"This girl is named Chu Yao, a student in the Foreign Languages Department at Rongcheng University. Go and have her financial aid cut off. While you're at it, find someone to keep an eye on her; I want to know every move she makes every day, including when she eats, drinks, and even goes to the bathroom."
11:00 AM, Rong City center, the top-floor CEO's office of the Qin Corporation.
In front of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the air conditioning was blasting.
A slender hand with well-defined joints pushed a light blue folder in front of Fang Ming.
Fang Ming bowed slightly and took the folder with both hands, his movements so standard they were beyond reproach.
"Understood, Young Master Qin."
He didn't ask a single redundant question, even though he was already feeling suspicious.
The man sitting in the large leather executive chair was none other than the famous top-tier young master of Rong City—Qin Xiao.
Lately, Qin Xiao had been very different.
Usually, when this young master gave orders, he always carried an air of ignorant arrogance or the irritability that followed a hangover.
But recently, he had been excessively quiet.
Qin Xiao wore a well-tailored casual shirt. On his originally sinister and handsome face, no expression could be seen at this moment; only his eyes were as deep as a pool of stagnant water.
He stared at Fang Ming for several seconds.
That gaze was like examining a long-lost old object, or like looking through Fang Ming at something else entirely.
Fang Ming knew the boss had more instructions, so he maintained his slightly bowed posture, his expression calm and his breathing steady.
As a 'worker' who had transmigrated just a month ago, he had inherited all the memories of his original body. The original host had followed Qin Xiao for five whole years.
Since university, he had been Qin Xiao's number one lackey, full-time driver, and personal assistant—commonly known as a 'wealthy family's vicious dog.'
The reason he was willing to be someone's dog was simply because he was orphaned with no living relatives; if he wanted to get ahead, he had to cling tightly to a powerful figure like Qin Xiao.
But... "Fang Ming."
Qin Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
"Here," Fang Ming replied immediately.
Qin Xiao's fingers gently rubbed the jade thumb ring on his hand, his tone eerie:
"When you handle this, use your brain, not force. What I want is to leave her with no way out, not for you guys to go have tea at the police station. Understand?"
Fang Ming's heart skipped a beat. Had the sun risen from the west?
This master's catchphrases used to be 'I'll take responsibility if anything happens' and 'Beat them to death.'
Why was he suddenly talking about the spirit of the rule of law today?
Despite his confusion, there was no ripple on Fang Ming's face. He pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and nodded submissively.
"Understood. I will arrange it properly and will never cause trouble for the company or Young Master Qin."
Qin Xiao seemed satisfied with this answer and waved his hand.
"Go then. Take Wang Meng with you. If there's any dirty or tiring work, don't get your hands dirty; let him do it."
"Yes."
Holding the documents, Fang Ming turned and left the office, gently closing the heavy mahogany door... Outside, the corridor was long and silent.
Fang Ming had just taken two steps when a man as sturdy as an iron tower lunged out of the nearby lounge.
This man had a buzz cut, a thick gold chain around his neck, and a face full of scars and muscles; when he smiled, he looked like a man-eating black bear.
Wang Meng.
One of the thugs under Qin Xiao, a typical representative whose IQ was inversely proportional to his muscles.
"Brother Ming! How'd it go?"
Wang Meng leaned in, a wave of tobacco scent hitting Fang Ming's face. "Who did Young Master Qin tell us to deal with this time? A man or a woman?"
Fang Ming took a half-step back in disgust and raised the folder in his hand.
"It's a female student from Rong University."
"Oh, a female student?"
Wang Meng looked disappointed, but then a lewd smile appeared. "That's good. Did Young Master Qin take a fancy to her? Should we just kidnap... no, invite her to Young Master Qin's villa?"
Fang Ming stopped and gave him a cold glance.
"Young Master Qin said we should be civilized."
"Go contact the Board of Directors at Rongcheng University and have them re-evaluate the eligibility of this year's National Financial Aid recipients."
"This girl's name is Chu Yao. Find a reason to strike her name from the list."
Wang Meng scratched his bald head, looking completely bewildered.
"Wait... Brother Ming, isn't that just a waste of effort? If Young Master Qin wants to deal with a poor student, why go through all that trouble? Even if he doesn't want to spend money, taking a couple of brothers to scare her would solve it..."
Fang Ming ignored him. As he walked toward the elevator, he flipped open the documents.
On the first page of the documents was a two-inch identification photo.
The girl had her hair in a simple ponytail. Her skin was so pale it was almost sickly, and her features were exceptionally refined and pure. Especially those eyes—they were as clear as a spring, showing a hint of stubbornness.
Chu Yao.
Nineteen years old.
Both her parents were dead, and her only guardian was a degenerate gambler of an uncle. She barely got by on financial aid and work-study programs.
A truly impoverished student.
Fang Ming closed the folder and pressed the down button for the elevator. He looked at his reflection in the elevator doors—no different from his original self: shirt, trousers, gold-rimmed glasses. He looked well-dressed but was clearly a refined scoundrel.
"Just do what you're told."
Fang Ming's voice was flat. "It's a society ruled by law now. If you want to go to prison and operate a sewing machine, don't drag Young Master Qin down with you."
Wang Meng shrank his neck and chuckled. "Hehe, Brother Ming, you're the educated one and Young Master Qin's favorite. I'll listen to you. But Young Master Qin is really something, why pick on a little girl..."
With a 'ding', the elevator doors opened.
Fang Ming strode inside, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his lenses.
He didn't understand either.
A top-tier wealthy young master like Qin Xiao—what kind of woman couldn't he have?
Socialites from the Beijing Circle, starlets from the Entertainment Industry, even foreign princesses—as long as he crooked his finger, plenty would throw themselves at him.
Why did he have to fixate on a poor female student who had nothing?
And even cut off her source of income?
For a poor student like her, financial aid was life-saving money.
Cutting off someone's livelihood is as bad as killing their parents.
This tactic was a bit too low-class and didn't fit Qin Xiao's usual arrogant style of 'crushing you with money.'
Unless... there was some secret about Chu Yao that Qin Xiao had to obtain, or... something about her that he feared?
"Brother Ming, should I go scout the school first?" Wang Meng asked from the side.
"Go ahead."
Fang Ming waved him off, "Remember, you're only allowed to watch, not touch. Don't let Young Master Qin think you're useless."
"You got it!"
Wang Meng left eagerly.
Watching Wang Meng's burly back, Fang Ming sighed and walked toward his company car in the underground garage—an audi a6.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Fang Ming was in no hurry to start the car.
He loosened his tie, threw the documents onto the passenger seat, slumped into his chair, and let out a long breath.
"What a sin..."