At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Sun Zaiquan watched this scene from the side and smiled. It was a blessing for everyone to have such a generous boss.

"In the past few months, that old fox Zhou Bingsheng has been secretly sabotaging us quite a bit. He used his connections to try to block our incubation fund at the board meeting, and even tried to bribe people in the provincial department to find fault during the acceptance process."

Sun Zaiquan sneered.

"However, with Principal Tang Heming keeping an eye on things, and the data that Xinglan Technology has submitted is indeed impressive, he is now extremely anxious, but he can't get a bite out of us."

"Let him jump."

Li Xiao picked up the warm water on the table and took a sip.

"Building technological barriers is an extremely tedious process. I'm a hands-off manager; Old Chen will handle the hard and tiring technical work, and you, Old Sun, will take care of the dirty work on the periphery. What I need to do is press the button to launch the nuclear missile at the most critical juncture. Before that, Zhou Bingsheng's little tricks can be considered as free stress tests for our system."

Sun Zaiquan nodded in deep agreement.

He knew all too well the young man's capabilities. Li Xiao was a man of few words; when he did make a move, it was always aimed at eliminating the threat completely and killing the target in one blow.

It was already past 8 p.m. when I came out of the building.

In late autumn in Jianye City, the night wind already carried a distinctly biting chill. The plane trees lining both sides of the road were reduced to bare branches, casting menacing shadows under the streetlights.

After several hours of intense mental deduction, even Li Xiao felt a bit mentally exhausted.

Instead of returning to his dormitory in Building S, he went straight to a black Maybach parked downstairs in the lab building. After getting in, he didn't ask the driver to pick him up; instead, he gripped the steering wheel himself, stepped on the gas, and the car, like a silent black phantom, quietly disappeared into the dazzling yet cold night of Jianye City.

Half an hour later, the Maybach drove into the underground private garage of Binjiang No. 1.

When Li Xiao pushed open the heavy entrance door of the top-floor duplex, he was greeted by a warm and comfortable constant temperature airflow, as well as a faint, extremely relaxing ebony fragrance in the air.

"Brother Xiao, you're here."

Hearing the door lock click, Xia Wei, like an extremely perceptive yet docile cat, immediately stood up from the sofa and gracefully went to greet the person in the entryway.

Today she wore an extremely form-fitting, pure black silk dress, without any unnecessary embellishments. The deep V-neckline perfectly showcased her enviable assets and delicate collarbones. Her makeup was very light, almost bare-faced, yet it radiated a dewy and clear glow, nurtured by top-tier skincare products and a comfortable lifestyle.

Over the past few months, Xia Wei has perfectly fulfilled her duties as a decompression valve and a canary.

She was extremely intelligent and knew exactly what kind of woman a man in a position like Li Xiao disliked most. Therefore, she never acted jealously, never sent messages to disturb his work, and certainly never tried to demand recognition or status like those foolish women who used pregnancy or crying to do so.

She simply lay dormant within this fortress worth hundreds of millions, holding onto that astonishingly high-limit platinum card, maintaining impeccable skin down to every inch. The moment Li Xiao opened that door, she could instantly switch to her most perfect state, providing the ultimate emotional and physical comfort.

"Hmm." Li Xiao responded indifferently, casually tossing his chilly coat onto the tray in the entryway.

Xia Wei immediately stepped forward and very naturally unbuttoned the other two buttons on his shirt collar, her soft, boneless hands gently pressing down on his tense shoulders.

"The bathtub is already filled with water, and I've added your usual essential oil. There's bird's nest stewed in the kitchen; you can have a bowl to warm your stomach after your bath." Her voice was so soft it was like a whisper in your ear, with a deliberately slow tone that seemed to melt away all your defenses and weariness in that moment.

Li Xiao closed his eyes, feeling the perfect pressure from her fingertips. The anger generated by the intense business competition finally found a brief respite in this absolutely private and tender place.

In this spacious, open-plan apartment, there's no need for calculation or pretense.

The next few hours were a pure, primal catharsis.

Before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, the neon lights of Jianye City became the most luxurious backdrop. Xia Wei's young, vibrant body, nourished by money and incredibly resilient, was like a supple vine, repeatedly climbing to the clouds under Li Xiao's almost violent control, only to be crushed again and again on the dark gray carpet.

She didn't flinch at all; even her pain was transformed into extremely cooperative compliance. She knew her own worth all too well. Every penny Li Xiao gave her, every privilege she enjoyed, had a price tag attached. And now, it was time for her to pay the interest.

The intense hormonal atmosphere in the air didn't gradually dissipate until late at night.

Li Xiao, wearing a black bathrobe and holding a glass of whiskey on the rocks, leaned lazily against the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Xia Wei lay limply on his lap like an exhausted Persian cat, her cheek pressed against his knee, not wanting to move a single finger. Her fair skin was covered with shocking red marks, but in the dim light, they possessed a breathtaking, broken beauty.

"Brother Xiao, our Arts and Media Department's welcome party is in a few days, and a clothing brand sponsor is coming to pick models." Xia Wei said with her eyes closed, her voice hoarse, carrying a hint of tentative naiveté, "I want to try it out, is that okay?"

She was a shrewd gold digger who knew when to ask for things. What she wanted wasn't money to buy bags and watches, but rather a kind of "permission," a nominal license from her sugar daddy to let her dabble in the outside world.

Li Xiao's slender fingers gently stroked her smooth, long hair, as if he were caressing an expensive but handy personal item.

"As long as you don't use my name to flaunt your identity outside, you can do whatever you want." Li Xiao's voice was calm and emotionless. "If you need money for clothing, just deduct it from your card."

"Thank you, Brother Xiao. I know the rules best." Xia Wei rubbed her palm against his palm contentedly.

As for Li Xiao, he didn't care where Xia Wei went or what she did. As long as this canary could sing her best songs in front of him when needed, he wouldn't hesitate to give her freedom at other times.

Because all her confidence and leverage came from his casual generosity.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Jianye City has already fully entered early winter.

On the campus of Huaqing Business School, the withered yellow sycamore leaves had been swept away by the cold wind. Students on campus had put on heavy down jackets and cashmere coats, busy with final exams and various club year-end summaries.

In the past few months, Xinglan Technology's dormancy and development have finally reached the most critical turning point.

That morning, Li Xiao was sitting in a corner on the third floor of the library, flipping through an all-English copy of "Das Kapital." Suddenly, his encrypted phone vibrated.

The caller ID showed a specially encrypted local Jiangyang number.