After Old Master Song passed away, Father Song and Mother Song handled the funeral arrangements and then left again, leaving Song Fu alone in the old residence. Whenever she had the energy, she tended to the flowers and plants a bit and scattered some feed for the koi in the landscape pond.
Her friends had all reached the age of starting families and careers, so gatherings weren’t happening every time. Thus, Song Fu spent a long period in a state of idleness, full of anticipation for the plot that was about to begin.
When the life assistant started her job on Wednesday, Song Fu, who rarely got up early after finishing her studies, put some effort into dressing up and happily arrived at the Group building.
She didn’t see him right away. Assistant Zhang said that new hires needed to undergo unified training and wouldn’t touch work on their first day but would familiarize themselves with the company’s structure and corporate culture instead.
So Song Fu had essentially come for nothing, but turning around and leaving would be too obvious. She simply took a cup of coffee and went to Yan Huai Xu’s office to watch dramas.
During this, she ran into quite a few Group employees. After all, it wasn’t her first time there; she even held a nominal director position in the company. Most recognized her and greeted her warmly. “Good morning, Miss Song.”
Song Fu responded to each one.
Though in her heart, she felt their attitudes were off. Was it maxed-out social skills and worldly savvy, or were they really that full of energy? The villainess was supposed to be an infamous terror who scared off even ghosts.
…
“Does anyone need to report work to our President Yan today?” The employee entered the office, casually set down her bag, and said, “I have some great news.”
The girl opposite her perked up immediately and asked eagerly, “What, what?” That’s right, she had a work report today too. It couldn’t be called bad luck—after all, their boss wasn’t a devil; he was just serious about work. But the pressure was inevitable.
She had been worrying over it half the day and had just been drafting, preparing to memorize it.
The employee didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “Miss Song is here. From the looks of it, she doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon. I suggest you seize this opportunity.”
“Great!” The girl had still been planning to polish her draft a bit more but changed plans on the spot. “I’ll go right now.”
Their boss always handled things strictly by the book, like an emotionless work-processing machine assembled from precise parts. But even this machine had human moments. When Miss Song was around, he became much more approachable—like the difference between a fridge’s fresh and freeze settings!
The girl went upstairs with light steps, only to find a line forming outside their boss’s office. “…?”
Assistant Zhao glanced at them and cleared his throat. “I heard from the warehouse folks that Miss Song seems to be staying long-term, so they just arranged for a new sofa to be delivered.”
A few people in the waiting line dispersed.
In the office, dominated by black, white, and gray tones, a warm yellow beanbag sofa appeared, like the sun popping out from thick, oppressive clouds.
Song Fu nestled inside, her back to the office door.
The sofa hadn’t been positioned like that at first; it had been placed close to Yan Huai Xu’s desk. But with too many people coming in and out, it was impossible to relax. So Song Fu had turned the sofa around. From behind, not a single person was visible—not even a strand of hair.
Assistant Zhao came to deliver files and, by the way, explained the situation with the newly hired life assistant. “Her job duties are distinctly different from other employees’, so the training can’t be one-size-fits-all. Here’s what I’m thinking: Should we have her start work directly this afternoon? After all, it’s our first time recruiting for this role; there are many things to figure out and integrate gradually.”
Yan Huai Xu nodded halfway when Song Fu poked her head out from behind the beanbag sofa and clapped her hands. “That’s exactly how it should be.”
Assistant Zhao first greeted her with “Miss Song.” “Alright, then have her start with lunch. Is that okay?”
Song Fu made an “OK” gesture.
Actually, as for meals, the company cafeteria food was quite good too. They had a head chef who used to work at a five-star hotel and now researched new dishes daily, with the beef patties being especially exceptional. In Assistant Zhang’s words, they were so fragrant your nose might fall off.
There had even been an incident where someone took a stack home to eat as night snacks. Others who didn’t get any complained bitterly, leading to a new rule: one per person limit.
Song Fu still emphasized, not knowing if it was necessary, “No need to make my portion; I’ll eat at the cafeteria.” As she spoke, she pulled out her work badge from yesterday out of her bag. “Give this to the new life assistant and have her buy me lunch and send it up. The rest doesn’t matter; don’t forget the beef patties.”
Assistant Zhao took the badge and left. One had to say, work efficiency was high. Soon, the new life assistant knocked on the door.
As soon as she entered, she properly introduced herself. “You can call me Little Wang from now on.”
