17 2.4

Chen Yu lounged around for a few days, familiarizing himself with this world's history and technology. When he'd lived in the 2800s, he hadn't invested heavily in real estate, because having to wait so long for the results was uninteresting. But since Ren Yijun's family was built on property development, he didn't intend to force them to change industries, just take them to the top.

By the time Monday rolled around, Chen Yu thoroughly understood the geography and power distribution of B Country, current consumer trends, competitors' strategies, and government plans. People followed the same broad patterns everywhere, so he was confident that he would succeed in investing, the only concern was that he'd get bored.

When he saw Secretary Xi waiting to pick him up, however, he cheered up. He had to remember to foster a healthy, balanced life of work and play, can't let any of his playmates get lonely.

A short time later, Ren Yijun walked into the Ren Development Group's headquarters. The slim, suit-clad figure cut through the bustling employees, charmingly smiling and nodding as he passed. Men and women alike warmed at the gentle, noble face, excited at seeing their new CEO in person.

Although the company was publicly listed, everyone understood that Young Master Ren was a shoo-in, because Ren Daquan had always insisted on keeping at least 52% of the stocks within Ren Jia. Ren Yijun would therefore definitely take over the company's management unless a family member openly rejected him, and who hadn't heard about how much Young Master Ren's family doted on him?

As for why Ren Anjing didn't vote against Ren Yijun from the beginning, naturally it was to protect his own reputation.

The property development industry in B Country relied heavily on personal relationships for advantages like insider tips and inspection whitewashing. If Ren Anjing opposed his nephew frankly, he would become known for being a vicious white-eyed wolf, making it so that no one would be willing to cooperate with him.

It'd be far better to welcome Ren Yijun, ensure he blundered, then step up to place righteousness before family, thereby earning the gratitude of the other shareholders while improving his image.

Thus, Ren Yijun became the CEO smoothly.

The first thing he commanded Secretary Xi to do was to sweep the executive offices for monitoring devices. Secretary Xi enthusiastically praised his prudence, but inside, he ridiculed this stupid kid who must have barely picked up a few things from watching TV shows. When he remembered how much he'd repeatedly sacrificed to get to this position and compared it to Ren Yijun's breezy rise, his teeth itched. He'd see how easygoing Ren Yijun remained once he lost everything!

Indeed, the sweep didn't turn up any gadgets, because Chen Yu simply followed along after the crew and placed the mini cameras he'd secretly bought into the locations that had just been cleared.

Having 'proved' to Secretary Xi that he wasn't being recorded, Ren Yijun then ordered him to arrange for Ren Xiang to be hired in as an entry level accounting assistant.

Secretary Xi hesitated, then spoke up. "Young Master Ren, isn't that too low of a position for your cousin? The spot we have open is for a full-fledged accountant, wouldn't it be more appropriate to give that to Mr. Ren Xiang?"

Chen Yu inwardly smirked. Was he afraid that Ren Anjing would hit him silly when he finds out?

However, he kept the taunt inside and slammed his fist on the desk like an entitled young master, ranting, "First of all, what kind of secretary do you think you are to be telling me to do this and that when you don't even know that you should call me CEO Ren? Moreover, am I stupid? Of course I've checked which post is empty, I simply didn't think I needed to spell everything out. You can't even figure out that the best accounting assistant we have should be promoted to the accountant spot in order to give the freed-up entry level position to Cousin Xiang in case anyone accuses me of favoring my family? So disappointing, I really don't understand why Uncle suggested I use you."

When Secretary Xi perceived that Ren Yijun was questioning his relationship with Ren Anjing, he panicked, worried that he would discover their conspiracy. Reluctantly bowing low, he trembled and apologized again and again, swearing his loyalty and promising to improve. Chen Yu didn't release him for several minutes.

Finally, he smiled gently and handed a glass of water to the sweaty man. "Secretary Xi, we haven't worked together before so there are bound to be some troubles at first. You'll forgive me if anything happens, won't you? Or are you angry already?"

CEO Ren's face was clearly beautiful, but Secretary Xi shuddered and dropped his eyes upon seeing the guilelessly warm expression. This brat might not be talented, but his volatile immaturity and his ability to cover up were dangerous, since he could fire anyone whenever he felt like it. In a shaking voice, he rasped, "No, I don't dare, don't dare. Please guide me, CEO Ren."

Chen Yu walked around the desk back to his chair and chuckled. "Well, go on then. Oh, I almost forgot. Raise the salary for my uncle, you, and me under the table. As for Cousin Xiang, you can hire him at the market price then raise his bonuses."

