Pretending To Be A Boss

The indoor vehicle took Tang Xian directly to the sports stadium.

Li Xiaoyu's attire was the same as always, always a dark gothic dress.

Women who were to marry into the Song Family would rarely leave their houses before the wedding, but Miss Li always had a different style. Find your next read at empire

She held Tang Xian's hand, and although he wanted to refuse at first, after seeing the girl's fierce glares several times, he didn't refuse too strongly, and in the end let Li Xiaoyu link arms with him.

It was somewhat like a father taking his daughter shopping.

"Aren't you afraid of running into someone from the Song Family?"

"At most, they'll just kill you, the adulterer. They wouldn't dare do anything to me."

Tang Xian was taken aback; her reasoning made sense, though he was not an adulterer.

"I'll just say I'm your uncle."

"You're taking advantage of me!"

"In ancient society, with an age difference like ours, young people wouldn't call someone 'brother.' That's for age gaps of two or three years. With a six-year difference, women would call men 'uncle.'

Li Xiaoyu didn't quite understand; Tang Xian was the kind of person whose truth and lies both sounded far-fetched.

The sports stadium was bustling with people, and Li Xiaoyu became a dazzling sight.

Beauty is a peculiar thing; it can attract people's gazes, but those gazes inevitably fall onto the person beside them.

Tang Xian felt many eyes on him. Not very friendly ones.

Then he saw Jiang Ming, whose gaze was different from the others.

He first looked at Tang Xian and then glanced at the girl beside him.

Then Jiang Ming froze,

Working within the system of the thirty-ninth fortress, he, of course, recognized Li Xiaoyu.

Moreover, back in school, Li Xiaoyu and Tang Xian had always been two very strange individuals.

Tang Xian smiled, although Jiang Ming did not like him, he didn't dislike this man.

Generally speaking, he found people with high moral values quite endearing.

Regardless of gender.

"Hello." Tang Xian took the initiative to greet.

Jiang Ming was a bit stunned; he knew about Miss Li's impending marriage to the Song Family.

Now, with her arm linked with Tang Xian's, this was somewhat ostentatious.

"Are you participating in the hunting festival?"

"Not participating, just bringing a kid to have a look."

Li Xiaoyu glared at Tang Xian, then looked at Jiang Ming and said,

"I remember you, you're the one who investigated Tang Xian's exam scores in private, and after he became a formal employee, you even sent someone to look into his relationship with Akasi."

Jiang Ming was shocked.

Tang Xian wasn't surprised.

Those who investigated him inside the thirty-ninth fortress couldn't avoid Li Xiaoyu.

Li Xiaoyu was right about one thing; while she monitored him, she was also protecting him.

Though it was meaningless.

Tang Xian said, "Don't mind her."

Previously, Tang Xian had lied to Jiang Ming, telling him that Akasi was in the team.

It started as just a ripple effect of a lie.

But the twists and turns of the world couldn't be predicted. Tang Xian hadn't expected Akasi to stumble into the treehouse.

Nor had he expected Jiang Ming to be so persistent.

He looked at Jiang Ming intently and said,

"You seem to care a lot about me. Over these years, few have been willing to investigate me. Aside from this little girl beside me, you're quite attentive. But I'm curious, why is that?"

Jiang Ming was stunned, as if Tang Xian's gaze sought to see through him.

Li Xiaoyu selectively ignored the words 'little girl' that came out of Tang Xian's mouth.

She clearly wasn't little.

She stared at Jiang Ming with wide eyes, also quite curious about Jiang Ming's motive.

After all, both men and women could be subjects of her jealousy and suspicion.

Jiang Ming was not quite comfortable under such scrutiny and slightly turned his head, saying,

"As you've said, I've lived a life without blemish, but I followed the crowd that year. If you didn't cheat, and I've decided that you did, even if it won't matter now or in the future, it bothers me."

Without saying much else, Jiang Ming left.

His attention to Tang Xian was just a quest for verification.

But he could never find out too much, as many leads had been covered up. The allegations of Tang Xian's exam cheating had evidence, but all of it was hidden away by the Li family.

Tang Xian just smiled and paid it no mind.

Li Xiaoyu seemed lost in thought before saying,

"This person isn't bad, but his methods are somewhat underhanded, going so far as to investigate you privately."

