Big Shot Ch.176.2

Chapter 176.2: The Seamless Switch Between Director Shen and President Shen

Up front in the driver’s seat, Jin Can was driving. While waiting at a red light, he glanced at the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of Shen Xiu leaning back in his seat, eyes lowered, long fingers tapping away at his phone.

Just as the light turned green, Shen Xiu, without even lifting his head and still focused on his screen, calmly reminded him, “Green light.”

“!”

Startled, Jin Can jolted upright. He had thought his sneaky glance was perfectly hidden—but hearing Shen Xiu’s cold voice, he immediately straightened his posture and replied awkwardly, “Y-yes, Director Shen.”

He gripped the steering wheel tighter, took a deep breath, and when he realized a second had already passed since the light turned green, he immediately drove forward.

He hadn’t even looked up—but still knew Jin Can was peeking, and even tracked the traffic light timing?

Shen Xiu’s observation skills were terrifying!

He must’ve glanced at the red light timer earlier while they were stopped and calculated everything in his head. That’s the only way he could have reminded him so precisely.

It wasn’t until he was sure the sneaky glances had stopped that Shen Xiu finally withdrew his gaze from the phone screen. He put the phone away, glanced briefly at the road ahead, then turned his head to look out the window, eyes slightly unfocused as he watched the fleeting scenery blur past.

There was a quiet joy blooming in his heart.

Because Shen Xiu had come to realize—whether he was just Shen Xiu, or more than just Shen Xiu—he still wasn’t used to being looked at.

—

Shen Xiu didn’t let Jin Can drive him back to Yulin Banxia, but instead went to the villa.

Once he got there, he went straight to the study, pulled out a chair, and began writing code the moment he sat down.

By 5 a.m., Shen Xiu finished the program and sent it to Qin Mo, telling him to handle it however he saw fit.

After tidying up the aftermath for the system, Shen Xiu got up, drove back to Yulin Banxia.

Even though the villa was more convenient, his class textbooks—and Lucky—were still at Yulin Banxia. Plus, he didn’t particularly enjoy being alone in such a vast and empty house. The room at Yulin Banxia felt more comfortable, so he had never seriously considered moving out.

The last time he drove into Yulin Banxia, that car never came back out. And he had been picked up by Jin Can when he went to the villa. So now, Shen Xiu had no choice but to head to the underground garage and drive out a brand new car.

By the time he arrived at Yulin Banxia, the sky was already bright.

The security guard on the night shift, who hadn’t been relieved yet, spotted another new luxury car entering the community. When the driver rolled down the window for registration, the guard saw Shen Xiu’s familiar cold face—and silently added another license plate number to the already “wealthy” roster of vehicles parked on Basement Level 2 of Area A.

The door opened, and Shen Xiu quietly walked into the room. After a few steps, his eyes naturally fell on the living room sofa without obstruction.

Seeing Lucky, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

The members of The Galaxy had shown him what friendship felt like, and in the absence of his parents, Lucky gave him a sense of warmth that came from family.

Without realizing it, Shen Xiu walked toward Lucky. Standing in front of the cat, he reached out to pick Lucky up.

Lucky, who was dreaming about chasing and gnawing on a dried fish snack, was abruptly woken by the sudden sensation of being lifted off the ground.

“Meow!”

The moment Lucky opened his eyes and saw Shen Xiu holding him, he let out a sharp yowl of shock. All his black fur puffed up in alarm, making his already fluffy body even rounder. With a flick of his big black tail, he suddenly leapt out of Shen Xiu’s arms, landing on the sofa and glaring at him in the dark, eyes glowing like two lightbulbs.

A protesting meow sounded again from his throat.

“Meooow!”

Why does this person walk so quietly? Scared the life out of meow!

Having been swatted in the face by Lucky’s fluffed-up tail, Shen Xiu: “……”

Having spent so much time with Lucky, Shen Xiu knew very well—when Lucky meowed “meow-oo,” it meant he was really angry.

One man and one cat—one standing on the floor, one standing on the sofa—locked eyes in the darkness, silently facing off.

In the dark, Shen Xiu looked at Lucky’s puffed-up, angry form and only then belatedly realized… when he had entered just now—

When he entered just now, he’d been so silent that even a battle-hardened assassin wouldn’t have noticed—let alone a little cat like Lucky.

