Chapter 1 Chapter 01 People are more hateful than their names...

"Fog-filled Spring Night" /

Exclusively released by Que Si

on 2024.12.9

The first day Zhao Manzhi reported to Huanye, the sky was very clear. June in Shanghai is slowly being steamed, but fortunately, on the Bund, the Huangpu River breeze can always blow away the stagnant heat.

She was enveloped in the tail notes of iris, tuberose, and orange blossom, and squeezed into the revolving door with the bustling crowd and walked into the lobby of Huanye Hotel. Mixed aromas and languages ​​from all over the world, Zhao Manzhi was already dizzy before she arrived at the post, secretly sighing that it was worthy of being a decadent and glamorous foreign land, where even the air was flowing money.

Huanye made its fortune in Hong Kong, covering a variety of industries such as finance, real estate, hotels, entertainment, and gambling. The most widely expanded business in the mainland is the hotel business. Its office in Shanghai is located in the Huanye Bund Hotel. As a business card of Huanye, it is naturally grand and magnificent. Even the annual selection of interns is very strict.

Therefore, Zhao Manzhi did not have much hope when applying for summer internship. When she received the offer email, she almost jumped out of bed. Huanye's internship experience will undoubtedly become a highlight on her resume. With it, she will be more confident in applying for EHL Lausanne's Master of Hotel Management.

People flowed in through the revolving door and quickly scattered in the spacious lobby. Zhao Manzhi found a place to sit down with her tote bag and waited for someone. She turned on the screen of her mobile phone and looked at the time. It was eight fifty-five.

Fortunately, she was not late.

She lowered her head and glanced at her toes. The loafers that were polished to a shine before going out were stepped on at some point, and the dusty footprints were showing off to her.

Zhao Manzhi took out a wet wipe from her bag to wipe her shoes. As soon as she bent down, she saw a pair of nude lace shallow-mouth stilettos in front of the seat not far in front of her.

It was spotless, even the soles were clean. Looking up, she saw a pair of slender calves, the beige texture was warm and high-grade, just right to wrap the owner's exquisite figure.

The woman was pinching the handle of the British bone china cup, with an elegant posture, talking and laughing, and her Cantonese accent was lingering and gentle, while the man opposite her was leaning in the armchair in a suave manner, unmoved by the wind, and his back was like undulating mountains.

Some people say that rich people even laugh differently. According to Zhao Manzhi, their backs are also different, with the calmness of sitting in the mountains and rivers.

I am used to seeing whales breaking through thousands of feet, but in the end they disappear into the world of mortals.

The woolen short-pile blanket is engraved with lines of flowing water, which at this moment act as the Milky Way, creating a natural moat on both sides. On one side, there were lambskin high heels that were so delicate that they could hardly walk on hard roads; on the other side, there were her dirty leather shoes that she had just injured on the subway. The contrast was quite tragic.

Suddenly, she paused for a moment, somewhat timidly.

However, such caution was only fleeting. Zhao Manzhi restrained her eyes and focused on handling the upper of the shoe. After wiping it clean with wet wipes, she also used paper towels to wipe off the water marks, making it as bright as new.

She won the offer from Huanye with her own ability, so no matter what appearance she showed here, she was worthy of it.

*

With the brief departure of the male guest inside, the conversation came to an end. Zhuang Peiying put down the teacup and wiped off the lip marks on the rim of the cup. She pondered and moved her red lips: "Akai, you have been in the mainland for a long time. Grandpa is very worried about you. Those media news are written in a bad way. When you have time, you should go back and take a look."

Zhuang Youkai sat leisurely, his voice revealing a hint of indifference, "We agreed to chat with the client, but you found an opportunity to persuade me. If I had known this would happen, I should have let Zhuo Wen come."

"Don't come on, I just mentioned it today." Zhuang Peiying was helpless with her younger brother. The old man spoiled him and he was so arrogant that he didn't even listen to his sister. "Other things are fine, but some of the articles about you going north to hunt for beauties are very convincing, and grandpa was unhappy when he read them. Although you are a general in the field and cannot obey the orders of the king, you should still pay attention to the influence."

"So in your sister's eyes, the mainland is a romantic place with flowers blooming and dazzling? That's how gossip comes about."

"Why not?" Zhuang Peiying narrowed her eyes, looking over her brother's shoulder at the beautiful face behind her. Only the mercy of spring flowers and autumn moons can carve out such a beautiful woman, and it was only because Zhuang Youkai had his back to her, otherwise who would not take a second look.

She curled her fingers and tapped the edge of the table twice, lowering her voice, "I know you don't have that intention, but if you lose the public opinion position, you will inevitably be framed. A Liang, he--"

"He is too low-handed, I don't think highly of him."

Zhuang Youkai smiled indifferently and straightened his coat, "Second sister, if the old man pesters you too much, just say I will go back in September. There will be another meeting later, so I can't stay long, and I'll trouble you to see Richard off."

