Colleagues who knew Bo He all said that she’d flown up the social ladder and become a phoenix.

Bo He herself was a bit baffled by this unexpected windfall.

Looking across this great metropolis, with its forest of companies and wealth of talent, Shengming Company was not considered large in scale.

But Shengming Company was backed by the Qin Group, a subsidiary under the group's name. Its benefits and compensation were among the best in the industry, making Shengming Company a top choice for many recent graduates.

Half a year ago, Bo He was one of those many applicants.

She had just graduated then and was applying for an intern position, starting with client reception—the very bottom of the company's food chain.

A few days ago, her internship period ended, and the company opened up internal recruitment positions. Most of the interns from her cohort wanted to stay, and Bo He was no exception.

She applied for two positions: one was an assistant in the Human Resources department, and the other was an assistant in the President's Office.

The boss of Shengming Company was the young master of the Qin Group. It was said that he had several assistants around him, each with different roles and responsibilities, and their salaries were naturally much higher than in other departments.

Bo He had never dreamed of being able to climb to the top in one go, entering the President's Office just six months after graduation. Since everyone could apply for two positions, she had filled in the second one purely at random.

Who could have guessed that an unintentional act would bear fruit, and the most impossible option would be the one that came true in the end.

Between internal and external recruitment, there were at least dozens, if not hundreds, of people competing for this enviable position. How did it end up landing on her?

Even now, sitting at her new desk, looking at the floor that was once so far out of reach and the unfamiliar faces of her new department colleagues, she still felt a sense of dreamlike bewilderment and confusion.

...

It wasn't just Bo He who was bewildered; others were too.

An assistant in the President's Office—what a highly sought-after position.

Although anyone who met the criteria could compete, it was inevitable that only someone with relevant work experience and a more outstanding performance could stand out from the crowd.

For a time, everyone was asking: this Bo He, where on earth did she come from?

Only Li Xi knew what was going on.

Three days ago, she had placed a stack of scored interview forms in front of her boss, Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan took a few glances amidst his busy schedule.

"These two people are tied for first in both the written test and the interview. Why is Rong Rong placed first and Bo He second?" he asked.

Li Xi was prepared. "Because Rong Rong has a better appearance and disposition than Bo He, and her alma mater is also very prestigious."

With that, she deliberately opened Rong Rong's personal file. The name of her alma mater was striking—she was Qin Chuan's undergraduate junior.

Then they looked at the photos of the two.

Bo He was indeed a beauty.

Her chin was pointed but not sharp, her cheekbones smooth but not prominent, her eyebrows curved, and her eyes held a smile, like a pear blossom in early spring—fresh, full, and verdantly tender.

But even among beauties, there were distinctions.

Compared to Bo He's delicate elegance, Rong Rong was more vibrant and pretty.

Placing their photos side by side, others would definitely notice Rong Rong at first glance.

Men are visual creatures, not to mention the fact that Rong Rong and her top boss shared the bond of being alumni, a senior and junior.

With a more outstanding beauty available, why choose one who was relatively less remarkable?

But Qin Chuan frowned, seemingly dissatisfied. "Are there no other candidates?"

Li Xi explained, "The new position has a one-to-two-year transition period, during which they will only act as a department assistant, helping me, Alice, and the others. So the job requirements are relatively low, and these two did perform very well. Especially Rong Rong—not only is her appearance outstanding, but her verbal skills during the interview far exceeded the expectations of several interviewers."

Before she could finish, Qin Chuan tapped his finger on Bo He's resume and gave a direct answer.

"I want this one."

His fingers were long, slender, and fair, a pleasant sight to behold.

Li Xi had no time to look closely as a surprised question escaped her lips, "Why?"

The moment the words were out, she regretted them.

When the boss made a decision, there was no "why," especially since this particular boss was not an easy one to serve.

Qin Chuan: "You've said so much in favor of Rong Rong and placed her at the top, which shows you approve of her more. But looking at their files, they're about the same. At the very least, this Bo He's major is more relevant to the job."

After a pause, he spoke even more mercilessly, "I want an employee, not someone with ulterior motives who's confident in their beauty and trying to use their proximity to their advantage, do you understand?"

Li Xi's face flushed, and she quickly said, "If her abilities were truly lacking, I wouldn't have dared to recommend her. The main thing is that Rong Rong is already one of our employees, and her performance is quite good. The requirement for this position is only a department assistant, not someone who will liaise with you directly, which is why I thought she was competent. I will definitely keep your requirements in mind next time!"

Qin Chuan didn't even raise his eyelids. "You've been with me for three years, haven't you?"

If Li Xi couldn't understand that her boss was warning her, she wouldn't have survived this long in the workplace. Not daring to say more, she took the documents and retreated.

