After a night of fire-suppression training, Jiang Xiaoyi felt much better mentally.
It was just that Ye Zhen always seemed to have a way of making her blood boil again—
“Xiaoyi, President Ye approved the earlier project today! Mine got through! Yours must have too, right? Let’s have dinner together tonight to celebrate!”
Early that morning, Jiang Xiaoyi had been fetching tea and pouring water, and after finally managing to bind and print the more than fifty documents needed for the afternoon meeting attendees, Ye Zhen discovered that one punctuation mark in the documents was in full-width format instead of half-width, and hadn’t been corrected. This pathologically perfectionist, fussy man ordered her to replace the entire full-width page with half-width formatting, forcing Jiang Xiaoyi to undo the binding and redo it.
With all this back-and-forth, she hadn’t even had time to check the internal OA system. It was only after listening to Wang Yani that Jiang Xiaoyi, both anxious and hopeful, clicked open the approval system.
These past few days serving Ye Zhen—even if it wasn’t perfect, surely it was passable? At the very least she’d earned some familiarity. Wang Yani’s project had been approved, so the project she herself had prepared for so long should also…
Just as Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind was wandering to which restaurant she and Wang Yani should go celebrate at that evening, she saw three big red characters on the system—
Rejected.
How could it not have passed?
Had Ye Zhen not read it carefully?
The work of the Project Incubation Department was to precisely select startup-stage cultural and creative studios with growth potential, and invest in and incubate them. Employee performance was tied to the subsequent development results of these small studios—the sharper your eye, the more accurately and steadily you could spot rising stars, the bigger your year-end bonus.
Whether a small cultural-creative studio could grow from a small workshop into a company-scale operation actually hinged, in the end, on the content.
As long as there was unique and novel content, combined with early-stage investment—so the studio team could focus on creating without worrying about starving mid-project, so the lead creator could hire assistants and a support team—once the work took shape, with resource promotion and moderate marketing, many small cultural-creative studios could flip their fortunes overnight.
Once a studio broke out because of one hit work, venture capital came flooding in upon hearing the news, and with an established body of work, the studio would also have far more leverage in investment negotiations.
What Jiang Xiaoyi’s department did was early-stage screening—corralling these small studios before they broke out, both incubating and investing in them.
Ruiyi owned an entire cultural-creative industrial park, and every studio they incubated could, based on internal evaluation tiers, get free or discounted rent to move into their industrial park’s office buildings.
Many cultural-creative companies could collaborate with each other—game companies and comic companies especially could join forces to great effect. Over time, both the business ecosystem and creative talent within the industrial park would cluster together, revitalizing the whole park, energizing the atmosphere, and ultimately forming a complete, healthy industry chain.
Jiang Xiaoyi had studied illustration and comic design, understood the comics industry better, and considered herself to have a precise eye for comic content, so she had always focused on incubation screening for comic studios.
The studio “Chuyuan” that she had now submitted for approval was one she’d worked hard to discover. The moment she glanced at the story structure of the work their lead creator had made, she felt it would be a hit.
But if “Chuyuan” failed to get investment again, the project would likely fall through…
So Jiang Xiaoyi thought it over, stayed up late that night, and wrote nearly fifty pages of analysis report and a PPT. Early the next morning, she took the materials into Ye Zhen’s office.
“President Ye, I’d like to talk to you about the ‘Chuyuan’ project.”
“‘Chuyuan’s’ comic theme is a parallel timeline, with a grand and sweeping structure. Unlike ordinary light parallel-world fantasy, they’ve built theoretical support for a multiverse of parallel universes within their worldview—it’s a genuinely unique hard science fiction work. Looking at the few sci-fi works currently on the market, they’ve all gotten very good market feedback. You can see readers have demand for sci-fi, it’s just that the category isn’t rich enough yet. This ‘Chuyuan’ project could seize the sci-fi market right now, and there should be a lot of room for IP derivatives in the future…”
“Besides being able to play the sci-fi card, the story itself is also very entertaining—it’s about a penniless, unemployed young man in the present timeline who crosses over to a parallel world and discovers he’s actually the heir to a conglomerate controlling the entire nation’s economic lifeline. He causes all sorts of comic misunderstandings, it’s full of jokes and gags, very lighthearted and funny.”
Jiang Xiaoyi mustered her courage to finish speaking, and handed over the materials: “Also, this is the project overview and future market projection analysis I prepared.”
Jiang Xiaoyi was very confident that this detailed, well-reasoned material could persuade Ye Zhen and change his mind.
