Chapter 11 Only He Cared

Chapter 11: Only He Cares

Gotta say, Xia Huaimeng's rather unconventional and somewhat abstract wake-up trick was indeed effective. Her eyes, which had been glazing over from all the reading, now felt much sharper.

Xia Huaimeng even patted her own drawer and said to Lu Yingxiao, "If you become immune to this photo, I have other 'intimidating photos' of President Gao here."

Lu Yingxiao: "...You've collected quite a few. Aren't you afraid President Gao might find out about this?"

Generally, if a leader knew their photo was being used by subordinates as a tool to stay awake, even if they didn't say anything outwardly, they probably wouldn't be thrilled.

Xia Huaimeng: "President Gao isn't that petty."

Lu Yingxiao: "Alright."

Seeing how blasé Xia Huaimeng was, Lu Yingxiao didn't say anything more.

She placed the photo of Gao Yan that Xia Huaimeng gave her deep in her drawer, not intending to use it as a future workday pick-me-up. After all, she was different from her other colleagues; she was married to Gao Yan. If other people saw it, fine, but if the subject of the photo, Gao Yan himself, happened to see it, how on earth would she explain that?

He might mistakenly think her words and actions in the garden pavilion last night were just playing hard to get.

And she certainly couldn't just sell out her colleagues in the secretarial office by saying they all had one and she took one just to fit in.

Then she could forget about ever blending in with the secretarial office again.

Seeing Lu Yingxiao's action, Xia Huaimeng asked, "Why are you stuffing the photo so deep down?"

Xia Huaimeng was certainly enthusiastic.

She just lacked a bit of a sense of boundaries.

Lu Yingxiao: "It works a little too well. I probably won't need it for the next few days."

Xia Huaimeng nodded, "I understand, I understand. I was like that at first too."

Lu Yingxiao didn't speak further and continued burying herself in organizing the documents.

Xia Huaimeng also didn't bother her again.

...

After Special Assistant Chen left Lu Yingxiao with Wan Hui, before returning to his own office to work, he first went to Gao Yan's office to report that Lu Yingxiao was all set up.

Incidentally, he also mentioned that because he personally took Lu Yingxiao to the HR department to complete her onboarding, people were secretly speculating whether Lu Yingxiao had some significant background.

"Although I didn't tell Manager Zhang the truth, Manager Zhang is already convinced that Madam's background is not simple."

"I also believe, given Manager Zhang's character, he won't spread his speculations to just anyone."

"It's just that his overly attentive words and actions are plain for everyone to see. Probably no one in the entire company will treat Madam as an ordinary employee."

Gao Yan had already predicted how things would likely go when he decided to have Special Assistant Chen handle Lu Yingxiao's onboarding, and it was also what he hoped to see.

Although he promised Lu Yingxiao he wouldn't let the company know about their marital relationship, that didn't mean he was going to allow other men to pursue her.

By making her seem like she has deep, mysterious connections, anyone with a bit of self-awareness would definitely not shamelessly cozy up to Lu Yingxiao.

If there really were someone who didn't know their place, or was even utilitarian enough to directly target Lu Yingxiao's supposed background, he believed Lu Yingxiao would have zero interest in that type of person.

Gao Yan nodded faintly, "I know. You can go back to work."

After Special Assistant Chen left, Gao Yan checked the time on his phone.

Yingxiao had just arrived at the secretarial office and was probably still adjusting. She wouldn't have time, and it wouldn't look good to be on her phone during work hours. He would send her a message at ten o'clock, during the company's morning tea break.

...

Although Wan Hui had given her a lot of documents, Lu Yingxiao got them all sorted before ten o'clock.

However, she didn't report that she was finished.

Because she hadn't yet figured out the work atmosphere of this company, nor did she know the personality of her direct supervisor, Wan Hui.

In some companies, with some bosses, once they know you're capable, they'll dump a pile of work on you, regardless of whether it's part of your job description—just because you can handle it.

With no path for promotion.

