The girl group survival show has 12 episodes, and 8 episodes have already aired. The final lineup is pretty much set, with Lin Siyan widely considered the center. She's arguably the biggest winner of the show, trending on social media every episode, firmly establishing her image as a kind, hardworking, and talented individual. Because of her exceptional singing voice, a popular singer-songwriter was inspired to write a duet and invited her to sing it.
This is a fantastic opportunity. Her exposure and popularity will increase dramatically, something other contestants can only dream of.
Upon receiving this news, Ji Yawen believed it must be a special case the boss had mentioned, so she went to his office to report, "Chairman, the famous singer Dong Hui has written a duet love song and invited Miss Lin to sing it. A top domestic cosmetics company has contacted our company wanting Miss Lin to be their spokesperson, and Defu Chocolate is interested in having Miss Lin as the female lead in their new season's advertising campaign. These are confirmed, and there are several other advertising endorsements still under negotiation. If nothing unexpected happens, Miss Lin should debut as the center of the top girl group in the country, and her development momentum is very good."
Xu Zifan didn't even look up. "Um, so?"
A hint of doubt flashed through Ji Yawen's mind. Why did the boss seem so indifferent? Were all abstinent male gods so expressionless? She carefully considered her words and said, "Chairman, when Miss Lin signed her contract before, I arranged a D-level contract for her. At that time, it was to avoid too much speculation from the outside world, so as not to make her think that Miss Lin had a special relationship with the company. Now that Miss Lin's career is developing so well, shouldn't we upgrade the contract to C-level or even higher?"
She was thinking of the company, so the boss shouldn't blame her for acting on her own, right? She should explain herself quickly; it shouldn't be too much of a hardship for Ms. Lin in such a short time.
"No need." Xu Zifan had always assumed that Ji Yawen was reporting Lin Siyan's matter to him to save him time, out of a desire to ease his boss's burden. But just now, he sensed something unusual in her words, "I'm sorry to have wronged Miss Lin." He looked up at Ji Yawen and suddenly noticed how bright her eyes were. Like a gossipy young girl. Hmm, he must have been mistaken; his assistant was clearly the composed and elegant type.
Xu Zifan thought for a moment. His behavior was indeed too easy for people to think he had taken a liking to Lin Siyan. However, there was no way to explain it. A CEO who never paid attention to women suddenly showing extreme interest in a beautiful woman was bound to cause misunderstandings. He glanced at Ji Yawen again and said, "The D-level contract is beneficial to the company. From now on, you don't need to report these things to me. Just tell Xu's Entertainment to promote Lin Siyan to make money for the company. No other special treatment is needed. We'll discuss the contract issue when Lin Siyan makes headlines and insists on a higher level."
"Okay, I understand, Chairman." Ji Yawen nodded, her mind reeling. Was the boss planning to exploit Lin Siyan like a cash cow? Was the boss so focused on this woman because he saw her potential as a money-maker? Impossible! The boss earned far more money than Lin Siyan every minute! This made no sense! So, did the boss actually like Lin Siyan? Wasn't the boss deliberately replacing the male tutor with a female tutor because he was jealous?
Xu Zifan speculated on what Lin Siyan might do. The strategist hadn't found an opportunity to approach him for two months, so she was bound to make a new move, preferably one that would involve him. He suddenly remembered the original owner's first meeting with the strategist. He hacked into the hotel's hard drive on his computer and discovered that the video had been extracted and saved. His first thought was of the system.
Xu Zifan tapped his fingers lightly on the table for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Assistant Ji, you should focus on any news that directly or indirectly involves Lin Siyan with me. If there is any, have the PR team suppress it immediately."
"Yes, Chairman." Seeing that Xu Zifan had no further instructions, Ji Yawen silently left the office and returned to her workstation, feeling somewhat dazed. What did this mean? Did the boss suspect Lin Siyan was deliberately trying to curry favor with him? Actually, she didn't like Lin Siyan very much, always feeling that Lin Siyan had ulterior motives towards the boss. Did the boss also see this? But there were countless women who had designs on the boss; the boss hadn't paid attention to anyone else!
What kind of crazy tactic is this? I really want to tell the boss, "City folks know how to play the game. I'm from the countryside, I don't really understand your city ways..."
Ji Yawen suddenly felt her IQ was insufficient, as if the intelligence she supposedly possessed to skip grades was a lie. However, compared to her boss, her IQ was probably indeed far behind. It didn't matter; being a good assistant meant strictly following the boss's orders, not saying or doing anything unnecessary. Since the boss was now exploiting Lin Siyan and drawing a line, this was the right thing to do. She hoped that in the future, there wouldn't be any scenes like "loving you means bullying you" or "pushing you to the brink before becoming your hero," or she would go crazy.
As soon as she got off work that day, Ji Yawen went and bought more than a dozen books. She decided to study hard and improve herself. To avoid falling too far behind her boss and secure her position as the top assistant, she urgently needed to boost her intelligence. Carrying two brick-like bags of books home and arranging them, Ji Yawen breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly feeling a sense of security, and her mood returned to its sunny disposition.
