Chapter 64

Jing Chi raised an eyebrow, gazing at Special Assistant Zhou with puzzlement.

He sensed something odd in the man’s eyes.

Zhou Bin noticed his own awkwardness and cleared his throat before continuing in all seriousness.

“The President’s last life assistant quit. Your job now is to take over his duties.”

“Your responsibilities include handling the President’s three meals a day. Someone comes regularly to clean his home, so you don’t need to worry about that. You’ll also need to keep track of his meeting and travel schedule and remind him of them… Ideally, you should be on call twenty-four hours a day.”

That last bit served as a summary.

Special Assistant Zhou adjusted the frames on his nose and smiled at Jing Chi with a refined air. “So, did you get all that?”

Jing Chi set down his pen and nodded at once. “Yes, I did.”

He’d gotten it: he was now a live-in nanny on standby around the clock.

That said, the position came with a salary bump of several thousand.

Special Assistant Zhou nodded in satisfaction. He clapped Jing Chi on the shoulder and said earnestly, “I have high hopes for you!”

The corners of Jing Chi’s mouth curved up, his big eyes sparkling with the thrill of being recognized. “I’ll do my best, Special Assistant.”

Inwardly, though, he couldn’t help but gripe. Special Assistant Zhou’s gaze felt downright peculiar, laced with some inexplicable excitement.

Special Assistant Zhou sighed to himself. What a pure kid—thrilled over a single compliment.

Ah, to be young!

His expression softened even more. “Excellent. Now come with me to meet the President.”

Special Assistant Zhou led the way to the door of the President’s Office. He knocked lightly, and a low voice came from inside. “Come in.”

Jing Chi stepped through the door and glanced up.

The man wore a crisp white dress shirt, the top button undone to reveal pale skin and a refined collarbone. Not a single wrinkle marred the fabric as it draped perfectly over his frame. He’d rolled his sleeves to his forearms, where faint veins stood out against his exposed skin.

For some reason, Jing Chi took it all in at a single glance.

“President, this is your new life assistant, Jing Chi,” Special Assistant Zhou reported respectfully.

At those words, Yin Hexuan finally set down his pen and looked up.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

What he saw was the young man’s delicate, boyish face—small and doll-like. Unbidden, the image surfaced in his mind: the fellow’s dramatic, do-or-die expression as he’d been about to topple to the ground.

It was him.

Yin Hexuan hadn’t expected to remember the guy, but he didn’t dwell on it.

His tone was flat, his words as sparse as ever. “Mm.”

Then he lowered his head and returned to his documents.

Seeing that his boss had no objections, Special Assistant Zhou breathed a silent sigh of relief.

The President was notoriously picky about his life assistants, yet he’d accepted this one without a single question. Jing Chi was one lucky guy.

Special Assistant Zhou had other matters to attend to, so he handed Jing Chi off to the others in the President’s Office and left.

A young woman showed Jing Chi to his workstation. Staring at his face, her eyes turned to hearts. She couldn’t hold back any longer. “Little brother, how are you this cute?”

Those innocent puppy-dog eyes, that smooth fair skin, those pink lips—he was both gorgeous and utterly adorable.

Jing Chi’s looks made it easy to overlook his height, well over six feet.

Hearing that, Jing Chi’s expression stiffened. Being called cute as a guy was a bit too much to take.

But what could he do? It was just how he looked, and he could sense her genuine friendliness.

“Thanks,” he replied politely. When he smiled, faint dimples appeared on his cheeks.

“Oh my god, he has dimples too. I just wanna pet him!”

Jing Chi sighed inwardly. Could they stop treating him like he was deaf? He could hear that loud and clear.

He quickly schooled his expression.

Soon enough, following the first rule in the assistant handbook, he began his first day on the job.

An assistant’s prime skill was brewing coffee.

After all, it was a must-have for any domineering CEO.

And any CEO who pounded coffee first thing in the morning was bound to have stomach problems.

It was straight out of central casting in novels. He had no idea if this President did.

Jing Chi raised an eyebrow as he eyed the coffee beans. Thinking of Yin Hexuan’s condition, the man hadn’t fully recovered yet. Coffee wasn’t great for him health-wise.

Too bad—if he served milk instead today, he’d probably get fired by tomorrow. No, by the end of the day.

So he dutifully brewed a cup of coffee.

Following the special assistant’s instructions—no sugar, no milk—Jing Chi merely caught a whiff of the coffee’s aroma before the bitterness hit him.

He truly couldn’t fathom how that man managed to drink it every day.

Jing Chi carried the coffee carefully to the office door, knocked lightly, and entered only after hearing the invitation to come in.

He placed the cup steadily on the desk and then stepped aside.

Without so much as lifting his head, Yin Hexuan picked up the cup and took a sip. It was only when the unfamiliar taste registered that the reality of his assistant being replaced truly sank in.

He set the cup down and asked Jing Chi, “What’s your name?”

“Jing Chi,” he replied obediently.

“Oh.” Yin Hexuan nodded. The name didn’t strike him as odd, nor did it spark any connection to Jing Shu. He lowered his gaze again. “You can go.”

But after a moment, no footsteps sounded as expected. He looked up to find the young man still standing there, unmoving. Assuming his voice had been too soft, he repeated, “You can go.”

