Despite the little episode of the power outage and rescuing the cat, after a night’s sleep, Jiang Xiaoyi’s stomach finally recovered, and she was able to head to work refreshed and clear-headed again.

Ye Zhen also settled into work mode, starting to confirm the schedule with Jiang Xiaoyi: “There’s a cocktail party next Saturday you need to attend—the host is Jiang Lin.”

Jiang Xiaoyi remembered this event—back when she worked at Ruiyi as an employee, it had already been a thing. Jiang Xiaoyi had heard from Wang Yani that this Jiang Lin was a second-generation entrepreneur about the same age as Ye Zhen, who’d also invested in the entertainment industry, loved socializing, was very sociable and skilled at networking, and organized a cocktail party once a year—considered a major annual gathering in the entertainment industry circle.

If she remembered correctly, in the past, senior executives had attended every year, and Ye Zhen hadn’t skipped it after taking charge either.

Well, a cocktail party—just show up and that’d be it, no big deal! It sounded like the coming week would finally offer a brief breather!

“Finally I can get some proper rest!”

Only, before Jiang Xiaoyi could even settle on what fun activities to do these next couple days, Ye Zhen mercilessly extinguished her plans.

The man looked at her with a deadpan expression: “Can you dance ballroom?”

Though the question seemed a little odd, Jiang Xiaoyi answered instinctively anyway: “No, why?”

“Then say goodbye to your rest.”

“?”

Ye Zhen pressed his lips together: “At Jiang Lin’s cocktail party, several major suppliers and investors will be there, along with some big brand partners and celebrities from the entertainment industry. It’s a fairly high-profile event, one of the major gatherings within the circle. Getting an invitation isn’t easy, and it’s only held once a year. You can’t slip away halfway through for Ruiyi’s sake—you have to fully commit to the socializing, get to know as many people as possible.”

Working people had their own struggles, but bosses had their own headaches too!

“Fine, then.” Jiang Xiaoyi said helplessly. “I’ll just be there the whole time, but it’s only going to take up one evening—why does that mean I’ve lost my whole rest? And what does that have to do with me not knowing ballroom dance?”

“Jiang Lin’s event—it’s less a cocktail party and more of a ball, really. There’ll be a ballroom dancing segment. If you want to break into his social circle, naturally you need ballroom dancing skills too.”

No way!

“Can’t I just attend the cocktail party, have some drinks, and exchange business cards with people?”

“No. Some of the older senior executives who don’t dance can get away with it, but you’re this young, representing Ruiyi—if you don’t even know ballroom dancing, that would simply be embarrassing. Besides, you’re a woman—what if someone asks you to dance? Are you going to turn everyone down?”

“Given your current status and position, you should have learned ballroom dancing and this kind of social skill since childhood. No one will believe you’re turning people down because you can’t dance—they’ll just think you’re arrogant and difficult, not giving your dance partner face.”

“…” Being rich was so troublesome!

“Can I just not go?”

“No. As the boss, you’re responsible for Ruiyi.” Ye Zhen’s face was serious. “Socializing is part of your job responsibility. Besides, Jiang Lin just recently bought up an entertainment industrial park and started copying Ruiyi’s business model to become a competitor. If you don’t go, wouldn’t that look like you’re afraid of him? Given Jiang Lin’s personality, he’d definitely mock Ruiyi in the circle.”

“But I don’t know ballroom dancing… won’t going just make me look even more embarrassing…”

Ye Zhen frowned, and after a moment of silence, seemed to finally make a decision: “I’ll take the loss and teach you. No charge. I’ll set you up with a seven-day crash course, devil-training style. You have to learn it within seven days, so that at the very least you can fake it well enough to get by on stage.”

“Forget it… if it comes down to it, just let this Jiang Lin laugh at me…”

This response, however, nearly made Ye Zhen explode: “How could that possibly be alright! Absolutely can’t let Jiang Lin win this! Wouldn’t that make him unbearably smug?”

“But I can’t beat him. I heard from Wang Yani that Jiang Lin himself really loves dancing, not just skilled in ballroom dance but also things like the tango—he’s very accomplished, and he calls himself the modern-day dance king of his social circle, considered the best dancer in his crowd. And I’d only have seven days to learn…”

Before Jiang Xiaoyi could finish, Ye Zhen let out a disdainful snort: “I’m not dead yet.”

