The stairwell light had long been broken from disrepair, and there was no elevator in the old public housing building either. Jiang Xiaoyi felt her way up the narrow, cramped stairs in the dark and opened the door to her rented room.

Outside was rather run-down, and inside wasn’t much warmer.

Jiang Xiaoyi’s family hadn’t been well-off to begin with — her parents ran a small business — and a year ago, while out making deliveries, her mother and father had been in a car accident, falling into a severe coma and spending months in the ICU. The driver responsible had fled the scene and could never be found. Jiang Xiaoyi spent every last bit of her family’s 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 forward, continuing to work hard to pay it off.

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

Her neighbor next door 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 activities all evening. The next morning, the neighbor downstairs’ dog barking woke her up again.

Blearily getting up, she glanced toward the southeast corner of the living room — the weather forecast had been accurate, it really was raining, and quite heavily too. Rainwater was now leaking down, and the plastic basin she’d placed out the night before was already nearly full.

If it weren’t for this leaky top-floor roof, the rent wouldn’t have been discounted by another five hundred yuan.

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

But her moment of self-consolation didn’t even last a second before a phone call from her uncle snapped her back to reality—

“Xiaoyi, that fifty thousand yuan we lent you before for your parents’ hospital stay — the family urgently needs it back now…” After her uncle finished speaking, his voice carried worry and shame. “By the way, come by when you have time — I’ll have your aunt make you those glutinous rice balls in fermented wine you love. No one’s made them for you since your mom passed… sigh…”

These past few years, Jiang Xiaoyi’s income had almost entirely gone toward paying off debt — she only had a pitiful amount left for living expenses, which was why she could only afford to live in this run-down neighborhood.

Originally, with her year-end bonus, she could have paid off this fifty-thousand-yuan debt — but her uncle’s family suddenly needed the money urgently. Jiang Xiaoyi checked her bank account balance, not sure where she’d be able to borrow money on such short notice…

**

“Hey! Jiang Xiaoyi, look quick! HR just posted an internal recruitment notice! Before they go through the formal hiring process to find Mr. Ye a permanent secretary, they’re going to select someone internally to be his temporary secretary for one month first!”

“How do romance novels always put it? The CEO always ends up drawn to the genuine, unpretentious little secretary — I’m going for it! And even if Mr. Ye doesn’t fall for me, at least looking at his face every day beats looking at Eunuch Li’s!”

Wang Yani and several other female coworkers were eagerly preparing to sign up, but Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all.

Because she was preoccupied thinking about that fifty thousand yuan, Jiang Xiaoyi had been rather distracted since arriving at Ruiyi. Hearing what Wang Yani said, she only glanced listlessly at the recruitment notice.

A person like Ye Zhen — his looks were matched only by how difficult he was. She’d rather die than ever be his assistant.

“Look, the compensation is excellent! Whoever gets selected gets five to six times their current salary!!! On top of that, there’s also a performance bonus!”

Five to six times the salary?!

Jiang Xiaoyi instantly perked up.

She could do this!

Even death would be worth it, as long as it was for a worthy cause!

Besides, this Ye Zhen, though he had a bit of a difficult reputation, was clearly a total airhead when it came to actually running the company, judging from the HR transfer order. And wasn’t an airhead easy enough to handle?

As long as you stroked him the right way, wasn’t he easier to fool than some shrewd boss? She’d just shamelessly flatter him, treat his difficult demands as nothing, learn from Eunuch Li’s dedicated spirit — and maybe, while acting as his temporary assistant, she could even win his favor.

And then wouldn’t her project approvals get to go through the express lane afterward too?

Most importantly, for the sake of five to six times her salary, Jiang Xiaoyi felt she could endure anything. Besides, wasn’t this just diving into the deep end for one month?!

She could do it!

**

Jiang Xiaoyi excitedly signed up and anxiously waited to take the plunge.

But unexpectedly, too many people wanted in, and it turned into a vicious dumpling-boiling scramble of competition — the opportunity to become Ye Zhen’s temporary assistant became as strict as an emperor selecting concubines, and there was no way Jiang Xiaoyi would even get a look-in.

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

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t feel happy either — this money-making opportunity, it seemed, wasn’t going to fall to her after all.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn — a week later, all the strong competitors had dropped out one by one, and the Administration Department actually sent Jiang Xiaoyi a notice that she’d been selected to take the plunge!

Could her luck really be turning around?!

Jiang Xiaoyi could hardly believe it: “They really picked me?”

