Pretending To Be A Boss

"I won't tell you."

Bai Mansheng's gaze indicated to Dong Ran to continue leading the way.

Dong Ran nodded, greeted Qing JiuYu, and then left.

Tang Xiaojiu didn't leave. Bai Mansheng didn't mind; she liked the little girl very much, but in the little girl's heart, Qing JiuYu always held a different significance to her.

"Miss Qing, Tang Xian beat up those who bullied you."

Tearing the fox apart with his hands was something Tang Xiaojiu thought was cruel, so she phrased it differently.

"What do you mean 'bullied me'?"

"Miss Qing, I know that because of me, the people of our clan also started to dislike you." Tang Xiaojiu burrowed her head into Qing JiuYu's embrace.

Qing JiuYu was momentarily taken aback.

She hadn't expected the child to have thought so much. Her peach blossom eyes, naturally enchanting when they looked at others, were filled with endless tenderness at this moment:

"Xiaojiu, Miss Qing wasn't bullied at all. They don't dislike Miss Qing; it's just that... I grew tired, and this place is quite nice."

"Miss Qing, will we go back? Tang Xian said he would do it, he said he would return everything they took from you. That bad sister is already dead."

Qing JiuYu's mind worked quickly, and she instantly understood what Tang Xiaojiu was referring to.

"What exactly happened? Xiaojiu, tell Miss Qing everything."

So, Tang Xiaojiu narrated everything that had happened these days, and Qing JiuYu listened attentively. When she heard about the siege by the myriad beasts, Qing JiuYu also felt fear in her heart.

But in the end, when she heard that Tang Xian had killed the fox and how Yuan Wu and Tang Xian hadn't really attacked the fox clan's beasts from the beginning to the end, Qing JiuYu suddenly smiled.

As she smiled, her eyes reddened.

The fox clan was without a leader, and those from the Myriad Beasts Tribunal who had once bullied her were long dead. Even the entire tribunal's generals were all dead.

Not a single six-tailed fox had died, yet that nine-tailed fox alone was killed.

Everything Tang Xian had done deeply moved Qing JiuYu.

But thinking of the experiences of these days, and of that human girl who had cooked for her, Qing JiuYu suddenly felt envious.

"It would be nice if I could really become human."

Tang Xiaojiu's little ears twitched, and she blinked her eyes, suddenly recalling that the little white snake sister had said the same thing.

...

...

"Aren't you afraid of her?" Bai Mansheng suddenly asked as they walked.

Dong Ran was somewhat confused and slow to respond:

"Ah, afraid of who?"

"Qing JiuYu, she's a nine-tailed fox spirit, after all."

"Not afraid. Miss Qing is a nice person."

Bai Mansheng frowned.

When Qing JiuYu was in the Myriad Beasts Realm, she had played her share of tricks on humans. The deaths of those humans were quite tragic.

Although... Bai Mansheng had done similar things herself.

Bai Mansheng looked at Dong Ran, thinking Dong Ran was naive and probably couldn't provide a clear explanation.

But this time, Dong Ran hit the nail on the head:

"Are you wondering, because Miss Qing used to be an enemy of humans in the mining area... that everyone might feel some distance when interacting with her?"

Bai Mansheng was slightly surprised, but she nodded without denying it.

"Actually, at first there indeed was some, but the second miss didn't mind, and everyone trusts her. Because they trust her, they take care of Miss Qing's business, and over time, they found Miss Qing isn't as difficult to approach as the rumors suggested," Dong Ran said with a smile, her expression naive and innocent.

Bai Mansheng thought, if this girl could say such things, then that second miss must indeed be very cherished by the people of Baichuan City.

She became a bit curious.

She knew of Li Xiaoyu.

But that was it—she knew her but hadn't really interacted with her. Bai Mansheng always thought that the Endless Turtle's fortune-telling was accurate and that she and Qing JiuYu would always be at odds due to Tang Xian.

But she was unaware that the prophecy wasn't very accurate.

Li Xiaoyu, today, as on other days, sat in her office reviewing various proposals. She looked somewhat like a dictator.

But the selection of talent and the establishment of various management systems require a lot of time to confirm; it's different from traditional industries where having a skill is enough to get started.

