Pretending To Be A Boss

This world is sometimes like this.

Some people strut around in their day-to-day lives, and everyone thinks that those people are nothing but straw bags who only got where they are because of their parents. But when a national crisis looms, these same people won't even frown.

Then there are those who always like to criticize others, always on the moral high ground, but faced with the same national crisis, these people do nothing, continuing only to scoff and jeer.

Of course, this is just a partial phenomenon. But it's enough to illustrate a principle.

Actions can judge a person, but often, the actions people understand are not comprehensive. You can never know whether your friend will one day suddenly have a persona collapse or an elevation of character.

Tang Xian thought of a story and began to tell it outright.

"At the end of the fifth school year, there was a very handsome student in our class. Probably before he transferred, I was only the second most liked by the girls."

Li Xiaoyu listened quietly, even though she didn't know why Tang Xian was suddenly bringing up an irrelevant topic. At the same time, she automatically ignored Tang Xian's shamelessly self-congratulatory remarks.

"He was tall, aloof by nature, and supposedly his family had a good foundation too. And I quite liked this person."

This "I quite liked" made Li Xiaoyu suddenly vigilant.

Tang Xian noticed this expression and gave Li Xiaoyu a glance.

"Many girls pursued him, all of whom were coldly rejected. His image as a high and mighty male idol was almost unshakeable."

"It was only later that he became the laughingstock of the whole school. A photo and a video forced him to transfer schools."

"Such a lofty idol, who usually looked down upon young and beautiful girls, was seen in the video wearing childish makeup with clownish blush, dancing a ridiculous dance, and singing a song that only people from a bygone era would like. He looked like a clown."

"No one knew why he did this in the video, but his persona was ruined in an instant. Aloof people are of two kinds: those with a thick enough skin to withstand a nuclear bomb and those with thin skin; in fact, most people are the latter. So he transferred schools."

"The former male god became a joke, especially among the girls he had rejected and the boys who were jealous of him. The incident turned into anecdote, and on some youth-favored websites, there were even parody videos." Your next journey awaits at empire

Li Xiaoyu was somewhat angry. It seemed Tang Xian was implying that what he had just said might be different from his perceived character.

But to compare oneself to a behaviorally deviant clown?

Seeing Li Xiaoyu's expression, Tang Xian said, "Listen to me before you react."

"Later, Ke and I investigated the origin of this video, purely out of boredom, or perhaps curiosity about human nature, wondering exactly what it would take for someone to do something so drastically against the norm."

"Eventually we tracked down a middle-aged woman who, as soon as she heard we were classmates of the aloof boy, treated us very kindly. She didn't know he had transferred schools."

"When I asked about the incident, she straightforwardly explained the reason. She had only met the aloof boy by chance. Her son and husband had met with an accident in the mining area, and she had lost all her will to live."

"Put simply, a person with a cold persona encountered a woman seeking death. And then he saved her."

"Some people have an extremely naive side to their hearts. You might find it hard to imagine such a handsome boy, not good with words, would dress up to make a woman who had given up on life laugh, making clownish gestures to encourage her. It's just a pity... he forgot to close the window."

Now Li Xiaoyu understood. The scene of the boy making the woman laugh was captured because the buildings in the grove on the third floor were very close to each other.

"I didn't pursue the matter further, just understood the ins and outs. After all, it had nothing to do with me. I didn't have much to do with that aloof boy, but because of this, I found him rather adorable. Not only did his persona not collapse, but it also sublimated."

Tang Xian thought about it and then generously added:

"Just like you today."

He spoke these words very lightly, lighter than plain water. But Li Xiaoyu's face flushed in an instant.

"Even if you compliment me... I...wait, do you agree or not?"

Her thoughts were somewhat obstructed. This man had never complimented her before. Li Xiaoyu forced herself to calm down.

She had to quickly think of something related to their interests.

Tang Xian shook his head.

"I can't promise you something I'm not even sure I can achieve myself. Hunting a disaster-class boss creature will be my goal, on my agenda. But whether I can kill it within a year, I can't boastfully claim that I can."

