering Ling Qingyu's strange words earlier—that Kate would be the one asking first—and the faint sneer on her face, Kate became certain that the email had originated from her former classmate.

Could she ignore these signs and try to solve the problems herself? Even if she could deal with the traitors and the threatening mentor through money, she hadn't realized the full extent of the danger because they operated on entirely different levels.

When it came to networks, connections, and the exchange of favors, it was no surprise that they had managed to hide themselves so well from her.

She was all alone.

She knew for certain that Ling Qingyu had sent her the email—there was no doubt about it. Instead of feeling resentment at being seen through, Kate knew she should thank her regardless of her personal feelings, because her classmate was saving her.

In fact, the small pieces of evidence regarding her greyish operations were already sufficient to force her to contact Ling Qingyu.