The Art of Teasing - Chapter 161

Chapter 161

Wen Zhengyu followed the chief secretary into the Chairman's Secretariat office. It was a modest-sized hall with excellent lighting. In the center stood a four-person office screen desk, and beside it, a fairly spacious break area. At that moment, Zhuo Yao and Ye Ling's bodyguards were all sitting there resting. Ye Ling had already briefed them before leaving that morning, so they all pretended not to notice. They continued resting as before. Only Zhuo Yao kept wandering around, checking the surroundings.

On the left and right sides of the office were two doors each. On one side were the chief secretary's office and the Special Assistant's office. The doors to the two rooms deeper inside were labeled "Document Room" and "Tea Room."

The chief secretary pointed to his own office and said, "This is my office." He then pointed to the adjacent Special Assistant's office and said, "This is Special Assistant Dong's office." Below the Special Assistant's nameplate, an additional sign read: "Do Not Disturb."

The chief secretary said, "We are the Chairman's Secretariat, different from the Board Secretariat. Our work primarily serves the Chairman." After saying this, he introduced the office staff to Wen Zhengyu.

The Secretariat office had quite a few people. The chief secretary explained to Wen Zhengyu, "Normally, CEO Ye's entourage also works and rests here in the Secretariat." Besides them, there were several secretaries in the office. "Secretary Chen mainly handles the daily affairs of Chairman Ye's office. Secretary Xu handles documents. Secretary Qi handles meetings. Secretary Ji handles the daily office affairs of the Secretariat."

The chief secretary then introduced Wen Zhengyu to everyone: "This is our new arrival, Wen Zhengyu, here for an internship. She has much to learn, so everyone please look after her. Xiao Ji, take Miss Wen to Human Resources to complete the onboarding procedures, and have Logistics order a desk and chair."

The designated young woman named Xiao Ji responded, "Alright." She then said to Wen Zhengyu, "Please follow me."

Wen Zhengyu still didn't have her own workspace, so she had no choice but to keep her bag slung over her shoulder as she followed Secretary Ji out of the office.

Secretary Ji's gaze first glanced at the bag on Wen Zhengyu's shoulder. She confirmed it was indeed last year's limited edition. Their department wasn't short-staffed, and Wen Zhengyu hadn't come through normal recruitment channels. She immediately understood this was a connected hire, someone who had gotten in through the back door. Their department had plenty of connected hires, but someone who could pull strings all the way to the Chairman's Secretariat wasn't just any run-of-the-mill connection. As she led Wen Zhengyu toward Human Resources, she casually probed for information about her, things like age and major. When she heard that Wen Zhengyu had studied Fine Arts, she couldn't help but glance at her with astonishment. This major was a complete mismatch; it didn't overlap in the slightest.

Secretary Ji then asked, "What did Miss Wen do before?"

Wen Zhengyu replied, "Painting."

A painter coming to be a secretary? Secretary Ji thought about the fact that Wen Zhengyu was just an intern and let it go.

With Secretary Ji guiding the way and Wen Zhengyu having arrived with Ye Ling, the onboarding process went very smoothly. After she filled out her resume, the HR staff issued her a work ID. Her position was Chairman's Intern Assistant. Then, Secretary Ji took her to collect office supplies, which included stationery, a laptop, and electronic devices like a voice recorder for taking meeting minutes. Secretary Ji informed her that all these items must be returned to the company upon leaving the job.

When she returned to the Secretariat office, the Logistics staff had already delivered her desk. Since she was only interning and not in a formal position, they had temporarily given her a small desk about one and a half meters long and an office chair.

Wen Zhengyu placed her things on the desk. She looked at the small desk and suddenly felt that Ye Ling was paying her back for the folding chair treatment.

Just as she finished organizing her workspace, it was lunchtime.

By the time she returned from handling the paperwork with Secretary Ji, only the bodyguards remained in the Secretariat. The others had gone out and hadn't returned even now.

Secretary Ji asked her, "Do you know where to eat?"

Wen Zhengyu honestly replied, "I don't."