Sure enough, even though he was still living in this world, now that all his memories had returned, it was no longer possible for him to simply be Shen Xiu.

His past experiences had left an indelible mark in his mind, constantly influencing his every move.

Putting all this together, Shen Xiu decisively admitted his mistake.

Shen Xiu said, “Lucky, I’m sorry. I scared you.”

“Meow-oo!” Lucky continued meowing in protest, refusing to back down.

Under Lucky’s angry stare, Shen Xiu quietly controlled the room’s lighting.

As the lights came on and lit up the whole house, Shen Xiu walked toward Lucky’s snack room.

This time, he deliberately made audible footsteps as he walked, afraid that if he moved too quietly again, he’d scare Lucky once more.

After verifying his fingerprint, Shen Xiu unlocked the door to Lucky’s snack room.

He hadn’t wanted to lock it in the first place, but if he didn’t, the freeze-dried treat bags left outside would end up punctured and leaking everywhere, covered in Lucky’s tiny bite marks. And with Lucky’s skilled door-opening abilities, even the freeze-dried snacks and unopened cat food bags inside the room would be marked with further evidence of his crimes.

Lucky wasn’t even hungry—he just liked chewing for fun, which left Shen Xiu helpless.

One second, Lucky was still protesting with angry “meow-oo”s. The next, as soon as he saw the snack room door open, he didn’t hesitate for a second—jumping off the sofa, dashing to Shen Xiu’s side, arching his back to rub against Shen Xiu’s pant leg, and looking up at him with his fluffy little face, letting out sweet, affectionate meows.

“Meow~”

“Meow~”

…

Accompanied by those sweet, affectionate meows, the snack room door opened. Like a little lord inspecting his domain, Lucky strutted ahead with elegant feline steps, walking straight to his beloved bag of freeze-dried treats. He then turned back to give Shen Xiu a very clear signal.

“Meow~”

Lucky reached out a paw and gave the bag two sharp pats, his emerald-green eyes fixed on Shen Xiu.

Come on, human. The hint couldn’t be more obvious. Got it now?

Shen Xiu stared silently at Lucky for two seconds before blurting out, “…As expected of you.”

He walked over to the bag Lucky had been slapping, picked it up, opened the sealed strip, and poured a few pieces into his palm. Crouching down, he held out his open hand.

In his wide palm were a few small square freeze-dried blocks.

Lucky was clearly used to being hand-fed by Shen Xiu. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and started eating—careful not to bite Shen Xiu’s hand—his furry little head bobbing up and down as he munched.

Once he finished eating, Lucky’s anger had clearly dissipated. He raised his head and, with his fluffy tail upright, began rubbing himself all over Shen Xiu in an enthusiastic display of affection.

Without a word, Shen Xiu quietly put the treat bag back in place, scooped Lucky into his arms, and walked out of the snack room. As he walked, he gently suggested, “I’m free in a couple of days. Let’s go visit Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”

Lucky, so content under Shen Xiu’s touch, was purring like a little engine, too blissed out to meow a response.

Taking that as an answer, Shen Xiu nodded slightly. “Understood. I’ll take that as a yes.”

As long as he was in the city, Shen Xiu made a habit of visiting the cemetery whenever he had time.

But this time was different. He was Shen Xiu—but not just Shen Xiu anymore. This… was something he truly needed to tell his parents properly.

—

At 8 a.m., Qin Mo got up to work out.

On his way to the gym, he habitually turned on his phone, which had been powered off the night before.

The moment the phone powered on, a new email popped up, along with a WeChat notification.

Qin Mo: “!”

He immediately put down the water bottle in his hand, stopped in his tracks, and opened the email Shen Xiu had sent to his inbox in a bundled package.

After reading it, Qin Mo first replied to Shen Xiu’s WeChat message, then forwarded the email to the newly appointed head of the intelligent driving project team formed just the day before.

Qin Mo majored in finance and didn’t really understand programming or coding. After receiving Shen Xiu’s appointment yesterday, he immediately set up a project team, taking charge of overall coordination himself.

After getting in touch with the project team leader, Qin Mo put down his phone and sincerely exclaimed, “As expected of the Demon King Xiu!”

