Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Xia Yinxi took the small disposable wooden spoon that Assistant Gao had fetched from somewhere, quickly finished the ice cream, wiped his hands clean, and stood up to follow him out.

Gao Qian’s expression was a bit odd, hesitating as he spoke: “Assistant Xia, Sister Qiao said your father asked President Ji to find you a job?”

Xia Yinxi: “?”

Is the office gossip that fast? He was only upstairs for twenty minutes, right?

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Why not work at your own family’s company?”

This was clearly prying, but Xia Yinxi had gotten good at writing scripts lately and made up a story on the spot: a story about his elderly, sick father in his sixties who happened to help Ji Yunzhuo, and Mr. Ji repaying the favor by looking after the younger generation.

Gao Qian listened, dumbfounded, and nodded, half-believing, half-doubting: “I-I see…”

Xia Yinxi nodded. “That’s the story.”

Sorry, Dad!

The Ming Ji headquarters was over twenty stories tall, and Gao Qian briefly explained what each floor had: “The department phone list is on your desk already, but you’ll probably only be working on the top floor, so you might not need it.”

“The employee cafeteria is on the third floor. Your employee card hasn’t been issued yet—you’ll get it when you start work the day after tomorrow. New employees get a 500 yuan credit, and you can add money at the office next to the cafeteria.”

Xia Yinxi was confused: “The day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow is Minor Heat, so the company has the day off.”

“A day off for Minor Heat?!”

Gao Qian, likely used to newbies being surprised, didn’t bat an eye: “The company strictly follows statutory holidays without having to make up the days. Additionally, we get days off for solar terms and some other festivals, with notices sent in the group chat the day before.”

“Women employees also get three days of menstrual leave a month.”

Oh my God.

Xia Yinxi nearly clapped.

What a humane company!

He praised sincerely: “I didn’t expect Mr. Ji to be so reasonable.”

Gao Qian: “…………”

The professional assistant kept a straight face: “You don’t smoke, do you?”

Xia Yinxi shook his head. “Why?”

“Mr. Ji hates the smell of smoke. Bringing cigarettes into the building is against the rules and will get you fined,” Gao Qian said. “These are all written in the contract. Assistant Xia should take the time to read the company rules carefully.”

“Got it, got it.”

As they talked, they passed the cafeteria. Xia Yinxi glanced inside—it was spacious, with staff already busy at the counters. “So I can’t eat at the cafeteria today.”

“New employees just need to get familiar with the company on the first day; you don’t have to start working. You can head straight home.”

“Nice!”

It was almost 11:30. Xia Yinxi had looked around most of the place and was about to go upstairs to say goodbye to Ji Yunzhuo before going home for lunch.

But before he could get to the elevator, Ji Yunzhuo called: “All done looking around? Come up for lunch.”

Xia Yinxi was confused: “Isn’t the cafeteria on the third floor? What’s there to eat upstairs?”

Gao Qian: “!!”

His eyes widened as he whispered, “Mr. Ji’s private dining room is on the top floor.”

Xia Yinxi said, “Oh,” and added, “Alright, I was planning to eat at home anyway.”

Ji Yunzhuo hesitated for a second: “You can’t go home right now.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with home?”

“It’s under renovation.”

“?”

The elevator arrived, and Xia Yinxi hung up. Gao Qian stared at him in shock: “You and Mr. Ji…?”

Xia Yinxi said flatly, “No relation.”

Gao Qian: “:O”

It felt like he’d stumbled onto something he wasn’t supposed to know.

Gao Qian pulled out his phone, glanced at last month’s salary, took a deep breath, and pushed down his curiosity.

When they reached the top-floor office, Gao Qian reported on the work to Ji Yunzhuo, and Xia Yinxi nodded along, chiming in at the right moments as per the manual.

Ji Yunzhuo: “…Whose assistant are you?”

Xia Yinxi: “!”

He’d been backing the wrong person!

He sidestepped over to stand by Ji Yunzhuo, ready to switch, but Ji Yunzhuo saw through his intent and assigned another task: “Do you know how to brew tea?”

Xia Yinxi nodded. “Yes, yes.”

Just making tea, no big deal.

With that, he walked over to the tea table with great initiative. Ji Yunzhuo then watched helplessly as he opened the tea canister, grabbed a handful of tea leaves with his bare hand and tossed them into the teapot, filled it with hot water, waited a few minutes, and finally poured the dark, almost black red tea into a cup—filled to the brim.

The seven-figure expensive tea set was used with an indescribably down-to-earth vibe.

The spacious office was filled only with the clinking of porcelain. Gao Qian had already slipped out, stunned. Ji Yunzhuo hesitated for a moment: “Does your father never drink tea at home?”

