Chapter 93 Nephew-Con Joins Your Harem!

Chapter 93 Nephew-Con Joins Your Harem!

It is currently Friday afternoon, and the afternoon classes are finally nearing their ends. Zoe is driving me to the university to drop me off before she circles back to pick up Nichole and Nadia. I am chilling in the backseat with Mei right at my side, her eyes tracking my hands as I rustle through my briefcase.

"So you will be showing your Beta of Harem-Chat to Miss Long tonight? Do you expect this business to be big?"

My laptop is still packed away inside my briefcase, but I keep my focus entirely on the physical legal documents that Victoria will need to look over before signing me on as a silent business partner.

"Actually, no," I reply, adjusting the papers. "I expect it to not do well the first year or two. New products like this take time to become popular. Plus as good as I might be, there will probably be bugs. So it will take a bit of time to smooth out the wrinkles."

Mei lets out a soft sigh, her bottom lip shifting into a visible pout as she looks down at the folders. "If you want to run a business empire, I can't really help you though?"

I look at her expression and find her total lack of business skill actually charming. I have always thought Mei could handle absolutely any challenge in the world, but now it turns out she completely sucks with things like stocks and complicated tax codes. Seeing her frustration over not understanding the material makes her usual mature woman facade completely crumble right in front of me.

"Mei, everyone admires the maid that pours coffee for the boss," I tease, leaning closer. "Plus look at Hana, she loves racing and the racing scene. But honestly her driving skill won't ever improve, but does she stop doing it? No, she keeps her interest and studies. If you want to learn to be a business secretary or something, can I teach you, young lady?"

Mei's face twitches the exact millisecond she hears me call her young lady. She is so thoroughly used to always calling me young man or kid that reversing the roles leaves her deeply conflicted. She stares at my smug smile, clearly caught between a genuine desire to learn how to be more useful in a corporate setting versus her immediate suspicion of my ultimate motives. She tracks my expression, remembers my specific maid fetish, and gives her head a firm shake.

"No Master~," she says, puffing out her chest defensively. "If I became your secretary you would get a maid I don't trust, so I will just keep my role."

"Really? You gave up too easily."

Mei glances down at her wrist, checking the time to keep us on schedule. "Master Tang, it is time for your appointment with Miss Long, so don't keep her waiting."

She exits the back of the limo first and holds the heavy door open, her charming eyes watching my movements as I slide out. The moment my feet hit the university pavement, she steps in close to adjust my dark blue suit jacket, gently patting down the fabric and brushing away a stray speck of lint. It is a highly affectionate display meant entirely to show off for the crowd of students watching us on the walkway.

"Now that I know there is a waiting room for me outside Miss Long's apartment, and I have permission to go there," she whispers with a playful glint in her eye, "I will text and then relax in it, so take your time Master~!"

"Sure thing Mei, see you later then, and try to rest. I don't want you to overwork."

Mei lets go of the corporate mask and smiles warmly for real as she sees me off, climbing back into the luxury interior of the limo to wait for my twins.

I end up running a bit late to meet Victoria because my phone rang right as I crossed the courtyard. It was a call from Linda about tomorrow, demanding some last minute decisions regarding invitations for various family guests. Honestly, I could not help her much since I barely know any of the local nobility, but I am sure she was just riding a wave of excitement and wanted me to feel completely involved. She is incredibly adorable in her own cold, detached way.

In this world compared to my last life, an engagement party is the exact functional equivalent to the massive reception one throws after a wedding.

Only the immediate family and closest friends actually bother to show up at the Life Statistics offices for the legal paperwork, meaning tomorrow's party is the real celebration.

I cut through the campus halls and step into the almost empty classroom, instantly spotting a tall man standing near the front. He is wearing a tailored black business suit, looking incredibly suave and elegant with a pair of perfectly styled glasses. A single glance at his soft hands and stiff posture tells me everything I need to know. The guy either has absolutely zero fighting ability, or he is operating on a level way higher than a grandmaster.

