Chapter 3 Chapter 03 He was compassionate and sarcastic...

In June in Songhu, it rains when the plums are yellow.

The heavy rain fell from midnight to early morning, and the city traffic was stuck in a quagmire. Everywhere you go, there are strings of red car taillights. Zhao Manzhi's bus was a few minutes late. She squeezed into the elevator on time, only to find that it was the one reserved for executives.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin... I, I'll go down by myself."

The door of the compartment was slowly closing. She apologized awkwardly and prepared to stretch out her hand to block it so that she could exit and take the staff elevator again.

As soon as her fair and slender hand reached out, it was stopped by Lin Zhuowen.

"The induction of the electric elevator is not that sensitive. If you stretch it out like this, your fingers will be crushed. It's very dangerous." Lin Zhuowen was not arrogant and his smile was very friendly. He let go of Zhao Manzhi and put his hand back in his pocket decently. "Besides, Mandy, you are Mr. Zhuang's close friend, so you still have the face to borrow the elevator."

The smile on her face froze for a moment, and she hurriedly said thank you and waited for the elevator to rise in silence.

When they reached the floor, Lin Zhuowen and his men parted ways with her. Zhao Manzhi came to her workstation in a hectic state, looking as wilted as an eggplant hit by frost.

Cynthia greeted her, "Morning, Manman."

"Morning." She glanced at the movement in the inner room and lowered her voice, "Cynthia, Mandy has been transmitted from person to person!"

"What--"

"It's Mr. Lin. I met him in the elevator, and he just called me so naturally!"

Zhao Manzhi closed her eyes, her mind full of Mandy, "I doubt I can last two months, being Mandy is too painful."

Cynthia knew that she had been competing with Zhuang Youkai for this title recently. In the daily report emails, "Best Regards, Manzhi" was sent over and "Dear Mandy" was replied again. The two people, who added up to nearly fifty people, refused to give in at all, which was extremely childish.

"Who is Mr. Lin? He and Mr. Zhuang are of the same mind, so just relax. Besides, there's nothing wrong with Mandy. Just consider it as a way to take care of your Hong Kong colleague's Mandarin." 

She smiled and shared caramel cookies with Zhao Manzhi. Sugar can stimulate dopamine, which is the only way to relieve worries. Zhao Manzhi happened to have not had time to eat breakfast, so she took it without hesitation. 

The pregnant belly was very cumbersome. Cynthia put down the cookie jar, held her waist, and said the secret in an elegant manner, "You, you just can't get along with the boss." 

Zhao Manzhi took a bite like a hamster, her eyelashes trembling slightly, "How dare I get along with him." 

"You call this not daring?" The email was signed with Zhao Manzhi's stubbornness. 

After spending some time together, Cynthia really liked her. She was smart and quick, but she was stubborn and did break easily. 

Out of her responsibility as a guide and her favor for Zhao Manzhi, she was willing to spend a few more words to give advice. "Manman, I have been in this position for so many years, and the best evaluation I have received is that I know how to behave. Administrative assistants have more time and channels to contact people they cannot normally touch, and many people will be distracted by this." 

She glanced at the walnut door. "You see, just like us and the boss, there is only a wall between us, it seems to be very close, but in fact, it is harder than climbing to the sky to cross this door." 

Zhao Manzhi understood what she meant. This door also has another nickname called class. Whether you can cross it or not, you must always have a sense of awe. 

Zhao Manzhi does not understand the weight of this awe now. She just thought, I don't want to call you Mandy, what's wrong? Not to mention that she has never offended the boss in person. He may not have cared about the signature of the assistant's email. How can they, who are far away in the moon and cloud steps, learn the word respect. 

Her persistence would not change easily, but she did not want to make Cynthia feel embarrassed, so she suppressed her emotions, "I know, Cynthia. I will be more careful in the future." 

"That's good." 

Cynthia smiled, shared the remaining cookies and scones, and made her a cup of latte. 

After she finished her breakfast with the sound of rain, the busy morning began. 

Confirming the meeting agenda, organizing materials, printing and binding, these trivial things are particularly time-consuming. 

Zhao Manzhi came out of the photocopying room and took the elevator with a heavy cardboard box. The glass-wrapped sightseeing elevator quickly lifted her to the sky, overlooking the increasingly blurred ground. Suddenly, she had a rapid sense of weightlessness and felt a little dizzy. 

She could still recall this moment many years later. 

It turns out that when people quickly climb to a high place, they will not only have physiological reactions, but also psychological reactions. All of this reminds her that the gap is because they are in a position that does not belong to them. 

Zhao Manzhi was in a trance for a moment, but soon returned to normal and returned to her desk. 

"Cynthia, I've prepared the information and checked it. Should I put it directly on the boss's desk?" 

"The meeting hasn't ended yet, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time." Cynthia looked at her watch, "Send it to the meeting room later." 

"Okay, I'll go later." 

She sorted the materials into categories and marked the key points according to Zhuang Youkai's preference for reading documents. In fact, except for being stubborn at the end of the report email, she has always done her other work properly. 

