My Second Life As A Secretary

Chapter 10.2 – Come As You Please

When He Zening heard this, she experienced mixed emotions of pride and sadness at the same time. “Fortunately, I’m paid for doing overtime; otherwise, I would be unable to handle the intense workload,” she replied.

“Don’t worry. Zhen Feng is a legitimate company and will not withhold overtime pay. But be aware that too much overtime can result in mandatory time-off.

“With a new secretary, I would be less busy.”

He Zening was optimistic. At this moment, she did not know that this was just the beginning of a tiring journey.

*

In the afternoon, the transfer notice for Bai Yinan was sent to her mail. He Zening finally had a valid reason to call Bai Yinan; she found some time to call her.

“Hello! Is this Nan Nan? It’s Zening,” she said.

Unexpectedly, the voice on the other end was not Bai Yinan, but a voice she had not heard of before. “Hello, are you looking for Miss Bai?” the stranger replied. His voice gave her the impression that he was young; probably her age.

“Yes… is she available?”

At that instant, many possibilities crossed her mind. The most outrageous one was that she was talking to Bai Yinan’s ex-boyfriend.

“I’m sorry. She’s having a plasma infusion, so she can’t answer the phone. I can pass a message to her if you want.”

He Zening was startled. ”Infusion? Is she all right?”

“She’s okay. She merely has a fever,” the other person replied. He Zening unconsciously sighed in relief.

“That’s good. May I know who you are?”

“I am an attending physician. My name is Pei Xinghe.”

“Then, Dr. Pei, I entrust my friend’s wellbeing to your care.”

“Don’t worry. Miss Bai only needs a few days of rest.”

“That’s good… In that case, I won’t take any more of your time. Goodbye, and thank you, Dr. Pei.”

He Zening hung up the phone. For a while, she was in deep thought. She wondered if there was any connection between Bai Yinan’s illness and her promotion as secretary. Moreover, Gu Siye also vanished yesterday evening… Perhaps, these events were related.

As she was exiting the company, her train of thoughts was broken when she saw the coffee shop. Before, she would usually just give it a glance and pass by, but ever since her experience last night, she had developed a fondness towards the place. It was still early in the evening, and she did not have much to do at home, so He Zening thought of paying the coffee shop a visit.

As she walked towards the coffee shop, she could see that the place was packed mostly with businesswomen. She recognized a few of them as Zhen Feng’s employees.

This scene did not surprise her; the coffee house owner was handsome and a good conversationalist. It made sense why the ladies crowded the coffee shop after work rather than dine out; they were not there for the coffee. Her concern for his business was laughable; he had customers at his beck and call!

Her scalp became numb at the thought that there were many observing eyes inside. She hung at the entrance, torn between going inside and choosing the comfort of her home; ultimately, she turned around and decided on the latter.

After just a few steps, she could hear the doorbell behind her ring. A familiar voice called after her. “Miss He!”

He Zening turned around and saw Qin Muzhou standing at the door. There was only one thing in her mind at that moment: it was like a scene out of a poster.

“Mr. Qin,” she greeted him back, “good evening.”

He smiled and said, “Good evening. No overtime today?”

She nodded and smiled. “I got off in time. I was thinking of paying your coffee shop a visit, but it looks crowded. Maybe I’ll try next time,” she explained courteously. If Qin Muzhou came out because he saw her hesitate at the door, then he was truly an expert in handling customer’ relationships.

“It’s true that this place gets crowded after hours…” His words seemed like bragging, but he had a helpless look on his face. Then he said, “The next time you decide to come over, give me a call ahead of time.”

He Zening’s eyes’ widened slightly. “Okay, I will. Today was an impromptu visit anyway. There will be another time,” she replied calmly, smiling gratefully at him.

“Okay. By the way, can you wait for a few minutes?” Qin Muzhou suddenly requested.

“Sure.”

Qin Muzhou turned around, walked back into the shop, and headed to the counter. She couldn’t see what he was doing so she was left awkwardly standing there as she waited. There were a lot of customers inside the shop who had noticed her. He Zening turned around and  pretended to look somewhere else to escape their gazes. Soonafter, Qin Muzhou came back, bringing with him a paper bag. He handed it to her.

“What is… this?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“Yesterday, you paid for stale muffins. I felt uneasy. These ones are freshly-baked and they just arrived. Bring these home and try them,” Qin Muzhou said.

“Oh… how can I accept this?”

Qin Muzhou was very sincere and he gazed at her earnestly. He was making it difficult to decline. “If you don’t accept this, I will feel bad,” he said with a small laugh.

Immediately, He Zening’s arms reached out. “I wholeheartedly appreciate this…” she replied. He Zening wanted this heartwarming exchange to end quickly as it was certainly attracting a lot of attention. “I’ll be thick-skinned and accept this. You know how to run a successful business, Mr. Qin. I will be d*mned if I don’t stop by your shop,” she laughed.

Qin Muzhou gently replied, “It’s no problem. Come as you please; you’re not obligated.”

He Zening thought Qin Muzhou had a lot of admirable qualities; in particular, he demonstrated a high empathy and was considerate. Zening was so impressed that she wanted to be his apprentice just to learn these qualities. She brushed the thoughts away and said, “All right, I’ll leave first. I don’t want to interfere with your work. Goodbye!”