My Second Life As A Secretary

Chapter 9.1 – A Midnight Coffee Break

He Zening couldn’t help but yawn again. The time on the computer showed that it was past 11 o’clock. Gu Siye was still inside the office for a remote meeting, and it seemed that it would not end soon. From the outside, in the entire Zhen Feng building, only the top floor probably still had its lights on.

She had nothing left to do, nor could she get off from work early. Thus, she would only browse the forums on her mobile phone and reply to the comments to pass the time. Since she updated her status every few days, her posts had gathered the attention of some netizens. She would interact with them when she had time.

Most people never had the chance to witness the life of a CEO, which in essence, is a high-profile job. Naturally, they would be curious about what it was like. And as the company president’s secretary, answering these questions is a piece of cake to He Zening. Moreover, her answers also got verified for authenticity; her posts were even set as an ‘elite post’ by the moderator.

He Zening was typing enthusiastically when the company phone suddenly rang loudly. She was caught off guard that she almost threw the phone out of her hand. Immediately afterwards, she realized what was happening, and she answered the phone in a hurry.

“Hello, Mr. Gu,” she said.

“The coffee machine is broken. Go get me a cup of coffee,” was what the other party merely said.

He Zening agreed, as usual. ‘Never say no to bosses’ – this was her workplace norm.

As soon as she hung up the phone, she grabbed her own phone and started running. She remembered hearing from other colleagues during dinner that when they had to work overtime, they often ordered coffee from the cafe across the street. However, it was already almost midnight; she was not sure if it was still open.

If it wasn’t open, then she was at a loss of what to do. The standard of living in this world wasn’t as developed as the one in her previous life. There were no 24-hour cafes, let alone convenience stores.

He Zening hurriedly took the elevator to enter the hall. It was empty, with only one security guard patrolling the lobbies. The other party greeted He Zening when he saw her. “Ms. He, working overtime again?” he said.

The company employees usually greeted each other on and off work. Although she didn’t know the name of this security uncle, his face was familiar to her as they had met many times. She smiled and nodded. “Yes, is there anyone else working overtime today?”

“I saw people on the tenth floor while I was patrolling just now,” he replied.

“It seems like everyone is working hard,” He Zening replied casually. But her mind had drifted to the cafe across the road. “Uncle, if you don’t mind me asking… Is the cafe across the road still open?”

The security guard scratched his head. Then, he said, with some uncertainty, “It should be open… I don’t know very well.”

“Then I’ll go out first and have a look. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. You are busy with work.”

He Zening ran out of the hall and was pleasantly surprised to see that the lights in the cafe opposite were still on. She ran over immediately.

Although she passed by it every day when she went to work, she had never carefully observed this cafe. She remembered having a general impression of the cafe’s name, but her memory of it was quite hazy.

The architecture was similar to the cafes in foreign movies. The side facing the street was completely replaced with glass windows adorned with dark brown wooden frames. There were two potted plants at the door. If this coffee place had existed in her past life, there was no doubt it would be a popular stop.

There was a luminous light sign hanging on the entrance, and the store’s name, Mundo Novo, was written in delicate characters. She could only recognize that it was not in English, but she didn’t know what it meant beyond that. The critical reader inside her smiled sardonically. The author of this novel mustn’t have done their research; for a start, domestic businesses should be named after their mother tongue.

Through the window, she could see the inside of the store clearly. There were no customers at this time. A staff member was sitting at the bar with a laptop in front of him. He was staring at the screen intently. As she pushed the door and entered, the small bell hanging on the entrance rang. The staff heard the movement and subconsciously closed his laptop, making a loud noise.

He stood up and greeted He Zening enthusiastically, “Hello!”

“Hello, are you still open now?” He Zening immediately recognized him. He was the person she met at the company entrance two days ago. His appearance was so outstanding that it made him unforgettable.

Theclerk showed an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, but our store is closed…” he said.

He Zening was a little disappointed when she heard this, but she still replied with understanding. “Okay, I see. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

She dejectedly turned around and was about to leave. Her mind was already thinking about where to get coffee at this hour. Just when her hand was about to touch the door handle, the male staff suddenly called her back.

“Wait a moment!”

He Zening turned around. The male staff said, “If you can wait, I can make a cup of coffee now. Will that work?” He had a sincere look on his face.

He Zening was so overjoyed. She hurriedly expressed her thanks. “Really? Thank you so much! I’m so sorry to delay you from getting off work.”

No wonder the business of this cafe was so good. Not only was the staff handsome, he also had such a good heart!

The staff smiled and replied, “It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing to do here at night anyway. You can sit down first. It should take about twenty minutes.”

“Okay!” He Zening sat on the high chair by the bar and chatted with him while watching him grind coffee. “Are you the only employee in your store? Are you usually busy?” she asked.

“There’s a part-timer who comes to help. The cafe is busy on weekdays, but there’s not many patrons on the weekends.”

He Zening understood the reason as soon as she heard it. Weekends were not work days for Zhen Feng.

“Your business is the opposite of other stores,” she noted, remembering the establishments outside.

The staff laughed. “Indeed. You’re also an employee of Zhen Feng, right?”