Zhang Xiyue decided to play dumb.
She put down the towel and said calmly, “Mr. Cheng, when are we going to the office?”
Cheng Mingjiao remained perfectly composed. “You should be grateful this towel was new.”
If it had already been used to wipe down the gym equipment, would she have been beyond redemption?
They hadn’t known each other for long, but Zhang Xiyue had already learned to understand the Emperor’s unspoken meanings.
She thanked the Emperor for sparing her life and promised not to make the same mistake again.
Cheng Mingjiao shot her a sidelong glance and left.
Zhang Xiyue quickly wiped down all the gym equipment, then went downstairs to wait for him in the living room.
Cheng Mingjiao leisurely returned to his room, leisurely took a shower, and then walked into his enormous walk-in closet. From a whole wall of white shirts, he selected a white shirt. From another wall of gray suits, he selected a gray suit.
After waiting for half an hour, Zhang Xiyue finally received the arrival of the esteemed Emperor.
The Emperor: “I’m hungry.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
They hadn’t done a thing all day. All they’d done was eat.
Fortunately, he wasn’t so deranged as to make his assistant prepare lunch too. Zhang Xiyue drove him to an upscale hotel, and only after they had eaten did they head to the company together.
At last, they could get some work done.
Before Zhang Xiyue could breathe a sigh of relief, Cheng Mingjiao walked into the lounge.
For his afternoon nap.
Zhang Xiyue sat in silence for a while, then simply went to play in the assistant’s office. While she was there, she also stopped by the finance department to study the employee benefits and compensation package in detail.
When she saw that the executive assistant was entitled to an unconditional reimbursement allowance of ten thousand yuan a month, she was mildly surprised.
But only mildly. This wasn’t the real world, after all, and she didn’t feel much about having more or less money here. As long as she could maintain a basic standard of living, that was enough.
Though that was what she told herself, she still found time to contact a real-estate agent. She planned to move into a larger apartment closer to the company.
An hour and a half later, Cheng Mingjiao woke up. By the time he came out of the lounge, Zhang Xiyue was already sitting at her workstation.
The executive assistant didn’t have a private office. Her desk was separated from Cheng Mingjiao’s outrageously grand rosewood desk by only two potted plants.
When Cheng Mingjiao sat down and picked up a contract, Zhang Xiyue thought that perhaps they could finally get some serious work done.
The next second, he began folding the paper into a paper airplane.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Damn the paper airplane. Damn the man who folded it even more.
The devoted mother of a struggling child watched anxiously and furiously as her disappointing son folded the paper airplane quickly and perfectly.
It even flew high.
When Zhang Xiyue had decided to take over from Zhou Ce, she had thought she could use this opportunity to find a breakthrough in her mission.
But after following Cheng Mingjiao for several days, she realized that he was practically an impenetrable fortress, with no opening to exploit whatsoever.
As the days passed and her progress remained at zero, Zhang Xiyue, driven to desperation, began playing short videos about success in the president’s office. She hoped they might help reprogram his mind.
Cheng Mingjiao did listen to them, but his reaction was completely different from what she had expected.
“Those things are all just scams,” he said. “If you really want to learn, you should watch something with actual substance.”
Zhang Xiyue humbly asked, “Then what kind of substantial material should I watch?”
Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her.
Although he thought it was foolish of her to believe those online videos, a boss had always been tolerant of employees who wanted to improve themselves.
So he tapped away at his keyboard and sent her a compressed file.
It took Zhang Xiyue twenty minutes to unzip it. More than fifty extremely long videos popped up. Every single thumbnail featured a familiar face.
She: “…”
“Go ahead and watch them. Some of them haven’t even been made public yet.” Cheng Mingjiao looked as though he thought she had just won the jackpot.
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
There was no saving him.
If all else failed, she could wait until he became unemployed and turned into a lovesick obsessive before figuring out how to make him strive for self-improvement.
In theory, as long as she kept him from meeting the female lead, he wouldn’t lose his mind over love. That meant there was still a chance to save him.
Zhang Xiyue stopped struggling. Every day, she prepared his meals on time, drove him to and from work, watched him slack off, watched him antagonize everyone and make enemies, and accompanied him to the research facility for a secret inspection, where he frightened his colleagues into meowing in terror.
That was how she spent the better part of half a month, until she finally encountered her first real assignment—
driving the Emperor to a television station for an interview.
Yu Huang specialized in cutting-edge CNC equipment and usually worked with major factories.
Most of the owners of those factories were obsessed with the power of branding, so although Cheng Mingjiao disliked it, he made a public appearance every so often to cultivate a trustworthy professional image.
