In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

But Pan Ling is definitely not a pushover. When she needs to be ruthless, she can be even more ruthless than herself. She doesn't hesitate to act, and she can even be a little cunning at times.

He was pleased that he had trained his apprentice into the shape he was satisfied with—in any case, he didn't care much about the situation of teaching an apprentice to the point of starving the master. If Pan Ling could surpass him sooner, he would be happy to just relax and have a leisurely life.

"So you also know that everything I have achieved will definitely be taken over by you in the future."

"...If Master is willing, I can help you manage it."

Pan Ling blinked, "But you'll have children in the future, won't you, so..."

"Who knows which of your master's wives is in the belly of that baby."

Xu Shi shrugged and said, "Besides, I've put so much effort into training you for so long, you should be filial to your master, shouldn't you?"

"So, from now on, you need to study hard, okay?"

As he spoke, he got more and more excited and handed over a communication bracelet that he had prepared beforehand. "If there's anything you don't understand, ask your teacher's wife, Su. She's more professional than I am."

Pan Ling took the bracelet and looked at it; her expression changed instantly.

In the information age, knowledge is stored in a simple way, without the need to compile a bunch of thick books like before.

But there are quite a few things here that she needs to learn; a rough count would reveal at least thirty or forty books.

That's a bit too much...

Xu Shi laughed. Systematic learning is not so easy. MBA, management, economics, and so on are all very important courses.

Primary education can be skipped, but you should at least take the postgraduate entrance exam first, then pursue a combined master's and doctoral degree, and try to become an academician.

My expectations as a teacher are very high!

Five years of graduate school, three years of mock exams!

"master……"

"Why aren't you starting to study?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 325 title re-release

2023-11-27

Pan Ling never expected that her master, who had always adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards her, would suddenly change his personality and start to give her cramming-style education.

Sure enough, every time she saw her older sister being scolded to death by Teacher Xia's wife, she secretly felt a sense of satisfaction.

Putting everything else aside, this is one of the good things about her master. Unlike other teachers, she doesn't always assign heavy workloads to her. It's not like she hasn't received other educations before. On the contrary, as the daughter of the Silver Pine Island Master, Pan Cheng certainly wouldn't neglect his two daughters in this regard.

Now everything's back.

The foolish apprentice flipped through those massive volumes in despair, feeling slightly dizzy just from looking at them.

Not to mention the master's whispers in his ear, saying that this is all for your own good, and that you should get moving quickly and strive to reach the point where you can recite rhymes fluently within a year.

"Speaking in riddles? What do you mean by that, Master?"

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed; you will know in due time."

Xu Shi was overjoyed; being a little devil was so much fun!

"Oh……"

Pan Ling secretly rolled her eyes, suppressing her urge to eavesdrop on her master's thoughts, and prepared to plan where to start learning.

Although she knew that her leisurely life was about to end, she actually understood her master's approach—Xu Shi had high expectations for her and was willing to groom her as his successor.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have systematically studied such profound knowledge.

With this thought in mind, her frustration vanished instantly.

Seeing that she got into the zone so quickly, Xu Shi's face showed even more relief.

To be honest, for him, the biggest gain from this trip to the Hualan Empire was not how many women he acquired, or how much land he conquered or how many resources he plundered.

Instead, they gained such a good apprentice.

He even had to admit that Pan Ling might be better than him in many ways... Not to mention anything else, just in terms of studying hard, she was miles ahead of him.

Looking back to when I was still in school, I was a complete troublemaker. Apart from being far ahead in the subject of being a spoiled brat, I had no other strengths.

This leads to some of his shortcomings—he is certainly good at making overall plans and arrangements, and he is also adept at manipulating people's hearts, but when it comes to specific professional fields, he is completely clueless.

Of course, it's not too late to start learning again now, but after careful consideration, Mr. Xu still chose a bad option.

Why bother the master with something that the apprentice can do?

"You must work hard, my good disciple. Back then, I had many regrets because of the poor conditions. Now I'm putting in a lot of effort to train you, so you can't let me down, you know?"

He voiced his hopes for the next generation, his tone as earnest as that of a traditional parent.

"Yes, I know, Master."

Pan Ling answered casually, but it took her a while to realize that something was wrong.

Are you in a bad situation? What aspects of your situation are bad?

Does such an excuse hold true for you?

She had a feeling that she was being manipulated by the CPU, whether openly or secretly... But when she looked up to argue with her master, she found that Xu Shi had already disappeared without a trace.

Hmph, you bad teacher!