The HR Director nodded: “Yes. Once you complete the health checkup Mr. Ye requires, if you pass, you can start in three days. Mr. Ye’s official assistant will start in mid-next-month — until then, you’ll serve as temporary assistant, with daily wages.”

Daily wages!!!

A boss willing to pay daily wages — 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 wage she’d earn!

Why wait three days — Jiang Xiaoyi felt she could seamlessly transition right now!

So, first thing the next morning, Jiang Xiaoyi rushed excitedly to the designated hospital, planning to finish her physical in the morning and start work that very afternoon.

Ye Zhen seemed annoying, but unexpectedly, he was quite attentive to employees’ physical health — all these checkup items were company-reimbursed.

But once she got the itemized checkup list printed out by the nurse, Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t laugh anymore—

Usually company physicals had an itemized list that was just one page — this was the first time she’d seen one as thick as a booklet…

When it came time to draw blood, the nurse pulled out more than twenty vials just for that alone, then counted them again and added one more.

…

Jiang Xiaoyi finally understood the deeper meaning behind starting “in three days,” because by the time all hundred-plus checkup items were finished, three days had indeed passed…

**

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

Ye Zhen’s office had a strong sense of design — none of former CEO Liu’s rosewood furniture, instead all minimalist European elements. His extravagantly handsome face paired with the setting was, surprisingly, harmonious — quite an aesthetic impact.

But though Ye Zhen’s looks were absolutely top-tier, unfortunately he had a sharp mouth, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm—

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

After saying this, Ye Zhen paused for a long time — so long that Jiang Xiaoyi began wondering if the conversation was already over and she should leave — until Ye Zhen, frowning, said somewhat displeased: “Nothing to say?”

Say what?

Ye Zhen smiled faintly: “For instance, any thoughts on the opportunity to become my assistant? After all, we’ll be working together for about a month going forward — I hope you won’t be too reserved or tense. Feel free to say whatever’s on your mind — it’ll help me get to know you better.”

Was this making her go through the flattery routine?

Fine then!

Jiang Xiaoyi, having been immersed in Eunuch Li’s example for years, could produce flattery like this almost automatically: “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Ye. I’m very grateful for this opportunity — I never expected becoming a temporary assistant would come with such wonderful health checkup benefits.”

The essence of flattery wasn’t to be blatant, but to be subtle as silent rain.

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

Jiang Xiaoyi was about to continue elaborating when Ye Zhen cut her off coolly: “I don’t like a work atmosphere of flattery and sucking up. I hope my assistant is down-to-earth. Asking for your thoughts was just a test.”

“…”

He glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi: “You’ve disappointed me a bit.”

Damn it, entrapment and he’s got the nerve to say that?

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 up with his hand: “Actually, your checkup results weren’t fully satisfactory either. I hope my temporary assistant’s body fat percentage stays around 18%, but yours is 19%. Still, compared to the other candidates, you’re the best of a mediocre bunch — before the official assistant starts, I’ll reluctantly make do with you.”

Was he selecting a bodybuilding champion? What does body fat percentage have to do with being an assistant!

Ye Zhen seemed to know what Jiang Xiaoyi was thinking. He glanced at her: “Body fat percentage reflects whether someone consistently exercises, and indirectly shows a person’s lifestyle philosophy — whether they’re disciplined, whether they hold standards for their own appearance. Applied to the workplace, self-discipline and high self-standards are indispensable qualities for being my assistant. Someone who can’t even manage their own weight certainly can’t be trusted to handle work responsibilities.”

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

Jiang Xiaoyi simply wanted to roll her eyes — what prince living in an ivory tower was this Ye Zhen? Did he really think every working person lived as comfortably as these bosses did?

Controlling her diet — that was because she had no money, could only afford discounted near-expiry salads.

Keeping up with exercise — that was because working people like her had no elevator, had to climb stairs up and down every day.

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

After working all day, who had the energy to work out on top of that!

Ye Zhen, none the wiser, only pressed his lips together and concluded: “I don’t have anything else to say. Move your workstation in tomorrow, start officially.”

Starting tomorrow?! That wouldn’t do!

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

Of course — five times the pay, she couldn’t afford to lose even half a day!

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

Jiang Xiaoyi immediately argued her case: “Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Ye. I know a lot of people can develop psychological issues under heavy stress, but I’m perfectly fine — can we skip this?”

“Absolutely not.”

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

A bit of a princely complex, but this level of concern for a subordinate was actually somewhat touching.

But Jiang Xiaoyi only wanted to start working and earning money quickly. Just as she opened her mouth to try to persuade him again, she heard him continue as if it were only natural—

“Plenty of psychopaths look perfectly fine on the surface these days, but their minds are already twisted underneath. If you don’t do the psychological health screening, I’m worried working together might put me at risk.”???

