OBEDIENT AND GUILTY

Hu Lei was a little late arriving on the next day. She had underestimated how tired she was and had worked for a good number of hours before falling asleep. She had wanted to come in earlier to show remorse and dedication, but it would not be happening.

She sighed deeply with a hanging head as she entered the lift and headed for the highest floor.

As expected, Zhong Feng was not happy when she waltzed into his office an hour after the designated time. She comforted herself in her heart: she was here on a short contract, not as a permanent employee. As long as she fulfilled her assigned duties, she would be fine.

Still, she could not help feeling like a chastised schoolgirl once again as she stood before his desk. The guilt intensified because the evil emperor did not comment, in spite of the disapproving light in his eyes. Instead, he just indicated for her to sit down.

"Today, your work is simple. You will need to learn a little more about interacting effectively in the coming week. A lot of new interpreters fail to create a smooth communication channel during meetings and affect the efficiency of business." He spoke without prelude.

Hu Lei nodded. In truth, she had been an interpreter for a long time, just not in a truly professional capacity. When she had travelled around the world with her father, it had been her responsibility to interpret and translate for him where she could.

Though the old man was laved travelling around the world, he could not be bothered to learn anything about language or customs. He was a pure medical otaku who was only interested in anything that had to do with medicine. Sometimes, he would hire local translators, but his peculiarities often caused unnecessary clashes.

Unfortunately, she could not tell whether working for Zhong Feng would be even remotely similar to working with her father. She truly hoped that she could learn everything before she was called to step up in an official capacity.

She did not consider the job to be a life or death matter. However, once she committed to something, her desire was to be the best.

"You will work with the international relations manager until the early afternoon. After that, you should return here." The big boss continued.

Hu Lei nodded again and left the office with a relieved sigh.

Zhong Feng looked at the woman flee from his office with a small smile. He liked her bristling kitten persona, but the obedient and guilty look was also quite nice. He knew that she had misunderstood his disapproving frown. He had been wondering about the faint dark marks below her eyes that indicated the lack of enough sleep.

He pondered on it for a minute before turning back to his work.

On the tenth floor, Manager Lin was not pleased with her assignment, so she did not welcome Hu Lei warmly when she showed up at her office. As the person in charge of International Relations, she had numerous issues to review before the end of the business day.

She was particularly concerned about the trade exhibition which could have a huge impact if everything was done perfectly. If she did not cover everything at least thrice before the conference, she would not feel prepared for the coming week.

However, she could hardly reject an assignment given directly by the big boss.

She looked at the gentle little woman before her with contempt and some measure of disappointment. One could not really judge a book by its cover. The Hu Lei before her looked like the pure and adorable girl that she had wished to be when she was younger and a head taller than all her classmates.

However, the memory of the girl sleeping on the boss' couch the previous afternoon was still fresh in her mind. The evidence indicated that the two had a special relationship.

The exact nature of the connection was not clear, but she made her guess. President Zhong had not had any scandals with anyone, including socialites and celebrities who were always trying to at least get a photo with him. In addition, he always kept a distant from employees, even firing those that ingratiated themselves to him.

And now, there was a pretty girl sleeping on his couch while he was absent from his office. It would be stupid for her to assume that the woman was there on merit as opposed to connections. As a self-declared feminist, Lin Man believed that women should rely on their own skills to shine, abandoning the so-called benefits that came from fluttering their eyelashes.

However, she would not go so far as to speak her mind without solicitation. She indicated for the girl to sit on the chair opposite her desk.

Though Lin Man did not like women like Hu Lei, she would always fulfil her obligations to the best of her ability.