Gu Tingye’s eyes were deep and unfathomable, revealing no trace of emotion.
He slowly picked up the wine glass, admiring the bewitching hue of the red wine for a moment.
Then, with an elegant motion, he tilted his head back and downed the wine in one go.
Seeing that Gu Tingye remained silent for a long while, Gu Ziqian muttered in frustration, “How boring!”
He continued talking to himself, “Uncle is so old, and he looks so outdated. He’s not fashionable, and he’s dull and boring. She definitely wouldn’t like someone like Uncle.”
Hearing this evaluation, Gu Tingye’s face darkened completely.
Aunt Tang returned with the red wine and asked, “President Gu, should I open it now?”
“No need! You’ve already wasted two bottles of my good wine. If you keep drinking, are you planning to sleep here too?”
Gu Tingye raised his voice coldly, “Xiao Yu, see our guest out! If anyone on duty lets him in again next time, they’ll be fired and replaced immediately!”
After speaking, Gu Tingye shot Gu Ziqian a look of utter disappointment.
Look at how pathetic he was!
Reducing himself to such a state over a woman!
Not only had he disgraced the Gu family, but he had also humiliated men across the entire country!
Besides, it wasn’t as if Fang Mian was the only woman on Earth.
Did the Gu family need her to like them?
Nonsense!
The next day at 8:30 a.m.
As Gu Tingye passed by the secretarial department, the gossip of the employees drifted uninvited into his ears.
“What gift should I give Fang Mian for her new home?”
“I picked out a few potted plants on Meituan. She’ll definitely like them.”
“Hehe, I prepared a few art pieces and some scented candles.”
“I wonder if President Gu will show up…”
“Are you serious? Instead of worrying about what gift to give, you’re worrying about whether President Gu will attend?”
“Think about it. If President Gu doesn’t go, we can dress however we want. But if he does, we’ll at least have to dress a bit more appropriately.”
“That makes sense. I wonder if Fang Mian actually invited President Gu.”
“She’d definitely invite her boss. As for whether President Gu will go, that depends on his mood.”
“Now that you mention it, I’m getting a bit nervous. Does that mean we’ll even have to eat in small, slow bites?”
“Good morning, President Gu…”
“Mm. Morning.”
The gossip instantly died down.
“Good morning, President Gu.”
Gu Tingye gave a slight nod and walked straight into the CEO’s office.
Since Assistant Fang wanted to invite him to a home-cooked meal, he should at least give her the chance to ask, shouldn’t he?
The chief secretary soon knocked and entered to report the day’s schedule.
“At nine, attend the sales department’s business expansion seminar.”
“At ten-thirty, meet with the president of Huaqing to discuss project progress.”
“At two in the afternoon, there’s a cross-border video conference…”
“What has Assistant Fang been working on these days?” Gu Tingye suddenly asked.
The chief secretary adjusted his glasses. “President Gu, Assistant Fang mainly handles business trip arrangements. In the office, she usually organizes daily reports and documents…”
Gu Tingye said calmly, “Have her accompany me today. I want to assess her abilities in other areas.”
“Understood, President Gu.”
After leaving the CEO’s office,
the chief secretary went straight to Fang Mian’s desk. “President Gu has instructed that you accompany him throughout the day today. Here’s the schedule for today. Take a look.”
Fang Mian frowned slightly.
Every secretary and assistant had clearly defined responsibilities.
Why was she suddenly assigned to accompany him for work today?
Fang Mian lowered her voice and said, “Chief Secretary, I’m not feeling well today and might not be able to focus efficiently on work. Do you think… President Gu could assign someone else?”
It was the second day of her period.
Not only did she need to visit the restroom frequently due to heavy flow, but she also experienced intermittent abdominal pain.
The Chief Secretary replied in a strictly professional tone, “Secretary Fang, absolute obedience to superiors’ arrangements is the most basic and primary principle of our secretarial department.”
“If you have any objections to the work assignment, you can go and explain them directly to President Gu yourself.”
“Lastly, I’d like to offer some personal advice to Assistant Fang. The opportunity to accompany President Gu for work and broaden your horizons is something many assistants dream of. Not only can it quickly enhance your personal abilities, but it also expands your network of high-quality connections… Are you sure you don’t want to seize this chance?”
She wasn’t unaware of this reasoning.
But… sigh!
Fang Mian forced a smile and said, “I understand. Thank you, Chief Secretary.”
She had already angered Gu Tingye last night; she couldn’t risk provoking him again today.
Thus, personnel statistics, equipment debugging, meeting minutes, task assignments, document processing, business visitor reception, meal arrangements, and more…
The entire morning left Fang Mian utterly exhausted.
To prevent leaks, she had to take frequent breaks during work to change her sanitary pads.
But there was still a lot of work in the afternoon.
At noon, her colleagues were all resting, and she felt too embarrassed to ask for help.
She could only send a message to her mother: “Mom, I didn’t bring enough sanitary pads. Could you buy me a pack and bring it to the company?”
It was only about a ten-minute walk.
“Alright, alright, I’ll bring it right away. Are you having stomach cramps?”
“A little…”
“Hang in there. I’ll brew you a cup of warm tea for your uterus and bring it over.”
“Okay.”
The intermittent abdominal cramps left Fang Mian in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat.
Her phone chimed with a WeChat notification.
Gu Tingye: “Assistant Fang, bring the quarterly financial summary to my office.”
“Understood, President Gu.”
Fang Mian mustered her energy, retrieved the folder, and delivered it to Gu Tingye.
She also gave an oral report on the afternoon’s tasks.
Gu Tingye nodded in satisfaction and lowered his head to handle various documents.
By now, Fang Mian was in so much pain she could barely stand.
She just wanted to find a place to lie down and rest for a while.
But as soon as she turned to leave, Gu Tingye stopped her: “Assistant Fang, did you forget to tell me something?”
Fang Mian tried to ignore the pain and carefully reviewed her thoughts: “It doesn’t seem so.”
Gu Tingye: “Think carefully… this afternoon.”
She went through her mental checklist of pending tasks again and replied, “President Gu, everything has been arranged properly. There’s nothing else missing.”
Gu Tingye slammed his pen on the table with a displeased expression.
He had given her the entire morning. When was she going to ask?
Fang Mian flinched at the sound.
What had she done to upset him this time?
Gu Tingye scrutinized her with a piercing gaze: “Assistant Fang, do you think you show enough respect to your superiors?”
Fang Mian was utterly confused: “I’m not sure what you’re referring to, President Gu.”
Gu Tingye: “Do I really need to spell out such a small matter? Assistant Fang, you truly have no regard for others.”
Suddenly, a sharp cramp seized her abdomen.
A piercing pain tugged at every nerve and sense in her body.
Fang Mian felt dizzy and weak, her body barely able to stand steady…
Clenching her teeth, she pleaded with him through cold sweat: “President Gu, it’s lunch break now. If you have any dissatisfaction, could we discuss it after work hours in the afternoon…”
Dissatisfaction?
Would he really be dissatisfied just because she hadn’t invited him to lunch?
How ridiculous.
Gu Tingye’s gaze turned icy and fierce to the extreme: “Your superior is still working, yet Assistant Fang is only thinking about her lunch break?”
Fang Mian wanted to argue further, but another wave of intense pain struck…
Her frail body swayed unsteadily, and she lost consciousness from the pain, collapsing…
A startled cry came from the doorway: “Mianmian!”