So making her do over a hundred physical checkup items was also because…

Sensing Jiang Xiaoyi’s questioning gaze, Ye Zhen nodded: “That’s right. Modern people — a lot of them are already mentally unwell, and physically unhealthy too. If you happened to have some health risk like a contagious disease, that would threaten my health as well.”

He took a sip of black tea, then smiled at Jiang Xiaoyi again: “So, in order to keep this job, I hope you’ll take good care of staying healthy.”

Jiang Xiaoyi felt that her originally healthy mental state might not stay healthy for much longer.

[Note: The narrative here shifts to a different scene/flashback — a wedding matter involving “Eunuch Li” (Li You’ai) and his nephew Li Yongjian.]

Eunuch Li paused for a moment, then quickly, his face crinkling into a chrysanthemum-like smile, pulled out an invitation card and stuffed it into Jiang Xiaoyi’s hands: “Oh, President Jiang, you’re so funny — why would you need to ask me for an invitation? I was thinking since we’re all one family now, why bother with formalities like sending out invitations?”

Trying to skip me, just say so directly — and “one family,” my foot!

Jiang Xiaoyi had only asked for the invitation out of habit, with no intention of actually attending. She took the card, feeling rather listless: “Don’t worry, the cash gift will arrive — I have things to do, I won’t be able to make it in person.”

Eunuch Li instead wiggled his eyebrows and laughed exaggeratedly: “President Jiang, joking again? You’re the one involved — if you don’t come, how can this wedding even happen?”???

Looking at Eunuch Li’s fawning expression, Jiang Xiaoyi suddenly had a bad premonition.

That premonition came true the moment she opened the red invitation card—

On the bride’s line was written, unmistakably, “Jiang Xiaoyi” — and looking at the groom’s line…

Who else could it be but Eunuch Li’s nephew, Li Yongjian?

“I’m marrying your nephew?!”

“That’s right, that’s right. Our Yongjian has been virtuous and gentle since childhood, considerate and well-mannered. Of course, being chosen by President Jiang, marrying into the Jiang family — that’s a blessing our Yongjian earned in a past life.”

Eunuch Li continued flattering Jiang Xiaoyi, but she felt as if struck by lightning, her vision going dark.

She’d gotten ahead of herself, celebrating too soon after all!

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

She never, ever could have imagined that in this timeline, she was actually already engaged to marry Li Yongjian!

But why hadn’t she seen him at all since falling off the cruise ship?!

She simply couldn’t accept this fiancé who’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Eunuch Li seemed to know what Jiang Xiaoyi was thinking. He put on a shameless, ingratiating explanation: “Last time after you fell in the water on the cruise, Yongjian loved you so much he couldn’t bear the shock and fainted on the spot — spent several days in the hospital for emergency treatment. Afterward, though he recovered, he was worried the bad luck clinging to his body might bring misfortune upon you, so he hasn’t come to see you this whole time.”

What kind of nonsense was this! Clearly Li Yongjian had bolted the moment he sensed danger!

But Eunuch Li kept shamelessly continuing: “But it’s fine — the wedding is planned for next month anyway, which is perfect timing to ward off Yongjian’s bad luck. He’s been exercising and adjusting his diet at home every day now, even quit his job, currently regulating his body’s pH balance, just hoping that after the wedding you two can have a daughter right away — he wants to be a full-time husband, to give you, President Jiang, a stable home base to support you…”

Thinking of Li Yongjian, Jiang Xiaoyi could only recall the terror of being dominated by cheap fast food and little electric scooters.

There was no way this could happen! She absolutely would not marry him! She was already this wealthy now — why would she need to get married at all!

But Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t expected that her attempt to smoothly cancel the wedding would run into fierce suppression from her mother—

“Yongjian is great. Sure, he’s not the most handsome, but he’s decent-looking, and men who are too good-looking outside are all deceitful — someone like Yongjian, you can tell at a glance he’s steady, obedient, and family-oriented!”

Jiang Xiaoyi grew anxious: “But I suddenly don’t like him anymore! I don’t want to marry him!”

“What are you talking about, child? Yongjian is Li You’ai’s nephew, someone we know inside and out — in the future he can also help Li You’ai support your work. Haven’t you two been dating for a while now? You’re at the right age now too — you need to take over the family business and continue the family line. Household matters need a man to help manage too. If your father hadn’t helped me raise you back then, how could I have built up this empire?”