……

Xu Shi slipped away quickly, but he wasn't going out to indulge in debauchery; he had serious business to attend to.

The motorcycle roared to a stop in front of the governor's mansion, and he went straight to find Tang Shuang.

Governor Tang was busy at his desk when he heard footsteps and suddenly looked up.

When she saw that it was Xu Shi, her expression didn't change much, but the joy in her eyes was undeniable.

"I miss you."

Xu Shi sat casually on the table, a hint of surprise in his voice, "It's been so long, don't you miss me?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? We just came back together yesterday, okay?"

Tang Shuang was amused. Looking at his serious expression, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

There's an old saying that goes, "A day apart feels like three autumns."

Xu Shi had his reasons, and he reached out to lift her chin and kiss her.

Governor Tang did not resist; his tense body softened slightly in an instant.

The originally serious office space instantly transformed into a warm and affectionate atmosphere.

Just as the two were getting intimate, someone rushed over, "Sister Tang... oh!"

The person who came was Shen Qin. Upon seeing this scene, she almost dropped what she was holding.

Upon hearing this, Tang Shuang suddenly woke up, straightened her clothes, coughed lightly, and regained her composure.

"...Did I come at the wrong time?"

Shen Qin snapped out of her reverie, glancing past her at Xu Shi, deliberately emphasizing the last syllable, "Brother?"

"No way, you've come at just the right time..." Xu Shi thought to himself, but still asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"...Why can't I be here?"

Shen Qin frowned. "I told you this before!"

Ok?

Is there such a thing?

Mr. Xu tried hard to recall, but found that he really had no memory of it, so he looked to Tang Shuang for help.

"You really forgot?"

Tang Shuang was also confused. "When you came back, didn't Xiao Qin come to you and say she wanted to come here to do some things? You agreed at the time."

Really?

With her reminder, Xu Shi finally remembered this matter.

It seems that such a thing did happen... but at the time, my mind was definitely not on it, and my so-called agreement was probably just a perfunctory word, no wonder I don't remember it.

However, this arrangement is not bad—Shen Qin's abilities are not weak. Not only as a guard or combatant, but don't forget that she was once one of the leaders of the "Forgotten Ones." Although she was completely defeated by him back then, she is still one of the top ones.

Unfortunately, after her memories were reshaped, she wasn't very interested in anything other than acting as his bodyguard; in fact, she was somewhat resistant to it.

Perhaps it's because my work experience at "Snake Ring" wasn't pleasant? Even if the memory has been overwritten, some emotions still linger in my subconscious.

In contrast, the Governor's Office might be a bit better off—back then, the conglomerates were in power, and when they clashed with the "Forgotten Ones," the Governor's Office and the Bureau of Investigation were just bystanders. Shen Qin was relatively unfamiliar with them, and now she could treat them with a normal attitude.

"...Chairman Xu, you really have a short memory."

Tang Shuang joked, then asked, "Alright, what brings you here?"

She knew very well that Xu Shi hadn't come all this way to cheer her up; kisses and hugs were one thing, but definitely not the whole story.

"Actually, it's not a big deal."

Xu Shi nodded, indicating that he simply needed to bring his ideas into the open.

Whether it's the subsequent plans for going overseas or the renovation of the city's schools, internal discussions alone are not enough. We also need the help of the Governor's Office to spread the word. What the conglomerate says and does is often done behind the scenes, and the Governor's Office is always the one who speaks in public. This is a long-standing rule.

The reason is simple: compared to the major conglomerates, the people of Night City have a slightly better impression of the Governor's Mansion, though not by much. But when faced with two evils, one should choose the lesser.

Anyway, this was how it was back when there were still six major conglomerates. Whenever someone wanted to do something or implement a plan, they would announce it in the name of the Governor-General's Office. The former Governor-General, Yue Chizheng, was a seasoned veteran, so he naturally wouldn't refuse such a request.

Now that Tang Shuang has taken over, this rule remains unchanged—or rather, during the year I was away, thanks to her efforts, the credibility of the Governor's Office has improved considerably.

After all, everyone knows her past character—it's the conglomerate's business if they don't like this guy, but in the public's mind, someone as impartial and incorruptible as Tang Shuang is hard to find even with a lantern.

Now that she has become governor, her approval rating has reached an unprecedented high.

Xu Shi curled the corners of his mouth. It didn't matter. We're all family anyway.

"That's it."

Tang Shuang was naturally aware of his plan, but she wasn't very clear about some of the details of the new discussion. However, since it was Xu Shi who brought it up, she naturally wouldn't refuse.