Secretary Ji said, "There are restaurants downstairs, and the company has a cafeteria." She gave Wen Zhengyu the floor directions, adding, "The company cafeteria meals are free."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Where does CEO Ye usually eat?"

Secretary Ji asked, puzzled, "CEO Ye? You mean Chairman Ye? When Chairman Ye eats at the company, she has the restaurant send food to her office. But she doesn't often eat at the company." She asked, "Miss Wen, are you and Chairman Ye relatives?"

Wen Zhengyu thought for a moment and said, "You could say that."

Seeing the slightly lost expression still on Wen Zhengyu's face, Secretary Ji guessed that Wen Zhengyu's lunch plans were still uncertain. She said, "Chairman Ye is still in a meeting. How about I take you to eat at the cafeteria?"

Wen Zhengyu glanced at her watch. It was already five minutes past the noon end time. She asked, "Don't they eat lunch?"

Secretary Ji said, "When it's busy, we eat a bit later."

Secretary Ji told her that the company cafeteria food was quite average, and if she wasn't used to it, she could go to the restaurant downstairs to eat.

As the two of them entered the elevator, Zhuo Yao also stepped in.

Secretary Ji glanced at Zhuo Yao, then at Wen Zhengyu, her eyes full of confusion.

When she and Secretary Ji arrived at the company cafeteria, there were security guards at the door who checked their work IDs and let them in.

After they entered, Wen Zhengyu saw Secretary Ji twisting her head, looking around. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Secretary Ji said, "That bodyguard just now…"

Wen Zhengyu also looked around but didn't see Zhuo Yao. She asked, "What about it?"

Secretary Ji said, "Nothing. I just thought she was your bodyguard."

Wen Zhengyu gave a soft "oh" and didn't elaborate.

The company cafeteria served buffet-style meals. It was a bit inferior to a hotel buffet but much better than her school cafeteria days. She and Secretary Ji shared a table, and two other colleagues came over to join them. Wen Zhengyu recognized them as the two from HR who had processed her onboarding.

The HR lady was very curious how someone who studied painting ended up interning in the Secretariat.

Wen Zhengyu said, "No job. My family complained I was growing mold and mushrooms at home, so I had no choice but to come to work." As she spoke, she sent a text to Ye Ling: "Still in a meeting?"

Soon, Ye Ling replied with a text: "The cafeteria is on the sixth floor, free meals, swipe your work card to enter. Go eat. Don't wait for me."

Wen Zhengyu thought to herself, "This is truly forgetting to eat and sleep."

After finishing lunch with Secretary Ji and the others, as they exited the cafeteria door and entered the elevator, Zhuo Yao appeared from somewhere and followed Wen Zhengyu in again.

Secretary Ji looked at Zhuo Yao, then at Wen Zhengyu, the confusion in her eyes deepening.

Wen Zhengyu stared straight ahead at the elevator door, feeling sleepy.

She had always had a nap habit. During her recovery at home, she usually slept until eight or nine naturally, then after lunch, took another nap. That morning, she had woken at six-thirty. The traffic jam, stop-and-go, had taken an hour and a half just to get there. After arriving at the company, she hadn't had a moment's rest. Plus, due to her biological clock, she was now very tired.

Her office lacked even a folding bed for sleeping. The break area was entirely occupied by the bodyguards.

Wen Zhengyu was still quite mindful of her status as an intern secretary, so naturally, it wouldn't do to go sleep on the Chairman's bed. She returned to her desk, slumped wearily onto the table, and texted Ye Ling: "Your meeting still isn't over?"

Ye Ling's reply came back: "No. Have you finished eating?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Yes."

Another text from Ye Ling came through: "Go to my break room and sleep for a bit."

Wen Zhengyu: "A lowly secretary dare not sleep on the Chairman's bed."

Ye Ling: "The Chairman grants permission."

If she slept in Ye Ling's bed, even a blind person could figure out their relationship. Wen Zhengyu ignored Ye Ling and lay her head on her desk for a nap.

Less than five minutes after she had put her head down, she heard the sound of Ye Ling's footsteps entering. Lying on the desk was uncomfortable, so she hadn't fallen asleep. She didn't get up when she saw Ye Ling enter, only lifted her head and playfully blinked at her.

