Pretending To Be A Boss

Li Zheng remembered the last time his little sister had smiled at the young master from the fifth layer of the Zhang Family. Later, the elder of the Zhang Family adopted a son.

Li Zheng felt a chill on his back, and his feet suddenly felt a bit weak.

Li Xiaoyu said, "Take me with you."

Where would Li Zheng dare? Taking Li Xiaoyu was just like going to a nightclub to cause trouble. He waved his hands and said,

"Nonsense, nonsense, haha, just rambling because I'm so hungry."

Li Xiaoyu had actually been to those places of pleasure and found them uninteresting, and she figured Tang Xian probably found them uninteresting too.

She ignored Li Zheng. After all, he was her brother, and she still counted on him to carry on the Li family's lineage.

After a while, Tang Xian came out with two bowls of noodles.

The Li siblings were not particular. They seemed to be truly hungry. Li Zheng very obligingly picked up a fork and started eating.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is pretty good, not to say it's better than the top-tier nutritional meals, but it has its own flavor," Li Zheng slurped noisily as he ate, completely lacking the demeanor of a wealthy family's young master.

Li Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was very graceful, sipping a little at a time.

Tang Xian found it unsatisfying to watch, while Bu Jing found it somewhat absurd.

He never imagined the Li siblings, who would have the greatest say in their family's future, would suddenly appear in his messy house, four people eating noodles together.

Without many side dishes, this was plain boiled noodles, but fortunately, they were cooked just right, seasoned well.

Bu Jing was somewhat worried, fearing he hadn't been a good host and that the young master and young miss might think poorly of him, especially since the house was quite a mess.

Tang Xian said,

"I had a chat with your undercover agent in your family, quite professional, he could talk to me about any topic. It's thanks to him that I was able to deal with the aftermath of my visit to Fortress Two."

Without much more to say. Li Zheng nodded, and Li Xiaoyu responded faintly, "Got it."

Tang Xian didn't bring it up again.

Bu Jing was startled. Was this an assignment being imposed on him?

It wasn't that Tang Xian was deliberately getting the Li siblings to look out for Bu Jing.

Mainly because after the meal was finished, one couldn't just command others to wash the dishes without offering something in return.

After finishing the meal, Li Xiaoyu felt bored and found playing cards, Go, and mahjong all in Bu Jing's room. She tried to coax Tang Xian into playing a game of chess. Tang Xian refused twice, but Li Xiaoyu kept insisting, and, unable to persuade her otherwise, he reluctantly agreed.

Li Zheng, on the other hand, was taken by Bu Jing to see Dr. Duke locked in the secret room.

Tang Xian did not give Li Xiaoyu any face, and a chess match whose outcome couldn't change was dull if repeated; it was better to play against oneself.

During this process, Li Xiaoyu's gaze carried hope several times, only to become dim in the end.

The game was not even midway, and Li Xiaoyu realized she could not save this game of chess.

She looked deeply at Tang Xian.

Time seemed to pass without her noticing; Li Zheng had already finished questioning Dr. Duke.

Li Xiaoyu walked out of the house, feeling stuffy. Li Zheng noticed that Li Xiaoyu's mood was off, so he followed her out.

Bu Jing was somewhat baffled and said, "The atmosphere seems a bit off."

"Don't know, I'm not an idiot, how could I understand what those siblings are thinking?"

...

...

On the fourth layer of Fortress Two, the streets were busy with people, most with smiles on their faces.

In a Pyramid-shaped social system, the disparities between layers were not just in status but also in happiness.

Li Xiaoyu was not very happy.

The game of black and white stones, which includes both Connect Four and Go, is actually also called a lovers' game. Surrounding without attacking, retreating without defending, and so on—all have many interpretations within relationships.

Li Xiaoyu, after all, was just a young girl who had just come of age. She had seen many people, understood the human heart, and was knowledgeable about human nature.

But emotionally, she was only inclined, not incomplete.

She would feel shy, sad, angry. She also had things she feared and tried to express her likes in a subtle way.

After losing to Tang Xian, Li Xiaoyu would find someone to coach her in chess in her spare time.

The coach was a woman, a former national champion, now thirty-seven, retired, and looking after her family.

She had told Li Xiaoyu, "When I play chess with my husband, he doesn't let me win every time, but he makes the game look good, tries to make it last as long as possible."

"If the young miss has someone in the future you like, you can test them out over a game of chess. If he also likes you, even if he can't play, he will think deeply. Even if he has some knowledge of the game, he would willingly join the game."

Li Xiaoyu had no such opportunities until today.

But playing chess with Tang Xian was like playing with an emotionless machine.

He paid no attention to the hints and implications in some chess phrases, thinking only of how to end the game in the most efficient way possible.

They say the pathway with the beloved woman should be as long winding as possible—a perfect serpentine with no end in sight.

Tang Xian was very mood-destroying. He went straight down the most direct path because straight paths are easier to follow, looking at the other party with eyes that seemed to say how tedious they are.

The utilization of solar power meant that there was day and night inside the fortress too.

With lights shining, night had fallen.

Walking on the streets of a foreign fortress, observing the passing young people, Li Xiaoyu, who rarely felt lonely, found herself feeling uncomfortable.

In less than four months, she would be married into the Song Family. Life was clearly long, yet there was a sense of impending closure.