Chapter 70: A Hero Can’t Beat Five Women

  Within twenty meters ahead were Qiao Xier, Xu Danlu, Liu Zixuan, Tian Tian, and Gao Qi—all included. Xu Danlu was already confirmed as Star Mender No. 32. The remaining four—Qiao Xier, Liu Zixuan, Tian Tian, and Gao Qi—one of them might be the target for this Find the Star Menders mission.

  In other words, one of these four could be the mission target. He’d have to confirm them one by one. If luck was on his side, he’d hit the mark right away; if not, he might end up dead without even knowing who the target was.

  Among the four, Gao Qi was naturally the easiest. With how crazy this woman was right now, not to mention grabbing her boobs—she’d probably let him go all the way if he wanted.

  The problem was, Zhang Yang felt her probability was low—not even in the top two. According to the system, the requirements for a Star Mender were: high education, beautiful face, and a killer body.

  Although Gao Qi met all three, and her looks even beat Tian Tian’s, compared to Qiao Xier and Liu Zixuan, there was still quite a gap.

  Tian Tian wasn’t as pretty as her, but she had much higher academic qualifications. Qiao Xier and Liu Zixuan had beauty, brains, and body all at max stats, so Gao Qi’s odds were about the same as Tian Tian’s.

  That made things tricky. If the Star Mender turned out to be either Qiao Xier or Liu Zixuan, he’d be in deep shit. This mission would be damn near impossible. He did get along well with Qiao Xier, but that didn’t mean she’d just let him touch her boobs…

  Liu Zixuan was even more unreliable. She acted like a punk girl, but who knew—she might be hiding a knife right now. After some thought, Zhang Yang decided to start with the easy one first. At least eliminate Gao Qi from suspicion.

  While he was thinking that, the five women had already finished their ‘family meeting.’ Gao Qi took the meeting notes and walked over to read them to Zhang Yang.

  She looked at him with a smile and said, “It’s actually quite simple—just five rules.”

  “First, as the villa’s owner, Zhang Yang has the duty and responsibility to ensure the personal safety of all residents.”

  “Second, as the villa’s owner, Zhang Yang has the duty and responsibility to provide meals for all residents.”

  “Third, as the villa’s owner, Zhang Yang has the duty to take on errands for all residents, like buying sanitary pads in the middle of the night and similar stuff.”

  “Fourth, as the villa’s owner, Zhang Yang must behave in a civilized and polite manner. He’s forbidden to walk around wearing only shorts, forbidden to enter women’s rooms without permission, forbidden to watch Japanese adult films, and forbidden to peek at women showering.”

  “Fifth, as the villa’s owner, Zhang Yang must unconditionally accept any new resolutions jointly passed by the villa’s five permanent members.”

  After hearing that, Zhang Yang was nearly in tears. He pointed at them one by one with a trembling finger: “You… you… you’ve gotta be kidding me! Even slaves get to eat, right? I only have obligations? As the villa’s owner, don’t I get a single damn right?”

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  “Rights?” Gao Qi lifted the paper in her hand, glanced at it, and said with an ‘oh right’ expression, “Ah, forgot that. Of course, you also get the villa owner privileges! First, you get the exclusive right to live with and meet five beautiful women for free. Second, to show their respect and gratitude, all residents must pay one yuan per month as rent!”

  After reading it, Gao Qi looked at him kindly and said, “That’s it. Anything you’d like to add?”

  “That’s it?” Zhang Yang’s eyes widened. Those were the rights? One yuan rent? Five of them combined couldn’t even buy half a condom! Damn it!

  “Yep, that’s it.” Gao Qi carefully folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket.

  “That’s it? Just kill me already!” Zhang Yang growled furiously. “I strongly oppose this tyranny!”

  The five women exchanged glances in silence, communicating with their eyes. After a while, Xu Danlu stretched, rolled her neck, and said, “I’m full… kinda sleepy. I’m going to bed.”

  Tian Tian glanced at Qiao Xier and suddenly said, “Hey, Junior Sister, didn’t we have an experiment left unfinished?”

  “Oh right!” Qiao Xier stood up and left with Tian Tian arm-in-arm.

  Seeing that, Gao Qi slapped her forehead. “Ah, I haven’t even organized my room yet!” And she left too!

