"Ah, Assistant Bao. It’s only been a few days, but you’ve certainly changed."
It wasn’t just his demeanor; even the way he dressed was different.
A woman followed behind Bao An. Judging by her attire, she was likely his secretary.
Noticing Lin Feng’s gaze on her, she smiled and said, "Mr. Lin, it’s not Assistant Bao anymore. It’s President Bao."
That voice...
Lin Feng recognized it instantly.
It had the same cloyingly sweet tone he remembered from the phone call. There was no difference.
He retracted his gaze and sized up Bao An.
’An assistant who, not long after his boss was hospitalized, suddenly becomes the company’s new owner. Interesting.’
Inside the hospital room, Chen Guoqiao finally saw them.
Perhaps it was the sight of Lin Feng and Bao An standing together that made him suddenly become agitated and shove the nurse aside.
Through the glass, Lin Feng could only see Chen Guoqiao’s mouth moving, unable to hear a single word.
"Mr. Lin, would you be interested in joining me for a drink?"
Bao An spoke again.
Chen Guoqiao couldn’t leave the isolation ward, and Lin Feng had no desire to waste time putting on protective gear just to exchange pleasantries with him.
So, after Bao An extended the invitation, he gave it a moment’s thought, then turned and left with him.
At first glance, the atmosphere between the two seemed harmonious, but in reality, it was incredibly tense.
In a coffee shop near the hospital, Lin Feng and Bao An sat across from each other.
He had no intention of beating around the bush, so he cut right to the chase, as direct as could be.
"Congratulations, President Bao!"
"It looks like President Chen won’t be coming back."
’Even if he recovers, a president with his appearance would severely damage the company’s image. The shareholders would never let him take the position again.’
Lin Feng wasn’t interested in how Bao An had secured the position.
Barring any surprises, Bao An would be the president of Little Broken Station for a long time to come.
Bao An chuckled at his words.
He now radiated the aura of a man in power. His every word and deed was a far cry from the bowing and scraping assistant he had been not so long ago.
In the past, Chen Guoqiao was the one who held his fate in his hands, and Bao An could only feign obedience.
But things were different now. He had overcome all opposition to claim this seat. Now, if he wanted, he could crush Chen Guoqiao with a single finger.
"I’ll take that as a good omen, Mr. Lin."
Bao An raised his coffee cup to Lin Feng in a toast.
"Speaking of which, I still owe you an apology, Mr. Lin. When you have to answer to someone, sometimes you’re forced to do things you don’t want to do."
He sighed, his arrogant expression quickly replaced by one full of apology.
"I also apologize to your sister. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Mr. Lin. Even if you don’t accept my apology, please grant me this small courtesy."
’The way his expression changed was as fast as a mask-changing opera performer.’
In reality, he was simply putting on an act for Lin Feng.
Even when Lin Feng ultimately ignored his apology, Bao An maintained a guilty expression right up until Lin Feng departed.
Bao An watched Lin Feng’s retreating back, the smile in his eyes vanishing completely. It was replaced by an unfathomable, venomous resentment. His dark eyes swirled with infinite malice.
’He was the new president of Little Broken Station now. Who did Lin Feng think he was?’
’Just some punk who hadn’t even finished college. What gave him the right to act so arrogantly in front of him?’
’Not enough!’
’This title is far from enough!’
Bao An gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. ’One day, I’ll crush everyone under my heel. I’ll become an untouchable existence that people can only look up to with fear and awe.’
After leaving the coffee shop, Lin Feng was lost in thought.
He recalled the smile he had just seen on Bao An’s face, and a chill ran down his spine.
’How calculating must a person be to master their expressions so perfectly? And those eyes... if Lin Feng didn’t know better, he would have genuinely believed that man held no ill will toward him whatsoever.’
’It seems that without Chen Guoqiao in the picture, this Bao An would be an even more difficult opponent.’
...
「Back at his apartment.」
Su Ruoxi was holding her bag, just about to head out.
"You’re going out?"
Lin Feng asked, watching her with some surprise.
’What is she doing going out at this hour?’
"Yeah."
Su Ruoxi blinked, finding his question odd.
"Aren’t you going?"
"The school is holding a mandatory student meeting today. Everyone has to be there."
Having been a wealthy man for so long, Lin Feng had almost forgotten that he was still a student and had to abide by the school’s arrangements.
He had been running back and forth so much for company business that he had completely forgotten about his schoolwork.
If Su Ruoxi hadn’t mentioned it, it wouldn’t have even crossed his mind.
Lin Feng rubbed the bridge of his nose, changed into some casual clothes better suited for a student, and left with his girlfriend.
Lin Feng had long since become a celebrity on campus.
He was young, possessed countless assets, and had a beautiful girlfriend like Su Ruoxi. He was the definition of someone winning at life.
On campus, he was the envy of the boys and the object of the girls’ affections. His very presence caused a stir.
Everyone was in agreement: how could a person like Lin Feng possibly still be attending school?
If they had his kind of success, they would have dropped out long ago.
What was the point of studying when you were already rich?
Walking through campus with Su Ruoxi, he drew countless stares. Lin Feng, however, was completely unfazed and ignored them all.
"Oh my god, did you see him?"
"That’s Lin Feng! It’s my first time seeing him in person. I thought he’d be some short, ugly tech nerd, but I didn’t expect him to be so handsome!"
"My goddess! I’ll never forgive him for stealing her away! My pure, flawless goddess, tainted by him just like that! WAHHHH..."
"What are you talking about? I think Su Ruoxi isn’t good enough for Lin Feng! He’s young, rich—a real catch. How did he end up with her?"
"You say that like he’d be interested in you if he wasn’t with her. Go take a piss and look at your own reflection. With your looks and figure, you aren’t even worthy of carrying Su Ruoxi’s shoes."
While a fight was about to break out among the onlookers, Lin Feng and Su Ruoxi had already walked out of sight, long gone.
The meeting ended four hours later.
It was called a meeting, but it was really just the school inviting a highly respected author to tell the students his success story.
Although the talk was full of cheesy, inspirational fluff, Lin Feng found himself dozing off.
When it finally, mercifully ended, he perked up, ready to leave immediately, only to be stopped.
A school administrator on the stage suddenly called his name. The man claimed that since it was such a rare opportunity to have a successful student like Lin Feng in attendance, he should come up and share his secrets to success.
That way, everyone at the school could learn from him.
Lin Feng: "..."
’What was I supposed to say?’
’Am I supposed to tell them I’m only successful today because I got a system?’
’They’d probably think I was a lunatic, right?’
"Come on, Classmate Lin, don’t be shy."
"Just come up and say a few words. The students are all eager to learn at this age; they won’t eat you."
Seeing him remain still, the administrator assumed he was just being modest and, putting on an amiable expression, continued to coax him onto the stage.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, fighting the urge to curse.
Su Ruoxi could see his reluctance. She squeezed his hand and gave him a look, silently telling him to just put up with it.
After all, this was a school administrator, and he still had to attend this university.
Left with no other choice, Lin Feng walked up to the podium, having absolutely no idea what secrets to success he was supposed to share.
So he brainstormed, instantly recalling every cheesy inspirational quote he had ever come across, and recited them.
There was no secret to success, only persistent, unyielding effort.
And, you needed a sharp mind.
’The subtext being, if you weren’t born with a brain, don’t even bother trying.’
He didn’t say that part out loud, of course. Whether or not they understood would be the best proof of whether they had brains in the first place.
And so, the students who thought their ordeal was finally over were forced to remain and listen to Lin Feng deliver an entire, mind-numbing spiel of cheesy motivational quotes.

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