"Alright, it’s just a trip to Jinan, no big deal." At the farewell station, Jill Young was saying goodbye to her parents. This so-called matchmaking event was causing quite a stir, with male and female idols being recruited from all over the province, so she had to go to Jinan to participate. Jill had no idea how her mom got the inside scoop, or how she even signed her up.
"Be careful, okay? The world’s a mess right now—just last night, the hospital got a few patients with serious injuries. So, really, be careful." Susan Morrow gave a few words of advice, but didn’t say much more. After all, Jill had once shown off her so-called kung fu in front of them—she picked up a brick, snapped it like a cookie, then rubbed the pieces in her palm until that poor brick turned to powder.
Her parents had stared in shock, their eyes wider than saucers, but after that, they felt a lot more at ease about Jill’s safety. That’s why they finally agreed to let her go to Jinan alone this time. "The world’s unfair, people are tricky, and no matter how good you are, you shouldn’t go around picking fights," John Yang said, ever the steady one. "Poison, sneak attacks, tranquilizers—if someone really wants to mess with you, they’ll find a way. So, stay sharp."
"No problem, no problem!" Jill was full of street smarts—after her big adventure in Steelbull City, she knew all the usual dirty tricks. Plus, with her Titan Spirit Method getting stronger, it was getting harder and harder for anyone to catch her off guard. "Alright, I’m getting on the train. But Mom, I’m not making any promises about this so-called matchmaking event." Jill gave them a heads-up: "If some idiot tries to mess with me—"
"If anyone dares mess with you, just teach them a lesson and smash whatever you want." Susan Morrow waved her hand with dramatic flair. "If you break someone, I’ll fix them. If you break something, I’ll pay for it. Just go wild!"
"Sounds good," Jill grinned, "With that kind of permission, I’m all set. I’m off!"
The bullet train started moving, heading off into the distance. Susan Morrow and John Yang were still standing on the platform, watching the train disappear, not moving an inch for the longest time.
"Susan," John Yang spoke in a serious tone, "I’ve got to ask: why did you let her go to this so-called matchmaking event? She’s right, you know. In times like these, who’s marrying who is anyone’s guess. Isn’t this matchmaking thing kind of pointless?"
"Of course it’s not pointless," Susan Morrow smirked. "Sending her to meet men for matchmaking—now that’s entertainment!"
"Huh?" John Yang thought he must be hearing things. "Entertainment?"
"Of course!" Susan Morrow’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she patted John Yang on the shoulder. "If you ever turn into a woman one day, I’ll send you to a matchmaking event too—just so you’ll know what a lucky guy you were that I chose you in the first place."
"Sigh..." John Yang gazed wordlessly at the sky. He’d always known his wife was... well, mischievous. But after having kids, she’d mellowed out a lot—he figured tough times had made her more grounded. Turns out, now that their daughter was back, it seemed to have healed her old wounds, but also brought her true colors back out. The days ahead were bound to get interesting.
"And besides being fun, I’ve got another reason," Susan Morrow said, getting serious for a moment. "Honestly, I don’t even know whether to treat her as my daughter or my son anymore, so I figured I’d use this event to find out. This high-end matchmaking event is supposed to be full of elite men and women. If she’s still my son, she’ll be fired up by all the high-quality guys and learn to chase girls. But if she’s got any interest in men, I’ll treat her as my daughter and marry her off. Either way, I’m fine with it."
John Yang mulled over his wife’s logic for a moment, then nodded. "You make sense. But having a son and a daughter at the same time—that’s a real puzzle, a big problem."
"I have no idea how to deal with that either," Susan Morrow sighed. "No point worrying about things too far ahead—we’ll just take it one step at a time. Right now, I’m more worried about her causing trouble."
John Yang shivered in agreement. From what he’d observed lately, Jill was basically a carbon copy of her mom. This kid had been kicking and punching since she was in the womb, and now she could break bricks with a slap—who knew what kind of chaos she’d stir up next? Just imagine if Susan Morrow had Jill’s martial arts skills... John Yang trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Dear gods above, if this matchmaking trip goes off without a hitch, I’ll toss out my intellectual pride and believe you really exist!
But clearly, John Yang still didn’t fully understand his daughter. If he could see Jill right now, it wouldn’t be a question of "if something happens," but "just how big of a mess she’ll make." Jill was sitting in her seat, her features scrunched up into two big words: Not Happy! Her mood was so obvious that even the pretty boy next to her was starting to look nervous.
The wannabe flirt sat there for ages before finally speaking up: "Excuse me, are you the CEO of some company?"
"Oh?" Jill looked at him in surprise. "Do I really look like a CEO?"