“Hm?”

Ye Zhen sneered: “I’m still alive, and yet he’s become the best dancer in the circle? He might as well call himself the most shameless one instead, while he’s at it.”

“Are you two close?”

“We’re on different levels. Not close,” Ye Zhen denied. “We just happened to grow up together, that’s all.”

“…”

“Anyway, you absolutely cannot lose. Start practicing this afternoon.”

Jiang Xiaoyi instinctively wanted to slip away, and immediately made an excuse: “I think I have a meeting this afternoon…”

Ye Zhen smiled faintly: “A meeting? I’m your assistant—you think I wouldn’t know? I already checked your schedule. There’s nothing on it recently, so get ready to practice.”

“…”

“But before practicing, you’ll need a dance dress.” Ye Zhen thought for a moment. “Let’s go, I’ll take you shopping first.”

**

Jiang Xiaoyi had always shopped quickly—after all, all she cared about was value for money—but unexpectedly, buying just one dance dress ended up taking nearly an hour…

Ye Zhen took her to the most high-end shopping mall in Rong City, into stores Jiang Xiaoyi had never before had the nerve to enter—not the internationally famous luxury brands she was familiar with, but even though she’d never heard of these brand names, the design, décor, and ambiance inside these stores conveyed one word through and through: expensive—some of the clothes were even pricier than the well-known international luxury boutiques.

Jiang Xiaoyi looked at the price tags and gasped: “This is way too expensive…”

“This is an independent designer brand boutique. Try on the ready-made pieces first—they also accept custom orders here. If it fits well, we can have it rush-tailored to your measurements.”

“Might as well go to an international brand store then.”

Ye Zhen looked somewhat exasperated: “Most of the pieces at luxury brand stores are also mass-produced—it’s easy to run into someone wearing the same outfit. Beyond taste and elegance, clothing is also about being one-of-a-kind. You represent Ruiyi’s public image—you can’t afford to lose face.”

Fine, then.

Naturally, expensive came with its perks—quite a few of the dance dresses really were elegant and refined in design. Jiang Xiaoyi tried on a red one, its lines full and flowing, the color vivid without being gaudy—looking in the mirror, she practically felt like a descended fairy.

The sales associate praised it endlessly: “This dress suits you so perfectly, ma’am! You look absolutely stunning!”

….

Ye Zhen was momentarily dazed.

It really was stunning.

Having watched Jiang Xiaoyi try on so many dresses, this one was, without question, the one that suited her best.

The red set off her skin like snow, and even without any elaborate styling or makeup, Jiang Xiaoyi, with her long hair flowing loose, her black hair like a waterfall, bright eyes, and white teeth, had a certain radiance about her that turned heads.

The long red dress was passionate and luxurious, vividly bright in just the right way, making Jiang Xiaoyi look like a fully blooming rose. Her eyes were dark and bright, glistening with a hint of moisture, looking toward Ye Zhen as if seeking his opinion.

Even though their positions had reversed now, and she should have had an air of pride and arrogance, there was still a hint of the old timidity and shyness in Jiang Xiaoyi’s eyes. Yet against this contrast, these emotions instead carried a distinct charm—a kind of unadorned innocence.

Only, Jiang Xiaoyi’s figure wasn’t exactly one that brought innocence to mind—quite the opposite, in fact.

Usually, wearing professional business attire, it wasn’t as noticeable, but with a red dress like this to set it off, she looked a bit too dazzling—and this was even without much makeup.

Ye Zhen’s immediate, instinctive reaction after his first glance was that with looks like this, Jiang Xiaoyi really wasn’t suited to being an assistant—he ought to reassign her to a different position.

An assistant who looked like this would risk people assuming he kept her around for improper reasons. Besides, bringing an assistant who looked like this along to certain social functions would be rather inconvenient too.

Only, it quickly hit him—Jiang Xiaoyi was no longer his assistant now. She was his boss.

Yet this realization didn’t put Ye Zhen at ease at all—he felt even more uncomfortable instead.

A boss had to deal with even more social engagements, toasting and maneuvering through banquets, and Jiang Xiaoyi was a young woman, and on top of that, not nearly forceful or commanding enough in her overall demeanor. Looking and dressed like this, even though women’s status in society had improved these days, the social scene was still full of complicated characters, and she’d inevitably have to deal with people trying to take advantage of her or making inappropriate verbal advances.

