Lucas was utterly baffled.
I just told you to sit down, not to sit on my lap!
What's the rush?
Looking at Li Yufei, who seemed on the verge of tears, it took Lucas a good while to get a word out. "I said, I just wanted you to sit down. Why are you so worked up?"
Are you kidding?
You want to resign because I asked you to sit?
People with persecution complexes really are hard to deal with.
Did he have to treat her like the original Lucas in the story for her to work properly?
Seriously.
Seeing Lucas's speechless expression, Li Yufei finally held back her tears and cautiously confirmed, "Mr. Lucas, you're really not bullying me?"
Her eyes were already red.
It seemed if Lucas's next answer displeased her, she would quit on the spot.
Lucas said, exasperated, "Yes, yes! I just want you to sit down!"
"I need to talk to you about something."
Good grief, don't be so dramatic.
My head hurts.
Hearing this, Li Yufei calmed down, though her eyes remained red-rimmed.
"Mr. Lucas, what did you want to discuss?"
Seeing she had settled, Lucas took out a USB drive and placed it in front of her.
"Review the materials on this. Then execute the plan I've outlined inside."
Lucas said seriously, "This is very important. You have full authority to allocate company funds as needed."
Huh?
Li Yufei was stunned.
Full authority?
Was this still the same stingy Mr. Lucas? Before, even applying for two million required piles of paperwork and approvals.
And now he's just handing over financial control, just like that?
Li Yufei picked up the USB drive, dumbfounded. "Mr. Lucas, you... you're serious?"
Lucas nodded. "Yes."
"This concerns the company's future. I only trust you with this. You're the only one who can handle it for me."
His words were sincere.
Combined with his actor-level skills, they carried a hint of weary reliance.
Li Yufei felt a twinge of emotion.
He trusts only me with the company's future direction?
Is that true?
Does Mr. Lucas really have that much faith in me?
The moment this thought surfaced, Li Yufei immediately rejected it.
Impossible, impossible!
How could a boss like Mr. Lucas, who'd squeeze every last cent from her salary, ever be that trusting?
It must be fake.
He's just buttering me up.
Ignoring her internal debate, Lucas continued leisurely, "Take the materials, extract the relevant parts, and file for the patents."
"You're going to be very busy for a while."
Hearing that last part—'you're going to be very busy'—Li Yufei instantly understood. See? Any talk of trust was just nonsense.
It was purely about squeezing every ounce of her free time.
Hah.
Wretched capitalist.
But... Mr. Lucas was offering a lot.
Faced with the capitalist's lure, Li Yufei finally bowed her head and replied softly, "Understood, Mr. Lucas."
"Even on a special day like this, no peace. Sigh..."
Alas.
Another two pages would be added to the tragic saga of the corporate drone.
Lucas nodded with satisfaction. "Good. You may go."
"I have a surprise for you tonight."
A surprise?
Li Yufei was skeptical, muttering under her breath, "What surprise? It's definitely going to be something like, 'Tomorrow's the weekend, work hard on overtime. Next time I'll give you maternity... Pah! I mean, a long vacation.'"
Lucas made a questioning sound. "What was that mumbling?"
"Ah? Nothing, nothing! I'll take my leave now, Mr. Lucas." Li Yufei snapped back to reality and hurried out.
She nearly tripped on her way out.
Bang!
The office door closed. Lucas shook his head, puzzled.
Once outside Lucas's office...
Some curious employees glanced over. Seeing Li Yufei's red eyes, the office gossip mill started churning again.
"Wow, Secretary Li was crying!"
"Tsk, coming out of Mr. Lucas's office… she must have gotten chewed out."
"Poor Secretary Li. I want to comfort her."
"Give it up. Secretary Li would knock you out with one hit."
"Hey, is there something going on between Secretary Li and Mr. Lucas?"
"What? You can say there's something between her and me, but never her and Mr. Lucas!"
"Every old-timer here knows Secretary Li gets publicly scolded to tears by Mr. Lucas every other day!"
"Yikes. What a clueless straight guy!"
Li Yufei ignored the chatter and returned to her small office.
She stared blankly at the USB drive.
"It's over, it's over. Overtime again today."
Li Yufei felt like crying. "My birthday… my little cake…"
She was from the countryside. After two years in the city, she'd been working under Lucas the whole time.
She had almost no social life.
A top-tier beauty, yet somehow she had no close male friends—not even a best girlfriend nearby.
She spent most of her time alone.
Even her birthday was no exception—celebrated solo.
Originally, today being Friday with the weekend off, she could have enjoyed a nice little birthday.
But then...
The heartless boss was back to squeezing his employees dry!
"Sigh, the life of a corporate drone is bitter." A wry smile touched Li Yufei's lips.
She plugged the USB drive into her computer.
The scan completed.
Li Yufei opened the drive. When she saw the folder names, her eyes went wide with shock.
Graphene Patent Certification Materials
Graphene Production Line Planning Table
Graphene Investment Plan Table
New Company Establishment Proposal (Confidential)
Li Yufei drew a sharp breath.
"Mr. Lucas… he's about to hit the jackpot."
"It seems… he really does trust me."
For someone with a split personality, Li Yufei's thoughts were rather scattered. Maybe it was from being alone too long.
In short, she tended to overthink and imagine things.
But when it came to work, she could commit herself 100% and execute flawlessly.
That's why, in the original story, Lucas entrusted all important matters to Li Yufei without hesitation.
He thought they had a solid professional partnership.
But then...
Li Yufei ended up being saved by Ye Fan in a classic hero-rescues-beauty scenario and fell for him.
A pity...
After Lucas's company went bankrupt, she never won Ye Fan's love either, fading silently from the narrative alone.
Looking at the plan list on the USB drive...
Li Yufei snapped back to reality, her face falling as she slumped onto her desk in agony. "Now I won't even have my days off!"
"Wahh!"