Then she handed over a thick file, which was a menu. “After receiving the offer, to make future work easier, I specially took the time to compile this nutrition menu. It outlines roughly what dishes I’ll make over the next two weeks. If you have anything else you’d like to eat, you can order it too.”
Yan Huai Xu gave a “Mm” to acknowledge he’d heard and casually set the menu aside. Song Fu picked it up and flipped through it, her fair fingertips turning the pages.
She yawned and asked offhandedly, “Do you know what your job duties are?”
Little Wang summed it up in one sentence. “Responsible for the boss’s daily life and living.”
She paused, as if encountering a difficulty. “From my resume, you can see I have prior experience as a life assistant, but that was twenty-four hours. I heard from Assistant Zhao that my work hours are twelve hours, from seven in the morning to six in the afternoon. I’d like to confirm if that’s correct?” Even Assistant Zhao’s original words were that as long as breakfast and dinner were done, no need to be too strict about clocking in.
Song Fu looked up coolly. “Do you really want to be with the boss twenty-four hours a day?”
Little Wang denied it. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just that would make my workload too light.” If anything, it’d just be cooking, which didn’t match her high salary.
Her previous job had included cleaning the home, organizing related files, preparing daily outfits… everything down to the details. Little Wang looked at Yan Huai Xu. “I also haven’t received a spare key to your residence.”
“You don’t need one.” Yan Huai Xu was concise.
Song Fu was still flipping through the menu, her tone odd. “These days, there are actually people who think they have too little work.”
Little Wang smiled embarrassedly. “I’m the type who can’t sit idle.”
[This assistant is a corporate spy.]
The System spoke up out of nowhere, catching Song Fu off guard and nearly breaking her expression management.
She responded in her mind and took a fresh look at the person before her. She appeared completely honest and dutiful, with no sign she could take on stealing company secrets. Then again, if she looked scheming, she’d be guarded against before even starting.
Little Wang broke out in a cold sweat under the stare. “Is there something on my face?”
Song Fu tossed the menu onto the desk and flashed a kind, bright smile. “You have to work hard. I’ll be watch-ing you.” The emphasis was clear.
“Of course.” Little Wang smiled back, seemingly oblivious to anything wrong.
As the person left the office, Song Fu followed right out, hands behind her back, eyes curved in a smile. “I especially like watching people cook. You don’t mind, right?”
Little Wang had no objections at all. She thought it was just the young miss’s whim, but she soon realized her mistake.
The life assistant had cooking duties, distinctly different from other assistants, so she had her own single office. Though calling it an office was generous; it was more like a private mini-kitchen.
From the moment she started on dessert, the young miss began asking this and that—saying this wasn’t clean enough, that should be done such-and-such—stoking her irritation upward, but she didn’t dare snap back and could only patiently explain.
Finally, the dessert was done, but the young miss showed no sign of leaving. She just propped her cheek and watched from the side. Under that gaze, she inexplicably felt exposed. “This little cake is enough for you and President Yan to share.”
Song Fu gave an indifferent “Oh.”
Little Wang’s smile froze, and she suggested, “Will you deliver it yourself?”
Song Fu raised a brow and pointed at herself. “Are you assigning me tasks?”
“No.” Little Wang hadn’t expected her words to be interpreted that way. She just wanted to let this young miss take credit; it was fine to say she made it. “I’ll deliver it.”
“Mm.” Song Fu followed behind her.
Little Wang thought once the cake was delivered, the young miss wouldn’t keep tailing her. Who knew she didn’t even glance at the cake and left the office with her. “Miss Song, won’t you eat it with President Yan?”
Song Fu: “…Don’t want to eat.” It sounded like a terribly difficult decision.
Little Wang: “I see.” Did it have to be so insincere?!
Meanwhile, Yan Huai Xu faced the six-inch cake alone: “…”
Song Fu had come over earlier without saying a word and left.
Later employees reporting work opened the door first to a sweet cake fragrance, then met their boss’s visibly displeased cold face. They felt utterly scammed. Damn it, who told them the boss was in a good mood?!
Song Fu shouldered the important mission of not letting the corporate spy succeed, so she didn’t dare glance at her phone the whole time, fearing a moment’s lapse would let her get away with it.
When she saw Little Wang make a move, she asked, “Where are you going?”
Little Wang was completely frank. “Lunch is still a ways off. I want to ask Assistant Zhang if there’s anywhere I can help. As fellow assistants, we should share the load.”
