Chapter 398: Changes (3)
At this moment, the female version of Saji also walked over. With a timid expression, she bowed slightly toward Tolle and said, "Long time no see, Mr. Dax."
Tolle's eyes twitched uncontrollably.
That said, once Saji was turned into a woman, she really did fit the image of a classic yamato nadeshiko—gentle and reserved, with a unique charm.
Tolle couldn't help sighing inwardly that his future self had actually made a very wise choice. Yuri really was wonderful—just a shame it couldn't produce children. Still, if he ever had the chance in the future, he'd definitely do the same.
"Long time no see, Saji… little sister," Tolle said, then unconsciously asked them, "So how have your studies been lately? Do you need big brother to help tutor you?"
Louise immediately replied excitedly, "That would be great, Brother Dax! I've been worrying because I can't understand my homework. Everything here in the Huaxia Economic Zone is great, but the schoolwork is way harder than in Hispania."
"Ahem." Kinue coughed lightly beside them and said sternly to Tolle, "President Xiao, you still have a lot of work to deal with. You don't have time to tutor Louise and my sister right now.
"If they have problems, I'll help them later. Please don't forget your responsibilities."
Tolle immediately put on a submissive expression. "Oh, okay, got it, Sister Kinue."
Louise sighed helplessly. "Aww… what a shame. Looks like I can't play with big brother for now."
Tolle had the distinct feeling that Kinue might actually be the biggest pitfall in this whole setup. It seemed his freedom in this world was going to be very limited.
As they continued chatting on the way, Tolle gradually learned that Louise was actually his childhood friend. They had grown up together since they were very young.
The Xiao Group had long maintained business ties with her family, and their parents were close friends as well—and had even saved each other's lives before.
Another classic hero-saves-the-damsel story, it seemed.
As for Kinue and Saji, their parents had also been close friends of his future self. After their parents passed away, he had taken them in and raised them like his own daughters.
After graduating at eighteen, Kinue immediately joined the Xiao Group as an executive vice president, helping Huaisite handle company affairs for over four years.
Only after Dax formally inherited the family business did she switch to the position of his personal secretary.
Tolle couldn't help sighing inwardly. His future self had really just patted his butt and run off, leaving behind this massive mess for an unknowing version of himself to deal with.
After returning to the Xiao Group headquarters, Kinue wasted no time dragging Tolle straight into the office to deal with a mountain of important documents.
Half a day later, Tolle lay face-down on the desk, utterly defeated. "Sister Kinue, I really can't do this. Please help me out. I'm completely exhausted—my hands are numb."
At that moment, Kinue dropped her usual sharp, capable demeanor. She stepped closer, took Tolle's hand, and gently massaged it, speaking earnestly:
"Now you know how hard this is. Then let me handle these troublesome matters for you.
"Can't you show a little concern for your sister and help share some of the burden?
"And besides, I'll get married someday. You're the true head of the Xiao Group, so you must learn how to handle these affairs yourself."
To escape the mountain of work, Tolle shamelessly hugged Kinue and said petulantly, "I won't let you marry anyone else. If you have to marry, then marry me, okay?"
"Sigh, you silly child. Even if I don't get married, I still can't marry you.
"Don't you remember? You already have a marriage engagement. In another year or so, you're supposed to marry Wang Liumei, the heir of the Wang Group.
"That's a strategic alliance between two major corporations—extremely important for a newly rising family like ours."
Tolle was completely numb. Even Wang Liumei had been turned into his fiancée.
This joke had gone way too far. Several key female characters were now orbiting around him.
He had come here to relax and travel, yet somehow ended up being completely set up—by his own future self, no less. A true human tragedy.
Tolle deliberately acted spoiled and said, "I don't care. I like you, Sister Kinue. You can't leave me.
"I don't even know that Wang Liumei, and there's no emotional foundation at all. I don't want to sacrifice my happiness for her."
Then, pretending to be pitiful, he continued probing, "Besides, Dad didn't have just one wife either, right? At worst, I can just learn from him. If it really comes down to it, I'll just keep you hidden somewhere."
"Sigh… Your father was good in every way except that he had far too many women. He never officially married, but he brought home more than a dozen women to be our 'mothers.' Just thinking about it still gives me goosebumps."
Kinue shuddered slightly, clearly recalling the trauma of being "tormented" by more than a dozen mothers during her childhood.
Tolle fell silent. As expected, this was completely in line with his own style—and it seemed the number of women had only increased.
"Unfortunately… Father and the mothers all died together. If they hadn't gone on that space vacation, their ship wouldn't have happened to run into a terrorist attack and…"
As she spoke, Kinue's eyes reddened, and tears began to fall. Tolle stood up and gently embraced her, comforting her.
At the same time, he couldn't help complaining inwardly: his future self really knew how to play things—faking his death with such an old-fashioned method. Wasn't that a bit too casual?
But for the sake of his own free life, Tolle directly kissed Kinue, dragging her onto his side first.
When there's something to do, do that; when there's nothing to do, still do that.
After a combination of effort and "brainwashing," he finally broke through Kinue's emotional defenses, making her wholeheartedly devoted to working for him.
Nami also left that Humagear body by Kinue's side, serving as her secretary and bodyguard, assisting her in both work and daily life.
After a series of handovers and arrangements, the following days finally returned to a laid-back, lazy rhythm.
After resting for several days, Tolle boarded the orbital elevator toward near-lunar space under the pretext of going on vacation—while in reality beginning his search for the whereabouts of the Celestial Being ship.
After all, with so many unknown variables and looming troubles, it was impossible not to stay on guard.
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