Chapter 13

What does Master mean by that?

Shen Mi stood on the subway platform, looking down at the message in the chat box.

Does he know Xie Rongzhuo?

It’s not impossible.

This circle is small anyway, and since he knows Wang Bo, the probability of knowing Xie Rongzhuo is very high. However, Master never refuted her complaints about Xie Rongzhuo, so their relationship shouldn’t be very good.

A phone call came in, interrupting Shen Mi’s thoughts. She picked up: “Qingqing.”

“Mimi, are you home? It was too crowded to say anything earlier, I was dying. Why didn’t I ask more about which company you’re at.” Zhang Zhiqing’s tone was awkward, she asked: “Today, you weren’t scared by my uncle, were you?”

Shen Mi answered truthfully: “Yes.” She almost vomited blood from fright.

“No wonder you were tortured into—” Zhang Zhiqing quickly changed her words: “You were so busy. My uncle, he looks serious, but he’s like that to everyone, and he’s very strict with himself, he’s definitely not targeting you.”

“Really?”

“Really! He’s like this at home too. He’s cold and stubborn. He was told to go on blind dates, my grandparents even pretended to be sick but we still couldn’t get him to agree.”

“…”

So, even the big boss has the trouble of being forced into blind dates by his family.

Zhang Zhiqing cleared her throat, feeling a little guilty as she comforted her, “Actually, my uncle isn’t that scary. You just have to go along with him. I never disobey him, you see, I’m doing perfectly fine.”

Shen Mi: “…”

•  

It turns out Xie Rongzhuo had already met her and knew she was Zhang Zhiqing’s friend. No wonder his gaze was so strange the first time they met, now the mystery is solved.

Zhang Zhiqing came to work the next day. Her “birthday leave” request was rejected, and Xie Rongzhuo sent her down to the grassroots level. She’ll have to wait two months after her probationary period to be eligible to visit Shen Mi.

Zhang Zhiqing was ranting on WeChat: This is too much!! I’m his own niece, how can he treat his brother’s orphan like this!!

Shen Mi: Should I go and morally blackmail him for you?

Zhang Zhiqing: My uncle is very cold-blooded, moral blackmail won’t work on him!

Zhang Zhiqing: Maybe a beauty trick would work.

Zhang Zhiqing: Why don’t you try it, make him break his rules!

Shen Mi: ???

She looked up at the CEO’s office, then typed back: Your uncle probably doesn’t lack beautiful women around him, I think he’s already tired of seeing them, it won’t be that easy to make him break his rules.

Zhang Zhiqing: He doesn’t have any women around him! I don’t believe it, with your beauty, you can definitely win him over!

A shadow flickered above her head, and Shen Mi quickly put away her phone, pretending to be busy organizing files.

Xie Rongzhuo stood in front of her desk, looking down at her. Shen Mi understood and picked up her bag, standing beside him.

Today they were going to a business dinner with Xie Rongzhuo. Shen Mi wore a new coat she had bought, and her bag was a six-figure “ancestral bag,” but Xie Rongzhuo seemed dissatisfied, his face as gloomy as the weather outside.

Since it wasn’t her fault that he was unhappy, Shen Mi wasn’t afraid.

She confirmed the location of Old Zhou and reported to Xie Rongzhuo, “Boss, the car is ready.”

Xie Rongzhuo turned around, and Shen Mi immediately followed him, “Miss Bi will also be attending the event, should we buy her a bouquet of flowers?”

Xie Rongzhuo: “Why would I buy her flowers?”

Because she’s your rumored girlfriend.

Shen Mi knew about this Miss Bi because her name had been appearing frequently in internal chat groups. Everyone was saying that Miss Bi and Xie Rongzhuo were a good match, but some also said it was all rumors.

Shen Mi had only been there for two months and wasn’t very familiar with Xie Rongzhuo’s private life. Zhang, the assistant, wouldn’t have remembered to brief her on this.

So, it was better to be safe than sorry. She couldn’t miss any suspicious characters.

She answered, “Girls like flowers, and you and Miss Bi—”

“Do you like them?” Xie Rongzhuo suddenly asked.

She couldn’t contradict herself, so Shen Mi firmly replied, “I like them.”