Victoria is sitting squarely behind her main desk, while the charming stranger sits right at the far corner of the wood, keeping just enough distance to avoid looking completely creepy. Okay, I hate to admit it, but this guy is my polar opposite. He does not look athletic or capable of handling himself in a street brawl, but his neat black hair and sharp blue eyes match my own coloring, except he looks stupidly more handsome. It just goes to show that everyone has balancing features in this world. It is like we all start with a fifty point buy potential for our appearances and natural gifts, and this guy poured every single point straight into his charm.

Victoria is stuck in her rigid business mode, projecting her usual completely uninterested persona to the room. The moment her eyes land on me walking through the door, I can see the silent plea of a woman begging for a lifeline. I immediately activate my Acting skill, throwing up my Master Tang impression to radiate the aura of a true high ranking noble.

"Teacher Long, sorry I am late for our appointment, the traffic was a mess out there."

Vicky notices the sudden shift in my air right away. Figuring out that I guessed her plight, she drops the cold mask and smiles back at me with genuine warmth.

"You're always early, so one time is not a problem Mr Tang," she says, gesturing toward the guy beside her. "Oh this is Chuck Ben, he is a business contributor with the Long family and my corporation. He is the owner and operator of the Long Island Resort and Casino off the coast. They have a few cruise ships that also base out of Star City. Ben, this is Rick Tang."

I extend my right hand out to keep up a cordial, polite front. Chuck looks completely speechless as he processes the introduction. Seeing a member of the Tang family acting on such friendly terms with a Long goes entirely against the social script, especially since our households are supposed to be trading hostile barbs.

The Ben family is one of the four vassal factions serving directly under the Longs, making them the exact equivalent to what the Song family is in relationship to the Tangs. He takes my hand, skipping any childish macho squeeze test, and breaks the grip quickly because he knows we stand on completely opposite sides of the fence.

"This is the first time I think we have met Mr Tang," Chuck says, sizing me up through his glasses. "What branch are you with?"

"The main branch, I am Anthony Tang's nephew."

I used to absolutely hate how the nobility threw their family titles around like currency, but now that I am the one using it to completely shut a guy down, I have to admit it feels pretty nice. He stands there totally speechless, clearly out of the loop regarding the recent power shifts in my family, before Victoria quickly cuts into the silence to dismiss him.

"Well Mr Ben, make an appointment with my secretary for another time," Victoria interrupts smoothly, leaning back in her chair. "I have a prior engagement with Mr Tang, so..."

I glance down at the heavy bundle of flora resting in his arm, pointing a finger at them with a mock friendly chuckle. "Sorry if I interrupted your love confession Mr Ben, I hate it when people stumble in on a well timed proposal, ha-ha."

Chuck and Victoria both freeze, staring down at the dozen red roses. Normally a delivery like this would pass without comment since he brings them constantly and she simply ignores them, but my joke instantly makes the entire atmosphere incredibly awkward. I honestly did not mean to cause a massive scene, mostly because how the fuck did I know this guy did this on a regular basis?

"Don't forget Victoria," Chuck says, clearing his throat and trying to salvage his dignity, "the new ship will set out for the island at the end of November till the start of December. So as an important member of the celebration, you have to come for the vacation cruise. If you don't, customers won't have faith in our product, right? Also the ship is named after you... The Victoria!"

Oh, fuck. My lips are twitching instantly and she catches me looking. Damn, this guy is laying it on way thicker than Alex ever did.

"That is a good business point," Victoria says with a flat, clinical smile, "so I will look at my schedule to see if I can fit it in or not. My secretary will contact you."

Chuck slides his weight off the edge of the desk, adjusting his suit jacket as he addresses her before turning a stiff nod toward me. "I will make sure you get the finest rooms on the ship and island, see you later Vicky, and goodbye Mr Tang."

He turns on his heel and glides smoothly out of the classroom, letting the heavy door click shut behind him.

Thunk. I hear the sharp sound of her trashcan and turn my head just in time to see the roses sitting face down in the bin. She has a look on her face like the flowers are completely contaminated with toxic waste, so I reach into my pocket and pull out a couple of sanitary wipes as a joke. Plus, I just shook that dude's sweaty palms, ew.

