"Xuan?"
Ming Xuan froze for a moment at Gu Zhe's way of addressing her.
You settled into being the boss that quickly?
Still, she had already prepared herself mentally.
She gathered her thoughts.
She completely understood Gu Zhe's question. The Jinyiwei had suddenly appeared in an otherwise perfectly ordinary modern Dragon Country. Anyone would have been puzzled.
Ming Xuan recalled the explanation Zhu Qiang of the Jinyiwei had given that day.
She had no intention of hiding anything. Her boss was involved in the mysterious himself, after all, and none of this was top-secret information.
"Mr. Gu, uh... Boss, here's the situation. Apparently, the government established two special departments to respond to the changes."
"One is the Jinyiwei. They maintain internal stability and keep an eye on people involved with the mysterious."
"The other is the Third Kind Contact Administration, or the Third Bureau for short. They handle external affairs and deal with supernatural matters."
Gu Zhe understood.
The world was changing, so it was only natural for the government of Dragon Country to respond.
He just wondered whether they had acquired mysterious powers, and if so, what those powers were like.
Gu Zhe felt certain the government had acquired supernatural powers. Otherwise, it would not have established two departments to manage such matters.
Even he had encountered a child with Spirit Nature like Ming Xiao Fei.
Dragon Country was vast. The government was bound to discover a few hidden gems.
Besides, the nation's civilization had been passed down for countless years. A country always had deep reserves-knowledge and resources beyond what any individual knew.
He nodded to Ming Xuan to show he understood.
"All right, Xuan. Go home and get things ready today."
"You officially start tomorrow. For now, you'll be my personal secretary, work secretary, and the new Gu Group's HR, administration, customer service, finance... all of that!"
"In short, when there's work, the secretary does it. When there's no work, do... nothing and stare into space!"
Ming Xuan looked at her new boss, who seemed to flirt out of habit.
She really wanted to ask, Are you serious?
I have to be your secretary and assistant, plus handle HR, administration, and finance? What kind of workhorse do you think I am?
Considering that this so-called new Gu Group actually consisted of just her and this occasionally ridiculous boss-well, the Underworld, whose existence she still wasn't sure about, didn't count.
With nothing but this shabby little storefront, she might have plenty of job titles, but there probably wouldn't be much work.
She had figured her boss out by now.
He simply liked flirting and teasing her. In practice, he kept his hands to himself. It was all talk.
Why do I feel a little disappointed for some reason? I'm not boy-crazy Zhaodi!
Could I be a bit of a lech too?
While Ming Xuan was lost in her musings...
Suddenly...
Gu Zhe looked at a message that had popped up on his phone.
He fell silent for a moment.
"Well, I ought to see it through. I did spend time studying there, after all. Mostly just coasting along, admittedly, but I should still bring it to a proper close."
"Haha, if the Gu Group hadn't gone bankrupt, none of this would be necessary. The university president would have had my diploma made and delivered straight to me. Still, this isn't bad. It makes the experience complete..."
He looked at the schedule his academic adviser had sent.
The adviser had also hinted that he should not bother the president or department heads, and should simply follow the procedure.
Gu Zhe was not surprised in the slightest. This was the adult world.
Back when the Gu Group was still around, the son of the richest man could stroll into the president's or department heads' offices, chat about donations and his future as an alumnus, and receive the warmest welcome.
Now, though...
Perhaps he no longer had any value as a connection in their eyes. They might even be worried he would ask them for help.
He smiled and shook his head.
"That's human nature for you!"
As for why they had not expelled him for all his previous coasting...
Perhaps they felt it wasn't worth burning bridges. His fall in status still drew some attention, after all. If they fell out with him and he brought in the media for a public shouting match...
It would make them look far too mercenary. Whether the public believed it or not, it would disgrace them and reflect badly on the university.
"So they gave me a chance to defend my thesis, hoping to send me off normally and sever our ties."
"Looks like our past donations went to the dogs, and their promises were nothing but a dream. This world only looks to the future, after all. Past glory counts for nothing, and a real man doesn't keep boasting about the old days!"
Gu Zhe was not particularly angry.
Having lived two lives, he had seen plenty of this sort of thing. It was nothing surprising.
He had never bothered thinking about it before because he knew people were simply like that. It didn't matter. He could enjoy the flattery people lavished on him while he was successful without worrying about their true feelings. Would deliberately searching really help him find genuine friends? Until people actually shared good times and hardship, no one could know what was truly in another person's heart!
He had thought he could live that way forever.
Who could have known how quickly the world would change?
Now, naturally, he had to experience the reality of people growing cold once he was gone, of followers scattering once their patron fell.
His father had gone bankrupt. He had to see it through, even through tears!
Two days later.
Yuzhou University.
Gu Zhe enjoyed being the center of attention the whole way.
Except they weren't looking at him.
Although he was the former richest man's son, he had kept a low profile at university. Aside from his classmates, few other students knew him.
Everyone was looking at the beauty behind him.
She wore a white blouse, a short black skirt, nude stockings, and black heels. Her glossy black hair was tied in a ponytail, and a pair of black-framed glasses with plain lenses rested on her face.
The fitted blouse accentuated her full, almost bursting bust, while the short black skirt showed off her long, shapely legs. The ponytail and black-framed glasses added an air of innocent charm.
That blend of innocence and sensuality, her delicate features, and her full, graceful figure held an unimaginable allure. She perfectly embodied these young university students' fantasies of a mature career woman who was both sweet and seductive.
