Zhou Yi woke up groggily.
"Did I actually fall asleep?"
"Yes, it's time for dinner now."
Zhou Yi rubbed his head and got up, heading toward the dining table.
Four dishes sat on the table, emitting an enticing aroma, their presentation impeccable.
"Xiao Xi, your cooking looks amazing. You must be hungry too since it's so late—want to join me?"
"No, I usually don’t eat at night. I’ll just watch you eat."
Qiao Xi propped her chin on her hand, gazing at Zhou Yi with eager anticipation.
Zhou Yi picked up a piece of braised shrimp with his chopsticks, his eyes lighting up.
Turns out Qiao Xi wasn’t exaggerating about her cooking skills—it really was delicious.
He praised sincerely, "This is really good, even better than restaurant food."
Qiao Xi smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "I’m glad Yi-ge likes it."
Watching Zhou Yi savor her cooking with such focus, a warm sense of happiness welled up inside her.
Zhou Yi tasted every dish carefully, but Qiao Xi had made a bit too much—he couldn’t finish it all alone.
In the end, about half the food remained.
"Are you full? Should I get you another bowl of rice?"
"No, I’m stuffed. We can save the leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow."
Zhou Yi wiped his mouth and set down his chopsticks. "It’s getting late—I’ll go shower first."
When he returned to his bedroom to grab his things, he noticed the bedsheets had already been neatly made.
Looking closer, even the dust on the floor was gone—the room looked spotless.
Who would’ve thought that Qiao Xi, despite being a young lady from a wealthy family, would be so diligent?
Entering the bathroom, he found all the toiletries arranged in perfect order.
He couldn’t help but admire her thoughtfulness.
After showering, Zhou Yi suddenly remembered something—Qiao Xi hadn’t brought any spare clothes.
Drying his hair, he walked back to the living room.
Qiao Xi was curled up on the sofa, watching TV while munching on snacks.
The crunching of potato chips filled her cheeks like a little hamster enjoying its feast—adorable.
Zhou Yi approached her.
"Xiao Xi, would you mind wearing my shirt after your shower? I forgot to remind you to buy pajamas at the store earlier."
Qiao Xi turned her head, still clutching her chips, only to freeze when she saw Zhou Yi—shirtless, his hair damp.
Her chips slipped from her fingers and scattered on her school uniform.
He’s so handsome...!
Her heart raced.
This is what they mean by ‘pretty boy temptation’—the male leads on TV aren’t even half as good-looking as Yi-ge!
Suddenly, the drama she’d been engrossed in felt dull in comparison.
Her dazed expression made Zhou Yi think she was reluctant to wear his clothes.
"Of course, if you’re uncomfortable with it, I can—"
"No, no! I don’t mind at all!"
Qiao Xi waved her hands frantically. How could she mind? It was Yi-ge’s shirt!
Zhou Yi chuckled. "Alright, I’ll get it for you."
He led her to the bathroom door and handed her a white dress shirt.
It was a high-end piece he’d bought during his last shopping trip—soft, breathable fabric that wouldn’t be uncomfortable to sleep in.
Qiao Xi took the shirt, her palms nearly sweating from nerves.
"Thank you, Yi-ge! I’ll go shower now."
"Mm, call me if you need anything."
Once inside the bathroom, Qiao Xi hugged the shirt to her face, inhaling deeply.
"It’s Yi-ge’s clothes..."
The same white shirt that had earned Zhou Yi the nickname "White Shirt Prince" among countless girls was now in her hands—soon to be worn by her.
Reflecting on how fate had brought them together, she felt overwhelmingly lucky.
Even though she was just a freshman, so many girls in her class had tried—and failed—to get Zhou Yi’s WeChat.
Everyone knew he was aloof and hard to approach, never casually adding girls.
But her... Qiao Xi smiled blissfully. I’m the exception.
Zhou Yi’s gentleness wasn’t freely given, yet she had experienced it firsthand.
What girl wouldn’t fall for that?
A cold, untouchable prince who’s only soft toward you—who could resist?
Too bad it was just another playboy tactic to charm naive girls.
Even if there was some sincerity mixed in, it didn’t erase his player nature.