Xia Yinxi was trying to carry the cup over to Ji Yunzhuo but kept burning his hands, juggling it between his palms. At the question, he paused, recalling that Xia Yucheng did have a tea set in his study.

Last time, he seemed to have rinsed the cup first, swirled it, and used the lid to skim the surface a few times.

So rich people had a ritual for tea, not just a simple “brew”…

Xia Yinxi tentatively picked up the lid and scraped it along the rim of the cup.

Ji Yunzhuo: “…”

"The little cafeteria's around the corner. You hungry?"

The topic change was super awkward, and Xia Yinxi was equally embarrassed, quickly taking the way out: "Not hungry yet. What are you renovating at home?"

"Just tweaking the layout."

"Oh..."

Money really lets you do whatever you want, huh, just up and tearing down a huge villa on a whim.

Ji Yunzhuo just hummed: "After the renovation, it's gotta air out. You..."

"I can crash anywhere." Xia Yinxi made an "OK" gesture. "There are plenty of bedrooms at home. Just have someone clean one up for me."

Ji Yunzhuo held back from asking if he wanted the master bedroom, and hummed again in a neutral tone.

The two sat across from each other in dead silence, with nothing to talk about. Xia Yinxi looked down at his phone and casually turned down Song Baichuan's invite for a drink.

"Grandpa's birthday is next month. Wanna come back to the old house with me?" Ji Yunzhuo suddenly spoke. "Grandpa doesn't know yet that you're the one I married."

Xia Yinxi: "?"

Didn't his grandpa send him to propose?

"System..."

Oh, the system said yesterday it went back to a meeting.

"Grandpa's not gonna hit me, is he?" Xia Yinxi asked. "Is he cool with you marrying a guy?"

"No."

"..."

"But if it's you, I think he'll be okay with it."

Xia Yinxi looked unconvinced: "I think the old man's just too embarrassed to say anything 'cause I saved him, not that he actually 'agrees.'"

Ji Yunzhuo chuckled: "Maybe."

"So are your dad's ashes at the old house too? Should I go pay my respects or something?"

"No." Ji Yunzhuo's expression didn't change. "No need. You've already met, sort of."

"..."

Thanks for the reminder. : )

Honestly, logically speaking, Xia Yinxi should immediately visit Ji Yunzhuo's grandfather and arrange for both sides' elders to meet.

But since he wasn't the real son and had no real feelings for Ji Yunzhuo, he figured it was better to avoid it. That way, when the real son came back, no one would be awkward.

And since Ji Yunzhuo hadn't brought it up, Xia Yinxi planned to just play dumb.

The little cafeteria on the top floor was rarely used, but today, since Xia Yinxi was here, Ji Yunzhuo called the chef in and, following what Meng Shuxue had told him that day, ordered a few dishes Xia Yinxi liked.

A table of four dishes and one soup, all green veggies—no wonder he was so skinny.

"Your mom said to make sure you eat more meat." Ji Yunzhuo watched Xia Yinxi grab greens with his chopsticks every time, his skinny wrists looking super pale. "And eat more of the staple food too."

Xia Yinxi paused, grabbed a piece of meat: "Oh."

That day, Meng Shuxue and Ji Yunzhuo talked for ages. Was it all about how to take care of him?

The original's mom really loved him.

Sigh.

"The life assistant gig isn't much work. You can clock in and out on time. If you wanna quit, just give HR two days' notice." Ji Yunzhuo watched Xia Yinxi finish half a bowl of rice and then served him another bowl of pork rib soup. "Your mom said you don't like talking to strangers much. This job doesn't involve dealing with clients, and employees usually don't come up here."

Xia Yinxi's chopsticks paused, and he slowly looked up.

Aside from the very few people he clicked with right away, he indeed didn't like interacting with strangers.

Back in school, getting along with everyone was just surface-level politeness.

Even this was the same as the original?

Ji Yunzhuo smiled: "What's up?"

"Nothing..." Xia Yinxi took a sip of soup. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. You should be thanking me."

"..."

"Host... I'm back..."

Xia Yinxi was holding in a breath: "Is he nuts? I want a divorce."

The system replied, totally off-topic: "QAQ Host, I'll transfer you twenty thousand yuan."

"?" So sudden?

"TvT That's all the pocket money I've got."

Xia Yinxi found it amusing: "What's wrong with you?"

"Whimper."

The boss specifically said not to tell the host, to keep it quiet if possible.

Oh my god, this could mess up my career.

The office door was knocked on, and Gao Qian stuck his head in from outside: "Sorry, Assistant Xia, I forgot to add your contact info earlier. Let me add you to the company group."

Xia Yinxi got up and added him as a friend, and Gao Qian quickly retreated.

