She put away the notebook and read it through, memorizing a few key points in her head.

— Xie Rongzhuo had OCD. Things had to be in their place and neatly organized.

— He had severe germ phobia.

– Dislikes anything with strong flavors.

Following this note, Zhang Wenzhu had added: “The previous secretary used to spray strong perfume every day, and the boss never stopped frowning.”

Seems like it’s a common trait among CEOs.

At 9 am, Shen Mi promptly placed the bought coffee and xiaomeiniang (a type of sweet snack) on Xie Rongzhuo’s desk.

She was a bit puzzled and even suspected that Assistant Zhang had made a mistake. She checked the details in the notebook several times to confirm.

The first time Shen Mi had xiaomeiniang was when she was 19 years old at her college roommate’s house. Back then, she was starving and devoured five in one go. She never expected that the boss would also like this kind of sweet treat that young girls enjoy.

Xie Rongzhuo was focused on flipping through documents, not looking up. He reached for the coffee. Seeing his hand miss by half an inch, Shen Mi immediately pushed the coffee cup over to his fingertip. As he grasped the cup, Xie Rongzhuo raised his eyes, seemingly intrigued by her ability to read his thoughts and actions. He looked at her twice.

Shen Mi folded her hands in front of her and smiled.

Xie Rongzhuo’s gaze shifted to the two xiaomeiniang beside the coffee.

Shen Mi handed him a warm towel to wipe his hands. “It’s good for your stomach to eat something before drinking coffee. If you don’t like it, I’ll take it away right away.”

Xie Rongzhuo took the towel and wiped his hands. He picked up a xiaomeiniang, lowered his eyes, and brought it to his mouth, taking a bite.

He ate gracefully, not like he was eating, but more like he was reminiscing about someone or savoring a piece of history through the food. It was a stark contrast to Wang Bo’s messy way of eating.

Shen Mi’s tightly clasped fingers relaxed. She waited for him to assign her work.

Wang Bo likes to look at scanned documents as if they were emails, but Xie Rongzhuo didn’t have those messy requests. He simply needed the emails forwarded to him.

Working with a boss who had good manners made even the busiest of tasks feel quite relaxed. The only trouble was that here, she seemed to lean more towards being a lifestyle secretary.

Xie Rongzhuo had six assistants and two secretaries. The other secretary handled important tasks related to documents and schedules, leaving Shen Mi as the one responsible for serving tea and water.

Three days later, Shen Mi confirmed the nature of her work.

No problem, even a servant who serves tea and water can rise to become a powerful figure in the court!

She began studying the dry cleaning and ironing instructions for high-end suits, collected recommendations for local restaurants with good reputations, and conducted on-site inspections of the breakfast shops around the big boss’s residential area to assess their operations and hygiene. A week later, Shen Mi had detailed records in a thick notebook of Xie Rongzhuo’s preferences, down to the brand of toilet paper he liked to use.

Xie Rongzhuo didn’t smoke, and his clean and crisp scent made even the faintest of fragrances seem unnecessary. Unlike in Wang Bo’s office, where there was always a cloud of smoke, and every phone call was loud with door-kicking, the big boss was refined and even the way he opened a door was elegant and pleasing to the eye.

However, the more refined a man is, the more unpredictable he can be at times, and Shen Mi dared not let her guard down.

Surprisingly, working with Xie Rongzhuo had been so relaxed that Shen Mi hadn’t worked overtime in a week. She left work promptly at five o’clock every day to return to her cozy home, where she even had time to cook and enjoy her meals.

Half a month later, Shen Mi’s complexion visibly improved. Her once slightly pale skin now had a healthy flush, and her eyes sparkled with brightness.

Apart from his occasional distant demeanor and the piercing gazes he sent her way, the big boss didn’t engage in any actions to undermine her.

— Could this calm before the storm be the calmness before fattening the pig for slaughter?

Shen Mi pinched her cheeks and decided to eat half a bowl of rice less that evening.

She walked out to the balcony, gazing at the wall of the building opposite, taking in a breath of unpolluted air.

The green onions planted on the balcony were lush, the strawberries were doing well, with two of them already turning red. The kale and chili peppers had grown into seedlings, soon she would be able to enjoy stir-fried pork with her homegrown chili peppers. The busy city was now infused with a sense of home, contrary to her previous struggles of job hunting. This sense of settling down and enjoying work brought her a great sense of security.

If she were asked to leave now, Shen Mi would truly feel reluctant to go.