He just stood up, but his toes accidentally kicked something, frowned and looked down, it was a Swarovski bow brooch.

"Sorry..."

Zhao Manzhi was so scared that her face turned pale, and she bowed to apologize. She didn't expect that, because she was bored and took off the brooch to play with it, her hand slipped and she accidentally threw it out, flipping a few times and finally stopped at his feet.

The air completely froze at this moment.

Zhuang Youkai didn't move, and Zhao Manzhi didn't dare to move either. She thought, either this man gave up a little so that she could pick up her things decently, or he condescended to do a good thing for her, which was the normal development of the situation.

But neither of them happened. He just glanced at her lightly, his clear pupils full of contempt.

Zhao Manzhi was frightened by this look and was in a dilemma. Zhuang Peiying couldn't bear to see this scene, so she picked up the brooch and handed it over to return it to its original owner.

"Thank you." The girl retreated with many thanks as if she had been pardoned.

Zhuang Peiying responded with a smile, and when the person walked away, she glanced at Zhuang Youkai again and joked, "Look, the flowers are blooming right in front of you. The girl is really pretty."

"So old-fashioned." Zhuang Youkai had seen too many such tricks, and he had just sent Vivian away for this reason. He was full of anger and said rudely, "I've never seen anyone wearing G2000 seductively." "

Look, those media are really talking nonsense. It's really strange that you can pick up girls with your mouth." Zhuang Peiying sighed.

After hearing this, he raised the corners of his lips slightly, and said jokingly, "Take it as a compliment." He

didn't want to send him off, but because he just picked up the brooch and stood up, Zhuang Peiying also walked a few steps with him, and added, "Having said that, if you decide to put the seven emotions and six desires together, it's best not to be tempted by worldly desires forever."

"Got it."

Seeing his back going away, Zhuang Peiying sighed silently. This brother, who always loves to contradict, I wonder if he will listen.

*

Cynthia showed up about half an hour late.

Hong Kong people race against time, even the elevators in the MTR are faster than those in mainland China. Being late is a taboo in the workplace, so even if the other person is just an intern, Cynthia apologized very sincerely: "Sorry, I forgot the clock, Miss Zhao should call me."

She handed her work card to Zhao Manzhi first, led her through the gate, and pressed the elevator up button: "The boss has a meeting today, and there are a lot of things to do. I almost forgot to tell you."

"It's okay."

Zhao Manzhi smiled, from the bottom of her heart. The moment she saw Cynthia's pregnant belly and hurried for her, she began to feel guilty for her fleeting complaint.

When Cynthia picked her up, she just found that a rhinestone had fallen off her brooch. If she hadn't been so bored waiting for someone, she wouldn't have taken it off to play with, let alone thrown it at the feet of the person opposite her in such a shameless way. Not only did she shamelessly pick it up, but the most important

thing was that she dropped the rhinestone... At this point, complaining was useless. She hastily pinned the brooch on and followed Cynthia into the elevator.

"Ms. Zhao, don't you know much about the position?"

Zhao Manzhi hummed, "I remember applying for the housekeeping department before, but the offer I got was for administrative assistant."

Cynthia smiled knowingly and pointed to her pregnant belly, "To be honest, you are here to take over my shift. The due date is about half a month, and I will hand over to you during this period."

"So sudden..."

"Actually, there is some hidden story." Cynthia was about to tell the story, but when the elevator arrived, she stopped abruptly, "I'll tell you later. Come, let me introduce you to the Shanghai office building of Huanye."

This is a typical Hong Kong woman, capable and efficient, and she is vigorous in everything she does, even when she is pregnant.

As she spoke, she had already taken Zhao Manzhi around the office floor, and finally stopped in front of a heavy door, and said solemnly: "Now I will reveal the answer to you."

She cleared her throat, "In fact, I had already arranged a successor in the late pregnancy. She is a very down-to-earth girl, diligent and careful, and reliable in work, however--" At this point, Cynthia stretched out the tail sound and motioned Zhao Manzhi to come closer, "She committed a big taboo."

"Big taboo?"

"Uh-huh." Cynthia blinked mysteriously. It turned out that after the girl got this position from the battle of thousands of troops, she watched so many melodramatic dramas that she began to dream of becoming a phoenix and deliberately created ambiguous coincidences with the boss.

The same necklace, the same T-shirt, and the gifts given by the boss were all posted on Instagram.

Someone pointed out the identity of the male protagonist, and she laughed it off and did not deny it. The rumor spread until the person concerned belatedly called her in for a talk. She then pitifully said, "I don't know why they think that. I never said that..."

Everyone knows what happened next. The girl named Vivian was fired, and her story was widely publicized as a warning to others. Although her name and information were erased from the notice, it is not difficult for those who are interested to piece together the whole picture of the incident.

