Jiang Xiaoyi had reasonable grounds to suspect that Ye Zhen was deliberately giving her a hard time, and she now had evidence —

She didn’t get home that night until nine o’clock.

In truth, Jiang Xiaoyi drew quickly, but she couldn’t withstand Ye Zhen’s borderline pathological obsession with detail — one time the eyelashes were too many, another time the hair was too sparse, even the eyes not having enough “spirit” in them became grounds for a redo. After six rounds of revisions, she finally, reluctantly managed to turn something in.

The hallway light in her building had been broken for ages and never fixed. The old walk-up building had no elevator either, so Jiang Xiaoyi felt her way up the cramped stairwell in the dark and opened the door to her rented room.

The outside was run-down, and the inside wasn’t much cozier.

Jiang Xiaoyi’s family had never been well-off to begin with — her parents ran a small business. A year ago, while out making a delivery, her mother and father were hit by a car, falling into a severe coma. They spent months in the ICU, but the driver at fault fled the scene and was never found. Jiang Xiaoyi drained her family’s entire savings and took on heavy debt, but in the end, still couldn’t save her parents’ lives.

Now her parents were gone, but the debt remained. Jiang Xiaoyi could only carry her grief and keep living, working hard to pay it off.

Before bed, Jiang Xiaoyi checked the weather forecast, then habitually fetched a plastic basin and placed it diagonally in the southeast corner of the living room.

Her neighbor had brought his girlfriend home again tonight — this was bound to be a restless night.

Sure enough, the terrible soundproofing forced Jiang Xiaoyi to listen to her neighbor’s “nighttime exercise” the whole night. The next morning, she was jolted awake by the downstairs neighbor’s dog barking.

Bleary-eyed, she got up and glanced at the southeast corner of the living room — the weather forecast had been accurate, it was indeed raining, and pretty heavily too. Water was already leaking down, and the plastic basin set out the night before was nearly full.

If it weren’t for the leaky roof up here on the top floor, the rent wouldn’t be five hundred yuan cheaper.

Jiang Xiaoyi felt it was worth it — after all, Rong City didn’t get much rain.

Unfortunately, her mental victory didn’t even last a second before a phone call from her uncle brought her crashing back to reality —

“Xiaoyi, that fifty thousand yuan we lent you for your parents’ hospital bills — the family really needs it back right now…” Her uncle’s voice was full of worry and shame as he continued, “Oh, and come by when you have time — I’ll have your aunt make you the fermented rice balls you love. No one’s made them for you since your mom passed… sigh…”

For the past few years, nearly all of Jiang Xiaoyi’s income had gone toward paying off debt; she had only a meager living allowance left, and could only afford to live in this run-down neighborhood.

Originally, she was going to pay off that fifty thousand debt once she got her year-end bonus, but now her uncle’s family suddenly needed the money urgently. Jiang Xiaoyi checked her bank balance, having no idea where she might scrounge up the money on such short notice…

**

“Hey! Jiang Xiaoyi, look! HR just posted an internal hiring notice! Before they finish the recruitment process for Director Ye’s official assistant, they’ll first select a temporary secretary for him from within the company for one month!”

“You know how it goes in romance novels — the CEO always falls for the genuine, unpretentious little secretary. I’m going to try! And even if Director Ye doesn’t fall for me, looking at his face every day still beats looking at Eunuch Li’s!”

Wang Yani and a few other female colleagues were thrilled and eager to apply, but Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all.

Someone like Ye Zhen — his looks were matched only by his level of insanity. She’d rather die than become his assistant.

“Look, the pay is generous — whoever’s selected gets five to six times their current salary!!! On top of that, there’s a performance bonus too!”

Five to six times the salary?!

Jiang Xiaoyi perked right up.

She could do this!

Dying wasn’t so bad, as long as it was for a good cause!

Besides, sure Ye Zhen was a bit difficult, but judging from his personnel reshuffling, he clearly knew nothing about the business — just an airhead. And airheads weren’t hard to deal with, were they?