The announcement had only been made less than a day ago, and now a fully developed program had already been sent over.

Clearly, the system had been prepared long in advance.

This only reinforced Qin Mo’s belief that after Shen Xiu’s surprise inspection of K Corp last time, he had returned and issued the task through headquarters.

And Shen Xiu must have deliberately revealed the news during the impromptu interview just to leverage media and online exposure to send a message to the K Corp executives—to put pressure on them.

As always, Shen Xiu never did anything without preparation.

Suddenly announcing a new project or product on a whim? That was absolutely impossible for someone like Shen Xiu, who planned a hundred steps ahead for every move.

After all, no one—literally no one—could develop a complete intelligent driving system in less than a day.

—

9 a.m.

The project team leader arrived at work, turned on the computer, and casually clicked on the email sent by Special Assistant Qin while sipping coffee.

Ten minutes later, his pupils trembled in shock, and he set his coffee down. His fingers flew across the keyboard.

“Team Leader, what’s going on?”

“Holy crap, who wrote this? Was it you? This is insane!”

“If any of those companies specializing in intelligent driving systems saw this, they’d probably die of frustration.”

“K Corp is really something else. They weren’t working on this just because they weren’t interested. The moment they are, even the prototype is more complete than most of what’s out there.”

…

The team members—who had only been part of the newly-formed project group for less than two days—gathered behind their leader, staring at the screen while exclaiming in awe.

Another half hour passed before the team leader shut down the program.

He said quietly, “I didn’t write it. Special Assistant Qin sent it to me this morning.”

“When Special Assistant Qin announced the urgent formation of our team yesterday, did any of you overhear what the rest of the company was saying?”

Hearing the question, the gossip-loving members eagerly chimed in.

“I didn’t hear anything specific, but when I left work yesterday, I ran into Vice President Wang outside. He’s never spoken to me before, but he suddenly asked about our project. I just told him it was a direct assignment from President Shen to Special Assistant Qin, and that we didn’t know anything else.”

“Damn, I ran into Vice President Qi in the elevator yesterday! Scared me to death. He asked the same thing—about our project.”

“I bumped into VP Wang’s assistant. He asked me about it too…”

…

After listening to everyone, the team leader connected the dots with the probing messages he had received from various vice presidents the day before. He now had a clear understanding.

Those senior executives didn’t dare ask Special Assistant Qin directly—let alone President Shen—so no wonder they came sniffing around the project team members for information.

Just as he’d suspected when he was appointed team leader yesterday—

This so-called “insignificant” project, at least in K Corp’s eyes, was merely a pawn President Shen had deliberately placed to send a warning to upper management.

Now that panic had set in among the higher-ups, it was likely that for quite some time moving forward, none of them would dare get complacent again—no more messing around or nearly screwing up due to drinking.

After all, given Shen Xiu’s cold and ruthless style, the next time wouldn’t just be two warnings in a row—it would be outright dismissal.

“Team Leader, why are you asking all this?”

“It’s nothing.”

The project leader waved it off. “Don’t overthink. I’m going to share the file—everyone take a look and point out any parts that still need polishing. Once it’s finalized, we’ll start actual testing.”

After dismissing the team members, the leader picked up his phone and left his workstation.

—

Inside Qin Mo’s office.

As footsteps approached, a voice called out—it was Li Nuo: “Mr. Qin, Team Leader Liu is here.”

Although Qin Mo was officially just a special assistant, with President Shen not present at the company, Qin Mo was essentially running everything, so the staff all treated him with great respect.

“Special Assistant Qin.” Team Leader Liu greeted him politely.

Qin Mo looked up at the project leader he had appointed just the day before and asked curiously, “You need something?”

Team Leader Liu swallowed nervously, then mustered up the courage to ask, “Well… pardon me for asking, Special Assistant Qin, but does President Shen have any plans to visit the company soon?”

Whatever motives the higher-ups might have, he personally just wanted to meet the person who had written that incredible program.

If he could meet Shen Xiu, he hoped to find out who the genius behind the code was—after all, they were in the same field. Maybe he could even make a connection.

