HGG - 6

The news that Song Yi, a secretary with the shallowest of credentials, had been invited by Chi Zhao to attend Chongming’s banquet was akin to dropping a bomb in the offices of every department at Chongyou.

If it were anyone else, they might feel immense pressure.

But Song Yi wasn’t just anyone.

As Zhan Heqing put it: “Anyone who can endure Chi Zhao for more than three months without a work-related reason isn’t an ordinary person.”

To this, Song Yi replied rationally: “He’s the boss, and I’m the secretary. Isn’t this a work relationship?”

Zhan Heqing raised an eyebrow and casually sent her a message via social media: “I advise you to be careful. No matter what kind of relationship you two have now, Zhan Xiaohong will do everything in her power to ensure that you two never have one in the future.”

Song Yi minimized the chat window and turned her head. Through the glass, she could see Chi Zhao negotiating with employees from the planning department inside his office.

You and I are not fated, but I’ll stay as long as I keep getting paid.

Recently, the balance in her bankbook finally started looking better. Whether it was Jenny or other female employees, if they wanted to drive Song Yi away from her current position, they’d need to put in considerable effort.

Song Yi had already made up her mind to stick around.

This workplace was good, the pay was high, and it allowed her to encounter interesting things.

ACDF was an MMORPG. This large-scale online game had been in preparation by Chongyou for several years, and this year, it was finally entering the countdown to its official launch.

Chongyou had struck a collaboration with a world-renowned music producer, and the promotional song was set to be released soon.

The coordination with the music company and the preparations for the press conference had everyone in the company buzzing with excitement. For the gamers who had poured so much effort into ACDF , this was undoubtedly a thrilling development.

As bugs were fixed and layers of reviews passed, Chi Zhao and his colleagues often wore their joy on their faces.

Song Yi’s understanding of games had skyrocketed since joining the company. But she seemed to have a natural talent for it, quickly finding enjoyment and gradually developing her own preferences.

However, alongside the enthusiasm came a flood of work.

Previously, she only had to handle some of Chi Zhao’s personal matters, but now she was also taking on more serious tasks. Yet the trivial matters hadn’t decreased, so her workload kept growing.

Song Yi knew this meant she was gaining trust.

She shared an office with Xia Fan. Previously, their interactions were limited to work-related topics, but now they occasionally chatted about random subjects.

For instance, Xia Fan would show her pictures of his wife. He rarely had time to spend with her, and even when he returned home, their meetings were brief. They didn’t have children yet.

“One President Chi is already enough to exhaust me,” Xia Fan sighed.

Upon further inquiry, Song Yi learned that Xia Fan was also a top graduate from a prestigious university. Back when he worked at Chongming Headquarters, he had intervened to stop his superior from harassing a female colleague and was subsequently targeted.

Seeing little hope of staying on, he heard one day that Chi Zhao was hiring an assistant. With nothing left to lose, he proactively applied.

Chi Zhao was the third son of the family, and his chances of being chosen as the heir were slim. Moreover, rumors about his eccentric temperament spread widely through gossip.

After returning to the country, he took on a minor role at Chongming Network.

Expanding into the gaming industry was his stubborn insistence, while the higher-ups underestimated him, assuming the third son wouldn’t make waves.

Chi Zhao hadn’t even glanced at Xia Fan’s resume.

Since he was someone Chongming had hired, his qualifications naturally weren’t lacking.

Besides—”Your heroic deeds are quite famous,” Chi Zhao had said.

When Xia Fan heard this, his heart tightened. He almost thought it was sarcasm.

Who would’ve guessed that the next second, Chi Zhao asked, “Have you ever raised a cat?”

Xia Fan looked up in surprise, pondered briefly, then shook his head. “I don’t know how… but I can learn.”

At the time, the renovation of Chongyou’s building wasn’t complete, and they were still borrowing space from Chongming Network.

In a company like Chongming, which had a long history, adopting new ideas posed a challenge. Chongming Network wasn’t highly valued, and the working conditions were rather basic.

Chi Zhao stood beside a cheap desk. After a long while, he smiled brightly at Xia Fan.

“Mm,” he nodded and said, “I’ll trouble you from now on.”

With that, he bent down to look for cats everywhere.

Little did he know that with the passage of time, today’s Chongming Games not only dominated Chongming Network but also became a significant revenue source for the entire Chongming Corporation.

His decision to join Chi Zhao had been the right one.

Later, when he encountered that harassing superior again, Xia Fan casually had an acquaintance at headquarters settle his wages. As Chi Zhao’s talents became evident, Xia Fan’s authority expanded. Toward that superior, he felt both gratitude and care.

On the floor where the president’s office was located, besides the assistant and secretary, there was another employee.

That was Aunt Wang.

In fact, Song Yi greeted her every day on her way to and from work, but after hearing that rumor, she started paying more attention.

Once, under Aunt Wang’s enthusiastic invitation, Song Yi went to the lounge to eat some homemade pickles she had prepared.

Aunt Wang kindly asked, “Is work tiring? Is President Chi difficult to deal with?”

One of the rules of the workplace was not to complain about your boss to colleagues. Song Yi put down her chopsticks and said, “Not at all.”

“By the way, do you have a boyfriend?”

Sure enough, elders couldn’t avoid this topic when it came to unmarried juniors of marriageable age.

