Chapter 12

The surroundings fell silent. Qi Baizi, ever so polite and well-behaved, repeated her words once more. The people nearby heard her and assumed the two high-powered bosses were using their assistant to ask for some private space, so they tactfully dispersed.

Among those who remained, Huo Bu’s expression was frozen, his eyes fixed on Qi Baizi. Gu Yuetong, on the other hand, pressed her lips together and lowered her head slightly, afraid she might laugh out loud.

Once the area was empty save for the three of them, Gu Yuetong cleared her throat and introduced him to Qi Baizi. “This is the General Manager of the Huobu Group, President Huo Bu.”

The sentence sounded like a tongue twister. On the surface, Qi Baizi greeted President Huo, but inwardly she was grumbling, How narcissistic do you have to be to name your company after yourself?

Wait a minute… what was his name?

Huo Bu… President Huo?

Then just now, she had…

Snapping her head up, Qi Baizi met Gu Yuetong’s eyes, completely at a loss. Gu Yuetong gave her a slight shake of her head, signaling her not to panic. Still, Qi Baizi was so embarrassed her toes curled. Her emotions were a tangled mess; she opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t until Gu Yuetong led her into the ceremony venue that she finally recovered.

The ceremony was being held on the lawn in the hotel’s back garden and started promptly at 10:30 AM. Huo Bu was a superstitious man. Most other companies held their celebrations or annual meetings first thing in the morning, getting them over with at once and leaving the rest of the time for attendees to socialize and rest. But it was said that Huo Bu had specifically hired a master to calculate the most auspicious time, and to ensure everything went smoothly, the conclusion was to hold the first half of the ceremony in the morning and the second half in the afternoon.

Given his considerable reputation in the industry, most guests would give him face and reluctantly stick around until the afternoon. But when Gu Yuetong found herself seated in the front row, with Wang Yun just a dozen centimeters away, she decided to leave after the morning session.

The front row was reserved for important clients and senior executives of partner companies. Since when had Wang Yun become a client? Gu Yuetong stared blankly at the host on stage delivering congratulatory remarks.

Sensing a gaze on her, Gu Yuetong abruptly turned her head to the right and saw Huo Bu sitting three seats away, a wolfish grin on his face as he stared at her. Almost instantly, a layer of goosebumps rose on Gu Yuetong’s skin. She suppressed a wave of nausea and turned back to look at Qi Baizi, who was standing in the distance.

Qi Baizi’s attention was entirely on Gu Yuetong, so she naturally noticed Gu Yuetong’s recent movements, including the slight change in her expression. She composed herself, glanced at Huo Bu, and then bent down, moving in a half-crouch toward Gu Yuetong so as not to block anyone’s view.

Pretending to have something important to report, she covered her mouth and leaned close to Gu Yuetong’s ear, whispering, “There’s an empty room available on the second floor…”

You can go rest for a bit.

Before she could finish her sentence, Gu Yuetong had already stood up and resolutely left the ceremony. Qi Baizi followed behind her. Just as she was about to pass through the crowd, she suddenly felt a chill from behind. She turned around to find Huo Bu, still in the front row, openly looking back at her. His small eyes held a hint of suspicion and cold malice.

Qi Baizi’s expression darkened. She simply stopped and stared back at him. After a few seconds of stalemate, Huo Bu snorted and turned his head back.

Gu Yuetong was waiting for Qi Baizi at the rear revolving door that led back into the hotel. Seeing her lag behind, she was about to ask what was wrong. But Qi Baizi spoke first, saying, “Huo Bu is not a good person.”

There were still guests coming and going. Although the garden lawn was spacious, Huo Bu didn’t feel the need to provide chairs for unimportant guests. Aside from the three rows of chairs below the stage, anyone else who wanted to attend had to stand and watch from the periphery. Qi Baizi had been hiding among the crowd just moments before. But many guests were more casual and had arrived late. So, as she spoke, two men in suits and ties happened to walk past on their way to the ceremony, and they glanced at her upon hearing her words.