Li Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As long as you do your best and don't hold back, that's enough."

"You trust me that much? You might already become a married woman by the time I bring back the Soul Crystal of a disaster-class boss creature."

"Shut up!" Li Xiaoyu was annoyed again; this man was ruining the mood.

"I might get married, but I won't let him touch me."

"You don't need to tell me these things. I'm agreeing only because there are some contrasts in your personality that remind me of that classmate. Although you have your brilliant points, they still don't change the fact that you're an idiot."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Li Xiaoyu felt an urge to pounce on this man and bite him.

Tang Xian said, "I don't need you to find teammates for me. I need obedient teammates, but they should at least retain their own characters so that they can fully utilize their specialties and talents. The ones you found, forget it."

As he thought about the mere days it had taken for Luo to become a servant, Tang Xian felt that the matter of finding Tang, Tang quickly, Tang very flesh must still be personally handled by himself.

Li Xiaoyu steadied her breathing.

"I think that's about it, I'll take my leave," said Tang Xian, now that he knew the full story and was ready to leave.

"Wait a minute."

"Is there anything else?"

"You have to bring your team to the hunting festival."

"I'll see how I feel."

Tang Xian didn't want to say any more to Li Xiaoyu.

In a little while, ten hours would pass, and if there was anything to say, Dong Ran would serve as the best messenger between the two of them.

Thinking that Tang Xiaojiu and Dong Ran were probably hungry, he was also getting a bit greedy himself.

As he left, Luo was exceedingly respectful, making Tang feel somewhat helpless.

...

...

Li Xiaoyu also left soon after.

Eve followed behind her, while Luo knelt at Li Xiaoyu's feet, much like a dog. Li Xiaoyu glanced at Luo.

Remembering the story Tang Xian had just told, she felt she hadn't done anything wrong.

People have two sides. Yet, these two sides coexist with logical relations; they are not without rationale.

Someone's apparent integrity is just a facade, because they've never been given the chance to be corrupted. Those who could corrupt them do not care to do so. In other words, they wish to fall but are given no opportunity.

Therefore, she didn't agree with Tang Xian's words that if someone was a true friend, they would never turn into a dog.

The disgust one has for the wealthy often correlates with how easily they can be bought.

Li Xiaoyu verified this truism countless times amongst her father and brother's business partners.

On social media, there are always those who criticize the Li family, be it the media or individuals; they all seem to regard money and power as dirt.

But as soon as the Li family spends a bit of money, these people are the quickest to change sides.

"You haven't transcended, you've just plainly collapsed. So you're not fit to be his friend, just continue being a dog," Li Xiaoyu left these words behind as she departed.

Of course, there was also enough wealth left with Luo that would make him happy to remain a dog.

In Fortress 39, the Li family has private passages to any level they wish to visit.

At this moment in the private passage, Li Xiaoyu was passing the third level, and she remembered something else.

"What do you think of Tang Xian? Isn't he interesting?"

She asked Eve. As a top hunter, Eve was skilled at judging creatures in the mining area, but not so much at judging humans.

Shaking her head, she said, "This man is strong, beyond that, your subordinate wouldn't dare to comment."

"Strong?"

Li Xiaoyu didn't believe it when Tang Xian claimed to be strong. But Eve's judgment was accurate, so now she had to give it some serious thought.

"I've seen all of Tang Xian's medical reports from his Chosen Trial. He's just a normal person, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Maybe your subordinate has made an error," said Eve.

"Forget it, I'll investigate this later. I need you to help me look up someone," Li Xiaoyu said.

"Yes, tell me."

"Seven years ago, in the third level's 669 educational district of Fortress 39, there was a boy. Look him up for me. He transferred out after reaching the fifth year in 669 district. He's notable for being rather handsome and was in the same class as Tang Xian."

"I will report to you tonight. Are we going to punish this person?" Eve thought this individual must have offended Tang Xian.

The second miss indeed cherished Tang Xian greatly.

"No, if I'm in a good mood, I'll send him some money to spend."