Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The shareholders who had stood up with Fourth Master Qin and voiced their frustrations suddenly went silent.

The meeting room quietened down.

Some of them knew Qin Ran while others didn’t, but all of them watched as the girl walked in slowly.

Her dark eyes scanned the room.

“Miss, you’re here.” Butler Qin was about to call Cheng Mu to ask if he’d got him in trouble. But upon seeing Qin Ran, he pulled a chair out for her.

Ah Wen, standing beside him, finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Qin Xiuchen had maintained his calm demeanor the entire time.

He now stood up and turned towards the shareholders sitting around the meeting table. “This is Xiao Ling’s sister, Qin Ran. She’s also the candidate who will be standing in his place.”

With that, muffled discussions commenced in the previously quiet room.

Fourth Master Qin sat back in his chair and turned towards him. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Are you sure you want to let this niece of yours take part in this? There’s only one chance.”

So he had looked for Qin Ran instead; no wonder Qin Ling hadn’t appeared.

Fourth Master Qin couldn’t tell what Butler Qin and the rest were thinking. Fourth Master Qin had already gotten someone to investigate what happened with Qin Ran in the Physics laboratory. He even got Qin Yu to rope someone else in, but to no avail.

Qin Xiuchen said as calmly as ever, “That’s right.

“Also, since it’s no longer my young nephew but rather my older niece involved now, there will be some changes to the election. She’s over 15, so while the general rules stay the same, it would be the usual adult rules that apply…” Fourth Master Qin looked at Qin Xiuchen deeply.

He knew that Qin Xiuchen was an actor, and acting was his forte.

Seeing how calm he looked now, he wondered if it was just a false front…

Whether it was feigned or not, Fourth Master Qin wouldn’t take the risk.

Qin Xiuchen looked up once he was done talking.

Ah Wen and Butler Qin were a little shocked. Butler Qin slammed his hand on the table and looked at Fourth Master Qin incredulously. Qin Ling’s original rules were already hard to play by, and now he was increasing the difficulty further. “Fourth Master, you’re obviously trying to…”

“Butler, the candidate has changed, and so must the rules.” Fourth Master Qin smiled. “I’m doing this for the future of the Qin family. You can ask the other shareholders what they think.”

The other shareholders prioritized interests over everything else. It was no surprise that they were on Fourth Master Qin’s side. “That’s right. The candidate has changed, of course, the rules have to change too.”

“Sixth Brother.” Fourth Master Qin smiled leisurely at Qin Xiuchen. “Although the difficulty has increased, the stakes have increased too. Based on the standards of the heir, the highest possible amount of shares she could receive is 18%.”

That was 8% higher than Qin Ling’s original amount.

Of course, this 18% of shares was no more than a decorative incentive. They knew that it was impossible to get past the test, anyway.

Qin Ran was standing beside Qin Xiuchen, looking unfazed. Her eyes were even a little cold.

Upon hearing about the 18% of shares, she stroked her chin in thought for a while and then turned to ask Ah Wen, “18%?”

The person with the most power in the firm was Fourth Master Qin. He held 51% of the shares and had the right to veto.

The 18% of shares that would go to the heir would be taken from Fourth Master Qin’s share.

Fourth Master Qin was also involved with Qin Ling’s matters. It would be too little to take only 18% from him.

She found it too little, but to Butler Qin and the rest, this was the highest offer they had ever seen.

After all, Qin Xiuchen only held 3% of the shares himself.

Ah Wen was furious. When he heard Qin Ran’s question, he thought that Qin Ran was worried about the test. He quickly said, “18% is the largest amount of shares, and also the highest standards for the heir. This makes the test more than twice as hard as the Young Master’s. Don’t worry, Sixth Master and Butler Qin won’t agree to it.”

18% was really the highest it could go.

Qin Ran nodded. She said softly to Qin Xiuchen and Butler Qin, “Say yes.”

“But…” Butler Qin pursed his lips. He was furious.

Butler Qin already did not feel good about this when Qin Ran stood in for Qin Ling. And now, Fourth Master Qin was making things even more difficult for her.

This whole election was just for show, especially the standards and rules set for adults. Back then, only Old Master had made it through, and Fourth Master Qin was exploiting it now.

Fourth Master Qin already made it very clear that he didn’t want anyone of the next generation to have a part in this!