Ye Ling gave Wen Zhengyu a mildly exasperated look. She hadn't received Wen Zhengyu's reply, so she knew Wen Zhengyu definitely hadn't gone to her break room. She said, "Go to my break room and take a nap."

Wen Zhengyu smiled and said, "Chairman Ye, no need." As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Ye Ling's face tense up, staring at her with an expression full of threat.

Ye Ling said, "I brought you here as an intern, not for you to fight against your own body."

Wen Zhengyu sat up and asked, "Is your meeting over?"

Ye Ling threw back two words resentfully: "It isn't." She pulled open Wen Zhengyu's drawer and indeed found the box of butter cookies Wen Zhengyu had packed that morning, confiscating them without any politeness.

Wen Zhengyu hurriedly took the cold medicine from her shoulder bag and handed it over: "And this."

Ye Ling took the cold medicine Wen Zhengyu offered. Carrying the roughly six-centimeter small tin of butter cookies, she left.

Wen Zhengyu was indeed unbearably tired. She always paid close attention to rest. Since Ye Ling had come personally to say so, she didn't persist. She picked up her shoulder bag and went to Ye Ling's break room to nap. After lying down, she found it a bit strange: wasn't an intern assistant supposed to be different from this?

Ye Ling's break room was filled everywhere with traces and the scent of Ye Ling. Though it was an unfamiliar place, it inexplicably gave Wen Zhengyu the same sense of security as home. Lying in Ye Ling's bed, she fell asleep within a couple of minutes.

When she woke up, it was already past three-thirty in the afternoon. She picked up her phone and checked the alarm—only to discover that the alarm she had set before sleeping had been turned off by someone. After getting up, she quickly freshened up, touched up her makeup, and opened the door to the break room to find Ye Ling sitting in her office chair, discussing matters with two middle-aged men.

Seeing Wen Zhengyu come out, Ye Ling didn't even twitch an eyebrow. In a voice hoarse from her cold, she said to Wen Zhengyu with a businesslike tone, "These documents can be distributed now." As she spoke, she pointed to a stack of completed documents beside her, then continued discussing matters with the two men before her.

Wen Zhengyu went over, picked up the documents Ye Ling had indicated, and went out. Carrying the documents, she returned to the Secretariat and handed them to Secretary Xu, who was responsible for document processing.

Secretary Xu lifted her eyes to sweep a glance over Wen Zhengyu and said, in a rather unfriendly tone, "Assistant Wen, thanks, but next time I'll get these documents myself. Just do your own job well."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Uh," then added, "Chairman Ye told me to bring them out."

Secretary Xu emphasized, "Your job is an intern assistant. Chairman Ye didn't say you were to manage documents. These are all company trade secrets. If they leak, can you take responsibility?"

Wen Zhengyu didn't know how to refute this, nor did she want to argue. She responded, "Oh," and returned to her desk.

Secretary Ji was copying meeting reports. She glanced back at Secretary Xu and Wen Zhengyu. Seeing Wen Zhengyu idle, she asked Wen Zhengyu to come help her copy documents. She asked Wen Zhengyu, "Know how to use the copier?"

Wen Zhengyu looked it over. This copier was different from the one at the studio. She said, "No."

Secretary Ji taught her how to use the copier, lowering her voice to say to Wen Zhengyu, "She sees you're a connected hire and finds it an eyesore. Don't take it to heart. Our company has plenty of connected hires."

Wen Zhengyu nodded in acknowledgment and took the meeting minutes Secretary Ji handed her to copy. She asked quietly, "Can't we look at company documents?"

Secretary Ji said, "When we started, we all signed confidentiality agreements. Leaks mean accountability."

Wen Zhengyu said, "I didn't sign one." She glanced at the other secretaries, who were all buried in their work, and asked, "Is everyone very busy?"

Secretary Ji said, "The shareholders' meeting is coming. It's usually held at year-end. Last year, I don't know what happened, but the shareholders' meeting and the board meeting weren't held. The shareholders and the board all came to argue with Chairman Ye." Her voice lowered further. "They say the shareholders want to replace the Chairman. Some say Vice Chairman Xu, others say General Manager Zhang."