But Ye Zhen glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi, then smiled, not even reaching out to take the analysis report: “No need to look at it.”
He raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xiaoyi: “You’re my temporary assistant—of course I’d cut you some slack.”
Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart pounded wildly. She swore she’d never go beat up Ye Zhen at the fire-venting club again—he did have a shred of decency in some respects after all. If she’d known this, she wouldn’t have stayed up all night making materials…
Just as she was about to open her mouth to thank Ye Zhen, she heard him continue: “That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“Keep dreaming.” This punchable man broke into a smile. “Not a chance.”
He looked at Jiang Xiaoyi: “Why exactly would I approve this for you?”
Jiang Xiaoyi held her breath and tried to stay calm: “Then what’s the reason it didn’t pass?”
“Reason? The reason is, looking at your performance every year since you came to Ruiyi, you’ve never successfully incubated a single project. I can’t trust your judgment.”
It wasn’t that she’d never incubated anything—it was that every time she found a promising project and did all the groundwork, once the studio’s development got on track, Eunuch Li would use his authority to snatch the project away and claim it as his own KPI. The five major studios he now controlled had all, in fact, been scouted out by Jiang Xiaoyi.
The “Chuyuan” studio was small enough that Eunuch Li hadn’t yet reacted in time to snatch it, so it was Jiang Xiaoyi’s last effort and persistence. She thought it over and decided to gamble it all, reporting Eunuch Li and confessing what she’d been through.
But faced with Jiang Xiaoyi’s accusation, Ye Zhen remained completely composed throughout. When she finished, he simply took a calm sip of tea: “Why is it always you whose projects get stolen? You should reflect on that. Getting robbed once might be an accident, but getting robbed five or six times in a row—clearly you’re the problem.”
Eunuch Li outranked her—of course when he went and courted those studios, they’d follow him! She was under him—how was she supposed to go head-to-head with him?! What kind of victim-blaming was this from Ye Zhen?!
“But—”
“No buts. Are you going to say getting robbed repeatedly is because you have bad luck, bad fate?” Ye Zhen stood up, picked up the spray bottle on his desk, and began unhurriedly watering the potted plants. “Remember this: ‘Fate is the excuse of the weak; luck is the modest word of the strong.’ Besides, even setting all that aside, I still wouldn’t approve this project.”
He turned and smiled at Jiang Xiaoyi: “Parallel timelines as sci-fi? You actually believe in this concept? There’s no such thing as a parallel timeline—we only have the life we’re living in this one timeline. The core of your story is full of low-brow wish fulfillment. Only losers with no culture and no future would like a story like this—thinking they could cross over to another timeline and turn their life around.”
Jiang Xiaoyi still wanted to argue, but Ye Zhen set down the spray bottle, glanced at the analysis report on the desk, and changed the subject: “How much of your time each day do you think you spend on work?”
Jiang Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment: “Probably around 90 percent of my time.”
To say 100 percent would be an obvious lie with no point to it. Jiang Xiaoyi thought her answer was quite honest—dedicating over 90 percent of her time to work was already a pretty good standard, after all, people needed to use the bathroom and drink water too. She waited for Ye Zhen’s praise, but instead saw him frown, as though it were only natural to say—
“Then why can’t you be 100 percent devoted to work?”
Ye Zhen pointed at the analysis report: “If you have the spare time to write something this useless, you should be studying how to maximize work efficiency during office hours instead.”
He pressed his lips together and smiled: “The salary I pay you is to buy 100 percent of your working time. You’ve only managed 90 percent—90 percent and 100 percent aren’t just a 10 percent difference, it’s the enormous gap between imperfect and perfect. You know I can’t accept imperfection, so starting today, I suggest you work an extra hour overtime each day—that way we can guarantee 100 percent working time, and make sure the money I’m paying is worth it.”
“……”
Jiang Xiaoyi felt she absolutely had to visit the fire-venting club again tonight.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaoyi never made it to the fire-venting club in the end. Before she got off work, Eunuch Li suddenly summoned her—
“Jiang Xiaoyi, stay late tonight.” Eunuch Li cleared his throat. “Let’s have dinner together. My treat.”
Jiang Xiaoyi was stunned for a second, then couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. It seemed after becoming Ye Zhen’s temporary assistant, she really had risen in status too—even a penny-pinching miser like Eunuch Li was actively inviting her to dinner to win her over!