"Absolutely! My boss looks just like that when she sees the mid-year report." The pretty boy was clearly used to dealing with powerful people—he was nervous, but his face stayed calm. "Our boss is pretty intimidating, but you’re even more so. You must be the big boss of some huge company, right? Am I right?"
"In a way... you’re not wrong." Jill thought to herself: Evernight Holdings—definitely a huge company, definitely a big boss, just not in this world.
Of course, it’s not like she had no business in this world. Just a few days ago, Jonathan called to say the Brain of Strategy was actually working. It wasn’t as overpowered as it was back in Steelbull City, but it still made Jonathan overjoyed—he was already working on taking over a Hong Kong entertainment company. Thanks to the Brain’s help, Susan Show insisted on giving Jill shares, so now Jill was a senior director at Dingcheng Group. Honestly, she really was kind of a big deal.
"Ha, I knew it! I trust my instincts." The pretty boy grinned. "Oh, let me introduce myself—my name’s Zhong Junyu." He handed over a business card. Jill glanced at it: some random company, some fancy-sounding title, but honestly, it was all smoke and mirrors—she had no clue what it meant.
"Let me guess again—you must be stressed about the recent financial turmoil, right?" Zhong Junyu went on, "Ugh, our company’s stressed too. There are so many upstart businesses popping up, it’s hard to keep up. But don’t worry—in my opinion, those grassroots companies might have some tricks, but their management is a mess. College kids, even high schoolers, starting companies—sure, they’ve got some skills, but it’s like shooting randomly with a shotgun. If they hit a bird, it’s just luck; pretty soon, someone will probably steal their shotgun."
Then Zhong Junyu started rambling about management, clearly trying to show off how knowledgeable he was. Guess he was the type who liked to seize opportunities—spot a suspected big boss and instantly latch on. Maybe if he met the right person one day, he could upgrade from a meaningless fancy title to a meaningful fancy title.
But when he saw Jill wasn’t interested at all, he awkwardly shut up and changed the subject. "Uh, haha, looks like I guessed wrong. You’re not stressed about company stuff—so what’s bothering you? Mind sharing? Maybe I can offer some advice or something."
"You really don’t give up, do you..." Jill sighed and slapped a flyer in front of Zhong Junyu’s face. "This is what’s bothering me. Family orders—I have to go to a matchmaking event."
Zhong Junyu froze when he saw the flyer, then suddenly sat up straight, fixed his collar, plastered on a big smile, and stuck out his hand. "Well, what a coincidence! I’m going to the same matchmaking event."
"You?" Jill shook his hand, then gave him a once-over. "You look alright, and you seem like a go-getter office worker, but you’re not quite at ‘male idol’ level, are you? How’d you get signed up for this?" Jill didn’t really know what a high-end matchmaking event was, but she figured it wasn’t the same as those reality dating shows. Judging by looks, Zhong Junyu would probably keep most of the lights on in the first round of a regular show, but for a ‘high-end’ event? Not quite enough.
It’s not like she was here looking for a pretty boy.
"Heh, you probably didn’t notice, did you? This matchmaking event is split into men’s and women’s sessions. I’m in the men’s session—it’s like those TV dating shows where the women pick the men."
"Oh!" Jill got it. So it was basically like the Empress Dowager picking her eunuchs—a bunch of rich ladies and career women choosing their boy toys. In short, it was a reverse harem zone. Jill suddenly felt relieved; if that was the case, she could just sit back and enjoy the show, do nothing, and walk away at the end.
"Ha, you really don’t miss a single chance!" Jill slapped Zhong Junyu on the shoulder, making him sink a few centimeters in his seat. "I like your spirit. When it comes to rich ladies picking men, things like career and income don’t really matter, so you’re just barely qualified. Oh, by the way, let’s make a deal!" Jill’s eyes lit up with an idea. "If you end up totally ignored, I’ll bid on you. That way, you’ll have your dignity, and I can finally leave that annoying place. How about it?"
Bid on him... what a choice of words... Zhong Junyu hunched over, smiling and joking, "Well, thanks for buying me, boss... But I don’t even know what number I am. If I’m up early, won’t you miss out on the later contestants?"
"Miss out, my foot!" Jill waved him off. "Deal. If I’m in the mood, maybe I’ll even put in a good word for you and hype you up a bit. They say competition creates value—if there’s a bidding war, maybe your market price will go up! Rich ladies picking men is all the same, right? If you end up selling for a good price, you’ll owe me one."
The whole "selling myself" vibe was getting stronger... Zhong Junyu laughed and cried at the same time: "Guess I’ll be counting on you, boss..." His expression was just like a professional putting up a sign for business—clearly, Zhong Junyu was ready for anything.