Wen Zhengyu: "…"

Secretary Ji noticed that Wen Zhengyu's reaction suggested she knew nothing, so she didn't say more. She divided the copied meeting records into sets. After copying was done, she and Wen Zhengyu stapled them together, then handed them over to Secretary Qi.

Secretary Qi gave Secretary Ji a distribution log and told her to distribute the meeting records.

Secretary Ji then took Wen Zhengyu along to distribute the meeting records.

Wen Zhengyu understood then that Secretary Ji was the general helper in the Secretariat. The Secretariat had no extra work to assign her, so she and Secretary Ji did odd jobs together.

She knew who the Vice Chairman was, but as for the general manager—in a company, several people might casually be called a general manager. Zhang, however, was the company's actual General Manager, and even the Deputy General Managers often had the "Deputy" dropped out of respect. She asked, "General Manager Zhang is the General Manager?"

Secretary Ji gave Wen Zhengyu a speechless look and said, "Yes, General Manager Zhang is also a shareholder." She pointed to the distribution list. "Chairman Ye, Vice Chairman Xu, General Manager Zhang…" Their three names were listed in rotating order.

Wen Zhengyu understood that these three were the highest-ranking people in the company. She guessed they all held shares, so, naturally, each wanted to fight for the top chair.

As Secretary Ji led Wen Zhengyu toward Vice Chairman Xu's office, she whispered, "Hope nothing changes. It'd be fine for you—you can just go home—but I still have a mortgage to pay."

Wen Zhengyu: "…" If her wife got ousted as Chairman, it definitely wouldn't be fine for her. She hadn't expected that on her first day at work, the news would be about someone trying to pry Ye Ling out of her position. No wonder Ye Ling was working despite such a bad cold. A question suddenly occurred to her: Had Ye Ling eaten lunch?

The general helpers from the Secretariat delivering meeting records didn't get to see the Vice Chairman. The records were signed for by Vice Chairman Xu's secretary. Then the two of them went next door to the General Manager's office to deliver meeting records.

Wen Zhengyu stood at the door of the General Manager's secretarial office, holding the meeting records, waiting for Secretary Ji to deliver the documents.

The General Manager's secretarial office was not even a fraction of the size of Ye Ling's Secretariat. The office had just two desks and a row of file cabinets, no extra space. If too many people were inside, just turning around was difficult. Comparing it to Ye Ling's Secretariat, which could fit a whole crew of bodyguards, she thought to herself, "If I were the General Manager, I'd be psychologically unbalanced too." Same shareholders, different positions, and the disparity in treatment was far too great.

As her mind wandered, a middle-aged man's voice drifted behind her: "Are you that new assistant of Chairman Ye's?"

Wen Zhengyu turned back to see a middle-aged man, so fat that the flesh on his face squeezed his eyes into slits, sporting a huge belly that looked like a ten-month pregnancy. The man was both fat and round, yet radiated the shrewdness of a businessman from head to toe. As she looked back at him, the man was clearly also taken aback. "Aiyo!" he exclaimed, saying repeatedly, "A rare guest, a rare guest." He reached out his hand toward Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu only found the man familiar but couldn't recall his name, guessing she might have seen him at some banquet. She shifted the meeting records to her left arm and shook hands with the middle-aged man, saying, "First day on the job, please guide me." As she looked at this fat, round man, she suddenly remembered who he was. She had seen him once at a birthday banquet—A man called Fatty Zhang, said to be particularly brilliant in finance. At the time, the people around her had just casually mentioned it, and she hadn't paid much attention. She had only taken a second look because his rotund figure didn't match the usual image promoted in the finance industry, leaving a slight impression.

Fatty Zhang smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits and asked enthusiastically, "Come sit in my office?" After saying this, he gestured toward the neighboring General Manager's office with a "please" hand motion.

Wen Zhengyu quickly said, "I won't disturb you. I'm still on the clock and need to go distribute these meeting records."