Half an hour later—
“What are you standing there for? Go in.” Eunuch Li glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi, saying pityingly, “Your family’s not well-off, you probably don’t get many chances to eat at restaurants, right? Eat well tonight, don’t hold back!”
“……”
Jiang Xiaoyi stood outside the sign of a Shaxian Snacks shop, deeply feeling her own foolishness and naivety.
Right, as if she’d expected Eunuch Li to treat her to something fancy. Being willing to spring for Shaxian Snacks, where a meal averaged twenty yuan a head, was already the limit of his generosity…
Just as Jiang Xiaoyi sat down and started calculating how to make an excuse to slip away early, she saw Eunuch Li wave enthusiastically toward the door: “Yongjian, over here!”
Following Eunuch Li’s voice, a man walked in from the entrance.
Eunuch Li looked at Jiang Xiaoyi and introduced him: “So here’s the thing—this is my nephew Li Yongjian. Last time he saw the photos from our company team-building event, he thought you were pretty good, and wants to get to know you.”
Was this a disguised blind date?
Eunuch Li was very pleased with his nephew: “Our Yongjian is an only child, his family has a wedding-ready apartment, both his parents work with pension income, and he’s around your age.” He then changed his tone. “Although our Yongjian’s conditions are so good, he won’t look down on you for having no parents around to give you a dowry—he’s still willing to get to know you…”
Li Yongjian wasn’t ugly, exactly, just looked a bit old. If he was really her age, hadn’t he aged a bit too fast?
“Director Li, how old is your nephew…”
“Only ten years older than you! That’s exactly the right age!”
“……” Ten years older and he still called that the same age?
Still, to be fair, Li Yongjian’s height and looks weren’t bad, and his family background wasn’t a problem either. Being in his early thirties wasn’t that old, and he really was fairly competitive in the dating market. Could Eunuch Li actually be doing her a solid, introducing a decent man for once?
Li Yongjian didn’t seem introverted either. He sat down, looked Jiang Xiaoyi over a couple times, and smiled: “You’re better-looking than your photo—but you’re wearing makeup, aren’t you? You really don’t need to wear makeup, it’s not good for your body either.”
Although Jiang Xiaoyi had absolutely no intention of taking things further with him, from these words she thought this man seemed rather steady and considerate, unlike Eunuch Li.
Just as Jiang Xiaoyi was about to smile politely and say thanks, she heard Li Yongjian continue matter-of-factly, on his own—
“Because makeup has toxins in it, and they can penetrate the body through the skin. Women who use makeup all the time, especially heavy makeup, are more likely to have deformed babies later. If you marry me in the future and have a problem child, I’ll definitely have to divorce you.”
“……”
Li Yongjian didn’t give Jiang Xiaoyi a chance to speak. He picked up the menu, acting very generous: “Uncle You’ai, there’s no way I’m letting you pay today—I’m treating!”
With that, he ordered dishes with the air of ordering an entire imperial banquet: “Give us one duck-leg fried rice, one preserved-mustard-and-shredded-pork fried rice! One bowl of Shaxian noodles, Shaxian wontons, and spiced braised fried tofu, three sausages, three steamed pork dumplings!”
Although everything he’d ordered together didn’t even add up to a hundred yuan, Li Yongjian carried himself with the confidence of a domineering CEO throwing money around. He gave Jiang Xiaoyi a smile he clearly thought was suave: “How about it? Whatever you want to eat, just eat! If it’s not enough, order more! I’m not short on cash!”
……
Throughout this meal, Jiang Xiaoyi felt she could barely swallow. Li Yongjian was quite the talker, going on the whole time bragging about how great he was. Fortunately, right as he got to how many “Three Good Student” certificates he’d won in elementary school, Ye Zhen’s phone call saved Jiang Xiaoyi.
“I left a document at the office, it’s important and urgent, I need it right away. Bring it to my villa within half an hour. I’ll send you the location pin.”
Ye Zhen didn’t think there was anything wrong with ordering people around outside work hours. This man finished speaking as if it were only natural, then hung up the phone on his own.
But Jiang Xiaoyi had never been so grateful for Ye Zhen’s boss-itis before.
Rather than look at Li Yongjian, she’d rather look at Ye Zhen—at least Ye Zhen was good-looking!
“Sorry, Director Li, President Ye urgently needs me to deliver a document. Thank you for the meal, I’ll head out first!”
Li Yongjian turned out to be extremely enthusiastic: “Little Jiang, I’ll drive you there!”