Ye Zhen had always prided himself on knowing how to place people well, confident he could find the right position for anyone—yet for once, he found himself completely unable to figure out a suitable role for Jiang Xiaoyi.

With looks like hers, she didn’t seem suited to being an assistant, nor did she seem suited to being a boss.

Ye Zhen was pressing his lips together, his thoughts racing, when Jiang Xiaoyi’s voice pulled him back to reality—

“I think this one’s good! It’s really pretty! Let’s get this one!”

Buy this one? No.

That’s what Ye Zhen thought, and that’s also what he said.

“Why not?” Jiang Xiaoyi looked utterly confused. “After trying on so many, this one clearly looks the best.”

Ye Zhen pressed his lips together, saying seriously: “The effect is passable, I suppose, but the neckline on this dress is cut too low.”

Jiang Xiaoyi turned in front of the mirror: “It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s not even a deep V, just a normal neckline…”

“It looks fine now, but once you’re dancing, with the movement, there’s a chance of accidental exposure.”

Jiang Xiaoyi glanced at Ye Zhen, not expecting him to be so thoughtful about it, but she wasn’t quite so conservative and didn’t think much of it: “What exposure could there even be! A little peek-a-boo like that is called sexy, isn’t it? Isn’t this about socializing anyway? A sexy beauty gets loved even if she can’t dance—doesn’t that work out nicely? It could even help distract from the fact that I can’t dance.”

This comment somehow seemed to set Ye Zhen off—the man’s voice came out practically through gritted teeth: “Jiang Xiaoyi, how could you think like that? This would seriously damage Ruiyi’s image! Ruiyi is a company built on ‘substance,’ not ‘idol appeal.’ You’re Ruiyi’s leader—the impression you give people should be one of competence and steadiness. Sexy? You’re going to this cocktail party to find business partners and network, not to find a date.”

Having said this, Ye Zhen cleared his throat and explained more calmly: “Sorry, I got a little emotional there. But it’s also for Ruiyi’s sake.”

He glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi and added, “I can’t watch Ruiyi go downhill in your hands. Do one job, love that job—now that I’m your assistant, it’s my duty to help you well.”

Ye Zhen had, after all, originally been Ruiyi’s leader, so it was understandable that he still had some feelings for the company and would speak up with such righteous indignation for its sake. Hearing him say this, Jiang Xiaoyi felt a little embarrassed too.

In the end, on Ye Zhen’s suggestion, Jiang Xiaoyi gave up the bright red dress and chose a more conservative burgundy dance dress instead.

Though Ye Zhen had plenty of flaws, in this moment, his sincere concern for Ruiyi was rather touching.

After buying the dress and walking out of the shopping center, Jiang Xiaoyi felt she should repay Ye Zhen somehow, especially once she noticed the row of shops lining the street—

This street had everything for food, drink, and entertainment, along with plenty of places for adults to develop hobbies—things like a baking shop, a flower-arranging shop, then a pottery studio, a leather-crafting workshop, a VR experience center, an arcade, a music instrument store…

Why not…

No time like the present! Since there was nothing on the schedule this afternoon anyway, why not take Ye Zhen to try some of this out? After all, this poor man had never had time to develop a hobby before, didn’t even know what field he might be interested in, his whole heart devoted only to Ruiyi and to work—it was rather tragic.

No sooner had she thought of it than Jiang Xiaoyi acted, immediately trying to pull Ye Zhen into the nearest shop: “Come on, let me help you experience life! Find your passion in your spare time! Find where your life’s inspiration lies!”

Jiang Xiaoyi glanced at Ye Zhen: “Want to try flower arranging?”

Ye Zhen’s brows furrowed: “That’s a hobby only women have! Would it make sense for a man like me to go do flower arranging?”

Fine, then… better not ask Ye Zhen’s opinion at all. This man’s mouth really was a nuisance the moment he opened it.

Jiang Xiaoyi stopped asking Ye Zhen anything and simply dragged him straight into a music instrument store.

