As the end of the workday approached, Zhong Liyan pulled her over and instructed her to schedule the meetings for the upcoming week.
Planning meeting times, booking conference rooms, drafting agendas and summaries, notifying attendees… One hour flew by in a blur, and before she knew it, the office was nearly empty.
Boss Zhong had a packed evening schedule as well, first, he had to take the leaders of the film division’s creative department to dine with a screenwriter. Then, he had a bar meeting with the production department leaders to discuss a potential collaboration with a director.
Ju Li didn’t need to accompany him. She stayed in the office, munching on a burger while tackling her tasks.
After finalizing the internal meeting schedule for the week, she printed out a work timetable, slotting in the meeting times to prevent scheduling conflicts for Boss Zhong.
Once that was done, she read through all the emails he had forwarded to her, compiled them into a summary, and placed the printed documents and their attachments neatly on his desk.
As she turned to leave the office, her phone suddenly chimed.
Ding!
Just as she reached into her pocket to check, another ding! followed.
Huh? Two notifications at once?
She lit up her screen, it was a message from the Little Secretary System.
But this time, there were two tasks issued simultaneously.
Two tasks at once?
She tapped on the first one:
Task: [A Contract Worth Ten Million] Triggered
- Phase 1 Task Description: Read The Tale of the Great Demon and write an 800-word review.
- Completion Time: Within 144 hours.
- Phase 1 Task Reward: A box of overpriced, yet unimpressive tea.
Does the poor and struggling junior secretary, Ju Li, accept?
Phase 1 Task Description? Phase 1 Task Reward?
This was a task chain?
She had no idea how many stages it contained.
A ten-million-dollar contract?
S-Surely that didn’t mean she’d be getting paid ten million, right…?
Her hands trembled.
Ten million… what kind of ten million?
And why was it a reading assignment?
Though she couldn’t see how this task related to her secretary duties, she knew that the Little Secretary System never assigned meaningless missions. Completing this task chain probably had something to do with President Zhong Liyan’s needs.
After glancing over the first task, she opened the second one:
Task: [The President’s Trust] Triggered
- Task Description: Increase the President’s favorability to 10.
- Completion Time: 30 days.
- Final Task Reward: A unique and exclusive new position and a modest salary increase.
Does the low-ranking secretary, Ju Li, accept?
Wow, a promotion and a raise?
This task sounded amazing!
Increase favorability? How?
There were no specific goals or methods provided.
So… did that mean if she seduced the boss and served him well, it would count toward favorability?
If there were no restrictions, wouldn’t this task lead her down a very questionable path…?
No, no, no! What was she even thinking?!
Boss Zhong was a serious, workaholic, abstinent type, why was she the one constantly having inappropriate thoughts?
She needed to stop!
Taking a deep breath, she mentally recited the core values of socialism three times. Finally, her mind settled.
Then, without hesitation, she swiftly tapped “YES” for both tasks.
The first task, [A Contract Worth Ten Million], immediately showed up as “Incomplete.”
The second task, [The President’s Trust], upon acceptance, displayed additional details in the task log:
Task Progress: CEO Favorability: 0.
Special Feature Unlocked: “CEO Barometer” (Will automatically uninstall after task completion).
Phase 1 Reward: A ¥588 shopping voucher (Obtainable by making the President’s office symmetrical) [Task Incomplete, Cannot Be Claimed].
Phase 2 Reward: A gourmet meal (Obtainable by working 30 minutes overtime) [Task Incomplete, Cannot Be Claimed].
Phase 3 Reward: Not yet available.
¥588!!
Ju Li nearly lost her composure at the sight of actual money.
Cash.
A shopping voucher meant free spending, she could buy so many things with that!
She licked her lips and stared at the words “Make the President’s office symmetrical” for quite a while before turning to survey Zhong Liyan’s large office.
Everywhere she looked, there was room for reorganization.
But… Second Senior Brother had mentioned three rules that must not be broken, and touching the boss’s office was definitely off-limits…
Yet… hadn’t she already broken several rules? And multiple times at that?
