Chapter 46: A Handsome Young Man Arrives

In truth, I knew very well that he was not as innocent as he claimed.

Perhaps at the very beginning, he had been deceived.

Yet, with his capabilities, could he really have found no trace of the truth at all?

I did not believe it.

However, there was still another matter...

As these thoughts crossed my mind, Zhou Zhizi suddenly appeared before me.

Dressed in her pajamas, she had just emerged from the bedroom, heading in a direction that suggested she was looking for Zhou Chenyan.

I turned slightly aside.

She halted her steps. "Sister Yanyan, I heard noises in the hallway just now. Is Ah-Yan back?"

"Mm."

"Then can I go see him?"

She wore a cautious, delicate, and pitiful expression.

I retorted, "If I say no, will you refrain from going?"

Lowering her head, she began twisting the hem of her shirt. "Sister Yanyan is Ah-Yan's wife. If you say I cannot, of course I will listen to you."

"I have said that so many times. When have you ever listened to me?"

No woman could ever tolerate an excessively intimate member of the opposite sex by her side—especially a "younger sister" with whom there was no blood relation whatsoever.

It was not as though I had never gently hinted at this to her. How had she answered me back then?

To this day, I still remembered it vividly.

"He is my older brother, after all. The two of us grew up together since we were children, and our bond is very close. Ah-Yan once said he would take care of me for the rest of his life. Even if he marries, I will still be the most important person to him. But Sister Yanyan, please don't be jealous. Ah-Yan doesn't love you any less; he simply dotes on me..."

I swear, I have not missed a single punctuation mark.

These were the exact words she had spoken.

So sickeningly saccharine.

Zhou Zhizi's expression turned somewhat unsightly as well, as though something had caught in her throat.

It seemed she did not enjoy others speaking to her in such a manner either.

Just as I turned to leave, a thought struck me and my footsteps suddenly paused. "It was you who called the bodyguard away, wasn't it?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about."

She was still playing innocent.

Yet I had already obtained my answer. "Very well, it doesn't matter if you won't admit it. I know what's what."

When the time came for retribution, I would not direct my vengeance at the wrong person.

...

Early in the morning, the company department was unusually lively.

"I heard a new colleague is coming today."

"More than that, it's a handsome young man."

The speaker was the department's resident chatterbox, a walking repository of gossip who always seemed to be the very first to know of any company developments.

"Tell us, tell us! Just how handsome is he, and how old?"

Since work hours had not yet begun, a group of people gathered around the chatterbox with eager questions.

"I haven't seen for myself whether he's handsome, but I do know he's arriving today. He's quite young—a fresh graduate."

That was already a substantial amount of information.

I shook my head, and just as I sat down at my desk, I saw Cancan turn her head back.

"Sister Yanyan, we have a new colleague!"

She looked thoroughly excited.

I could not help asking, "You're this happy?"

"Of course! I've been with the company for over a year now, practically a senior employee. In fact, I'm fully qualified to mentor newcomers by now."

Cupting her cheeks, she wore a look of yearning.

"I just wonder who the team leader will assign the newcomer to."

I neither knew nor cared.

I turned on my computer and caught sight of a man walking in from the corner of my eye.

He was a completely unfamiliar face.

He walked straight up to my desk and stopped. "Mu Yan, hello. I am Han Qi. The supervisor has assigned you to me, and your work will be arranged by me from now on."

"Alright, I understand."

I had been at the company for several days, yet I had never crossed paths with Han Qi. Where on earth had this man popped up from?

Having delivered this piece of information as if it were a mere statement of fact, he turned and left.

With absolute crispness and efficiency.

I blinked, belatedly noticing an unusual stillness in the surrounding air.

I looked over at Cancan.

Her face filled with infatuation and awe, she leaned in close to me, speaking in a very hushed yet intensely excited tone, "Han Qi! The legendary grand大神 of our company! He's been here for ages, a true veteran, a deity among us! What's more, he never takes on rookies. Sister, you've struck gold!"

"He was away on a business trip recently and just got back today. The supervisor must really like you to assign this supreme deity to your team."

Compared to their bubbling excitement and joy, I found it somewhat difficult to empathize. After all, having never met the man, I only had their word that this Han Qi was truly, remarkably formidable.

The moment he departed, my colleagues broke into animated discussions.

"Wow, the great master is back!"

"I could cry. Has the master finally decided to take on an apprentice? If I'd known, why did I join a few years ago? If I'd joined this year, the rookie he's mentoring might just have been me!"

"Keep dreaming. The master doesn't base his choice of disciples on when they joined; he decides entirely on his own whim."

"But the master isn't even close with Mu Yan. Surely he didn't request this himself."

"Then it must be the supervisor's arrangement."

"The supervisor is so good to Mu Yan."

"To sum it up, Mu Yan is just absurdly lucky."

"So lucky!"

Me...

A bunch of fickle creatures, entirely preoccupied with discussing the master while instantly banishing the newcomer they had just been chattering about to the back of their minds.

Speak of the devil.

No sooner had I thought of the new employee than he appeared.

I covered my forehead with my hand.

What kind of day was today, exactly?

Another acquaintance, of all things.

Qian Yuxu first went to report to the supervisor, and upon coming out, he distributed some candies to everyone. Shy and polite, lacking in grand eloquence yet exceptionally adept at winning everyone's favor.

Finally, he placed a piece of candy on my desk.

"Sister Mu, please guide me."

"Congratulations."

I glanced at the candy on the desk without touching it.

Qian Yuxu let out a soft breath, his gaze darting cautiously around the surroundings. "Sister Mu, let me tell you in confidence—I am actually extremely nervous right now."

In that regard, we were remarkably similar.

I, too, had felt intensely nervous on my first day at the company.

"You'll get used to it."

"Mm, I'll work hard!"

Like any young person freshly graduated from school and stepping out into society, Qian Yuxu radiated youthful energy and vitality from head to toe.

That afternoon, I was summoned to Han Qi's office.

Qian Yuxu was called in along with me.

Instinctively, I sensed this boded no good, and when Qian Yuxu questioned me, I merely gave a blank, feigned shake of my head.

Han Qi handed us a document.

He seemed to be a man of few words, speaking with concise and direct brevity.

"The supervisor has assigned the two of you to me. I am the team leader, and the work entrusted to me will be completed by the three of us together."

"Why would the supervisor make such an arrangement?"

I had no objections to working with Han Qi; after all, as a company heavyweight, I stood to learn a great deal of experience from him.

However, sharing this with Qian Yuxu left me far less than satisfied.

"I would very much like to know that myself."

Clearly, Han Qi was equally unaware of the supervisor's underlying intentions, and his cold demeanor suggested he harbored no small amount of grievance regarding the matter.

He simply hadn't voiced it.

"Then I look forward to your guidance, Sister Mu and Brother Han!" Qian Yuxu, as usual, proved entirely oblivious to the social atmosphere.

Han Qi and I exchanged glances.

We both saw mutual helplessness reflected in each other's eyes.

Taking advantage of the time before leaving work, I went to deliver a set of files to the supervisor's office and decided to raise the question directly.

"Supervisor Cui, why did you assign Qian Yuxu and me to the same team leader?"

"Why do you ask?"

"As I recall, doesn't the company usually pair one senior with one newcomer?"

This was precisely why Cancan had been so delighted upon learning I would be mentored by Han Qi.

Cui Lu looked up. "You suffered an injustice over that matter with President Zhang before, and I've seen your capabilities. I assigned you to the most formidable person here—are you dissatisfied?"

"No."

"Then you are dissatisfied with Qian Yuxu."

True to form as a supervisor, she hit the nail right on the head.