On the first day of official work, Shen Jianian wasn't assigned any tasks, but she wasn't idle either. She repeatedly read the "important notes" Zhu Yilan sent her, almost to the point where she could recite them backwards.
When it was time to leave work, Shen Jianian glanced at the others; some were busy, some were packing up to leave. She didn't need to work overtime, so she naturally clocked out and followed her colleagues out of the office.
While the elevator descended, Shen Jianian could feel the curious gazes from a few colleagues who entered with her.
All day, they would occasionally give her these piercingly curious looks, and she was already accustomed to it.
When they reached the first floor, the elevator doors slowly opened. Shen Jianian tried to ignore them and stepped out.
The phone in her palm vibrated twice, and a new message popped up.
Fu Jichen: "Not coming down yet?"
Shen Jianian's expression was momentarily blank. She couldn't remember when she added this person's WeChat. After reading the message, she glanced across the lobby and saw the black Maybach she rode in the morning parked outside the transparent glass doors.
Fu Jichen was waiting for her in the car?
Realizing this point, Shen Jianian clutched her phone and quickened her pace as she walked out.
Qu Mo saw her walking over from inside the car, ready to get out and help open the door, but unfortunately, he didn't have time. Her movements were swift; in the blink of an eye, she jogged over to the car, just like in the morning, directly going to the passenger seat.
Shen Jianian couldn't open the car door, feeling a bit puzzled, though she didn't think much of it. She applied a bit more force but still couldn't open it.
She naturally didn't know that, at the moment her hand touched the car door handle, Qu Mo had locked it.
The man sitting in the back, resting with closed eyes, opened them and lowered half the window: "Come over."
Shen Jianian realized belatedly that the front car doors were locked. No wonder she couldn't open them no matter how hard she tried. Left with no choice, she moved to the back seat, beside Fu Jichen.
She tried to sit close to the car door, putting some distance between them.
Fu Jichen noticed her subtle movement, snorted internally, and asked in a deep voice, "How's the first day at work, adjusted well?"
"Thank you, Mr. Chen, for your concern. I'm doing well." Shen Jianian's expression was earnest, with the demeanor of a CEO's assistant, firmly remembering and strictly executing the standard professional rules.
Qu Mo, someone who never jokes, was amused by her twice today, once in the morning and once now.
Sure enough, he glimpsed his boss through the rearview mirror, who rubbed his brow and felt speechless about Shen Jianian: "There's no need to call me Mr. Chen in private."
Shen Jianian pressed her lips in silence.
The car started, leaving East Ke Office Building, and a few people inside sneaked out and looked in the direction the CEO's car left, exclaiming.
"Wow, what's the background of that Shen Jianian? Leaving work in the CEO's car? Just like a TV show."
"Who says not, pinch me a bit, let me wake up."
"She has connections with the CEO, no wonder she parachuted into our Secretary's office."
"Do you think... she might be the CEO's canary, kept around for daily viewing? Honestly, her face is so pretty; today, I stole glances many times, beauty I never dared dream of."
The few were members of the Secretary's office, heading for dinner after work together, unexpectedly witnessing this scene, shocked they started the gossip conversation, exchanging intel in the group with other colleagues who didn't witness it.
Someone tagged Zhu Yilan, asking about Shen Jianian.
Zhu Yilan didn't reply.
They could understand; Secretary Zhu was someone favored by the CEO, managing everything large and small orderly, requiring lots of extra energy, not having time to check group messages was indeed normal.
*
The next day, topics concerning Shen Jianian continued to linger in the Secretary's office.
They didn't dare to inquire directly from Shen Jianian, instead taking opportunities to get close to Zhu Yilan, believing she surely knew the details.
Seeing Zhu Yilan heading to the pantry, several implored a colleague who had a good relationship with Zhu Yilan subtly through their eyes. The encouraged person secretly boosted themselves up and followed her steps.
"Secretary Zhu, making coffee?" Yao Qi showed a sweet smile.
Zhu Yilan glanced at her and smiled coldly, wasn't this obvious?
"Say what you want." Zhu Yilan tore open the hanging ear coffee, set it on the cup, and picked up the boiling kettle to pour it in. The rich coffee dripped into the cup through the filter paper, its aroma spreading in the pantry.
"Let us in on something, what's with Shen Jianian and our Mr. Chen, relatives? Lovers?"
Zhu Yilan's hand paused, the spout tilted, and water spilled out, splashing onto the island counter.
She set down the teapot, took a towel to wipe dry the water stains on the countertop, and during this process, her face gradually cooled, her spoken words devoid of any warmth: "If you have time to pry into this, you're all very free, aren't you?"
"No, no, I'll get busy right away."
Seeing she seemed displeased, Yao Qi dared not inquire further, utterly regretting listening to their instigation and, in a fit of heat, coming to pry. She seemed to forget, Zhu Yilan was different from them; she was never one to jest.
After the person left, Zhu Yilan stayed alone in the pantry, picked up the brewed coffee but didn't take a sip, poured it all into the sink, and turned to leave.
"Shen Jianian, come over here." She called coldly.
Shen Jianian didn't dare slack off, immediately pausing her paperwork to head to Zhu Yilan's office.
Today, she wore a professional suit as per dress code, a light blue shirt paired with a white pencil skirt, flesh-colored stockings wrapped around her slender, straight legs, and a pair of five-centimeter high heels on her feet.
The plain shirt was adorned with faintly embroidered bamboo branch patterns, unobtrusive yet elegant, fresh, and refined.
Shen Jianian was beautiful, her face a mix of coolness and allure, with clear, lively eyes, a jade-like nose, and rose-colored lips, with light makeup making her stunningly beautiful, justifying the term "enchanting."
Even professional attire had a fashion effect on her.
It's hard for any woman not to envy such an outstanding face.
Zhu Yilan retracted her scrutinizing gaze, handed her a document, her tone flat and uninflected: "After reviewing, take it to the president for signature."
"Review?" Shen Jianian doubted she misheard.
"Is there a problem?"
Zhu Yilan sat, looking up at the person in front of her desk, invisibly exuding a strong aura.
Shen Jianian took a deep breath; she was new, knowing nothing about auditing, and didn't know how to review. Looking at Zhu Yilan's stern face, she had to swallow her words of refusal and respond, "I'll take a look first."
Zhu Yilan's brows furrowed slightly, dissatisfied with her answer: "The president needs to see this document in half an hour."
"Okay."
Shen Jianian took the document back to her desk, opened it to look at the content, and the dense data swirled before her eyes, giving her a headache.
Since school, math had been her weak subject; during high school, Pei Che taught her math hand-in-hand. Because her mind was slow, often unable to respond, Pei Che was exasperated, ultimately compromising to help her with the homework...
Pei Che, why did she think of Pei Che again?
Shen Jianian tightly pressed her lips, banishing the memory of that person's face and figure from her mind, and focused on checking the data in the document based on her understanding.
Half an hour passed quickly; Shen Jianian found no mistakes and closed the folder to head to the president's office.
*
"Mr. Chen."
Two crisp knocks accompanied by a familiar female voice sounded outside the office. Fu Jichen had just signed a contract, capped the pen, and said in a low voice, "Come in."
Holding the folder against her chest with one hand, Shen Jianian reached out to push open the glass door, composed herself, and looked at the man seated behind the large desk: "Here's a document that needs your signature."
Fu Jichen's dark eyes met hers. His gaze paused slightly on her stockinged calf, then nonchalantly shifted, taking a sip of coffee from the desk, the raised cup rim concealing his increasingly obscure gaze.
This morning, he went out for business half an hour earlier than she did and didn't see her in this outfit.
"Just leave it there." Fu Jichen's voice was somewhat deep, staring at her unwaveringly.
Shen Jianian felt the straight and burning gaze, like a lamb to be slaughtered. Suppressing her discomfort, she slightly leaned forward to place the folder on the table in front of him.
Fu Jichen opened the folder, skimming through quickly, pausing at a particular data on the last page, his eyes narrowed, his voice emotionless: "You reviewed this document?"
The man's deep, dark eyes lifted, chilling, causing a jolt in Shen Jianian's heart; she suspected she'd made an error.
She didn't intend to shirk responsibility and acknowledged, "Yes." Hesitant, she added, "Is there a problem?"
Fu Jichen's long, fair fingers interlocked on the document, glanced at Shen Jianian's slightly nervous face, and concisely said, "You can go back and tell Zhu Yilan to come over."
He couldn't believe Zhu Yilan hadn't noticed such an error. Her mind must have been muddled, daring to play such a trick in front of him.