Wang Defa chewed on a crispy deep-fried Thousand-Leg Mushroom while holding his chopsticks and said, "Boss Qin, to be honest with you, I've been thinking about this for a long time."
"Huh? Thinking about it for a long time? Someone mentioned customized privileges to you?"
"No way. How could that be? I'm just a stinky internet café owner, a nobody. What kind of privilege could I have?", Wang Defa seemed to be recalling something.
"Because of my family's situation, I dropped out of school early and started running around with Ah Zhong and Ah You. But for the few years I did go to school, there's one lesson that has always stuck in my mind."
"It's called Seven-Colored Flower. Boss, did you ever study that?"
"Seven-Colored Flower? Sounds a bit familiar..."
"It's about a little girl who accidentally gets a flower with seven petals. When she plucks a petal and makes a wish, the wish comes true immediately."
"Oh, I remember now."
"That little girl made a bunch of useless wishes. Only the last one was somewhat decent. I'm telling you, when I read that lesson back then, I was so pissed off..."
"Why?"
"Think about it! It could fulfill any wish. Tsk tsk tsk, I watched her make all those ridiculous wishes, getting back a doughnut a dog ate, fixing a vase she accidentally broke, it was suffocating. Even my elementary school self, for the first time in my life, experienced what it felt like to have skyrocketing blood pressure!" [T/N: Exactly the kind we readers get seeing dumb/simp protags]
"Back then, I thought, if I had a Seven-Colored Flower, my first wish would be to get three more Seven-Colored Flowers. That way, I could make even more wishes, right?"
"Why three?"
"Too many would be hard to carry. Three is just right, one for myself, one for Ah You, and one for Ah Zhong. Whatever they wanted to wish for, they could figure it out themselves."
"That lesson left a deep impression on me. I always remembered it. Especially back when I was wandering the streets, not knowing where my next meal would come from, I wished so hard for a Seven-Colored Flower."
"Even later, when life got better and things weren't so tough anymore, I still dreamt of that flower from time to time."
At this point, Wang Defa smiled sheepishly, "Ah, always having these unrealistic fantasies… Boss, you must think it's childish."
"No. It's interesting. What man doesn't have some unrealistic dreams?"
"Boss, you've had similar fantasies?"
"Yeah, but mine are a bit different from yours. Yours are innocent. Mine are... dark," Qin Siyang's gaze turned slightly cold, "There was this bastard boss who... treated me. Treated the kid I used to be, like absolute shit. My fantasy was to hang him from a streetlamp and whip him until I was satisfied."
"You can still whip him now."
Qin Siyang shook his head, "That bastard? I probably won't get the chance in this lifetime."
"He's dead?"
"Eh, let's not talk about it," Qin Siyang shook his head and returned to the topic at hand.
"Ah Fa, you've given me a great idea. It really inspired me. If I manage to close this deal, you won't be left out of the benefits!"
Wang Defa's eyes lit up, "What, Boss? You got a Seven-Colored Flower?"
"That thing doesn't exist. I'm talking about privileges."
"Oh."
The moment Qin Siyang said it wasn't a Seven-Colored Flower, Wang Defa seemed to lose interest.
Qin Siyang chuckled.
After finishing his meal, he took a shower in the newly built bathroom next to Wang Defa's warehouse, then took a nap inside the warehouse.
The next morning, he headed to school.
By the time he arrived at the principal's office, a few people were already sitting on the sofa.
As soon as they saw Qin Siyang, they immediately stood up.
"You must be Student Qin! We came specifically to meet you!", Saying this, they stepped forward to shake hands.
Seeing that they were sitting in Li Tianming's office and seemed to have been talking with him, Qin Siyang figured they must be here to discuss the special admissions.
So, he extended his hand politely and greeted them.
Then he asked, "And you are?"
"This is Director Liu from Rende(Benevolnce) Research Institute, along with two representatives."
Li Tianming, seeing Qin Siyang arrive, stood up and said, "The office is too cramped. Since you're here, let's go to the school's conference room to talk."
"Alright."
Li Tianming instructed a young man standing to the side, "Secretary Yang, if anyone comes looking for me or Qin Siyang, direct them to the conference room."
"Understood."
As Qin Siyang walked beside Li Tianming, he asked, "Since when do you have a secretary?"
"Old Qian thought we were too busy and assigned a new employee from the Bureau to be my secretary."
"From the Bureau… to a school principal's secretary? That's a huge step down. Would they even be willing?"
Old Li rubbed his fingers together, "With enough pay, not only would they be willing to be a secretary, they'd be willing to be a dog."
"Fair point. But usually, secretaries are women. Why is yours a man?"
Old Li smirked, "It was originally a woman. But after Fenghe met me yesterday, she called Old Qian and had her replaced with a man."
"Huh? Director Chen is that petty?"
"Not exactly," Li Tianming scratched his nose, "The previous female secretary... well, she happened to get caught touching my thigh when Fenghe walked in."
Qin Siyang looked at him with disdain, "Director Chen didn't beat you to death?"
"Why would she hit me? I wasn't the one making a move."
"Come on, we've known each other for years. You think I don't know what kind of person you are? If you hadn't given her some kind of signal, would she have dared to make a move?"
"Hey, don't slander me. Ever since I got together with Fenghe, I've been very well-behaved."
"Then how do you explain this?"
"This just shows how inexperienced you are," He rubbed his fingers again, "It's all about money. A secretary earning a silver coin every two days—anyone would know that means I hold a high position. The chance to rise instantly is right in front of them, and resisting that temptation is tough."
"Don't look down on it. Human nature is fundamentally about chasing profit, regardless of gender."
Li Tianming glanced back at the young male secretary.
"I'm telling you, that kid also got close to me when he first reported in. Only after realizing I wasn't interested did he settle down and properly do his job."
"This kind of test is tough for anyone, male or female."
Qin Siyang chuckled bitterly.
Li Tianming wasn't wrong, he really was inexperienced in this area.
Across both his lifetimes, he had never been rich.
Even now, despite having money, there was nowhere to spend it. On top of that, he was constantly busy, so he never had the chance to indulge in any extravagant lifestyle.
He then asked, "By the way, where are you getting the money for this? Didn't you say you left all your money to your ex-wife and son? Don't tell me you borrowed from Director Chen?"
Li Tianming gave him a sideways glance, "What are you thinking? You're the one paying for the secretary, obviously."
"Me? Why? He's not my secretary!"
"If it weren't for negotiating your special admission, would I even need a secretary to help with the work?"
"What kind of twisted logic is that? Then assign the secretary to me instead!"
"And what would you do with one?"
"What would I do…"
Qin Siyang was stunned for a moment.
Come to think of it, he really didn't need a secretary.
All the work that a secretary would handle was already being taken care of by Old Li and Old Qian.
He smacked his lips.
"Fine. I'll take the loss on this one."
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