A week later, Dai An was promoted, and Julie took over her position.
She worked nervously for a few days, only to find things weren't as bad as she had imagined. Kang Mu Cheng's assistant was still the same experienced person, often giving her tips, helping her navigate through several oversights without major incidents.
However, the CEO wasn't as frightening as she had imagined.
Although he appeared stern most of the time, he rarely lost his temper and didn't like to chat with people.
Julie disliked bosses who pried into her private life: whether she had a boyfriend, where she planned to go on weekends, what kind of entertainment she enjoyed, and she especially disliked dining with superiors.
From this perspective, Kang Mu Cheng was undoubtedly an excellent boss.
Of course, working for a nationally renowned company couldn't be entirely stress-free.
Julie would wake up at 7:30 AM, spend twenty minutes getting ready, then take the subway to work, usually arriving at the office by 8:30 AM.
Her first task was to go to the bakery half a block away to buy freshly baked bread, sandwiches, and hot coffee. Then she would organize the day's schedule and check last night's emails.
Between 8:50 and 9:00 AM, Kang Mu Cheng would arrive, have breakfast, check his emails, and at 9:30 AM, there would be a morning meeting.
Then followed a busy day.
Even on Saturdays and Sundays, Julie couldn't relax.
Book launch events were usually scheduled on Saturdays, which meant inevitable overtime. For less famous authors, the CEO would make a brief appearance and leave, requiring her to stay for the entire event and report back afterward.
Occasionally, she also had to do some, well, how to put it, challenging errands.
For instance, today, Sunday, at 1 PM.
She suddenly received a call from Kang Mu Cheng, asking if she was free.
Although Julie was out shopping with friends, she immediately said "yes." So the CEO told her: "Buy some food and deliver it to this address. Take a taxi, the expense will be reimbursed."
He gave her an address.
Julie made a note of it, quickly bought some egg waffles, hot milk tea, and sushi at a nearby mall, and hurriedly took a taxi.
It was a club hosting an art exhibition she couldn't understand. But the door was sealed, with several auxiliary police officers guarding the police line, not allowing her to enter: "Sorry, no entry allowed at the moment."
Julie timidly said, "I-I'm here to deliver food. I'm an employee of Golden Crow."
"Golden Crow?" The two police officers exchanged glances, and the younger one said, "Oh, I know, Ms. Jian Jing's company, she must have called for this, right?"
After some consideration, they let her in: "Don't wander around, just deliver and leave."
"Okay." Julie was still unaware of what had happened, walking in confusedly.
Then, she saw a corpse lying in the hall, with blood pooled on the floor.
"Ah!" Julie was startled, almost dropping the things in her hands, fortunately, someone caught them: "For me?"
She turned to look and saw it was Ms. Jian, wearing a strapless short dress, her hair braided and wrapped around her head, her skin glowing white.
"Y-yes," Julie stammered, "The CEO asked me to buy it."
Jian Jing took off her gloves, grabbed a few pieces of sushi and stuffed them in her mouth, mumbling, "The CEO is in the office inside, you can go find him. Oh, the milk tea is for me."
She took the milk tea and gestured for Julie to move away: "Give the food to the CEO, then you can leave. It's better not to linger at a crime scene, you know."
Julie couldn't help but ask, "Um, Ms. Jian, may I ask what you're doing here? Research?"
Jian Jing said, "Solving a case, of course."
Julie was full of questions: "Isn't that the police's job?"
"Yes, stealing their thunder," she winked and shooed her away, "Quick, go. Oh, here he comes."
Kang Mu Cheng nodded to Julie, taking the food from her hands: "Thank you for your trouble, you can go now."
Jian Jing asked, "All questions answered?"
He sighed, "I suppose so, another half day wasted."
She made a face, saying, "Alright, alright, just a bit longer, I already know who the murderer is."
Kang Mu Cheng sighed again: "Not easy."
Julie hesitantly walked towards the exit, but others rushed in, saying things like "who is the real murderer" and such.
She was scared yet curious, so she didn't leave, hiding in a corner to eavesdrop.
Then, she heard a bunch of impressive-sounding but confusing words.
Ms. Jian presented several pieces of evidence, refuted a few excuses, mocked a few people, and the murderer confessed.
