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To be honest, Noland was extremely familiar with Jin Shiya’s smile, her restraint, her seriousness, and her composure...

She was always living behind a mask, allowing herself to be wrapped in layer upon layer of constraints, making her seem incredibly insincere.

This was how he had lived at 25—his sharpness and intensity were carefully hidden away.

Noland and Jin Shiya were essentially the same person. If Jin Shiya were to shed all her masks and constraints, letting herself be wild and untamed, she would become the version of Noland today.

Noland could be considered Jin Shiya 2.0. 

If the later events hadn't happened and they waited another thirty years, maybe Jin Shiya would have ended up just like Noland is now.

At her core, Jin Shiya was no different from Noland. If the conditions were right, she too would be sharp, mean, and selfish. The events that unfolded later peeled away her mask, revealing her true nature. In the end, she watched as her childhood crush drifted farther and farther away, making it impossible for them to end up together.

Now, Noland was just an evolved version of Jin Shiya, with a unique sense of superiority and an unimaginable background.

The things that Jin Shiya couldn’t do in the past were now effortless for Noland.

He preferred seeing the real Jin Shiya, the one without any pretenses, rather than the cautious, serious version of her.

So when Jin Shiya nearly slammed her hand on the table to refute him, Noland genuinely felt happy.

The true Jin Shiya—the one her childhood crush had once despised and criticized—was the most authentic version of her, just like Noland now. She was hiding behind her kind and good-looking mask for other people.

So, no one could ever dislike her.

But even if she was stupid, clumsy, and naïve, that was still her. The version of herself that now stood before him, confrontational and unmasked, was her immature self.

So Noland not only smiled but even laughed aloud.

Jin Shiya’s arrogance, her stubbornness, her sharp tongue—everything the man once scorned—were all thorns in her that she had tried so hard to smooth out in order to be the perfect woman in his eyes, but failed.

She had repressed herself so much, wearing such a false mask, living so seriously it made one feel pity.

But in those years, no one pitied her.

Noland was willing to help her. He didn’t want Jin Shiya to walk the same path he had. He didn’t want her to become a woman everyone despised.

He couldn’t bear the thought of Jin Shiya’s eventual fate, so he was willing to give her a new future—a future he would protect for her.

She could do anything she wanted, follow her dreams, and pursue her desires. She could be arrogant, stubborn, and sharp-tongued. No one would dare question her decisions in front of Noland.

Noland’s goal when coming to Shuangcheng was to change Jin Shiya’s future, to help her achieve everything she desired.

In simple terms: Spoil her. 

What else could he do?

So, when Jin Shiya asked him that question, Noland smiled before responding: “I really like your personality, just like Wendy’s. So, why don’t you become my apprentice?”

Jin Shiya, along with Sherman, froze.

Noland continued, “I’ll teach you business skills, and my resources will be open to you. You want to grow RM, right? This is the best opportunity you’ll ever get in your life—will you seize it?”

Jin Shiya blushed deeply, and after a brief pause, she shouted loudly, “Yes!”

As for the talk about Wendy and teachers, it was all overshadowed by the two words: resources.

And so, Sherman didn’t even get to see Jin Shiya’s flushed face as he stood there, his own face frozen, like a pot bottom.