And so, as Ming Xuan followed Gu Zhe...
She drew countless stares.
Even after three years in the working world, she felt bashful.
Inwardly, she rolled her eyes at Boss Gu ahead of her.
He just had to make me dress like this. It doesn't suit that tiny storefront of yours at all.
She recalled the dazzled look in his eyes when she had appeared.
Ming Xuan still felt quite pleased with herself.
Some woman called me old. Ha. You know nothing about maturity.
Carrying a briefcase, she followed the man ahead, suppressing her shyness and maintaining a poised, confident demeanor.
I have to make the boss look good today!
In the large thesis defense classroom:
Many people instinctively looked in one direction.
That included the several professors reviewing the defenses on the platform.
The women were dazzled; the men were captivated.
Over there...
A student sat calmly.
Beside him stood a stunning urban career woman holding a briefcase.
One glance at that presence was enough to see the gulf between him and ordinary students.
One glance at that woman was enough to tell she was not someone an ordinary man could handle.
Countless eyes watched them with complicated feelings.
Some people could no longer bring themselves to say the mocking remarks they had prepared.
Most of the students had limited experience of society. Now, all they felt was how shallow and ignorant their earlier assumptions had been.
Looking at that man's composure and the beauty and obedience of the "little secretary" behind him...
A sense of inferiority arose unbidden.
So it wasn't a fallen phoenix being worse off than a chicken. It was a starving camel still being bigger than a horse.
Whispers circulated.
"Holy shit, Gu-no, Brother Gu-is still as calm as ever. Just like before."
"Yeah. I thought he'd be like those people on TV, unable to accept reality, besieged on all sides, looking shabby and down on his luck, bitter at the world, then just giving up completely."
"Fuck, me too. Looks like Boss Gu hasn't been affected much. He even has an absolute knockout with him. He's living the good life."
"Of course. Ha, did you think rich people these days were that stupid? They arranged their fallback plans ages ago. It's just bankruptcy. You think they're like ordinary people who can never get back on their feet once they default on their debts?"
"True. Maybe they only went bankrupt on paper and actually kept plenty of escape routes open. We were being shallow. Life isn't some melodramatic TV show. It doesn't have that much drama."
"Man, I guess this is what they mean by a starving camel still being bigger than a horse. I'm still having heart-to-hearts with my right hand, while he has a gorgeous woman waiting on him wherever he goes. Tsk, tsk. Life, huh? What's even the point..."
"No wonder Gu Zhe posted 'Your daddy's back' on his feed. Has the Gu Family pulled off a comeback?"
"Man, how great would it be if I could have a woman like that? Even for one night. A loser like me hasn't even touched a woman's hand. Boohoo. Woe is me."
"Please stop. If I didn't know your situation, I'd think you were mocking me."
"I missed it. I just realized I missed my chance. I should've shown my loyalty when Boss Gu was at his lowest. Then maybe I could've followed him and gotten somewhere."
"Is this the dull, boring life of a rich heir? Even after getting dumped, he can seamlessly move on to another sexy, stunning beauty?"
"Forget it. Don't go talk to him. He'll think we're petty bastards who suck up to the strong and bully the weak."
Most of the students were still fairly innocent and had a strong sense of pride.
As for those without much pride, they had called him Boss Gu over and over in the past, then deliberately distanced themselves from him. Now they were even more embarrassed to show their faces.
A while later.
They walked out of the defense room.
Gu Zhe looked at the young men and women coming and going outside the building.
He also recaptured a little of the feeling of campus life.
"Farewell, my youth."
Ming Xuan was speechless.
"My esteemed boss, are you sure you spent your youth on campus? And not at Heaven on Earth?"
"Utter nonsense. As everyone knows, Young Master Gu has always been virtuous and restrained, a paragon of chastity. I never visit those dens of vice. Heaven on Earth? What's that supposed to be? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
After spending two days with Gu Zhe, Ming Xuan was no longer afraid of him. She understood why Liu Zhaodi could call him Brother Gu without the slightest sense of distance.
The man really was easy to get along with.
Hearing Gu Zhe lie through his teeth...
She rolled her eyes. A paragon of chastity, indeed. Still, she did not expose him.
She pursed her lips.
"Boss, are you sure your thesis will pass?"
Remembering the baffled expressions on the students' and professors' faces just now...
Ming Xuan looked both curious and amused.
"You studied international trade, but your thesis was about trade between the Yin-Yang Realms. Are you sure that counts as a legitimate topic?"
"Are you sure you'll pass your defense?"
Gu Zhe laughed.
"It was just my way of declaring my feelings for my youth."
"I wasn't really doing it for a diploma."
He turned to look at Ming Xuan.
He kept looking until a blush spread across her face.
Gu Zhe said earnestly:
"Are you ready? The real business is about to begin!"
Ming Xuan smiled and was about to answer.
Suddenly...
Her expression changed.
She looked up at the sky.
"Why has the sky changed? What's going on? It's daytime..."
She was not the only one. Countless people across campus cried out in alarm.
Gu Zhe also looked up.
The once-clear blue sky had suddenly darkened, and streaks of deep red light shifted across it...
It was clearly morning, yet it felt like dusk. That deep red hue, in particular, seemed laden with ominous portent.
Then the sun and moon shared the sky, three moons appeared, ten suns lined up side by side, an endless starry expanse unfolded, land hung upside down, and other realms flickered in and out of view...
"The sky changed!"