The boss didn’t seem upset, though.
Those so-called “rules of Zhong Liyan”, weren’t they just things everyone summarized?
Even words that came directly from the boss could be lies, so wouldn’t these conclusions drawn by others be unreliable too?
She rubbed her hands together. The Little Secretary System was a kind and benevolent system, it would never assign a task that would lead to disaster… right?
And there was a lot of money involved…
In the end, the mission gave her justification, and the money gave her courage.
A faint smirk played at her lips as Ju Li gradually revealed a determined smile.
Alright, let’s start with the first phase of the [President’s Trust] mission chain!
Ju Li rolled up her sleeves, feeling as if money was already flying toward her.
…
The books randomly shoved into the bookshelf, clearly unread, were sorted by category first, then by size, arranged symmetrically from top to bottom:
The sixth book in the first row was tall, so the sixth book in the second row was tall as well.
The thirteenth book in the second row had a red spine, so the thirteenth book in the sixth row had a red spine too.
With a single glance, the bookshelf looked like a perfectly mirrored array.
The sofas were symmetrical, with a long sofa flanked by two short ones on either side, forming a semi-enclosed meeting area.
The teacups and water glasses on the coffee table were placed symmetrically, as if meticulously measured.
The potted plants at the entrance were trimmed to match in height, standing like twin siblings guarding both sides.
The desk was meticulously organized, with a perfectly balanced weight distribution on both sides, achieving not only visual but also logical symmetry.
Even the tea set on the tea tray was…
Over two hours later, Ju Li clapped her hands, stretched her back, and nodded in satisfaction before leaving the president’s office.
Back at her desk, after tidying up and shutting down her computer, she suddenly heard footsteps in the otherwise empty office.
The sound of leather shoes pressing against the carpet wasn’t crisp but was steady and rhythmic.
She looked up and saw Zhong Liyan unbuttoning the top two buttons of his black shirt, revealing a faint outline of his rising and falling chest.
Ju Li quickly averted her gaze, staring at her keyboard for a moment before looking up again. “Good evening, Zhong zong~”
Zhong Liyan had already noticed that someone was working overtime when he saw the light at the far end of the office.
From a distance, he had caught sight of her small head poking out from behind the computer.
He nodded slightly in acknowledgment and turned to enter his office.
But the moment he stepped in, he stopped in his tracks.
Sweeping his gaze across the room, he noticed that almost everything had been moved, at least slightly.
He frowned, turned back, and asked, “Did you reorganize this?”
His voice was cool and deep, like a cold stream brushing against the skin on a chilly night.
Ju Li immediately shot up from her chair and nodded, unconsciously rubbing her hands together.
Meeting his icy gaze, panic surged within her.
“Don’t touch my things without permission again,” Zhong Liyan said, his voice sharp and severe.
Ju Li even thought she detected a hint of murderous intent.
She stiffly nodded, a lump forming in her throat, unable to utter a single word.
Her fingers turned cold as she watched his back as he surveyed his office while walking in, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
A dozen seconds later, she snapped back to reality, licking her dry lips before grabbing her cup for a sip of water.
Then, she picked up her bag, debating whether to say goodbye to Mr. Zhong before leaving or just head out directly.
When she glanced at her phone to check the time, she instinctively opened [Little Secretary System], only to be shocked.
The first phase of the [President’s Trust] mission, “Make the CEO’s Office Symmetrical”, was marked as [Mission Completed, Reward to Be Issued Personally by President].
Mission completed?
But…
Hadn’t the boss just scolded her, warning her not to rearrange his office again?
That was anger, wasn’t it?
Scrolling down to check her [Mission Progress], Ju Li was even more stunned to see that the “President’s Favorability” had somehow increased to 1.
Favorability +1?
Huh?
He had clearly reprimanded her just now, how did that increase his favorability toward her?
Her eyes then landed on a newly appeared button under the mission: [President Mood Barometer].
Without much thought, she tapped it. A loading hourglass appeared on the screen. When it finished, a notification popped up: [President Mood Barometer Activated].