Qin Mo, recalling Shen Xiu’s class schedule, replied, “President Shen is attending classes—he doesn’t have time to come to the company.”

Team Leader Liu: “…”

He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt… crushed.

“…Alright.”

Sensing the disappointment in Liu’s tone and fully understanding what he was really hoping for, Qin Mo added, “If there’s a chance, I’ll ask on your behalf.”

At those words, Liu’s eyes lit up instantly. He thanked Qin Mo gratefully, “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.”

After that, Qin Mo, remembering what Shen Xiu had said in his WeChat message, looked at Team Leader Liu and said, “Since you’re here, I’ll let you know—everything with the supplier has been arranged. Finalize the details as soon as possible. Once it’s released this Saturday, the project will be officially closed.”

According to Shen Xiu’s intent, this minor project was never meant to be long-term—it was just a means to shake up upper management. Wrapping it up quickly and moving on to something new was, in Qin Mo’s view, the most appropriate course of action.

“…Got it,” Team Leader Liu responded.

Though he had already suspected that the project was just a pawn in a larger game to rattle the executives, the abrupt conclusion still left him slightly stunned.

Killing with words, humiliating in public—that wasn’t enough. Shen Xiu had gone so far as to create a fake project just to strike fear and shake their confidence.

And the mastermind behind all of this? Currently sitting obediently in a university classroom, attending his senior-year courses.

If you told anyone that… who would believe it?

The gap between people… is bigger than the gap between a person and a dog!

Team Leader Liu once again sank deep into existential despair.

—

After leaving Qin Mo’s office, Team Leader Liu took the elevator down. As he stepped out, he heard voices coming from down the hallway.

Judging by the voices, it was two senior executives walking in his direction—probably heading for the elevator.

To avoid any awkward encounters, Team Leader Liu immediately halted his steps and ducked into the nearby emergency stairwell.

“Two back-to-back strikes straight to the heart—so ruthless!”

“Tell me about it. I think I’ve developed psychological trauma. I don’t even dare drink too much during business dinners anymore, afraid I’ll slip up and say something I shouldn’t. If President Shen finds out and gets displeased… sigh…”

Team Leader Liu: “…”

I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing.

—

Friday.

At the same time K Corp’s smart driving system was officially released, another bombshell announcement dropped: the newly launched product had already been sold—at a high price—to a company specializing in intelligent driving technology.

The sheer speed of it all made netizens’ imaginations run wild.

— This speed is like a tornado. Is this what they mean by ‘K Corp speed’? No wonder they’re leaders in high-tech.

— Just saying… isn’t it possible this was all just a warning move? After all, K Corp had never been involved in smart driving before. Then remember how President Shen fired the entire VFX team and suddenly launched a surprise inspection of K Corp? During that short window where they suddenly dipped into this field, upper management seemed terrified and unusually well-behaved… I mean, at this point, we all know what this was really about, right?

— Wait, the post location is… K Corp Twin Towers?!

— Bookmarking this. That comment from what looks like an insider? Feels like the real story to me!

The casual commenter who had unintentionally exposed their location using their main account quickly deleted the post in a panic—

—but fast-acting netizens had already taken screenshots.

In that moment, the sudden launch of the intelligent driving project by Shen Xiu seemed to have found its explanation.

—

At the same time, Qin Mo, having just seen off representatives from the purchasing company, called Shen Xiu to report.

When the call came through, Shen Xiu was in his study. He placed the phone on the desk and turned on speaker mode.

He was multitasking—his eyes fixed on the wall of monitors before him, fingers flying rapidly across the keyboard—while also calmly listening to Qin Mo’s report.

After Qin Mo finished speaking, Shen Xiu responded with a simple, “Mm.”

But feeling that a single word was too perfunctory, he added, “Well done.”

This had always been about tying up the loose ends from that high-profile system stunt. K Corp’s core focus had nothing to do with intelligent driving, nor did they have any intention of competing in that market. Selling the system was, in truth, the cleanest and most effective resolution.

Though Shen Xiu’s tone remained cool, the words were clearly praise—and that left Qin Mo thoroughly satisfied.

Before ending the call, Qin Mo remembered Team Leader Liu’s request and asked on his behalf, “President Shen, may I ask… who was the one who wrote that program?”

<< _ >>