Chapter 138: Being a white collar worker again

Experience has taught me that I must first be transparent about the money aspect. “Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I will not accept any remuneration until I have succeeded in achieving what you want. However, after I succeed, the remuneration is 5 figures. I’m wondering…”

“Money is not a concern. My friend has already told me about your conditions.”

“Secondly, please give me a position at your corporation so that I can enter and exit the building without restrictions.”

“Alright.”

“Thirdly, please give me a key to your home. I need to be able to freely enter when no one is home. That will allow me to find things/clues.”

“Um… that’s a bit difficult.” Xu Chuqiao hesitated, “I’ve already moved out. So I don’t have the key either. Also, my old home has a lot of servants. It’s not going to be easy for you to get in unnoticed.”

“You can go home and get the key. As for the servants, give me their schedules so I know when they switch shifts. If you can agree to all three of my terms, then we can begin.”

“The key will be difficult. Please give me a few more days. But I can immediately give you a position here. The company has recently hired a bunch of new applicants. You will be mixed in the bunch. I’ll arrange a position for you in the marketing department.”

“That’s fine as long as it is a department that the higher authorities don’t dislike.” I joked. But Xu Chuqiao didn’t seem to understand the joke. He solemnly stated, “The manager of the marketing department was replaced recently. The woman did it. I suspect that the manager may be working for her underground. So please help me keep an eye out.”

“I see…I understand. So I will start work tomorrow?”

Xu Chuqiao nodded. “Tomorrow, be sure to arrive at my office no later than 7am. Although work starts at 9, I need you to get here before everyone else so I can give you your profile and other basic information. The moment you start work, our relationship will purely be a superior-subordinate relationship.”

“But today, I strutted into your office. Aren’t you worried about slanderous rumours?”

“Don’t worry. I have enough power to stop this type of news from spreading out.”

“Alright. So tomorrow, I will officially start work. Please get me the key and your servants’ schedule as soon as possible. Thank you.”

Then, I quickly left Xu Chuqiao’s office. By the time I left, it was already the afternoon. I didn’t want to return back to the hotel so early, so I grabbed some food while I was out and decided to go take a walk.

I have left this place for three years. Now that I’m back, it feels a bit unfamiliar. I wonder if he’s doing well? 

Three years ago, Suyang released his final work “The Alina in my dreams”. Then, he vanished from the literature field.

When “The Alina in my dreams” was released, I was studying spiritual techniques in the mountains. Based on Xialing’s memories, Suyang had literally transformed from an author to an entertainer. Everyday, he would be on all sorts of TV programs and talk shows.

But that merely lasted for three months. Three months later, Suyang announced on SNS that “The Alina in my dreams” was his last work. Then, he never appeared in front of a large audience again.

His final work was the novel that was inspired by our trip from Japan. I bought a copy and left it at home. However, I haven’t read it yet. I wouldn’t let Xialing and the others tell me what it was about either.

The book was like a decoration along with many of the other items in my home. It silently stood there, covered in dust.

Two years had gone by without any news of Suyang. Not only did the literature field lose their author Du Yu, it was as if he had evaporated from this world.

I went to a nearby bookstore and took a look. In the past, when Suyang was writing as Du Yu, he was a best-selling author. Now, barely any of his books remained. His best-selling counter was replaced by other newbies.

Many things could change in three years. Perhaps, he had already met the love of his life and gotten married. By now, he may have a family of three. Perhaps that’s why he retired from the literature field? 

Why am I thinking of all this? I tried to stop myself from imagining all these ridiculous theories. After I ate my dinner, I took the taxi to the area around Yao Youfan’s home and walked around. Then, I returned back to the hotel and went to bed. I had to be ready for tomorrow’s job.

—–

Last night, I actually dreamt of Suyang.

This was the first time I dreamt of him ever since our separation. In my dream, his face was blurry. But I was confident that it was him. It was like a scary curse. The moment I came back to City A, all the snippets of my time with Suyang began to invade my brain. Regardless of how hard I tried to resist it, I couldn’t fight it.

I deliberately used icy water to splash my face in the morning to remind myself that the person was gone. Suyang was my past. There was no point in thinking about him. Even if we could do it again, nothing would change. We belonged in two different worlds.

I followed Xu Chuqiao’s instructions and went to his office two hours prior to work hours to find him. When I arrived at the building, there was no one else around aside from the security guard.

I went up to the 21st floor and knocked on Xu Chuqiao’s door. He was sitting all by himself in his office.

Since there was a lot of time, I casually sat down in front of Xu Chuqiao and asked, “CEO Xu, may I ask why you’re always at the office two hours before everyone else?”

“I’m used to it.”

From what Xialing told me, Xu Chuqiao didn’t have any harmful lifestyle habits. There were only two main things in his life; family and work.

His nickname was “workaholic”.

Now, I understood why he had that nickname… It was good for us too. We could see each other at the company without others noticing.

