Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

The two walked out of the theater one after the other, and headed towards the underground parking garage, silently followed by the "pedestrians".

Once inside the car, the door closed.

Shang Song continued to munch on the popcorn in his arms. Mmm, sweet and crispy, just as perfect as this date.

Xie Jing sat beside him, having already removed his mask, revealing his handsome face with little expression.

He glanced at Shang Song eating happily, his gaze lingering briefly on her constantly opening and closing lips before shifting away to look out the window.

Shang Song quickly devoured most of his bucket of popcorn, then licked the sugar crystals off his fingertips with lingering satisfaction, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards Xie Jing.

The untouched bucket of popcorn sat quietly on the seat next to Xie Jing, radiating a silent allure.

Shang Song blinked and cautiously leaned closer: "Xie Jing... your bucket... doesn't look like it's been touched? It'll get soggy if it's been sitting out for too long, what a waste... how about I... help you finish some?"

As he spoke, his hand began to iterate as he reached out.

Xie Jing turned his gaze from the window to Shang Song's thief's hand, then glanced at the bucket of popcorn. His thin lips moved slightly, and he uttered three words:

"Can't."

Shang Song froze in mid-air, his smile momentarily pausing: "...Huh? Why?"

"We'll have dinner when we get back to Xishan," Xie Jing said calmly. "It's not advisable to have too many snacks before dinner."

Shang Song: "...Oh."

He reluctantly withdrew his hand, pursed his lips, and muttered under his breath, "But you're not eating it... This popcorn is so good, it'll really get soggy if it's left out too long... What a waste..."

Xie Jing took in his resentment, remained silent for two seconds, and then did something that made Shang Song question his existence.

Xie Jing reached out and picked up the full bucket of popcorn. Instead of handing it to Shang Song, he leaned slightly towards the front passenger seat and calmly instructed, "Lin Zhou, this bucket of popcorn hasn't been touched. Take care of it."

Xie Jing's voice remained as steady as ever, as if he were recounting something utterly ordinary.

Lin Zhou paused for a moment, seemingly surprised to receive such a task, but he quickly recovered, turned and took the popcorn bucket, his voice perfectly normal: "Yes, I understand."

Shang Song: "..."

He stared wide-eyed as Xie Jing handed his popcorn to Lin Zhou.

Give it to Lin Zhou to eat?

He imagined Lin Zhou's perpetually expressionless poker face staring at that bucket of popcorn; the image was too beautiful for him to bear!

Besides, Lin Zhou doesn't look like the kind of person who would hide in a car and munch on popcorn!

The most likely scenario is that Lin Zhou will find a trash can that meets the garbage sorting standards and carefully put the popcorn in it!

He couldn't help but mutter under his breath, a hint of resentment in his voice: "Brother Linzhou definitely won't eat it..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhou's voice, without the slightest hesitation, respectfully replied from the front passenger seat:

"Mr. Shang, I will eat the food bestowed by the master."

Shang Song: "…………"

He held his nearly empty bucket of popcorn, his mouth slightly agape, watching Lin Zhou's straight back. Then he slowly turned his head to look at Xie Jing beside him, who had a calm expression as if Lin Zhou's answer was perfectly natural. He felt completely bewildered.

Will it be...edible?

Lin Zhou said he...can eat??

What kind of spell did this piece of wood cast on his subordinates? Or does the Xie family have some bizarre family rule that "everyone must finish the food bestowed by the head of the family"? And Lin Zhou... could he really be planning to eat that bucket of popcorn one by one with a serious expression, as if he were carrying out some secret mission?!

This piece of wood!

And then there's his rigid and meticulous subordinate!

One dared to give! The other dared to eat!

What a perfect match!

He was so shocked by the bizarre interaction between the master and servant that he was speechless for a moment. After a long while, he finally found his voice and said in a complicated tone, "...Your...corporation culture is quite...quite unique, huh..."

Xie Jing turned to look at him, frowning slightly, seemingly disagreeing with the term "corporate culture." He calmly corrected him, "I don't own any companies."

Shang Song: "..."

He choked for a moment, blinked, and instinctively retorted, "No company? Then how come you're so rich?!"

Living in a 100-acre garden in the mountains, not living in a top-tier luxury mansion in the mountains, and traveling with a convoy of cars and a private jet—does this look like someone without a company?!

Xie Jing looked at Shang Song's "you're kidding me" expression, remained silent for a moment, and then repeated, "I really don't own any companies."

He seemed to think that this expression was enough, but seeing Shang Song's still incomprehensible expression, he realized that more explanation might be needed.

He was neither good at nor needed to explain his condition to others.

Therefore, he made the decision that best suited his judgment—to hand over the explanation work to professionals who were better at handling such matters.

He called out, "Lin Zhou."

Lin Zhou immediately turned to the side and respectfully replied, "Patriarch."

Xie Jing succinctly replied: "Explain."

Lin Zhou immediately understood the instruction—to explain to Mr. Shang why the head of the family possessed such considerable wealth despite not owning any companies.

Lin Zhou turned to Shang Song, his posture still respectful, his tone steady, as if he were giving a report:

"Mr. Shang, it's like this. The head of the family does not have any registered companies under his name. However, almost every company you can name, whether domestic or foreign, has a direct or indirect investment from the Xie family, the only difference being the size of the share."

Shang Song: "..."

His mouth was open, like a duck being choked.

What does it mean to have investments in all the well-known companies?

What does this mean?

This isn't just ordinary wealth, it's something else!

This is simply a tiny group of people standing at the very top of the world's economic pyramid.

No, it's like standing on the clouds overlooking the spire!

He took a few seconds to process this before struggling to find his voice, and dryly concluded, "Oh... so your family is in the investment business..."

Xie Jing seemed to think this summary was not accurate enough, and shook his head to add:

"Investment is only one part of it, facilitating capital flow and strategic positioning. The Xie family's major industries are mostly located overseas, involving energy, rare minerals, high-end manufacturing, and biotechnology. These industries are managed and operated by family trusts and dedicated teams, and do not exist as publicly listed companies."

Lin Zhou nodded and took over the conversation, elaborating further:

"As the head of the family said, the Xie family is a long-established family with assets and operations relying on a complex trust structure, foundation, and global network of agents to ensure its privacy, security, and long-term inheritance. As the direct successor, the head of the family has absolute control over these, but there are no directly registered legal entities under his personal name. This is a more ancient and private model of asset holding and management."

Shang Song: "………………"

He was completely unable to speak.

Energy, minerals, high-end manufacturing, biotechnology...

Family trusts, foundations, agents...

He always knew that Xie Jing was extraordinary, that he stood at a height that was difficult for him to reach.

But only now, as Xie Jing uttered these cold words in such a calm tone, did he belatedly realize:

The gap between him and Xie Jing was more than just an insurmountable chasm; it was a cross-dimensional gap! It was the dimensional difference between an Earthling looking up at a Type 5 extraterrestrial civilization!

He held his empty, cheap bucket of popcorn, feeling a chill in his fingertips.

He glanced at Xie Jing beside him, who remained calm, then at Lin Zhou in the front row, who clearly considered it all perfectly natural. He opened his mouth, then opened it again, his voice low, carrying a bewilderment and hesitation he himself was unaware of. He asked:

"...Is it too late for me to get off now?"