Chapter 67

Lively Times

"Brother Liu — whoever named you put gold in every character." Chao Musheng could see Secretary Liu was still unsettled and chose to tease instead. "That much gold — clearly a name for someone born to make money."

Secretary Liu felt the last of his worry let go. If Xiao Chao wasn't bothered by a word the fortune-teller had said, then he had nothing to worry about either. "My mother probably had exactly that reasoning when she chose it. We weren't well off — I even took out a student loan for university. But I was lucky enough to be selected for Kunlun's management training program before I graduated."

"Kunlun's interns have always been well compensated. While my classmates were still getting supplemented by their families during their placements, I was already sending money home." Secretary Liu smiled at the memory. "And people might not guess it looking at me, but I'm only thirty-one — I've been at Kunlun for ten years already."

From management trainee to the presidential office, step by step — that required both ability and a certain amount of luck. Which was precisely why he refused to tolerate the Chen family making light of his position.

Where else would he find an employer as reasonable as Mr. Xu?

At the last class reunion, every former classmate had spent the evening complaining about their bosses. One who demanded availability at midnight, on call at all hours. One who kept ordering employees to conduct illegal investigations. One who expected staff to manage medical harassment situations. One who docked pay over a look or a word overheard between an employee and their partner.

The most egregious case — an executive who had actually instructed his assistant to go and physically bring back the person he was infatuated with.

A society governed by law. People went to work to earn money, not to become accomplices in things that had no legal basis.

Looking across the whole landscape of employers, his boss was unambiguously the most reasonable one in existence.

High salary. Leave given reliably. Overtime paid. Never verbally abusive. Never hauled anyone out of bed at midnight.

Whoever came for this position would have to go through him first.

"You're really something, Brother Liu." Chao Musheng said it with genuine feeling. "No wonder you're the one the boss trusts most."

The first time he'd said that to Secretary Liu, at the university, it had been a courtesy. Now it was just true.

The presidential office had several secretaries. Chao Musheng was easiest in his company with Secretary Liu. And from watching over these weeks, it did seem that Mr. Xu preferred bringing Secretary Liu along when he traveled.

Secretary Liu paused before speaking. In the past, when the boss traveled, he had generally rotated through one or two secretaries at random. But since Xiao Chao joined the company, he'd found himself being brought along far more often.

He hadn't understood the reason at first. Not until the Wangyue, when he'd seen how the boss felt about Xiao Chao — and then it made sense. The boss brought him along because, of everyone in the presidential office, Xiao Chao was most at ease with him.

"This is something I'm telling you privately — don't repeat it." Chao Musheng raised an eyebrow. "Or I'll have made enemies of the entire presidential office."

Secretary Liu glanced over at the boss sitting quietly beside them.

"Mr. Xu isn't going to tell anyone." Chao Musheng turned and smiled at Xu Chenzhu. "Right?"

"Correct." Xu Chenzhu smiled slightly and nodded.

The bodyguard arrived with the teapot. Xu Chenzhu poured a cup for Chao Musheng, his voice quiet. "I won't tell anyone."

Secretary Liu turned his gaze back to the front and privately concluded that he was taking up space here that nobody needed.

*

After lunch, Xiao He had barely collected his meal box from Tiger and lifted his chopsticks before the steward appeared.

"Steward." Xiao He carried his food to a secluded corner, as indicated. "What is it?"

Could a man not eat one meal in peace?

"This afternoon in Mr. Xu's courtyard — did anything happen?" The steward wanted to know whether Master Xuan's provocation had taken effect on Chao Musheng.

"What kind of thing?" Xiao He took a few bites. "Nothing much, I think. There was some kind of disagreement between Mr. Chao and one of his colleagues."

"Was the colleague surnamed Liu?" the steward pressed.

"The bodyguards seemed to call him Secretary Liu." Xiao He kept eating. "Secretary Liu said something about a project site. Mr. Chao said the site was problematic, and also said Secretary Liu was taking kickbacks and wasn't a good person."

The steward's face gave a small twitch. If this young man didn't look so transparently dim, he might have suspected he was being pointed at obliquely.

"And then?"

"They talked for a long time after that. I didn't follow most of it." Xiao He spoke with his mouth full. The steward took a step back, not wanting the food to spray toward him.

"The mood between them seemed very unhappy." Xiao He ate and narrated a few details, finished the box quickly, and then a gust of wind sent the empty container straight into the steward's face, coating him in oil.

"I'm sorry, Steward — it wasn't intentional!" Xiao He bent his arm, apparently about to wipe the steward's face with his sleeve.

"Don't." The steward spoke through clenched teeth, maintaining something that was technically still a smile but had taken on a genuinely unsettling quality. All that talking, and almost nothing useful. "After their argument — who did Mr. Xu seem to favor?"

"Mr. Xu didn't seem to say anything." Xiao He picked up the box from the ground and tossed it in the bin, then jogged back. "Steward, someone at my level can't really read the expressions of important people. But my personal impression was that Mr. Xu seemed to lean toward Mr. Chao."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because during the argument, Mr. Xu looked at Mr. Chao three extra times. I counted carefully."

"Go back." The steward's energy had drained entirely. "Go."

Was he really expecting commercial acuity from a vocational school graduate?

The steward brought the information from Xiao He directly to Master Chen.

"Master Xuan's reading was correct — Chao Musheng will only ever be a brief flash." Master Chen's smile was broad. He'd use Chao Musheng's hands to create trouble at Kunlun, and Xu Chenzhu would never keep him afterward.

