“According to the Federal Public Security Management Regulations, noise exceeding 60 decibels is considered a disturbance.”

After his identity was verified, the sensor doors slid open from both sides.

Two young men walked into the bedroom suite, one behind the other. The one in front looked a bit tired.

“That’s what happens when you get older,” Assistant Wei consoled. “Especially with Mr. Xiao’s voice, which was trained in the military. And now that he doesn’t have much energy to expend, it’s easy for him to…”

Halfway through his sentence, the assistant fell silent.

Xiao Zong had just stood through two hours of reprimands, and his head was buzzing.

As soon as he stepped out, his cousin blocked him in the hallway.

Complaining about how Leng Haiyun had been making his life miserable recently, like he had eaten gunpowder. His small entertainment company was now on the verge of bankruptcy from all the pressure.

“He’s killing a chicken to scare the monkeys!” His cousin wailed.

Xiao Zong pushed him away with a blank expression. “You’re the monkey.”

When he got back, he collapsed onto the living room sofa and lazily added, “He’s always causing trouble.”

“I’ve said before that the old man should’ve worked for a few more years. Dr. Lu is always being so vague, making the board of directors anxious. They insisted on settling the successor right away, and now all this chaos has happened.”

The moment the news broke that Xiao Zong was taking over, the first to panic was Leng Haiyun. Somehow, hhe managed to suppress the regulatory approvals for several of the group’s financial subsidiaries.

Imagine this—Xiao Zong was about to take control of the corporation, but the paperwork hadn’t come through yet. No one knew whose face was being slapped, but when the time came, the whole public would be watching.

He had even thought of the news headline, [The Battle of Legitimate vs. Illegitimate: Shocking Insider Twist in Wealthy Family Inheritance Dispute.]

Wei Mian chimed in, “Honestly, if it weren’t for Second Master’s incident, the old man would’ve retired and gone on an interstellar tour by now.”

“I know,” Xiao Zong replied flatly.

His assistant shot him a subtle glance.

People often said Xiao Zong resembled Second Master, and it wasn’t without reason.

Like now, as Xiao Zong lounged on the sofa, the scholarly air he usually kept hidden seemed to dissipate, revealing a pair of mischievous peach blossom eyes. He didn’t need to do much to exude that same carefree, unruly temperament as Xiao Sinian.

Xiao Zong worked very efficiently and had high standards, but in private, he was a fairly easy-going boss.

Wei Mian had been in this industry long enough to know that some bosses even had their assistants handle their messy private lives. But with Xiao Zong, there wasn’t much to worry about beyond company matters.

Yet, Mr. Xiao’s words had set off alarm bells in his mind—did the boss not trust me because there wasn’t enough for me to handle?

Thinking this way made the assistant uneasy.

He considered himself quite familiar with his boss’s habits, but upon reflection, he realized he didn’t even know what Xiao Zong’s hobbies were.

Suddenly, Xiao Zong seemed to remember something. He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and started scrolling through the screen with his fingertips.

After a moment, he tossed the phone onto the coffee table, saying:

“See? She’s just stirring up trouble. I didn’t even agree to have dinner—I didn’t even reply to her message.”

“She’s the boss’s daughter, and she couldn’t go back because it was raining. Where’s the driver?”

The assistant thought to himself, She probably just wants to discuss whether she should go to your place or hers.

If he hadn’t joined the company, Wei Mian might not have believed there were so many Omegas in the world willing to throw themselves at wealthy families without caring about status—especially those who came from rich families themselves, like Leng Haiyun’s mother.

He used to think the media exaggerated such stories just to grab attention.

But over the years, he had lost count of how many admirers he had helped fend off for his boss—some were after the title of Mrs. Xiao, while others were quite clear that all they wanted was **.

Does money really let you do whatever you want?

Assistant Wei honestly thought, Yes, it does.

Back in the elder Mr. Xiao’s time, Omegas were rare, and they could be picky about their partners. Any Alpha lucky enough to be chosen was like winning the lottery, becoming the envy of all other Alphas.

But thanks to interstellar efforts, the gender ratio had balanced out in recent years, reducing the marriage market advantage Omegas once had.

There were always plenty of Alphas, but the truly exceptional ones were still in the minority, turning them into the coveted resource Omegas competed for.

In any society, resources naturally tilt towards the best—that’s an unchanging truth.

“Ding dong~!”

The phone, which had just dimmed, lit up again with a text message, showing a picture.

Wei Mian glanced at it and said, “Is this the match Mr. Xiao mentioned? Is he even of age?”

The Omega in the photo did look quite young. His skin seemed to have a sun-kissed glow, and his bright, black-and-white eyes were round like almonds. His lips were pressed together, giving him a slightly serious look. This expression, combined with his youthful face, made him appear both cold and obedient.

“He’s 21,” Xiao Zong gave a casual glance and said, “Old war buddy’s grandson.”

Wei Mian studied the photo a bit longer. “Not bad looking.”