Qi Baizi felt their gazes but kept her eyes fixed on Gu Yuetong. “He was staring at me just now, and he seemed very unhappy that I called you away.”

Gu Yuetong frowned. “He looked at you?”

“Yes, and I think… I think his intentions toward you are not pure.” There was no one around when she said this, but Qi Baizi’s voice was very soft.

From one woman to another, she felt it was necessary to warn Gu Yuetong. But as soon as she said it, she felt a pang of regret. What if Gu Yuetong swung both ways and had already been with Huo Bu… She didn’t know Gu Yuetong that well. What if she was overstepping? After all, Han Zhiyu had never said she didn’t like men.

“…Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Gu Yuetong was speechless. She had been about to say something, but Qi Baizi’s last sentence choked the words back down. After a moment of silence, she said flatly, “Let’s go upstairs.”

There was an empty suite on the second floor, which Qi Baizi had specifically asked about when she got water from a server. She had been worried that Gu Yuetong would feel uncomfortable in a crowded place for too long and would have nowhere to go for some peace and quiet, so she had asked on a whim. It turned out to be useful.

After entering the room, Gu Yuetong saw Qi Baizi still standing at the door and frowned. “Why don’t you come in?”

Qi Baizi took half a step back. “I’ll wait for you here.”

Is she afraid of disturbing my rest? Gu Yuetong hesitated, then saw through the serious expression on Qi Baizi’s face… she was trying to avoid suspicion. What kind of suspicion was there to avoid? She remembered Qi Baizi saying something at the company that morning about not needing special treatment… Was she afraid of gossip? Tsk, this immature and sensitive kid really overthinks things.

With a dark expression, Gu Yuetong practically dragged Qi Baizi into the room. Qi Baizi didn’t resist, but she didn’t know where Gu Yuetong got such strength… In any case, describing it as rough wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

“If you’re going to stand guard, do it inside. If outsiders see you, they’ll think I’m mistreating my subordinates.”

Gu Yuetong planted her inside the door, then went into the inner bedroom to deal with work matters on her phone. This suite was intended for guests to rest temporarily, so it was more compact than the hotel they stayed at in Donglin. The outer room only had a desk and a chair. Qi Baizi didn’t know whether to stand or sit, so she just stood there silently with her head down.

…She wanted to play on her phone too.

Gu Yuetong read through three emails and two documents before finally getting a chance to stretch. When she came out, she found Qi Baizi leaning against the door, fast asleep. Unlike her usual appearance when she spoke with her head bowed, Qi Baizi was now leaning back against the door panel, her head tilted up, eyes tightly shut, and lips slightly parted, a bit of moisture at the corner of her mouth…

A phrase popped into Gu Yuetong’s mind: endearingly silly.

She walked over and gently shook Qi Baizi awake. “Want to go lie down inside for a bit?”

Qi Baizi jolted awake, wiped her mouth, and thought Gu Yuetong was being sarcastic. “No need, President Gu. I’m sorry, I…”

It’s over, it’s over. The “President Gu’s Preferences” document clearly stated: no getting distracted during work hours. The penalty is either dismissal or a scolding followed by dismissal…

Thinking of the inevitable outcome, Qi Baizi’s voice grew smaller and smaller until she simply stopped explaining. Just wait for the Martial Emperor to issue her decree…

The next second, she heard Gu Yuetong say, “Go on, get some sleep. I’ll call you when it’s time to leave.”

Qi Baizi swallowed. “There’s no need…”

However, Gu Yuetong pushed her directly into the bedroom. “Don’t be so listless.”

When Qi Baizi came to her senses, she stared at the closed door, wondering, She looks so small, where does she get so much strength?

Gu Yuetong sat in the chair, crossed her legs, and scrolled through her phone. Her special follow on Weibo hadn’t posted anything in two days. Qi Baizi hadn’t had any new ramblings. Or if she had, she hadn’t posted them. Gu Yuetong stared at the “Xiao Baizi” homepage on her screen, slightly lost in thought. Seeing Qi Baizi like that gave her a bit of a headache.

