It was almost time for the mid-term exams, and Mu Lin had returned to school. After a period of hectic work, the real estate company he founded had completed hiring all the necessary personnel. Due to the ongoing economic recovery, many unemployed people were scattered across the region. After Mu Lin healed Claire, her hatred toward Chinese people had mostly disappeared, and the company had even hired many Chinese employees.
Mu Lin made it clear to Claire that no cliques or factions were allowed within the company. Anyone found forming such groups would be fired immediately. For all new employees, the only requirement was to treat the company like their home. In return, the company promised never to abandon them, effectively guaranteeing that as long as the company remained operational, those who dedicated themselves wholeheartedly would never face unemployment.
However, anyone who acted against the company’s interests—especially those who disrupted team unity—would be terminated immediately upon discovery. Unity among colleagues, a relaxed work environment, and a proactive mindset were the core values of the corporate culture Mu Lin envisioned.
Mu Lin had always felt deep sympathy for the plight of teachers. If they weren’t so focused on their studies and lacked social cunning, they wouldn’t have been envied and sabotaged by mediocrities. Even the most honest scholars ended up being victimized to the point that no one dared to believe in them anymore. It was truly a tragedy of their generation. Therefore, Mu Lin was determined to ensure such situations would never occur in his company. He believed that with his talent, opportunities were everywhere in this world, so how could his company ever go bankrupt?
Mu Lin personally worked with Claire to recruit new staff. The recruitment process included filling out application forms followed by individual interviews—something Mu Lin insisted on, as he believed it was a sign of respect for anyone who chose to join his company.
Self-introduction was almost always the first step in any interview, often referred to as the “opening remarks” of the interview process, one of the oldest methods in interviewing.
The self-introduction usually lasted between one and a half to two minutes. It primarily tested the candidate’s organizational and logical abilities, requiring them to condense years of work and study experience—spanning three, five, or even ten years—into a concise summary within two minutes.
During the self-introduction, candidates not only had to “speak meaningfully” but also present that meaning clearly and concisely. The first two interviewees were two young women, both MBA graduates from MIT and Mu Lin’s senior classmates. They had resigned from their previous company after just one year due to dissatisfaction with its seniority-based promotion system.
Both women were descendants of French immigrants, and their yin energy was particularly strong. At first, Mu Lin thought they might have practiced some kind of yin martial arts, but after careful observation, he realized they hadn’t. This puzzled him, but he didn’t ask immediately, deciding to leave the question for later. However, since Mu Lin kept observing them during the interview, Claire mistakenly thought he was attracted to the two women. Meanwhile, the two women saw a young man sitting beside the interviewer, silently staring at them with what they perceived as a lecherous gaze. They were furious and, after finishing the interview, gave Mu Lin a fierce glare as they left. The intensity of their gaze made Mu Lin shiver involuntarily. He thought to himself, “Wow, these two girls sure have a lot of hostility.”
Suddenly, his left arm twisted in pain. He turned his head and saw Claire giving him a resentful look. He wondered what was wrong now. Claire assumed that Mu Lin preferred hiring pretty girls, which made Mu Lin sweat nervously. Considering that Claire was currently managing the company, he decided to follow her lead. Once the hiring was complete, Claire assigned tasks to the new employees and sent them off to work in various locations. With that done, Mu Lin had nothing more to do. Since mid-term exams were approaching, he returned to school.
He finished all his exams in a week. Afterward, he planned to visit his real estate company, but the three girls weren’t happy about it. The most outspoken among them, Fanny, was particularly upset. “Daniel, where have you been lately? Why haven’t we seen you at all? Do you dislike us now?” She fired off a barrage of questions like bullets.
Mu Lin smiled bitterly and replied, “How could I ever dislike you? You’re all so adorable!”
“Then where have you been lately? Why can’t we find you?” This time it was Sylvia.
“Oh, I recently found a job and have been working to earn some money, so I haven’t been around much,” Mu Lin answered. The next to speak was Kerry, the shyest of the three. Her personality reminded him a bit of Mei Fang, which was why he liked her the most.
“Daniel, if you’re short on money, I have some saved up. I know you have two younger sisters to take care of, and I can help you,” Kerry said, blushing furiously as she finished her almost-confession. She quickly hid behind Sylvia.
Sylvia and Fanny also insisted they were willing to help Mu Lin financially. He blushed deeply at Kerry’s words. He had never discussed his financial situation with the three girls, so he was surprised that Kerry thought he needed money to support his family. Still, he was deeply moved by her kindness. After thinking it over, Mu Lin decided not to tell them the truth. For one, he didn’t yet know much about their family backgrounds. For another, as a Chinese person, he had been raised with the principle of not flaunting wealth. He politely declined their offers.