“Is there any chance you might actually be gifted in music? Maybe you have real talent for it?” Jiang Xiaoyi explained her intentions to Ye Zhen, then began encouraging him. “They have adult piano lessons here. I already booked a trial session on my phone. A teacher will come teach you soon. I looked at the reviews on Dianping for this place, and everyone says the adult piano teaching here is fantastic, both in method and atmosphere—really flexible, apparently a complete beginner can get really into it after just one trial lesson. In a moment you…”

But before Jiang Xiaoyi could finish speaking, fluid piano music suddenly rang out.

Following the sound, Jiang Xiaoyi discovered that Ye Zhen had somehow already seated himself at the piano, his hands moving skillfully and elegantly across the keys—though his face still looked rather sour.

Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t understand piano, but just watching Ye Zhen’s slender fingers flying across the black and white keys, she could tell he was playing a piece of considerable difficulty. To be able to perform so effortlessly like this, his skill had to be truly outstanding.

Ye Zhen’s playing gradually began drawing in passersby. He sat up straight, dressed in a suit, his profile cool and sharp, his fingers agile and elegant—the whole scene looked like something out of a movie, every frame worth capturing. Several young women passing by started raising their phones to take pictures.

Jiang Xiaoyi found herself completely absorbed in the music too. Ye Zhen really did play beautifully—she didn’t need any deep appreciation for piano to feel the shared joy of the music.

But just as things reached their peak, Ye Zhen abruptly withdrew his hands, closed the piano lid, and walked over to Jiang Xiaoyi with a dark expression.

“Not playing anymore?”

Ye Zhen pressed his lips together, looking utterly bored: “Not playing anymore. Not interesting.”

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t hold back: “But you play so well! You could rival a professional pianist! Ye Zhen, I didn’t know you could play piano before—so maybe your hobby really is the piano! With this level of skill, you’d surely accomplish a lot in piano performance!

Music is a great emotional outlet—knowing how to play an instrument doesn’t just give you something to do in your spare time, you could even perform at your company’s year-end galas!”

Unfortunately, despite Jiang Xiaoyi’s enthusiasm, Ye Zhen’s expression still wasn’t great: “The piano isn’t my hobby.”

“But you play so well!”

“That’s because I was forced into it as a kid!” As though recalling the past, Ye Zhen’s expression carried a hint of lingering resentment. “My family hired me a famous piano teacher, and I was forced to practice five hours a day. If I played a wrong note, I’d get hit too. I might play well, but that’s from being forced into it since childhood, against my will—this was never a hobby I actually enjoyed at all.”

How tragic…

She never expected Ye Zhen had such a miserable childhood of piano practice…

Better not pick at that old wound. Jiang Xiaoyi pulled Ye Zhen straight out of the music store: “Then let’s try somewhere else?”

Next to the music store was a pottery studio. Jiang Xiaoyi rather liked working with clay—she’d even joined a pottery club in college—and she got quite enthusiastic right away: “Put on this apron, I’ll teach you in a bit.”

But the moment Ye Zhen saw the apron in the store, his face immediately showed disgust: “That apron probably hasn’t even been washed—who knows what viruses the last person who wore it might have had. And besides, a man wearing an apron is way too effeminate.”

“So you’re not going to wear it?”

Ye Zhen was resolute: “I won’t.”

Still, compared to piano, pottery was an area Ye Zhen had never touched before, and looking at the finished pieces displayed in the studio after firing, he seemed to feel a bit curious, though after quickly circling the room, this man immediately started spouting off—

“They’re displaying pieces made like this? This studio’s skill level looks a bit lacking, honestly. Look at this—the curve on this teapot isn’t even symmetrical. And this vase—the bottom isn’t even flat.”

As Ye Zhen critiqued, he felt rather pleased with himself: “If I were the one making it, there’s no way it would turn out like that.”

Having lofty ambitions was a good sign—maybe this really was where Ye Zhen’s hobby lay!

Jiang Xiaoyi nodded encouragingly and prepared to explain some pointers about making pottery: “You’re a beginner, so this time you can try making a vase first. Keep your hands positioned at the edges of the wheel, then step on the pedal to get it spinning. Once it’s turning, use your hands to pull the shape up or press it down. Once you’ve formed the hollow body of the vase, you can then adjust the volume however you like and shape the mouth of the vase to your preference, but you have to pay attention to how much pressure you’re applying and…”

Unfortunately, Ye Zhen clearly didn’t take Jiang Xiaoyi’s explanation seriously at all: “There’s not much to explain about this purely theoretical stuff. Making pottery just requires good aesthetic sense and nimble fingers. I visit at least three national-level museums every year—I’ve seen plenty of pottery, so my artistic exposure is more than sufficient. And as for finger dexterity, if I can play the piano that well, how could my fingers not be nimble enough?”