"That was unfair to the pretty roses, I think?" I say, offering her a wipe.

"I have no interest in that man," Victoria sighs, rubbing her temples. "So looking at them reminds me of the endless pursuers I have. He and Alex are not the only men after me, sigh."

I can only imagine how exhausting it must be to constantly fend off a barrage of wealthy suitors, all of them desperate to secure a piece of the massive Long family fortune while simultaneously trying to claim one of the sexiest wives one could want, coincidentally also under them.

"Rick, why are you grinning?" she asks, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Do you find my situation funny?"

"A bit, if it is harmless."

Victoria shakes her head, her shoulders dropping slightly as the rigid business posture fades into genuine exhaustion. "I cant even drink alcohol around men not trusting them. I constantly have to be alert when coming and going to my car. Sometimes it can be scary."

My grin vanishes completely, and I look at her in genuine surprise. "But you're filthy rich and a main branch member, why would you not have security?!"

"I do," Victoria replies, her voice dropping into a softer, more vulnerable register. "But not on university grounds. They follow me the exact moment I leave the property, but as you can see, some men have figured out they can bypass my entire guard detail just by tracking me down to my classroom or office. The school board simply won't hire an instructor who requires personal maids or armored guards patrolling the campus paths. So..."

I stare at her, a sudden wave of self-realization hitting me right in the chest. I am an absolute idiot. That is the exact reason Zoe and Mei never push the issue or follow me directly into the lecture halls.

"Sorry," I say, leaning against the edge of her desk to match her level. "When I was teasing you earlier, I completely overlooked that angle. Tell you what, I will track down that Chuck guy's official profile and dump him straight onto your active alert list. Better yet, give me the names of every single one of your persistent pursuers and I will build a dedicated notification loop for them."

Victoria blinks, her expression softening into something genuinely touched. Seeing me actively going out of my way to set up a protective feature just for her, she lets a playful, teasing glint slip into her purple eyes.

"Then you had better put your own name at the very top of that list," she chuckles.

"Huh?" I blink, leaning back a fraction. "Why? I am not exactly pursuing you though?"

She smiles, her gaze lingering on my face as if she is thoroughly enjoying uncovering these little pieces of my personality. "Because if I ever find myself in actual trouble, I want to know I can call your personal number for a timely rescue."

An unexpected realization sparks through my brain. That is actually an incredible feature to bake directly into the software design, a friendly proximity override alert.

"In that case," I grin, tapping my smartphone screen to demonstrate the mechanic. "I will set my specific user profile to vibration mode on your device. That way you won't even need to look down at your screen to know I am responding."

"Rick, thank you," Victoria whispers, a visible weight lifting from her shoulders. "I really do feel so much better knowing you are actively watching out for me."

Fortunately, the actual business material we need to cover for the contract is on the light side, taking us less than an hour to finalize the initial paperwork. The sun is still hanging low in the sky, casting long shadows across the concrete, when we finally pack up our briefcases and drive over to the Velvet Tower.

The moment the elevator doors slide open at our destination, that bastard Benz is standing right there in the lobby, instantly plastering a massive, knowing grin across his face.

"Boss, welcome home!" Benz says, bowing slightly before casting a loaded look in my direction. "Will you and Mr Tang be heading straight up to the fortieth floor tonight?"

"Later," Victoria answers smoothly, stepping past him without breaking her stride. "But for now, take us to the thirty-ninth for some technical business."

Benz reaches over to slap the glowing button, shooting me a blatant, heavy wink from behind her back. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. She literally said the word business out loud, which means this absolute degenerate automatically assumes the fortieth floor is reserved entirely for absolute pleasure. The steel doors slide shut right in front of my face, cutting off his smug expression.

A little while later, I find myself completely sandwiched between two stunning women who are pressing entirely too close against my ribs while I walk them through the active mobile application.

