In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

If the background were changed to cherry blossom trees, one might think that this is a young girl experiencing her first love giving herself a Valentine's Day gift.

But that's clearly not the case, so he doesn't intend to accept it. "Why would I give you this? I don't want gifts from other people, let alone gifts from a man."

“This is my… loyalty.”

Xia Wuyou gritted her teeth, clearly quite dissatisfied with the teasing, but she could only grit her teeth and continue.

"Alright, alright, I acknowledge your loyalty, Miss Xia Wuyou."

Xu Shi couldn't help but laugh when he saw this, but he still didn't accept it. "But I have no use for this. Why don't you give it to the doctor? It'll save me some money."

“…That’s what you said.”

Xia Wuyou didn't waste any words and put the items back.

She couldn't be happier if Xu Shi did that.

Looking at her awkward appearance, Xu Shi felt more and more that Xia Wuyou was like a little kitten.

Isn't that cute?

Xia Wuyou didn't know what Xu Shi was thinking. She only felt that the more she looked at him, the worse he seemed, and she subconsciously wanted to keep her distance from him.

"No need for Mr. Xu to take me home, I can take the subway myself. I will be at work on time tomorrow, please don't worry."

"No need. I was just about to tell you that I was planning to give you a break."

Xu Shi waved his hand dismissively, "Take a few days to rest, your salary will still be paid... Of course, you still need to be available whenever needed."

"Really?"

Hearing the word "holiday" from the mouth of this ruthless bastard made Xia Wuyou wonder if there was something wrong with his ears.

"If you ask me that, I'll have to change my mind." Xu Shi rolled his eyes at her.

"……understood."

Xia Wuyou was afraid that he would really change his mind, so she turned around and tried to run away.

She was just grateful to be away from Xu Shi, and she really needed time to process what had happened in the past few days.

She could also spend more time with her aunt... The truth is, she hasn't had such an opportunity in a long time; the high pressure at work has exhausted most of her energy.

So in the end, she turned around and bowed slightly to Xu Shi.

"Thank you."

It sounds like it comes from the heart.

……

On the way back, thinking about what had just happened, Xu couldn't help but laugh.

He certainly didn't believe Xia Wuyou's so-called "loyalty." If she could so easily side with him, she wouldn't be the female lead.

He was also well aware that Xia Ke'an had been giving him pointers on what the other party had just done.

This is clearly a gesture of goodwill... Judging from this, she's not as simple as she seems.

This guy has a lot on his mind... If you really think of her as an innocent little girl, then Chairman Xu's suggestion is to go back to elementary school first.

However, the other party's attitude could reduce some obstacles for him—in fact, from the beginning, Xu Shi's target was not only Xia Wuyou.

His plan was to bring both the aunt and niece under his wing, thus achieving success on both fronts.

The filter effect was one thing, after all, she was his childhood goddess... Of course, her beauty was only part of the reason. What he valued more was Xia Ke'an's SS-level superpower, which was practically a bug.

"Predicting the Future"

This doesn't need much explanation; those who know, know... If someone has this kind of ability to assist, it will undoubtedly save a lot of trouble in the future.

Especially since he only knows part of the original plot, it would be ideal if he could complete it.

In fact, Xia Ke'an deserves at least 80% credit for the heyday of "Refraction" back then.

However, such extraordinary abilities also bring terrifying and visible complications.

While waiting, Xu Shi took a moment to look at her medical records.

Muscle atrophy, albinism, phantom dyspnea, narcolepsy, organ fibrosis... there are a total of seventeen types.

This also meant that Xia Ke'an had been unable to use her abilities for a long time—according to Xu Shi's estimation, in her current state, she wouldn't even be able to finish the initial stance before she was about to die.

Otherwise, "refraction" would not have been so easily destroyed.

Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry. Gaining their loyalty was like treating Xia Ke'an's illness—it was something that could be done gradually.

Right now, all we need to do is keep them away from Shen He.

