37 So annoying

There was a handsome man accompanying the beautiful woman as they entered. He was around 30 years old, tall, handsome, and stylish, with a graceful demeanor and outstanding temperament—a mature man full of masculinity. The beautiful woman and the handsome man made a perfect match, attracting everyone's attention as they walked into the restaurant. Many gazes were focused on them—admiration, praise, and envy. The pair seemed accustomed to being the center of attention, walking confidently towards the glass rooms inside the large restaurant. These glass rooms, eight in total, were reserved for dining by the group's senior executives—a symbol of status and position for those privileged to dine there.

As they approached the glass rooms, the aisle next to Zhang Ziwen's seat was an unavoidable path. Zhang Ziwen cursed inwardly, regretting his choice of seat. It was too late to change now, and the perfectly matched couple was getting closer and closer to him.

Resting his head on one hand, Zhang Ziwen turned his face away, pretending to admire the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window. He thought to himself, "This girl is ruthless. I hope she doesn't recognize me."

Before the people came close, a fragrant breeze swept over. Zhang Ziwen caught a whiff of a charming fragrance, involuntarily sniffing his nose habitually. His heart pounded nervously for some reason, especially tense at that moment.

As the beautiful woman passed by Zhang Ziwen, she casually glanced at him and made a soft sound of surprise, slowing her pace. The sound was faint, but Zhang Ziwen, with excellent hearing, cursed inwardly, "Damn, could she recognize me just like that?"

The handsome man beside her noticed the woman slowing down and gently asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the woman shook her head lightly and continued walking forward. After a few steps, unable to resist, she glanced back at Zhang Ziwen's figure.

The fragrant breeze passed, and the perfectly matched couple entered the glass room. Zhang Ziwen's back was soaked in cold sweat. The crisis had passed, and he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "That was close." He felt a bit frightened inside, realizing just how sharp this girl's eyes were.

"Ziwen ge," Xuying noticed Zhang Ziwen's unusual complexion and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell? Your face looks quite off." Xuying's natural use of "Ziwen ge" was quite familiar.

Zhang Ziwen sighed and smiled to cover up, "It's nothing, just feeling a bit stuffy in here."

Xuying glanced around, the air conditioning was fine, and the ventilation was good—nothing uncomfortable. She felt a bit puzzled.

"Oh, by the way, who typically dines in those glass rooms?" Zhang Ziwen asked casually, needing to gather intelligence first before making decisions—a must-have skill for military personnel.

"You're asking about that? Those are reserved for the top executives of the company."

"Is that so? The two who just went in looked quite young. Are they also high-level?" 

"Yes, don't underestimate those two. Let's talk about the man first. Fan Lihua, Vice President of the company and also one of the shareholders." Women always put handsome men first, and Xuying was no exception. However, Zhang Ziwen wasn't particularly interested in that handsome man; he was more concerned about the background of the beautiful woman.

"And what about the woman? Is she some kind of executive too?" Zhang Ziwen asked, secretly hoping she had no significant ties to the company—maybe just here occasionally to accompany some executive or her boyfriend.

"You mean Mu Qing?" Xuying said somewhat enviously, "She's quite remarkable. Just returned from abroad, now the General Manager of the Foreign Investment Department and also a shareholder. Her father is the chairman of this group."

Damn, is it that extreme? Zhang Ziwen felt a bit hopeless. The more he feared, the more it happened—shattering his last shred of fantasy. Could he still fit in this company? Not only were they in the same company, but they were also not even on the same level. The gap seemed insurmountable. Zhang Ziwen was utterly disheartened, his expression almost bitter.

Seeing Zhang Ziwen's troubled face, Xuying asked, "Ziwen ge, do you happen to like Mu Zong? She's actually Vice President Fan's fiancée."

Xuying clearly misunderstood. She thought Zhang Ziwen was like those men in the company who secretly admired Mu Qing—after all, who wouldn't like such a beautiful woman? Especially someone like Mu Qing, with her background, far above his league. It was perfectly normal for Zhang Ziwen to wear a troubled expression.

Like her? Heavens, that bossy and unreasonable girl? That would risk my life! Dodging her was already a challenge, and liking her? Absurd. Zhang Ziwen felt Xuying's question lacked tact.