Before Song Yi could shake her head and politely decline, Aunt Wang stood up and enthusiastically suggested, “Let me introduce you to someone! You’re such a nice person, hardworking, and pretty too.”

She hurriedly waved her hands to decline. “No need, thank you, Aunt Wang. I won’t trouble others…”

Aunt Wang immediately looked enlightened. “I understand,” she said. “Do you have feelings for President Chi?”

Song Yi abruptly stood up in panic, her eyes wide, instinctively gripping her chopsticks tightly. “How could that be?!”

“How couldn’t it be?” Aunt Wang suddenly grew serious. “Is President Chi not good enough?”

“That’s not it…”

Song Yi suddenly realized she had fallen into Aunt Wang’s trap and quickly shook off the unnecessary thoughts.

Excusing herself with “I still need to help President Chi prepare milk,” she walked out the door. Outside, she realized she was still holding the chopsticks and had to backtrack to return them.

Aunt Wang watched her with a smile and casually asked, “Would you like some pickles to take with you?”

Standing at the doorway, Song Yi suddenly remembered something. “That reminds me—I noticed that the dates for Chongming’s annual banquets are always around the same time. I calculated the date, and it turns out it’s today. Happy birthday, Aunt Wang.”

Aunt Wang looked up in surprise. The young woman standing at the door blocked the light, making her silhouette unclear.

Suddenly, Aunt Wang recalled that a few years ago, the young boss of this company had rushed over late at night with a cake, sincerely wishing her, a mere janitor, a happy birthday.

“As for the pickles, I don’t have a fridge at home, so it’s not easy to store them. Thank you.” With that, Song Yi left with a faint yet warm expression.

After a long while, Aunt Wang began to wonder.

These days, is there really anyone who doesn’t have a fridge at home?

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The refrigerator door opened, and Chi Zhao turned his eyes amidst the dispersing cold air, finally selecting a can of Coca-Cola.

As he pulled the tab and started drinking, Xia Fan happened to push the door open, startling him so much he nearly choked.

After coughing violently, Chi Zhao said, “I thought you were Song Yi!”

“I also think it would be better if you listened to Secretary Song and cut down on carbonated drinks,” Xia Fan advised.

Chi Zhao glared at him icily. “If you dare report me to Song Yi, you’re dead!”

Xia Fan shrugged nonchalantly and walked over to the desk to tidy up. Casually, he remarked, “Come to think of it, you’re surprisingly obedient to Secretary Song.”

At his choice of words, Chi Zhao put down the soda again. “It’s called tolerance, alright?”

“Is that so?” Xia Fan said. “I’ve never seen you tolerate anyone else this much. Could it be, President Chi, that you like this type of woman?”

Chi Zhao looked at him with an expression of disbelief. “Since when did I know you were such a sarcastic person?”

Xia Fan remained silent as Chi Zhao took a step forward and stood behind him. “She completes every task I assign her without fault. And though she has made some suggestions to me, I don’t feel like my lifestyle is being interfered with. I think...”

It seemed like he was about to launch into a lengthy explanation, but Xia Fan suddenly turned around, meeting his gaze calmly. “President Chi.”

“??”

“I was just speaking casually. No need to explain.” Xia Fan kept his words concise and to the point, then turned and left, leaving the boss standing there.

Chi Zhao raised his fist toward Xia Fan’s retreating back, took a deep breath, and then reluctantly lowered it.

“Xia Fan,” he ground out through gritted teeth, “You’ll work overtime with me until the next life—”

His venomous curse of mutual destruction was cut short as the office door opened.

Song Yi stood at the doorway, shooting him a laser-like glare. “Mr. Chi, I remember you said last week that you’d quit cola.”

Chi Zhao calmly set the soda down and smiled. “It wasn’t me—it was Assistant Xia who drank it.”

After finishing work, Song Yi tidied up her desk.

With the temporary halt in overtime, she glanced at the calendar and realized it was time for her to go home and check in.

She also remembered the numerous calls she had blocked but still came through repeatedly these past few days. Silently, she prayed not to run into those people.

Thus far, Song Yi’s home was located in an area slated for demolition, where rent was quite cheap.

Even though they had only moved in a few months ago, it was clear their secrecy measures hadn’t been adequate. Outside the building, red paint scrawled large characters on the walls.

“Pay back the money.”

Song Yi lingered at the street corner, confirming no one was tailing her before sprinting toward the entrance. Once inside, she immediately locked the door behind her.

The room reeked of sourness and decay. She caught her breath, the light from the peephole spilling onto her delicate face.

Without turning around, she already knew her parents were home.

Based on the recent calls from the loan sharks, she had learned that Song Zuowei and Li Mei had gambled again.

Just as their financial situation had slightly improved thanks to her job, debts quickly piled up, relentlessly chasing them and increasing rather than decreasing.

From past experience, she guessed the water and electricity had already been cut off, which explained why the house smelled of instant food and excrement.

From childhood to adulthood, she had long grown accustomed to such situations.

No matter how reckless Song Zuowei and Li Mei were, they wouldn’t dare leave the house now. After all, debt collectors could be lurking outside at any moment, ready to break down the door day or night.

Moreover, friends and relatives avoided them like the plague—they had nowhere left to run.

Song Yi didn’t change her shoes. Grabbing the broom by the entrance, she strode in with murderous intent.