Secretary Xi's pupils shrank. What was CEO Ren trying to do? Was he genuinely that stupid after all? But this time, he couldn't bring himself to make a single comment, and he quietly backed out of the office.

When he left, a snicker sounded. Planning to frame me? By all means, let me help you.

---

What Chen Yu didn't realize yet was that the team who searched for recording and monitoring devices hadn't been thorough enough. In hidden nooks and crannies, small cameras faithfully transmitted Ren Yijun's every move to Feng Kuo's secretarial team.

It'd been almost two weeks since Feng Kuo had last had some fun, and the young man had been somewhat intriguing when they met a few days ago. The single stumbling block was that he could sense that Ren Yijun was a proud type who wouldn't easily submit to his advances.

So Feng Kuo had sent some of his people to plant cameras wherever Ren Yijun spent much time. He planned to let that ambitious uncle of Jun's make some trouble and act out a 'hero rescues the beauty' scene. Of course, he couldn't guarantee what would happen after he caught his prey or how long he'd stay interested, but that wasn't his problem anyway.

The task wasn't at all difficult for Feng Kuo to carry out. In the end, Ren Development Group could stand tall in S City, but it was merely an ant compared to Feng Kuo's extensive organization. As for supervising the videos, he didn't have the time or the interest, so he passed it on to his assistants.

Strolling over to the monitor, a young assistant asked the person keeping watch, "Wow, is this the new one Boss has his eyes on? He's pretty handsome!"

The male secretary next to her responded, "Aren't they all? But the important point is what happened a second ago!"

The rest of the team gathered around and clamored curiously. Hushing them, the secretary furtively glanced around. "So today was his first day at the office, and guess what the first thing he did was? Try to root out monitoring devices! I thought my heart would stop. And then his secretary messed up, and God, you should have seen his face, so scary! He was temperamental like crazy and then had a serial killer smile, plus he gave off this aura that made the other guy shake and almost piss his pants!"

There was a short silence, broken by the young woman. "What a freaky bastard. But that doesn't really matter, everyone knows Boss doesn't care about his toys' personalities. What I don't understand is why this guy hasn't already jumped into Boss's bed."

The rest of the team nodded. Boss really didn't pay attention to the characters of his partners. In a way, that made sense, because it was an accepted fact that anyone who pleased the Boss was one, richly rewarded and two, quickly abandoned.

The man sitting in front of the screen considered for a bit then slowly opened, "There have been a couple other people who have refused Boss, but they either had legitimate reasons or Boss didn't care enough to pursue them. Do you think..."

He shut up when he looked around and was met with incredulous stares. In the end, he weakly trailed off, "No, I'm sure Boss wouldn't actually have anyone in his heart...since...he doesn't have one..."

Suddenly, a low voice interrupted their discussion. "Oh? What are you all so focused on?"

Feng Kuo appeared from his office, his casual stance belied by his gloomy eyes.

With the crowd scattering like a flock of frightened birds, only the stunned secretary sitting in front of the surveillance screen was left to face the boss. After several seconds, he at last managed to jump up and stutter out, "B-Boss, please forgive me."

Feng Kuo usually would have punished the assistant severely for his negligence and more for his loose lips, but he was distracted by the scene of Ren Yijun chuckling alone that was playing on the monitor. Thus, instead of tormenting the secretary, he questioned, "Did something worth mentioning happen today?"

The assistant grasped the change of topic like a lifeline. Nodding vigorously, he hurriedly rewinded the clip and showed Feng Kuo what had occurred from the moment Ren Yijun stepped into his office.

As the video progressed, Feng Kuo's eyes became hotter and hotter. Other people may not have realized, but Feng Kuo grasped right away that Ren Yijun was scheming to trap his opponents. What he'd thought was a kitten with claws had turned out to be a panther waiting to ambush his prey, but that evil expression and satisfied laugh hooked his heart and made his body burn. What would it be like to capture that exquisite little devil and push him down, tease him until he cries, make him call out his name...

When he woke up from his fantasies, he realized that the whole secretarial team had also seen Ren Yijun act so seductively. He turned and brushed his freezing gaze over his subordinates, considering whether to get rid of them. In the end, he was in a good mood from having found an interesting plaything, so he merely ordered, "Transfer all the footage you have to me and make it so that only I can monitor Jun. Delete anything you have saved of his files."

The secretaries all felt like they were touched by the chill of death. Recalling how their predecessors had been terminated for a mistake, they trembled and agreed wholeheartedly. But in their hearts, they yelled, Boss, no need to go so far, normal people don't find the insane look attractive!

Satisfied, Feng Kuo released them from his stare and returned to his office.