Zhou Yi carefully crafted the persona he showed to everyone—none of it was his true self.
Qiao Xi held the shirt against herself, then turned to the large mirror above the sink.
She set the shirt aside on a hook and slowly removed her school uniform.
When she turned her back to the mirror, a large, ugly bruise glared back at her.
It was from when Qiao Yu had shoved her into a liquor cabinet.
She’d been hiding the pain the whole time with Zhou Yi, not wanting him to notice.
Frowning, she thought, I’ll just avoid the water there while showering.
The sound of running water soon filled the bathroom.
Zhou Yi didn’t watch TV. Instead, he pulled out his phone to post a job listing.
First, he needed to hire a competent executive assistant.
The salary could be high, but the candidate had to be highly capable.
Since he was still in school and couldn’t travel much, the assistant would handle most tasks for him.
Browsing similar listings, he saw most executive assistants earned between ¥10,000 to ¥30,000 monthly.
Zhou Yi offered a staggering ¥50,000 to ¥100,000—negotiable for top talent.
Gender didn’t matter; ability was the only requirement.
His job description was concise:
The assistant would help with investments, requiring expertise in finance and prior corporate management experience.
Initially, they’d handle hiring, office setup, and other logistics.
Legal knowledge was a plus.
A bachelor’s degree sufficed.
Simple on paper, but finding someone who ticked all boxes wouldn’t be easy.
At the bottom, he left his contact number and email.
After posting, he stretched.
Being an entrepreneur—or a CEO—isn’t easy.
Within minutes, his inbox flooded with resumes.
"Do these people not sleep? It’s this late and they’re still job-hunting..."
Zhou Yi underestimated how desperate modern workers were. With benefits like these, who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity?
His listing didn’t just promise ¥50,000–100,000.
Work hours were 9 AM to 5 PM, overtime paid at ¥100/hour (double on holidays).
Weekends off, plus one monthly leave day.
Full social insurance from day one.
Quarterly and annual bonuses, even complimentary afternoon tea.
Every labor law benefit was included.
Where else would anyone find a dream job like this?
No wonder it was already a hot commodity.
In this society where capitalists treat labor laws as mere air, the plight of workers couldn't be more tragic.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yi's previous life wasn't like this—at the very least, workers' rights were fully protected back then.
Compared to this world, the workers in Zhou Yi's past life enjoyed a much higher sense of happiness.
So, he had no idea just how much of a storm his job posting would stir in the industry.
Nor did he know what legendary tales the company he would later establish would create.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean.
Jiang Ruolan took a sip of her coffee as she glanced at her computer screen.
A message in the group chat caught her attention.
[FengFengHuoHuo: Ladies, check this out—new job posting! Quick, send in your resumes!]
[Random99: Fake, right? Looks like a scam. If this boss is for real, I’ll eat dirt.]
[Billye: Doesn’t seem legit. With perks like these, they wouldn’t need online postings—college students would be lining up at their door.]
[WaitingForFortune: Let Kathryn go for it. Only the cream of the crop would land this job—I don’t stand a chance.]
[FengFengHuoHuo: Kathryn, come out! Wanna apply together? Honestly, you’re the only one who meets these requirements.]
[Kathryn: Let me see.]
The Kathryn everyone was referring to was Jiang Ruolan.
At 28, she had graduated from one of the top universities abroad.
She completed her undergraduate studies in China, majoring in law.
For her master's, she studied finance overseas, making her a perfect fit for Zhou Yi’s job requirements.
With several years of work experience under her belt—having worked at a bank and served as an executive assistant at a renowned conglomerate—she was more than qualified.
Her reason for resigning? She wanted to return home to spend time with her parents.
But every job she looked at in China offered low salaries, dismal benefits, and cutthroat competition.
So she kept searching, planning to wrap up her affairs abroad and return home as soon as she found the right opportunity.
The salary Zhou Yi offered wasn’t particularly high by her standards—she had once earned an annual salary in the millions.
But the benefits were decent, especially the generous vacation time.
In China, finding a job with weekends off was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Jiang Ruolan decided to give it a shot and submitted her resume.
If the salary could be negotiated further and the job posting turned out to be genuine, she’d finally have her ticket home.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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...
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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.
