At exactly two o’clock the following afternoon, Chen Yan arrived at the lobby of the Su Group headquarters right on time.
The security guard from the previous day happened to be on duty again. This time, however, he didn’t stop him for questioning and immediately waved him through.
On the fifty-eighth floor, the same young receptionist greeted him with a bright smile.
“Mr. Chen, President Su asked me to bring you over to sign the contract.”
The onboarding process proceeded remarkably smoothly.
Manager Wang from Human Resources produced a thick stack of documents and guided him through every signature one by one.
As Chen Yan signed, she explained the details.
“President Su’s private residence is located in the Yunqi Villa Estate. You’ll need to move in today. Here is the gate access card, and these are the garage keys.”
She placed several items before him.
“President Su usually drives a black Porsche. If you need to run errands, you may use the white Audi.”
Chen Yan accepted everything and slipped the items into his pocket.
Then Manager Wang handed him a printed sheet.
“This contains President Su’s daily routine and several important notes. Please take a look.”
Chen Yan lowered his head and began reading.
President Su wakes up at 7:00 a.m. but often struggles to get out of bed. She requires a wake-up call.
President Su does not eat breakfast unless reminded.
President Su has lunch in the company cafeteria. No special arrangements are needed during the day.
President Su’s return time in the evening is highly unpredictable. Dinner should be prepared in advance. If asked what she wants to eat, she will answer, “Anything is fine.” However, once the food is served, she becomes extremely picky.
President Su is afraid of the dark. A light must remain on at night.
President Su does not know how to operate a washing machine. All clothing should normally be sent to the dry cleaners. However, she occasionally forgets, resulting in having no clothes available to wear.
President Su…
Chen Yan looked up from the page.
“Are you sure this is a job description for a personal assistant and not a live-in nanny?”
Manager Wang gave an awkward laugh.
“It’s basically the same thing. More or less.”
After the paperwork was completed, Manager Wang personally drove him to Yunqi Villa Estate.
The trip took nearly half an hour.
They left the busy city center behind and traveled into the outskirts until they reached the foot of a quiet mountain.
The mountain wasn’t particularly tall, but the scenery was peaceful and elegant.
A winding asphalt road stretched through dense bamboo groves.
“We’re here,” Manager Wang announced.
Chen Yan stepped out of the car and looked at the villa before him.
It was a modern three-story mansion with enormous glass walls.
A carefully maintained garden filled with flowers surrounded the front yard.
Mountains stood behind it, while a stream flowed nearby.
The air felt noticeably fresher than anything in the city.
Manager Wang handed him a ring of keys.
“I won’t be going inside. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the place. President Su will return this evening, so don’t forget to prepare dinner.”
With that, she got back into the car and drove away.
Standing at the entrance of a property worth at least fifty million yuan, Chen Yan stared at it for a moment before pushing open the front door.
The moment he stepped inside, he froze.
The living room was enormous.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showcased a breathtaking mountain view, and the lighting was excellent.
Unfortunately, the place was a disaster.
The sofas were buried beneath piles of clothing.
Not dirty clothes.
Clean clothes.
Clothes that had clearly been tried on and then abandoned wherever they landed.
Several takeout containers sat on the coffee table with dried remnants of food still inside.
Dust coated the television cabinet.
Magazines were scattered across the floor.
The open kitchen wasn’t any better.
Several dirty bowls sat in the sink.
The leftover food inside had already grown mold.
A sticky note on the refrigerator read:
Buy milk
The date on the note showed it had been written a month ago.
Standing in the center of the living room, Chen Yan silently surveyed the chaos.
He suddenly recalled items seven, eight, and nine on the information sheet.
At that moment, he completely understood why none of the previous housekeepers had lasted very long.
Without wasting any time, he got to work.
He threw away the old takeout containers.
He washed the moldy dishes.
He folded the scattered clothes and returned them to the walk-in closet.
Then he swept, mopped, dusted, and reorganized the room.
After nearly two hours of uninterrupted cleaning, the villa finally looked fit for human habitation.
Next, he headed upstairs.