"I heard that she had repeated failures in her job search in Hong Kong and seemed to have moved to Shenzhen. Some people said that it was an ultimatum issued by Mr. Zhuang. For the sake of Huanye's reputation, who would dare to hire her?" Cynthia shrugged. "But I think it's most likely a rumor. The boss is not such a picky person. It's okay to just punish her. If you say it's excessive, it's just that he did scold Vivian very badly at the time."

Zhao Manzhi held the teacup and gently stroked the raised patterns on the cup with her fingertips: "What did he scold?"

"He said that if she was stripped naked and thrown in front of him, he wouldn't even look at her. It's better to try her luck in Lan Kwai Fong. Maybe there will be business." "

..." Amazing.

"But I want to tell you more than that." The Hong Kong woman spoke slowly, bringing out a lingering melody, "To be a good administrative secretary, you must first control your five senses, don't listen, don't talk, don't look, and don't be too opinionated. All you have to do is be responsible to the boss, and nothing else matters."

Their position is originally very confidential. Everyone wants to have a confidant to find out the boss's dynamics, or to take advantage of the proximity to the water tower to blow the wind in the ear, so the first rule of the position is not to be biased, and be a silent gear.

Zhao Manzhi nodded, not quite understanding.

"OK, the boss just finished meeting a guest, I'll take you to say hello." Glancing at the watch, Cynthia was finally able to stick to the boss's watertight schedule and squeeze Zhao Manzhi in, "Your name is... Zhao, Man, Ji?"

The "zhi" in her name is the most difficult part of Hong Kong people's Mandarin, so it's not surprising that Cynthia pronounced it wrong. Zhao Manzhi put on a proper smile and corrected, "Yes, Zhi."

"Don't you have an English name?" Cynthia was cheerful and not embarrassed. She smiled and made excuses for herself, "Why don't you think of an English name?"

This is a common practice in Hong Kong Island. It is easier to call an English name when studying and working. The first lesson for mainland students in Hong Kong is to choose a suitable English name for themselves, but Zhao Manzhi used her real name until the end of Year 3. At first, it was difficult to choose, and later

she didn't want to. She likes her name.

Zhou Dunyi praised the lotus for having no vines or branches, but she wanted to live a colorful life.

"I haven't thought about it yet." Facing the other party's question, she obviously didn't want to talk more.

"Fine, then I need to learn the pronunciation of this word well." Cynthia raised her eyebrows, "Or, is it ok to call you Manman?"

Zhao Manzhi smiled, "Of course."

After all, there is really no need to embarrass a Hong Konger's Mandarin.

Cynthia went into the office to report, and Zhao Manzhi waited outside, took a deep breath, and straightened her clothes.

When she lowered her eyebrows, she saw the missing rhinestone on the brooch, which looked like a lonely period.

When she was hesitating whether to take it off, Cynthia came out with a serious face and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Just answer whatever Mr. Zhuang asks you, don't say a word, he's in a bad mood today, try not to offend him."

Zhao Manzhi nodded twice, and then walked into the walnut door step by step.

The office was covered with silk carpets, swallowing up the slightly aggressive footsteps of high heels. The wooden blinds were half-hanging in front of the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, and the sunlight that was broken into a gap fell on the oily and wide leaves of the Monstera.

A man stood in front of the window, his left hand in his pocket, holding the small gardener's pot in his right hand, and watering the plants in front of him with interest.

She recognized him almost instantly, and her breath was choked. Some people are really arrogant and have more patience with plants than with people.

"Boss."

Cynthia called out, pulling both of them back to their thoughts. She unfolded the folder and handed it to him, smiling thoughtfully, "The group is hiring a new assistant, a summer intern, and the time is right when my vacation ends."

The man hummed, looked up at her, and then looked at the information.

He had high brow bones, and sometimes his eyes could not help but look sinister. Zhao Manzhi suddenly felt cold, and cold sweat broke out on her palms.

Zhuang Youkai looked at her resume with a scrutinizing attitude.

There was nothing wrong with her resume. She was a student at Zhongda University, with a GPA of 3.78/4.0. The first two internships were in famous hotels, and she also received scholarships and participated in many school activities.

Just like Vivian, she worked hard to get to this position, but she had all the wrong ideas.

Thinking of this, he lost his patience to read on. He lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at the name at the top of the resume, frowning slightly, "Your name is Zhao Man...zhi?"

Hearing the boss' pronunciation, Cynthia couldn't help laughing in her heart: Look, this name is so difficult to pronounce. It's not just my fault. Even such a high-ranking figure will be defeated by Hong Kong Mandarin.

She still maintained a calm and capable look on her face. She only dared to tease quietly in her heart, but such a funny thing was really hard to hold back. When she heard a chuckle, Cynthia almost thought she couldn't hold it back.

Until she found that Zhuang Youkai squinted his eyes, and his gaze focused on the person beside her.

The perpetrator, Zhao Manzhi.

The name suits the person, even a little more hateful than the name.