Julie: What mechanism in which room? How was the door locked? The victim had affairs with two women and even had a boyfriend? Did he like men or women??
She entered bewildered and left even more confused.
Kang Mu Cheng: "Julie, you can go home now, it's all over."
"Oh, okay." She was still dazed, her mouth faster than her brain, "Um, so he had an affair with the first woman to cover for a relative, and with the second woman to get revenge on a relative? And then his wife killed him??"
Jian Jing looked at her and burst out laughing: "Yeah, isn't it fun?"
Julie: "..."
--
Apart from small accidents in life, Julie's career as a secretary was going smoothly. About half a year later, she had become familiar with her daily work and started on the essential course for every CEO's secretary: gossip.
She often chatted with Dai An, exchanging insider information.
Julie: [Today the CEO asked me to order flowers, to be sent to XX law firm, seems like it's for a woman]
Dai An: [It's the daughter of the former CEO's friend, probably another arranged date]
Julie: [Dai jie, you've been at Golden Crow for so long, has the CEO ever had a girlfriend?]
Dai An: [Don't know... The CEO doesn't talk much about his private life]
Julie: [With him being so busy with work, does he even have time to date?]
Dai An: [I don't date either, do you?]
Julie: [How could I when I'm this busy]
Dai An: [Exactly]
Dai An: [Look, even Ms. Jian doesn't have a boyfriend]
Julie: [I don't understand, she's so beautiful, rich, and talented, why isn't anyone pursuing her!!]
Dai An: [Actually...]
Julie: [??]
Dai An: [Although it might be just my imagination, but think about it, isn't Ms. Jian the only close female friend around the CEO?]
Julie: [shocked.JPG, isn't the age gap a bit big??]
Dai An: [20 and 30 is quite a gap, but if they both remain unmarried, 30 and 40, 40 and 50, isn't there hope then?]
Perhaps meeting a fellow gossip enthusiast, Dai An couldn't control her imagination: [I think, they're not waiting for each other, just focusing on their careers now, putting romance on the back burner, but ten or twenty years later, when they want to get married, if the other is still around, it's entirely possible they could get together]
Dai An: [Of course, they might also end up like Givenchy and Hepburn, remaining the closest of friends for life, but never actually getting together]
Julie: [Life is so long, doesn't a happy ending take a long time to wait for?]
Dai An: [Life is so long, what's the rush?]
Julie thought about it and felt it made sense, so she opened another chat and carefully typed: [I'm sorry, but I'm still focused on my career right now, let's not hold each other back, goodbye]
Then she deleted the contact.
Suddenly, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
--
"Demon Doctor 4" was set to release on National Day, a public holiday when everyone had time off.
As expected, the book signing event was packed, with people crowding the entire floor.
Jian Jing couldn't bear it anymore and took the chance during a bathroom break to say to Kang Mu Cheng, "Can we make them line up outside? I'm about to suffocate in here."
Kang Mu Cheng hadn't anticipated such a turnout either, so he quickly found someone to negotiate and rearrange, while trying to persuade those still in line to come back later.
"Please come back in two hours," Julie and the store staff were at the door, trying to disperse the crowd. Afraid of disappointing the readers, they handed out small bookmarks and notebooks to each person.
Even so, the stream of people never stopped.
Jian Jing signed until her wrist was in severe pain, forcing her to apply an ice pack.
Kang Mu Cheng couldn't bear to see this: "Why don't we call it a day? We've already signed all 12,000 prepared copies anyway."
"You taught me not to be complacent, these people have come all this way," she shook her hand, "Let's continue."
This continuation lasted until 10 PM, causing even the bookstore to delay closing.
But overtime or not, everyone was happy with such good book sales.
Jian Jing sent a big red envelope in the group chat: [Treat for everyone's late-night snack]
Kang Mu Cheng asked Julie to go along and use his card to pay.
Everyone happily chose a seafood restaurant, deciding to feast on the boss's dime.
Kang Mu Cheng drove Jian Jing home, as they now lived close to each other, nothing could be more convenient.
"Does your hand still hurt?" he asked.
Jian Jing: "It's a bit sore."
He frowned.
After arriving home, Kang Mu Cheng didn't leave. Instead, he found the first aid kit with familiar ease and took out some red flower oil. "Give me your hand."