The young man glanced at the coffee, then back at him, blinking his bright, sparkling eyes as if awaiting something.

Yin Hexuan hesitated, a sudden realization dawning on him—one that seemed almost unbelievable. Even so, he slowly uttered, “The coffee’s decent?”

As expected, the young man’s eyes lit up even brighter at his words, as though he’d received the highest praise imaginable. Faint pear-shaped dimples appeared at the corners of his lips.

Moments later, the door clicked shut. Yin Hexuan stared at the coffee before him, his slender fingers gently massaging his temple.

Yet he couldn’t shake the image of the young man’s thrilled expression from his mind.

He shook his head with a faint smile. The fellow didn’t look all that old, but his personality was utterly childlike.

At the same time, Yin Hexuan had to admit Jing Chi was bold. To outsiders, he was a moody, unpredictable figure whose temperament had drastically shifted, yet this young man showed no fear—instead, he seemed eager for approval.

The thought curved the man’s lips upward.

Jing Chi stepped out of the office and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

As he’d suspected, Yin Hexuan’s temper wasn’t as fearsome as the rumors made it out to be.

That much had been clear from the incident the other day. If the man truly had a volatile nature, he wouldn’t have let Jing Chi off the hook—especially since he recalled accidentally brushing against his leg.

He wondered who bore such a grudge against Yin Hexuan to spread all those nasty tales.

Of course, Jing Chi had considered whether Yin Hexuan himself might have fanned the flames.

After all, the car accident had thrown White Crane Company into turmoil, leaving everyone on edge and some shareholders itching for an opportunity.

But as Yin Hexuan’s condition improved and the rumors proliferated, those schemers had been thoroughly cowed, allowing White Crane Group to weather the crisis unscathed.

That wasn’t something Jing Chi needed to worry about. His priorities were to make his presence felt around Yin Hexuan and to sabotage the connection between the villain and Jing Shu.

Plot device or not, the idea of someone who belonged to him alone falling for another was intolerable. He had to nip it in the bud.

The morning flew by, and Jing Chi never once saw Yin Hexuan emerge from the office.

He had to admire the man’s workaholic streak.

Before long, the lunch ordered from the Dining Pavilion arrived. Jing Chi fetched it from downstairs.

He knocked on the door and went in.

Yin Hexuan was in virtually the same position as that morning, head buried in paperwork.

Jing Chi suddenly realized that not just anyone could pull off being a domineering CEO. A lazy slacker like him certainly couldn’t.

“President, should I set your lunch on the desk?”

Seeing him nod, Jing Chi opened the food box and arranged the dishes inside.

Instantly, the fresh, appetizing aroma filled the room.

And, as if on cue, Jing Chi’s stomach let out a loud growl.

Mortified, he wished the floor would swallow him whole. He should have eaten beforehand.

Yin Hexuan clearly heard the rumble from the young man. He glanced up and saw the tips of his ears flushed crimson, his head ducked low into his chest. The kid was plainly embarrassed.

He neither mocked nor scolded him. Instead, with considerate tact, he said, “You’re dismissed. You can go.”

He made no mention whatsoever of the stomach growl.

When their eyes met again, Yin Hexuan found himself facing a gaze brimming with gratitude.

The young man wore every emotion plain on his face.

Jing Chi left the office, his expression instantly sobering.

He was indeed hungry. After clearing the things from the table, he stood up and headed toward the employee cafeteria.

He had just sat down when someone took the seat across from him.

Looking up, he realized it was Special Assistant Zhou.

He hadn’t seen the assistant since that morning—he must have been swamped with work all day.

“Special Assistant Zhou, you’re here for lunch too?”

Jing Chi swallowed the bite of rice in his mouth before speaking.

Special Assistant Zhou nodded. He gave Jing Chi a quick once-over and, seeing his good mood, asked with a grin, “How was your morning?”

Jing Chi’s eyes curved in a smile as he replied happily, “Great. Everything went smoothly, just as you expected.”

That clearly wasn’t the response Special Assistant Zhou was hoping for. He circled around to his real question. “Did the President lose his temper at all this morning?”

Jing Chi shook his head, giving him a puzzled look as if wondering why he’d even ask.

“Ahem, well… what do you think of the President?” Special Assistant Zhou asked awkwardly, watching Jing Chi’s face closely all the while.

Jing Chi set down his chopsticks and gave the matter some serious thought before answering, “The President is a really good person.”

“Mm, I think our President’s pretty great too.” Special Assistant Zhou chimed in agreement, poking listlessly at his rice as his mind wandered.

From Jing Chi’s description, Special Assistant Zhou could tell their President definitely didn’t dislike him.

That opened the possibility—could Jing Chi replace that Jing Shu?

They looked so similar, after all. And honestly, Special Assistant Zhou thought Jing Chi was the better-looking one.

With a meaningful look, Special Assistant Zhou told Jing Chi, “Keep it up. I’ve got high hopes for you!”

Jing Chi was utterly baffled but accepted the encouragement anyway.

If he knew Special Assistant Zhou was scheming to play matchmaker between him and Yin Hexuan, Jing Chi would have handed him an award for Best Assistant on the spot.