The helicopter was originally headed for Henghua’s headquarters, but halfway through the flight, the pilot seemed to receive some new instruction and made a sharp turn, taking them directly to Xiao Zong’s private villa.

Xiao Zong’s private villa was enormous, more like a sprawling estate. He owned several properties, but rarely visited them throughout the year. Normally, he lived in a luxury penthouse in the city center, close to the office, convenient for his intense work schedule.

Sure enough, as soon as they disembarked, a full professional medical team was waiting for him.

This kind of heavy-handed arrangement could only have been orchestrated by Old Master Xiao Yan.

Xiao Zong wasn’t surprised at all and calmly accepted yet another full-body checkup by his private doctor.

By the time he finished all his exams, Wei Mian had finally made it through the traffic of Lin City’s morning rush and arrived at the villa.

“I’m just saying, you really are a walking disaster, a modern-day Conan. Wherever you go, trouble follows,” said Wei Mian, sporting two dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Poor Assistant Wei had barely been on leave for 24 hours before everything went wrong, from the boss’s personal safety to the company’s system.

Xiao Zong…

Nonsense, this young master is a walking hormone!

“Nonsense,” Gu Yin mumbled hoarsely, “he’s clearly Tang Monk’s meat¹…”

The little secretary had only just groggily woken up after getting off the helicopter.

His voice was so soft that it was hard to tell whether Wei Mian even heard him, but Wei Mian didn’t miss a beat before turning his attention to Gu Yin. “And you, Secretary Gu, you should really take better care of yourself. How could you fall ill? Health is the foundation of revolution…”

Xiao Zong was used to Assistant Wei’s nagging, knowing that despite his chatter, his work was always flawless, and he knew what to say in any given situation.

But Gu Yin wasn’t as accustomed. “But I’m an Omega…” Gu Yin replied softly, “…Omegas can get sick when they catch a cold.”

The little secretary still had a fever patch on his forehead, huddled on the sofa with a cup of goji berry tea, looking pitifully aggrieved.

Fang Chi, who couldn’t stand it anymore, interjected, “Hey, hey, hey, Old Wei, even my brother hasn’t scolded him yet, why are you starting?”

Gu Yin quickly said, “Wei-ge is just concerned for me.”

Their synchronized act left Wei Mian at a loss for words.

After a moment, he muttered, “Since when did you learn how to act all cute…?”

Gu Yin had really just learned this recently.

Back in the [Alpha] special forces, the missions they took were highly classified. If something went wrong, they had to deal with it themselves without causing trouble for their district.

They had undergone interrogation resistance training, building strong immunity to truth serums, and some were even prepared to die to ensure their loyalty.

For a soldier, losing one’s dignity might be harder to accept than death.

Gu Yin had braced himself for a tough interrogation but was instead showered with all sorts of warm, concerned attention—

The doctor, full of care, asked, “Don’t be nervous. How are you feeling now? Are you hurt?”

Gu Yin thought, are you trying to get information out of me?

The nurse handed him an energy paste, “Hungry? There’s no hot meal available, so make do with this.”

Gu Yin thought, are you trying to bribe me?

A police officer brought him a coat, “Put this on for now. We can’t let you go back just yet.”

Gu Yin thought, you’re…

He glanced at the shiny badge on the officer’s uniform and thought, although we aren’t in the same system, and there’s a subtle rivalry between us, we’re still all serving the people. Maybe I shouldn’t be so suspicious of them.

So, he weakly asked, “Have you found my boss?”

The officer smiled kindly. “He’s already on his way back, and Henghua’s legal team is about to arrive. According to protocol, you can meet with a lawyer first before making any further decisions. In the meantime, please stay calm. Oh, would you like some water?”

Gu Yin, …

Don’t think you can trick me into taking a truth serum. I won’t fall for it!

For the first time in his life, Gu Xiao Yin experienced the special privileges of being an Omega, and he was flattered beyond belief.

In the Federal system, although Omega’s advantages in finding partners were no longer as pronounced as during wartime, due to historical reasons, a tradition of gentlemanly behaviour had formed.

Thinking of how Xiao Zong often seemed on the verge of scolding him but held back, it was probably due to some ingrained sense of protecting the vulnerable, right?

Gu Yin’s courage grew.

