Xu Zifan looked at Ji Yawen, listening to the headmistress tell him about her childhood. She was adorable and stubborn; she had experienced troubles, sorrows, resentment, and anger, but ultimately grew into an optimistic and cheerful girl, which was truly remarkable. He used to think that Ji Yawen was very similar to himself, but now he realized that they were still somewhat different. In his own life, he had never laughed as happily as Ji Yawen.
It's incredibly difficult to cast aside all gloom and cherish only happiness. And someone like her deserves to be cherished.
Xu Zifan leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the headmistress to finish speaking. He then chuckled and sighed, "Actually, I've been pursuing her, but unfortunately, I just can't seem to win her over. I don't know why. Does the headmistress know?"
The dean smiled kindly. "Oh, Ya-wen did tell me about that. She hasn't confided in me about her troubles for years, so she must be thinking about you this time. Ya-wen told me that office romances rarely succeed, and the pairing of a CEO and his assistant is even more difficult. Besides, marriage is about being well-matched, not just in terms of wealth, but also in terms of upbringing and perspectives. If the two people's backgrounds are too different, it's hard for them to have the same values."
The dean smiled at Xu Zifan, "Ya Wen is worried. She's worried that if you two really get together, you'll break up because of these factors. Then she won't be able to be your assistant and work with you anymore. In her words, without her idol, she'll also lose her job. It's better to just be an assistant, which is the most stable and unchanging relationship."
Xu Zifan hadn't expected Ji Yawen to think that way. Actually, her considerations were valid, but in truth, his own upbringing wasn't that different from Ji Yawen's, so they would never have to worry about not having common topics. He thought for a moment and said softly, "Thank you for telling me, Dean. I know what to do now."
The headmistress smiled and waved her hand, "No need to thank me. I never tell anyone about Ya-wen, but I know you are a very important person to her and a good child. It would be a pity to miss out like this. Life is short, so we should cherish it."
"Don't worry, Dean, we'll ask you to be our officiant at our wedding again in the future."
Xu Zifan's confidence amused the dean, but it also made her feel more at ease with him. Ji Yawen told her a lot about her "male god," her adoring tone revealing a young girl's heart. This well-behaved and sensible child was someone she had watched grow up, and now she hoped to see her embrace happiness.
After returning from the orphanage, Xu Zifan asked Ji Yawen about her future plans, "Yawen, you are very capable. Have you ever thought about starting your own company?"
Ji Yawen was taken aback. "Huh? Start a company? I... I've thought about it. Boss, why are you suddenly asking this? Is there something I've done wrong? I don't want to leave the company yet."
"No, you did a fantastic job. Precisely because you did so well, I think you should start your own company and build your career while you're young, when you have the most energy and drive. Learning during the startup process is the most useful, and it will definitely be twice as effective as being an assistant. How about it? Think about it? We're friends, and I'll help you."
Starting her own business had always been Ji Yawen's dream. She didn't know why Xu Zifan suddenly brought this up, but she knew his advice was right. Although she felt it was a little early to start her own business, Xu Zifan's words gave her extraordinary confidence, and it seemed that now really was the time to start her own business. Her only regret was that she was going to leave her boss so soon?
Before she could finish her decision, Xu Zifan said, "After we acquired Luo's, we integrated the two groups, and we have a lot more office space. I plan to move the second floor of the group to Luo's original office building and rent out the second floor of this group here. Why don't we rent it to you? You've been working at the company for so long, you're already familiar with it, and it will be more convenient and safer for you to do anything. What do you think?"
Ji Yawen exclaimed in surprise, "Second floor? Even if I'm starting a business, I'll only need one office at the beginning. How can I use a second floor? Besides, I can't afford to rent one!"
"Then you can rent an office first, and rent the rest later if you need it. We're so familiar with each other, you can pay the rent in advance." Xu Zifan said with a smile, implying that she could use the second floor as she pleased.
Ji Yawen felt this was too considerate of her, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Boss, what exactly do you mean?"
Xu Zifan leaned closer to her, face to face, and whispered, "I'm pursuing you. Since you don't believe in office romances, then you should have your own career and leave the company. President Ji, would you accept my advances then?"
Ji Yawen abruptly stepped back, her face flushed red. "You... how did you become like this?"
Xu Zifan pressed on, cornering her against the wall. "What? Are you going to put on a cold face in front of the person you like?"
"I...I like...you really like me?" Ji Yawen's heart was pounding. She still couldn't believe it when she heard those two words with her own ears. She looked up at her idol and waited for his answer without blinking.
Xu Zifan answered with a kiss. The girl he liked didn't push him away, so he hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear after the kiss, "Assistant Ji, you don't want me to call you that. Is it because you heard me call you that in the hotel that day?"
His slightly hoarse voice overlapped with the "Assistant Ji" she remembered. Everything from that day flashed through Ji Yawen's mind. She hurriedly covered her ears and buried her face in his chest, her whole face and neck turning red. "Don't call out! Don't speak!"
Xu Zifan chuckled twice, ruffled her hair, and said, "That woman..."
Friend, we're together now, please guide me in the future.
Having come this far, Ji Yawen felt that if she pushed her crush away again, she would be the biggest fool in the world. She mustered her courage and hugged Xu Zifan tightly, saying with a smile, "Boyfriend, please guide me as well."
