Ye Zhen woke up amid a splitting headache, and the moment he opened his eyes, Li You’ai’s enlarged face suddenly appeared right in front of him, delivering a massive visual shock. Before he could even recover from that, an even bigger shock followed —

“President Ye! You’re finally awake! I’ve been longing for this moment, praying for the stars and the moon, and finally you’re awake!” ?!?

Li You’ai’s tone was exaggerated, his expression even more so than his tone. Ye Zhen clearly saw this sycophant, for the sake of effect, viciously pinch his own thigh, successfully squeezing tears out of his own eyes.

“President Ye! I truly deserve death for my sins!” Li You’ai said, tears and snot flying as he threw himself fully into the act. “During the three and a half hours you were unconscious, I hand-copied an entire Diamond Sutra for you! Praying for your blessing! It must have been my sincerity that moved the heavens — that’s why you woke up so quickly!”

President Ye? Why was he “President Ye” again?

Had he traveled back? Or was this all just a dream?

Ye Zhen’s head still felt a bit dizzy, and he simply frowned, looking at Li You’ai’s exaggerated performance in front of him, and following his own gut instinct, asked, “Where’s Jiang Xiaoyi?”

Ye Zhen’s last memory was of holding Jiang Xiaoyi protectively in his arms — upon waking, the first thing on his mind wasn’t figuring out the situation, but worrying about her.

“Has she woken up?”

As it turned out, at this remark, Li You’ai’s expression instantly turned obsequious. “She’s awake! But I’ve already dealt with her! President Ye, don’t worry!”

As long as she was fine, Ye Zhen felt relieved.

Only, before he could even ask where Jiang Xiaoyi was, Li You’ai enthusiastically introduced himself and continued speaking. “Jiang Xiaoyi woke up half an hour before you did — though she went out of line on the yacht in some momentary confusion, after soaking in the sea for a while, she’s completely calmed down now, well aware her crime is unforgivable. I gave her a thorough dressing-down too, scolded her from head to toe, made her deeply understand what happens when you offend your boss. Who would have thought our Project Incubation Department would produce someone like her — truly one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel!”

“…”

“But don’t worry, President Ye, calm down — I’ve already docked her performance bonus and had her pack up and get out! She knows herself she has no face to stay on any longer, so she’s already tendered her resignation! She’ll absolutely never show up at Ruiyi to offend your eyes again! Given her rank, the resignation process only needs approval from the HR director, and I’ve already submitted it for expedited review on the OA system…”

Li You’ai grew more and more anxious as he spoke, seeing that Ye Zhen’s expression was growing increasingly stormy — that damned Jiang Xiaoyi, this time she’d really thoroughly offended the esteemed President Ye!

Sure enough, before he could finish speaking, Ye Zhen cut him off, his tone tinged with irritation and urgency. “Call the HR director right now.”

President Ye clearly couldn’t stand Jiang Xiaoyi for even one more second — surely he wanted to personally instruct the HR director to approve her resignation immediately, to make her disappear as quickly as possible…

As it turned out, that was exactly the case — the moment Li You’ai pulled out his phone, he heard Ye Zhen say, “Tell the HR director…”

“To approve it right away! I understand! President Ye! I get it!”

However, Li You’ai, feeling quite pleased with his own quick thinking, had barely finished his sentence when Ye Zhen glared at him fiercely. “Tell the HR director to reject the resignation letter right away! Don’t approve it! Jiang Xiaoyi is not allowed to resign — bring her back to me. Who told you to fire her?!”

Ye Zhen’s voice turned cold and dangerous, and he shot Li You’ai a glance. “And didn’t anyone teach you not to interrupt your boss when he’s speaking?”

“Yes, yes, President Ye, it’s my fault for being too hasty! I’ll make sure the HR director doesn’t allow Jiang Xiaoyi to resign! Rest assured!”

Li You’ai carefully studied Ye Zhen’s expression, trying to guess at his true intentions. “Then, President Ye, would you like to rest a bit first? I’ll go handle work matters.”

Serving one’s lord truly was like serving alongside a tiger — no exaggeration at all. Li You’ai had just anxiously tried to excuse himself without further incident, only to be called back once again by Ye Zhen —

“Wait.”

Li You’ai put on an obsequious expression. “President Ye, do you have further instructions?”

Ye Zhen’s expression remained quite composed. “You just said that while I was unconscious, you hand-copied a Diamond Sutra to pray for my recovery?”

