Xie Shimian was called in for an internship at the company.
As she sat in the spacious, open-plan general manager’s office, her legs crossed and propped up on the desk, the dazzling view of the capital planet stretched beyond the window.
At this moment, she finally understood the joy of being the boss.
Ke Rong remarked, “Miss, your smile is terrifying.”
Xie Shimian sighed softly. “The office is wonderful.”
In her past life, she had stood in such an office and been scolded. In this life, she could lounge with her legs on the desk and scold others instead.
Ke Rong thought to herself that the young mistress was spouting nonsense again.
Xie Shimian took a sip of coffee and said leisurely, “Everyone hates capitalists, yet everyone wants to become one.”
Ke Rong interjected, “Miss, the head of Global Intelligence has already arrived in the reception room.”
Xie Shimian patted her clothes and stood up, took two steps, then retreated and sat back on the desk.
“Let them wait.”
As the general manager, how could she arrive on time?
That would make her look utterly unimportant.
Ke Rong’s gaze fell on a faint red mark on Xie Shimian’s neck.
“Hua Zhi is still young. Miss should be more considerate of her.”
The smile on Xie Shimian’s face froze abruptly. “What?”
In the mirror, the stunning beauty’s neck bore a conspicuous red mark, one that invited speculation.
Only the closest of people would leave such an ambiguous mark there.
Xie Shimian scratched at it with her fingers. “What if I told you it was a bug bite? Would you believe me?”
Ke Rong replied mildly, “Whatever Miss says must be true.”
Xie Shimian huffed in frustration. “It really was!”
Last night, she hadn’t slept with Hua Zhi. She only vaguely remembered the room being stuffy, the air thick with insects, and her arms wrapped around something as hot as a furnace. She hadn’t slept well at all.
Xie Shimian muttered, “How could there be bugs in such cold weather?”
In the bedroom of the luxurious estate.
Hua Zhi curled up on the bed, her fingers playing with the mutton-fat jade ring hanging around her neck.
She placed the white jade between her crimson lips, running her tongue over it.
The young girl, now at the age of budding affection, had eyes glistening with emotion.
She carefully wiped the ring clean and placed it back over her heart.
Last night, she had secretly slept in her benefactor’s room.
Her benefactor hadn’t noticed and had even held her.
A surge of secret delight filled Hua Zhi’s heart.
Being held by Xie Shimian all night was a good thing, but what she truly wanted was to be embraced by Xie Shimian when she was fully conscious.
Her benefactor’s hands and feet were always cold, she needed a little furnace.
Hua Zhi stepped barefoot out of bed and tidied herself up in front of the mirror.
A form-fitting cheongsam might look cheap, one that outlined every curve of her body.
But the fabric Xie Shimian had chosen for her was of excellent quality, avoiding any hint of vulgarity.
In the mirror, the girl’s posture was upright, her slender shoulders and waist so delicate they seemed as if they might break with a single embrace.
The butler was already busy in the dining room. When he saw Hua Zhi descend, he glanced up and said, “The young mistress has gone to the company today.”
Hua Zhi had a small appetite. Without Xie Shimian supervising her, half a tube of nutrient solution was enough to fill her.
“I don’t have classes today…”
Hua Zhi insisted, “I want to go keep Miss company.”
The butler was stunned. “You! The Xie family won’t deprive you of food or shelter. Why must you take this path at such a young age?”
He might as well have pointed at Hua Zhi and called her shameless, accusing her of trying to seduce the young mistress so soon after being taken in.
Hua Zhi clenched her skirt tightly. She had dressed beautifully today, perfectly matching Xie Shimian’s tastes.
She knew exactly what Xie Shimian liked about her.
Hua Zhi’s eyes glistened with tears. “Miss said she would accompany me when I wasn’t in class. I woke up early today, but she was nowhere to be found… Last night, she was still holding me like that.”
The ambiguous words left the butler momentarily breathless.
In his heart, he silently accused Xie Shimian of being far too promiscuous!
How could she lay hands on such a young girl?
“I’ll have someone take you to the company. Don’t disturb Miss while she’s working.”
Hua Zhi’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Uncle Butler. Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
The fifty-something butler couldn’t help but show a hint of paternal affection.
Who wouldn’t adore such a sweet-talking girl?
In the spacious office.
Xie Shimian took the last sip of her coffee, stunned:
“What? You only work six hours a day, four days a week?”
Ke Rong: “Yes, Miss. That’s always been the company’s policy.”
She didn’t understand Xie Shimian’s shock. Working hours had always been like this was there a problem?
Xie Shimian flipped through the work reports, pressing a hand to her throbbing temple.
Her recent disagreement with the head of Global AI had left the entire company in a tense atmosphere.
The Xie family’s enterprises had always prioritized humanistic care, but over the past two years, they’d been subtly overshadowed by Global AI. “Increase daily working hours to eight, five days a week.”
Xie Shimian now wore the smile of a ruthless capitalist.
Outside the general manager’s office, Hua Zhi peeked through the door crack at her savior inside.
Her savior looked so beautiful at work.
Her sharp brows and eyes gleamed with the brilliance of a strategist.
A soft mewl escaped the kitten’s throat. She desperately wanted to crawl under that massive desk and nuzzle her face against Xie Shimian’s knees.
But with the detestable Ke Rong present, she could only wait outside for now.
Inside the office, Xie Shimian remained oblivious to the gaze from the shadows.
Ke Rong frowned. “Manager, with all due respect, this will upset the employees.”
A dark smile curled Xie Shimian’s lips. “Voluntary overtime workers will receive bonuses higher than their hourly wage but only after exceeding one hour. Two hours earns a free dinner, three hours reimburses transportation fees.”
Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk. “Of course, this isn’t mandatory. It’s entirely up to the employees’ discretion. Though I’ve heard many of our Xie family employees come from remote regions, these betas must be eager to earn money on the capital planet, no?”
More money meant more overtime, more contributions to the company’s strength.
With enough financial incentive, these betas from the outskirts would prove themselves talented indeed.
Ke Rong looked at Xie Shimian as if she were the devil incarnate.
“How is this even possible?!”
Having observed the daily grind of interstellar office workers, Xie Shimian saw ample room for improvement.
Ke Rong spoke bluntly: “As management, your methods are excellent. But as a human being, you lack morals.”
Xie Shimian’s lips twitched. She wanted to take a sip of coffee to steady herself, only to find her cup empty.
“Five workdays a week, maximum nine hours per day, with social insurance, housing fund, plus meal and transportation reimbursements and you call that lacking morals?”
Xie Shimian leaned back in her soft chair. “Then what do you call it if the salary stays the same, but you work seven days a week, get two days off a month, put in three to five hours of unpaid overtime daily, have no insurance, can only get promoted through empty promises and flattery, and require pretty female employees to entertain clients at drinking parties?”
Ke Rong and Hua Zhi, who was hiding behind the door, shuddered. “We call that a slave owner.”
Xie Shimian smiled faintly. “I thought so too.”
Hua Zhi leaned against the cold door, thinking Xie Shimian’s actions were still too lenient. If it were her…
On the Barren Star, she had seen far more horrifying work arrangements where people weren’t treated as humans but as easily expendable machines. On the Barren Star, human life was the cheapest commodity.
Xie Shimian yawned, flipping through various reports and pointing out targeted issues.
She handed the documents to Ke Rong. “Go dig up some dirt on Global, anything ambiguous, unverifiable, or unrefutable will do. Flood the Star Network with it, and get influential bloggers and opinion leaders to speak out. The public will soon boycott that company.”
“When the backlash peaks, drop our company’s soft promotion. My parents went to the Barren Star for charity recently perfect timing to highlight how we’re a people-first, benevolent company.”
“Oh, and we even adopted a little orphan from the Barren Star.”
Ke Rong stared at Xie Shimian’s shameless tactics. “How are you so good at this?!”
The young miss she used to know wasn’t like this.
A pale, dark smile curled at Xie Shimian’s lips. Oh, she was very, very familiar with this.
Time to give the Empire a little taste of the horrors from a thousand years ago.
After Ke Rong left, Xie Shimian leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Being the boss felt amazing. No one could scold her for slacking off, she could slack to the end of time.
“Who’s there?!”
Hearing movement at the door, Xie Shimian frowned and stood up.
Had something gone wrong with Ke Rong?
She opened the door to find the hallway empty.
Ke Rong wasn’t there?
Closing the door, she wondered what Hua Zhi was up to now.
Her little kitten should be awake by now, was she doing her homework?
The Ragdoll cat she used to have was extremely clingy. Every time Xie Shimian left the house, the cat would think she’d gone hunting and would wait by the door for her return.
A clingy cat couldn’t bear to be apart from its owner for even a moment. Xie Shimian’s heart softened at the thought.
She returned to her desk, only for her calf to brush against something soft and furry.
Xie Shimian jerked back in alarm, only to realize,
“Hua Zhi!”
The cat-eared girl in a qipao had suddenly appeared beneath her desk.
Her round, blue eyes fixed intently on Xie Shimian as she nuzzled her cheek against Xie Shimian’s thigh and knee.
Xie Shimian’s breath hitched. “Get out here! Do you really think you’re a cat?!”
Before Hua Zhi could move, an employee’s voice sounded at the door.
“Manager.”
Xie Shimian coughed dryly into her hand, shooting Hua Zhi a fierce glare before lowering her voice. “Come in.”
Under the shadowy desk, Hua Zhi’s fingers traced Xie Shimian’s calf with reckless abandon.
She knelt on the soft carpet, her every breath deliberately light.
She had wanted to surprise her savior.
But her savior didn’t seem to like it?
A shadow flickered in the cat’s eyes. What did her savior actually like?
The employee entered with a stack of files. “Did you call for me just now, Manager?”
Xie Shimian said somewhat awkwardly, “We’ll establish an innovation award within the company. Any adopted suggestions will earn employees a technical bonus ranging from 30,000 to 400,000 yuan. This year, we’ll recruit more employees from remote planets and invest in building entrepreneurial parks. I’ll send the detailed documents to your email.”
Xie Shimian spoke seriously with the employee about work matters, but her calf was being repeatedly brushed by Hua Zhi’s lips.
The employee heard a strange squelching sound and asked in confusion, “Is someone else in the office? I think I just heard—”
A faint blush spread across Xie Shimian’s face. “There’s nothing. You must have misheard.”
The employee nodded cautiously. “Right, I didn’t hear anything.”
Xie Shimian: “…”
After the employee left, Xie Shimian pulled the cat out by the scruff,
Hua Zhi rested her hands on Xie Shimian’s wrist, leaning against her with an adorable, docile expression.
She wore a bamboo-green cheongsam, draped with a fluffy shawl, and stepped into satin high heels with a delicate ankle strap.
Like a graceful Jiangnan beauty, her eyes brimmed with affection, yet seemed to conceal immense grievance.
“I missed you, sister.”
The catgirl knelt on one knee, using Xie Shimian’s hand to stroke her own head.
Xie Shimian’s throat went dry this outfit was perfectly tailored to her tastes.
Suddenly, the door burst open as the employee returned. “Manager, I forgot to take my documents.”
Employee: ?!!!
From her angle, she saw the petite beauty in a cheongsam kneeling on the ground, in the middle of in the middle of,
Oh my god.