“Men these days aren’t like your father’s generation — nowadays any man with even a bit of good looks is calculating and shrewd! It’s much safer to find someone simple and honest to keep at home!”

After Mother Jiang finished, Father Jiang, standing beside her, leaned against her affectionately: “Honey, thank you — even though I’m the one who married into your family, I never expected you’d be willing to let our daughter take my surname.”

The two of them exchanged loving glances, and then Mother Jiang delivered the final verdict—

“In any case, calling off this wedding is out of the question. The invitations have already been sent — the Jiang family has a reputation to uphold, we absolutely cannot go back on our word like this.” She spoke with worldly confidence. “I understand, we women have the whole sky to ourselves, naturally don’t like being tied down by marriage — as a mother, I get that too. So don’t give me this nonsense about suddenly not liking Yongjian anymore. You’re just getting cold feet before the wedding. Go relax a bit, you’ll be fine.”

Jiang Xiaoyi struggled desperately: “No! I really don’t like him anymore! I like someone else! This wedding absolutely cannot happen!”

But Mother Jiang remained unmoved: “Don’t talk nonsense. Besides Yongjian, when have you ever had another man around you? Go on, tell me — who is this someone else you supposedly like?”

As if on cue, right as Jiang Xiaoyi was about to make up some random man, a male voice suddenly rang out from the mansion’s entrance—

“Anna! No, Jiang Xiaoyi! Open the door for me!”

Who else but Ye Zhen would dare address her so brazenly by her full name in this timeline?

“That’s him!” Jiang Xiaoyi had a sudden flash of inspiration, pointing straight at the door on the spot. “Mom, that’s him! That’s the person I’ve fallen for now!”

Mother Jiang looked toward the door suspiciously.

Ye Zhen was still pounding on the door: “Jiang Xiaoyi! I don’t know a soul in this godforsaken place! You have to take responsibility! This isn’t over between us!”

She never expected that at this critical moment, she’d actually need to rely on Ye Zhen to save her life!

Jiang Xiaoyi pressed her advantage on the spot: “Mom, you hear that, he’s saying I need to take responsibility for him!”

Fearing Mother Jiang might suspect something more, Jiang Xiaoyi immediately opened the door and ushered in the sour-faced Ye Zhen, shooting him a “shut up” glance while quickly speaking first: “Mom, this is Ye Zhen. He’s a pitiful man — if I abandon him, he’ll have nothing left!”

Jiang Xiaoyi’s acting was in full force at this moment, practically on the verge of tears: “If I abandon him, not only might he go hang banners outside Ruiyi’s building, he might even crash the wedding, or even hang himself right at our mansion’s front gate! He loves me so much — if he loses me, he’ll surely die!”

“Jiang—”

Ye Zhen, frowning, was about to demand what exactly Jiang Xiaoyi was up to, when Jiang Xiaoyi flashed an innocent smile while viciously pinching him hard. She used every ounce of her strength, and sure enough, Ye Zhen’s eyes instantly welled up with pain-induced tears.

Now that Ye Zhen had traveled here and suffered such a beating, though his looks remained impressive, his outfit had completely lost that crown-prince air he’d once had. His face, twisted in pain from the pinch, made him look every bit the picture of a poor, pitiful man.

Unfortunately, Mother Jiang quickly played her trump card with ruthless precision: “Ye Zhen? How much money do you want? I’ll give you five million — leave my daughter alone.”

No way…

Please, no!

Jiang Xiaoyi frantically shot glances at Ye Zhen, hoping he’d catch her hint — after all, they’d traveled from the same timeline together, saving someone’s life earns merit equal to building a seven-story pagoda, and she’d never again pettily seek revenge against Ye Zhen — this time she’d definitely repay his kindness!

Fortunately, Ye Zhen didn’t disappoint her. He frowned and immediately refused Mother Jiang: “No.”

But just as Jiang Xiaoyi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Ye Zhen continue on his own—

“Ten million. Give me ten million, and I’ll leave her.”

“…”

Mother Jiang was overjoyed: “Deal, straightforward man! I’ll have my lawyer take you to the bank right away to transfer the money!”

She finished speaking, then turned to lecture Jiang Xiaoyi: “You see, I’ve told you — a man who looks like that, so charming, can’t possibly be a decent man. That’s a gold-digger!”

“Did you think it was true love? He’s after your money! And a man who looks like that isn’t going to stay faithful at home — he might not just drain your finances, he might cheat on you too! Besides, aside from his looks, a man who can be a gold-digger has nothing else going for him — no ability, no education, no character, no cultivation whatsoever…”