My Second Life As A Secretary

Chapter 6.2 – Dumb Like a Wooden Chicken

“You’re going to resign?” He Zening asked curiously.

“Yes, the family of my ex-fiance owns the place where I work. It’s best for me to go.”

Tian Jing was seething beside them. “I have warned you before that Tang Zhian is not a trustworthy person. You even insisted that a partnership ought to be based on trust. And it turns out, he’s sleeping with Bai Fei Fei. Both of them are awful!”

Bai Yinan smiled bitterly. “It’s not exactly Fei Fei’s fault…”

“Why not?” Tian Jing roared. “I don’t believe she is innocent in this affair. Normal people don’t sleep with their sister’s boyfriend. Since she was a young child, she has always envied you and desired what was yours.”

Bai Yinan gently pulled on Tian Jing’s sleeve to stop her from nagging. “Jing Jing, let it go…. Zening’s here as a guest today. Let’s avoid discussing this.”

Tian Jing apologized after realizing she had lost her composure. “I’m sorry. I get overly emotional.”

He Zening lightly shook her head, and murmured, “Don’t worry, it’s no problem,” she said. However, her heart was frantically yelling, ‘Please continue! Tell me more!’

Although the story itself was not particularly original, the way it was depicted by Tian Jing elicited strong emotions. He Zening preferred Tian Jing’s strong personality to Bai Yinan, who she found to be too placid, almost monotonous. Moreover, He Zening’s intuition told her that this evious sister, Bai Fei Fei might have a significant role in the future plot. Perhaps, if she learned that her sister had a new boyfriend who was superior to the one she had now, she might try to get steal him away from Bai Yinan.

He Zening imagined Gu Siye being snatched by the other sister. Impossible. He would be unfazed by her advances and would blatantly, rudely, reject her. She wanted to laugh just thinking about it.

“I don’t want to be rude, but are you both biological sisters?” He Zening asked.

Bai Yinan shook her head in response. “No, she’s my half-sister. My mom passed away more than ten years ago.”

‘Ah, of course… it’s always the half-sister.’ He Zening looked apologetic. “I apologize for bringing up the painful past,” she said.

“It’s no issue.” Bai Yinan shook her head and tried to perk up. “Let’s continue eating!”

After dinner, He Zening wanted to look at the dress Bai Yinan had prepared for tomorrow night. Tian Jing pulled out a black dress from the wardrobe. He Zening was instantly uneasy. The dress resembled something she purchased online from an era long gone. Bai Yinan could wear that outfit to a corporate’s event but it was subpar as Gu Siye’s companion at a prestigious dinner party.

If word got out that Gu Siye ‘s companion attended a dinner event wearing a dress bought online, He Zening would have to publicly apologize. He Zening was glad that she had come over earlier to look. She went straight to Bai Yinan and took her hand.

“Zening, what’s wrong?” Bai Yinan siad, shocked.

“We should leave. You need some styling,” He Zening bluntly said, in secretary-mode.

“Oh, was the dress not suitable?”

He Zening nodded. “Come with me,” was the only thing she said as she dragged Bai Yinan out. He Zening was an efficient person; she also made a reservation over the phone with the stylist studio.

When they got to the studio, she made Bai Yinan sit on the chair and solemnly instructed the designers to create a beauty. Everyone instantly became busy. The designer joined her as she went to the second floor to pick out a dress.

Unsure of Gu Siye’s taste, He Zening relied on her intuition and looked for a dress that was tasteful, yet subdued. Finally she settled on an off-shoulder dress in a smokey-gray color. The elegant style nicely suited Bai Yinan’s calm personality. Now, all that was left was the transformation.

As Bai Yinan was being attended by the studio artists, He Zening pulled out her cell phone and began typing as she waited. In the previous chapter, the heroine encountered a mysterious man at the bar. Today, she wrote about the mystery man’s identity, who happened to save the heroine, and sent her home. But in exchange, he requested her help to attend a party as his pretend girlfriend.

While she was writing this part, Bai Yinan had finished with her styling. She walked towards He Zening and cautiously asked, “Is all right?”

He Zening was completely stunned. The only thought in her mind was that: beauty can be a dangerous weapon.

“You look amazing!” When He Zening finally came to her senses, these were the three words that came out of her mouth.

She used to read books where the heroine was described as beautiful, and the author made the rest of the characters function dumb like a wooden chicken* to highlight her beauty. She thought that was idiotic.

Sadly, she now realized she had become that same wooden chicken.

*‘dumb like a wooden chicken’ (呆若木鸡) –  This idiom is used to describe being stupefied due to fear or shock.