To be honest...

If Xia Wuyou were to knock on the door at this very moment, it would be a fatal blow, just as it was at that very moment.

Unfortunately, the person who came was not Jiang Chengcheng.

"...Come in, come in, come in."

Xu Shi smiled irritably, but it seemed like he was just putting on an act; he wasn't actually angry.

If his good time with Xia Wuyou was truly ruined just now, then his actions towards Su Lin now are simply deliberate teasing.

This actually shows that Su Lin is different from others in his heart.

The main reason is that Director Su has served him for too long, more than 20 years from childhood to adulthood... There is nothing new about her, but in other aspects, she is far superior to others, and she is more like an intimate family member.

This might be why "childhood sweethearts" often lose out to "suddenly appearing" types. Being too familiar with each other can ruin the vibe. Moreover, Su Lin isn't a childhood sweetheart in the conventional sense. Whether you call her an older sister or a mother figure, she's always played the role of "taking care of me in every little detail."

It's fun to tease her.

But when it comes to real fighting... well.

Xu Shi also couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Su Lin felt as if she had been granted a pardon, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and silently withdrew.

Her mind was in turmoil too.

She was Xu Shi's childhood sweetheart, and Xu Shi was her childhood sweetheart too. In the past, she treated him as her master and young master on the surface, but to Director Su, Xu Shi was more like an immature younger brother.

But now my younger brother has suddenly grown up. Not only is he no longer naughty, but he also shows a capable and assertive demeanor, handling every single matter at hand beautifully.

This is enough to make people, especially women, fall in love with his personal charm. Who wouldn't want their ideal man to be a peerless hero?

The truth is that none of the girls who have been won over fell for Xu Shi solely because of his abilities. This applies to Gu Yi, Xia Wuyou, and even Jiang Chengcheng.

Even someone like Xie Qingyan harbors admiration for Xu Shi.

Needless to say, Su Lin, while feeling gratified, could she really say she didn't have such thoughts? If she really didn't feel jealous seeing him laughing and being intimate with others, no one would believe it.

Moreover, Xu Shi had done her a favor, which undoubtedly made this feeling even more significant. She didn't need to use her abilities to influence her, but in terms of favorability, she probably had more than anyone else.

Therefore, Su Lin wouldn't resist Xu Shi's teasing at all. In fact, if the young master really wanted her, she would give it to him without hesitation.

Honestly, she didn't want to be inferior to others in this regard, especially not in a situation where she would have to "use you to make up for it," because that would be a different matter altogether.

After all, she always considered herself inferior, and in essence, she had a sense of inferiority due to the unequal status between them. This was the crux of her feeling depressed and helpless.

Therefore, regardless of whether Xu Shi's feelings for her were genuine or not, Jiang Chengcheng's appearance at this time undoubtedly helped her out of a predicament.

No wonder she's my best friend!

As for Jiang Chengcheng, she simply watched all of this quietly.

Of course she knew what had happened here. Putting everything else aside, Su Lin's flushed face and sweaty forehead already spoke volumes.

However, she didn't say anything, and even had a meaningful smile on her face.

To be honest, if it were someone else, even if it wasn't obvious on the surface, Jiang Chengcheng definitely wouldn't feel good about it.

She harbored a strange dependence and possessiveness towards Xu Shi. She was already displeased when she saw Xu Shi tying Lin Yue up...

But if it's Su Lin, then it's alright.

After all, they are best friends. Although it has been many years since they last met, there is no denying that for her, there are only two important people in this world now: Xu Shi and Su Lin.

So even if Xu Shi intended to do something to Su Lin, Jiang Chengcheng wouldn't care if she actually saw the two of them having sex. In fact, she even had a vague expectation in her subconscious.

However, she won't say it to his face right now.

"Is there something you need?"

Xu Shi was unaware of her inner thoughts, but he knew she must have something important to discuss with him, so he suppressed his teasing and quickly became serious.

"I'm here to report to you on the placement of those new recruits."

Jiang Chengcheng shook her head to come to her senses and handed him the processed documents.

Xu Shi glanced at it and was quite satisfied with her arrangement.

Jiang Chengcheng is actually quite good at handling things. It's true that she personally selected the most skilled and talented people, but she didn't assign them any important positions. On the contrary, they were all positions that required a lot of labor and were not easy to get promoted or receive a raise.

Commonly known as the scapegoat position, if things go well, the credit usually goes to the leader; if things don't go well, they can be used as scapegoats.

It's clear that after being by Jiang Fengshan's side for so many years, she understands some things without needing to be taught; she's naturally learned them through observation and experience.

This coincided with Xu Shi's own thoughts, and just like Shen Qin's, no one would entrust these "forgotten ones" with important tasks.

This has nothing to do with ability, but rather that people still harbor a sense of "those who are not of our kind must have different hearts," making it impossible to truly entrust them with key positions... Even if they were, it would never have been given to them at the very beginning of the immigration wave. These things often require time to settle, at least several years or even a decade? Perhaps even longer.

This is precisely the difficulty for outsiders to make a name for themselves.

but.

"These arrangements haven't been implemented yet, have they? Then don't jump to conclusions."

Xu Shi still offered some more advice: "Pick a few exceptionally capable individuals and place them in relatively important but not core positions, then give them appropriate special treatment... Ideally, these should be individuals who already have a certain reputation among them, understand?"

The people of Night City have their own considerations, but such a relentless suppression will inevitably make the "Forgotten Ones" an unstable factor... A rebound after hitting rock bottom would be bad.

If you want to subtly transform them into obedient subjects, you need to shift the conflict to their internal affairs. It's not that I won't promote you, but that you're not capable enough. Then it's not my problem. Maybe if you work your butt off, you'll succeed, right?

Placing the "Forgotten Ones," who originally held significant influence, in important positions inadvertently fostered antagonism between them and the other "Forgotten Ones." The fact that the most prestigious Shen Qin was not suppressed too harshly was precisely due to this consideration.

"……I see."

Jiang Chengcheng wholeheartedly agreed, acknowledging that this arrangement was indeed more comprehensive and thorough than anything she had considered.

Su Lin agreed with this, saying that the young master's skills in managing his subordinates were quite good.

Besides that.

"Does the development of the second-phase chip need to officially begin now?"

(End of this chapter)

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