He assured them that he could currently support his sisters’ expenses. The three girls didn’t take his refusal too seriously, as they had been raised to think it wasn’t a big deal. Then they announced that to celebrate finishing their exams, they had signed up for a seven-day outdoor camping trip, starting the very next day. Mu Lin smiled helplessly and agreed.
The next day, Mu Lin joined them at the college to meet the group. The organizer handed them a small booklet titled “Introduction to Camping Life.” Having spent three years traveling and studying in the wild, Mu Lin was more familiar with camping than anyone else. Now, some people who thought they had basic survival skills but little real outdoor experience were handing out booklets. Mu Lin thought to himself that these people had thicker faces than he did. Without much thought, the three girls signed him and themselves up for the intermediate team (for those with little camping experience). Mu Lin was unhappy but didn’t show it. He later learned their destination was the Grand Canyon, and they would be flying there in the afternoon.
The girls had already prepared everything for the trip. Before boarding the plane, they even bought Mu Lin hiking shoes and a so-called “rainproof pants.” After landing, each team prepared to depart. The organizers informed them that the intermediate team had too few members to form a complete group—the intermediate team consisted only of Mu Lin and the three girls. Although no one at the college recognized Mu Lin, seeing him walking with three beautiful girls, everyone assumed he was just the “younger brother,” so no one dared to team up with them.
The guide looked at their group and suggested randomly assigning them to either the advanced or beginner teams. Neither Mu Lin nor the girls agreed. In the end, they formed their own group of four. However, the guide made them sign a document stating that the organizers had fulfilled their responsibilities and would not be held responsible for any incidents. After signing, they set off.
Each of the three girls carried a large backpack, while Mu Lin was given a small one, clearly treated like the younger brother. Mu Lin was displeased. He casually picked up a large travel pack leaning against the wall. It must have weighed at least fifty pounds. Could the girls really carry such heavy loads? Seeing the serious look on Mu Lin’s face, Fanny kindly offered to help carry part of his load.
Mu Lin politely declined, saying, “Thank you, no.” He opened the pack and noticed it didn’t even have water yet. He grabbed some water bottles and forcibly redistributed some of the items from Sylvia’s and Kerry’s packs into his own. Although Mu Lin had never been to the Grand Canyon, he had his ring and a map, along with three years of travel experience, making him very familiar with the terrain and plant life. The girls thought he must be a botanist. Under his guidance, they often found various berries to supplement their food.
On the third night, perhaps due to a mix of sweat and mud, they suddenly realized they had completely neglected the issue of bathing. Fanny turned on her flashlight and pulled out a barely legible map from her backpack. Despite being protected by plastic wrap, continuous rain had made the map almost unreadable.
After searching for a while, they found a freshwater lake in a nearby valley and immediately decided to solve their problem there. In the next half-hour, they were able to truly connect with nature under the cover of night. They insisted that Mu Lin join them, claiming they were afraid of being alone at night in the wild. Naturally, Mu Lin refused and ended up standing guard again.
The fourth day’s journey was nearly disastrous. Fanny accidentally lost the map; worse, the rain kept getting heavier, washing away the barely visible mountain paths. Many times, they had to crawl on all fours to find their way across the rocks. Night slowly fell, but they still hadn’t reached flat ground. It was extremely dangerous to spend the night on the ridge—if they fell asleep and rolled down the mountain, the consequences would be unimaginable. At this point, the exhausted three girls could barely move any further.
Without hesitation, Mu Lin grabbed the three girls’ backpacks. Pretending to take something from his travel pack, he actually pulled out a bottle of red wine from his ring. He offered it to the girls to warm them up while they rested. He had sensed a strange energy nearby. Using his spiritual awareness, he discovered a small entrance in the rock wall. Inside was a room, and within a hidden chamber of that room, the energy was coming from. He tried to penetrate the barrier but failed. However, he managed to determine that some strange-looking stones were emitting the energy.
He urged the girls to follow him forward. Several times, their legs gave out, and they nearly collapsed. Mu Lin was now carrying two backpacks on his back and holding two more in his hands. Still, they insisted on continuing, not wanting to become a burden to the team and risk their safety.
Mu Lin had no choice but to keep leading them forward to get everyone out of the dangerous area before it got completely dark. When they finally reached a relatively flat valley using their flashlights, the muddy girls collapsed to the ground, completely ignoring the mud on their clothes, and immediately fell asleep.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage