For the better part of the afternoon, Ju Li and Zhang Beibei were constantly being sent on errands, printing documents and delivering them to the chairman’s desk, organising spreadsheets and handing them over to the chairman. Although none of these tasks was assigned directly by Zhong Liyan, every little chore was closely tied to him.
Ju Li was finally beginning to understand that being the chairman’s secretary basically meant handling anything and everything related to the chairman.
For now, it wasn’t too bad. She and Zhang Beibei were just rookies, so they weren’t given anything too complex.
But once they grew into the role… just how much work would they have to handle?
While the two secretaries were running themselves ragged, the chairman’s office was even busier.
Ju Li couldn’t help but marvel at how one person could have so much energy. Didn’t he never get tired?
In less than two hours, over six different department managers had come to report their work and seek the chairman’s decisions.
Somehow, Zhong Liyan always managed to make quick, decisive calls after each discussion, which left Ju Li in awe.
However, those two hours were anything but peaceful.
Anyone who came to report to Boss Zhong either left in tears, got into an argument, or ended up with a faceful of thrown documents.
At one point, the Director of Publicity for the film division was scolded so fiercely that half the office could hear it.
That elite director, an imposing man of 1.8 meters, walked out of the chairman’s office with a flushed face, looking like a rooster that had just lost a fight.
Having witnessed all this firsthand, Ju Li and Zhang Beibei handled their errands with extra caution. The last thing they wanted was to make a mistake and end up humiliated by the chairman.
At that moment, Qiao Baitong, the head of the PR department, was in the office with his subordinates, discussing an upcoming official meeting that the chairman had to attend.
Zhanyun was an entertainment company, and both its film and gaming divisions required approval from various regulatory bodies.
The PR department was responsible for maintaining relationships with these agencies and key stakeholders.
The upcoming meeting was organised by a high-ranking leader in Yanjing City and was of utmost importance. Every statement made during the meeting had to be carefully considered.
A single misstep in the chairman’s speech could offend the wrong person, leading to endless red tape for future projects, potentially causing huge losses to the company’s film division.
As Ju Li secretly listened in on the conversation, she suddenly heard Zhong Liyan’s voice, cold and sharp. Startled, she shrank back instinctively.
Turning her head slightly, she saw the chairman, dressed in black with an icy expression, slamming a few pages onto the table.
“What the hell is this?” he snapped. “You’re seriously giving me this crap? Did any of you even read it before bringing it to me?”
Qiao Baitong, the vice-president of public relations and a man nearing fifty, had streaks of white at his temples.
Facing his boss, nearly twenty years his junior, he struggled to keep his composure, his face twitching slightly before he finally spoke.
“I wrote it myself.”
“And this is the attitude you want to present to government officials? Acting like a bunch of bootlickers? I run an upright business, creating legitimate content; why should we grovel like servants?” Zhong Liyan’s voice, though controlled, radiated fury.
Qiao Baitong averted his eyes, his face shifting between shades of pale and blue.
“We’re a major company, yet our PR strategy is as submissive as a eunuch’s. We work our asses off to create content, isn’t the goal to establish ourselves with dignity? Even if we have to be respectful in front of government officials, we should at least carry ourselves like ministers, not lackeys.”
Zhong Liyan clenched his jaw, then strode toward the floor-to-ceiling window, turning his back to the PR team.
“Rewrite it.”
“…Understood.” Qiao Baitong gripped the rejected speech, took several deep breaths to suppress his frustration and finally nodded.
But inside, he was fuming.
Of course, the product team could afford to stand tall, but PR? If they failed to appease certain officials, projects would get stuck in bureaucracy and, in the end, he would be the one taking the fall.
You want me to act like a dignified minister?
Every company in the country bows and scrapes before the authorities. What makes us any different?
A wave of indignation surged in Qiao Baitong’s chest. He wanted to argue, to push back.
But then he remembered his boss’s explosive temper.
He could only blame himself for not thinking it through. This time, it wasn’t the PR team, who were used to playing the role of ‘eunuchs’, giving the speech at the meeting; it was Zhong Liyan himself speaking.
Since Zhong Liyan had to read the speech himself, if the tone was too submissive, the boss would naturally be displeased.
Qiao Baitong’s face darkened as he stood up and walked out, like an old ox burdened with a mountain on its back.
Before he even reached the door, Zhong Liyan added, “Have everyone in PR write a version of the speech. Bring them to me in half an hour. Oh, and tell Zhu Jingyi, those two secretaries at the front should write one too.”
Speechwriting for the chairman was often a task handled by the secretarial team. Even when PR drafted the speech, the secretaries were responsible for refining it.
Outside, Ju Li, who had been eavesdropping, nearly choked on air.
What?! Even I have to write one?!
Eyes wide, face drained of colour, she almost passed out from sheer panic.
Hearing Qiao Baitong exit, she quickly bent over her desk, pretending to be busy.
Oh god, they’re seriously making a newbie like me write something that even the PR veterans are struggling with?!
I’m just a baby!
Qiao Baitong stormed past like a dark gust of wind.
Ju Li and Zhang Beibei exchanged glances, both filled with sheer terror.
Clearly, Zhang Beibei had also been eavesdropping.
Was secretly listening in on the chairman’s scoldings part of a secretary’s daily routine?
Sure enough, within five minutes, their senior, Zhu Jingyi, tagged them in the administrative group chat:
[Draft a speech from the chairman’s perspective. Summarise the company’s progress and report the challenges faced in operations.]
Ju Li looked at the list of requirements that her senior had sent in the group chat. She recognised every word, but together, they seemed incomprehensible.
As a fresh graduate, she had barely attended a few company meetings, let alone a high-level conference organised by top leaders in Yanjing. She had no clue what to expect.
Write?
Write what?
This wasn’t some elementary school essay…
Just as she was feeling stuck, her phone suddenly vibrated on the desk.
She picked it up and saw a familiar, simplistic dialogue box pop up:
Task [The Chairman’s Dignity Speech] has been triggered.
- Task Description: Write a speech for the high-level conference that satisfies the chairman.
- Time Limit: 30 minutes.
- Task Rewards: A shabby official position and a heartwarming, sweet drink.
Would the low-level errand secretary, Ju Li, like to accept?
[Yes] [No]
Low. Level. Errand. Secretary…
Damn it!
What an impolite system!
Wait… A ‘shabby’ official position?
Could it mean… a direct promotion?
Ju Li’s heart skipped a beat. Normally, new hires had a six-month probation period, during which they could be dismissed at any time if deemed unfit.
But becoming a full-time employee was different; it meant job security, severance compensation if dismissed and access to all company benefits.
Excited by the possibility, Ju Li’s hands trembled as she pressed [Accept].
As soon as the task status changed to [Accepted], a countdown appeared in the corner of the interface: 30:00.
A timer for 30 minutes.
She stared at her phone, still processing everything, when the numbers silently shifted to 29:59.
Uh-oh…
Ju Li immediately felt the pressure mounting and anxiously scratched her head.
Her senior must have taken pity on them, as he had managed to retrieve the speech draft that the chairman had rejected earlier and emailed it to both her and Zhang Beibei.
Ju Li quickly opened the document to grasp the topic and structure of the speech.
After reading it several times, she racked her brain for any relevant knowledge she had accumulated over the past two decades.
She recalled the chairman’s outburst at the PR head, Qiao Baitong. The key takeaway? The chairman absolutely refused to appear overly servile in the speech.
But if Qiao Baitong had written in a submissive tone, the higher-ups must be of significant status.
The speech couldn’t sound weak, but it also had to be humble and sincere when reporting to superiors.
A balance of neither arrogance nor servility.
Easier said than done…
As Ju Li racked her brain, her gaze happened to fall on a black fountain pen lying on the desk.
It was the ‘Divine Pen of Insight’.
Pushing her keyboard aside, she pulled out an A4 sheet of paper and laid it flat before her.
She picked up the pen and lightly rubbed it between her fingers.
A sharp, tingling sensation travelled from her fingertips up her arm, sending shivers across her scalp.
The next moment, it was as if a part of her brain had suddenly lit up. Words and phrases surged forward like an unstoppable tide.
Before she knew it, she had already written the first line.
Afraid that the inspiration would escape, she furiously let the pen dance across the paper.
Her handwriting flowed effortlessly, each stroke filled with confidence, almost like a warrior carving out a path with a blade.
Just as the system had described the pen, ideas poured like a fountain, words flowed like divine inspiration.
Meanwhile, in the large office, Zhong Liyan stepped out, rubbing his temples, his stride brisk.
He turned his head and saw Zhang Beibei scratching her head as she hesitantly typed on her computer.
She kept writing and deleting, clearly struggling with the speech draft.
To be honest, he had zero expectations that these two new secretaries could produce anything useful. This was merely a test to hone them and assess their writing abilities.
If they showed no promise at all, there was no point in keeping them.
With that thought, he glanced toward Ju Li, only to find that, unlike Zhang Beibei, she wasn’t biting her pen or torturing the keyboard.
Instead, she was hunched over her desk, writing furiously on paper, completely unaware of his presence.
“?”
Zhong Liyan’s eyes followed the movement of her pen, watching as elegant, sharp strokes appeared on the page.
Her handwriting was unrestrained, each character exuding a faint sense of heroism, as if she were illustrating an epic battle.
Intrigued, he prepared to read from the beginning. But just then, his gaze happened to catch a glimpse of her collar.
Her shirt had two different designs, half was a T-shirt and half was a button-up. One side had a round neckline, while the other had a stand-up collar.
“……”
His brow furrowed.
His fingers clenched into a fist.
Suppressing the urge to tuck the stand-up collar in and pretend it was symmetrical, he turned and decisively walked away.
A proper, serious employee, yet wearing an asymmetrical white top?!
This… This was truly maddening!
After he left, the system’s task description for [The Chairman’s Dignity Speech] quietly updated,
Hidden Reward: A pricey designer shirt (Unlocked if the task is completed at a ‘Perfect’ level, personally awarded by the chairman. Requirement: Wearing an asymmetrical top at the time of task assignment).
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