What Ji Yawen was struggling with was nothing to Xu Zifan. Her worries were normal, but he had absolute confidence in managing the relationship.
After they got together, they began a sweet and passionate romance. However, Ji Yawen was a workaholic, and once she decided to start her own business, she devoted herself to it wholeheartedly. She considered the office to be funded by her boyfriend, but she wanted to do everything else herself and couldn't rely too much on Xu Zifan. This made her extremely busy, even busier than her boyfriend, Xu Zifan.
Fortunately, they worked in the same building, so they could see each other frequently on their way to and from get off work, and they even ate three meals a day together. While Ji Yawen was busy, Xu Zifan also had to handle his work and research methods to hack into the system. A year later, Ji Yawen's company was operating smoothly and was fully on track, and Xu Zifan finally developed a virus that could paralyze the system!
Xu Zifan, carrying his laptop, applied to visit the research institute to see the research results. He had been privately funding Lin Siyan's research with substantial sums of money, and the researchers treated him with considerable courtesy. He watched for a while outside the room where Lin Siyan was being held. Dr. Chen told him that they had discovered two spiritual entities within Lin Siyan: one at the level of an ordinary person, and the other with an incomprehensible super-strength.
Over the past year, the system has used its mental power to destroy many things in the room, and if Lin Siyan were awake, she would cause even more damage, leading them to speculate that the powerful mental force was attached to Lin Siyan's body. After determining that Lin Siyan herself had no research value, they almost always put her into hibernation, essentially forcibly trapping the system here.
Xu Zifan heard the system trying to wake Lin Siyan every ten minutes, seemingly weaker than before. He reported his virus research to his superiors and applied to use the system. After approval, he set a trap on the network to contact the system. The system, thinking it had found a way out, quickly fell for the trap and instantly began to malfunction, like a computer infected with a sophisticated virus.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dr. Chen and his team used the new instruments they had developed that year to capture and attack it. Surprisingly, they quickly achieved results, receiving a similar signal response that allowed them to pinpoint the system's location. Their magnetic field became chaotic, and some of it began to disperse and merge into the world.
Dr. Chen and the others couldn't precisely describe what happened to the system's magnetic field and mental energy. However, Xu Zifan could hear the system's voice and found it to be weak and on the verge of death. Dr. Chen then pointed out that this ball of mental energy had separated from Lin Siyan's mental energy; he had actually broken the bond before Lin Siyan died.
The system, a wisp of spiritual energy, drifted around the room. When it approached Xu Zifan, it sent him a brainwave through the wall: [Ding! Do you wish to bind the Reversal of Life System? As long as you win the heart of the opposite sex, you can get everything you desire.]
Xu Zifan smiled slightly, "No."
He grabbed the instrument beside him, precisely aimed it at the system's location, and pressed the button. The system vanished completely before it could utter its next seductive word!
The mental energy detection equipment discovered that one of the two mental entities in the room had disappeared. After repeated testing, it was determined that the experimental subject had lost its effectiveness. However, they had already obtained a lot of data over the past year, which would be of great help to future research. It could be said that they had fully utilized the system and had not wasted a single bit.
Lin Siyan was naturally sent back to prison to continue serving her sentence after waking up, while Li Jia, whose face she had altered, had already been released from the mental hospital. After inquiring about Li Jia's wishes, she agreed to continue living her life without further surgery, since apart from her face becoming prettier, it wouldn't have much of an impact. She and Lin Siyan had different demeanors, and everyone knew Lin Siyan was in prison, so they simply mistook her for someone who looked very similar to Lin Siyan.
With the mission fully accomplished, Xu Zifan finally relaxed. He continued his funding of the research institute, and would still investigate any new research findings, perhaps even learning from Dr. Chen and his team. After all, this mission was complete, and knowing more would make it easier to handle similar tasks in the future.
On Ji Ya-wen's 25th birthday, Xu Zi-fan took her skydiving and proposed to her while holding her in the air. They felt like they were flying through the sky; Ji Ya-wen was both amazed and touched, and she hugged him tightly as she accepted his proposal.
They actually invited the dean's mother to officiate their wedding, making it a wedding of the century. Almost everyone in the business world sent their blessings, and the moment when the two smiled at each other was captured and frozen into a sweet happiness. After marriage, the two remained workaholics, and the company continued to grow. President Ji gradually became Chairman Ji, and slowly let go of all their initial worries.
After Lin Siyan was released from prison, seeing their news again felt like a lifetime ago. She no longer had the system, nor the courage, but she still possessed a body modified by it. She sang and danced in bars, earning less than what she made from sleeping with men. Since she was so skilled in bed, she gave up and started selling her body for money. However, without the system to maintain and care for her, she aged and gained weight like a normal person, her attractiveness declining year by year, and the men she dated went from rich second-generation heirs to small business owners and then to ordinary people.
She didn't change her personality, but she no longer had the courage to do anything big. She quietly stayed in a corner of the city until she was forgotten by everyone.
Xu Zifan lived to the age of 85 in this life. After seeing Ji Yawen off, he instructed his grandchildren to bury them together before he too departed this world. Happiness is invisible and intangible, but they truly possessed a lifetime of happiness, and thus had no regrets in this life.