Actually, the higher the boss's IQ, the better. That way, if she stays by the boss's side for a few more years, she might learn a ton of things and become her own boss. Yes, when she does, she must be just like the boss—taciturn, never showing her emotions, so even the young, inexperienced assistant can't guess what she's thinking!
Ji Yawen prepared a delicious and visually appealing dinner for herself, and after a happy meal, she began to "work overtime." She sat down at her desk, reading and studying while occasionally checking her computer to refresh trending topics and follow Lin Siyan's updates. At ten o'clock in the evening, she applied a face mask, put on her anti-radiation glasses, snuggled into bed, and used a tablet...
She scrolled through trending topics until she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open and was about to fall asleep, then she gave herself a silent pep talk.
I love working overtime, and I love the bonuses my boss gives me.
She then struggled to stay awake until the early hours of the morning. While scrolling through trending topics, she idly read a novel about a domineering CEO falling in love with her. That night, her dreams were filled with lines like, "Woman, you've successfully caught my attention," "I won't allow anyone else to see your beauty; you belong only to me," and "I'm going to clip your wings and leave you nowhere to escape"...
In her dreams, the domineering CEO's face was always Xu Zifan, and the innocent girl he fancied was Lin Siyan. She'd never seen such a brainless boss before, making it a nightmare for her. She woke up in the morning drenched in sweat, and when she checked the time, the alarm had already gone off three times!
Ji Yawen rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower, finished her makeup in five minutes, changed into a suit, put her hair up, and ran downstairs to hail a taxi to Xu Zifan's villa. She had initially worked as Xu Zifan's personal assistant, so she would arrive at the villa with her boss every morning and drive him home after get off work, occasionally accompanying him to social events. Later, she demonstrated her abilities and gradually gained more responsibility, but since her boss hadn't mentioned changing this habit, she continued to go to the villa every day, also managing most of Xu Zifan's daily affairs.
Actually, this is a good thing. Compared to the other three assistants, she spends more time with the boss, which helps the boss have a better impression of her.
When they arrived at the villa, it was a bit late, and Xu Zifan had already finished eating and come out. She hurriedly stepped forward to open the car door for Xu Zifan and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Chairman, I'm late."
Xu Zifan glanced at his watch. "Work officially starts at nine, so you're not late. You seem to be in a hurry; something happened?"
The image of her boss's domineering face from her dream immediately flashed into Ji Yawen's mind. She almost lost her composure and quickly replied, "No, I just didn't sleep well and woke up late."
This answer surprised Xu Zifan a little, because in his memory, Assistant Ji had never made a mistake; even when she was sick, she had never overslept. Seeing Assistant Ji's well-concealed annoyance, Xu Zifan felt that she had become more vibrant.
Xu Zifan unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, "You didn't have breakfast, did you? I'll give you half an hour to eat when you get to the company."
Ji Yawen was flattered; the boss actually smiled? "Thank you, Chairman."
After getting in the car, Xu Zifan thought that he seemed to be giving Assistant Ji too much work. Picking him up in the morning and dropping him off in the evening, and all he did on the way was report on his work. There was nothing necessary, so he said, "Assistant Ji, you don't need to come with me in the morning and evening anymore. I will contact you if there is anything. You can do whatever you want after get off work."
Ji Yawen's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed, "Okay, Chairman."
It's been a long time coming! Finally, I don't have to get up early and work late with the boss anymore. From now on, I can sleep in late in the mornings, go home early in the evenings, and rest a little longer when it's windy, rainy, or I have a headache or fever. It's fantastic! Why does it feel like the boss is becoming more and more humane?
After finishing the meeting and her work at the company, Ji Yawen received a call from General Manager Wen, who said that Lin Siyan had mentioned to Sister Wang two or three times about raising her contract level, and asked if she really wouldn't be given a raise, as this might cause Lin Siyan to switch jobs.
Having just experienced her boss's care, Ji Yawen naturally wanted to help him bully the woman he was interested in. She immediately said, "No need for a promotion. We'll consider that when she's about to leave. Mr. Wen, Lin Siyan seems to have great talent. We can't waste her talent; we need to nurture her all-around development. For example, we could try giving her a few acting lessons, and if that works out, we could arrange suitable roles for her. In other areas, we should give her more gigs so she can practice and grow more. What do you think?"
"Assistant Ji is right, I know how to arrange it."
"By the way, please arrange for Lin Siyan's assistant, driver, and bodyguard to be female as much as possible. Thank you for your help."
"Okay, Assistant Ji." President Wen hung up the phone, racking his brains for a long time but still couldn't figure out what this was all about. But since that's what the higher-ups wanted, he'd do it.
That day, the driver who had just been won over by Lin Siyan to a level of 50 in favorability was replaced by a female driver. A male bodyguard who was supposed to be chosen for Lin Siyan also changed his mind and went to choose a female bodyguard. One of Lin Siyan's assistants was a young girl, so she didn't replace her. Lin Siyan's proposed upgrade contract was rejected again.
Lin Siyan simply couldn't believe it. All the things she had done to please her agent and even recruited her driver as a confidant had come to nothing. What bad luck had befallen her?!