Xu Chuqiao handed something to me. “This is your worker ID. I have already spoken to the Human Resources department. Today, you will be reporting to the Marketing department with all the new hirees. As for the house key, I’m still thinking of a solution.”

I smiled to give Xu Chuqiao less pressure. “Don’t be too rushed and let the cat out of the bag.”

I began to twirl my hand over my worker ID. How long has it been since I last wore one? Thinking back, ever since I got fired four years ago, I had never worked another proper job.

Now that I had resumed a white collar position, I was a bit anxious. In addition, I was afraid people would discover my actual age and blow my cover.

No! You are Lin Yixin! What haven’t you experienced in the past three years? How could you be intimidated by something like this? 

I cheered myself on from the inside and took a deep breath.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet? There is still quite some time before work starts. You can go to the cafe downstairs and grab some breakfast.” Xu Chuqiao was beginning to get his own work ready. His eyes were on his watch; he didn’t even lift his head to speak to me.

I thought he’s going to offer to have breakfast with me. Guess not… I pouted and shrugged my shoulders. It wasn’t like he would notice anyway.

But Xu Chuqiao was correct. I rushed over from the hotel and didn’t have time to eat anything. Now that he mentioned it, I was a bit hungry.

“Ok CEO Xu, I’m going to grab some breakfast. Would you like to join me?” I knew he wasn’t going to join, but I was bored so I wanted to lighten up the mood. Xu Chuqiao looked like he had a serious face 24 hours a day.

“I won’t be joining you. If other workers saw us eating together, it would be suspicious. It might affect your work in the future.”

“That’s true… then I’m going to head out now.” To be honest, I didn’t want to eat with him anyway.

So, I went down to the cafe and ordered a sandwich and coffee. Then, I waited until it was time to start work. Since there was so much time in between, I took a look at the documents that Xialing sent me. It was about Yao Youfan.

That woman was quite something. Sources say that she was Xu Chuqiao’s father’s mistress for over thirty years. After Xu Sen’s legal wife died, she successfully moved up her position.

Was it real love? Or was it a scheme the whole time? It was something I must figure out.

Strangely enough, no matter how much Xialing tried to dig, she couldn’t find anything on Yao Youfan’s past. But that wasn’t something I needed to worry about. Because for us, trying to find out something about someone’s past was very easy.

I dialed Xialing’s number. The first thing I said was, “Are you awake?”

There was no need to ask. That punk must still be asleep.

“Woman… what time is it now?!” Xialing’s voice sounded hoarse and muffled. It confirmed my suspicion.

“It’s already past 7. You think you don’t have to get up for work just because your boss isn’t around? Let me help you calculate. If you get up now, it will take you 5 minutes to brush your teeth and wash your face. Changing will take you another 10 minutes. Eating will take you another 30 minutes. Makeup will take you 20 minutes. You live 30 minutes away from the firm. That’s already an hour and a half. Are you not planning to show up to work on time?”

“Don’t worry… Zhou Zhen is around. He will be there to take care of the clients!”

True. Fortunately, Zhou Zhen worked for me. Or else, I honestly wouldn’t know what I would do.

In our firm, there were three females including myself. Zhou Zhen was the only male. Compared to the lovesick Jia Wenwen and the hedonist Xialing, he was the person who made sure the firm was functional.

Thinking back to years ago, I shamelessly tried to recruit Zhou Zhen to my firm. It was a tough and bumpy road. From the moment I saw him working at the convenience store, I was positive I wanted him on our team.

Afterwards, Jia Wenwen and Xialing took turns trying to convince him. Just as I thought all hope was lost, Zhou Zhen suddenly gave me a call and said he would join us. I was so happy that I rushed the employee contract overnight and gave it to him the next day.

Later on, I asked the silent Zhou Zhen why he decided to change his mind. Zhou Zhen stared at his monitor and calmly replied with one line, “I couldn’t take that woman and decided to give her some trouble.”

Eventually, I found out that the lady was Xialing. The trouble Zhou Zhen wanted to give her was to join us and work alongside with her.

Perhaps Xialing did something to him while she was trying to convince him? I wasn’t sure.

Anyhow, I stabbed my fork into my sandwich as I rubbed the green veins that were popping out of my face. “Can you take your job more seriously?”

Xialing tried to act pitiful. “Do you know what I was doing last night? Jia Wenwen got drunk and went up to her balcony as she cried and screeched she wanted to see her boyfriend. She threatened to jump off the roof! I was tortured by her the entire night. So miss, please forgive me!”

“Again!?!” My head was buzzing. I couldn’t believe I hired these type of workers. Although their success rates were quite high, I felt like I always had to go the extra mile to take care of them. Zhou Zhen and I were basically the moms of the firm.

“Anyway, hurry and send me all the stuff you have on Yao Youfan.” I sighed. Then, I hung up.

The girls were like my kids. As a “mom” I was furious they were misbehaving all the time. Yet, I couldn’t help but miss those two annoying brats.

It was 8:50am. I better get ready to go into the office.