He gave Jiang Xiaoyi a “this is nothing” glance, and actually seemed rather eager to give it a try.

However, this enthusiasm came and went quickly. When Ye Zhen saw the lump of clay on the wheel and Jiang Xiaoyi’s hand reaching straight for the clay, he immediately looked alarmed: “You’re doing this without gloves?”

“Of course! You obviously can’t wear gloves for pottery—otherwise how would you feel whether the clay’s been shaped into what you want?”

As if on cue, a kid working on pottery not far in front of Ye Zhen lost control of the pressure, and the clay on their wheel flew off.

This kind of pottery workshop was often used for parent-child activities these days, and right now, that kid at the workshop was making a mess of things, getting clay all over their own face and hands.

Ye Zhen took one look and immediately, without hesitation, declared: “I’m not doing this.”

They’d already come this far! No way could he back out now!

“I already paid for both of us!” Jiang Xiaoyi said, exasperated. “Talk is cheap—are you backing out at the last second because you know your work would turn out worse than mine?”

Ye Zhen looked utterly baffled: “Me, worse than you?”

Probably provoked by Jiang Xiaoyi’s taunt, Ye Zhen, though rather unwilling, still rolled up his sleeves and sat down at the wheel.

Only, being a beginner, though he talked a tough game, the moment he touched the clay he clearly started fumbling. Yet this vain man refused to even ask the studio’s teacher for guidance, fiddling with it on his own instead, wearing an expression as if facing a great enemy—even Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

She set down the clay in her own hands and walked over to Ye Zhen, starting to give him pointers: “You need to do it like this…”

Unfortunately, Ye Zhen didn’t seem to have much talent for this and couldn’t grasp what Jiang Xiaoyi was showing him. Left with no choice, Jiang Xiaoyi simply reached out to correct his posture directly.

She stood behind Ye Zhen, bending slightly at the waist, holding his hands to demonstrate the correct technique.

Jiang Xiaoyi did all this with complete focus, but Ye Zhen felt a little uneasy about it—Jiang Xiaoyi was a bit too close to him. As she bent forward, her hair fell down, and a strand brushed against his neck and shoulder, making Ye Zhen feel a bit itchy—not unpleasant exactly, but a little hard to bear.

“You need to move a bit more gently, like this.”

Jiang Xiaoyi’s voice as she explained was gentle and earnest, her profile close by, her eyes fixed on the wheel, bright and focused.

At this moment, Ye Zhen should have been looking at the clay, but like a distracted student, his gaze inadvertently drifted somewhere it shouldn’t.

Jiang Xiaoyi quickly noticed his wandering attention, sounding a bit annoyed: “Ye Zhen! Watch the clay! Stop zoning out!”

Ye Zhen had always been focused in everything he did. He thought, this stupid pottery thing definitely wasn’t his true interest or hobby—otherwise how could his mind wander the moment he started?

Fortunately, after giving him some pointers, Jiang Xiaoyi returned to her own seat, and Ye Zhen was able to bring his attention back.

Meanwhile, back at her own wheel, once she stopped paying attention to Ye Zhen’s progress and truly got her hands on the clay herself, that familiar feeling returned, and she quickly became absorbed in the pottery, forgetting everything around her, until…

Until a clump of clay flew and hit her.

The clay splattered, some of it landing on Jiang Xiaoyi’s face, some of it landing right on the hem of her white dress…

This dress was one she’d just bought too!

Jiang Xiaoyi held back her anger: “Whose clay just flew over here?”

Jiang Xiaoyi followed the direction the clay had come from and saw Ye Zhen sitting there elegantly.

Jiang Xiaoyi stared at his wheel and demanded accusingly: “Ye Zhen, where’s the clay on your wheel?”

Ye Zhen frowned at Jiang Xiaoyi: “What? Are you suspecting I’m the one who got clay on you? You think I’d do something so stupid?”

The man’s expression remained calm and composed, his hands relaxed at his sides, currently blocked from view by the wheel in front of him. He said calmly: “There’s no clay on my wheel because I’ve already finished.”