“What kind of talk is that?”
Song Fu furrowed her brows fiercely, pulled out her phone, and called out. “Hello, Assistant Zhang, right?”
Assistant Zhang, stealing a break in the pantry, heard the unkind tone and had a bad premonition. The coffee in his mouth suddenly tasted extra bitter. “Yes, it’s me, Miss Song. What’s up?”
Song Fu “hmph”ed. “Can’t you handle your own work?”
Assistant Zhang denied it vehemently. His work ability was top-notch, okay? “Who pinned the blame on me?”
Song Fu didn’t answer and hung up directly. To Little Wang, she said, “He says he doesn’t need it. If other assistants need it, I’ll tell Yan Huai Xu to reduce their workload and cut their salary while he’s at it.”
Who would still dare say they couldn’t handle it? Little Wang showed a helpless, wry expression and rephrased. “Actually, I just want to get along well with colleagues, so I thought to proactively help.”
Song Fu acknowledged it with an “Oh.”
She continued monitoring Little Wang’s actions.
But as someone with normal physiological needs, oversights were unavoidable.
A few days later, during lunch break after eating.
Song Fu had been sleeping late and waking early for days straight, drowsy to the point where a single head dip made her zone out. She had wanted to nap for five minutes while Little Wang cleaned the kitchen, but when she opened her eyes again, over half an hour had passed.
She lifted the thin blanket she hadn’t covered herself with before sleeping and wanted to stretch. This movement revealed Little Wang standing shocked in front of the desk.
Little Wang’s face might as well have said “Why are you here?” in big letters.
Song Fu’s stretch halted halfway; she put her hand on the desk, narrowed her peach-blossom eyes, and scrutinized her. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to revise the menu I sent over earlier because I found the mini-kitchen’s tools are limited and can’t make some things…” Little Wang was truly worthy of being a corporate spy; she came up with an excuse in a blink. She clasped her hands. “Please don’t tell President Yan. This was indeed my oversight, so I wanted to fix it.”
“Is that so?”
Song Fu didn’t say if she believed it or not. She just sat in Yan Huai Xu’s usual spot and asked a question. “Assistant Wang, do you know why you got this job?”
Little Wang answered uncertainly: “My overall qualities are pretty high?”
Song Fu shook her head. “No, it’s your education.”
“But I kept thinking, someone with your education coming to be a life assistant is really… such a waste, unless you have other plans. Don’t you think?”
Little Wang was already sweating profusely, her heart in her throat, but she hadn’t committed any actual theft. As long as she stuck firmly to the story that she had come for the recipe, there wouldn’t be any problems. It was her own haste—and this young lady’s constant staring—that had left her without a single chance to act.
To make matters worse, she had received the message today, right when they were clearing the monitoring storage. Worried about missing her opportunity, she had gone for it, only to get caught red-handed. Who had told her the target was gone? And from the conversation, this young lady had suspected her motives long ago. There was no point in staying any longer.
Little Wang’s expression twisted briefly as she gathered her thoughts. “I’ll submit my resignation.”
Song Fu: ?
So decisive?
Not wanting to disturb Song Fu’s rest, Yan Huai Xu had gone to another conference room to handle work and had just come over to pick up some files: ?
“Approved. Go to HR and process your resignation.”
The process moved so quickly that Song Fu couldn’t keep up. She hadn’t even prepared her sarcastic remarks to ask if the other woman was trying to steal her fiancé when Little Wang lowered her head and walked away, leaving her and Yan Huai Xu facing each other in silence.
“Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”
Yan Huai Xu stroked her face. The red marks pressed into her fair skin from sleeping stood out strikingly. “What happened?”
“She sneaked in while everyone was gone… Never mind.” Song Fu saw that Yan Huai Xu showed no interest and pouted, too lazy to continue. “She’s gone. Just hire another life assistant.”
Though he had only caught half the conversation, he could guess the gist. Yan Huai Xu was surprised too. For a corporate spy to lose her cool so quickly and bite the hook immediately truly saved them some effort.
It also meant he wouldn’t have to keep missing glimpses of Song Fu anymore. She was right there in the company, after all.
The only part that surprised him was, “You still want a life assistant?”
“Of course. Why not? The office is all prepared.” Song Fu’s tone was perfectly matter-of-fact, as if she had completely forgotten all her previous complaints.