The second floor contained the master bedroom and a study.
The bedroom door was slightly ajar.
Glancing inside, he saw an unmade bed.
Two pairs of stockings lay discarded on the floor.
The vanity table was crowded with cosmetic bottles and skincare products.
Deciding not to invade her privacy any further, he quietly closed the door.
The third floor contained a guest suite and a home gym.
Several pieces of workout clothing hung over the treadmill.
Apparently, they too had been abandoned after being tried on.
Returning to the kitchen, Chen Yan opened the refrigerator.
A few cartons of milk remained inside.
All of them were expired.
The freezer contained frozen dumplings, several steaks, and a bag of green peas that looked ancient enough to belong in a museum.
Taking out his phone, he created a shopping list.
Milk.
Eggs.
Fresh vegetables.
Fruit.
Rice.
Cooking oil.
Seasonings.
And much more.
After locking the villa, he drove to the nearest supermarket.
By the time he returned, it was already after five o’clock.
Without delay, he started preparing dinner.
He had no idea what Su Qingyuan liked to eat.
And according to the notes, she would always answer “anything” while secretly being an incredibly picky eater.
After some thought, he settled on three simple dishes.
Braised pork belly.
A stir-fried seasonal vegetable.
Tomato and egg soup.
Classic home-cooked dishes.
Simple, comforting, and difficult to dislike.
At six-thirty, dinner was ready.
The dishes were neatly arranged on the dining table.
Chen Yan sat on the sofa and waited.
Seven o’clock came.
No one returned.
Seven-thirty passed.
The villa remained silent.
By eight o’clock, darkness had completely settled over the mountain.
At last, the sound of a car engine drifted in from outside.
Chen Yan stood and walked toward the entrance.
A black Porsche pulled into the driveway.
The driver’s door opened.
Su Qingyuan stepped out.
She looked exhausted.
A few loose strands of hair had escaped her hairstyle.
Her high heels clicked sharply against the stone path.
Although her makeup remained flawless, the fatigue in her eyes was impossible to hide.
The moment she entered the villa and saw Chen Yan, she paused.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yes.”
She continued inside.
Then she abruptly stopped.
Her eyes moved from the spotless living room to the steaming dishes on the dining table.
Finally, she looked back at Chen Yan.
“You cleaned all of this?”
“Yes.”
Without saying anything further, she walked inside, casually tossed her handbag onto the sofa, and sat down at the dining table.
Her eyes settled on the three dishes.
Chen Yan remained standing nearby.
“Aren’t you sitting?” she asked.
“I’m your assistant, not your dinner companion.”
She looked up at him.
A trace of surprise flashed across her cold face.
“I don’t like having someone stand there and watch me eat.”
Her tone was calm and matter-of-fact.
“Sit down.”
Chen Yan took the seat opposite her.
Su Qingyuan picked up her chopsticks and selected a piece of braised pork belly.
After taking two bites, she froze.
Chen Yan watched her closely.
Without saying a word, she reached for the vegetables.
Then the soup.
Then another piece of pork.
She lowered her head and continued eating.
Her pace was surprisingly fast.
Yet her table manners remained impeccable, as though proper etiquette had become second nature.
Her chopsticks, however, moved with unmistakable urgency.
Ten minutes later, every dish on the table had been completely emptied.
After finishing the last spoonful of soup, she set down her bowl and looked up.
Chen Yan waited for her evaluation.
She glanced at him briefly.
“It was acceptable.”
Then she stood up and headed toward the staircase.
Halfway there, she stopped without turning around.
“Wake me up at seven tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
She continued upstairs.
Looking at the completely empty dishes, Chen Yan couldn’t help chuckling inwardly.
Acceptable?
Judging by how thoroughly she had cleaned every plate, her definition of acceptable seemed unusually generous.
He cleaned up the table and washed the dishes.
While standing at the sink, he heard faint sounds from upstairs.
Water began running.
After a while, it stopped.
Soon afterward, the lights upstairs went out.
By the time the kitchen was spotless again, it was already past nine o’clock.
The first-floor guest room prepared for him contained a bed, wardrobe, and private bathroom.