He glanced at a nearby workbench where a clay piece sat: “See, that’s it right there.”

Jiang Xiaoyi looked at the clay piece and realized she must have wrongly accused Ye Zhen—he’d actually finished it. Only…

“Why does this vase of yours look kind of childish?”

Ye Zhen said calmly: “Time was limited, I just went with my instincts. And this isn’t ‘childish’—this is what’s called natural, unadorned artistry. All the great masters’ works are like this. What you think of as crude is actually filled with a deeper sense of beauty. You just don’t understand it.”

“For a first attempt as a beginner, this is actually quite talented!”

Jiang Xiaoyi, covered in clay by now, wasn’t in the mood to debate aesthetics with Ye Zhen and instead glanced around the studio, quickly identifying the actual “culprit” whose wheel had neither clay nor a finished piece on it—wasn’t it that very kid from before?

“Mn, it’s him.” Perhaps sensing Jiang Xiaoyi’s gaze, Ye Zhen calmly lifted his chin to confirm. “That kid, he’s the one who flung the clay.”

Hearing it was a kid, Jiang Xiaoyi’s anger gradually cooled. The child probably hadn’t meant to, and she couldn’t very well hold a grudge against a kid.

She glanced at Ye Zhen: “Well, since we’ve both finished our pieces, all that’s left is natural air-drying, glazing, and firing—normally takes about two days. We can hand our pieces to the shop owner now and go wash our hands. But you seem to have quite enjoyed the pottery—want to make another one?”

“No need.” Ye Zhen calmly stood up briskly, and after cleaning his hands, declared firmly to Jiang Xiaoyi, “Even though I clearly have talent for pottery too, and what I made is masterwork-level, I thought about it, and you’re right—I should use my limited time to explore endless possibilities. Isn’t the flower shop next door? I think I could go look into flower arranging.”

“Didn’t you just say flower arranging was a hobby only for women?”

Ye Zhen coughed, seeming eager to leave the pottery studio as quickly as possible: “I thought about it and realized I was being biased. Art has no gender. Besides, hasn’t the division of labor between men and women shifted in this world? I thought about it, and I think I should do what a good man in this era should do—learn flower arranging.”

Though it sounded a bit odd, Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t think much further of it—Ye Zhen’s willingness to try things in order to discover his hobby was, after all, worth encouraging. She followed Ye Zhen out of the pottery studio; Ye Zhen, apparently having suddenly and genuinely fallen in love with flower arranging, walked as if the wind were at his heels, quickly darting into the flower shop, his figure vanishing at once amid the decorative flowers by the entrance…

She never expected Ye Zhen’s passion for flower arranging to be this intense! Looks like he really might have found where his true interest lies!

Jiang Xiaoyi should have followed right behind him, but just before stepping into the flower shop, she suddenly remembered she’d forgotten to ask the pottery studio staff for a claim ticket, so she could come back later to collect her piece, and so she turned back toward the pottery studio—and that was when Jiang Xiaoyi finally discovered the reason behind Ye Zhen’s sudden burning eagerness for flower arranging—

Back in the pottery studio that she and Ye Zhen had just left, that same child from before was now wailing loudly.

“My finished pottery got stolen! It got stolen!”

“I finally finished making it, I just set it down on the side table, went to wash my hands, and when I came back it was gone!”

The kid seemed rather wronged, tears streaming down his face, angrily and urgently accusing whoever had stolen his work: “Stealing even something like this—stealing even a kid’s stuff—are they even human?”

Wasn’t this the same kid Ye Zhen had just accused of flinging the clay at himself? Come to think of it, if his clay had all flown off the wheel, how could he have finished a piece?

Jiang Xiaoyi felt a bit puzzled, but didn’t think too much of it, and headed straight to where the half-finished pieces had been placed, intending to ask a staff member for a claim ticket.

It seemed the child was making quite a fuss, so the pottery shop staff had no choice but to bring the kid over to the shop owner’s display shelf near the semi-finished work table—

“Little friend, we’re sorry your piece went missing in our shop—that’s our staff’s fault for not watching it properly. So, as an apology, we’d like to give you one of our owner’s finished works, free of charge. Just pick whichever one you like from here.”