After circling Bo He's name on the final list and asking a colleague from HR to notify her, Li Xi stood up, walked out, and made a call.

"Rong Rong? This is Li Xi."

Qin Chuan didn't know Rong Rong, but Rong Rong had fallen for this outstanding alumnus and senior at first sight when he returned to their alma mater to give a speech.

Her parents were minor officials in Li Xi's hometown, and they happened to be in charge of the department where Li Xi's father worked.

With this connection, Li Xi was willing to add to her good fortune and give her this opportunity.

But that was all.

Li Xi couldn't possibly risk her own career for anything more.

Bo He had passed the final interview partly because she performed well, and partly because Li Xi needed a comparison to highlight Rong Rong's excellence.

This comparison couldn't be too outstanding, but she couldn't be too shabby either.

Who knew the boss's way of thinking was different from ordinary people's? She had already done all she could.

Li Xi silently felt a twinge of regret, her eyes sweeping over Bo He's name.

Rong Rong surely never expected that all her efforts would come to nothing, only to benefit a little newcomer who had just arrived.

...

The little newcomer, Bo He, was completely unaware of this backstory.

Including her, there were now a total of five people in the President's Office.

The male assistant, Guan Shen, was sent over from headquarters. He was said to have been dispatched by the boss's father to assist the boss and was responsible for communication and handover matters with the main group.

Tang Mi, sweet and pretty just as her name suggested, was in charge of liaising with the company's external business. She was said to be a walking database; she could remember anyone she had seen and often acted as the boss's companion at various banquets.

Li Xi was responsible for internal company communications.

There was also a Xiao Fang, who had joined a year before Bo He. She was responsible for translating various important documents and was also the boss's human translation machine.

And Bo He was hired to assist these four.

In layman's terms, she ran errands.

Being an assistant required one to figure out the boss's intentions. Being an assistant's assistant meant having several more mountains weighing on one's head.

Bo He had thought her days would be very difficult, but to her surprise, the following few days of her career were calm and uneventful. While her new colleagues weren't exactly warm and affectionate, they answered any questions she had. The cute-looking Tang Mi even took the initiative to introduce her to the company's internal situation and the department's daily duties.

Even the great Boss Qin, whom she had met a few times, didn't seem so unapproachable.

Bo He relaxed and gradually got into the swing of things.

On the Friday marking nearly a full week since she started, Tang Mi suggested treating everyone to lunch to celebrate Bo He's successful first week.
Guan Shen rarely participated in such group activities. Hearing this, he said he had a lunch appointment and left fifteen minutes early.

Tang Mi booked a place, and Li Xi even offered to drive everyone there.

The four of them took the elevator down to the underground parking lot when Tang Mi suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"That restaurant requires a membership card for entry, and I forgot mine in my drawer. Bo He, could you trouble you to go up and get it for me? It's in the first drawer on the right under my desk. It's not locked, just open it!"

She took out her phone. "I'll call the restaurant now and tell them we need to push back our reservation a bit."

Bo He agreed and started walking back the way they came, but Li Xi stopped her.

"If you walk straight ahead and turn, there's an elevator on the side of the corridor. Go up from there and come out of the stairwell entrance. It'll be faster."

Tang Mi also chimed in, "Right, right, there's an emergency exit there with both an elevator and stairs. It's closer if you take that way!"

Bo He followed their directions and, sure enough, saw an elevator a few steps after turning the corner.

Just as she was about to head over, she heard the sound of a car door closing behind her, followed by voices.

Naturally, Bo He looked toward the sound.

The big boss, Qin Chuan, and a young woman got out of the car one after another.

The young woman's makeup and outfit were fashionable and exquisite; she was the kind of pretty that made people unable to resist looking twice.

But Qin Chuan's face showed clear impatience.

"Qin Chuan!"

The young woman chased closely behind him. The slender heel of her shoe twisted, and her whole body swayed to the side, barely catching herself with her hand.

"You just break up with me without a word. Can you at least tell me why! Is it because I didn't do well enough?"

The other party wasn't wailing loudly, and her voice wasn't particularly shrill, but from Bo He's angle, she could hear it clearly.

The restrained end of her sentence carried a sob, making one feel a sense of pity.

In comparison, Qin Chuan's tone was all the more heartless.

"There's nothing wrong with you. I just got tired of looking at your face. Can't we just have an amicable breakup? Why do women always have to cry and sob when they break up, as if that will make them look more tragic?"

After a pause, Boss Qin continued, "Then I suggest you go upstairs and make a scene right now. It's a prime location in the city center, perfect for more people to see. Maybe you can even become an overnight sensation."