Everything was spotless.
Fresh sheets covered the mattress.
The wardrobe was empty.
The bathroom gleamed.
It was obvious the room had been prepared in advance.
After showering, he lay down on the bed.
Outside the window, the night was quiet except for the distant chirping of cicadas.
As he thought back on the day, images flashed through his mind.
The sofa is buried beneath clothing.
The moldy dishes.
The expired milk.
And Su Qingyuan’s expressionless face while devouring dinner.
A billionaire CEO worth tens of billions turned out to be completely helpless in her private life.
For some reason, he felt this job might become far more interesting than he had originally expected.
…
At precisely 6:50 the next morning, Chen Yan woke up.
After washing up, he headed upstairs and knocked gently on the master bedroom door.
“President Su, it’s seven o’clock.”
No response.
He knocked again.
“President Su?”
Silence.
Pushing the door open slightly, he peeked inside.
On the large bed, Su Qingyuan was completely wrapped in her blanket.
Only the upper portion of her head remained visible.
She was sleeping soundly.
Her breathing was steady.
Her long eyelashes twitched occasionally.
An alarm clock sat beside the bed.
The display showed 6:58.
When seven o’clock arrived, the alarm rang loudly.
Su Qingyuan didn’t move at all.
Chen Yan walked over and turned it off.
“President Su, it’s seven o’clock.”
She rolled over and pulled the blanket completely over her head.
Chen Yan stood beside the bed, feeling slightly helpless.
The first note from the instruction sheet surfaced in his mind.
President Su frequently struggles to get out of bed and requires a wake-up call.
Clearing his throat, he tried again.
“President Su, you’ll be late for work if you don’t get up now.”
A sleepy, muffled voice emerged from beneath the blanket.
“I’m not going to work today.”
Chen Yan paused.
Manager Wang had specifically told him that Su Qingyuan never missed a day at the office.
“Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
The voice sounded even more irritated.
“I want to sleep. Stop bothering me.”
Chen Yan stood there for three seconds.
Then he quietly turned around, left the room, and gently closed the door.
Downstairs, he prepared breakfast for himself and waited.
Eight o’clock.
No movement.
Nine o’clock.
Still nothing.
Finally, at ten o’clock, footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Su Qingyuan came down.
She wore a loose nightgown.
Her hair was completely disheveled.
A faint pillow mark remained on her cheek.
Seeing Chen Yan sitting in the living room, she blinked in surprise before calmly walking past him toward the kitchen.
Opening the refrigerator, she took out a carton of milk.
After examining it, she put it back.
Then she retrieved a bag of frozen dumplings.
“You don’t know how to cook those.”
Chen Yan’s voice drifted over from the sofa.
She turned around.
“I do.”
“Reading the instructions doesn’t count.”
Chen Yan stood and walked into the kitchen.
“When was the last time you actually cooked dumplings?”
She thought about it.
“Last year.”
“And what happened?”
“They turned into mush.”
Chen Yan nodded knowingly.
Taking the dumplings from her hands, he said,
“Go sit down.”
She stood there silently for a moment.
Then she watched him light the stove.
Water boiled.
The dumplings went into the pot.
He carefully stirred them with a ladle to prevent sticking.
“Were you a chef before?” she asked.
“No.”
“Then why are you so good at cooking?”
“When you’ve lived alone long enough, you learn.”
She didn’t continue questioning him.
Instead, she sat down at the dining table.
Ten minutes later, a plate of steaming dumplings appeared before her.
A small dish of vinegar sat beside them.
The dumplings were perfectly cooked.
Not one had broken apart.
She picked one up, dipped it in vinegar, and took a bite.
Chen Yan stood nearby.
“They’re acceptable.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Turning away, he began tidying the kitchen.
After finishing every dumpling, Su Qingyuan stood.
She walked toward the stairs.
Halfway up, she stopped.
“I’ll be working from home today.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t disturb me unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Understood.”
She disappeared upstairs once again.
After cleaning up, Chen Yan returned to the living room.