"There will be a meeting from 11 to 1:30. Hand over the documents and we can have a long break. And..." 

Cynthia's voice stopped before she finished explaining. 

Zhao Manzhi looked over and saw that her face was pale and wrinkled. She struggled to support her towering pregnant belly and groaned in pain. Then, a sticky and transparent liquid flowed out from under her ironed suit skirt, dripping onto the soft carpet. 

"Hiss..." 

Zhao Manzhi's brain buzzed, and even people without common sense should realize that this is a sign of production. She was a bit at a loss, and it took her a long time to react. She pulled a chair for Cynthia to sit down, then took out her cell phone and called 120. 

From dialing to answering, Zhao Manzhi couldn't stop shaking, her lips and teeth chattered when she spoke, and her words were incoherent: "Hello, this is the Bund Huanye Hotel..." 

Before she could finish, the internal line on the table on the other side rang again, the ringtone was sharp and piercing, and Zhao Manzhi's thoughts that had been sorted out with great difficulty were completely messed up. 

Cynthia's breathing became heavy and heavy because of the severe pain. She raised her finger tremblingly and signaled her: "Answer, answer the phone..." 

Zhao Manzhi hastily explained the situation to 120, and hurriedly turned to interrupt the shrill wailing of the phone. Unlike the chaos on this side, there was no noise on the other side of the signal. Zhuang Youkai's voice was calm, and his Cantonese accent was cold and noble: "Why haven't you brought the information for the next meeting yet?" 

He mistook her for Cynthia. 

"Boss, it's me, Zhao Manzhi." She took a deep breath and introduced herself. "Cynthia's water broke. I'm calling 120 for her." 

"Don't worry about it." After two seconds of silence, Zhuang Youkai switched back to Mandarin, still calm and calm, "Send the information here, as soon as possible." 

"..." Zhao Manzhi couldn't believe her ears. 

She was talking about Cynthia's upcoming birth, right? Did she mention calling 120? The person on the other end told her not to worry about a pregnant woman who was about to give birth?
Not to mention compassion, there was not even a word of humanitarian concern, and her mind was full of his information!

She wanted to struggle again, "But--"

"I don't want to say it again." The tone was almost a warning.

The empty busy tone echoed in her ears, which meant that the patience of the interlocutor had been exhausted. She slowly put down the receiver and heard Cynthia behind her say with a weak breath: "It's the boss's call, right?"

Zhao Manzhi nodded.

The woman who had always been delicate and decent showed her weakness at this moment. Her hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her forehead and cheeks. No matter how expensive the makeup was, it couldn't cover up her pale face. She tightly grasped the armrest and struggled to say, "Do as he says."

"Then what about you?" She almost blurted out.

"I'm OK." Cynthia gave her a thumbs up and barely curled her lips, "Didn't you call 120? Don't worry."

A woman's most painful and vulnerable moment, no one is around, and she has to force a smile. Just thinking about it is sad enough.

Zhao Manzhi couldn't bear it, so she settled her down. Then, at Cynthia's urging, she took the documents and rushed to Zhuang Youkai's place. On the way, she saw colleagues from the administrative department and asked them to take care of her.

The meeting had just ended. The staff in charge of the meeting were busy replacing the table cards and documents. Lu Qianning was waiting outside the door.

"Uncle Ning." Compared with the title of assistant, the elders were more accustomed to this kind of humane address. Zhao Manzhi only knew it after getting familiar with it. "Where is Mr. Zhuang?"

Logically, the private butler who had taken care of his daily life since he was a child was in front of him, and Zhuang Youkai should not be far away.

"This way."

Lu Qianning led her to a lounge next to the meeting room and knocked on the door. After getting the consent, he made way for one person, and said in a gentle voice, "Ms. Zhao, please."

"That's right."

Compared with Zhuang Youkai's office, the lounge was not really big, but it was also decorated elegantly and expensively. A cloud of seals rose from the incense stone in the chest, and the sweet coolness of Nha Trang agarwood spread in the enclosed space.

The first thing she saw when she entered the room was the back of Zhuang Youkai sitting in the armchair. Just like the day she first arrived at Huanye, he leaned there like a quiet mountain and a slow stream, close at hand and far away in the horizon, making it difficult for people to have any delusions.

Zhao Manzhi gently closed the door and announced her purpose: "Mr. Zhuang, the meeting materials you requested have been delivered."

The clear voice fell into the air without even an echo.

It doesn't matter, if the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to the mountain. Zhao Manzhi took a deep breath and walked over. When she got closer, she found that he was resting his elbows on the armrest, resting his head, his eyebrows and eyes relaxed, and he looked quite tired.

When she looked at him, she always thought of the condescending look when they first met. In fact, Zhuang Youkai has a romantic appearance, but his amber eyes are too cold, which shows the divinity of compassion and mockery.

And when he closed his eyes, the only remaining edges and corners disappeared, like the oil painting brushstrokes of the Renaissance, quiet and soft, making people reluctant to disturb him. Zhao Manzhi was watching him, hesitating whether to wake him up. Zhuang Youkai happened to

open his eyes, and their eyes met almost immediately, unable to be avoided.