After work that same day, Lin Xuehe personally went to see the house. Although he still found many minor faults, at least the place was finally settled.
The negotiated price was satisfactory for both sides. The next day they brought the necessary documents and handled the property transfer. It would still take some time before the property certificate was issued, but the gambling boss had already removed the furniture that Lin Xuehe refused to accept. If Lin Xuehe did not mind the simplicity, he could move in earlier.
Of course, for Lin Xuehe that was completely impossible.
Renovation would take some time, and the plan to move in by the end of the month was already ruined.
But what did that have to do with her?
Wen Ya happily said goodbye to Lin Xuehe. Her mission was complete, and she could retire with success.
Resting her chin in her hands on the desk, she smiled brightly at the small lucky money tree beside her computer. Her half closed eyes looked extremely soft.
Her colleague shook her head. “I really do not understand you.”
“This is the satisfaction of escaping suffering and finally reaching the end,” Wen Ya explained.
“That was a rare handsome man.”
“He is not mine.”
“Oh, so you really had some improper thoughts?”
Wen Ya blinked but answered honestly. “When I first saw him, I had a tiny bit of hope for a romantic encounter.”
After all, he was handsome.
Her colleague laughed. “Why not toss out a branch and see what happens?”
“No, no, no.” Wen Ya quickly clarified her position. He was handsome and outstanding, but far too difficult to deal with. Leaving aside the gap in their social status, their personalities were not compatible either.
Ring, ring, ring.
Wen Ya ended the conversation instantly and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Wen Ya, come to my office for a moment.”
“Alright.”
After hanging up, Wen Ya took a sip of water to moisten her throat, then stood up and walked out.
The big boss had returned from his business trip, so going back and forth between the two offices had become routine again.
“Ah, you’re here. Sit.” The big boss pointed to the chair across from his large desk. “These past few days must have been hard on you, helping Xuehe find a house.”
Wen Ya replied lightly, “Not hard at all. It is part of my job.”
The big boss burst out laughing and directly exposed Lin Xuehe.
“I know him well. Let me tell you something from when he was in school. Back then, whenever homework or exams were handed in, teachers would mark them, right?”
Wen Ya became slightly curious and nodded.
“He absolutely hated the notes teachers wrote on his notebooks or test papers. So anything that needed to be graded, he always prepared two copies. One was handed in, the other he kept for himself.”
Seeing Wen Ya’s shocked expression, the big boss added with satisfaction, “He has been doing that since first grade.”
Good heavens.
Wen Ya’s throat tightened. That person definitely had issues… fortunately, her social standing was too low for their worlds to overlap.
“Scared you, right? That is what he is like, not easy to get along with.”
Wen Ya replied politely, “Not at all. Mr. Lin is just very careful and meticulous.”
The big boss laughed again. After finishing, he looked at Wen Ya with a kind expression. She felt uneasy under his gaze and was almost unable to sit still when he finally spoke.
“It is good that you two get along. At first I was worried that if I kept troubling you to help supervise the renovation, you might be unwilling.”
A bolt from the blue.
Unwilling, unwilling, absolutely unwilling!
Wen Ya rejected the idea three times in her heart. She could hardly breathe.
That old fox had set a trap for her!
She forced a smile and replied tactfully, “Renovation requires a lot of work. If I only go when I have spare time, I am afraid I will not be able to take care of everything…”
“It is fine. Prioritize his side. I will have Assistant Zhang share half of your work here. Alright?”
Not alright at all. Completely not. Absolutely not.
Wen Ya smiled. “Alright.”
The big boss nodded with a smile. “Then I will have to trouble you to put in more effort.”
“It is no trouble. You are too polite. If there is nothing else, I will head out now.”
“Go ahead.”
Wen Ya stood up and walked toward the door gracefully. Just as she reached it, her front foot somehow caught her back foot. She stumbled and bumped into the door.
Back in the office, her colleague saw her reddened eyes and quickly stepped forward to hug her.
“What happened? What is wrong?”
“Did he scold you?”
With red eyes, Wen Ya pointed to her forehead.
Her colleague looked carefully and laughed.
“I thought something serious happened. Where did you bump into something? This whole area is red. Come here, let me rub it for you…”
But the real pain was inside her head.
Finding a house had already been difficult enough. Renovation would obviously be even more troublesome.
There was no way Lin Xuehe would be satisfied with the design plans made directly by a designer.
Sure enough—
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: I already have ideas about the placement of the furniture. Your task is to help me choose suitable furniture.
Wen Ya: Understood. May I ask about your preferences?
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: I prefer cool tones, but I do not want the house filled with large areas of black and white.
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: Too cold and rigid will affect the mood.
Wen Ya: Then what colors do you prefer?
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: Black.
“…”
Wen Ya felt that he was the one affecting her mood.
Under the influence of that mood, Wen Ya bravely asked a risky question.
Wen Ya: I do not know much about renovation. Perhaps you should hire a designer?
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: Designers have too many ideas.
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: Not necessary.
The implication was clear. What he needed was simply a porter.
Wen Ya understood. For the renovation, she did not need to offer any suggestions. She only needed to follow instructions.
Wen Ya: Alright. Where should I start first?
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: [Renovation_Overview.doc]
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: [Flooring.doc]
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: [Walls.doc]
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: [Ceiling.doc]
…
More than ten files arrived at once. Wen Ya’s hand resting on the mouse began to tremble.