Jian Jing didn't like the smell and quickly shook her head. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Hand."
She reluctantly extended her hand.
Kang Mu Cheng gripped her wrist, applied the medicinal oil, and massaged it firmly while saying, "Use your phone less these few days, and it's best to avoid using the mouse too. If you're not writing, a tablet should be enough."
Jian Jing asked, "Does this count as a work injury?"
"Yes, what do you want?" he asked.
As the medicinal oil seeped into her skin, her wrist felt a burning soreness. Jian Jing said, "Let's go out somewhere?" She continued, "Brother Yingjie said he found this great off-the-beaten-path ski resort."
Kang Mu Cheng: "Sure. Do you know how to ski?"
"No," she said brazenly, "but I'm sure I can pick it up easily."
Kang Mu Cheng looked at her and suddenly burst into laughter.
--
The small team of Kang Mu Cheng, Si Yingjie, and Jian Jing set off on another trip.
Their destination this time was a place called Snow Peak, different from most popular ski destinations. It not only offered one-on-one professional ski instruction but also featured breathtaking snow scenery.
Vintage wooden cabins, pine-wood burning fireplaces, warm bathtubs, steaming coffee, and fresh bread.
It sounded perfect.
Jian Jing brought two novels to read during boring evenings.
She never got to use them.
The cabin had a stack of movies!
The three agreed to take turns choosing movies each day, and unless something came up, everyone had to watch the entire film—a rule specifically added for Kang Mu Cheng.
Jian Jing: "You can't be reviewing manuscripts while on vacation."
Kang Mu Cheng: "I'm not reviewing other people's manuscripts anymore, these are company financial reports."
Si Yingjie: "You can look at those tomorrow morning, but not tonight."
Jian Jing: "I second that."
After some friendly discussion, Kang Mu Cheng finally surrendered, pinned to the sofa by the two of them on either side, and was handed wine and popcorn.
"It's my turn to pick today." Jian Jing was eager to choose.
The day before yesterday, they watched a Hollywood blockbuster (Si Yingjie's choice), yesterday they endured a boring art film (Kang Mu Cheng's pick), and today was finally her turn. She was definitely going to choose something she liked.
After much deliberation, she pulled out a DVD and announced her decision: "Snow Night Maniac, let's watch this."
Si Yingjie wailed, "No way! A horror movie?"
Jian Jing said, "If you're scared, you can sit in the middle."
"No need." Si Yingjie had already shrunk into the corner of the sofa, looking lifeless. "Just start it."
She pressed play.
The screen showed a vast snowy landscape.
The camera panned from the outside to the window, then through it, focusing on the people inside. They were young, throwing a party for a newlywed couple, clapping and cheering, creating a lively atmosphere.
The fireplace blazed, its light dancing on everyone's faces.
Si Yingjie shifted uncomfortably: "Hey, don't you think this scene looks familiar?"
Jian Jing turned her head and said softly, "Of course it's familiar, because—" she leaned in and lowered her voice, "it's where we're staying."
Si Yingjie froze.
"Crack!" The burning wood made a crisp popping sound.
"Jing Jing, you're joking, right?" Si Yingjie laughed nervously. "Mu Cheng, Mu Cheng?"
Kang Mu Cheng looked around and said, "It does seem to be this place, even the wall clock is the same."
Si Yingjie screamed, "No way! Is this like The Ring?"
Kang Mu Cheng: "..."
"Hahahahaha!" Jian Jing couldn't hold it in anymore, doubling over with laughter. "Brother Yingjie, you're, you're killing me, hahaha!"
She laughed so hard her stomach hurt, leaning on Kang Mu Cheng's shoulder while catching her breath. "This movie was filmed here. Didn't you see the poster on the wall when we checked in at the front desk?"
Si Yingjie: "..." He looked at Kang Mu Cheng speechlessly. "You saw it too?"
Kang Mu Cheng suppressed his smile and nodded slightly.
"So you were both just messing with me." Si Yingjie raged, grabbing a cushion and throwing it at them.
Jian Jing: "Hahaha!"
The cabin was filled with laughter and joy, a happy atmosphere all around.
Then, "Ahh—"
A scream came from the cabin next door.