089. The Secretary Who Came to My Door

The next morning, Sue Ye got up a little earlier than usual.

It had been nearly a month since he took over the shares from Old Su, but aside from taking charge of the Bat Cave, he had done nothing else.

Today, he planned to go over to the Osborne Group and take a close look, to see for himself how a company worth two hundred billion dollars actually ran. Old Su was still waiting for him to learn enough to go back and take over the family’s little workshop.

If he truly returned one day knowing nothing at all, unable to answer even the simplest question, then what had this education been for? Just to earn the title of an overseas returnee?

But nowadays, even the unemployed, idle sort of overseas returnee was everywhere, and that title had long since lost its shine.

It was around seven in the morning. Downstairs, the elderly landlord couple would usually be in their routine: one reading the paper, the other cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Sometimes Sue Ye would join them and share in the meal. They were very kind people.

But today, something seemed different.

When Sue Ye went downstairs, the two old folks were both sitting at the dining table, while from the kitchen came the clatter of someone cooking.

“Good morning, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith,” Sue Ye greeted them, then pointed toward the kitchen. “Is that your new maid in there?”

The kindly couple waved him over warmly to sit down. With a smile, the old lady said, “That’s right, Mr. Su. We’re planning to go away for a while, and letting the room on the first floor sit empty would be a waste, so we rented it out.”

“The new tenant inside offered to make us breakfast as thanks.”

When she finished, the old man leaned in with a conspiratorial air and whispered, “The new tenant is a big beauty. You’ve got to seize the chance yourself. Good luck!”

Sure enough, men remained boys to the very end. Good heavens, Mr. Smith, that emphasis on the word big—I got it.

Sue Ye did not refuse the couple’s kindness. He sat down at the table with a smile, and soon a tall woman in an apron walked out.

The old man’s emphasis had not been exaggerated in the least. Just the outrageous angle at which the apron was stretched was enough to make many men unable to look away.

Sue Ye, however, was not so impolite. He only imagined what she would look like wearing nothing but the apron. Very nice indeed.

“Breakfast is ready!”

Seeing Sue Ye, the woman greeted him with a smile. “Hello, Mr. Su. We meet again. I’m Sharon Carter. From now on, I’ll be your roommate.”

The Smiths, old as they were, immediately showed expressions that clearly said, Oh my, there’s a story here. The old man even shot Sue Ye a look full of admiration and envy.

Looking at Sharon Carter, whom he had only met last night, Sue Ye could not help but smile wryly.

So S.H.I.E.L.D. still refused to give up, after all. He had thought they would merely keep sending people to shadow and investigate him, but he had never expected them to move so openly and simply live in his house.

So this was the sugar-coated shell of capitalism?

Not afraid I’ll lick off the shell and fire the shell itself right back at them?

Still, for Sue Ye, an overt roommate was far more convenient and comfortable than a covert tail. This move, at least, satisfied him somewhat.

At the very least, it proved that S.H.I.E.L.D. was willing to cooperate openly, rather than playing tricks in the shadows.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect your actions to be so swift, Miss Carter.”

Sue Ye accepted the breakfast Sharon Carter handed him, the wry smile long gone from his face.

Seeing his reaction, Sharon Carter also let out a breath of relief. She had come on her own without asking Nick Fury, intending to report only after she had achieved some results. Looking at it now, this mission could indeed be carried forward.

The four of them finished breakfast in a harmonious atmosphere. The Smiths began tidying up and preparing to head out, while Sue Ye set off for the Osborne Group.

Just as he reached the garage entrance, footsteps sounded behind him. Sharon Carter, dressed in full business attire—a suit skirt, black stockings, and high heels—caught up from behind.

“Mr. Su, please wait.”

Sharon Carter stood one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, and with her heels on, her poise and presence instantly overwhelmed any petite black widow.

Thankfully, after several rounds of strengthening, Sue Ye’s bare height was already close to one hundred and ninety centimeters, and with shoes on he was well above that. Otherwise, he might really have had some trouble holding her in check.

“May I ask where you’re going?” Sharon Carter asked, folding her hands neatly over her lower abdomen. Her manners and speech were elegant and generous, a pleasure to behold.

One does not strike a smiling face. Especially not one from whom he had just eaten. Naturally, Sue Ye smiled back. “I’m going to take a look at the Osborne Group. You know, since I’m the major shareholder…”

S.H.I.E.L.D. had a complete dossier on Old Su and Sue Ye, so his identity as a major Osborne Group shareholder had already been exposed.

“As a major shareholder of the Osborne Group, you may need a dedicated secretary. I can also drive for you, so you won’t need to lift a finger yourself. Believe me, I’m very good at driving.”

Sharon Carter’s smile grew sweeter.

Sue Ye’s brows lifted faintly. A secretary? Was that depraved wish of his about to come true?

A few minutes later, Sue Ye sat in the passenger seat, glancing sideways at Sharon Carter, who indeed drove with remarkable steadiness. He suddenly felt that this arrangement was not bad at all. Let the secretary do the work...

Arriving at the Osborne Group and parking the car, the two of them entered the building together, but they did not stay side by side. Sue Ye had Sharon Carter wait for him in the office on the top floor while he himself wandered around.

His identity at Osborne was not public. What he wore now was still the internship badge of “Snake Zhang,” and with a striking, busty, tall young female secretary at his side, he would stand out far too much.

And what if Gwen saw them? That would be hard to explain.

Ever since she became Spider-Silk Gwen, she had come here more and more often as an intern, practically spending the entire summer here.

By her own account, she wanted to help Doctor Connors complete his experiment. After all, the restoration of a severed arm was a dream that had haunted him for decades.

Although nail clipping and driving could be handled by a secretary, and shifting gears or adjusting speed did not require him to do it himself either, that still meant losing a great deal of the pleasure of conquest.

It was like riding a horse. Would you rather let the horse carry you until it made you sick, or ride atop it and bounce until you made the horse sick first?

If you asked him, in summer it was better to be the one ridden...

In any case, since Gwen had a teacher-student bond with Doctor Connors, she felt it necessary to help him realize that wish.

After all, if super spiders could appear, then a super lizard was not necessarily impossible.

Sue Ye supported that. Gwen having a career of her own was better than clinging to his kidney all day long. A woman, after all, should have an independent mind and learn to move on her own.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, he passed Doctor Connors’s laboratory, but did not see Gwen. It seemed quite busy inside, so he did not disturb them and turned to head upstairs to look at his office.

Just then, as Sue Ye approached the stairwell, he saw a black hand resting on the edge of the doorway, as though its owner had noticed he was about to take the elevator and was deliberately holding the door for him.

“Thanks!”

Sue Ye hurried through the doorway and smiled his thanks to the black employee, who looked rather like Xu Zhisheng, a man whose looks had already fallen to rock bottom and seemed to have nothing left to lose, only to discover that hair loss had started as well.

At the same time, Sue Ye noticed the name on the man’s badge.

Max Dillon.