Xiao Zong had just opened his laptop, intending to assess the extent of the damage from last night’s incident, when he heard Gu Yin say, “Boss, can you take a few days off?”

Without looking up, Xiao Zong coldly snorted, “And you’ll do my work?”

Gu Yin replied, “Sure, I can.”

Everyone present, …

“Really, I can!” Gu Yin emphasised again.

But looking at his frail, sickly state, it wasn’t exactly convincing.

Xiao Zong couldn’t help but laugh. Typing a few keywords into the search engine, he said, “Just don’t cause me any trouble.”

The search results loaded, and surprisingly, everything online seemed eerily calm.

The entire Federation’s network had been hit, yet somehow the news had been suppressed so quickly?

It was the weekend, so the stock market wasn’t open, making it impossible to gauge the market’s reaction.

The more Xiao Zong thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Were they trying to prevent panic? But at this point, it was clear [UNNAMED] hadn’t bothered hiding its actions. They had brazenly stolen countless corporate secrets and, for now, hadn’t made any further moves.

Usually, the media would have been all over this, yet now they were collectively silent.

Xiao Zong’s eyes glanced at the phone on the table. He had saved Officer Lu’s electronic business card.

The police had instructed that Gu Yin wasn’t allowed to wander far during this period and had to be available on short notice. And since Xiao Zong had vouched for him, Xiao Zong was responsible for ensuring Gu Yin didn’t suddenly disappear.

Xiao Zong wanted to take the opportunity to sort everything out properly.

“Wei Mian,” he said, his index finger tapping rhythmically on the table, a habit when he was thinking, “how many days of annual leave do I have?”

“Three days,” Assistant Wei replied without hesitation.

“What?!” Fang Chi was so shocked he jumped up from the sofa. “Eight years of work and only three days of leave? Is your company a bunch of animals?!?”
He turned to Gu Yin and said, “Second Cousin-in-law, I’ve told you before, come work for me. Henghua’s work policies are not suitable for Omegas—they even exploit their CEO!”

Gu Yin sympathised, Boss is so pitiful…

Fang Chi turned his back dramatically, as if about to faint from anger.

“Is your little company still not bankrupt?” Xiao Zong couldn’t help but tease. “I heard last time that Leng Haiyun was preparing to acquire Orange Juice Entertainment.”

“Nonsense!” Fang Chi turned around angrily. “I’d rather sell myself than sell the company to that jerk!”

Wei Mian and Fang Chi had been classmates during their master’s program and had always been close. In fact, it was Fang Chi who had recommended Wei Mian to Henghua.

Assistant Wei nodded and said, “Gu Yin, see? Our company is still better. Fang Chi is talking about selling himself. If you followed him, you’d end up not being able to pay your tuition.”

Gu Yin was about to nod in agreement when he noticed Fang Chi’s aggrieved look and stopped himself in time, saying instead, “Poor Fang Chi…”

Fang Chi was the nephew of Madam Fang Runjin, a typical second-generation rich kid in the Federation. Starting his company was mostly a passion project for him.

Wealthy people have their own unique ways of burning through money, and the entire Orange Juice Entertainment existed mainly to fulfil Master Fang’s dream.

But dreams tend to shatter, and returning home to inherit the family fortune was the only real path.

So no matter how much Fang Chi complained, Xiao Zong remained unmoved.

In H country, Henghua was the leader in technology companies, while Leng Entertainment dominated the entertainment industry.

Leng Entertainment was a leader in film production, music distribution, and artist management, with many top-tier stars under its banner and operations throughout the entire galaxy.

Originally, the entertainment industry was large enough for everyone to burn through their money peacefully, but recently, Leng Entertainment had targeted Fang Chi’s Orange Juice Entertainment, relentlessly suppressing it.

The reason? Xiao Zong had caught Leng Haiyun laundering money at the LAVCA casino and had taken action against him, leaving Leng Haiyun fuming but unable to retaliate directly. So, he vented his frustration on Fang Chi.

Leng Haiyun figured no one would care about Fang Chi’s determination to chase his entertainment dreams, so he took every opportunity to mess with him.

Fang Chi, being a proud young master, couldn’t stomach this insult. However, everyone knew Leng Haiyun was backed by Xiao Jingchuan, and rumours of a power struggle between the two Xiao Family heirs were rampant. This left Fang Chi hesitant, during which time several promising new talents had been poached.