There was even a main outline and detailed sections.
Cool.
Very cool.
Extremely cool.
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: Follow this.
Wen Ya grew solemn and carefully typed on the keyboard with both hands.
Wen Ya: Yes, Your Highness
Ah, ah, ah! Wen Ya had accidentally sent the reply that came straight from her heart. She hurriedly withdrew the message and replaced it with something more proper.
Wen Ya: Alright.
Great compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, pineapple pineapple honey, please rewind time and let everything start again.
Mr. Not to Be Provoked: The previous line was good.
Wen Ya collapsed in defeat, clutching her head and lowering it onto the desk. In the end she used her chin to type another “Yes, Your Highness.”
Forget it. She would abandon her dignity.
Renovation began with the ceiling. After collecting various data, letting Lin Xuehe confirm the materials, and modifying the original design, Wen Ya’s task was simply to check the progress from time to time.
The big boss was also very concerned about the matter. When she brought in coffee, he stopped her again.
“How is the renovation going?”
Wen Ya smiled. “Very smoothly.”
For the sake of a single ceiling, she had called every building material supplier she could find. Her phone bill had already exceeded the limit.
“Hahaha, that is good.”
Wen Ya stood up to leave, but halfway out she suddenly turned back.
The big boss stroked his chin. “Hm?”
“I hope you do not mind my asking. As far as I understand, Mr. Lin’s position is CFO, but the design drawings… seem to have been made by him personally?”
The design drawings Wen Ya mentioned were the various layout sketches attached to each file. At first she thought Lin Xuehe had hired a designer and prepared the drawings long ago. However, while communicating with him about the ceiling section, that assumption was quickly overturned.
Lin Xuehe knew far too much about every detail. These ideas clearly belonged entirely to him. There was absolutely no sign that a second person had been involved.
“Well… it is not impossible. Back in college he originally wanted to study design, but his family strongly opposed it, so he switched to finance.”
Hearing this, Wen Ya found it somewhat unbelievable. Someone like Lin Xuehe could actually be influenced by his parents and relatives?
The big boss smiled. “What do you think of his design?”
Wen Ya sighed in admiration. “I do not really know how to evaluate it, but it is truly very refined. Even just looking at the drawings feels refined.”
“Very much his style, is it not?”
Yes. Just like the man himself, refined to the point that it hardly felt human.
Wen Ya did not say what she was thinking. She simply smiled and left the office.
That question had only been a sudden curiosity. In truth, whether the drawings were made by Lin Xuehe himself had nothing to do with the real issue she needed to worry about.
Her main task was figuring out how to find furniture that would satisfy him.
Sigh, how troublesome…
“Watch out!”
The consequence of walking through the hallway absent-mindedly was colliding headfirst with someone turning the corner, and half her shoulder was splashed with the coffee the other person had been holding.
Fortunately the coffee was cold. The man had been on his way to the pantry to pour it out.
Wen Ya turned her head blankly to look at her shoulder. A large patch stained her white shirt.
The tall man looked apologetic. “I am sorry.”
“Oh, it is fine. Please do not worry about it.” Wen Ya came back to her senses, smiled at him, and shook her head. “It was my fault for spacing out. I did not even notice I had reached the corner.”
The man let out a relieved breath, revealing a row of neat white teeth. “Still, I am sorry… You are Wen Ya, the new hire in the secretarial department this year, right?”
Wen Ya glanced at his work badge. When the words “Sales Manager” caught her eye, she felt a little flattered. “Hello, Director Duan. It is rare to see you at the company.”
Duan Ming’an shrugged casually and gave a warm, approachable smile. “Tell me about it. If I can spend one month in the company over an entire year, that is already pretty good.”
“But I have heard about you. Everyone speaks highly of you. I had always wanted to meet you, though I did not expect our first meeting to be such a… memorable scene.”
Wen Ya laughed, her expression relaxing slightly. “That works too. If we run into each other on the road next time, Director Duan will definitely recognize me.”
“Hahaha.” Duan Ming’an laughed heartily. “With such a big ‘welcome gift’ this time, it would be hard not to recognize you… You should really go clean up that shirt soon. I am truly sorry.”
“It is really fine… Goodbye, Director Duan.”
“Goodbye.”
Although her clothes were dirty, Wen Ya’s mood actually improved after the conversation. She could not help comparing Duan Ming’an with Lin Xuehe. Both were outstanding young talents, but people in sales really were better at talking.
The coffee stain on her clothes could not be washed out with just water. Wen Ya endured wearing the dirty shirt for more than two hours before finally getting off work.
Standing downstairs outside the company building, she looked at the busy street, then at her clothes, and made a decision.
She would not take the subway today. She would splurge a little and take a taxi home.
“Honk, honk.”
A car horn sounded from behind her, then circled around to stop in front.
The window of a black sedan rolled down, revealing Duan Ming’an’s smiling face.
“Wen Ya, as an apology, let me give you a ride today.”
Author’s Note:
A: Mr. Lin, something terrible has happened!
B: There is another man!
C: He looks quite handsome!
D: And he seems cheerful and gentle!
E: Wen Ya is about to lose her composure!
Lin Xuehe: Let her go.
Everyone: !!!!!!
Lin Xuehe: She is just getting to know another person (^_^)