If Li Xiaoyu were to delegate her power, she could neither play favorites nor be absolutely objective by valuing talent alone.

Because true management needs to be flexible and accommodating.

Therefore, cultivating some talents is key, and cultivation itself is key.

Only when people who are both capable and trustworthy emerge could Li Xiaoyu comfortably delegate her power. Currently, there is only Song Que.

Ju Mang is capable, but not trustworthy. Dongran, Qiaoshanshan, and others are trustworthy, but they can't handle major tasks.

Thus, Li Xiaoyu felt rather helpless.

When she met Dong Ran, she was somewhat happy, but upon seeing a woman of celestial beauty with an air of not belonging to this worldly realm following behind Dong Ran, Li Xiaoyu fell silent for two seconds before saying:

"Welcome. Is there something I can help you with?"

This was the first time Bai Mansheng met Li Xiaoyu.

Previously, Tang Xian had thought about bringing Bai Mansheng to Baichuan City, but Li Xiaoyu was jealous at the time, and Qing JiuYu had arrived in Baichuan City first, which was not what Tang Xian had promised.

Later, Tang Xian took Bai Mansheng to the Pyramids in the Human World. At that time, Li Xiaoyu was in Baichuan City.

In terms of beauty, in the eyes of most people, the second young mistress looked very pretty, but Bai Mansheng and Qing JiuYu were definitely more extraordinary.

For some reason, though, when Bai Mansheng saw Li Xiaoyu's dark circles and her fingertips turning white from holding a pen for too long, she felt somewhat disheartened.

"Tang Xian is trapped," Bai Mansheng didn't know where to start, so she just left this statement hanging.

Li Xiaoyu first swayed slightly, then steadied her breathing, and her expression instantly became calm as she said:

"What happened, tell me about it."

So Bai Mansheng began to tell Li Xiaoyu about the events of the past few months that had involved Tang Xian.

It was also sort of speaking on behalf of Tang Xian.

By the end of the story, Bai Mansheng took out a feather and said, "That's about it. The owner of this feather should be in Baichuan City, and I think it might save Tang Xian."

Li Xiaoyu was aware of the matter regarding the feather.

She took the feather and said:

"I will convey this to her, Miss Bai, go rest."

"Aren't you worried about Tang Xian?"

"No, I'm not worried. Since he chose to stay behind on his own, and since you say it was the judge who invited him, that means he's not in danger. The other party merely wants to talk with Tang Xian. As long as there's a need for communication and negotiation, as long there's something to talk about—Tang Xian will surely find what the other party needs, making them unable to do anything to him."

"You actually... understand him so well." Bai Mansheng thought about it and indeed, Tang Xian was like that.

As long as you talk to this man, there's an eight or nine out of ten chance that the pace of the conversation will turn into Tang Xian's.

She's brought up many topics before, sometimes even challenging ones, but in the end, it always turned out that Tang Xian had the upper hand.

Therefore, Bai Mansheng had also figured out a strategy to deal with Tang Xian, which was to ignore him.

But concern leads to chaos, and she hadn't thought of that in the moment.

"Moreover, as you said, the judge is very strong, so what we can do is just wait. Tang Xian has gone to great lengths to send you all back, and he didn't want to be held back. If we go to him now, wouldn't that be wasting his good intentions?"

Li Xiaoyu smiled and said:

"Right, Baichuan City has undergone many changes. Since you're here, take some time to look around; if Dong Ran is free this afternoon, accompany Miss Bai for a walk."

"All right, second young mistress."

Bai Mansheng looked at Li Xiaoyu and was momentarily lost for words.

Then Li Xiaoyu said:

"Are you hungry? I can cook you a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup."

Bai Mansheng nodded; she wasn't really hungry, but when she met Li Xiaoyu's eyes, she felt the sincerity in her offer.

Thinking about Li Xiaoyu's trust in Tang Xian, she suddenly understood something.

Li Xiaoyu walked slowly towards the kitchen and then closed the door.

The moment the door locked, she suddenly crouched down as if overwhelmed by her burdens.

Her pale hands held the area over her heart, the calm in her eyes long gone, replaced with worry for Tang Xian written all over her face.

No matter how much she trusted Tang Xian… she was still very worried about him.

(There will be more later.)