Xie Rongzhuo didn’t respond, he lowered his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something.

•  

Shen Mi bought a bouquet of flowers and gave them to Bi Jinglin.

Bi Jinglin was very happy, holding the flowers and never taking her eyes off Xie Rongzhuo.

Although Ruixing Bank was the client of Bi’s company, almost all banks were competing for this project. Shen Mi knew very well what the shortcut to winning the project was.

Bi Jinglin was Mr. Bi’s only daughter, and her vote could count for ten others. Bi Jinglin had recently had a minor surgery and had been visited by competitors several times while she was in the hospital, but Xie Rongzhuo hadn’t gone once.

But Shen Mi seemed to have underestimated Xie Rongzhuo’s charm.

Seeing Bi Jinglin holding the flowers so lovingly, treating them like a wedding bouquet, Shen Mi suddenly felt a little regretful.

Wasn’t this like using a beauty trick on behalf of Xie Rongzhuo, deceiving the girl’s feelings?

She had originally thought that Xie Rongzhuo and Bi Jinglin’s relationship warranted sending flowers, but within ten minutes of entering the room, Shen Mi realized that Xie Rongzhuo wasn’t interested in this “rumored girlfriend” at all.

The gossip in the group chat was pure nonsense, completely made up.

Bi Jinglin looked over and smiled, walking towards her, “Secretary Shen, thank you for the flowers. How did you know I like glass jade?”

Shen Mi was stunned, and she denied it with a forced smile, “No, it wasn’t me…”

“I know you bought them.” Bi Jinglin tilted her head and looked at Xie Rongzhuo in the distance. Turning back, she smiled, “Rongzhuo wouldn’t buy me flowers.”

Seeing the competitors eyeing her, ready to come over and cozy up to Bi Jinglin, Shen Mi lied with a clear conscience, “Miss Bi, actually, my boss is very attentive to you. Look how beautiful these flowers are.”

Bi Jinglin: “He’s attentive to my father’s company’s project, isn’t he?”

Shen Mi looked away, feeling guilty, and didn’t dare to answer.

“You don’t have to speak for him. Don’t worry, I won’t recommend them to my dad just because of their flattery. And I won’t take revenge on Rongzhuo just because he rejected me.”

So that’s how their relationship is.

“But I really like the flowers you gave me, thank you.”

“This was really from my boss.” Shen Mi said sincerely, “I will go ask him for reimbursement later.”

“Alright.” Bi Jinglin smiled charmingly, “Then please thank your boss for me.”

Shen Mi nodded, “Okay.”

“Secretary Shen.” Bi Jinglin suddenly asked, “Is your boss dating anyone lately? I feel like he’s deliberately avoiding me.”

Shen Mi didn’t actually know, and even if she did, she wouldn’t tell anyone about Xie Rongzhuo’s personal life.

She smiled and said she didn’t know.

“You’re really dedicated.” Bi Jinglin said, “No wonder he trusts you so much.”

Does Xie Rongzhuo trust her that much?

She didn’t see it.

Bi Jinglin turned her head and looked at the crowd, “My dad is calling me over. I’ll have to excuse myself.” She turned on her phone, “Secretary Shen, let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Shen Mi: “Okay.”

Looking at the beautiful and charming young lady in the crowd, Shen Mi suddenly felt very self-conscious.

But if there was a next time, she would still be so despicable, low, and shameless.

Wang Bo’s words were right, in the business world, those who are righteous are all cheated out of their pants.

“Then the flowers are not reimbursed, you pay for them yourself.”

Xie Rongzhuo stood in front of Shen Mi, holding a wine glass, looking down at her, blatantly refusing to pay.

He suddenly appeared, Shen Mi was startled, and immediately squeezed out a smile: “Okay.”

Six hundred and ninety-nine.

That bouquet of flowers cost six hundred and ninety-nine!

Her heart ached.

“What?” Xie Rongzhuo scrutinized her expression, “Secretary Shen, do you want me to reimburse you for buying flowers to make friends?”

What friends did she make? She did it all for who?

“You’re right.” Shen Mi smiled.

Xie Rongzhuo lightly curled his lips: “It’s good to make more friends.”

