Work for Jiang Xiaoyi for the rest of his life?
In his dreams!
If it weren’t for the fact that he was trying to stay on Jiang Xiaoyi’s good side so she’d cooperate with him in finding a way to travel back, Ye Zhen wouldn’t be swallowing his pride to keep working here at all!
Holding back his temper, he scoffed under his breath and quickly finished handling the OA, then shot a wary glance at Jiang Xiaoyi, who kept staring at him with question after question: “It’s off-work hours now. I was doing volunteer work—explaining things to you was a favor. From now on, this is my personal time. Don’t keep pestering me.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyi wasn’t happy: “Ye Zhen, go ask any random stranger on the street—am I the one pestering you right now? Isn’t it you, with your fallen-on-hard-times family background, who’s pestering me? Who’d want to pester you! From now on it’s also my personal time. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t waste my precious personal time on you! Whoever speaks to the other side first later on is a pig.”
Ye Zhen naturally had no objection to this. He spread his hands, and true to his word, immediately practiced the principle of not speaking, turning and heading straight to the holographic 5D immersive gaming parlor.
There’d been a typhoon these past two days, and right now outside the house, fierce winds howled and lightning flashed and thunder roared—it seemed like nothing could be more enjoyable at a time like this than a few rounds of gaming.
Just as Ye Zhen flipped the switch on, a peal of thunder struck, and suddenly the entire mansion plunged into darkness.
Every light source had vanished.
Was this a power outage caused by the typhoon damaging the electrical equipment?
Generally speaking, the power company would quickly send people to repair it—nothing worth panicking over.
Ye Zhen sat in his ergonomic chair, pulled out his phone, put on a fitting song, and listened to music while watching the tree shadows outside the window bending and swaying in the night rain and wind.
Before long, however, a noise like a piano came drifting down from upstairs.
What was Jiang Xiaoyi up to now?
Ye Zhen originally intended to ignore it, but then the terrifying piano noise grew even louder, and, unable to bear it any longer, he dug through a drawer with practiced ease to find a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and put them on.
**
As a formerly qualified working person, Jiang Xiaoyi deeply understood that no difficulty in the world could stop her—not talking to Ye Zhen was nothing to her at all. However, though fearless of heaven and earth, there was one thing she was uniquely afraid of: the dark. And she was also somewhat night-blind.
After one flash of lightning, the whole house plunged into darkness, and the spacious mansion felt especially eerie.
Jiang Xiaoyi was scared to death inside, but going to find Ye Zhen at a time like this would be too humiliating—she absolutely refused to. Besides, Ye Zhen was in the basement, which would surely be even darker and gloomier, and Jiang Xiaoyi had no desire to go there at all. On a sudden impulse, she groped her way to the piano in the living room and started banging away randomly.
Unfortunately, despite such terrifying noise pollution, Ye Zhen showed no reaction whatsoever.
Jiang Xiaoyi wouldn’t give up. She kept pounding the keys like beating iron bars, playing frantically and at random for a while, but aside from making her own ears ring with the demonic noise, there was no movement whatsoever from the basement.
Adding insult to injury, from outside the door, in the dark, rainy night, came the sound of a baby crying—one wail after another growing more shrill, sending chills down the spine.
The darkness left Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind blank, and the sound of the baby crying kept drawing closer. She’d originally been holding herself together emotionally, but when she saw something seemingly leap in through a window that hadn’t been shut tight, she was so terrified she stopped caring about anything, wailing and crying as she bolted straight for the basement.
She’d rather die than stay alone in the dark another second!
Too terrifying!
**
The noise-cancelling headphones really were a good thing—once Ye Zhen put them on, the noise problem vanished entirely.
This mansion had a sunken-style underground garden, so even though it was a basement, what lay outside the window was still a wide-open garden.
Ye Zhen was standing by the window looking out when he saw Jiang Xiaoyi’s reflection in the glass.
