Jiang Jiajia’s delicate, fair hands paused ever so slightly.
She blinked her eyes, the corners of her lips curling into a lovely arc.
“Anything?”
Xu Mo nodded earnestly in response. “Anything.”
Jiang Jiajia was actually someone Su Ting, Xu Mo’s mother, had personally recruited.
Su Ting had an incredibly sharp eye for talent.
Back when Jiang Jiajia was still a top student at a prestigious university, before she had even graduated,
Su Ting had spotted her potential at a glance.
And signed her on the spot.
When Xu Mo first came to the company, Su Ting had assigned Jiang Jiajia to be his secretary.
Across two lifetimes,
Xu Mo had always been the hands-off type.
Leaving all manner of tasks for Jiang Jiajia to handle.
Xu Mo had no doubt at all.
If Jiang Jiajia ever left her job as a secretary,
and struck out on her own to start a business,
within twenty years,
she’d become a businesswoman worth billions.
Her years as Xu Mo’s secretary weren’t for nothing.
Exposure to countless people and situations had honed her connections and insight.
Combined with her own savings,
it was undeniable that Jiang Jiajia would rise to become someone most people could only envy.
“Oh? Anything?”
Jiang Jiajia’s tone suddenly shifted,
laced with delight, a hint of mischief, and a playful tease.
Counting the previous life,
she’d been his secretary for roughly over a decade now.
Did Xu Mo not know exactly what was going through her mind?
She was daydreaming again.
“Except me,” Xu Mo added calmly.
Behind him, Jiang Jiajia pouted in dissatisfaction, her fingers pressing down harder on his shoulders as she retorted sarcastically, “Oh, Mr. Xu, don’t flatter yourself.”
Xu Mo chuckled but didn’t respond.
This pressure was just right.
As someone trained in ancient martial arts,
how could he not handle a little extra force?
Please.
He could take even more.
The office fell into silence again.
Usually around this time,
after an awkward pause,
the quiet would be broken by the rustling sounds of the Dragon Lady snacking on chips.
But now,
there was only silence.
Since Xu Mo wasn’t speaking,
Jiang Jiajia naturally kept quiet too.
After years of working together,
his little secretary knew him inside out.
Not that she was worried about angering him or anything.
But after so many minutes of silence,
someone had to say something.
Xu Mo finally spoke, his tone gentle.
“Have you ever thought about leaving? Being a secretary for a playboy like me doesn’t exactly have a bright future.”
Jiang Jiajia’s body stiffened, her hands freezing mid-motion.
Her plush red lips trembled slightly.
“M-Mr. Xu… are you firing me?”
Xu Mo took a deep breath and shook his head.
“No. I just think you’re wasting your talent here. You could have a much brighter future.”
“While you’re still young, you could build your own empire in Shanghai.”
“I’ve always wondered—back when my mother headhunted you with that high salary, you must’ve been furious. Someone as brilliant as you, reduced to being a secretary?”
“You were the top student in your university. Big companies were fighting over you. But you came here because your family needed the money.”
“Later, you convinced yourself that staying here temporarily would let you network and gain experience.”
“Something to serve as a foundation for when you eventually started your own business.”
“At first, you were cautious, afraid I’d fire you. Then you grew bolder.”
“Because you thought I’d replace you at any moment with someone prettier, more capable, more efficient.”
“After all, I’m the playboy everyone gossips about, the regular headline in tabloids and news clips.”
He paused, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
“You figured swapping out secretaries was just something I’d do on a whim.”
“Enough… enough.”
Jiang Jiajia’s eyes reddened slightly, her voice trembling.
Xu Mo was taken aback.
Before he could react, she pulled her hands away,
her body shaking lightly as she sniffled.
“Mr. Xu, what exactly are you trying to say? That you’re letting me go? You don’t have to sugarcoat it. Just send a resignation letter—I’ll leave without a word.”
Xu Mo blinked, quickly standing up with a wry smile.
“Jiajia, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Haven’t I?”
Jiang Jiajia wiped her tears away.
Years of working side by side—
even if it were just a dog or some other animal,
you’d still grow attached.
(Well, except for roaches and mosquitoes.
Those things are heartless.)
Xu Mo exhaled, speaking seriously.
“I just think you’re too talented, too skilled, to stay here forever. I’m thinking about your long-term future.”
“Would you ever fire me?”
Jiang Jiajia met his gaze.
Xu Mo shook his head.
“If you never resign, I’ll keep you as my secretary for life.”
Seeing Jiang Jiajia now—like a tearful little kitten,
pitiful, fragile, in need of comfort
(okay, maybe not the last one, but still)—
he added softly,
“I’m not stupid. Why would I let a beautiful, brilliant secretary like you slip away?”
At that,
Jiang Jiajia burst into laughter, a tiny snot bubble popping out.
“Don’t look! Don’t look!!!”
Flustered, she spun around,
not wanting him to see her in such a state.
She hurriedly grabbed tissues to wipe her face.
Xu Mo chuckled and turned away.
Girls could be sensitive about these things.
He understood.
Nobody wanted to be seen at their most embarrassing moment.
“O-Okay, Mr. Xu, you can turn back now.”
Her voice carried a hint of sulkiness.
Only then did Xu Mo face her again.
His secretary continued,
“What if I get old and lose my looks? Will you fire me then?”
Xu Mo met her eyes, speaking deliberately.
“No. We can sign a lifetime contract right now, with a hundredfold penalty for breach.”
Jiang Jiajia shook her head, her lips curving into a dazzling smile.
“I don’t trust words on paper. Only actions.”
She might not be the female lead,
but her looks and figure were only a hair’s breadth behind.
Out in the real world,
she’d still be a bombshell that men would fight over!
To marry a capable, understanding wife,
then sit back and let her handle everything—
wasn’t that every man’s dream?
Xu Mo grinned. “Fine, fine. Stay as my secretary if you want.”
“But I do have a small company…”
“Huh??? Mr. Xu, you’re still trying to get rid of me?”
“No, no, let me finish.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I just started this little company. We’ve got all the staff we need, and the project has great potential. The only thing missing is a general manager—advisor. I was hoping you could spare some time to help out.”
“Can I say no?”
“Nope. Mandatory.”
“…What about my secretary job?”
“Easy. You can keep being my secretary while advising the company. Won’t take up much time.”
“….”
-------------------------------------------------
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
