Katherine was still in a daze after leaving the apartment with Lynch. She had originally planned to intern at a local media company in Kurland. One of her female classmates had parents working in middle management there.

Thanks to this well-connected friend, she could easily get an intern position. After three months and a good evaluation, she would return to the library to continue her studies.

That was the life Katherine had mapped out for herself: three months to secure a positive review, then the rest of the year to keep enriching herself.

She had never once considered the possibility of interning at the Presidential Office. God above—she hadn’t even dreamed of such a thing!

Looking at Lynch holding her hand, a wave of sadness suddenly welled up in her. The gap between them was growing so wide that she could barely see him anymore.

Three years ago, when they were still living in that shabby rental, their dreams had been simple: owning a place of their own, being able to raise kids, and having stable jobs for both of them.

And now? She was about to intern at the Presidential Office—with a recommendation letter personally written by Lynch.

Even though he was holding her hand, it felt oddly unreal to Katherine, as if she could drift away from him at any moment—or be left behind.

She tightened her grip on his hand, needing that physical contact to reassure herself that she wouldn’t get lost.

Lynch glanced at her, squeezed her hand back, and smiled.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s easy.”

Idiot, Katherine thought—but she smiled too. At least he had held her hand back. She took a deep breath. She would keep up with him.

First, they went to a bookstore. As Lynch put it, interning at the Presidential Office didn’t require knowing how to run a country, but you had to at least know how many states were in the federation, what cities each state had, who the governors were, who the speakers of the state legislatures were.

This sort of geographical knowledge was one of the most commonly asked-about topics in the Presidential Office. When the media exposed some minor scandal, the first reaction from the president or their staff wasn’t What should I do? or How do I explain this?

It was Where the hell is this news from?

The Federation was small—only seventeen states—but also large, with two to three hundred cities. No one could keep track of all of them, which was why they needed secretaries and interns.

Hey, who’s the mayor of so-and-so city in such-and-such state? This kind of question came up constantly. The professionals handled the serious business; interns just needed to field these.

Lynch picked out books related to the administrative divisions of the federation—details on each state and its cities, and also books on federal geography.

For example, where the six great lakes were located, the five major national parks, how many volcanoes existed—these things could also come up randomly in conversation.

While browsing the shelves, Katherine unexpectedly ran into two schoolmates—a guy and a girl. Judging by their vibe, they were definitely dating.

“Hey, Katherine!” A blonde girl waved. She wore a cropped pink T-shirt and tight jeans—bubbly and youthful.

Lynch suspected she was hiding something under her shirt. It looked… too full.

Beside her was a tall guy with messy, slightly long hair, a tank top, and a loose open shirt.

Because of his hair, it was hard to see his face. Guys like him at this age always thought they were edgy or trendsetting, but most of the time it was just suppressed vanity.

“Hi, Jane…” Katherine waved back. A few others in the store glanced at the girls but didn’t seem annoyed.

Pretty girls always had privileges.

“Wow, is that your boyfriend?” Jane’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lynch. “You never mentioned him… wait, he looks kind of familiar!”

Not everyone followed the news—especially not teenagers from comfortable families, whose hormones were running wild.

Early twenties. Peak of it.

So it made sense she didn’t recognize Lynch—she just had the feeling she’d seen him somewhere.

After a moment of blanking, she held out her hand. “You’re really handsome. Your girlfriend’s been hiding you well. I’m Jane.”

Lynch shook her hand once, then again—vigorously. “Lynch.”

The guy next to her looked annoyed. Clearly, Lynch’s double shake triggered something—after all, that was his girlfriend, and he wasn’t into that sort of thing.

But when Lynch said his name, the boy froze.

Unlike girls who often focused on fashion magazines and pop culture, boys occasionally paid attention to major figures—not because they were studious, but because they wanted to compare themselves and figure out why they weren’t there yet.

Jane seemed used to Lynch’s strange antics and didn’t mind. She laughed and said to Katherine, “Your boyfriend’s not a good guy.”

Katherine beamed. “He’s always been like this.”

Exactly. He wasn’t a quarterback, but even the cheerleaders threw themselves at him—so much so that the real quarterbacks started questioning whether they were even playing the right game.

Lynch’s mischief was constant. He didn’t mean to embarrass people or mess with them. It was just… innocence. naïvety.

When Lynch reached out to shake the guy’s hand, the boy got visibly nervous.

He wiped his hand on his clothes to get rid of the sweat before extending it. “Mr. Lynch, I’m Kevin.”

“Kevin, nice to meet you.”

Kevin’s tone and demeanor were a little… off. Almost too humble. It was hard to describe, but it felt like he was being submissive for no reason.

Jane, who hadn’t been bothered by Lynch’s teasing before, now looked annoyed. Her boyfriend was acting like a coward, and it embarrassed her.

She nudged him with her elbow. He shot her a look, then pulled his hand back—but still seemed flustered.

Lynch realized the boy had recognized him. Smiling, he said, “Looks like you two are on a date. So are we, so we’ll…”

Jane quickly smiled and waved them off. As she watched Lynch and Katherine head to the checkout, she muttered with irritation, “You were such a disappointment.”

“Disappointment?” Kevin snapped out of it. “God, you seriously haven’t figured out who he is yet?”

Jane paused, a realization dawning. “Who… is he?”

“Lynch, the youngest billionaire. My God, do you never watch the news?” the boy said, suddenly remembering something. “What’s your relationship with Katherine?”

The girl curled her lip. “So-so. She’s kind of antisocial.”

Antisocial—didn’t join sororities, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t sleep around, didn’t strip down and surf on the lawn.

Girls like her—goody two-shoes—weren’t exactly welcomed by the rest. They preferred people who could party, not some bookworm.

Still, even though their relationship wasn’t close, they could talk.

The boy sighed. “If you two were on better terms, maybe we could’ve asked Mr. Lynch for a recommendation letter…” He glanced at his girlfriend. “But I guess that’s out of the question.”

It was just a small interlude. After buying the books, the two wandered around. Lynch also bought Katherine a new set of clothes for the season.

The clothes were a bit plain, not flashy—but that was exactly what she needed.

Interning at the Presidential Office wasn’t easy. The dress code was strict. Plenty of people hoped to use that kind of workplace to climb the ladder, so the standards for female staff were especially stringent—stricter than in high school or college.

Various feminist groups had protested this, claiming the federal government’s dress requirements for female officials were discriminatory. But protests were just protests—nothing had changed.

With their shopping done, they saw a movie and had a big dinner before returning to the apartment.

The building had a new manager—the previous young guy had mysteriously quit. The management company had to scramble to send someone else.

When Lynch and Katherine returned, the company’s manager was explaining to the new admin some key things to watch for.

It was a sweltering summer night—after getting home, of course, they needed to shower. And there was only one bed in the apartment…

Sometimes, things are just funny like that. Even after time apart, the feeling of being so familiar—like facing yourself—was still the same.

Nothing more needed to be said about that night.

Lynch stayed for several more days, mainly to help Katherine prepare for what was coming. Though in truth, even without preparation, she would’ve been fine.

As a die-hard Presidentialist, anyone Lynch recommended wouldn’t be dismissed—even if they made mistakes.

Still, being prepared was always better. Opportunities only favored those who were ready.

Meanwhile, some old rumors began circulating among the student crowd again—namely, about Katherine’s boyfriend.

It wasn’t a new topic. There had been talk before—people had seen Lynch and Katherine together, but then Lynch disappeared for a long time.

The day after Lynch left, one of Katherine’s closer friends came to visit her.

She just wanted to tell her best friend—this time, she had to stay strong and not let that bastard Lynch trick her again.