“Hmph.”

Xiao Zong leaned back and closed his eyes. “Read it for me. I don’t want to look anymore, my head hurts.”

“Gu Yin, ‘Gu¹’ from ‘Gu Nian’ and ‘Yin’ from ‘Yinli.²’ Born on June 25, 2725. Cancer. Height: 175 cm. Weight: 63.5 kg. Measurements are—”

“Stop, stop, stop. Skip the useless stuff,” Xiao Zong groaned, rubbing his temples. “Focus on the important parts.”

The assistant helplessly asked, “Boss, what exactly do you want to know?”

I don’t want to know anything, Xiao Zong thought.

But then, thinking about going back to face Xiao Tornado Yan, he pressed on his throbbing temples and said, “Tell me what jobs he’s had.”

It’s not a job interview, why care about that? the assistant thought, but as he scrolled down, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh wow, unemployed.”

His boss had hit the nail on the head—he’d found the weak spot perfectly.

Xiao Zong frowned.

“Does he come from a wealthy family?” the assistant asked.

“No. Which school did he graduate from? Is it mentioned?” Xiao Zong asked.

“Uh… does high school count?”

Xiao Zong’s frown deepened.

This is absurd.

The assistant scrolled back to the top of the profile picture.

The boy’s face was cute and innocent, sure, but Wei Mian had seen all kinds of beauties around Xiao Zong. Pure, seductive—just like the artistic type who had been eavesdropping outside the window earlier, she was a masterpiece.

Yet none of them had ever made Xiao Zong give them a second glance.

It was strange. Could it be that the boss… actually liked Alphas?

As an Alpha himself, the assistant immediately got goosebumps. He quickly dismissed that terrifying thought, tapping the screen and saying, “You can’t trust videos nowadays, let alone photos. You’d have to dock at least 80 percent off his looks—no, 50 percent. So what exactly does Mr. Xiao see in him?”

“Compatible pheromones,” Xiao Zong sighed. “The old man secretly took my sample for a test. This one probably has the highest compatibility.”

Wei Mian was speechless.

At the level of the Xiao family, marriage alliances didn’t really matter anymore. Everyone was just clinging to each other for benefits, and if their family got into trouble, people would still abandon them in a heartbeat. When a powerful person falls, no one holds back.

The old man’s focus was on “breeding”—higher compatibility meant a greater chance of excellent AO offspring.

But that was just a probability. If someone’s own level wasn’t high, how much could good genetics even help?

The assistant felt a little sorry for his boss. “Honestly, that Miss Li who walked home in the rain wasn’t bad either?”

Xiao Zong: “Heh.”

“Boss,” the assistant turned off the screen and asked sincerely, “What kind of person do you actually like? Maybe you should just tell Mr. Xiao directly.”

What kind of person did he like?

Inevitably, the image of Ye Yumeng flashed through Xiao Zong’s mind, but he quickly shook it away in annoyance.

Back when he discovered the failed experiment data from the new energy project, he found that Xiao Sinian had given it a name: Guiding Star.

All the experts had told him it was a wrong research direction. Even though Second Master personally oversaw the project for over a decade, no results had been achieved.

His father had high hopes for this project, no doubt.

The setting sun slanted into the archive room, where a young Xiao Zong’s fingers traced the words on the documents, his clean fingertips dusted with ash.

He spent months compiling all the scientific data, painstakingly organizing and reviewing the failure analysis of every experiment, rebuilding the models and recalculating the chemical reactions.

At that time, the Xiao family was locked in a life-or-death struggle with their rivals. Every day, the Henghua headquarters was enveloped in gloom. Yet, that frail, scholarly second son seemed oblivious to the world’s woes, rushing from one H Nation university to another with piles of research materials, making the company’s executives anxious.

That was when the relationship between the brothers started to sour.

Even after Xiao Zong’s eventual success, Xiao Jingchuan still saw him as the clueless younger brother.

If Xiao Zong could choose, maybe deep down he wished there had been someone there to support him, someone to walk that path with him.

But he would never admit that.

“I like someone who’s capable at work, not fussy, available whenever called, never complains about overtime, and works 24/7,” Second Young Master Xiao ruthlessly listed out his preferences.

“They don’t need to do housework—housekeepers are more professional at that. It’s the old man who’s desperate for grandkids; I still want to work a few more years. Kids are too much trouble.”

“The board of directors is too complacent, thinking the company just needs to be maintained as it is. They haven’t realized that we’re in a situation where stagnation means falling behind. Right now, we have six major projects and a military contract underway. If I were to talk about my criteria for a partner, it’d be someone who could keep up with me and not drag me down.”

Assistant Wei was dumbfounded after hearing this long speech.

He took a deep breath.

Isn’t the boss describing me?!

1. 顾念 Gunian – considetrate; to worry about, to care for; to miss, to think of with affection ↩︎
2. 引力 Yinli – attraction; a force by which things are pulled towards each other ↩︎