But it was like casting pearls before swine—the owner was completely focused on his phone, replying to messages.
[Meng Shang]: Goodnight.
[Meng Shang]: Hope the Miss Jiang who gets iced Americano in her IV drip does too.
Jiang Ruoqi smiled when she saw the message. She swiped her room card and pressed the elevator button, offering no further reply.
This weekend was President Jiang's final indulgence before the high-pressure work ahead.
Unfortunately, after a busy Saturday, by the time she woke up on Sunday, it was already afternoon. She had her first meal of the day and chatted on the phone with friends in Gangcheng until the sky darkened again.
Jiang Ruoqi often felt that weekends were just a blur—she seemed to have only slept and done nothing else, yet they slipped away.
And then came the dreaded Monday.
Just thinking about work made Jiang Ruoqi anxious enough to sigh. Low-proof alcohol couldn't numb her nerves; lying in bed, various plans would automatically pop into her head, keeping her awake for ages.
She couldn't sleep at night and couldn't wake up during the day.
But as the newly appointed boss, she couldn't slack off.
She had to be the even more dreaded parachuted leader, gathering all the relevant colleagues in her department for a meeting that would torture everyone alike on Monday morning.
As winter deepened, it felt colder.
Jiang Ruoqi didn't dare to brave the Xinhai weather without adequate clothing. She wore an apricot-colored cashmere cowl-neck sweater, tucked the front into high-waisted black suit trousers, and topped it with a mid-length double-breasted high-neck coat.
Fortunately, she was slim, so the layered outfit still showed off her slender figure.
All this dressing up caused her to miss her scheduled breakfast time. Luckily, the hotel was close to the office, or she'd definitely be late for her second week on the job.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ruoqi briefly lamented the loss of sleep time if she moved farther away.
As she stepped out of the hotel, the sun hanging high in the sky was like the light in a refrigerator—bright but giving off no warmth.
The wind at the foot of the high-rise was still strong enough to push people along. Jiang Ruoqi pressed down her long, curly hair that was being whipped around, and for a moment, she considered getting a hot Americano to rescue her body temperature.
That was the thought, but she didn't act on it.
The estimated wait time at the coffee shop was forty minutes, and she was already running late.
She squeezed into the elevator with other white-collar elites also cutting it close, swiped her card on her floor to check in, and was still estimating the best time to order coffee when she looked up and saw the HR general manager waiting for her near the marketing department.
How unusual.
That woman had only shown up to escort her to meet the big boss; the rest of her onboarding had been handled by Ivy. So what wind had blown her here so early?
"President Jiang, perfect timing."
HR General Manager Annie, a woman in her forties dressed in a stiff shirt and suit, greeted Jiang Ruoqi with a familiarity that bordered on presumptuous as she walked up.
Jiang Ruoqi gave a polite, fake smile, inwardly grumbling about the "perfect timing"—what did that mean? She was here at this hour to work, not to be late and have her pay docked.
"Please, call me Seven," Jiang Ruoqi said, shifting her bag to the other hand, still affecting a puzzled expression. "Is there something urgent?"
"Nothing much. Your assistant starts today. I'm here to introduce you."
Hearing this, Jiang Ruoqi's gaze flicked to the HR manager, her fox-like eyes narrowing slightly.
She almost asked out loud who was the boss and who was the assistant. How could the head of HR, with so many years of experience, be at this level? Having a department director go meet an assistant was utterly ridiculous.
The office had central heating, and the air conditioning was warm. Wrapped in her heavy coat, Jiang Ruoqi soon felt her lips go dry.
She licked her lower lip, calmed down, and started to think it through.
For the head of HR to be stirred personally to introduce the assistant meant that her assistant was definitely some kind of well-connected individual.
But whose person was this? Jiang Ruoqi's eyes swept over the HR manager—was it her? Or CEO Li Ruilin?
Suppressing her displeasure, she gestured for the HR manager to lead the way. "Let's go. I could use the help anyway."
As they walked into the marketing department's office area, colleagues who were still half-asleep greeted Jiang Ruoqi along the way. She couldn't remember their faces yet, so she smiled at everyone, continuing until they approached the vacant desk near her office, where the noise died down.
There were many empty desks near her office, which had never been used, so only the two desks in front of her were truly vacant; the outer ones were cluttered with supplies, promotional materials, and stacks of printer paper.
It looked like a clear dividing line, isolating the boss in a small room. But Jiang Ruoqi enjoyed the distance. The office was all glass, so anyone outside could see in as if watching a monkey in a zoo.
As for now, even though she had mentally prepared herself, Jiang Ruoqi couldn't help but put her hands in her pockets and take a good look.
The HR head beside her hesitated, as if about to speak.
Jiang Ruoqi beat her to it, knitting her brows. "This is… an assistant?"
The implication was clear: the person before her clearly intended to act like a young master lording it over her.
A young man in his early twenties, eyes half-closed, legs crossed and propped on the empty desk, was practically lounging back in the swivel chair. His heavy down jacket was thrown on the desk; he wore a casual white shirt and dark trousers. The pose made the shoes on his feet particularly conspicuous—brand-name Italian handmade leather shoes from Lando Danze, with a starting price in the five figures for the plain calfskin model.
The whole outfit looked… incongruous.
Like an AI had randomly grabbed pieces and stitched together a perfunctory office ensemble.
But Lando Danze had never opened a boutique in the mainland or even in Gangcheng; you had to go to overseas stores for custom orders. The last time Jiang Ruoqi had seen someone wear this brand was on her Bald Boss.
So obviously, this well-connected person wasn't sent by the CEO. With this level of spending, even the CEO himself might not flaunt shoes of this price at work.
"This is…"
"You're my future direct supervisor?"
Just as the HR manager opened her mouth, the overly rebellious young assistant suddenly lowered his legs and stood up. A pair of lazy, flirtatious eyes looked Jiang Ruoqi up and down, from bottom to top, with a gaze that was light and dismissive, showing not a trace of respect.
"You don't look very old. Are you reliable sitting in this position?"
"Has he completed his onboarding?" Jiang Ruoqi ignored him and turned to ask HR.
The HR manager hadn't expected things to start off on such a note. It was her fault for not briefing Jiang Ruoqi beforehand, and she couldn't afford to offend either party, so she gave an awkward smile, trying to smooth things over. "It's already done. Let me introduce…"
"No need for introductions," Jiang Ruoqi said with a smile. "If he's onboarded, he's an employee. It doesn't matter who he is or who he's with. What matters is that he follows orders."
The young man raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't immediately retort. Instead, he seemed intrigued and began sizing up Jiang Ruoqi anew.
Jiang Ruoqi wasn't short, but even in heels, she barely reached the man's shoulder—he had to be at least 1.8 meters tall. That height had its drawbacks, like having to look down when inspecting her.
"What's your name?" Jiang Ruoqi's tone was flat. No matter who he was, she needed a form of address.
Without hesitation, the man replied, "My surname is Duan. Duan Jinchen."
Emphasizing the surname Duan—not only did he share the same shoes as the Bald Boss, but the same surname too.
Jiang Ruoqi felt her right eyelid twitch uncontrollably, almost foreseeing that nothing good would come next.
Sure enough, the HR manager seized the moment of mutual silence to finally speak.
"Since it's everyone's first meeting, let me introduce. Seven, this is our group's second young master stationed in the mainland, Owen."
"Starting today, he will be your personal assistant."