Having thick skin naturally wasn't the exclusive trait of any one individual, Tang Xian realized that when Li Xiaoyu's skin grew thick, it was also quite something.

"Aren't you the least qualified person to say that?"

"I'm different, what I do is called investing."

Tang Xian didn't bother to argue any further.

There were many people who wished to observe him; in fact, over these past six years, Liu Lang, Luo, some of the older temporary workers in the mining area— all had shown a certain amount of curiosity toward him.

Yet, the extent of their probing remained within the boundaries of friendship.

Jiang Ming hadn't gone too far, at least not affecting Tang Xian's life, only using reasonable approaches to investigate.

But still, it was somewhat petty.

"I don't care myself, I just hope others don't care either. If you want to see me in the future, come to the forest sea, or come to the lower levels."

Li Xiaoyu pondered the connection between these two sentences. Suddenly, she understood.

She was somewhat pleased.

This was the first time Tang Xian had invited her.

Tang Xian's gaze landed on the entrance to the sports hall.

A youth with slightly curly and unkempt hair, dressed casually, caught his attention.

Several people were following the youth, and judging from the insignia on their sleeves, they appeared to be a team.

Li Xiaoyu glanced over and said,

"This person is named Zhong Xiuran."

"Never heard of him."

"A genius from Fortress 56, the Zhong Family's business scale is no match for the big three families, but their foundation isn't weak either. Inside Fortress 56, he's known as a notoriously lazy person."

"He does look quite lazy."

Tang Xian noticed Zhong Xiuran's drooping eyelids, his face looked as if he hadn't fully woken up, occasionally glancing around without any interest.

Even his shoelaces were loose. His sleepy eyes, messy hair, earphone wire hidden in the folds of his shirt at his chest.

"He looks suitable to be a lookout, but he isn't," Tang Xian shook his head.

"He's quite formidable. In the younger generation over these years, his reputation might not compare to my brother or Song Que's level, but he's also considered a genius whom many favor. He's very smart, with six kinds of talents, although his awakened ability is unknown."

Li Xiaoyu added,

"But he hasn't lost before."

"Lost?"

"Hunters often face many challenges among themselves."

Tang Xian nodded.

"Boring, fighting small monsters lets you eat meat. Fighting people just costs you money."

Li Xiaoyu knew that Tang Xian never much cared for so-called rankings and honors.

Thinking it over, Tang Xian decided today was ultimately about assisting the young mistress in assessing people, and thus he said,

"Zhong Xiuran, you should keep an eye on him. If you meet him during the Hunter's Gathering, tell Li Zheng it's best to form a brief alliance with him and not to make an enemy of him."

Li Xiaoyu was startled, thinking that this evaluation was perhaps too high.

"His combat ability probably isn't too strong, but people who are thinkers are the most troublesome, those who play tactics are all dirty, so let him go and dirty others."

"Dirtier than you?"

"I've already given up on participating, haven't I? Besides, I'm a brute now. If you can use brawn, who would want to bother with using the brain, mindless enjoyment is the real pleasure."

Tang Xian's gaze then shifted toward another area, under the billboard directly ahead, where a man holding a samurai sword, his long hair styled in a retro fashion, stood. His resolute face, shadowed by thick stubble, seemed weathered by time.

Li Xiaoyu, following his gaze once more, said,

"Gong Kun, a famous swordsman in the mining area, also a master of the sword in the Pyramid. He ranks highly and is quite mysterious, but not a threat to worry about."

Tang Xian discovered Li Xiaoyu's information was very complete.

"You should remember this person as well."

Li Xiaoyu said, "He only has four kinds of talents, just like Dong Ran."

"But that sword of his is not bad. Of the team's six people, only he came; the rest are probably lying low, which means this Gong Kun is just the public face, the real players haven't shown themselves. Anyone who can use such a sword must surely have the support of a top-notch weapons master, or sponsorship from some big financial group."

"Is that sword very special?"

"Of course, his identity should be from Fortress 51."

Tang Xian looked away again.

The use of the weapon alloy he designed had spread so quickly, it indicated that behind Gong Kun, there was a top weapons master who had access to the House of Daedalus.

More teams continued to arrive, as Fortress 39, the site of this Hunter's Gathering held outside the main event, had hunters coming in from all over the world.

Tang Xian found himself feeling a bit more interested.

(To be continued)