She was hurrying down anxiously, her mouth moving as if she were saying something. Under the brief illumination of the lightning flashing outside the window, Ye Zhen could see her face gone slightly pale and her eyes carrying a hint of panic—her usually dark, round eyes were wide open, looking innocent and pure, like a startled fawn.
Ye Zhen took off his noise-cancelling headphones.
Actually, the occasional flash of lightning outside the window provided some light for the basement—faint, but enough to make out where Ye Zhen was standing. Yet this faint light seemed to be entirely useless to Jiang Xiaoyi—her face carried fear and terror, and her voice had a note of tears in it—
“Ye Zhen? Are you there, Ye Zhen? I’ll give you five yuan—can we talk for a bit?”
“Come out quick—I’ll give you ten yuan, okay?”
“I’m the pig! I’m the pig! I’m the one who started talking to you first, it’s my fault!” Jiang Xiaoyi’s voice was pitiful. “Fifteen yuan—I’ll give you fifteen yuan…”
Ye Zhen was simply speechless. At a time like this, and she was still being stingy—only fifteen yuan! Was he only worth fifteen yuan?! And she’d started at only five!
Ye Zhen was just about to open his mouth to mock the cheapness of five yuan when he heard Jiang Xiaoyi wipe her tears and start sniffling out promises, painting pictures of future rewards—
“Ye Zhen, come out, I’ll give you thirty yuan. Double!”
“Fifty! Fifty, how about it!”
“Forget it, I’ll give you a promotion! A raise! Five hundred yuan! Five hundred more every month!”
….
“Ye Zhen! I’m warning you, don’t be ungrateful for kindness, or I’ll have no choice but to… to beg you!”
Jiang Xiaoyi was simply astonishing to Ye Zhen—just a moment ago she’d been talking tough, and now she could bend and flex so readily: “Ye Zhen! Even though men are supposed to know how to cook here, I’m giving you a special exemption—you don’t have to learn anymore! I’ll cook! I’ll cook! I can make anything! What do you want to eat? Sweet-and-sour ribs? Braised chicken? Baiye-wrapped pork? Shrimp with silky egg? Garlic mantis shrimp?”
“Do you still want to go to the fire-extinguishing club? I’ll top up your account.”
“And Li You’ai—I’ll get back at her for you, I’ll take a stand for you!”
….
Though Jiang Xiaoyi wasn’t bad-looking, she was a bit noisy and, most of the time, not very mature—not really the type Ye Zhen felt he’d ever be drawn to.
He had always believed that time was money, and when it came to unsuitable people, he firmly believed in strictly controlling the input-output ratio—an unsuitable woman wasn’t worth wasting his emotions on.
But Jiang Xiaoyi really was too loud.
Ye Zhen felt that if he didn’t speak up, she might transform from a fawn into a bee.
“No garlic,” Ye Zhen said calmly. “I hate garlic.”
Hearing Ye Zhen speak, the note of tears in Jiang Xiaoyi’s voice immediately weakened, carrying instead a slight, relieved sense of security: “Okay, okay, no problem, no garlic. So what flavor do you want then?”
“Salt and pepper.”
The moment Ye Zhen’s words fell, a hand grabbed his sleeve in the darkness—Jiang Xiaoyi had finally located his position by his voice, and then she wouldn’t let go.
After grabbing hold of him, her voice began to grow smug and bold—
“Actually, I’m not really that scared of the dark. I was just worried you might be, so that’s why I came to find you.”
“You know, in today’s society, women should be magnanimous, tolerant of men, and give men a way to save face. It’s fine for a delicate man like you to be afraid of the dark—what I did just now was also to spare you the embarrassment, so I claimed I was the one afraid of the dark instead, you understand? I’m the legendary type of woman full of virtue, the kind with a fragrant soul—willing to ruin my own image rather than let a fragile man’s heart get hurt.”