Fatty Zhang said, "Alright then. Carry on." With utmost politeness, he made another "please" gesture.

Wen Zhengyu watched Fatty Zhang enter his office. It immediately dawned on her that something like identity confidentiality didn't exist at all. She turned around to see Secretary Ji staring dumbly at her. She asked, "All done?"

Secretary Ji said, "All done." She then led Wen Zhengyu toward the Deputy General Manager's office and asked her, "You know General Manager Zhang too?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Met him once. Not familiar." Seeing Secretary Ji seemed unconvinced, she added, "Met him once when attending a banquet with family."

Secretary Ji gave an "oh" and privately resolved to foster a good relationship with Wen Zhengyu. That Wen Zhengyu could nap in the Chairman's office, that Fatty Zhang was so polite to her—her family background must be quite formidable.

After the two finished distributing the documents and returned, just as they entered the office, Secretary Chen complained at them: delivering meeting records needed two people? Guests had arrived at Chairman Ye's office, and there wasn't even anyone to make tea. She urged Secretary Ji to hurry up with the tea so she could take it in.

Secretary Ji scrambled off to make tea again.

Seeing nothing else for her to do, Wen Zhengyu sat down at her desk. Then Secretary Chen gave her a stack of documents and said, "Photocopy two copies. Chairman Ye needs them immediately."

She took the documents and went to the copier to copy them. Just as she finished copying and was about to staple them, Secretary Chen rushed over again and said, "How can you be this slow? It's urgent." She grabbed the documents from Wen Zhengyu's hands, tidied them up in a couple of swift movements, stapled them rapidly, scooped up the papers, and went off as if treading on Wind Fire Wheels.

Wen Zhengyu heard the phone on Secretary Chen's desk ring. Secretary Chen wasn't there. Secretary Xu was so busy she didn't even lift her head. Secretary Qi had gone somewhere. Secretary Ji hadn't returned from delivering tea to Ye Ling. She picked up the phone and had just said "Hello" when Secretary Chen returned. Seeing her answering the phone, Secretary Chen said, "Who told you to touch things on my desk," snatched the receiver away, and said, "Hello. May I ask who's calling? … Oh, GM Wang. Chairman Ye is in… Yes, yes." After hanging up, she called Ye Ling to tell her that GM Wang from Hongyuan International would arrive in half an hour.

After ending the call, she glanced at her watch, turned to Wen Zhengyu, who had returned to her desk, and said, "The workday is almost over. Go to the cafeteria and bring back meals."

Wen Zhengyu didn't grasp it for a moment and said, "If the workday is over, shouldn't we go home to eat?"

Secretary Chen said to her, "Are you from outer space? Overtime tonight!" Then she rattled off the meal request details like beans pouring out of a jar.

Wen Zhengyu was directly dumbfounded by this torrential downpour of orders. Each bodyguard got two dishes and a soup—who didn't eat spicy food, who didn't eat salty again? Someone among her household's bodyguards actually didn't eat salty food? She knew Ye Ling wanted spicy, not sweet, but Ye Ling had a cold, her voice already hoarse—avoid spicy and irritating foods, and still prepare her spicy food?

Ye Ling's bodyguards caught the glance Wen Zhengyu cast their way. Two of them immediately stood up: "We'll go ourselves." They swiftly went off to get their own food.

Wen Zhengyu went to her desk, got paper and pen, and went back to Secretary Chen. She asked, "What will you eat?"

Secretary Chen glanced at Wen Zhengyu, sighed lightly, and recited the meal orders for the several secretaries, saying, "We few can just make do. Chairman Ye's meal cannot be sloppy. She doesn't like sweet, prefers the numbing-spicy flavor, add a bowl of soup…"

Wen Zhengyu noted down the preferences of the secretaries. As for Ye Ling—someone with a cold, still wanting numbing-spicy?

She went to the cafeteria to place the order, then had the cafeteria staff push a meal cart upstairs. The food preparation took a little time, and by the time the dinner was ready, it was already time to finish work.

Wen Zhengyu went upstairs with the meal delivery staff. She asked curiously, "The company prepares dinner too?"