As the absolute highest ranking computer manager for the Victoria Long Tech Department, Lucy Shen is currently tearing through the program line by line to evaluate the hidden backend functions. Victoria only possesses a basic level of computer use, so Lucy is essentially acting as her primary technical advocate here. Beyond that, Lucy will be the actual engineer responsible for deploying the architecture onto the corporation's massive servers to house the central database and manage the customer files.

She leans heavily against my right shoulder, her perfume filling my nose as she points at the code structure to grill me about the subprograms. It does not take her long to stumble right into my hidden tracking files, forcing me to quickly explain why keeping those protocols active is absolutely vital for cooperating with law enforcement if any major crimes get committed through our network.

She does not manage to catch every single one of my deep spy programs, but she successfully uncovers at least half of them, proving to me that her own Computer Use skill is operating at a legitimate Master level.

Victoria is definitely not spacing out while we talk, either. She keeps her eyes glued to the display, trying her absolute best to pick up on the advanced concepts despite lacking the requisite technical training. Her intense focus makes her lean in close, and she distracts me completely because every few seconds I can feel the soft curve of her body shifting right against my side.

Lucy catches me looking and flashes a wicked, knowing grin.

"Alright," Lucy chirps, opening her own device with an amused giggle. "Now the three of us will officially generate the first pilot accounts to lock in our permanent usernames. Let's open up our respective screens right now, ufufu."

Because the legal system of this world dictates that only a single male can function as the absolute center of a household structure, only men are permitted to initiate a core registry, meaning a guy can never be retroactively pulled into an outside user group later down the line.

"Okay, so I just created the Master Account under my usual user handle of Harem-Fan," I explain, tapping the screen to broadcast the invites. "Now I can officially send a request to add the two of you as active members within my specific group. Because you don't have administrative access, you won't be able to just jump into another guy's chat channel without completely deleting your profile here first. There is a built in one month cooldown period for transfers just in case a woman goes through a divorce or her husband passes away. Forcing them to stay locked into the group for thirty days prevents people from exploiting the software as a cheap, temporary dating site."

A twin pair of system popups flash across my screen almost immediately.

[ Velvet-Fan wants to join your Harem... Yes/No ]

[ Nephew-Con wants to join your Harem... Yes/No ]

I stare down at the display, processing the two user handles they just typed out. Victoria's logic makes perfect sense, since she simply took the fan portion of my handle and attached her signature tower theme to the front of it. It is a classy, solid choice. But Nephew-Con?

I look up to find a heavy glint of pure playfulness dancing in Lucy's eyes, her expression practically daring me to open my mouth and ask why she picked that specific title. I wisely choose to ignore the bait, hitting the accept button for both women so we can keep moving through the interface tests.

"Well, that is the exact onboarding sequence every new client will see," I say, trying to steer the topic back to safety. "Is the explicit prompt to join a harem a little bit too over the top? Should I tweak the language to say join your group instead?"

Both women instantly flash identical, amused smiles, shaking their heads in unison.

"This is an official Harem-Chat utility," Victoria notes, her professional instincts kicking right back in. "Trying to hide the actual nature of the product behind corporate jargon would just be terrible business."

"Besides," Lucy adds, leaning in to whisper near my ear, "I think it feels incredibly naughty to officially join a younger man's private circle, ufufu."

I just shake my head at this absolute child of a grown woman, ignoring her antics to walk them through the commercial features. I pull up a dummy voucher for a fictional business to demonstrate exactly how a member can download and redeem corporate perks on the fly.

Ding. A bright notification banner drops down across my interface. Lucy has officially posted the very first message in the history of the application, and a quick glance tells me my corporate journey is going to be an absolute disaster.

[ Nephew-Con: Harem dear, don't tell my husband I am in your Harem big boy, LMAO! :P ]

Victoria shoots her department manager a look of pure worry, but the sheer absurdity of the text wall breaks her discipline, and she decides to join right in on the chaos.

[ Velvet-Fan: A Long and a Tang in the same Harem, we have made history! ]

[ Harem-Fan: I am getting divorced! ]

For the next hour, the three of us sit around like a bunch of hyperactive school kids, passing jokes back and forth through the portal. The rapid fire exchange proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that a modern household structure can drastically benefit from having a secure, instant line of open communication.

