Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

In that instant, Gu Ming felt as if he had become detached from the scene.

He observed this somewhat absurd scene from a third-party perspective.

The background shows a group of technicians who were celebrating, but now they've all stopped and are frozen in place. Their faces show shock, as if their brains have overloaded.

There are two people in the center of the picture.

One of them was Shen An'an, who was holding her arms. Her eyes were bright, and she had just said something in an innocent tone that was enough to get her banned by the platform.

The other one is himself.

A reborn entrepreneur, who believes he can control everything, is left bewildered by the simple instruction, "Make her call me that every night."

He wondered, what is this?

A teammate's betrayal?

Is it still money that's causing the trouble?

Several thoughts flashed through Gu Ming's mind, from how to explain the principle of "screaming" to whether he should just pretend to faint.

But that won't work.

As a trader, the more awkward the situation, the more you need to remain calm.

We can't let these tech geeks laugh at us.

Gu Ming reacted quickly.

The look of surprise on his face vanished instantly.

Instead, there was a gentle, even slightly indulgent smile.

He reached out his other hand and naturally ruffled Shen An'an's hair with practiced ease.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Our Zero is a legitimate virtual idol, not a tool to satisfy your strange tastes."

He then turned to the group of still-stunned programmers and announced loudly:

"Alright, everyone! I hereby announce that the Digital Life project's internal Alpha test has been a success!"

He raised his arm high and clenched his fist forcefully.

"Tonight! My bill's on me, Gu Ming! Hegang International Hotel, let's drink until we drop!"

"oh--!"

A simple "The boss will pay" is more effective than anything else.

The programmers, who were stunned a moment ago, instantly regained their energy.

They shouted, forgetting the awkward conversation from before, and threw themselves back into the celebration.

A crisis that could have made Gu Ming lose face was easily resolved by him with a simple head pat and the words "I'll pay."

……

One o'clock in the morning.

A quiet bar in HG City.

There was no loud music, only soothing jazz flowing in the air. The dim lighting kept each guest's face hidden in shadow.

Gu Ming swirled the wine in his glass.

It's The Macallan 18 Year Old, a single malt Scotch whisky with sherry cask flavor and a full-bodied taste.

He had just escaped from a victory celebration banquet.

He had his two assistants, Wang Min and Liu Liu, put Shen An'an, who was still excited and recommending "Zero's moan is so nice" to everyone she met, into the car and send her home.

Then, he dialed Su Qingying's number.

She stayed up all night in the lab and helped with the socializing at the celebration banquet; he felt she deserved a good drink.

More importantly, he needs a smart person who won't ask stupid questions to review the test together.

"Congratulations, Mr. Gu."

Su Qingying picked up the same whiskey and gestured to him.

She had clearly had a few drinks too; her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were softer than usual in the office, lacking the sharpness of an investment banking elite and exuding more feminine charm.

"Zero's debut was outstanding. I checked the back-end data, and all the metrics exceeded expectations. You bet right again."

"By sheer luck."

Gu Ming clinked glasses with her and took a sip.

The spicy liquor slid down his throat, bringing a warm sensation that eased his nerves, which had been tense all day.

"If it weren't for Professor Zhang and his team's excellent skills, nothing I said would have mattered."

"No." Su Qingying shook her head, her eyes shining brightly under the light. "Technology is just the skeleton; the bugs you give it in terms of character design and soul are the flesh and blood. That's what makes it stand out from a bunch of virtual people."

She paused for a moment and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, An'an was a great help in making this go so smoothly."

coming.

Gu Ming thought to himself, "There's no escaping it."

His face remained expressionless: "Yeah, she is indeed... very enthusiastic."

"enthusiasm?"

As Su Qingying thought about this word, a smile appeared on her lips.

"Gu Ming, you are very good at using neutral words to avoid sensitive definitions."

She put down her wine glass and, in a purely detached, project-analyzing tone, calmly said:

"From a business perspective, Shen An'an is a great leverage in your business empire."