Lawsuits over contract breaches followed, along with a wave of negative public opinion.

The young defectors tearfully accused Orange Juice Entertainment’s boss of using the casting couch, dumping a load of scandal on Fang Chi.

Although Fang Chi lived a carefree life as a notorious capitalist second-generation, his private life was actually quite clean.

And besides, he had an AA orientation. Those O-defectors weren’t his type at all.

But Fang Chi hadn’t come out to his family yet. Only a few people knew his orientation, and Xiao Zong was one of them.

This second cousin was a workaholic, and over the years, many Omegas and Betas had tried to win his favour. Even in the AA circle, there were quite a few interested in him, but Xiao Zong had remained scandal-free, aside from a rather wooden assistant.

—Assistant Wei, whose pheromones even smelled like coffee!

Fang Chi didn’t expect Xiao Zong to suddenly show mercy, but after the head of the private medical team came in to deliver the health report, Xiao Zong glanced at it—casually, a mere two seconds to read through the twenty-something pages.

After finishing, Xiao Zong instructed Wei Mian, “The doctor says I need two months of rest. Have someone bring the Commander to the villa today.”

Amid everyone’s surprised and happy reactions, he added, “No sick leave, that would affect the company’s stock price. No personal leave, if the pay gets docked, I’ll deduct the difference from your salary. I’ll attend important meetings remotely. For everything else, you handle it.”

You-handle-it.

The way he said it made it sound as easy as deciding what to have for dinner.

Wei Mian, rubbing his heavy dark circles, felt his hairline recede another half inch.

After finishing his instructions, Xiao Zong turned to Fang Chi, “How much do you need to revitalise your company?”

When the hotel incident occurred, Fang Chi had been the first to rush over, tirelessly working through the night to smooth things over and calm the family. Even though they were family, Xiao Zong still owed him a favour.

Fang Chi immediately caught on, “My dear cousin! You do care about me!!”

Xiao Zong rolled his eyes. “Keep calling me that, and I’ll let you sell yourself.”

“No, no, no, forget it! What revitalisation? The entertainment industry doesn’t operate like your financial and tech sectors,” Fang Chi was so excited he practically lit up, “I just need people, lots of people! You should send Second Cousin-in-law—”

“Secretary Gu is off-limits.” Xiao Zong cut him off instinctively, glancing at Gu Yin, who looked like a wilted little cabbage, and added, “I’ve got some spare money that can help you hold out against Leng Haiyun, but don’t ask for people.”

Just as Fang Chi was about to say something, Wei Mian hurriedly pulled him aside and asked, “What exactly is going on between the boss and Secretary Gu?”

Young Master Fang, still basking in the joy of an angel investment, didn’t fully process the question, “What do you mean what’s going on? I already told you—it’s just a temporary thing, just a temporary thing!”

Wei Mian pinched his arm, pulling him back to reality. “What did you just call Gu Yin?”

“Second Cousin-in-law—” Fang Chi sucked in a sharp breath.

Xiao Zong showed no reaction whatsoever to the title.

“Well done, Old Wei!” Fang Chi slapped Wei Mian on the back. “Just get them to take a few more days off, and we’ll soon be expecting Old Master Xiao’s great-grandson!”

Wei Mian …

“I knew it! No one could convince him, but how does that saying go? ‘Only a villain can subdue another villain.’ Isn’t that right…” Wei Mian looked at Fang Chi with an expression that screamed, “Don’t tell anyone we went to the same school.”

Assistant Wei, carrying his work tablet, glanced at the two figures on the sofa. Xiao Zong, unmoved, and Gu Xiao Yin, inching closer.

Ha, Alpha. We agreed to work ourselves to death, but you secretly got ahead of the game.

Feeling utterly defeated, the assistant ticked a few boxes on the screen with his stylus.

Half a minute later, both the HR department and the board received a leave request from the General Manager’s office.

[Marriage Leave]

1. Much-coveted monk flesh.
   In the novel the demons often claim that eating a piece of the monk’ s flesh will make the eater immortal, which results in battles with numerous demons. In modern times, something much-coveted, or “the flesh of a Tang Dynasty monk”, refers to a big bonus or benefit that is pursued at any cost. ↩︎