He didn’t even try to hide this in front of the other shareholders!

“There’s nothing you can do to him, anyway.” Qin Ran was calm about it. “There’s no point fighting with him, we might as well agree with his terms and get down to it. I still have an experiment to work on.”

Butler Qin also knew that there was no point in fighting it. Eventually, he agreed to it.

Seeing how enraged Butler Qin looked, Fourth Master Qin chuckled. “Butler Qin, you don’t have to be like this. I’m already putting 18% from my shares on the table.”

**

This election was of utmost importance.

The test was extensive and covered many different areas.

The test location was in a huge workspace. There were two rows of desktops in the workspace. In the first row of seats were seven employees in senior posts, who were there as judges for the test.

The row of desktops at the back was turned on.

Seeing Fourth Master Qin’s arrival, the seven of them quickly stood upright and greeted respectfully, “Chairman Qin.”

Behind him, Qin Xiuchen and Qin Ran were walking side by side slowly, while Butler Qin and Ah Wen were right behind.

“Ran Ran, don’t be so nervous about the test. This responsibility is not yours to bear.” Qin Xiuchen said, “If you don’t get it this time, Xiao Ling can get it back on his own in the future.”

“I know.” Qin Ran nodded. She didn’t sound nervous at all.

Seeing that she appeared calm and rather confident, Butler Qin’s and Ah Wen’s expressions softened.

When Qin Ran saw the seven desktops turned on, she stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Xiuchen stopped as well and looked at her.

Qin Ran looked up and whispered, “Seven separate desktops? Am I supposed to start from the one on the left?”

Butler Qin and Ah Wen suddenly went quiet when she asked that question.

A few moments later, Butler Qin said in a pained tone, “This is a comprehensive test. Each desktop is one round of the test, and all seven of them will be watching you… Miss, I wrote this all in that pile of documents I handed you, d-did you read them?”

Those documents were information prepared by Mr. Ku Ke.

Butler Qin knew that Qin Ran was smart and had a strong foundation, so the information would surely be useful for her.

But… if she didn’t even look at it…

Qin Ran evaded Butler Qin’s question and looked up at the ceiling. “Got it.”

She headed straight into the workspace.

Butler Qin, Qin Xiuchen, and the rest were not allowed to enter.

The door was shut, and Fourth Master Qin watched from outside for a while. He then smiled at Qin Xiuchen and asked formally, “Sixth Brother, would you like to follow us back to the meeting room to watch the surveillance footage?”

“No need.” Qin Xiuchen declined the offer.

Only when Fourth Master Qin and the rest left did Ah Wen turn to Qin Xiuchen and Butler Qin. “Fourth Master is doing this on purpose. This is the highest level, the system tomorrow will…”

“Let’s talk when she’s out.” Qin Xiuchen did not move from his spot.

Butler Qin remained silent.

Tonight’s election might not even be successful…

On this thought, Butler Qin took his cell phone out and opened his WeChat app. He scrolled through the chat group and looked for Cheng Mu’s icon.

He was slow at typing and didn’t have good eyesight. It took him a long time to send out just one sentence—

Mr. Cheng Mu, the documents I handed you to bring to Miss… did she read them?”

At this point, Cheng Mu was speaking to Cheng Jin. As he read Butler Qin’s message, he thought for a while before replying honestly—

No.

But Miss Qin would ask Master Juan about the company matters whenever she has time.

Butler Qin was even more speechless when he saw Cheng Mu’s reply.

Ah Wen came closer. “Butler Qin, are you alright?”

Butler Qin shook his head and then showed him the messages on his cell phone.

Ah Wen wasn’t as shocked by the message. He simply nodded and said, “Butler Qin, Fourth Master already made it very clear that he wouldn’t let Miss get through the test. There’s no point in making her read all of those. Sixth Master is right, we shouldn’t stress Miss out with this matter.”

Qin Xiuchen watched her through the glass windows for a while. Upon hearing what Ah Wen said, he took his eyes off her and said, “Let’s return to the meeting room. Hanging around out here might pressurize her.”

“Yeah, let’s go back.” As much as Butler Qin wanted to watch on, he knew that Qin Xiuchen was right.

The three of them returned to the meeting room once again.

On the other side, Qin Ran was already seated in front of the first desktop.