Giving Xia Wuyou a holiday was also based on this consideration; spending more time with Xia Ke'an would inevitably have a subtle influence.

Besides, we can't always be so protective of this little kitten; we need to give it a little treat now and then.

Thinking of this, a cryptic smile appeared on Xu Shi's lips.

"Young Master seems quite happy?"

Seeing this, Su Lin casually asked a question.

"Of course... Hmm? What are you looking at?"

Xu Shi came to his senses and realized that the other party had switched the vehicle to autopilot mode, while he was carefully reviewing the documents in his hands.

"It's a report from the engineering department."

Su Lin replied, "It's about the equipment usage feedback regarding what happened this morning... It seems to be somewhat unsatisfactory."

"…Tell me more."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shi raised an eyebrow and leaned forward slightly.

Then he was overwhelmed by the various terms Su Lin used.

Good grief, he couldn't understand it at all... but he could still grasp the general meaning—many of the equipment currently in use by the "Snake Ring" is still at the level of several years ago and urgently needs technological upgrades.

"How could this happen? Is the engineering department not doing anything?"

This immediately ruined his good mood. "I pay them wages, not to hear the words 'not ideal'."

"Young master, please calm down."

Su Lin also sighed, "Actually, the engineering department's development had already stagnated to some extent two years before the old man passed away."

"If I had to put it in a way... this is a legacy issue."

...That seems to be the case.

When she mentioned it, Xu Shi remembered it too.

Even if he hadn't cared about the group before, he still remembered this incident.

My father passed away two years ago. As his health deteriorated, his control over the group gradually loosened.

As emperors age, their subordinates naturally become scheming and have their own agendas... So who would be interested in doing anything worthwhile?

Thinking about it this way, it really wasn't easy for my father to smoothly hand over power to me.

Although the current board of directors is not entirely under his control.

However, this is something he has been considering recently.

It is said that to fight external enemies, one must first secure internal stability. Although it is not obvious now, if this problem is not solved, we will inevitably be hampered by others in the future.

Those old foxes were all incredibly slippery... How to deal with them was quite a headache for him.

"Let's go to the engineering department tomorrow."

He made a decision immediately, which meant he wouldn't have to worry about "Spark" for the time being.

"Yes."

"But speaking of which, I always feel like Su Lin, you seem to know everything?"

So you're an all-rounder, right?

"Because some people don't care about these things."

This time, Miss Su Lin didn't hold back in her吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments).

...walking on the ground.

This is what it means to be ignorant and incompetent... Stop scolding me, stop scolding me.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 14 I thought I was just catching a petty thief

Mr. Xu's good mood vanished the next day when he arrived at the company.

He was even a little angry.

Because the person sitting in front of him being summoned for a talk was not the engineering department director he wanted to see—Jiang Fengshan.

As a veteran of three dynasties of "Snake Ring", the other party has been working diligently in the group since Xu Shi's grandfather's generation.

Given his status, even though he knew beforehand that the old man was somewhat biased, Xu Shi was still willing to give him some face and sit down for a proper talk.

The other party readily agreed at first, but when the time came, he found out that the guy had suddenly fallen ill and stood him up at the last minute.

That's really taking advantage of someone's kindness.

"Miss Jiang Chengcheng, do you really think you have the right to speak to me on behalf of your adoptive father?!"

He tried his best to control his anger and not vent it on the woman in front of him, but he still couldn't help himself.

Jiang Fengshan's adopted daughter is also a member of the "Snake Ring" engineering department, and her resume is quite impressive... but that's not what he's concerned about right now.

He knew the old man was just fooling him, and that made him quite unhappy.

"I...I...If Chairman Xu has any instructions, I...I can convey them to you..."

Jiang Chengcheng answered hesitantly, "My father did indeed fall seriously ill... If it's an engineering or technical issue, I already submitted a report to you yesterday..."

Clearly, she was intimidated by Xu Shi's aura.