The delivery staff told her, "And midnight snacks too. Every day, some department has overtime. When we get word they're working overtime, we have to stay and prepare midnight snacks. Midnight snacks are from nine at night to midnight."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Do you get overtime pay?"

The delivery staff said, "Yes. Evening overtime is double pay. Weekends are triple."

When Secretary Chen saw Wen Zhengyu returning with the food, she said to her, "Go eat, take a break." She had Wen Zhengyu first take the Secretariat's meals to the break area table, while she herself led the delivery staff to Ye Ling's office.

Wen Zhengyu watched Secretary Chen enter Ye Ling's office. For a moment, she didn't know whether to sympathize with Secretary Chen or with herself for the barrage of fire she was about to face. The meal she had prepared for Ye Ling was as bland as it could be—not a single spicy dish.

She went to the break area and sat down with everyone to eat boxed meals. As she sat down, the surrounding bodyguards, in unison, stopped eating and looked at her.

Wen Zhengyu took her two dishes and one soup and sat at a small adjacent round table.

The group of bodyguards seemed visibly relieved.

Wen Zhengyu had just taken two bites of food when Secretary Chen swept over in front of her like a gust of wind: "What's wrong with you! Tell me, did you do this on purpose? I told you what to get for Chairman Ye, and what did you get? Did you do it intentionally or just not think? Do you even want this job?" She scolded Wen Zhengyu relentlessly, spittle practically flying into Wen Zhengyu's lunchbox.

Wen Zhengyu silently closed her lunchbox, threw it in the trash, then raised her head to Secretary Chen, who had stopped scolding her, and said slowly, "Your boss's voice is hoarse, and you're still giving her spicy food. Are you doing it on purpose or what?"

Secretary Chen took a deep breath and said, with an air of deep sincerity, "Miss Wen, I know you're Chairman Ye's relative and want what's best for her, but right now you're working in the Secretariat. As a subordinate, you must obey your superior's arrangements. You can't act on your own authority."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Ye Ling… Chairman Ye, if she has objections to my arrangements for her, tell her to come to me. If she tells me to leave, I won't say a word. If Chairman Ye has no objections, Secretary Chen, until Chairman Ye's cold recovers, avoid spicy and irritating foods."

Secretary Chen looked Wen Zhengyu up and down thoroughly, threw out the words, "You're something else," and then called to order takeout to re-order food for Ye Ling.

Wen Zhengyu rose and went over. On Secretary Chen's desk, she saw the meal she had prepared earlier for Ye Ling. She glanced at Secretary Chen quizzically, then went to Ye Ling's office. She gently pushed the door open to find Ye Ling sitting by the sofa with several people, deeply engrossed in discussion. Ye Ling's throat was very uncomfortable; she kept coughing dryly from time to time.

She silently returned to her desk and sat down.

Ye Ling hadn't gotten off work, so the entire Secretariat was still working overtime. Everyone was very busy. Around ten at night, Secretary Chen again had her and Secretary Ji go prepare midnight snacks.

Ten o'clock. Usually at this hour, she was already in bed. She was now tired, yawning as she headed out the door.

The office was still brightly lit; many people were still working overtime.

She asked Secretary Ji, "Is it always this late?"

Secretary Ji said, "Recently we've been busy, so overtime is later. Usually, around eight or nine is enough." She paused, then said, "After we deliver the midnight snacks, we can leave. Chairman Ye and the chief secretary will probably be here until two or three in the morning."

Wen Zhengyu suddenly thought of how, every night, after she and Ye Ling had texted each other goodnight, Ye Ling was probably still, just like now, working overtime. Ye Ling's own workload was already immense; now, added to that, were her issues, making things even busier. And before, because of her matters, Ye Ling hadn't even managed to hold the shareholders' meeting or the board meeting.

The two finished delivering the midnight snacks. As before, it was Secretary Chen who took them into Ye Ling's office.

Wen Zhengyu gathered that even among the Secretariat, not just anyone could casually enter Ye Ling's office. It was usually the chief secretary and Secretary Chen who went in. Though she had been placed here by Ye Ling, Secretary Chen guarded against her and wouldn't let her enter Ye Ling's office.