She had read her Weibo “diary” and felt some pity for her, but was her daily performance really that bad? It was barely normal interaction. Was it necessary for her to be so deliberate about avoiding suspicion?

Gu Yuetong was a few years older, but she was still among the young crowd. She knew that engineering girls could be straightforward and occasionally overthink things. Han Zhiyu used to be like that, though Han Zhiyu was much better than Qi Baizi. At least in their interactions, Han Zhiyu wasn’t constantly afraid of making her angry… Qi Baizi’s anxiety was practically written all over her face.

In private, Gu Yuetong wasn’t an exceptionally cold person, just a bit quiet. She was a low-energy person. After putting on a front all day for high-energy social events or dealing with all sorts of people at the company, she needed to retreat into seclusion to recharge. Qi Baizi had already diverted a lot of her attention.

She had signed the contract, so Qi Baizi could stay by her side without worry. She thought she had done enough. As for whether Qi Baizi could continue in the job, that was up to her. This constant state of terror, as if looking at a monster, was starting to annoy Gu Yuetong.

She categorized herself as someone who wasn’t overly sentimental but still showed enough courtesy—professional but not rigid. Perhaps Qi Baizi had heard something, or the outsourcing company had told her something during training, leading her to have a preconceived bias against her.

Gu Yuetong didn’t want to push her too hard for now. She just hoped Qi Baizi would soon realize that Gu Yuetong was a person. Gu Yuetong was a person, not a machine or a program. Therefore, she could accept an assistant who got distracted, made mistakes, or said the wrong thing at work, as long as it wasn’t too excessive.

***

Qi Baizi had no idea that while she was resting, Gu Yuetong had already gone out to entertain a group of people and returned. Many executives from smaller companies had come specifically for Gu Yuetong. Even though she didn’t want to, she couldn’t withstand Gu Hezhu’s relentless bombardment: she had sent a list of people Gu Yuetong had to entertain one by one. When asked, it turned out these people were all introduced by Gu Hezhu’s former business partners, with whom she had close ties.

Gu Yuetong felt like she was the assistant, Gu Hezhu’s remote assistant. What kind of president was at someone’s beck and call? After a moment of self-mockery, she forced herself to put on a smile, woke Qi Baizi up, and went to eat with her.

She had actually planned to leave, but there was another group of people to deal with in the afternoon. So, during lunch, she had no choice but to sit in the same private room as Huo Bu. She chose the seat farthest from him, directly opposite. On either side were presidents of other companies, a table of people with enough power to overthrow a city in ancient times.

The dishes had all been served, but Gu Yuetong had no appetite. She silently listened to the flattery directed at Huo Bu from the others, and Huo Bu himself occasionally taking calls to flatter others. Her thoughts drifted, and she couldn’t help but think of Qi Baizi again. She glanced behind her; if nothing unexpected happened, Qi Baizi should be standing in the hallway, just a door away.

“President Gu, why aren’t you eating?” Huo Bu suddenly spoke. He had just hung up a call from some official congratulating the Huobu Group on its anniversary.

“Is the food not to your liking?”

Gu Yuetong’s thoughts were pulled back. She forced a smile. “I’m not hungry.”

“It seems we had too many pastries earlier, and President Gu was a bit greedy.” Huo Bu teased, and the two men beside him laughed along. “Still a little girl, after all.”

Gu Yuetong’s stomach churned. She pressed her lips together and said nothing. She was the youngest at the table, and when she was occasionally teased, no one would speak up for her. Gu Yuetong began to miss Qi Baizi. If she were here, she would have already found an excuse to call her away.

But Huo Bu, as if reading her mind, picked up his wine glass and said, “Don’t worry about your little assistant. She won’t go hungry.”

Gu Yuetong sneered, instinctively about to retort, when a sudden tightness gripped her heart.

Huo Bu… it seemed there was a hidden meaning in his words.