Ye Zhen simply wanted to roll his eyes: “Many thanks for your immense kindness and thoughtfulness. I’m not afraid of the dark. Let go of me.”
But of course Jiang Xiaoyi wasn’t going to let go—she even gripped tighter, as if afraid Ye Zhen might run off, and then, putting on an act, muttered to herself: “I know deep down you’re scared. Who knows when the power will come back. If it’s dark and quiet on top of that, it’ll be even scarier. I’ll just reluctantly keep chatting with you the whole time.”
“But I know where there are candles.” Jiang Xiaoyi tugged at Ye Zhen. “They’re upstairs in a room, but you have to come with me to get them.”
She added, “Otherwise, if you’re alone here, you’ll be scared. You know, in this society, a man alone is very dangerous.”
“…”
The mansion had an elevator, but with this sudden power outage, it was completely unusable. Ye Zhen had no choice but to lead Jiang Xiaoyi upstairs, groping through the darkness.
He turned on the flashlight function on his phone, which actually already lit the path ahead, but Jiang Xiaoyi still clung to the hem of Ye Zhen’s clothes as if it were her only lifeline, following close on his heels.
She really did seem genuinely afraid, so the safe distance she usually maintained from Ye Zhen had long been forgotten—now she was pressed so close to him she was nearly plastered against his back.
Ye Zhen wasn’t used to being this close to someone, so he had to stop: “Too close.”
Jiang Xiaoyi was quite understanding and readily moved a bit further away, but before long, she began murmuring under her breath: “Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law… evil spirits begone! No demons can achieve spiritual form after the founding of the nation; I must have a scientific worldview…”
Whether it was psychological or not, chanting this made Jiang Xiaoyi feel much better. Just as she was about to find something else to recite to distract herself, Ye Zhen’s voice cut her off—
“Be quiet.”
Jiang Xiaoyi was rather displeased—was he this authoritarian? She was just muttering a bit out of fear!
Just as Jiang Xiaoyi was about to protest, Ye Zhen pressed his lips together and extended a hand toward her.
Under the light of his phone in his other hand, Jiang Xiaoyi could make out the expression on his face—blank, his lips flat, looking rather stern.
Jiang Xiaoyi felt a little nervous: “What are you doing?”
Her asking this only made Ye Zhen more awkward. He lifted his chin, gesturing with his eyes for Jiang Xiaoyi to look at his hand.
“?”
Ye Zhen looked like he could hardly bear it any longer: “Are you an idiot?”
Before Jiang Xiaoyi could react, Ye Zhen simply took hold of her hand himself. His manner looked a bit rough, but his motion was actually quite gentle—only his tone was still somewhat impatient—
“Jiang Xiaoyi, you really are a pig. The pig really is you.” This nasty man cleared his throat and, feigning naturalness, scolded her, “I offered you my hand and you still don’t understand what I mean? I’m telling you to hold my hand.”
Oh… so that’s how it was…
Jiang Xiaoyi was led upstairs by Ye Zhen’s hand. Unfortunately, neither of them had thought to plan ahead, and both their phones’ batteries ran out, the flashlight beams vanishing entirely, plunging everything around them into total darkness.
Jiang Xiaoyi should have been very frightened, but at this moment, being led by Ye Zhen’s hand, the warmth transmitted from his palm felt like the one thing that made her feel real and secure in this entirely dark world.
Ye Zhen’s hand was large, with well-defined knuckles, dry and warm, making one feel safe and dependable.
Perhaps it was the residue of the fear brought on by the darkness, or perhaps it was something else, but Jiang Xiaoyi felt her heart beating very fast—so fast she worried it might betray itself through her pulse into the hand Ye Zhen was holding.
The quiet and the darkness only intensified Jiang Xiaoyi’s nervousness.
She began trying to ease the awkwardness by talking: “Ye Zhen, did you start learning how to manage a company from a young age?”
