"First, when I was in danger, you weren’t afraid to face it and helped me fight the men in black. If it weren’t for you, I’d surely have been beaten pretty badly."

"That’s no big deal, it’s part of my job. But Qian, the boss couldn’t stop praising you for handling Songg Qingwu’s matter. He’s never complimented anyone like that before. I was almost jealous listening to him. When he found out it was Songg Qingwu, you’d already resolved it. Otherwise, he would’ve stepped in to help you personally."

Chen Xiaoqian adjusted her glasses. Good, she had gathered a bit more information about the mysterious person behind Aka.

To know Songg Qingwu’s identity and even have the ability to handle it, this person must have an extraordinary background.

Although Aka was quite capable, she was straightforward. Chen Xiaoqian decided to keep her around, slowly get her talking, and eventually get the truth out.

"Does your boss like me?" Chen Xiaoqian asked, seemingly unintentionally.

"Yes, he likes you a lot, but his way of liking someone is quite peculiar, he really puts them through the wringer."

Could it be that this was another rich sadistic young master? Chen Xiaoqian mentally filtered through her list; she seemed not to have provoked such a person, right?

"You haven’t told me what the second thing I did right was."

"Ye Daqian was tormented in the hospital by those dog sounds, that was your doing."

Last time, Xiaoqiang searched Aka’s home and heard dog barking on her walkman. Chen Xiaoqian immediately linked it to the dog barking that drove Ye insane — oh right, speaking of this, Fugui still wanted to introduce the first-year student to that hospital for an internship as a psychoanalyst. Chen Xiaoqian had forgotten about it, but fortunately, the hospital wasn’t in a rush.

"That was nothing, I just can’t stand those who bully little girls, handled a little something. It’s no big deal."

Aka didn’t realize that her casual and unintended actions actually provided Qian a reason not to punish her.

Chen Xiaoqian thought that anyone who could stand up to someone like Ye Daqian isn’t entirely beyond redemption, and as long as they don’t compromise Qian’s interests, she doesn’t care to have another follower around.

"Never expected this..." Aka silently praised the boss a hundred times, no wonder he was an authoritative psychological expert. Although his advice was only two words, a sincere apology really got her forgiven by Qian, it felt like a dream.

Aka was unaware that she was actually just a pawn in the game between Xiaoqian and the boss. The boss used a desperate measure, hiding in plain sight to place Aka closely beside Xiaoqian through a strategy of confession.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiaoqian saw through it but said nothing, keeping Aka to observe and collect information about the boss at any time. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The high-IQ match had just begun, and Aka was genuinely happy.

"Thank you, Qian, for forgiving me—oh right!" Aka suddenly remembered something.

"I heard something this morning, about you."

"What is it?" Though Chen Xiaoqian didn’t like her privacy being eavesdropped, she was still glad to hear Aka was acquiring intel about others around her.

"Sister Xiaohua has recently been badmouthing you, saying you’re out of favor with the big boss."

"That’s news? When doesn’t she badmouth me?"

Xiaohua, the one holding a grudge against Xiaoqian, was a doctoral student brought by the big boss.

"The key is, she not only badmouthed you but also cursed the big boss."

"Oh?"

That was surprising; Xiaohua always kowtowed to power yet somehow cursed the big boss.

"She was dissatisfied with the arrangements the big boss made for her over the summer, feeling it was beneath her worth. She said ’Chen Xiaoqian is just a master’s student, and I’m at least a doctoral candidate. Ignoring Chen Xiaoqian is one thing, but how could he slight me?’"

Aka imitated Xiaohua’s tone vividly and then added, "Qian, how could such a shrewd person like the big boss take on a student of such poor character? No other big boss handles student internships; the big boss is already too kind. She’s begging but still picky."

"When he accepted her, she wasn’t so twisted. Her professional grades were indeed excellent; another reason was that Miss Hua’s family background wasn’t particularly good. The big boss, being a super compassionate figure, couldn’t help but soften up when he saw a poor kid like that."

No one expected that the poor kid inflates so quickly, especially after finding a boyfriend with decent conditions, so much so that she forgets her place. But the big boss also isn’t a god; she can misjudge sometimes.

"She’s blaming the big boss quite harshly," Aka said mildly, though in reality, Miss Hua’s complaints went way beyond blame.

"But didn’t the big boss arrange something for her? Why is she complaining?" Chen Xiaoqian recalled, the big boss had mentioned offhand to her about letting Miss Hua take over an anorexia case over the summer.

"Greed knows no bounds; she insisted the big boss should assign her the case of borderline disorder, like that kid of the city’s richest man."

Oh, you mean Li Jia.

Ye Xiaoyu’s boyfriend, the city’s wealthiest son, with borderline personality disorder, almost became Chen Xiaoqian’s case, but since Ye Xiaoyu was at odds with her at the time, Chen Xiaoqian didn’t take it.

Later, Li Jia wanted Chen Xiaoqian’s help, but her wedding plans during the holiday left no room, so she had to decline. The case ended up with the big boss. When Miss Hua saw that Li Jia had money, she wanted the case, but the big boss wouldn’t give it to her, so she held a grudge.

"Miss Hua is mistaken this time, the big boss didn’t let her because he was doing her a favor."

"You mean... it was for Miss Hua’s good?" Aka still couldn’t wrap her head around it.

"Of course, the big boss is always impartial. Although she’s dissatisfied with Miss Hua’s recent arrogance, her nature is such that once she takes someone on, she cannot neglect them. Of course, she meddles too much, and others don’t appreciate it."

As Aka mentioned, no other big bosses are like Mr. Liu, meddling like a nanny, even in what work the students should take on.

"Miss Hua, not getting the richest person’s case, seems to be quietly planning to take on another person’s case with the same problem as the richest man’s son, with borderline disorder."

"...Borderline personality disorder, Aka, you can’t even get the disorder’s name right, how did you end up in our team of psychologists?" Chen Xiaoqian found Aka’s professional level no better than a freshman’s.

"Wasn’t it because of my boss? He gave me this identity, do you think I enjoy psychology?"

Turns out she snuck in, no wonder her skills were a mess.

Chen Xiaoqian shook her head, "You better not mix with our group anymore; the big boss gets annoyed seeing people like you. Are you sure Miss Hua took on the case by herself?"

"Yes, she said it herself. She also mentioned wanting to use it to prove herself, make the big boss take notice. She said she’s already a level-two psychologist, but the big boss still controls her. Even when she looks for a job, the big boss watches over her; other supervisors don’t do that. She finds it quite annoying. Qian, you never said why you think the big boss wouldn’t let her take on it as a favor to her?"