Shen Mi became even more determined to win over Xie Rongzhuo!

In the morning, Shen Mi bought coffee and brought two more xiaomeiniang.

Xie Rongzhuo didn’t touch them today, just took the coffee for a meeting.

Shen Mi looked at the abandoned xiaomeiniang on the desk and guessed that he might have grown tired of that flavor.

After work, Shen Mi bought some ingredients and started to learn how to make a new flavor.

Because she was really free.

Her regular working hours were from nine in the morning to five in the evening. Except for the first week, for a period of time afterward, Xie Rongzhuo only came to the office in the morning, sometimes staying away for several days on business trips. Most of the time, it was Assistant Zhang and the others working tirelessly day and night, leaving Shen Mi with just the task of printing and organizing documents, occasionally writing a report.

The workload was only about a tenth of what she used to do under Wang Bo.

  Shen Mi was the only secretary “left behind” in the President’s Office. She reported to Xie Rongzhuo, and since he wasn’t around, the entire President’s Office was essentially her domain. She earned a salary of seven thousand yuan with five social insurances and one housing fund, and she was also provided with room and board…

How could there be such a good thing in the world?

“Shen Mi, do you know what everyone in other departments is saying?” Ning Xinlei was very “loyal” to Shen Mi and would tell her any information. “Everyone says you’re the boss’s wife, and that you’re here to supervise the boss’s work.”

Shen Mi found this incredible. “Do I look like that?”

Ning Xinlei was trying to get a reaction out of her. “I think you do.”

From the day Shen Mi came for her first day, everyone knew that she and the boss had a special relationship. The boss specifically kept the position of lifestyle secretary vacant for her, which spoke volumes.

Shen Mi realized that she was already being targeted.

As the boss’s personal secretary, she was always left alone in the company. This isolation, where her “service qualifications” were essentially nullified, was the biggest shoe of all.

Now, they were even making up a “boss’s wife” identity.

Was Xie Rongzhuo trying to crush her spirit, make her complacent and lose her ambition, to praise her to death and turn her into a useless person?

If that was truly the case, then this man was indeed devious.

“I’m not.” Shen Mi knew Ning Xinlei would spread these rumors to others as well, so she decided to clarify things directly: “I don’t know the boss. I was transferred because the headquarters needed people. The boss has such high standards—there’s no way he’d take a liking to me. If I had to say there’s any connection, it would be through Manager Wang.” After all, her mentor and Wang Bo must know each other.

The next day, Shen Mi gained a new identity.

—Wang Bo’s girlfriend.

—To keep the short-tempered Wang Bo in check, the boss had transferred his girlfriend to the President’s Office and kept her there.

“Shen Mi, you’re living it up here, huh?” Wang Bo, who came to the headquarters for the monthly meeting, happened to overhear the rumors and was thoroughly amused. “So, I’m your boyfriend now? Please, don’t. You’re currently the boss’s precious gem. If he hears this, I can’t handle the thunderous wrath.”

Wang Bo’s words carried a hidden meaning, and his laughter was loaded with implication.

Shen Mi smiled and said, “Manager Wang, if you have something to say, feel free to be direct.”

“Some things are better left unsaid,” Wang Bo lowered his voice, his sharp eyes scanning her face before shaking his head. “What a pity. I thought he’d promote you, but… well, to each their own.”

To onlookers, their conversation appeared to be full of “flirty glances.”

Ning Xinlei leaned in with curiosity, asking, “Shen Mi, are you and Manager Wang dating?”

“No, it’s a misunderstanding,” Shen Mi replied, deliberately raising her voice to avoid further rumors. “I already have a boyfriend.”

As she turned her head, she caught sight of Xie Rongzhuo walking out of the elevator.

Her face flushed instantly, but she pretended to stay calm, standing up to greet him. “Boss.”

Xie Rongzhuo glanced at her briefly, gave a faint “Mm,” and walked on without breaking stride.

The group following behind Xie Rongzhuo moved with trained precision, their expressions unreadable. Shen Mi couldn’t tell if they’d overheard her comment until Zhang Wenzhu glanced back at her with a look that screamed, Good luck.

Shen Mi turned away and covered her face with both hands.

One comment about her personal life during work hours had instantly offset all her hard work over the past few days!

During lunch break, Shen Mi received a friend request on WeChat.

The note read: Very Mysterious.

—It was her mentor adding her as a friend!

Author’s Note:
Is this reconnaissance on the enemy?