Bo He was close, and a pillar hid her figure, so she heard everything perfectly clearly.

She listened, dumbfounded, thinking to herself that there were still such scumbags these days. Instead of saying a few nice words during a breakup, he was complaining that she was ugly? If he thought she was ugly, why did he even date her in the first place? Was he blind?

After Bo He was transferred to the new department, although she was in close proximity, she rarely had direct work contact with the big boss. At most, she had seen him two or three times, and they had exchanged no more than ten sentences in total. Boss Qin had left a decent impression on her. Although he didn't smile much and wasn't very approachable, she was paid to do a job. Whether the boss was gentle or not was completely irrelevant.

Only now did she realize that Boss Qin was one thing when he was silent, but quite harsh when he opened his mouth.

No wonder Tang Mi and the others were so on edge during work hours, like completely different people compared to when they were off the clock.

The young woman didn't seem to think Qin Chuan was a scumbag. She spoke gently, even lowering her tone.

"Qin Chuan, we were doing so well. I love you, and you love me. If you want to break up, there has to be a reason. How can you... how am I supposed to explain this to others?"

Qin Chuan said flatly, "Who do you need to explain to? Fans? Reporters? Should you call them first to set up a photoshoot? Chi Yun, my impression of you has always been good. Don't lose that bit of grace as well. Let's just have an amicable breakup."

Bo He's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but peek at the young woman.

The surname Chi was relatively rare, and the name Chi Yun reminded her of a recently famous young actress.

Qin Chuan adopted a stance of not wanting to talk further. He was completely unyielding, and the young woman couldn't possibly argue with him here.

In the end, she had to plead with him, "Qin Chuan, my makeup is ruined now. It's not good for me to be seen outside. Let's not eat. Just take me home, okay?"

Qin Chuan was silent for a moment. "I'll call my driver to take you back."

He turned to leave, but the young woman grabbed him, and the two were tangled up for a while longer.

Bo He actually had no interest in gossiping about her boss's private affairs, nor did she have any interest in listening further. Tang Mi and the others were still waiting for her. But her position was particularly awkward; the slightest movement would expose her. She could only wait patiently for the boss's driver to come down and take the young woman away before she could finally let out a sigh of relief.

The next moment, something flashed before her eyes.

Before she had time to dodge, her boss's face appeared in front of her.

Bo He: ??

She hadn't even seen how he had popped out.

Their eyes met, both speechless.

This was a bit awkward.

There were only a few people in the President's Office. Even if Qin Chuan didn't usually talk much to Bo He, it was impossible for him not to recognize her face.

Adhering to the strategy of "I won't move if the enemy doesn't move," Bo He remained silent.

Qin Chuan said menacingly, "Did you enjoy listening?"

"Good afternoon, Boss. I'm going to lunch with Tang Mi and the others. She forgot her membership card, so she asked me to take a shortcut upstairs to get it. I was just walking over when you saw me."

Bo He replied in a calm tone, as if she really had just been passing by and hadn't heard a thing.

Qin Chuan glanced at her, said nothing more, and turned to go upstairs.

Bo He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After Boss Qin had been gone for a while, she estimated he should be back in his office. Only then did she take the elevator back up. On the way, she didn't forget to send Tang Mi a message, saying she got lost and would be back a little later.

By the time she got the card and met up with Tang Mi and the others, it was half an hour later.

A ten-minute round trip had been delayed this long; just getting lost didn't seem to be a good enough excuse.

Bo He said apologetically, "Not only did I get lost, but when I went up, I ran into a company from a lower floor that was moving. They were using the elevator, so I had to wait for them to finish before I could go up."

Everyone was a little disappointed, but they couldn't blame Bo He for this. Without saying much, they got into Li Xi's car and went to lunch.

Afterward, Bo He was still a little worried that Boss Qin would settle scores, but until the end of the workday, Qin Chuan didn't show up, and Li Xi and the others didn't come over to deliver any bad news.

She considered herself to have survived the ordeal and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as if she had survived a disaster. The thought of the upcoming first weekend since starting her new position, where she could happily play games at home for two days, made her cheerful again.

Bo He was definitely not one to dwell on things, and she would never let herself be anxious about workplace troubles and difficulties for more than half a day. The moment she walked out of the company, she had already thrown Boss Qin and all her unhappiness to the back of her mind.

People came and went around her, their steps hurried. Only her pace had a touch of leisure, completely unlike the white-collar workers in this great metropolis who were busy making money and tired from scheming. The expression on her face was more like that of a tourist, so relaxed and content it was enviable.

But no one knew that Bo He's mind was now completely filled with her game, and the little apprentice she had met in the game a few days ago.

My cute little apprentice, your master is here.