Chapter 26
Chapter 26: You’re the Only Boss I Recognize
“Boss Hu!” Xie Jun Yi puffed out his chest, copying an official’s posture as he clasped his fists. His voice rang loud and bright. “My boss has a killer eye! If she says it’s good, it’s good!”
He slapped his hand toward the goods like a young lord sealing a decree. “This whole batch—our Xie family is buying it all!”
He had that rare talent: even when he was being outrageous, people still wanted to indulge him. Add the “my family has money, but we play fair” little-lord act, and he talked the shrewd merchant dizzy.
Back and forth they went—bargain after bargain, the crowd forming, the air buzzing.
By the end, Xie Jun Yi had bullied the price down to something criminally low, powered by reckless nerve and a mouth that could probably talk a brick into tears.
Nearby traders who’d been eavesdropping looked like they’d just watched the world end. One old man slapped his thigh and groaned, “A disaster… a disaster…”
Xie Jun Yi grinned and pressed his thumb hard onto the contract.
Smack.
A bright red handprint stamped the ink.
“Deal!” he shouted, proud as a conquering general. “Boss Hu, you’re straightforward! From now on, we’re friends!”
He marched back into the Xie residence with the contract held high—ink still wet, terms still unbelievable.
Inside, chaos erupted.
The steward dropped his tea tray with a crash. Porcelain skittered across the floor.
Xie Zheng, who’d been smoothing his precious beard, jerked so hard he yanked out several hairs. His face twisted in pain, then in disbelief.
“This… price… these terms…” His hands shook as he held the paper. “Jun Yi, you little—”
His gaze flicked from his son—standing there like he’d just won a war—to the small girl beside him calmly chewing candied fruit, wearing an expression that said, What’s the big deal?
Xie Zheng’s brain refused to load.
“…He really negotiated this?” he demanded, voice cracking.
The boys of the household erupted.
“Brother is amazing!”
“Brother is a legend!”
Xie Jun Yi’s ears burned. His face went red, but his chest rose higher than it ever had in his life.
Then he turned, eyes locking onto Chu Tian Tian.
And in front of everyone—this boy who normally didn’t bow to heaven, earth, or even his own father—his knees went soft.
Thud.
He dropped to the floor.
He clasped his fists, voice shaking with fierce sincerity. “Boss! From today on, my life is yours! You point east—if I even glance west, I’ll be a damn grandson! You point, I fight! In this life, I only recognize you as my boss!”
The room froze.
Chu Tian Tian blinked at the kneeling boy, then at Xie Zheng, who looked like he might pass out.
Her little head tilted. A tiny, sneaky bit of pride slipped into her eyes.
So… she solved another problem again.
Chu Tian Tian lifted one finger and wagged it solemnly in front of Xie Jun Yi’s face. Her voice was sweet—and absolutely unarguable.
“You want to call Tian Tian boss? Fine. But there’s a condition.”
Xie Jun Yi stared, breath caught.
“You have to study,” she declared. “Tian Tian’s underling must be a top scholar.”
“St-study?” His excitement froze like he’d been doused in ice water. His shoulders sagged.
Fighting and causing trouble? Easy.
Studying? That was a slow death.
Xie Zheng’s mouth twitched. A top scholar? With this boy? He’d be lucky if Jun Yi could recognize all the characters in the Three-Character Classic.
Chu Tian Tian turned to him, face serious. “Official Xie! Tian Tian will turn little brother into the capital’s number one great scholar. Will you support Tian Tian?”
The capital’s number one great scholar?
More like the capital’s number one hooligan.
Xie Zheng nearly laughed out loud. He swallowed it so hard it hurt.
Then he looked into Chu Tian Tian’s bright, expectant eyes—and nodded like he’d been possessed.
“Support. Absolutely. Ten thousand supports. Ninth Princess, teach however you like.”
Chu Tian Tian beamed and turned back to Xie Jun Yi, praise pouring out like honey.
“Little brother, you’re amazing! Just now you were so cool negotiating business! Your brain is fast, your mouth is sharp. You’re better than those stiff bookworms!”
She leaned closer, eyes sparkling. “You just never studied seriously. If you get serious, you’ll stomp Class A, Class B… even Tong Tong!”
Xie Jun Yi floated. His chin lifted. His chest puffed.
Yes. That’s right.
He was a genius. Obviously.
“Sign it!” Chu Tian Tian snapped, seizing the moment like a professional swindler in a toddler’s body. She pulled out a folded paper, showing only the top line. “Write: ‘I am Xie Jun Yi, and I agree to study hard.’ Sign your name. Stamp your handprint.”
High on compliments, Xie Jun Yi didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the brush, signed fast, dipped his thumb in ink paste, and slapped down a bright red fingerprint.
“Done!” he declared.
Chu Tian Tian’s smile flashed—too bright, too satisfied.
With a flourish, she unfolded the paper completely.
Under the handprint was a second line, neat and vicious:
If I fail, I willingly castrate myself and enter the palace as a servant.
Xie Jun Yi’s soul left his body.
“Enter the palace… as a little eunuch?!” His grin cracked clean off his face. He clapped both hands over his crotch, eyes wide with terror, and let out a strangled howl.
Chu Tian Tian giggled like a fox that had just stolen a chicken. “Little brother, which class are you in?”
“D… Class D…” he whispered, mortified.
“Class D?” Chu Tian Tian frowned, shaking her head like a tiny old scholar disappointed in a hopeless student. “No, no. That’s way too embarrassing for my boss.”