“Mn.” Though he’d just complained about Jiang Xiaoyi being too loud not long before, Ye Zhen still answered her question. “I started attending business receptions and banquets since I was a kid.”
“Then you must be really good at this and really enjoy it, right?”
“I was still a child—who would enjoy that? I’m not a masochist,” Ye Zhen sounded somewhat exasperated. “Other kids were playing basketball, playing soccer, going camping, while I had to study this and that. Who would be happy about that?”
“You people might envy being born into a family like mine—it’s true I never had to worry about money, but money also comes with burdens and responsibilities you don’t have. For instance, I never got to choose my own career—my future was mapped out from the moment I was born: managing the family business. You may be working for a company, but at least you get to choose your industry. If you don’t like it, you can still switch jobs. Can I switch jobs?”
Jiang Xiaoyi had originally started this to ease the awkwardness, but now, actually chatting with Ye Zhen, she found herself genuinely curious: “So if you had the freedom to choose, what would you want to do?”
“Never thought about it.”
“Well, think about it now. Is there anything you’re especially interested in?”
“Don’t think so.” Ye Zhen continued leading Jiang Xiaoyi upstairs, adding, “It’s not that there isn’t anything, it’s that I never had time to develop hobbies—to put it precisely, I don’t know what I’m interested in.”
A man with no hobbies!
How pitiful!
Ye Zhen’s persona instantly shifted, in Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind, from a psychotic boss to what she thought of as “beautiful, strong, and tragic”—this man had never even had time to develop a hobby, never had time to figure out what he might love.
In an instant, Jiang Xiaoyi’s sympathy for Ye Zhen swelled almost to bursting: “Every person is bound to have something they’re good at. Take me, for example—I’m really good at cooking! My cooking is amazing! Even with very cheap ingredients, I can make delicious dishes. You definitely have something too. I’ll help you find it!”
Ye Zhen clearly didn’t take Jiang Xiaoyi’s words seriously, but Jiang Xiaoyi had already made up her mind inside.
She declared, “Ye Zhen, now that you’ve unexpectedly become one of my employees, and I’ve, in a sense, taken away your fortune and status, I also have an obligation to be responsible for your life from here on out!”
Ye Zhen pressed his lips together, stunned for a moment. Though he didn’t need Jiang Xiaoyi to take responsibility for him, the fact that she had this kind of awareness proved she still had a conscience.
Perhaps this was a good moment to persuade her to join him in exploring a way to travel back?
Just as Ye Zhen was about to speak, he heard Jiang Xiaoyi continue on with heroic ambition—
“An employee without dreams or hobbies is just a walking corpse in the job market. Ye Zhen, don’t worry! I’ll make sure you work with body and soul intact! We working people must have a hobby to serve as our spiritual anchor, so that when we’re being tormented by our bosses, we still have a small corner where our souls can rest! We must be working people with soul!”
“…” Ye Zhen decided to swallow back the words he’d just been about to say—this wicked creature Jiang Xiaoyi clearly had no conscience after all.
Just then, whether it was something scurrying in the dark room making noise or not, before Ye Zhen could react, the wicked creature who’d just been so full of heroic ambition in front of him was instantly scared out of her wits, throwing all dignity aside as she wrapped her arms around Ye Zhen and started shrieking.
Ye Zhen felt a headache coming on, but mostly, he just felt helpless.
“Jiang Xiaoyi.” He couldn’t help but pat her back gently to soothe her, and once she gradually calmed down, “It’s fine. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
These words left Jiang Xiaoyi somewhat touched: “I didn’t expect you to be quite the gentleman. If there’s danger, does this mean you’ll protect me?”
“You’ve misunderstood,” Ye Zhen thought about it, then clarified rigorously: “What I meant was, my inner energy is very yang, and rather good at warding off evil spirits. With me here, it’s relatively safe. But if even I can’t suppress it, then I won’t be here anymore.”
“?”
….