Chu Zhi looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of him.

His attire was simple, his hair slicked back and meticulously combed, with a few strands of silver peeking through his black locks. Beneath his carefully groomed appearance lay an unmistakable air of upper-class sophistication.

A pair of deep, sharp eyes, as keen as an eagle's, seemed to see right through a person's deepest thoughts.

"Dad!" Xu Man exclaimed in a panic, "You, why are you here?"

Xu Man's father remained silent and looked at Chu Zhiye.

Xu Man realized what was happening and introduced, "This is my... my, my boyfriend 'Chu Zhiye'."

Chu Zhiye's expression remained unchanged.

This is perhaps the 'condition' that Xu Man often mentions.

You reap what you sow.

He greeted Xu Man's father with a smile and said, "Uncle, hello, I am Chu Zhiye."

Seeing this, Xu Man felt a sudden tremor in her heart, then slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

She smiled brightly and then introduced her father, Xu Hui.

Both sides have finished their introductions.

Xu Hui remained silent, only staring intently at Chu Zhiye. The room seemed to have lost its air, and not a sound could be heard.

Half a minute later, Xu Hui finally spoke, addressing Xu Man in a deep voice: "Why didn't you go to the company today?"

"I'm not feeling well."

Xu Hui said, "Since you're not feeling well, then stay home and rest, and take good care of yourself."

After saying that, Xu Hui turned and left. When she reached the door, she turned back and said, "Bring your boyfriend home tonight for a simple meal."

The door closed, and Xu Hui disappeared.

Seeing her father leave, Xu Man breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a sense of confusion.

"Huh?"

Chu Zhi also asked, "What's wrong?"

“It’s strange that my dad didn’t scold me and even hosted a family dinner for you.”

He said slowly, "Because I am your 'boyfriend'."

“No, no, no, that’s not how my dad does things.” Xu Man refuted this point of view and was about to continue speaking when she met Chu Zhiye’s indifferent eyes.

She recalled what had just happened.

She claimed that the other person was her boyfriend without her permission.

A sheepish smile appeared on her delicate face: "I'm sorry, Chu Zhiye, I announced that you are my boyfriend without your permission."

“But I really had no choice. It’s just the two of us at home. I was feeding you, and my dad saw it, so naturally we got involved.”

"I could only come up with a quick idea in a moment of crisis."

There's definitely an emergency, but the wisdom needed remains to be seen.

Xu Man pounded Chu Zhiye's shoulder like a lackey: "Chu Zhiye, you can pretend to be my boyfriend for a while, and I promise I won't treat you badly."

"Why?" Chu Zhiye asked softly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Man sighed and sat down beside her, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

"Because it relates to whether I can get my father's assets and company shares."

Xu Hui has two children, Xu Man and her younger brother Xu Mingcheng. Xu Mingcheng was born to her father and stepmother, so the siblings have no blood relation and no affection for each other; on the contrary, there is a conflict of interest between them.

They were vying for power in the company, each hoping to become the successor.

That doesn't matter.

Xu Man was confident that she was more capable than Xu Mingcheng and would not be at a disadvantage.

However, she has a fatal flaw: she is a girl.

Xu Hui, however, held patriarchal views and wanted to hand over the company to his son.

Therefore, Xu Man worked hard and strived to prove that although she was a woman, she was no less capable than a man.

Women are just as capable as men!

Her efforts paid off, and Xu Hui agreed to hand over some of the company's power to Xu Man, but on one condition: she had to have a boyfriend.

By sheer coincidence, Chu Zhi also came into Xu Man's sight.

After saying that, Xu Man looked at Chu Zhiye with her bright eyes, a pitiful look on her face, and said, "Chu Zhiye, please agree to pretend to be my boyfriend, please."

I don't want to lose!

Chu Zhiye: "The world has two sides, with both winners and losers."

“But I don’t want to lose twice.” Xu Man’s gaze was firm.

A scene inexplicably flashed into Chu Zhiye's mind: the torrential rain that day, the umbrella-shaped pavilion, Xu Man weeping bitterly...

He thought of a quote from Heraclitus: "You cannot step into the same river twice."