So young, and already thinking his position with Xu Chenzhu made him invincible. He had no idea how many reversals a life could hold.

Nothing in this world ever stayed the same.

After brightening Master Chen's mood, the steward stepped out to find a young servant in the courtyard. "You Jiu — come here."

"Steward." You Jiu set down the watering can, as though just noticing him. "What can I do for you?"

"These are Master Chen's gifts for Master Xuan — take them over." The steward was pleased with You Jiu's respectful manner. "After you've delivered them, stop by the guest building in the north courtyard. Ask Mr. Xu if there's anything he needs."

He couldn't fully trust Xiao He yet. You Jiu had a presentable face and served in Master Chen's own courtyard — more reliable.

"Of course, Steward." You Jiu took the wooden box. It was heavy. Whatever was inside, he didn't try to guess, and didn't open it.

He delivered the box directly and without detour, and came out of Master Xuan's courtyard to find the steward standing outside.

Of course he'd been followed.

"Well done." The steward clapped him on the shoulder. "Mr. Chao appreciates good-looking staff — when you go to the guest building, do your best to earn Mr. Chao's regard."

Xiao He was obedient enough, but too slow. You Jiu seemed considerably sharper.

"I will do my utmost not to disappoint you, Steward." You Jiu's face showed nothing. Once he was clear of the steward's line of sight, he looked back.

The Chen family was trying to drive a wedge between Chao Musheng and his colleagues. What were they actually trying to accomplish?

The summoning ritual two nights ago had failed. Did they need to restart it?

What role was Chao Musheng playing in this instance — he wasn't Chen family, but his presence registered more strongly than anyone else's.

Could he actually be the intended offering for the next summoning attempt?

You Jiu reached the guest building. To his surprise, no bodyguard was posted at the entrance.

He came to the gate and heard raised voices from inside the courtyard.

"I've been at this company for ten years. How long have you been here — and you think you can take my position? Dream on!"

"What does ten years matter? Is that really how ability gets measured at Kunlun?"

He recognized that voice. Chao Musheng.

He looked into the courtyard. The bodyguards were trying to physically intervene between two people. That explained the empty gate.

He hesitated, then didn't go in. He took out his phone, photographed the near-brawl, and went to find the steward.

NPCs fighting — what business was that of his? He wasn't tired of living.

*

"They're gone." Chao Musheng dropped into the reclining chair, fruit in one hand, phone in the other. "Brother Liu — the dialogue was a bit too drama-serial. Less polished next time."

"Even when arguing, a Kunlun secretary maintains standards." Secretary Liu straightened the suit the bodyguards had rumpled in their enthusiastic intervention. "The nerve of the Chen family, trying to scheme against the boss."

"Brother Liu, that line sounded like a henchman's speech from a villain drama."

Chao Musheng's phone buzzed. His mother.

"Hello, Mom."

Chao Yin: "Your father mentioned that someone today was asking about your birth details — whether you were born around three in the afternoon?"

"Yes."

Chao Yin's voice came through the phone at full volume and full intensity: "I knew it was that rotten old man's doing. When I was pushed down by Song Cheng and things got urgent, your father drove me to the hospital and stopped answering his phone. After we were both safe, your father finally picked up — and Song City asked when you were born, so your father just said something like 'around three in the afternoon' off the top of his head."

"He's the only one who would say you were born at three." Chao Yin spent a full ten minutes on the phone, at considerable volume, cataloguing her grievances. Then, as a concluding note: "And I hear you gave Song Cheng a proper beating. Well done."

Chao Musheng hung up and received a substantial red envelope transfer from his mother.

"Your mother is... a woman of strong spirit." Secretary Liu swallowed. No wonder Xiao Chao thought his style of argument was too drama-serial. The real master was right there.

"My mother is incredible." Chao Musheng sent back a heart emoji and pocketed the transfer with visible satisfaction. "She was the top sister of our whole village when she was growing up."

Secretary Liu laughed, watching the pride on Chao Musheng's face.

In moments like these, he remembered: Xiao Chao was twenty years old.

*

Deep in the night. Thick clouds, no moon.

Xiao He checked on Tiger across the room, confirmed he was soundly asleep, put on all his equipment, and slipped out.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Some insect, sharp-sounding, he couldn't identify. He moved through the estate avoiding the security cameras, night vision goggles doing the work in the dark. The colleagues maintaining his communication line were more tense than he was. They barely breathed.

When he passed through the small grove of trees and came close to the wooden building with its air of deliberate neglect — the insect sounds stopped.

He touched his arm. It had gone cold. He addressed the small button on his collar: "Central — I've reached the target."

"Be careful."

He had just stepped out from behind the tree cover when his earpiece crackled with an urgent voice.

"Hide — someone else is approaching."

Xiao He pressed back behind the tree immediately and looked toward the indicated direction. Two men in black were moving toward the wooden building.

The moment their hands touched the door, alarms sounded.

Several people burst from inside, and the two men in black were secured before they could react.

This building that looked abandoned had a full guard complement inside.

The steward didn't even glance at the two subdued men. "Search the surrounding area. Anyone else who looks out of place."

Over.

Xiao He had no exit.

"What a lively scene."

Chao Musheng stepped out of the tree line at precisely that moment, drawing every eye. "Are you catching thieves?"

It's Chao Musheng. He's saved.