Jiang Xiaoyi was ten-thousand-percent unwilling, but the Shaxian Snacks shop was in a secluded alley, and she’d been trying to hail a ride on her phone for ages without any driver accepting.
Meanwhile, Li Yongjian kept pestering her: “My car’s parked nearby, really, let me take you, otherwise you won’t make it in time…”
Ten minutes later, having failed to hail a ride, Jiang Xiaoyi sat behind Li Yongjian on his little electric scooter, expressionless, letting the cold wind slap her face.
Ye Zhen’s address was in a suburban villa district—for a man of luxury and excess like him, of course it wasn’t far by car, but for Jiang Xiaoyi on the little electric scooter, she suspected that by the time they reached Ye Zhen’s front door, the cold wind would have frozen her face into paralysis.
Li Yongjian’s little scooter even broke down halfway, but luckily they weren’t far from Ye Zhen’s villa district by then, so Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t bother with anything else and simply got off and sprinted the rest of the way.
Along the way Ye Zhen called her several more times urging her on—the urgency in his tone made clear this document really was a five-alarm emergency. Not wanting to hold things up, by the time Jiang Xiaoyi reached his door she was nearly out of breath.
“Pres— President Ye, I’m here.”
“Good, I’ve opened the access gate for you. Wait for me in the lobby.”
……
Jiang Xiaoyi sat properly and stiffly in the villa’s lobby, which was clearly expensively decorated, listening to the occasional sounds of voices from upstairs, guessing Ye Zhen must be in a video conference, while looking around enviously, wondering when she’d ever be able to afford a house like this.
Twenty minutes later, Ye Zhen finally sauntered down: “Thanks for the trouble.” He took the materials and casually set them on the table.
Jiang Xiaoyi felt a little uneasy: “Weren’t you needing this material for your video conference just now? I didn’t hold things up by bringing it at this time, did I?”
“No.” Ye Zhen looked a bit puzzled. “I wasn’t in a video conference.”
“But I heard voices from upstairs just now…”
Ye Zhen thought about it and then seemed to realize: “Oh, I was watching a movie. I hate stopping halfway through something, so I only came down after it finished.”
So she’d been made to wait twenty minutes on her own non-work time at night just because he was watching a movie?
Jiang Xiaoyi was about to lose it: “Didn’t you say this material was extremely urgent?”
“Right, I really did want to see it urgently just now.”
Ye Zhen, you son of a bitch—being able to finish watching a twenty-minute movie before coming down for the material, that’s what you call urgent? And you had her rush over here in the middle of the night in a panic for this?
Ye Zhen unhurriedly poured himself a glass of water: “But the me from just now and the me right now, aren’t the same me. Every cell in the human body is constantly undergoing metabolism. So even the me from ten seconds ago and the me right now differ slightly in composition. The current me isn’t in such a hurry anymore.”
This punchable man smiled at Jiang Xiaoyi: “So you can head back now.” He took out his phone, with what little conscience he had left. “I’ll call you a ride.”
Jiang Xiaoyi, already worn out from a night of continuous blows, felt her energy sapped, but while waiting for the car, Ye Zhen, hands in his pockets, suddenly said: “You can come in an hour late tomorrow morning.”
Jiang Xiaoyi felt a bit comforted—so it seemed Ye Zhen had noticed, even if he was a weirdo, that she’d delivered materials on overtime in the middle of the night. Just as she was about to politely thank him, she heard Ye Zhen continue—
“You must have had a very pleasant, happy time tonight. After all, not everyone gets the chance to tour my villa at night.”
“Being alone with me at this hour, I know you must be having all sorts of thoughts right now.” This melodramatic man pressed his lips together and smiled, looking like he’d figured everything out, superior and all-knowing. “So you’re sure to be up all night tonight unable to sleep, and unable to get up tomorrow morning. I completely understand and sympathize—I’ll give you the morning off, you need to calm down a bit more.”
“……”
Jiang Xiaoyi thought, she really was having all sorts of thoughts right now, just not remotely in the direction Ye Zhen imagined. At this moment, she had only one thought in her heart—she really, truly wanted to smash Ye Zhen’s smug dog-face in.
But a free morning off wasn’t something to turn down. Jiang Xiaoyi held herself back, then looked up with an expression of distress: “But President Ye, I’m afraid one hour won’t be enough.” She forced herself to stay composed. “Given a standard like yours, I think I’ll need a whole morning to calm down.”
Sure enough, strong pity showed on Ye Zhen’s face, and he nodded: “I understand. You don’t need to come in tomorrow morning, take good care and calm down.”