And to be fair, Cheng Mingjiao in a suit beneath the studio lights, with his hair slicked back to reveal his full forehead, looked every inch the brilliant, high-achieving executive. There was no sign at all of the man who threw tantrums at breakfast every morning.
After a brief introduction, the host began the formal interview.
“You lead a team of more than a dozen people, yet in just a few years you’ve developed the company into what it is today. As a leader, what quality do you consider most important?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “Self-discipline.”
What kind of self-discipline?
The kind that meant sleeping nine hours plus two every night without fail, pouting furiously if he ate even one bite less at any of his three meals, and tormenting his employees every day no matter how busy or exhausted he was?
The host asked, “A large company like Yu Huang must have many clients and business partners. How do you usually maintain those relationships?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “With sincerity.”
Yes, he certainly was sincere.
The previous week, one of their partners had called to say that their equipment had broken down and asked him to send a few technicians over to repair it. Cheng Mingjiao had sincerely advised them that if they didn’t have the brains to use the machine, they should stay as far away from it as possible and stop touching it with their filthy hands.
The host continued, “What advice do you have for young people today?”
Cheng Mingjiao let out a light laugh. His handsome face and warm, gentle eyes caused a stir among the audience.
“I have no advice for young people,” he said modestly. “After all, the future belongs to them.”
But the present belongs to me, Zhang Xiyue added silently, imitating his tone.
The interview lasted two hours. Zhang Xiyue had expected him to lose patience halfway through, turn surly, or even mock the host.
But he didn’t.
At the end, someone shouted that they planned to apply to work at Yu Huang after graduation. Zhang Xiyue thought Cheng Mingjiao would immediately ask whether they had graduated from a C9 university, ranked in the top three of their major, and won a national scholarship.
But he didn’t.
He even welcomed them with something resembling a benevolent smile.
Yes. Benevolent.
Although her mission progress was still stuck at zero, seeing how maturely he had behaved made Zhang Xiyue reconsider. Perhaps getting this lovesick obsessive to improve himself wouldn’t be as difficult as she had imagined. As she followed Cheng Mingjiao out, watching him smile and greet his little fans along the way, her own mood lifted with his.
Three minutes later, the two of them got into the car.
Cheng Mingjiao’s face darkened in an instant.
“Quick! Get me to the hospital!”
It was the first time Zhang Xiyue had seen him so frantic since they met. She hurriedly fastened her seat belt and made a U-turn.
“Mr. Cheng, are you feeling unwell?” she asked anxiously.
Cheng Mingjiao was in a terrible mood. “Damn it! They put me in a newly renovated studio. I must have been poisoned by formaldehyde.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
In the back seat, Cheng Mingjiao had already begun gulping down water. Zhang Xiyue opened her mouth as if to say something, then decided against it and drove to the hospital address he had given her.
An hour later, the refined, bespectacled doctor pushed up his glasses and said for the fifth time, “You’re perfectly healthy. There are no signs of poisoning, so there’s no need for any tests.”
“Just because I’m not poisoned right now, can you guarantee I won’t experience any discomfort later?” Cheng Mingjiao shot back.
The doctor smiled. “I guarantee it.”
Cheng Mingjiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re a doctor, not a fortune-teller. What are you basing that guarantee on?”
The doctor kept smiling. “Then why did you ask me?”
Cheng Mingjiao said, “I was just testing you. I didn’t expect you to prove yourself unprofessional.”
The doctor fell silent.
Zhang Xiyue edged one step toward the door, just in case she was mistaken for an accomplice of some lunatic.
The doctor did not appear to have any immediate intention of calling the police. He merely emphasized for the sixth time, “You really aren’t poisoned.”
“Just because I don’t have any symptoms of poisoning right now doesn’t mean—”
Seeing that the conversation was about to enter another loop, the doctor cut him off. “I have another patient to see. Please leave.”
“You’re not even on duty today. Where would you get another patient?” Cheng Mingjiao lifted his chin disdainfully and pointed at the little girl doing her homework behind the doctor. “And what’s with your attitude? The consultation fee was three thousand seven hundred yuan. I’m already overlooking the fact that you brought your child to work, and now you’re getting impatient with me?”
Zhang Xiyue took another step toward the door, just in case she was mistaken for an accomplice in a hospital disturbance.
The little girl, who was hugging a teddy bear while doing her homework, looked up and slowly rolled her eyes at Cheng Mingjiao.
“Liang Xiao, your daughter is really rude!” Cheng Mingjiao complained.