"Just her? Not interested, not my type," Zhang Ziwen said stiffly, feeling irritated inside as he tried to control his emotions.

Xuying, hearing this, felt rather pleased. Finally, someone said they didn't like Mu Qing, this stunning beauty. If even she wasn't liked, what was wrong? However, Xuying was more focused on her own happiness and didn't dwell on Zhang Ziwen's odd remarks. It was one thing to admire Mu Qing and another to feel jealous—it was all normal.

Women really did take their time with meals. It took more than half an hour for Xuying to finish her food, and Zhang Ziwen, watching her eat so delicately, grew impatient. He almost wanted to snatch her plate away and finish it for her.

Back in the office, he checked his watch—thankfully, just one minute until 1:00. Being late on the first day wouldn't be good. Li Yan wasn't in the office at the moment. Glancing at her computer, he saw everything was set up and running smoothly after the reinstall. He had also installed antivirus and office software. Nearly done with his tasks, Li Yan walked in.

Seeing her enter, Zhang Ziwen stood up and said, "Assistant Li, the computer is all set up again. If you need anything else installed, just let me know."

"Oh, it's all done? Thank you," Li Yan sat at her computer, checked everything, and then looked up, "Could you help me install a few more things?"

"No problem. What else do you need installed?"

"Well, a media player for listening to music and watching videos, and also QQ and a video app. Just these for now. I'll let you know if I need anything else later."

Zhang Ziwen was fine with that. For now, his immediate boss was Li Yan. Making a good impression now could mean someone to vouch for him later. Establishing relationships, keeping up, and networking—these were the survival tactics he'd learned over the years.

Li Yan was quite pleased with Zhang Ziwen's performance. As he helped install these little gadgets, Li Yan's eyes flirted with him now and then, free from the shadow of that a-picture, regaining her charm and confidence.

It didn't take long to finish everything. Zhang Ziwen returned to his seat. With no immediate tasks, he opened the browser and accessed the company's webpage to familiarize himself with the company. Meanwhile, Li Yan asked Zhang Ziwen to open QQ and gave him her QQ number to add her as a friend. Zhang Ziwen used to have a QQ number back in the army, but after returning to Zhonghai, he'd spent most of his time hanging out with his buddies from Hai Daifu. Luckily, his memory served him well, and after a moment's recollection, he logged into his QQ account. Once they became friends, Li Yan's beautiful profile picture started blinking, and her screen name was quite playful—Fragrance, with a hint of something aromatic, almost as if one could smell her rich fragrance from her name alone.

Online communication made it easy to bridge the gap. Initially exchanging thank yous and polite banter, it quickly turned into playful teasing between a handsome guy and a beautiful woman. Even though it was virtual communication and not face-to-face, Zhang Ziwen was sharp and humorous. He kept Li Yan entertained with witty remarks, causing her to flood the chat box with QQ emojis and even a few heart emojis towards the end, teasingly suggestive.

The entire afternoon passed in this manner. Aside from taking a few unimportant phone calls and photocopying some documents for different departments, they chatted on QQ until 5:00 when it was time to go home. This job was indeed relaxed and comfortable. Zhang Ziwen felt lucky—he not only found such a comfortable job but also encountered a good-looking female boss. Working hours chatting on QQ—without Li Yan, this charming boss, covering for him, how could it be possible?

The bus moved slowly through the traffic during the evening rush hour. It was impossible to avoid traffic jams during rush hour, even with a dedicated bus lane. There were always drivers with deep pockets who didn't fear fines hogging the lanes. Zhang Ziwen leaned back in his seat, numbly staring out the window at the row of cars, the air tainted with the smell of gasoline—dirty and polluted.

Zhang Ziwen sighed softly, closed his eyes. The scenes of his first day at work flashed through his mind like slides—quiet Xuying, efficient Director Wang, Manager Yan who seemed a bit aloof, Li Yan with her coquettish charm, the department head with disdainful eyes, the a-picture on the computer, teasing on QQ, and the relaxed work environment. Each scene flashed vividly in Zhang Ziwen's mind like a slideshow. Towards the end, he deliberately skipped the faces he didn't want to remember, until the stunning face of Mu Qing, which made his heart skip a beat, emerged.