But after searching through the system, she couldn’t find what or where this so-called [President Mood Barometer] was.
Just then, she heard footsteps again, it was Zhong Liyan walking out of his office.
As he passed her, she noticed he was holding an empty cup.
Ah, he was going to get hot water.
That was her only thought, until she saw something that nearly made her gasp.
Above Zhong Liyan’s head… A small icon had appeared!
On his head, a semi-transparent little icon flickered in and out of view, like a weather forecast symbol!
So, the [President’s Barometer] was actually loaded on Boss Zhong’s head?
Was Boss Zhong even human?
Could he really be some kind of game NPC?
Was there a chance that if she touched him, she’d find out he was actually cold?
Like a robot or something…
Ju Li stared at the icon above his head, stunned for a long while before she suddenly realised, it was currently showing a cloudy status.
That probably meant he was unhappy, but not outright angry?
Too bad she hadn’t loaded this little program earlier. Otherwise, she could have known what his mood was when he ordered her not to mess with his things.
He had looked like he was angry, yet his favorability score had silently increased. Truly incomprehensible.
A man’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean.
Since the task was already completed, she wasn’t going to dwell on the president’s mood any longer.
Grabbing her bag, she got ready to leave work.
Zhong Liyan was just passing by with a water cup in hand when she called out, “Boss Zhong, I’m heading off.”
“Mm.” Zhong Liyan’s gaze swept past her eyes and noticed that the girl who had been anxiously scrutinizing his expression earlier had now regained her composure.
Before she could step away, he pulled a card from his pocket and pressed it onto the edge of her desk. “Here.”
“Huh?” Ju Li glanced down, it was a prepaid shopping card with a bold number printed on it: 588.
It was a system-issued reward. Her lips unconsciously curled up, but she quickly stopped herself from breaking into a grin. Instead, she looked at Boss Zhong, who was about to brush past her, and said, “Boss, I can’t accept this.”
Zhong Liyan turned back to meet her gaze. Without a word, he took a step back and pressed his fingers onto the card.
Ju Li wondered, was he actually going to take it back?
But then, she saw his fingers move, nudging the card off the table… and into the trash can beside it.
“……”
Ju Li stared at the trash can in stunned silence.
“If you don’t want it, just throw it away.” Zhong Liyan had already stepped back into his office, leaving only that cool remark behind.
Ju Li quickly crouched down and fished the shopping card out of the trash.
Good thing she hadn’t thrown anything weird into her little trash bin today!
She wiped the card clean with a tissue, then turned back and shot a glare at Boss Zhong’s retreating figure, before her expression shifted into a smile.
“Thank you, Boss,” she called out loudly toward his back.
Zhong Liyan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the commercial district outside as it dimmed into night. He didn’t turn around, only waved a hand dismissively behind him.
“Goodbye, Boss,” Ju Li called again.
This time, Zhong Liyan didn’t even wave. But she still left with a satisfied smile, clutching the shopping card, the equivalent of cold, hard cash, in her hand.
This was the first money she had received!
Bonuses and salaries wouldn’t be available until the end of the month, after all.
…
The clock’s hour hand turned, pointing toward ten.
In the blink of an eye, it was nearing midnight.
Zhong Liyan rubbed his temples. After drinking during a business meeting that evening, his headache was back.
He picked up his water cup and took a sip of warm water. At least the burning sensation in his stomach eased a little.
Setting the cup back down, he glanced over his desk. It was neat and orderly, visually pleasing.
His gaze then shifted to the bookshelf, scanning up and down. The neatly arranged books made him feel even more at ease.
Standing there for a moment, he took a deep breath. The dark clouds above his head quietly dissipated a little.
Returning to his desk, he wrapped up the remaining work for the day. Another hour passed.
Getting up, he wandered back to the large window. Looking down, the bustling traffic from earlier had vanished. Most stores in the mall below were closed, leaving only scattered display lights shining faintly, standing in lonely contrast to the rows of street lamps.
He relaxed his body, his shoulders subtly slumping.
The dark clouds above his head slowly gathered again, and a sparse drizzle began to fall.
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