My Second Life As A Secretary

Chapter 10.1 – Come As You Please

He Zening was bringing the paper bag back to the office building when she saw the security guard still on duty. She felt sympathetic and decided to give him one of her oatmeal muffins.

After a while, she arrived at the top floor. She knocked on the door with coffee in one hand. “President Gu, your coffee is here,” she said.

When she opened the door, she was shocked to see that Gu Siye was not inside the office anymore. ‘What’s going on here? Did I take too long? Did he decide to get coffee himself?’ she thought.

“President Gu…?”

She tentatively called a few more times at the door to ascertain that he was truly out. She then tried calling him. Her call was answered immediately; He Zening felt slightly relieved.

“President Gu,” she greeted him, “Are you all right?” she wanted to say ‘I have your coffee here,’ but decided it was better to try being empathetic.

Gu Siye, as per usual, answered coolly, “I am okay. I have things to take care of. You should go home.”

“Okay.”

He Zening said no more and ended the conversation. On pilot mode, she made her way back to her desk and cleaned it. She wondered what could cause a workaholic to depart in the middle of a meeting. In the end, she could not figure out a reason.

‘Never mind. It’s none of my business anyway. I can finally get off work now!’ she brightly thought while packing up her bag.

Before she left, she caught a glimpse of the coffee she had just bought and sighed. The coffee specially made by Qin Guzhou would be wasted. At the very least, she was able to have a nice conversation with him.

*

The next day, Gu Siye came to the office on time. She deliberately observed him and could not detect anything unusual. When he walked past her desk, she greeted him routinely, “President Gu, good morning. I have already notified the administration department to fix the coffee machine.”

Gu Siye nodded in reply. “Have Director Ding come over after the morning meeting,” he said. Director Ding was the Executive Director of the company.

“Okay,” she replied.

She immediately made the call to pass on the message. A calm and tedious day began once again. At times, life felt too realistic. She sometimes questioned if she truly transmigrated, only for Gu Siye’s unrealistic, male lead face to awaken her from her stupor. Yes, this was indeed the world of a novel. Unfortunately, she still had yet to figure out the novel’s title.

At lunchtime, she subconsciously looked for Bai Yinan in the staff cafeteria. But because there were so many people, it was difficult. Today was the same. She would like to come across her sometime, so she did not need to surveil her secretly like a pervert.

She picked a random spot to sit and her lunch consisted of chatting with acquainted colleagues, and listening to company gossip. The cafeteria was the place to get the latest info about people in the company – as to who was married or divorced, who was late to work, and other shenanigans… In short, it was a big gossip hub; in a big company, there were many eyes and you never knew when you would be targeted. It was especially dire for her, who was the secretary of the President.

On the first day of her tenure with the company, she was warned by two seniors not to establish personal relationships with any colleagues or disclose anything she heard from her office. She implemented the advice religiously. Whenever she ate at the cafeteria, colleagues always came to say hello, whether she knew them or not, but she was always tight-lipped with company matters. She had considered packing the food and eating it at her office, but that would be too inconvenient.  Moreover, she would lose source of info if she strayed from the cafeteria.

Still, every decision has its benefits and pitfalls. It turns out that being the target of unwanted attention was sometimes advantageous. Today, someone brought her news.

“Miss he, have you heard?” Whenever the conversation started this way, it was always invaluable information.

“What happened?”

He Zening raised her head and saw Song Miao Miao from the Human Resource Department. She was the one who brought in Shelly. They had met a couple of times and He Zening considered her as an acquaintance.

“Did you not know?” Song Miao Miao put down her plate and sat opposite her. Her voice was excited. “This afternoon, the department head informed us we were to issue an employee transfer notice. An employee from the administration department is to become a secretary,” she said conspiringly.

“Haah?” He Zening was taken aback by the sudden news and lost control of her voice. She stirred up attention from others. When she realized she was too loud, she quickly lowered her voice, and asked, “Who is it? From the administration department?”

“Yes! She has only worked here for half a month. Her name is Bai Yinan. Do you know her?”

“Oh…” The initial surprise suddenly faded. This turn of events was how the narrative ought to have developed. As a workaholic, Gu Siye wouldn’t have time to fall in love unless the heroine was nearby. “That’s good. I’m beat from work. How soon will she be transferred over? Today?” she asked, trying to act inconspicuous with her prying.

“Maybe in two more days. She’s on sick leave.”

He Zening’s eyes widened. “Eh? Sick? What happened?”

“I don’t know the details…” she lowered her voice, and said, “She took a sick leave without following the proper procedures.”

According to the company’s rules and regulations, she must apply for sick leave through the OA system and get approval from leaders at all levels. What Song Miao Miao meant was that Bai Yinan did not apply for a sick leave. The procedure was handled privately by the administration department. There was only one reason that made it possible: a higher up must have handled it for her.

‘And who else would it be?’ He Zening felt like grinning, but outwardly, she calmly said, “Well, I’m glad I’ll finally have a partner to share my workload with.”

“That’s true. You must be exhausted just being by yourself. I heard from the administration department you have the highest overtime rate within the company.”