  Only Liu Zixuan was left. She looked at the others leaving, then turned to Zhang Yang with a pitiful face, crouched down, held her pleated skirt, shot him a sympathetic glance, and turned away: “Senior… I’m on my period, I’ll go first!”

  “Uh!” Zhang Yang spat after watching them all wiggle their butts away. Damn it, these women!

  After a while, Zhang Yang accidentally looked up and saw the pile of dirty bowls and spoons on the table. That’s when he realized why they’d all run off.

  Just you wait, you bunch of witches! I’ll make you regret it someday!

  Zhang Yang didn’t wash the dishes—not because he was lazy, but because he had a skin allergy to greasy stuff. So he called the cleaning lady over, and with some secret help from Xu Danlu, they finally got the disaster of a dining room cleaned up.

  Checking the time, it was almost four o’clock. Going to the lab now would be pointless. Besides, Nanxing One’s progress was lightning fast; the reagent would probably be ready within a month. So this weekend… he was exhausted. He really needed a good sleep.

  But just as his ass touched the bed, his phone rang.

  It was a call from Qiao Xier—she was right above him, asking him to come to her room.

  Would it kill her to just call out? Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at the ceiling. If she stomped her foot, he’d know anyway.

  At her door, Zhang Yang knocked carefully. When Qiao Xier opened it and saw his sneaky, catlike face, she snapped, “Come in. I’m not gonna eat you, geez.”

  “Gotta make sure that brat Liu Zixuan isn’t hiding here to ambush me.” Zhang Yang scanned the room. Once he confirmed she wasn’t there, he relaxed and walked in confidently.

  Qiao Xier glanced at him, walked slowly to her desk in slippers, took out a document from her LV bag, and handed it to him.

  “This is a 5% equity transfer agreement for Xingyun Pharmaceuticals. Sign it, and you’ll become the fourth-largest shareholder.”

  Zhang Yang froze, not taking it. “Why are you giving this to me?”

  “You idiot. We transferred the priority sales and South China regional rights of Nanxing One to Xingyun Pharmaceuticals. Add in Lancheng’s investment, and Xingyun’s been restructured and delisted from ST. Its stock price has been skyrocketing these past days—from 0.82 yuan per share to 4.64 yuan now. Without your Nanxing One, Xingyun might’ve gone bankrupt. Giving you 5% is actually too little.” Qiao Xier stuffed the contract into his hands and said, “Take it.”

  Zhang Yang looked it over skeptically, not understanding much. “But the reagent isn’t even out yet.”

  “That’s called advertising effect. The reagent’s not out yet, but the signing ceremony was so grand that everyone believes it’ll succeed. But that means our ‘Dragonborn’ research team is under immense pressure. All that pressure, in fact, rests on you. So you earning 5% makes perfect sense.”

  Seeing him still hesitant, Qiao Xier grabbed his hand, quickly signed his name in several spots, then tucked away her copy and handed his to him. “Congrats, Zhang Yang, you now own 5% of Xingyun shares. That’s about 200 million yuan. If Nanxing One launches successfully, this supplemental agreement states your shares can increase to 10% or even 15%. Then your net worth could be one billion—or even ten billion. Who knows.”

  Zhang Yang blinked blankly. Just a few signatures, and he’d become a billionaire?

  Qiao Xier slipped her copy back into her bag, glanced at him still in a daze, and said, “Don’t look so shocked. Meining University also got 5%. Thanks to you, I got 1% myself—guess I’m a multimillionaire now. I’m thinking about how to thank you.”

  “But I’ll also give you a heads-up—Bai Group’s stock is crashing, and Bai Wensheng’s on the verge of a breakdown. Desperate people bite. Be careful. Don’t run around outside anymore. If something happens to you, what about the women around you?”

  Zhang Yang looked at her, paused, then nodded. “Got it. Thanks.”

  “I’m leaving.” Qiao Xier picked up her bag, walked to the door, then paused and said, “I have something tomorrow, won’t be going to the lab.”

  Watching her slightly tired figure, Zhang Yang opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. He could only watch silently as she disappeared at the stairs.

  Leaving Qiao Xier’s room, he locked her door carefully and walked back down to the second floor.

  Then suddenly, from the fourth-floor stairwell, came a heart-wrenching cry: “Zhang Yang!”

  It was Gao Qi’s voice. Zhang Yang’s heart sank. He’d known her for so long, but had never heard her cry so painfully before.