If you just stroke his ego the right way, wouldn’t that be easier to manage than dealing with a shrewd boss? As long as she could shamelessly flatter him and treat his nitpicking as background noise, and channel Eunuch Li’s dedication to sucking up, maybe she could even win his favor while serving as his temporary assistant.

Then wouldn’t her project approval sail right through on the fast track afterward?

Most importantly, for the sake of five to six times the salary, Jiang Xiaoyi felt she could endure it. Besides, after a month, once she’d earned enough, couldn’t she just go back to her original position?

So, what was the big deal about “going under” for a month?!

She could do this!

**

Jiang Xiaoyi excitedly signed up, nervously waiting to “go under.”

But to her surprise, so many people wanted in that it turned into a vicious dumpling-boiling-style competition. Getting the chance to be Ye Zhen’s temporary assistant was as strict as an emperor selecting concubines — there was simply no room left for Jiang Xiaoyi.

Wang Yani sighed heavily too: “Ugh! I heard they picked Dora from the Investment Department! She graduated from Stanford! Can we even compete with her?”

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t feel happy either — it seemed this chance at fortune wasn’t coming her way after all.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn — a week later, several of the strong contenders dropped out one after another, and HR sent Jiang Xiaoyi a notice to “go under”!

Was she really turning her fortune around?!

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t believe it: “You really picked me?”

The HR director nodded. “Yes. After you complete the health check Director Ye requires, if you pass, you can start in three days. Director Ye’s official assistant will arrive mid next month; before then, you’ll serve as the temporary assistant, paid daily.”

Daily pay!!!

A boss willing to pay daily — how could he be a weirdo? He must be an angel descended from heaven!

And that meant, the earlier she started, the more of this five-times-daily pay she’d earn!

Why wait three days — Jiang Xiaoyi felt she could seamlessly start right away!

So the next morning, Jiang Xiaoyi rushed to the designated hospital in high spirits, planning to finish the physical in the morning and start work that afternoon.

Ye Zhen seemed annoying, but apparently he was quite attentive to his employees’ physical health — all these checkup items were covered by the company.

Only, once she got the itemized checklist printed out by the nurse, Jiang Xiaoyi’s smile faded —

In all her previous company physicals, the checklist was just one sheet of paper. This was the first time she’d seen an item list as thick as a booklet…

When it came time to draw blood, the nurse pulled out over twenty blood collection tubes, counted them, then added one more.

……

Jiang Xiaoyi finally understood the deeper meaning behind “starting in three days” — because by the time she finished all one hundred-plus tests, three days had indeed passed…

**

Three days later, presumably because her checkup results passed, she sat across from Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen’s office had a strong sense of design — none of the rosewood desks and chairs Director Liu used to have; everything was minimalist European style. His extravagantly gorgeous face, set against this backdrop, was unexpectedly harmonious, giving off quite the aesthetic impact.

Only, handsome as Ye Zhen’s appearance undeniably was, unfortunately he had a mouth on him, and his tone carried a bit of a mocking edge —

“Jiang Xiaoyi, congratulations, you’ve earned the opportunity to become my temporary assistant.”

After saying this, Ye Zhen paused for a very long time — long enough that Jiang Xiaoyi began to wonder if the conversation was over and whether she should leave — before he finally frowned and said, somewhat displeased, “Nothing to say?”

Say what?

Ye Zhen smiled. “For instance, how do you feel about becoming my temporary assistant? We’ll be working together for about a month, so I hope you won’t be too reserved or tense — feel free to say whatever’s on your mind, that way I can get to know you better.”

Was this her cue to start flattering him?

Alright then!

Having spent so long under Eunuch Li’s tutelage, this kind of flattery came almost automatically to Jiang Xiaoyi now: “Thank you for your concern, Director Ye. I’m truly grateful for this opportunity — I never expected becoming a temporary assistant would come with such generous health checkup benefits.”

The essence of flattery isn’t being blatant about it — it should be subtle, seeping in quietly.

