#21: Changing Assistants

The first thing Lin Xingzi did when she arrived at the office was ask her assistant to change her phone number for her.

What kind of dog doesn’t have access to a number that anyone can call? Should she keep it just for the New Year?

“But President Lin, this phone number is tied to all your bank cards and credit cards. If you want to change it, everything has to be changed together. It’s possible, but I’ll need to make several trips. The trouble is, you gave this number to President Zhao of ‘Chunhe’ the day before yesterday, and they said they’d call you tomorrow or the day after to arrange a face-to-face meeting.”

His reminder jogged Lin Xingzi’s memory. She casually waved her hand holding the documents, “Then go ahead and get me a new number first. We can slowly handle canceling the old cards and unbinding them later.”

The main reason was that she had received an utterly shameless call early in the morning, which had put her in a terrible mood. Although she could tolerate Chairman Zhan, who was wealthy and influential, and even greet him with a smile for the sake of business, she wanted nothing to do with his son, Zhan Yan. The farther he stayed away from her, the better.

She had met Chairman Zhan at some social event before. He mentioned that once Zhan Yan returned from abroad, the younger generation should discuss long-term cooperation. Lin Xingzi thought he was just being polite.

She never expected that shameless jerk to actually come back.

“Alright, I’ll go now,” Assistant Chen responded. “Here’s breakfast, still warm. President Lin, please eat something you like. Skipping breakfast regularly can cause stomach problems.”

Lin Xingzi paused, her gaze falling on the coffee table. She wasn’t particularly picky about food, but she had her preferences, and Assistant Chen had remembered them after buying breakfast for her multiple times—even though it wasn’t part of his job description.

When Li Yao initially assigned an assistant to Lin Xingzi, she reviewed Chen Cheng’s resume: a fresh graduate from a prestigious university, good-looking, pleasant to the eye, and quite capable. Once, Lin Xingzi overheard someone in the company mentioning that his mother was disabled.

Lin Xingzi hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately held back, “...Thank you.”

The world naturally favored good-looking people, and Chen Cheng was excellent in every aspect. She couldn’t find any fault with him.

However, after the morning meeting, she casually mentioned it to Li Yao.

“Change assistants?”

“...He hasn’t done anything wrong, and he works diligently, it’s just...” Lin Xingzi stumbled over her words. She couldn’t exactly say that Jiang Yan was jealous of Assistant Chen. “Let HR find someone else for me.”

“It will take time to recruit someone new. What should we do with Xiao Chen? Fire him or transfer him to another position?”

Lin Xingzi thought for a moment, “He would be quite suitable as an artist assistant.”

Li Yao agreed with that assessment. “If he satisfies you, he shouldn’t be a problem for others.”

“...Uncle!”

“Hahaha,” Li Yao laughed aloud. Lin Xingzi, spoiled by being doted on, partly owed her boldness to him. He was biased, believing that girls could never be spoiled enough. Jiang Jiang had grown up well too.

“I’ll arrange for a replacement. Tonight, accompany me to meet Chairman Zhan.”

Lin Xingzi, “...”

What was that saying again?

If it’s destined to happen, there’s no escaping it.

After recognizing Zhan Yan’s voice earlier that morning, she hung up the phone. When he called again, she rejected the call and blocked his number. Had she been patient enough to listen a few more minutes, she would have known they were meeting today.

The restaurant was their choice. When the time came, Lin Xingzi and Li Yao took a car there, accompanied by several other executives.

The private room was on the sixth floor. As the elevator doors closed from both sides, Lin Xingzi glanced a few extra times.

“What are you looking at?”

“...The person who just entered looked like my father.”

“Your father is busy,” Li Yao said. “Recently, several drug trafficking cases have been cracked nationwide, and it turned out the drugs were flowing out of Haishi. The higher-ups have issued strict orders. Your father is under immense pressure and isn’t sleeping well.”

Several times, he had gone to the hospital to get sleeping pills.

Li Yao didn’t mention this; Lin Xudong didn’t want his daughter to worry.

“Maybe I was mistaken.” The elevator from the other side descended, and Lin Xingzi didn’t think much more about it.