Chapter 134
Extra Chapter 18
That afternoon, Li Shu received a job offer call from Huarui Media.
"Is this Miss Li Shu? I'm pleased to inform you that you've been accepted by Huarui Media Group. Please report to the HR department on the fifth floor of Huarui Building tomorrow morning at 9 AM."
...
After hanging up the phone, Li Shu was somewhat incredulous.
Based on how the morning interview went, she felt the company seemed to place great importance on work experience.
However, her biggest experience in recent years had been in following celebrity gossip and writing web novels. To protect her online identity, her answers during the interview hadn't been very satisfactory.
Later, when that legendary chubby Young Master Zhou asked if she had any works to show, she hesitated for a while and could only mention the second prize she won in a writing competition for her university journal.
It was obvious that he wasn't very satisfied with that answer.
She had felt somewhat regretful, which led her to devour an entire bucket of spicy chicken wings for lunch, before routinely opening her computer to start writing her update.
Well, only food and her readers would never let her down, so she couldn't let them down either.
But unexpectedly, Huarui actually approved her application?!
Hmm, so they preferred inexperienced fresh graduates like her?
Regardless, this was good news. Li Shu was very happy. After hanging up, she immediately ordered some barbecue takeout, then continued writing.
Tomorrow would be her first day at work, so she had to improve her efficiency and try to sleep early, otherwise she might work herself to death.
The next morning, Li Shu arrived at her new company right on time.
The first day was full of tedious procedures, and it took her a full hour to complete all the paperwork.
After walking around in high heels all morning, she could finally sit at her own workstation. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and, while waiting for her computer to boot up, couldn't resist secretly taking out her phone to check the comments on today's new chapter.
She saw readers already asking if the scumbag who abandoned his wife and child for a rich woman was the popular celebrity Yang XX.
Li Shu thought to herself, "Wow, they figured it out so quickly?"
Then she heard the system say, [Your novel has become the new gossip compass. The paparazzi have been investigating everywhere since yesterday to get first-hand information. Over a hundred people barely slept all night, and one of them has already tracked down Yang XX's original wife. That sister has seen what you wrote and is now considering posting her own exposé to denounce that scumbag.]
Li Shu's eyes lit up – this was great news!
The strength of that lady alone wouldn't be enough, but with the paparazzi joining in, there would be plenty of attention.
The rest would be up to the parties involved. She hoped this woman would hire a good lawyer and fight for proper alimony and shared property to start her new life.
Just then, her computer finished booting up. She put away her phone contentedly and started working.
Although she had no formal work experience before, she was smart and eager to learn. She would definitely do fine.
Before she knew it, lunch time had arrived. Today, in the cafeteria, elevators, corridors, and lobby, everyone was discussing one thing―
It turned out that the modern Chen Shiming, the ungrateful scumbag in Xiao Yao Wan Zi's latest chapter, was actually the popular celebrity Yang XX.
This was the atmosphere in which Zhou Lan entered the company.
He silently listened to all the discussions along the way, and his mind couldn't help but ponder an important matter―
After that girl Li Shu left the company yesterday, he had people quietly investigate her background, but they didn't find anything unusual.
That girl was indeed just a college student, with no connections to any other companies.
But how did she know so much?
Driven by this mystery, he decided to press the elevator button for the twelfth floor, where the planning department was located.
Stepping out of the elevator, Zhou Lan walked inside, hearing greetings from colleagues returning from lunch, as well as various gossip discussions―
[Damn, I've followed so many of his dramas and variety shows, never thought he was such a scumbag! His reputation is ruined!!!]
[Tsk tsk, this shows you shouldn't randomly create public personas in the entertainment industry. Who would have thought that the devoted lover we see on TV was actually this kind of person?]
[Finally got to see this drama unfold! Wonder who Xiao Yao will expose next?]
Zhou Lan: "..."
Well, he was actually quite curious about who she would expose next too.
Soon, he reached the area near her office.
Through the glass wall, he could see her typing somewhat aimlessly on her computer.
He quietly moved a few steps closer and heard her thinking, [Who should I write about today?]
[Maybe I should dig into the scandalous history of Wang XX, the ex-husband of rich woman Zhao X whom Yang XX is trying to get close to? After all, he used insider trading back then and scammed quite a lot of money from stockholders.]
Zhou Lan quietly raised an eyebrow. Wang XX was already in his fifties, how did this girl in her twenties know about his past?
Just then, he heard her thinking, [Oh right, this Wang XX even pursued Zhou Lan's mother, Madam Zhou Ruolan, back then! After failing to win her over, they met at a business venue, and that old bastard tried to kidnap little chubby Zhou to threaten his mother. Fortunately, Madam Zhou Ruolan discovered it in time, so little chubby Zhou didn't fall into his hands. Although it didn't succeed, this incident should be exposed too!]