Sunlight poured through the giant windows, illuminating the mountains beyond.
He sat on the sofa and browsed financial news on his phone.
A notification appeared.
Su Group Shares Experience Slight Decline Amid Rumors of Competitors Interfering With Supply Chains
He glanced at the headline before swiping it away.
Just then, a noise came from upstairs.
Rustling.
Followed by a loud thud.
As though something heavy had fallen.
Chen Yan stood up and walked to the staircase.
“President Su, is everything alright?”
The second floor remained silent for several seconds.
Then her calm voice drifted down.
“Everything is fine.”
After considering it briefly, Chen Yan decided not to investigate.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, footsteps sounded again.
Su Qingyuan descended the stairs.
This time she had transformed back into the cold and capable CEO.
A sharp business outfit.
Perfectly styled hair.
Handbag in hand.
She changed into her shoes at the entrance.
“I’m going out.”
“I won’t be back for dinner tonight.”
“Understood.”
She opened the door and left.
Chen Yan stood by the window and watched her car disappear down the driveway.
Then he remembered another note from the instruction sheet.
President Su is afraid of the dark. Leave a light on for her at night.
Afraid of the dark.
Thinking back, he realized nearly every light in the villa had remained on throughout the entire previous night.
A ruthless business executive feared darkness.
The contrast was oddly amusing.
The more he learned about her, the less intimidating she seemed.
…
Night fell.
Chen Yan cooked dinner for himself.
Watched television for a while.
Then returned to his room to sleep.
At one o’clock in the morning, he was suddenly awakened.
There was someone outside his door.
He sat upright and listened carefully.
Soft footsteps.
Very light.
They stopped directly outside his room.
Three seconds passed.
Then came a faint knock.
So light it sounded almost hesitant.
“Chen Yan?”
It was Su Qingyuan.
And her voice was trembling.
Chen Yan immediately got out of bed and opened the door.
Standing outside was Su Qingyuan.
She wore a fluffy robe and hugged a pillow tightly against her chest.
The hallway light illuminated her pale face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She kept her gaze lowered.
“There’s thunder.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Chen Yan listened carefully.
Far outside, distant thunder rolled across the night sky.
He looked at her.
She still refused to meet his eyes.
Her fingers gripped the pillow tightly.
The note about her fear of darkness resurfaced in his mind.
“Would you like to come in for a while?”
She finally looked up.
After a moment, she nodded.
Chen Yan stepped aside.
She entered the room and sat on the edge of his bed, clutching her pillow.
He pulled over a chair and sat a respectful distance away.
Another rumble of thunder echoed outside.
This one was closer.
Her shoulders trembled involuntarily.
Chen Yan remained silent.
Simply sitting there.
Keeping her company.
After a long pause, she suddenly spoke.
“Do you think I’m useless?”
“No.”
“I’m afraid of the dark.”
“I can’t cook.”
“I don’t even know how to keep a house in order.”
Her head lowered.
“A woman in her twenties living like a child.”
Chen Yan looked at her.
The hallway light illuminated half her face while the other half remained hidden in shadow.
Her eyes looked slightly red.
But she wasn’t crying.
“Everyone has weaknesses,” he said gently.
She looked up.
“What about you?”
“What weakness do you have?”
Chen Yan thought for a moment.
“I can’t swim.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
The corners of her lips twitched.
As though she wanted to laugh.
“That’s all?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
She fell silent again.
Suddenly, a deafening crack of thunder exploded overhead.
The villa trembled slightly.
This time she didn’t flinch.
Instead, she simply looked at him.
After the thunder faded, she stood up with her pillow.
Walking toward the door, she stopped.
“Thank you.”
She never turned around.
“Goodnight.”
Then she left and gently closed the door behind her.
Chen Yan lay back down on his bed.
Staring at the dark ceiling, a memory suddenly surfaced from long ago.
Many years earlier.
Another stormy night.
Someone had once stood outside his room clutching a pillow in exactly the same way.
Back then, he was still very young.
Later…
That person disappeared.
Outside the window, thunder rumbled once more.
Chen Yan slowly closed his eyes.