If so, then it's definitely a scam!

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"What are you laughing at? You agreed?" Xu Man craned her neck, but Chu Zhi didn't answer. His silence was the best answer.

Xu Man was overjoyed: "Yay, you finally agreed!"

"Chu Zhiye, as long as you help me get through this difficult time, I guarantee you'll never have to worry about food or drink again. I'll give you several houses so you can become a landlord in Shanghai and achieve financial freedom immediately."

"No need," Chu Zhi also refused.

"What? You don't want to?" Xu Man asked, puzzled. "Do you really want to be my boyfriend? No way, I'm not interested in you. I prefer a career-oriented, leading man, not a male model like you."

"Chu Zhiye, let me make this clear first: our relationship is purely employer-employee, nothing more. You're not allowed to have any ulterior motives."

Chu Zhi was too lazy to pay attention to the other person, so she pulled the blanket over herself and buried her head in her sleep.

Seeing Chu Zhiye's indifferent expression, Xu Man clenched her fist and swung it: "I'll hit you."

... ...

When I woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Chu Zhi rubbed his temples and couldn't help but sigh.

Alcohol is harmful.

He's been sleeping for so long, but his head still hurts.

He lay down for a while and replied to messages from various parties, especially from Founder Investment.

Then Xu Man came out of the bedroom. She was wearing a dark green silk shirt with a matching silk scarf tied into a small bow at the collar, which made her look exceptionally elegant.

She paired it with a dark red A-line skirt that reached below her knees.

She exudes a classic and elegant aura.

"How am I? Am I pretty?" Seeing that Chu Zhi had also woken up, Xu Man spread her arms, circled around to show herself off, and then raised an eyebrow. "From today onwards, I'm your girlfriend."

Chu Zhi slowly got up and headed to the bathroom.

Xu Man said, "There are clothes I prepared for you in the bathroom cabinet. Your clothes are all too simple and not suitable for tonight's family dinner."

Chu Zhi also washed up and then saw the clothes that Xu Man had prepared. They were all designer clothes, and the tags were still on.

Having promised Xu Man, he was determined to see it through.

He changed into the designer clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

Xu Man scrutinized him with eyes like searchlights, becoming more and more satisfied the more she looked at him: "Not bad, really not bad."

"Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse."

"Once you put on this designer outfit, your aura immediately shines through; you look like a rich kid."

"If I hadn't seen you begging at the airport, I would have really thought you were a rich kid."

Chu Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Is it possible that I'm a second-generation rich kid?"

Xu Man pondered for two seconds, then smiled and said, "Humorous!"

A rich kid begging at the airport?

Living in this run-down neighborhood?

Working nine to five, like a beast of burden?

There's no such thing as a bored rich kid.

"Alright, let's not waste time on this nonsense." Xu Man waved her hand. "The clothes are fine, but you need to get your hair done."

The two then left home and went to a barbershop.

Xu Man directed the hairstylist to style Chu Zhiye's hair, and more than an hour passed.

A brand new Chu Zhi appeared before everyone.

Holy crap!

"handsome guy!"

"My idol."

Every woman present was amazed by her beauty.

Xu Man was extremely satisfied.

"Hairstylist, I want to get the same hairstyle as this handsome guy." A slightly chubby man next to him was also tempted.

After hesitating for a couple of seconds, the hairstylist revealed a harsh truth: "Sir, people cannot be compared."

This slightly overweight man was worlds apart from Chu Zhiye in every way; it was like an abyss.

The slightly chubby man naturally didn't think he was any worse than Chu Zhiye, and slammed his hand on the table: "No way, I want to have this hairstyle."

"I really can't do it." The hairstylist's tone was one of helplessness.

"Do you know who I am?" the slightly overweight man asked, raising his head.

"I don't know," the hairstylist said nervously.

So domineering and overbearing, could he be the landlord's son?

"Since you don't know, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

After saying that, the slightly overweight man ran out of the hair salon with lightning speed.

"What's this guy doing?" the hairdresser wondered, then suddenly realized what he meant and rushed out the door, shouting, "Hey, you haven't paid me yet!"

... ...