Initially, hearing about that much money indeed made him very excited, but Bai Xiaodu forced himself to quickly calm down.
If he followed Xin Hai'an and worked as her secretary, he could indeed live as a carefree, wealthy man in the future.
However...
Having spent so many years in nightclubs, Bai Xiaodu had long since grown cynical about the relationships between men and women.
So-called love was nothing more than surging hormones and the perpetual itch of the unobtainable.
In this life, he was a fox-kin among the beastkin. Currently, even for transcendents among the beastkin, the absolute limit of their lifespan was only around five hundred years.
Meanwhile, even ordinary vampires lived for several centuries.
Not to mention transcendents. For someone like Xin Hai'an, living for one or two thousand years would probably be a breeze.
In the Federation, the tragedy of disparate lifespans was nothing new; rather, it was a cliché drama that played out constantly.
No matter how much Xin Hai'an liked him now, in the end, she would only be loving a handful of sand destined to scatter in the wind.
Thinking about it this way was actually quite tragic.
As a vampire with an extraordinary lifespan, Xin Hai'an likely didn't care much about the concept of time.
Indulging in romance, Bai Xiaodu would follow her day after day, day after day...
Don't misunderstand—he was obviously talking about handling paperwork and corporate affairs!
In the midst of those sweet times, his lover would, without him realizing, slowly, slowly grow old...
Eventually, a day would come when Xin Hai'an would return home as usual, holding their favorite snacks, excitedly opening the door while taking off her shoes, pondering what positions they should use tonight to spice things up.
Only to find a withered, aged corpse slumped on the bed.
All that so-called love and passion, along with the lover's vanished breath and the hope in their eyes, would disappear without a sound, like cotton candy dissolving in water.
Therefore,
Bai Xiaodu needed strength—real strength!
Breaking through the lifespan limit of his own race was indeed difficult, but at least he had the Galgame Love System.
Besides...
Didn't the beastkin also have a Mage Emperor? If he could live forever, why couldn't Bai Xiaodu?
Why should that guy occupy the Divine Seat forever? It was about time for someone else to take a turn!
Having slowly made up his mind, under the expectant gaze of Xin Hai'an's wine-red eyes,
Bai Xiaodu gave his response.
“The terms you're offering are honestly too good. To be frank, I want nothing more than to immediately pack up my crappy rented apartment and move into a villa provided by a major corporation.”
“But as you know, I've always been someone who likes to play by my own rules.”
“So, I decline...
But not completely!”
This was pure, hard cash! How could Bai Xiaodu give it up so easily?
Naturally, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too!
“I plan to go to college, and I've already chosen my target: Tiannan Star Military University.”
“A senior recommended it to me. College offers plenty of free time, so I can work remotely as your secretary. There's no need to pay me the full salary—just half of it, and Xiaobai will be perfectly content.”
Desk work in an office building wouldn't provide a single point of combat experience, nor was it ever going to offer Bai Xiaodu any powerful targets to win over.
This was the main reason he refused to take the job in person.
“Huh?”
Xin Hai'an had been smiling, ready to enjoy her little secretary's flattery from the position of a boss.
But Bai Xiaodu's response left her completely dumbfounded.
Remote work?
Was he kidding?!
What did he think she was hiring him as a secretary for?
He just wanted to happily pocket the cash without letting himself get eaten!
Without the slightest hesitation, Xin Hai'an decisively crossed her arms in an 'X'.
“I refuse! Absolutely refuse!”
Then, her tone softened into earnest persuasion.
“Bai Xiaodu, you handle things so beautifully and have always seemed so smart. Why are you being so foolish about this of all things?”
“You're going to college to make money, right?”
“But I'm offering you such an amazing job right now. Why turn it down? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?”
Pursing her lips, Xin Hai'an tried analyzing it from another angle.
“If you're worried about the risks—like if I'm a scammer who's just tricking you into working and will throw you away once I get bored of you...”
“Then I can sign a legally binding contract right here. As long as you're willing to work diligently for the company, I'll sign you for thirty years, with the exact same terms I promised. How about that?”
When she asked her question, Xin Hai'an intentionally lowered her stance.
The expression on her beautiful face was slightly strained.
It was truly hard on her.
With the various industries of the Crimson Blood Group booming, it had always been others begging her for favors. When had she ever had to plead with someone else?
To her surprise, Bai Xiaodu rejected her again!
“I'm sorry, Sister Xin Hai'an, but I absolutely must go to this college.”
“Dreams are far more important than reality. Going back with you now and thinking about the future indeed sounds wonderful.”
“But then I wouldn't really be living, would I?”
“And if a person isn't living, aren't they basically dead?!”
With that, Bai Xiaodu's eyes filled with determination. His resolve to seek the Dao was as solid as a rock, completely unshakable!
Seeing him like this, Xin Hai'an was at a loss.
She couldn't exactly tie him up and force him to work at her company, could she?
She wasn't some kind of pervert with a hobby of keeping caged canaries.
Unable to help but sigh, Xin Hai'an slumped back into her office chair.
She suddenly found it a bit amusing.
Growing up, she had always been somewhat proud and aloof. Seeing her peers chase after each other, she had always found it incredibly boring.
An outstanding person was like a bright lightbulb in the dark, naturally drawing swarms of moths to the flame.
This was the belief Xin Hai'an had always held.
But why wasn't it working so well in reality? This white moth was fluttering all around the bulb, yet it refused to land and rest its feet.
Lacking energy, Xin Hai'an stared at the floor and asked offhandedly,
“Taking the college entrance exam... have you memorized the distinct characteristics of each Pathway, the brief descriptions of their abilities at different realms, and their pros and cons? That's one of the core subjects.”
However,
Bai Xiaodu looked up, a completely blank expression on his face.
“What do you mean by 'different realms' of a Pathway?”
Xin Hai'an: “...”
She suddenly sensed that something was off. Sitting up straight, her face turned dead serious.
“Recite the positive aspects of the material authority of the 【Mother of Myriad Insects】, the ascension ceremony for a transcendent of the 【Black Hole】 Pathway, and what location and time period are best suited for it.”
The confusion on Bai Xiaodu's face deepened.
“Who is the Mother of Myriad Insects?”
Xin Hai'an couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, her mind clearly filled with question marks.
Refusing to believe it, she grabbed a pen and paper from the desk and quickly scribbled a complex calculus integration formula for spell logic.
She handed it over, holding it right in front of Bai Xiaodu's face.
“What is this?”
Frowning, Bai Xiaodu stared at it, looking left and right, up and down, for a long time.
He could barely recognize a square root symbol, which was surrounded by a jumble of unfamiliar characters and numbers.
After stammering and mumbling for ages, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer and blurted out,
“Sister Xin Hai'an, don't show off like that. I just haven't had much schooling.”
“But is knowing a foreign language really that big of a deal?!”
Rate on N.U.