Lever.

This word is used very precisely, yet it's also very cold-blooded.

"She has money, which can provide you with initial capital and the confidence to withstand risks."

"She's naive; you can easily guide her to influence the massive Shen Group behind her. Whether it's helping you pressure Shen Guodong to quell public opinion, or this time, directly helping you bring a project on paper to fruition."

"Most importantly, she has almost 100% trust in you. This means that when you use this leverage, there are almost no communication or trust costs."

Every word Su Qingying uttered precisely analyzed the relationship between Gu Ming and Shen An'an, laying bare the hidden exploitation and being exploited.

"So, from a return on investment perspective, your emotional investment in Shen An'an has yielded a very high return. You've used it very well."

Gu Ming listened in silence, offering no rebuttal.

Because he knew that what she said was true.

He had indeed been intentionally or unintentionally taking advantage of Shen An'an's naiveté.

"but……"

Just when Gu Ming thought the "business debriefing" was about to end, Su Qingying's tone changed.

It's no longer the detached tone of an analyst.

It has become...personalized.

She leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them. Under the light, her eyes became deep, as if trying to pierce through Gu Ming's disguise and look directly into his heart.

"But Gu Ming, have you ever thought about this...?"

"The way she looks at you goes beyond what a client would expect from an excellent service provider."

Gu Ming sensed that the conversation was shifting from the business channel to the emotional gossip channel.

This pace is deadly.

"To her, you are not some hired painter or project manager."

"You're like someone who can fulfill all her fantasies."

"Her feelings for you are admiration, dependence, and the purest kind of infatuation a little girl has for her hero."

Every word Su Qingying uttered struck Gu Ming's heart.

He wanted to defend himself, to say something like, "You're overthinking it," or "She's just an immature child."

But he found that he couldn't say anything.

Because Su Qingying's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, were staring at him, as if to say: Stop pretending, you know the truth.

She paused for a moment, seemingly observing Gu Ming's reaction.

Seeing his rare silence and tacit agreement, a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips.

Then, she threw out an even more fatal and hurtful question.

"And I discovered..."

"You seem to... enjoy this feeling of being needed, don't you?"

boom.

This sentence made Gu Ming's mind go blank.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Su Qingying.

enjoy?

What do I enjoy!

I had to act because of my career and to make a living.

He resisted it in his heart.

But deep inside, a voice told him:

She was right.

You really enjoy it.

You enjoy the feeling of being in control.

Enjoy the look of admiration in Shen An'an's eyes.

Enjoy her following you around like a shadow, treating you like a god.

This feeling satisfies your vanity and desire for control as a man.

You can't fool anyone about this, not even yourself.

For the first time, Gu Ming's expression turned somewhat grim.

He discovered that his business-savvy mindset, which always led him to success by turning every problem into a calculation of profit, was starting to fail in front of Su Qingying.

She always managed to easily bypass the pretense of business logic and strike at the deepest point in his heart, the point he was most unwilling to admit.

Seeing Gu Ming's stiff expression—his thoughts exposed, yet unable to refute—Su Qingying sighed softly.

She picked up her glass and finished the remaining whiskey.

Alcohol seemed to give her her last bit of courage.

She placed the empty wine glass on the table with a soft "bang," as if announcing something or encouraging herself.

Then, she raised her eyes, which were slightly moist from drinking, and fixed them firmly on Gu Ming's eyes.

The soothing jazz music was still playing in the bar.

But the air between them had frozen.

Gu Ming heard her ask, in a gentle yet clear tone, the question he had never considered how to answer since his rebirth:

"Gu Ming, tell me the truth."

"What do you take me for?"

Her gaze was as if she wanted to cut open his chest to see what color the beating heart inside was.

"A college classmate?"

"Investors?"

"still……"

She paused for a moment, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth, carrying a deep sense of grievance and resentment that she herself was unaware of.

"...An alternative?"