Shen Mi: “The boss is right.”

A middle-aged man in a suit walked over: “Rongzhuo, let me introduce you to a few French friends.”

Shen Mi recognized him as a bigwig in the financial circle, she had seen his interview in a magazine.

The man looked at her and smiled: “Who is this?”

Xie Rongzhuo: “Shen Mi, currently my personal secretary.”

The man seemed to understand something and turned to tell his assistant to keep Shen Mi’s contact information.

After Xie Rongzhuo left, Shen Mi picked up a glass of champagne and drank it in one gulp.

Too cunning!

Forget it.

Six hundred and ninety-nine to buy Miss Bi’s WeChat, it’s not too bad of a deal.

Shen Mi finished comforting herself and began to look around for other people she could network with, after all, she couldn’t let those six hundred and ninety-nine go to waste!

“Hello, I’m Shen Mi, the secretary of Mr. Xie from Ruixing Bank. You’re the secretary of Mr. Zhang from Sheng Yuan, right?”

“Yes, yes, you’re Mr. Xie’s secretary, how about we add each other on WeChat?”

“Okay, okay.”

“Mr. Zhang, this is Ms. Shen, Mr. Xie’s secretary.”

“Hello, hello, we’ll be working together a lot in the future, here’s my business card.”

“Okay, Mr. Zhang, I heard you’re good friends with Mr. Liu, I’ve read both of your interviews, I really like your insights on the currency market.”

“Really? Hahaha, Old Liu said everything I say is empty talk, I’ll introduce you to him later to have a chat.”

“Okay, okay.”

After a round of socializing, she had collected over ten business cards for six hundred and ninety-nine.

Shen Mi rubbed her hands together, feeling like she had struck gold.

From a distance, the middle-aged man beside Xie Rongzhuo was chatting with him, occasionally answering a question, but his eyes were fixed on Shen Mi.

Introverted, shy, all facades.

This was her true self.

The middle-aged man followed Xie Rongzhuo’s gaze and understood.

This kind of event was all about sharing resources, those who could be brought along by the bosses definitely had a special background. It was clear that Xie Rongzhuo was cultivating Shen Mi, bringing her out to gain recognition and make connections.

The man walked over to Shen Mi and handed her his business card.

First, it was Miss Bi, then Chairman Zhao of Meina Capital. While they weren’t sure about Shen Mi’s background, it was definitely not ordinary. Others also intentionally or unintentionally passed by Shen Mi, smiling and handing her their cards.

These business tycoons must have misunderstood something.

Some occasions didn’t rely solely on hard work to earn respect, the world of fame and fortune was full of prejudice. When she had followed Wang Bo or other bosses, Shen Mi had often been ignored.

This was the first time she had stepped into the world of fame and fortune without being bullied.

Xie Rongzhuo probably forgot he was bringing a secretary, he went upstairs with a few French people to chat for over half an hour, Shen Mi simply went to the restroom and sat in the makeup area to wait.

Zhang Zhiqing had sent a message ten minutes ago asking why she wasn’t at the company.

Shen Mi replied: On an errand, accompanying your uncle to an event.

She also added a compliment: Your uncle actually speaks French.

Zhang Zhiqing: Yes, my uncle is fluent in six languages, and he can also read lips, you know.

???

Xie Rongzhuo can read lips?

Then, all the pretentious things she said to Ke Zhan, he must have deciphered every word!

No wonder Xie Rongzhuo wore glasses, he wasn’t going to miss any opportunity to decipher!

At this moment, a message from her master popped up on WeChat.

dsm: What are you doing?

Shen Mi seamlessly switched identities, instantly transforming into a cute little disciple: “Thinking about my Master.”

dsm: “How much?”

Shen Mi: “A little more than every time before.”

Shen Mi always found it natural to act cute in front of this Master she had never met. After all, she had been doing it for years, and she had become shameless.

For example: “Master, you’re so beautiful, I love you.”

“Who is this beautiful, cool, and sharp person? Oh, it’s my darling Master.”

“Oh, I fell down, I need Master to hug me to get up.” Shen Mi could spout these cutesy words without hesitation.

At fir