Zhou Lan: "???"
Wait, by "legendary chubby"... did she mean him?
And such a thing happened back then?
Even he didn't know about it, so how did she know?
Li Shu really hadn't expected that after just one day at work, before she'd even fully mastered the office software, she would become the president's secretary the next morning.
Yes, her workstation had been moved to the sixteenth floor, right outside the president's office.
It was now ten minutes past nine in the morning, and she sat at her desk, dumbfounded for a full five minutes.
Damn, how did all this happen?
Were personnel transfers in this company always this casual???
Of course, the president's secretary position paid much better than her previous role, and she wasn't against it, but she faced several problems―
First, she had never been a secretary before. If chubby President Zhou saw how clumsy she was, would he fire her?
Second, with Boss Zhou right in front of her, would she still have time to write during lunch breaks? Would Zhou discover her identity?
Nearby, Zhou Lan: "..."
Did she really have to call him that?
Of course, although he knew she had no experience and might struggle a bit, his most important task right now was to solve the mystery of this girl.
Being closer meant he could hear more clearly.
And so began their close-quarters working relationship.
Although this girl wasn't great at writing documents or making coffee, he patiently taught her everything himself.
Well, it was hard to tell who was whose secretary.
But that wasn't important. What mattered was that after two days, he still hadn't made much progress on solving the mystery.
This girl was quite focused during work hours, and when she had free time, apart from thinking about what to write and what to eat for lunch, there wasn't anything unusual.
However, this made him even more confused.
Because during this time, he had learned two more different pieces of gossip from her thoughts, each one extremely secretive and explosive.
How was this happening?
No, this approach wasn't enough.
The wall clock showed there were two hours left before getting off work. Zhou Lan thought for a moment, then suddenly sent a message to the girl outside through the office software: [Need to work overtime tonight, please wait.]
She immediately replied: [Understood.]
Zhou Lan then got back to work.
As time passed, when he finally pulled himself away from work, the sky outside had already darkened.
He quietly looked through the glass wall and saw the girl typing on her computer.
Judging by her typing speed, she was probably writing a new chapter of her novel.
Being a polite person, he waited a while until she finished a section, then notified her to print a document.
Then, he personally went out to tell her, "I'm sorry for keeping you so late. It's getting late, let's go get dinner together."
Li Shu politely replied, "No need to be so courteous, President Zhou. This is all part of my job."
But in her mind, she couldn't help thinking, [Treating me to dinner? Is this boss really so generous? Well, this is a good chance to see what rich people eat, it'll be good material for my writing.]
Zhou Lan: "..."
The way she put it, it was as if rich people ate something other than normal food?
He put on a sincere expression and said, "It's no problem, I need to eat too. Why don't we go together?"
With that, he started walking ahead.
The young lady hesitated for a moment before following him with light, quick steps.
Not far downstairs, there happened to be a Cantonese restaurant with a nice ambiance and decent food.
Although it was dinner time, since it wasn't a holiday, there were still tables available.
The two of them sat down as the waiter led the way.
Zhou Lan was something of a regular here. He casually glanced at the menu before ordering a steamed grouper, a seafood medley, and two vegetable dishes.
Li Shu observed this and thought to herself, "So rich people eat Chinese food too. I thought it would be like those CEO novels with 1982 vintage wine and premium steaks."
Zhou Lan: "..."
She was overthinking it. Although he had spent a few years abroad, he had always maintained an authentically Chinese palate.
Aliali: 674ba5cbc4f3f33ac4a52bcfBefore long, the dishes arrived, and Zhou Lan asked, "Cantonese cuisine is quite light, suitable for dinner. I hope it suits your taste?"
Li Shu quickly smiled and replied, "It's perfect, I think so too."
Suddenly, a realization dawned on her—
Oh right, this handsome guy had lost weight from over 200 pounds, so he probably doesn't want to gain it back. Generally, people who want to maintain their figure need to eat high-protein, low-fat foods like steamed fish. Western food wouldn't really work.
Zhou Lan: "..."
He couldn't help wanting to ask her if she could please stop bringing up the over-200-pounds thing.
But then, she suddenly seemed to remember something important and mentally gasped—
[Oh right! They say obesity during puberty might affect that particular area in men... I wonder if Little Fatty Zhou is okay down there?]
[Damn, it would be such a shame if such a handsome man had problems with that!!!]
While Li Shu was lost in these thoughts, the man across from her suddenly spluttered, spraying a mouthful of tea.