“Oh, it’s hereditary. I’m pretty rude myself,” said the doctor, who had been addressed by name, his expression perfectly calm. “Cheng Mingjiao, if you keep fooling around, I’m calling your mother.”
Hmm?
Zhang Xiyue stopped in her retreat toward the door. Only then did she realize that the two of them knew each other.
Cheng Mingjiao did not notice her surprise. He merely frowned and challenged the doctor, “Are you in elementary school? When you can’t win an argument, all you can do is tell on someone?”
Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow. “How did you know I was an outstanding graduate of Yushan Elementary School?”
Cheng Mingjiao stared coldly at him.
A minute later, Liang Xiao gave in. “I’ll run a complete blood count for you. You really should get a checkup anyway.”
Cheng Mingjiao felt that wasn’t enough, but considering Liang Xiao might actually call his mother if pushed too far, he thought it over and decided to stop while he was ahead.
Thus, the Emperor successfully had two tubes of blood drawn.
Zhang Xiyue followed Liang Xiao to collect the results. When they returned to the department, they saw Cheng Mingjiao standing beside the little girl, looking genuinely puzzled.
“Are you going through a rebellious phase and deliberately doing your homework this horribly?”
The little girl, who was nowhere near adolescence and had completed her homework with great care, fell silent.
Liang Xiao turned to Zhang Xiyue. “It must be tough working as this person’s assistant, right?”
Zhang Xiyue tugged at the corner of her mouth and displayed her high emotional intelligence. “Mr. Cheng treats us subordinates just like friends.”
The doctor who had just been subjected to a hospital disturbance by his friend said, “I see.”
While the two of them were talking, Cheng Mingjiao suddenly reached for the candy on the little girl’s desk.
The little girl beat him to it. Clutching the candy, she nimbly darted behind the doctor and Zhang Xiyue, then quickly stuffed it into the pocket of the teddy bear’s clothes.
“I taught you three questions. You owe me a reward,” Cheng Mingjiao said with a solemn expression.
“I never asked you to teach me. You insisted on doing it,” the little girl said, hugging the teddy bear tightly.
Cheng Mingjiao scoffed. “Do I look like I have nothing better to do?”
Seeing that the two of them were about to start arguing, Liang Xiao stepped in as peacemaker. “There’s still some in my drawer, Mingjiao. Go get one yourself.”
“I want lemon flavor. Your drawer is full of strawberry flavor.”
The little girl poked her head out. “There’s only one lemon-flavored one left.”
“Give it to me,” Cheng Mingjiao threatened. “If you don’t, I’ll throw you out the window.”
This was the twelfth floor.
Zhang Xiyue’s eyelid twitched.
The fearless little girl wasn’t intimidated by the threat. “No.”
Cheng Mingjiao said, “Give it to me.”
The little girl said, “No!”
The two of them remained locked in a standoff for a long while, then turned in perfect unison to look at the doctor.
Liang Xiao cleared his throat. “Mingjiao, your report is ready.”
Cheng Mingjiao’s attention shifted instantly. “How are the results?”
Liang Xiao clasped his hands behind his back, signaling to the little girl to run while launching into a string of professional jargon about this and that.
By the time Cheng Mingjiao had figured out that his imperial body was perfectly healthy, both the little girl and the candy had disappeared.
It was already evening when they left the hospital. From the moment Cheng Mingjiao got into the car, he did not say another word.
Zhang Xiyue fastened her seat belt and looked at him through the rearview mirror. “Mr. Cheng.”
“What?” Cheng Mingjiao raised his eyes.
Zhang Xiyue held out her hand. “Here.”
Cheng Mingjiao frowned and glanced at it casually.
Her palm was completely open. Resting in it was a tiny piece of candy.
Round, and lemon-flavored.
Cheng Mingjiao paused for a moment, then slowly looked toward Zhang Xiyue in the rearview mirror.
When he had fought the little girl for the candy, he had simply wanted to bully her. He hadn’t really cared whether he got it or not. Otherwise, with his intelligence, how could he possibly have failed to realize that Liang Xiao was distracting him?
He just hadn’t expected her to take it seriously.
Zhang Xiyue smiled sweetly, clearly seeking praise. “I stole it for you. Aren’t I impressive?”
Cheng Mingjiao continued staring at her. Only when her hand began to ache and she gave her wrist a little shake did he silently roll down the window.
An ordinary complete blood count, as expected, could not reveal much useful information.
He was currently having difficulty breathing. His reactions were sluggish, and he felt slightly dizzy.
They were all symptoms of formaldehyde poisoning.
