Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Zhao Pu snapped out of his daze and immediately caught the flaw in Boss Xiao’s logic: “What do you mean ‘son-in-law’? Liang Ke is a cute girl; at most, she could only be your daughter-in-law!”

Boss Xiao froze, thought about it for a second, and decided that worked too.

“What do you mean ‘that works’!” Liang Ke protested, waving her arms frantically. “Do you people even understand? The question of ‘Top’ or ‘Bottom’ is a very serious matter. It’s a huge deal! How can you just settle it so flippantly?”

The moment she said this, all three fell into a long silence. The topic had veered so far off track that everyone needed a moment to find their way back.

Boss Xiao took several aggressive puffs of his cigar, sending the “Calico Cat” into a coughing fit.

The young man from earlier walked back in, holding a piece of paper. He handed it to Boss Xiao, saying he had forgotten his speech notes.

Boss Xiao took them with a nod of approval. Matching the notes to his thoughts, he regained his train of professional thought. He said, “Liang Ke, oh Liang Ke. There are probably a hundred thousand reasons why I don’t approve of Xiaoxiao liking you.”

Liang Ke stood up to leave, but was held down by the young man. To keep her settled, he brought over a plate of freshly washed strawberries. Liang Ke popped one in her mouth and asked Xiao Iron-Tower, “How many languages do you speak?”

“Two,” Xiao Iron-Tower replied proudly.

“Then please, use your Two languages to eloquently explain your hundred thousand reasons.”

Liang Ke quickly stuffed more strawberries into her mouth while fighting Zhao Pu for the pineapple.

“Enough!” Boss Xiao snapped, his face flushing with irritation. “Liang Ke, do you know where your problem lies? You are too idealistic, too spoiled, and you have far too little respect for the laws of how this world functions.”

Zhao Pu wanted to nod in agreement but was afraid of getting hit, so he just shot Boss Xiao a look that said keep going, tell her more.

Liang Ke remained unfazed. Her hand reached for the watermelon as she asked Xiao Iron-Tower, “And what laws are those? Please, start from the dawn of civilization and the vastness of the cosmos.”

“It’s not that complicated. I’ll only tell you one thing: the Rule of Value.” Xiao Iron-Tower cleared his throat and looked at Liang Ke coldly. “You are indeed smart, and reasonably hardworking, but you are still too naive in your dealings. Professor Liang and Professor Hu have protected you well, letting you grow up in an ivory tower without a single wave. But pure things, while beautiful, are fragile. In my eyes, everything in this world is merely a commodity. People exchange the values they possess, wearing hypocritical masks to test and defraud each other. Sometimes, what you think is ‘sincerity’ will change the moment you lose a certain value. Sometimes it shifts; sometimes it even stabs you ruthlessly in the back.”

Liang Ke and Zhao Pu shuddered, both instinctively reaching to touch their own backs.

Zhao Pu spoke up: “I don’t agree with you. What’s wrong with Liang Ke giving her heart to her friends? Take her teaching trip in junior year—when Liang Ke came back from Xinjiang, she brought back the hearts of all those children. When she spoke at X University’s auditorium, teachers and students from every department were moved to tears. That is the power of sincerity; it can spark kindness and ignite passion.”

“Heh, and what is left after the passion fades?” Xiao Iron-Tower looked at Zhao Pu with disdain. “Fine, let’s speak plainly. As far as I know, the recruitment threshold for your Research Institute is very high. Competition is fierce every year. If you didn’t rely on your family’s connections, could you have so smoothly secured a job in the PR department? For all her faults, Liang Ke got in on her own merit. What about you?”

Zhao Pu’s self-esteem took a massive hit. He sat there, embarrassed and speechless. Liang Ke wanted to defend him but found herself tongue-tied. But Xiao Iron-Tower wasn’t done with them. He continued:

“Your family’s connections weren’t built overnight. If your grandfather hadn’t performed legendary feats during the war, your father wouldn’t have the high-ranking power he has today at X University. And you wouldn’t be a useless, bored playboy who spends all day figuring out how to get closer to Liang Ke while leaning on the shade of a great tree.”

Zhao Pu’s shoulders slumped silently. Liang Ke glared at Boss Xiao with fury.

“Haha, cruel, isn’t it? The world isn’t as good as you think. It’s layers of filth linked together, a bottomless pit. If it weren’t for the fact that you once helped my Xiaoxiao, I wouldn’t waste my breath on you.” Xiao Iron-Tower smiled and turned his gaze to Liang Ke. “With an empire this large, my daughter is destined to be an eagle standing on a mountain peak, strategizing. I’ve taught her long ago: as for a kind, useless little cat like you, she can have as many as she wants in the future. There’s no need to be in a rush.”

…

The luxury villa area was sparsely populated. The security guard looked enthusiastic when he saw Liang Ke and Zhao Pu come out.

“How was it? Was Boss Xiao cured by the expert?” he asked.

Liang Ke froze. She remembered that before entering, she had tricked the guard by saying Zhao Pu was a specialized psychiatrist coming to treat Xiao Iron-Tower’s emotional trauma and unlock his “deadlocked” heart.

The current situation, however, was that both she and Zhao Pu now had major heart knots and significant trauma. Maybe this is heaven’s punishment for my earlier nonsense, she thought.

On the way back, neither of them spoke, lost in their own heavy thoughts. Eventually, Liang Ke’s stomach growled, and she suggested getting a bowl of noodles at the front gate of the Institute.

The noodle shop was new, and the noodles weren’t even good. Zhao Pu kept adding chili to his bowl and asked if Liang Ke wanted some. Liang Ke didn’t stop pouring from the vinegar jar either. The two of them ate while tears streamed down their faces, making the shop owner watch them in terror.

Liang Ke asked Zhao Pu, “What are you crying for?”

Zhao Pu didn’t look up. He stared into his noodles and muttered, “Liang Ke, tell me the truth. Do you see me that way too?”

“Huh?”

“The things Boss Xiao said. Do you also think I’m completely useless?”

Liang Ke laughed, her eyes full of desolation. She countered, “Do you think I’m in any position to talk about you?”

“Why not?”

Liang Ke said, “Take my current situation. Dr. Shu asked me to summarize the current project status into two reports. I stayed up all night to revise two versions. This was her reply—” She held up her phone to show Zhao Pu the email.

Zhao Pu didn’t understand the technical content, but it didn’t stop him from seeing the sea of red annotations. There were clearly many imperfect sections in the report.

Shu Qingchen’s suggestions for revision were blunt and sharp, every word hitting a vital point, making Liang Ke’s work look amateurish.

“You’ve fallen off,” Zhao Pu said, shocked, clutching his chest.

“I haven’t! We’ve always written our summaries like this. I’m practically a top performer in this area. Old Hu approves, and even Zhang Zhang said it was great last time,” Liang Ke said, feeling deeply wronged.

Zhao Pu propped his head on his hand and comforted her: “Maybe the Big Shot has extra expectations for you. She’s holding you to a higher standard. Tsk tsk, what a devoted ‘motherly’ heart, hoping her child becomes a dragon.”

Liang Ke imagined that possibility and instantly flew into a rage. “Shut up if you can’t say anything nice!” She then grabbed the vinegar jar and began “hunting” Zhao Pu.