The main company group only sent announcements. The latest notice was about team-building, and Xia Yinxi clicked to look—it was scheduled for next week, Wednesday through Friday.

Ming Ji Group's team-building activities let each department decide the location and activities themselves, with the company covering all expenses including travel and accommodation—very humane.

After reading the details, Xia Yinxi asked, "President Ji, what department are you in?"

Ji Yunzhuo knew what he was really asking and said, "I'm not participating. Gao Qian usually goes with the Design Department. You can follow him."

"Huh? You're not going?" Xia Yinxi had already mastered the life assistant manual's content. If the boss wasn't going, there was no point in going himself, so he immediately said professionally, "Then I won't go either."

Ji Yunzhuo thought he was shy and hesitated before saying, "If you want to go have fun, I can go with you."

"Huh?"

How did it turn into him wanting to go have fun?

"But I have a business trip tomorrow. I'll try to be back before Wednesday."

Xia Yinxi’s attention immediately snapped to the business trip: "You’re going on a business trip and not taking me?"

Ji Yunzhao was taken aback: "You want to come?"

"Of course I do." Xia Yinxi was confused—didn’t the work manual say a life assistant had to be on call 24/7?

How could he be on call if he didn’t go on the business trip!

"Can you talk to people?"

Xia Yinxi let out a dry "Ha": "Nope, I can only talk to you right now."

Ji Yunzhao: "..."

So the next day, Xia Yinxi ditched his Minor Heat holiday, packed his suitcase, and went on the business trip with Ji Yunzhao.

"Morning, Assistant Xia."

Xia Yinxi was full of energy: "Morning, Assistant Gao! You’re working overtime too? Tough gig."

Gao Qian’s smile was perfectly professional: "Just serving the company, no big deal."

Ji Yunzhao’s voice came from behind him: "He gets triple overtime pay."

Xia Yinxi whipped around eagerly: "What about me?"

"You don’t get any."

Xia Yinxi flipped instantly: "Swear to God, I’ll hang myself at the company gate tomorrow."

Gao Qian took the two suitcases from Ji Yunzhao, acting like he didn’t hear their way-too-chatty exchange, and smartly didn’t ask why the CEO was carrying Assistant Xia’s luggage, just as he didn’t ask why they arrived at the airport in the same car.

Even on the plane, Gao Qian still didn’t ask why the CEO and Assistant Xia just naturally sat together, leaving him in the first-row luxury single seat, feeling totally out of place.

Those two seats next to each other were supposed to be his and Xia Yinxi’s...

Xia Yinxi shamelessly grabbed the window seat, making his current boss take the aisle seat, not giving a damn.

Besides, sitting on the aisle made it easier to get to the bathroom.

"CEO Ji, I’m going to sleep now. Wake me up for meals," Xia Yinxi yawned. "And holler if snacks come around."

He leaned against the window, half-asleep. Ji Yunzhao watched him for a second, then suddenly asked, "When it’s just the two of us, do you have to call me that?"

Xia Yinxi cracked one eye open, his brain too slow to process the question, and let out a sleepy grunt.

Ji Yunzhao turned away, not planning to repeat himself.

The plane’s taxiing noise was loud. At the moment of takeoff, Xia Yinxi’s heart skipped a beat, and his brain rebooted, and he finally got what Ji Yunzhao meant.

He leaned close to Ji Yunzhao’s ear: "I think that title shows respect. If you don’t like it, I can call you 'Bro' like Lili does."

Ji Yunzhao glanced sideways at the guy so close to him, a cool, fresh scent drifting over—soft but overpowering, taking over his whole sense of smell.

It smelled like some kind of flower, with a hint of citrus.

"Why do you need to show respect?"

Ji Yunzhao slowed his breathing, the floral scent at his nose seeming even stronger. The source of the scent was oblivious, leaning in closer because he couldn’t hear well: "Because I always feel like you’re the same generation as my dad."

"... " Ji Yunzhao squeezed his eyes shut.

Xia Yinxi dozed with half-closed eyes, then suddenly had a flash of insight.

Ji Yunzhao had married him to deal with the old man. If anyone discovered they were truly distant, it would raise suspicion. In a wealthy family like theirs, plenty of people were eyeing the heir’s position—one misstep could lead to disaster.

So to avoid slipping up in front of outsiders, they needed to get used to intimate terms in their daily interactions, especially since they’d be visiting the old mansion next month to face the old man and the watchful relatives. No mistakes allowed.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect on stage, and that applied here.

Xia Yinxi shot Ji Yunzhao an appreciative glance.

No wonder he’d inherited the family business at such a young age, the golden child everyone’s parents talked about—his thinking was meticulous.