Li You’ai’s eyes lit up — President Ye had actually thought to bring that up, surely he’d caught the loyal, well-meaning sentiment behind his words…

“Yes, President Ye, they say copying the Diamond Sutra is the most effective prayer of all. You have no idea how worried I was while you were unconscious — if it weren’t for the emergency heart medication I keep on hand, this old life of mine might have…”

Li You’ai was gearing up to launch into another round of self-glorifying rambling, but just as he’d worked himself into the emotion, right as he was about to hit his stride, Ye Zhen coldly cut him off —

“So you’ve finished copying the whole Diamond Sutra by hand, have you?”

Li You’ai, not quite understanding, nodded instinctively. “Yes…”

“Then bring me your hand-copied Diamond Sutra before the end of the workday today.” Ye Zhen didn’t give Li You’ai a chance to say anything further, simply smiling at him. “Your loyalty to me is quite touching, so I’ve decided to keep your Diamond Sutra as a memento.”

“…” Li You’ai felt utterly devastated inside — he’d only said that on a whim, when had he actually copied anything!

As it turned out, Ye Zhen clearly had no intention of letting him off easily. He glanced at Li You’ai and added, “I forgot to mention, I remember your handwriting — the version you copied for me is sure to carry all the distinctive character of your own hand.”

“…” President Ye had just thoroughly cut off any possibility of him finding someone else to copy it for him!

“Alright, there’s nothing else for now. Remember to bring me the Diamond Sutra you personally copied as soon as possible.”

…

Five minutes later, Li You’ai emerged from Ye Zhen’s hospital room already nearly breaking into a cold sweat. This young, handsome superior of his certainly had strong presence, and his temper was quite unpredictable too — before the fall into the water, Ye Zhen hadn’t treated him particularly well, but he hadn’t been this harsh either. Yet now Li You’ai clearly felt like he was being targeted at every turn, as though the man were determined to make him suffer.

But he hadn’t done anything wrong recently at all!

Thinking it over, it had to be that damned Jiang Xiaoyi, daring to kick President Ye’s backside — and now he was suffering the fallout right along with her!

Now that President Ye wouldn’t allow Jiang Xiaoyi to resign, Li You’ai could understand perfectly well — how could he just let this little brat run off? The best way to take revenge on someone is to trap them and torment them to death slowly!

This Jiang Xiaoyi character really did have a bleak road ahead of her!

While desperately copying out the Diamond Sutra, Li You’ai thought of Jiang Xiaoyi and felt that, compared to her, his own treatment was actually still much better.

And before he began his desperate sutra-copying, Li You’ai had also promptly called the HR director first, and then called Jiang Xiaoyi too —

“Hello? Jiang Xiaoyi? There are some loose ends to wrap up on your old project over in the Project Incubation Department — you can resign, sure, but you need to handle the mess and complete the handover before you leave, understand! Come to work normally until the resignation process is approved, or it’ll be treated as unauthorized absence! And several projects are at a critical stage for IPO financing right now — if your absence causes any mishaps, the company will definitely seek damages, understand!”

Li You’ai hung up the phone and continued copying the sutra, feeling quite pleased with his own cleverness.

President Ye was clearly planning to deal with Jiang Xiaoyi properly, but what if she saw through his intentions at a glance and just ran off without bothering to complete the resignation paperwork — how would President Ye ever vent his anger then?

He and the Project Incubation Department had survived this disaster only by relying on President Ye venting his fury fully first.

Jiang Xiaoyi had a strong sense of responsibility and was also rather timid — what she feared most was exactly this kind of talk about compensation claims. Using that as leverage, she’d have no choice but to obediently show up to work.

…

**

Ye Zhen didn’t stay at the hospital for long, because his phone was already flooded with missed calls from various partners and investors — as a company head, sometimes there simply wasn’t even time to be sick. He rushed to leave the hospital before friends and family could arrive, hurrying back toward Ruiyi.

As for how he’d become President Ye again, Ye Zhen himself still hadn’t quite grasped it.

He kept doubting his own memories — he’d clearly shielded Jiang Xiaoyi with his own body, and the pain of slamming into that rock had felt so real and intense, yet now, feeling his own back, there wasn’t a scratch on him.

He’d only spent three and a half hours in the hospital, entirely because he’d choked on water and been hit on the head after being kicked into the ocean by Jiang Xiaoyi.

So, had everything in his head just been a side effect of the head injury?

What exactly was real, and what was just a dream?

Ye Zhen’s head still ached a little. He urgently wanted to see Jiang Xiaoyi, but she’d been so frightened she’d run off!

Given how the two of them had interacted in the parallel timeline, she shouldn’t have run away like that.

So the parallel timeline really was fake, then? Had all those details of living alongside Jiang Xiaoyi just been something his damaged brain had conjured up out of imagination?

But regardless, now that Ye Zhen had returned to normal life, his body was fine, and he was once again that same Ye Zhen of Ruiyi — there was nothing wrong with that, and nothing worth wasting more time dwelling on, since, dream or not, everything had returned to its proper order.

This had originally been Ye Zhen’s guiding belief, yet now it wavered.

Because the moment he merely thought of Jiang Xiaoyi, his heart would stir — and just recalling little moments of being together with her would set off this swirl of emotion inside him — what exactly was going on with that?

Ye Zhen felt restless to the point of madness inside, and he made an internal call. “The moment Jiang Xiaoyi comes in, have her come to my office immediately.”

**

Being ordered by Li You’ai to go back to the Project Incubation Department to clean up after a project wasn’t something Jiang Xiaoyi thought much of, but the moment she’d just reached her desk, Li You’ai told her to go to Ye Zhen’s office, and Jiang Xiaoyi immediately sensed something was off —

“Director Li, is President Ye…”

Li You’ai wore an expression of detached, gloating amusement. “You’d better watch yourself. Ah, young people these days, they just don’t know their place — challenging the boss every day, thinking that counts as some kind of resistance spirit! Is that really what it is? That’s called stupidity!”

So this meant Ye Zhen was planning to torment her!

Jiang Xiaoyi’s thoughts spun in a mess, her mind and memory still quite muddled — she could barely tell anymore whether she was in a dream or reality — but seeing how Eunuch Li was behaving, it seemed most likely that her whole experience of leaping ahead into a parallel timeline as a boss had all just been her own mental fabrication.

Damn it, reality really was cruel — as if there’d ever be such a good thing in life as traveling to a parallel timeline and becoming a boss!

Since it was all just her own daydream, could she even go to Ye Zhen’s office?

Of course not!

Given how vindictive Ye Zhen’s personality was, she wasn’t just at odds with him professionally now — she’d even kicked him into the sea. Walking into his office would surely mean going in and never coming out, dying without even a body left behind!

Fortunately, since Ye Zhen, as Ruiyi’s manager, had an extremely full schedule, a major client visit came up urgently, and Ye Zhen had no choice but to go receive them, which meant Jiang Xiaoyi managed to escape the trip to his office for the time being. She anxiously endured until the end of the workday, resolving to survive one day at a time. The moment it hit quitting time, she didn’t stay behind to work overtime either, slipping out right behind Li You’ai, who left right on the dot.

But as it turned out, just as Jiang Xiaoyi followed Li You’ai out through Ruiyi’s front doors, a black Bentley slowly pulled up in front of her, and the rear passenger window rolled down, revealing Ye Zhen’s handsome, coldly aloof profile.

Ye Zhen glanced at Li You’ai, then raised his wrist to check his watch. “Strictly speaking, it’s still a minute and a half before the end of the workday. And this time of day is exactly rush hour — the elevator takes an average of five minutes to wait for, and even taking the stairs down from your Project Incubation Department’s floor would take four minutes.”

He lifted his eyelids slightly, looking at Li You’ai without expression. “So you left your post at least five to six minutes early at the very least. Strictly speaking, that counts as leaving work early.”

“And another thing — where’s your hand-copied Diamond Sutra?”

Eunuch Li broke into an instant cold sweat, but being someone who’d seen plenty in his day, under Jiang Xiaoyi’s stunned gaze, he quickly improvised an explanation. “President Ye, it’s only five-thirty, why would I be leaving work now! I’m actually going with Jiang Xiaoyi to check out a project! Even though it’s technically off the clock, our contact for this project is only available at this hour, so I figured, for the sake of work, we can’t just stop the moment the clock strikes five. Today’s business, finish today; tomorrow’s business, no matter how early, is still tomorrow!”

Eunuch Li, saying this, frantically signaled to Jiang Xiaoyi with his eyes. “Isn’t that right, little Jiang?”

Li You’ai added obsequiously, “As for the hand-copied Diamond Sutra to pray for your recovery, I already had admin deliver it to your office desk just now…”

Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t dare say a word, only bowing her head and nodding along frantically in agreement with Li You’ai, trying her best to minimize her own presence, but unfortunately…

Many things in life only ever seem to go wrong at the worst possible moment.

