“Ugh—”
In the employee cafeteria, during the rare lunch break when everyone was relaxing and enjoying a hearty meal, a sudden dry retching sound came from the corner. Those who heard it instinctively turned to look in that direction.
“Zhong Yi, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Her companion, Zhou Shu, put down her chopsticks and handed a tissue to Zhong Yi to wipe her mouth.
“Thank you. I just feel like the fish today is a bit fishy,” Zhong Yi said, suppressing her nausea to keep herself from vomiting.
“Fishy? I tried it, and there’s no fishy taste at all.”
Zhou Shu even took another bite to confirm—there was absolutely no fishy taste. “You usually love eating it so much. You’ve been talking about today’s braised fish for days.”
“Maybe you’ve been too tired lately? I’ve noticed you’ve been looking listless recently, and you were even dozing off at your desk today.”
“Maybe so,” Zhong Yi replied, patting her chest.
Perhaps her period was about to come.
Lately, her emotions had been unstable, and she lacked the energy for anything. Her appetite had especially plummeted; she couldn’t even muster interest in her favorite foods.
A colleague sitting across from them joked, “Secretary Zhong, are you pregnant? Based on my years of watching dramas, your symptoms are exactly like pregnancy.”
Zhong Yi’s cheeks flushed, and she immediately denied it. “Impossible. There’s no way I could be pregnant.”
“You’re blushing, Zhong Yi,” Zhou Shu said. She knew Zhong Yi had a boyfriend and reminded her, “If you’ve slept with your boyfriend, it’s best to go to the hospital and get checked. After all, condoms aren’t 100% reliable.”
“No, we broke up a long time ago.”
As for sleeping together, there had indeed been one confusing incident last month.
Not with her ex-boyfriend, but with the big boss, Jin Chen!
It had happened unexpectedly, without any precautions.
But she had taken emergency contraception immediately afterward.
How could she possibly still be pregnant!
“Oh my god, Mr. Jin just returned to the company today!”
At that moment, a colleague who had seen the news in a group chat exclaimed loudly.
“Mr. Jin is finally back! He’s been away on business for so long!”
“Ahhh, Mr. Jin is so handsome! Now that he’s back, I have motivation to work again!”
Jin Chen was back?
Hearing this news, Zhong Yi’s heart tightened.
The day after their encounter, she had taken leave, and Jin Chen had gone abroad on the third day, staying away for over a month.
As his administrative secretary, Zhong Yi wasn’t by his side every moment, but she was responsible for arranging his daily schedule, which meant frequent contact. Knowing he was abroad had been a relief to her.
After all, with that incident between them, it was impossible to act as if nothing had happened.
Of course, she hadn’t expected Jin Chen to take responsibility—it was mutual, and she hadn’t lost out.
It was just that her state of mind couldn’t remain as calm as before.
Zhou Shu noticed Zhong Yi was distracted and shook her arm. “What’s wrong? Are you worried that your workload will increase now that Mr. Jin is back?”
“No.”
Zhong Yi shook her head in denial.
Mr. Jin hated it the most when subordinates harbored inappropriate thoughts about him. Although what happened last time wasn’t her intention, it had still occurred.
Now that Mr. Jin was back, he would surely hold her accountable.
Would he fire her?
Last time, a female secretary in the secretarial office was fired for trying to seduce him.
Zhong Yi had no appetite left, and her remaining food ended up in Zhou Shu’s stomach.
The two of them went downstairs to the convenience store to buy something to drink.
Just as they stepped out, someone called out to Zhong Yi.
“Assistant Fang, what brings you here?”
Fang Wenxun was Zhong Yi’s university classmate and also the special assistant to Yan Shangning of the Yan Group. This time, he had come on Yan Shangning’s orders to deliver a gift to Jin Chen.
“President Yan heard that President Jin was returning today and asked me to bring this gift for him. Could you please pass it on, Secretary Zhong? You must hand it directly to President Jin. I’m counting on you!”
Fang Wenxun seemed to be in a hurry. He shoved the gift into Zhong Yi’s hands and ran off.
Zhong Yi: “…”
What she held felt like a hot potato.
Why was she so unlucky!
Zhong Yi felt like crying but had no tears: “Shu Shu, I might have to leave.”
Zhou Shu: “?”
“Leave for where?”
…
On the top floor, outside the president’s office.
Zhong Yi stared at the tightly closed door, hesitating to move forward, her eyes filled with uncertainty.
Suddenly, the door opened. Hiding behind the wall, Zhong Yi saw the person who came out.
It was Jin Chen’s special assistant, Lu Zhe!
Her eyes lit up. She ran over to stop him and handed him the gift: “Special Assistant Lu, this is a gift from President Yan to President Jin. Could you please pass it on to him?”
Zhong Yi offered a sincere smile.
Lu Zhe raised an eyebrow, his eyes tinged with amusement: “You’re right at the door. Why not give it to President Jin yourself?”
“I have to use the restroom!” Zhong Yi blurted out an excuse, shoved the gift into his hands, and without waiting for his reaction, turned to run. But she didn’t notice someone behind her and collided directly with that person.
Zhong Yi covered her nose, dizzy and disoriented. She lost her balance and stumbled backward, but fortunately, someone grabbed her arm to steady her.
“Thank you, I’m sorry about that just now…”
The person in front of her remained silent. Zhong Yi looked up, her expression shifting from apology to horror.
“President… President Jin.”
Jin Chen’s deep gaze fell on her face: “Handing off a gift meant for someone else so carelessly. Is this how you handle things, Secretary Zhong?”
“I…” Zhong Yi opened her mouth, her throat dry, unable to utter a single word.
Jin Chen: “Come to my office.”
Zhong Yi froze in place, unwilling to go in but not daring to disobey Jin Chen’s order.
Lu Zhe shoved the box back into Zhong Yi’s hands: “Secretary Zhong, you should give it to President Jin yourself.”
“…”
Zhong Yi let out a long sigh.
Being nervous was useless—what was meant to come would come. Zhong Yi followed him, her back straight and rigid.