The child, though still upset about having his work stolen, calmed down somewhat after hearing this, choking back his sobs, and looked toward the display shelf. But just as he raised a finger to pick one, his peripheral vision caught sight of something on the semi-finished workbench—

“I found it! This is mine! This is mine!!!”

What this child was staring at was none other than the “masterwork-level” piece Ye Zhen had claimed to have made himself?? ?

The child wiped his tears: “I don’t want any of your owner’s pieces. I want this one, my own!”

…..

In a flash of realization, Jiang Xiaoyi finally understood everything.

That damned Ye Zhen!

No wonder it looked so childish—it was clearly this kid’s work all along!

And whoever had flung the clay off the wheel had clearly been Ye Zhen himself!

His own pottery skills were terrible, and rather than admit it, he’d apparently seized the moment when the kid nearby had gone to wash his hands, stolen the kid’s work for himself, and dumped the blame for the flying clay onto the child instead!

Jiang Xiaoyi was practically dumbstruck with fury. In all her years alive, she’d never met a man as childish, as vain, and as lacking in sportsmanship as Ye Zhen.

What the hell, so suddenly interested in floral arts?

Rushing so eagerly to leave the pottery studio—turns out the criminal was simply trying to flee the crime scene quickly!

By the time Jiang Xiaoyi walked into the flower shop with a dark expression, Ye Zhen, sure enough, showed none of the passion he’d claimed. He was casually fiddling with some flowers, looking rather disdainful, and the moment he looked up and saw Jiang Xiaoyi, he immediately put the flowers down and said calmly, with an air of composure: “I just tried it myself, and it seems flowers are just something I admire from afar after all—not really my thing.”

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t hold back her anger: “Then what is your hobby? Nothing works for you, this or that. Fine, I guess it’s on me for meddling. I shouldn’t have bothered trying to find you a hobby—maybe you just don’t have one.”

Getting scolded like this by Jiang Xiaoyi, Ye Zhen, however, seemed to still be in remarkably good spirits: “No, you weren’t meddling.”

Jiang Xiaoyi frowned, not sure what he was getting at now.

Ye Zhen smiled: “I should actually thank you.” The man said calmly, “I really didn’t used to know what my hobbies were, or what I was suited for, but after today, I think I’ve figured it out.”

Jiang Xiaoyi paused: “So you found your hobby?”

Was it… pottery?

Well, sure, not being good at something doesn’t necessarily mean not liking it. Even though Ye Zhen’s first attempt at pottery had been a total failure—embarrassing to admit, perhaps—but who knew, maybe he secretly loved playing with clay?

Just as Jiang Xiaoyi was about to sincerely congratulate him, Ye Zhen pressed his lips together and, sounding rather profound, declared—

“I’m good at being a boss, I’m suited to being a boss, I was born to be a boss. Being a boss—that’s my hobby.”

“…”

This infuriating man continued: “Honestly, before, I never really wanted to take over the company either. Being a boss, being a decision-maker—it was all a fate I was born into, so I just resigned myself to it. I never realized that what I already had was, in fact, my true passion. It’s only now that I’ve lost it that I truly appreciate the joy of being a boss.”

He rubbed his temples with a slightly troubled look: “You’re right that people should find their hobbies in life. I tried being an assistant, imagined myself as a pottery master, a floral artist, a pianist—and honestly and truly, I feel that being a boss is what my heart loves most.”

Ye Zhen solemnly patted Jiang Xiaoyi on the shoulder: “Thank you. It’s true that a person needs a hobby to have a life goal. I’ll bide my time, resign from working for you soon, start my own business, and become a boss again.”

“…”

You son of a—

Jiang Xiaoyi was practically furious to death.

She’d been trying to find Ye Zhen a hobby precisely so he’d work hard for her! After all, having a hobby to relieve the negative energy of work was what would keep his career working for her stable and thriving long-term! Who told him to go and think about becoming a boss instead?

And his hobby turned out to be being a boss?! In her whole life, Jiang Xiaoyi had never heard anything more infuriating than this.

But Ye Zhen quickly made her realize there was something even more infuriating still to come. The man tucked his hands into his pockets, and after taking just a couple of steps, turned back to glance at Jiang Xiaoyi, saying naturally: “Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and make use of the time I have left as your assistant—I’m taking you to practice dancing.”

“…”