Chapter 279: Assessment

His eyes were black, bottomlessly so, like a child’s, yet devoid of any childish innocence, as deep and cold as a black hole. He stared fixedly at Xiao Zishan’s entire body.

Xiao Zishan felt sweat on his back. A demon.

“Just mineral water.”

Xin Wuzui pulled a bell cord, and a bell rang somewhere. Then, as if speaking to the air, he said, “Please bring a bottle of mineral water.”

In a moment, a female secretary brought a glass bottle of mineral water.

“Thank you,” Xiao Zishan said, taking the glass bottle, his eyes sweeping over the female secretary’s neck. The girl was very beautiful, most likely Xin Wuzui’s life secretary.

Xin Wuzui had been very late in buying a life secretary, and had easily acquired an S-grade and an A-grade maid. Xiao Zishan was very impressed by this; the man’s insight into timing was indeed extraordinary.

She’s not wearing a collar, Xiao Zishan thought silently.

“Does Director Xiao think I should have a naked woman with a collar around her neck and a tail plug in her anus crawling around here?”

Xiao Zishan was startled and hurriedly said, “Not at all, not at all.”

“You see, when a person becomes an official, their adaptability and sense of shame often increase dramatically. You can lie now without thinking and without blushing. If you’d like to see, I can have her perform…”

Xiao Zishan gave a dry laugh. “It seems you’re living quite well here.”

“Thank you for your concern. As an Elder, I am living well. Director Xiao, you must be very fond of reading Russian literature.”

“It’s alright.”

“You must enjoy it. When you feel a sense of distance from someone, you unconsciously switch to using the formal ‘you,’ which is not a Chinese speaking habit.”

Xiao Zishan said nothing. He realized that the other person was very observant and had great conversational skills. Facing him, a man in power, he was using the tactic of undermining his confidence. He decided not to engage in a battle of wits and to avoid his sharp edge.

“You’ve seen right through me,” Xiao Zishan raised his hands. “Actually, I’m not particularly fond of it, but I do like that Russian style. Let’s not talk about this. Are you used to it here?”

“Since I suffered your so-called ‘just punishment,’ I’ve been doing alright—although I don’t much like having someone concerned about how many times I’ve pissed or had sex with my maid. But generally speaking, you’ve kept your promise. You’ve given me all the life enjoyments an Elder should have. Of course, I’m actually in a glass coffin you’ve put me in. But I’ve gotten used to it.”

Xiao Zishan smiled and nodded, as if he hadn’t heard a word he said, and spoke his own thoughts: “So you’re doing alright.”

“Has Li Xiaolü changed her perfume recently?”

“Probably,” Xiao Zishan said, trying hard to hide his surprise. Although his relationship with Li Xiaolü wasn’t exactly a secret, not many people knew about it, and those who did mostly believed in “silence is golden” and would never spread it around. Most importantly, Xin Wuzui had very little contact with other Elders in his daily life, so the probability of him knowing this was zero. He couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know?”

“The scent is on your clothes,” Xin Wuzui twitched his nose and took a deep breath. “This is a locally produced perfume, but it has top, middle, and base notes, much deeper and more complex than the perfume you used to wear. The young lady who blends the perfume has improved her skills.”

“I mean, how do you know about Li Xiaolü?”

Xin Wuzui stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed. “You love her very much, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“When I mentioned her name, your sudden alertness made me realize she is an important woman in your life,” Xin Wuzui said with a smile, picking up a cigar. The secretary who had just brought the tea immediately appeared, kneeling at his feet to light it with a match.

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“Am I obligated to answer your question?” Xin Wuzui watched his cigar with a playful smile. “You see, you have your little secrets, and I have mine.”

Xiao Zishan realized he was being blackmailed, but he had no choice. This villain knew his weakness and would exploit it fully.

“Alright, what do you want?”

“Awmuam, since you became the Director of the General Office, your political wisdom has grown. But you are still a bit too cautious. What did you do before D-Day? Although you are very good at administrative and logistical work now, I think you were a sales representative before.”

Xiao Zishan was shocked this time. He had never told anyone about his specific job before D-Day. Only Director Wen and Wang Luobin knew. Even fewer people had seen his personal file.

“Let’s put it this way, you don’t like your job at all. It’s trivial, tiring, and humble. You must have been in FMCG sales. That job is indeed unpleasant: you have to read people’s expressions, cater to them in every way, and sometimes you have to swallow your pride and compromise. And you’re not satisfied with your income level.”