Jiang Xiaoyi pressed on: “I never expected Director Ye to care so much about his subordinates’ health, willing to spend so much money for my checkup, having me do so many tests…”

Just as she was about to keep going, Ye Zhen cut her off coolly: “I don’t like a work atmosphere full of flattery. Asking for your thoughts was just a test.”

“……”

He glanced at her. “You’ve disappointed me a little.”

Was entrapment somehow justified now, dammit?

But since Ye Zhen was the boss, Jiang Xiaoyi could only swallow her anger and lower her head to admit fault.

Ye Zhen propped his chin on his hand. “Actually, your checkup results weren’t fully up to standard either. I hope my temporary assistant’s body fat percentage can be controlled around eighteen percent — yours is nineteen. But compared to the other applicants, you’re already the best of a mediocre bunch. Before my official assistant starts, I’ll just have to make do with you for now.”

Were you holding a bodybuilding competition or something? What does body fat percentage have to do with being an assistant!

As if he knew exactly what Jiang Xiaoyi was thinking, Ye Zhen glanced at her. “Body fat percentage reflects whether someone consistently exercises, which indirectly shows a person’s approach to life — whether they’re disciplined, whether they hold themselves to standards for their appearance. Extended to the workplace, self-discipline and high self-standards are essential qualities for being my assistant. If someone can’t even manage their own weight, they definitely can’t handle the job.”

He glanced at her again. “I strongly dislike people who just lie in bed doing nothing after getting home from work. Your body fat percentage suggests you keep up with exercise and control your diet — that in your free time, you hold yourself to standards. I appreciate that, and I’ve decided to make an exception and hire you.”

Jiang Xiaoyi practically wanted to roll her eyes so hard they’d fall out — what kind of oblivious prince was this Ye Zhen? Did he really think every working person lived as pampered a life as these bosses did?

Controlling her diet? That was because she was broke and could only afford discounted salads about to expire.

Sticking to exercise? That was because working-class people didn’t have elevators — they had to climb stairs every day.

She was, in fact, exactly the type of person Ye Zhen hated most — the type who came home and collapsed onto the bed.

After working all day, who had the energy left to work out?

Ye Zhen, oblivious to any of this, simply pressed his lips together and concluded: “That’s all I have to say. Move your workstation over tomorrow, and you’ll officially start.”

Start tomorrow?! That wouldn’t do!

Jiang Xiaoyi immediately spoke up: “Director Ye, I can start this afternoon. I can move my workstation during lunch break.”

Ha — five times the salary, not even half a day could be spared!

“No need.” Ye Zhen leaned back in his boss chair, hands folded over his chest. “This afternoon, you’ll do a mental stability assessment and psychological health screening. If you pass, you’ll start tomorrow.”???

Jiang Xiaoyi argued at once: “Thank you for your kindness, Director Ye, I know a lot of people can develop mental issues under too much pressure, but I’m fine, can I skip that…”

“Absolutely not.”

Ye Zhen smiled. “If you don’t do it, I won’t feel at ease.”

A bit of a prince complex, sure, but caring this much about a subordinate really was a little touching.

But Jiang Xiaoyi just wanted to start working and earning money as soon as possible. Just as she opened her mouth to try to convince him again, she heard him continue matter-of-factly —

“Plenty of psychopaths look perfectly fine on the surface these days, but their minds are already twisted inside. If you skip the mental health screening, I’ll be worried about my safety working alongside you.”?

So making her do over a hundred physical tests was also…

Perhaps sensing Jiang Xiaoyi’s questioning gaze, Ye Zhen nodded. “Exactly. In modern society, plenty of people are mentally unwell, and physically unhealthy too. If you happen to have any health risks, like a contagious disease, that would threaten my health as well.”

He took a sip of black tea and smiled at her again. “So, in order to keep this job, I hope you’ll stay in good health.”

Jiang Xiaoyi felt that her originally healthy mind might be about to become unhealthy.