The Chinese exam was in the morning. Because of the essay section, Ian Song spent nearly forty minutes finishing it.
But in the afternoon, it was math. He answered even faster—just a quick scan of the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, and he already had the answers in his mind.
So, by the time he finished the entire math exam, only twenty-five minutes had passed since the test began.
He spent a few minutes checking his answers and saw that exactly half an hour had passed.
The exam rules stated that after thirty minutes, students were allowed to hand in their papers.
When Ian Song reached the school gate, the same group of parents from the morning were still there.
"Hey, did you turn in your paper early again?"
"Yeah," Ian nodded.
"Was the test hard?"
"I handed in a blank paper." Ian tossed out the line and strode off, leaving the parents to start mocking him again behind his back.
Hannah Han was still proctoring, so Ian Song decided to head to the library to rent some Eastern Medicine books.
He'd already finished reading all the ones he borrowed last time.
After renting more than a dozen thick volumes, Ian drove straight to Central City International.
During this period, he pretty much left his two bodyguard sisters alone in the villa and hadn't checked on them, so when he walked in, the two were sitting bored on the sofa watching TV.
"Young Master."
As soon as they saw him, both women quickly stood up to greet him.
"How are you two settling in lately?" Ian asked with a smile.
"It's fine, just a little boring," Lena Leng replied, her tone already much warmer than when they first met.
"Good, that's what I like to hear. If you need anything, just let me know. Go ahead and relax, I'm heading upstairs to read!" Ian tossed out the words and went up to the study, taking the Eastern Medicine books out of his storage ring and putting them on the shelf. He picked one and started reading with interest.
Downstairs, the two women exchanged glances, their expressions a little complicated.
They started training at the age of six, entering a hellish 'devil training camp.' There were 3,000 kids in their batch, but in the end, only a few dozen survived.
The elimination rate was extremely high.
Of course, some of those eliminated died, while others were reassigned to various posts under the Zhao Family.
The final few dozen were sent all over the world on all kinds of missions. For years, their nerves were stretched tight every moment, like a taut wire.
Not long ago, the clan patriarch personally met with the two sisters and gave them a mission: to protect one person's life at all costs, even if it meant dying.
When they first got the order, their instincts told them it would be extremely dangerous.
But after arriving in Riverstone City, they realized this mission wasn't dangerous at all—it was way too easy. For girls used to sleeping half-awake, it felt almost unnatural.
And the person they were assigned to protect was extremely generous. Not only did he pay them each a 12-million-yuan annual salary, he had no other demands and even encouraged them to go shopping like normal girls.
"Sis, what kind of person do you think the young master is?" Sierra Leng glanced at the closed study door and asked in a low voice.
"We're the two top graduates of the devil training camp, and yet the patriarch sent us to protect the young master. That shows how much he values him!" Lena Leng mused. "But he's not like those spoiled heirs in Flame City—he doesn't have their bad habits. I think he'll be a good master."
"By the way, the patriarch said we have to obey him completely. Do you think he might ever... try something with us?" Sierra Leng suddenly asked, a little worried.
"I don't think so. He doesn't seem like that kind of guy. Besides, he's left us here for days—he probably isn't interested in us!" Lena Leng analyzed.
"True," Sierra nodded. "But what if—just hypothetically—he did want something like that? Should we agree or fight back?"
Lena gave Sierra a teasing look and said with a strange expression, "Are you getting boy-crazy or something?"
"No way!" Sierra hurried to deny.
After two days, the college entrance exam finally ended. The students, fresh out of testing, all gathered at various entertainment spots to celebrate.
Ian Song's Class 9 was no exception. The whole group met up at Moneybox KTV and partied until two in the morning. During the gathering, Rae Xiao shamelessly launched her romantic offensive at Ian, nearly making him run for his life.
It's not that Rae wasn't attractive—on the contrary, her figure was fantastic. But Ian just didn't feel a spark, and he's not the type to mess around with girls' bodies. If it were someone else, they probably would've jumped at the chance to hook up with a girl like Rae.
A few days flew by in a blur.
With help from Nathan Nangong, the jade shop's sales and management teams were fully assembled.
According to Ian Song's plan, Hannah Han would serve as the store boss, while the GM would be Su Huiyun, recommended by Nathan Nangong.
Su Huiyun was a smart, capable beauty in her late twenties—a double PhD who'd returned from the US. Before joining Ian, she'd been Nathan Nangong's assistant and his hand-picked management trainee.
With her on board, the jade shop's sales and management teams were able to come together in just a few days.
She'd earned a 2-million-yuan annual salary at Xuanwu Group, so after seeing her skills firsthand, Ian didn't shortchange her—he offered her 5 million a year.
"Young Master Song, if I may ask, what's your market positioning for this jewelry shop?"
At a café near Prosperity Plaza, Ian sat across from Su Huiyun, who was dressed in a sharp business outfit.
"Mainly mid-to-high-end jade jewelry," Ian replied with a smile.
Su Huiyun frowned slightly. "The jade market's been booming these past few years, and prices for mid-to-high-end pieces keep climbing. Most of the big jewelry chains in the country buy rough stones and process them in-house. Do you have a steady source for raw stones, Young Master Song?"
"Not yet, but don't worry about sourcing. I'll figure something out!" Ian said after thinking it over.
"So when do you plan to open for business?" Su Huiyun asked, following up.
"What do you think?" Ian countered.
Su Huiyun mused, "With the current renovation pace, we should be done in about ten days. But right now, our shop is totally unknown, and since you've positioned us as a boutique, I think it's best to open in about a month and a half."
"That long?" Ian frowned. He'd already handed the jade over to ten carvers, and a third was done. The rest should be finished before the shop renovations were complete.
"Young Master Song, if I may be blunt, our shop doesn't have any reputation yet, and we're targeting high-end customers. We need to build some buzz before opening. Here's my marketing plan—take a look!"
Su Huiyun handed Ian a stack of documents.
Ian flipped through it and found the plan very detailed, mainly covering positioning and promotion strategies.
Closing the plan, Ian nodded in satisfaction. "It's excellent. Go ahead and promote according to your plan. I'll transfer a hundred million to the company account—you're in charge!"
"Alright, Young Master Song!" Su Huiyun nodded, though she thought to herself, I knew he'd just be a hands-off boss. But this is the perfect chance to show what I can do.