"I came to see you." The boy started eating his second peach.
"How did you get in?" That's the important question. If even a boy can so easily barge into a conglomerate's top-secret location, what secrets wouldn't be leaked? The boy shrugged dismissively. "Why should I tell you?"
“Because I’m the boss here.” Joel emphasized, the boy seemingly oblivious to fear. “Oh! Right!” The boy nodded feigning ignorance, then jumped off his chair. “Fine, I’ll tell you then, because I’m a genius, there’s no place I can’t get into.” He munched on a peach as he strolled towards the dozens of screens across the wall opposite his desk, displaying images of researchers. “This company will be going bankrupt in six months at most,” the boy said, pointing to the screen in the lower left corner. “Hopefully you don’t have any business dealings with it.” “How do you know?” The boy didn’t answer, walking over to Joel and standing in front of the computer. Joel frowned as he wiped his hands behind his back and began typing. “It’s no big deal,” the boy said.
Watching a boy operate a computer so quickly and precisely, even more skillfully than so-called experts and hackers, was truly bizarre. Joel looked at him suspiciously. "Before I was even six, I could already hack into CIA and KGB mainframes—a very interesting experience." It was then, seeing Joel's file and photo in the CIA archives, that he finally understood his father's parentage. Joel stared in shock at the content displayed on the computer screen. "See, that's it, simple, right!"
"You... um... you..." Joel was speechless with astonishment. Good heavens! Less than a minute! Even for him, it would take at least five minutes to finish. "What? Do you want to check which company it is?"
“No, no…” Joel was still processing the fact that the boy in front of him might actually be a genius.
"Um... can I have another apple? I think we're out of peaches." The boy glanced longingly at the refrigerator. "Help yourself." For some reason, Joel had a special feeling for the boy; there seemed to be some connection between them, and he couldn't feel any real hostility towards him. "Would you like one?" The boy held an apple in each hand.
Joel shook his head. "Are you in school?"
“Yes, Harvard University. I plan to get my PhD in three years, then spend a year in Cambridge, England, and then go back to MIT in the US,” he said, his mouth full of apple, his words slightly slurred. “I hope to work for NASA in the future.” The boy smiled brightly. “Why not go straight to MIT?” The boy gave him a meaningful look. “I’ll study business for my father.”
How old are you? Where are your parents?
The boy's gaze was quite strange. "Nine years old." The boy's blue eyes were fixed on Joel, his mouth still chewing on his apple. "My mommy said my daddy has a fiancée, so she had to leave, and therefore daddy doesn't know I exist." He paused, then asked, "Do you have a fiancée? Or are you married?" "The engagement was broken off," Joel replied. Why did his eyes feel so familiar, so dear?
"The engagement was broken off? When?"
"Ten years ago."
"Ten years ago?" the boy murmured to himself, "Was it for Mommy?"
Joel leaned closer to him. "Why did you come here?"
"I told you I was coming to see you!" The boy smiled innocently. "But you seem to have changed a lot." "Have you seen me before?" Damn it, there must be something between them; he had to find out. "You came all this way to see me, is there some special reason?"
“Of course, but I can’t tell you now because…” The boy started walking towards the door. “My class is starting, maybe I’ll tell you next time, okay? Thanks for the peaches and apples.” “Wait!” Joel called out urgently, “I’ll notify the lobby guard, you can come in through the main entrance next time. Come here, I’ll give you my cell phone and office line number, you can call me too.” Joel wrote the number on a note and placed it in the boy’s hand, unconsciously holding the boy’s soft little hand. “You’ll contact me again, right?”
"Do you like me?" the boy asked playfully, tilting his head.
Joel nodded sincerely. "I like it very much."
"Well then, I'll come back to find you. Bye!" Watching the boy walk out and close the door, Joel felt a strange pang of reluctance... Damn it! He forgot to ask his name?
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Chapter Two: "Twined threads of affection" by Yu Xin
"Ah-ah ...
"Shut up! What's your name?" Yuan Ling regained her composure first and asked irritably.
"You came to see me!" Sisi was still quite excited. "How did you know I missed you so much?"
"Is this really worth all that yelling? I came all this way to comfort you and your son, and I was almost scared to death by you before I even got inside!" Yuan Ling said, throwing her luggage to Sisi and going inside.
"Didn't you also call out?" Sisi muttered, dragging her luggage.
"I screamed because you scared me. Do you think I'm as gossipy as you?" Yuan Ling looked around as soon as she entered the room.
"Where's the handsome young man?" Du Yunhao poked his head out from the kitchen doorway. "He's here, Aunt Ling. You can rest for a bit, dinner will be ready soon." He then gestured for him to go back inside.
"Huh?" Yuan Ling stared blankly at the kitchen, then looked back at Sisi, who was looking helpless. As Sisi lowered her head guiltily, Yuan Ling raised her eyebrows higher and higher, then narrowed her eyes and grabbed Sisi's collar.
"How dare you mistreat my godson?!"
"Don't blame me!" Sisi cried out, feeling wronged. "I really didn't have time!"
"No time?" Yuan Ling looked at her incredulously. "Of course not, you've been busy giving orders!"
"No way!" Sisi glanced at the pile of assignments and reports on the table. "I was busy with that, and..." She glared accusingly at Yuan Ling. "It's all your fault!"
"We caused this?" Yuan Ling released Sisi in surprise and flipped through the homework reports. "What is this...wait, isn't this a primary school math problem? And this, a report on tropical plant research?" She frowned in confusion.
"What exactly is going on?"
'What's going on?' Sisi muttered to herself, sitting down listlessly. 'Working at Seth is a complete disaster!' she complained.
Yuan Ling followed closely and sat down beside her. "Go on, speak."
"Sigh!" She sighed before speaking, giving her a wistful look. "You have no idea, at the company, I'm called an assistant, but in reality, I'm part of the company's welfare program—everyone's maid."
Sisi, feeling quite aggrieved, began listing the company's transgressions. "Answering phones, copying files, delivering documents, making coffee, buying snacks—I have no complaints about those; I just have to do my job. But some people are just too much. Things like sending flowers to their girlfriends, paying the electricity bill, expecting them to be free babysitters on weekends, buying birthday gifts for their wives, taking the car to repairs, taking the kids to the doctor…"
Si watched with extreme satisfaction as Yuan Ling's jaw dropped to her chest. "Do you know how big Seth's headquarters is? Do you know how many people are in the company? Do you know how many orders I receive every day? And then there's my mother-in-law asking me to do a big cleaning, and when the washing machine broke down, she asked me to do the laundry. I have to finish about twenty sets of kids' homework every day..."
"Stop! Stop! I get it, no need to say anything more. I knew you were Superman!" Yuan Ling teased, but seeing Sisi's eyes suddenly flash with anger, she quickly raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry, just kidding. The first thing I'll do tomorrow is contact Dad to arrange for you to work at his branch office, OK?"
"No way!" Gui Yunhao, who had been standing at the kitchen door for a while listening, immediately rejected the idea.
Yuan Ling frowned. "Hey, handsome boy, that's not right of you. Are you really going to just watch your mommy collapse from exhaustion?"
"Of course not. Mommy can appeal to higher authorities!"
"Appeal?" Sisi couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Do you know whose child I took to the doctor yesterday? It belongs to the deputy general manager. Where else can I appeal?"
A strange orange smile suddenly appeared on Du Yunhao's lips. "Mommy, there's also the CEO. I suggest you go find the CEO; you'll definitely get unexpected results."