She shared her speculation with Secretary Ji.

Secretary Ji said, "Isn't it obvious? She's afraid that if you're cultivated, you'll steal her position. After all, you were placed here by Chairman Ye. In terms of connections, you're closer to Chairman Ye. If you're also capable…" The implication needed no further words.

Wen Zhengyu opened her mouth slightly, really not knowing what to say.

Secretary Ji asked her, "Are you leaving?" She saw Wen Zhengyu was so tired she kept yawning, yet showed no sign of packing up to go.

Wen Zhengyu said, "You go first."

Secretary Ji said, "Alright, then I'll head off. You should go back early too. You're just an intern, and placed by Chairman Ye at that. It's late, even if you left now, no one would say anything. I'm off." After speaking, she packed her things, picked up her bag, and left.

Wen Zhengyu was so tired she really couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep slumped over her desk.

When Ye Ling saw Secretary Chen bringing in the midnight snacks, she checked the time and realized it was already deep into the night. She asked Secretary Chen, "Has Miss Wen left work?" As she spoke, she checked her phone but saw no text from Wen Zhengyu. Wen Zhengyu could sometimes be a bit rigid and inflexible. No text? She was probably still obediently waiting for her in the office.

Secretary Chen said, "Not yet." The words were barely out of her mouth when she saw her boss had already hurriedly gotten up and gone straight to the Secretariat.

The moment the big boss entered, the bodyguards stationed inside immediately all stood up.

Wen Zhengyu was slumped over her desk, seemingly asleep.

Ye Ling lightened her footsteps as she walked over. Seeing that Wen Zhengyu was indeed asleep, she called softly, "Zhengyu. Zhengyu."

Wen Zhengyu opened her eyes, sat up, and lifted her head to look at Ye Ling. She asked, "Done?"

Ye Ling said, "No. I need to work for a while longer. You head back first, get some rest early."

Wen Zhengyu rubbed her eyes and said, "It's fine. I'm not tired." As soon as she said it, she knew she couldn't even fool herself. She looked at Ye Ling again and saw that the color on her face was red in an abnormal way. She reached out and felt Ye Ling's forehead, discovering she had a fever. Her drowsiness instantly evaporated. She said, "You have a fever."

Ye Ling said, "It's nothing. A doctor came this afternoon and prescribed fever reducers." She turned to Zhuo Yao and said, "Take Zhengyu home."

Seeing Ye Ling sick like this yet still having to work overtime—suddenly, Wen Zhengyu's heart felt very heavy.

Ye Ling gently rubbed Wen Zhengyu's head and said, "I'll be fine once this busy period is over. Be good, go back first. My apartment is close to here. If you don't mind that no one's lived there for a while, make do and sleep there tonight. Don't stay so late again tomorrow. Sometimes when I'm busy, I get caught up and forget about you."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Can't you rest early tonight and work again tomorrow?"

Ye Ling said, "No, I have urgent matters that need to be finished."

Wen Zhengyu couldn't help Ye Ling with work, so she could only do her best not to add to the trouble. She stood up and said, "Then when you're done, just rest in the office. I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow. Oh, and remember: nothing spicy."

Ye Ling replied, "Alright." She helped Wen Zhengyu pack her belongings and handed her shoulder bag to Zhuo Yao. She said to Wen Zhengyu, "Call me when you get home."

She accompanied Wen Zhengyu out of the Secretariat and saw her all the way to the elevator door.

Wen Zhengyu said, "When you finish, rest early. Remember to eat, and drink plenty of water."

Ye Ling replied, "Alright." She waved at Wen Zhengyu. Only when the elevator doors closed did she turn and head back. As she returned, she saw Secretary Chen standing at the door watching. She said to Secretary Chen, "Miss Wen's health isn't very good. Normally, pay a little attention. At quitting time next time, let her go home. Prepare a set of toiletries for her in my break room. Let her take her afternoon nap there."

Secretary Chen opened her mouth slightly, then nodded in acknowledgment.

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