“Since it’s for work, and it’s rush hour right now, public transportation would be too crowded, and taxis would be hard to hail too. I happen to be heading that way, so I’ll give you both a ride.”

“Great, great, thank you President Ye, thank you President Ye!”

Li You’ai hadn’t expected his improvised excuse to actually win his boss’s favor, and immediately, beaming with delight, pulled open the back car door and climbed in to sit right beside Ye Zhen.

Li You’ai adjusted his seating posture with dignified restraint, then shot a glare at Jiang Xiaoyi, who was still standing at the curb looking for a chance to bolt. “What are you standing there for? Go sit in the front passenger seat, quickly!”

Jiang Xiaoyi desperately hoped the vindictive Ye Zhen would refuse to let her ride along and just drive the car away from in front of her, but unfortunately, Ye Zhen merely looked away, gazing toward the front of the car, showing no sign of telling the driver to leave.

Jiang Xiaoyi hesitated awkwardly for a long moment, until the cars behind, blocked in by Ye Zhen’s Bentley, started honking their horns, and only then did she have no choice but to steel herself and climb into the front passenger seat.

Only once she’d sat down and buckled her seatbelt did Ye Zhen finally give the order, and the car finally started moving.

Li You’ai, a mid-level manager, having the honor of riding in the same car as Ye Zhen, was practically overjoyed inside, thinking he must have earned Ye Zhen’s favor for successfully dealing with Jiang Xiaoyi, and figuring he might be in line for a promotion and raise next.

But he hadn’t even had time to fabricate a story about which project he was heading out to work on — how had President Ye already declared it was “on the way”?

Li You’ai thought about it, and was just about to speak up, when he heard Ye Zhen, sitting beside him, speak first.

He said to the driver, concisely, “Pull over.”

Soon, the driver signaled and the black Bentley came to a smooth stop by the roadside.

Li You’ai had just started to feel a bit uneasy when he heard Ye Zhen speak again. “Get out.”

So that was it!

Li You’ai suddenly understood.

No wonder he was the boss! This kind of humiliation — now that was true humiliation!

Rather than simply refusing to let Jiang Xiaoyi ride in the first place, this approach — letting her get in first, then kicking her out midway — was clearly a far more thorough way to humiliate someone!

Ye Zhen really did have some tricks up his sleeve!

Fortunately, whoever had offended him this badly wasn’t him.

Li You’ai looked toward Jiang Xiaoyi in the front passenger seat and raised his voice. “You hear that? Little Jiang, get out!”

Jiang Xiaoyi, only too happy to comply, immediately went to unbuckle her seatbelt, but the moment her hand touched the buckle, Ye Zhen’s hand reached over and stopped her.

She looked up and met Ye Zhen’s cold yet striking dark eyes.

This man’s expression was quite composed. He re-buckled the seatbelt Jiang Xiaoyi had just undone, looking at her with a somewhat warning glint in his eyes. “I didn’t tell you to move. Sit still.”

Then he turned to look at Li You’ai. “You get out.” ?!?

For the first time, Li You’ai truly understood what it felt like to have three question marks pop up over his head. He thought he’d misheard, and mechanically repeated it once. “I get out? But President Ye, didn’t you say you were giving me a ride to check out the project, since it’s on the way?”

“There’s no seat left in the car.” Ye Zhen said this with utterly insincere coldness. “Ladies first — men ought to have a bit of gentlemanly conduct, so you get out.”

Ye Zhen’s Bentley was a large model, and the back seat, with Ye Zhen and Li You’ai in it, clearly still had room to spare — enough space to fit two more people, it seemed, hardly looking like there was “no seat left”…

But since Ye Zhen had already spoken, Li You’ai didn’t dare say anything further, obediently getting out of the car, watching the Bentley speed off into the distance, leaving him standing there having swallowed a mouthful of exhaust fumes.

Still, Li You’ai quickly consoled himself with some mental victory, thinking that Ye Zhen must have told him to get out for some deeper reason — surely this was some kind of “closing the net” strategy, planning to deal with that little troublemaker Jiang Xiaoyi alone, not wanting to implicate an innocent bystander like himself, which was why he’d made him get out midway!

President Ye really was so considerate! So nice! Never one to implicate the innocent, always settling grudges and repaying kindness precisely where it’s due!