They just treat you as pure workhorse labor.

So, she decided to lay low and continue pretending to be busy.

"Yingxiao, it's time for morning tea. Let's go to the pantry for some snacks." Having worked all morning and finally reaching the time for a legitimate break, Xia Huaimeng was in a particularly good mood.

Lu Yingxiao: "Morning tea?"

She had only heard of afternoon tea.

And not every company had afternoon tea either.

Xia Huaimeng: "Yes! Besides morning tea, our company also has afternoon tea. Let's hurry, otherwise my favorite trendy little cake will be all gone."

Lu Yingxiao didn't respond immediately.

She looked towards Wan Hui.

Wan Hui: "You two go ahead first. I'll go after I finish this task."

Xia Huaimeng: "We'll save your favorite matcha cake for you."

Wan Hui: "Okay, thank you."

Xia Huaimeng pulled Lu Yingxiao towards the pantry.

On the way, Xia Huaimeng said to Lu Yingxiao, "You don't need to be so reserved. Sister Wan is a really good person."

Lu Yingxiao explained, "I haven't finished the work Sister Wan assigned me yet."

Then, in a conversational tone, she asked Xia Huaimeng, "When you all first joined, did Sister Wan also assign you to organize documents? How long did it take you?"

Although Xia Huaimeng sometimes struggled with boundaries, she was an open book when asked questions she could answer. "Yeah, a huge pile of documents. It took me a whole day to finish organizing them. I was exhausted! My eyes were blurry when I got off work that day; felt like I was seeing data from the documents everywhere."

As she spoke, as if remembering something, Xia Huaimeng giggled, "While everyone was speculating you had a big background, Sister Wan still followed the usual tradition for new employees and gave you the same huge pile of documents. The tiny bit of resentment I had towards Sister Wan instantly vanished."

Lu Yingxiao smiled.

It seemed her direct supervisor was relatively fair and just, and wouldn't give her special treatment just because she had a background.

Xia Huaimeng leaned in mysteriously close to Lu Yingxiao, "My lips are sealed. Tell me, what's your real background? I promise I won't tell a soul."

Lu Yingxiao looked at Xia Huaimeng suspiciously, "Lips are sealed?"

Xia Huaimeng: "What kind of look is that? Don't think that just because I'm a chatterbox, I'll say things I shouldn't. My lips are sealed."

Lu Yingxiao smiled.

Perhaps Xia Huaimeng's mouth really was tight, but she was also easily led into spilling the beans.

"It's not that I don't trust you. I've already answered you before."

Xia Huaimeng pouted, not buying it.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Lu Yingxiao, but mainly because Manager Zhang from HR had been too eager to please.

Word around the office was.

You might question your own gut, but you never doubted Manager Zhang's attentiveness.

Whenever he showed extra care, the person in front of him was definitely either wealthy or influential.

Just as she was about to grill Lu Yingxiao again to find out her exact background, she suddenly caught sight of Gao Yan heading their way from afar. Xia Huaimeng, who had been leaning almost half her body weight on Lu Yingxiao, immediately straightened up.

"President Gao." Xia Huaimeng greeted him formally.

She didn't forget to tug on Lu Yingxiao's sleeve, worried that facing Gao Yan's stern face would fluster her so much she'd forget to greet him.

Not that Gao Yan would care, but it was still her first day. No matter how well-connected she was, she needed to make a good impression on her direct superior.

Understanding Xia Huaimeng's good intentions, Lu Yingxiao also addressed him, "President Gao."

Gao Yan acknowledged them.

He didn't leave immediately. His gaze deliberately lingered on the phone in Lu Yingxiao's hand for a few seconds.

He was hinting that he would message her later, and she should keep an eye out for it.

Lu Yingxiao was momentarily taken aback but quickly understood.

She had been busy with work all morning and hadn't added Teacher Xu on WeChat yet.

As for other things, like the morning video incident, she had already pushed it to the back of her mind, not dwelling for long on the awkward possibility that Gao Yan might have heard it.