“I am also catering to the needs of the Elders now.”

“That’s the politeness of a superior. I say thank you to any auntie who sweeps the floor and pours water, and I also say ‘thank you for your hard work’ to the delivery guy. This doesn’t mean I love them or fear them, and it certainly doesn’t mean I respect them.”

“Let’s get back to the topic.”

“No, no, that’s not right, it’s stupid. When someone is talking continuously, and you suddenly interrupt, it disconnects the conversation. It’s not good for the atmosphere. The atmosphere is what allows us to continue talking. You have to learn to transition naturally to the topic you want to discuss.”

“Alright, please continue. I’m all ears,” Xiao Zishan thought. He’s trying to control the conversation.

“That’s more like it. You’re not very smart, but you have wisdom, which is much better than some who are smart but have no wisdom,” Xin Wuzui said. “Let’s talk about your former job.”

“A monotonous and boring job. Meetings every morning, then going out to visit stores, negotiating promotions, and then back to the office to do reports.”

“Then why didn’t you change jobs?”

“It was difficult to change jobs, and the options were limited.”

“Obviously, you didn’t have confidence in your abilities. In fact, you didn’t have the strength to change jobs, so you were content with your existing job—at least it looked decent, right?”

“More or less,” Xiao Zishan did not evade.

“Good, you can face your weaknesses calmly,” Xin Wuzui nodded. “Alright, my request is simple: a change of environment.”

“Please be more specific.”

“I’m tired of being a human computer in this prison. I think you can understand what I mean.”

Xiao Zishan nodded. “I understand how you feel.”

“No, you don’t understand, because you haven’t felt it,” Xin Wuzui said, looking up at the ceiling, blowing out a puff of blue smoke. “For more than two years, I have been living a reclusive life, forced, of course.”

“There are no orders restricting your movement, except for forbidding you to contact…”

“Don’t tell me the two big guys in the guard room with handcuffs and batons are here to protect my personal safety.”

“In a sense, you could say that,” Xiao Zishan said. “Salina has a very good memory.”

Xin Wuzui’s face twitched, and he moved his lips silently. Xiao Zishan didn’t know lip-reading, but he still read the word: “Bitch.”

He continued, “Don’t try to fool me. My request is simple: a job where I can see other Elders often. And no one ‘gently watching’ me all the time…”

“I can’t do that,” Xiao Zishan refused flatly.

“You can, because you are the one who implements the policy, aren’t you? Don’t pass the buck to the Political Security Bureau. The work of the Internal Security has always been your responsibility.”

“Impossible,” Xiao Zishan shook his head. “I can give you some convenience in your activities, but matters of principle are not negotiable.”

“That’s a pity,” Xin Wuzui said, shaking his head and smoking his cigar, looking up at the ceiling, no longer looking at Xiao Zishan.

“Alright, you’re using your reputation and the woman I like to threaten me into a deal,” Xiao Zishan said. “But the guards you mentioned reminded me: the key to the chains is in my hands. You haven’t been able to break free from the chains these past few years. As long as I don’t open them for you, you won’t be able to break free in another twenty years. And you’ve reminded me how dangerous you are. From now on, I will keep a close eye on the chains to see if they are rusting.”

“Are you so confident that you can stay in a high position forever?”

Xiao Zishan finished the water in the bottle. “I have responded to your proposal. Now you answer my proposal. Let’s see if there’s still a possibility of a deal.”

Xin Wuzui did not answer. After a long time, he finally said, “Before I answer the question you are interested in, please answer a question for me first.”

“Alright.”

“Why did you suddenly think of coming here to find me?”

“This is my job…”

“You’re lying again—in the two years I’ve been here, besides the occasional Elder from the finance department, no one has ever come to see me. Let’s be open with each other: I don’t have a tape recorder, a recording pen, a camera, or a smartphone here—all these things have been ‘confiscated’ by you ‘in the name of the Elder Council’.”

“Alright, to be precise, someone has proposed that you do some work. I am very uneasy about this and need to confirm it myself.”

“And the result of the confirmation?”

“Obviously, not very suitable,” Xiao Zishan had already made the decision to veto it in his heart—this person was too dangerous.

“You’re wrong about that.”

“Xin Wuzui sighed. “Let me tell you something first: from last week until now, besides you, two other Elders have come to see me.”