Sitting there at the desk, I have absolutely no inkling that this single mobile application will eventually spawn an entire generation of copycat platforms. Long after my time in this world ends and the system inevitably drags me toward a completely different Earth, history books will record that this specific software launch triggered the lowest family separation rates ever documented in human history.

As our hour long testing session winds to a close, Lucy packs her device away, looking at me with genuine professional respect.

"You did an absolutely incredible job building this architecture from scratch," Lucy says, smoothing down her skirt. "Honestly, I doubt I am going to find any major vulnerabilities in the source code. I should have the private pipeline completely stabilized for a limited public launch in about two weeks. Boss, you can go ahead and start pitching the software strategy to the executive board whenever you like so they can run some internal tests of their own."

Before she turns to walk out the door, Lucy suddenly lunges forward, wrapping her arms around my neck to plant a massive hug and a wet kiss right against my cheek.

"Now make sure you don't go kicking me out of the circle," she jokes, giving me a final playful wink from the threshold. "Or I will be forced to tell my husband all about your secret activities, ufufu!"

The door clicks shut behind her, leaving a stunned silence in the room. I turn my head slowly toward Victoria.

"She is a complete weirdo," I mutter, rubbing my cheek.

"Actually, she is normally incredibly quiet," Victoria laughs, walking over to close her briefcase. "She just gets bizarrely excited whenever she is around you. I think your entire energy must trigger some kind of deeply buried big sister instinct in her."

With the technical meeting wrapped up, Victoria and I quickly clear the table and catch the elevator straight up to the fortieth floor for dinner.

A short while later, I am standing in the kitchen area, tossing fresh ingredients into a hot pan to cook our meal. Victoria has already slipped away to wash off the stress of the school day, emerging from the bathroom freshly showered and wearing a comfortable robe. She heads straight for the counter to mix up her company's absolute signature cocktail, an item that is ironically named after the exact island resort Chuck was bragging about earlier.

I watch her hands work over the glass, completely amazed as she pours a heavy blend of several entirely different clear spirits, throws in a splash of sweet and sour mix, and tops the whole thing off with a dark stream of cola over a mountain of crushed ice.

"This is actually the official signature drink for my entire Velvet Lounge franchise," Victoria explains, sliding the massive cups across the marble. "We serve it across all of our high end restaurants, including the main BBQ House. It is called a Long Island Iced Tea."

I look down at the bubbling, dark liquid, scratching the back of my neck in confusion. "Vicky, um, where exactly is the actual tea?"

We carry our plates over to the dining table, sitting down to dig into the hot grilled sandwiches I just finished preparing. She passes me my glass, her expression turning completely serious as she delivers a firm warning.

"Rick, you need to be incredibly careful when you start drinking this," she says, taking a small sip of her own. "I absolutely love the flavor, but it is highly dangerous if you aren't paying attention to your pace. As for the tea? Take a proper gulp and you will find it soon enough."

I shrug, lifting the heavy glass to my mouth to take a solid swallow. Holy shit.

"Holy cow!" I blurt out, staring at the condensation on the glass in absolute shock. "I can't even believe this thing has alcohol in it! It doesn't have a single bit of that sharp burn I usually get when I drink straight whisky. This literally just tastes exactly like a glass of sweet Southern tea. I love it."

Thank God I had the foresight to actually cook some food before diving into these drinks, because trying to down one of these things on an empty stomach would have had me blacking out on the floor within twenty minutes. Even with the sandwich coating my stomach, it doesn't take long for a heavy, warm buzz to wash over my limbs. The entire room starts to feel incredibly cozy, and I can't seem to wipe a stupid, relaxed grin off my face.

Victoria notices my goofy expression, leaning back against her chair with a soft laugh. "Rick, I actually managed to grab a copy of a brand new movie before it even hits the commercial shelves. Want to watch it with me? It is called The Princess Bride."

A phenomenal movie, a fantastic buzz, and an absolutely gorgeous woman sitting right beside me.

"Let's watch it," I smile, leaning back into the couch.