Chapter 5 Conflict "I won't have any casual relationships with her."...

For the next few days, Tang Yi was so busy she barely had time to breathe.

In addition to helping Zhang Minglang adapt to his job as quickly as possible, he also had to proofread and process documents from various departments that had not been signed since General Manager Lin's transfer.

Not only her, but the entire secretariat was bustling with activity, as if they were rushing to meet KPIs before the new year.

One morning, Tang Yi came in from outside, carrying a large pile of folders in her arms.

As she passed Liu Zhang's workstation, she noticed with her sharp eyes that a WeChat floating window was displayed on Liu Zhang's computer screen, and he was typing away at his keyboard. If you didn't look closely, you would really think he was drafting a document.

Tang Yi deliberately took a detour and stopped beside him, her voice somewhat cold: "Liu Zhang, I just went to the marketing department. They said an acquisition document was sent over the day before yesterday, but it hasn't been signed yet. Why haven't I received it?"

Liu Zhang was genuinely startled. His finger, which was resting on the mouse, jerked, and the WeChat interface collapsed, revealing the contract document clearly in the center of the screen, indicating that he was a repeat offender.

"Here...here it is." Liu Zhang touched his forehead guiltily, searched through the messy documents on the table for a long time, and finally found a piece of paper under the table, which he handed to Tang Yi.

Now he felt neither guilty nor ashamed. He smiled smugly, proving to her that he hadn't slacked off, and his confidence returned instantly.

Tang Yi took the paper, glanced at it, and then slammed it heavily onto his desk with a crisp "smack".

Hearing the commotion, the colleagues in the secretariat couldn't help but peek out from the pile of documents.

Secretary Tang has always been emotionally stable and has never initiated any conflicts with anyone. Liu Zhang must have done something outrageous to cause her to become agitated.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Minglang, who had just returned from the board office, stopped with great interest, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall by the door to watch the show.

Tang Yi stretched out her fingers, adorned with nude-colored manicures, and touched several misspelled words one by one, leaving faint scratches directly beneath the black lead characters.

“Here, here, it’s all typos,” Tang Yi stated calmly, her tone flat. “I don’t quite understand what you’re working on.”

Liu Zhang hadn't expected her to be so blunt. His face suddenly turned red and then white, and he was momentarily speechless.

"I've been quite busy with work lately, so I can understand making a few mistakes. That's why I'll double-check everyone's documents when they're sent to me. But even basic document proofreading shouldn't be wrong, right? What do you think?"

Tang Yi softened her tone, staring intently into Liu Zhang's eyes as she asked, her gaze seemingly trying to see through the complexities in his mind.

However, when he heard the words "simple paperwork," he felt as if his innermost thoughts had been touched.

When they were both interns, the gap between them wasn't nearly as big as it is now. As the years went by, Tang Yi became the chief secretary, while he was still just a junior clerk in the secretariat. It was inevitable that he felt a little unbalanced.

However, instead of being motivated to work harder and catch up, he took her success for granted as a result of using her looks to please men.

Few secretaries don't have some petty theft with their bosses, especially since Tang Yi is quite attractive.

Liu Zhang comforted himself in this way, and so many years passed in the process.

Now that the thorn in his heart that had been there for so many years had been touched, he stood up abruptly as if a fuse had been lit, and shouted at Tang Yi: "Me, do simple paperwork? You make it sound so easy. Of course you don't know how difficult paperwork is. After all, you became the personal secretary in just one year after you joined the company."

Liu Zhang emphasized the word "close to the body".

"We all know exactly what you've done, back when you were with President Zhao..."

Upon hearing the words "General Manager Zhao," Tang Yi's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained expressionless.

Upon hearing this, Tang Jiaxin became even more anxious than Tang Yi and quickly stood up to pull Liu Zhang away, trying to make him shut up.

"Why are you pulling me! Are you trying to cover my mouth? I..."

"What's all the noise about?" Zhang Minglang stepped forward at the right moment to stop the farce.

He put his hands in his pockets, slowly walked to the center of the storm, and looked around. The other colleagues who were just watching the drama quickly lowered their heads and sat back down. He glanced at Liu Zhang, who was panting heavily, Tang Jiaxin behind him who looked anxious, and Tang Yi across from him who seemed calm and indifferent.

So he turned to Liu Zhang and said, "The Secretariat is not a marketplace. If you want to argue, go home."

After saying that, he strolled into the office, leaving his colleagues standing there dumbfounded.

"Stop looking, get back to work." Tang Yi gestured to the other colleagues who were watching the drama unfold, then tapped on Liu Zhang's workstation and gave him a deep look.

"Reprint the document and give it to me in ten minutes."

Back at her workstation, Tang Yi was still not at peace. She opened a folder, but stared blankly at something.

After what happened with President Zhao, there were indeed many rumors circulating within the company, but she did not expect that Liu Zhang's opinion of her was so deeply rooted.

Oh well, what's done is done. Let's get back to work.

Tang Yi shook her head, turned on her computer, and began proofreading the documents.

Inside the CEO's office, Zhang Minglang leaned back in his executive chair, propping his chin on his elbow and staring at the computer screen, but his mind was wandering, thinking about Chairman Zhang's warning to him.

A few minutes ago, Chairman Zhang specifically called him over, essentially telling him to focus on his work and to ask Secretary Tang if he had any questions; she would definitely be able to handle it.

Speaking of Secretary Tang, Chairman Zhang thought for a moment, then picked up his teacup and asked casually, "After a few days, what do you think of Secretary Tang?"

Zhang Minglang was somewhat surprised. He leaned back comfortably on the sofa, considered for a few seconds, and then replied with a smile, "How could someone recommended by Chairman Zhang not be capable?"

"Stop it." Chairman Zhang waved his hand impatiently, interrupting the blatant flattery. "Don't disregard what I say. Try to work things out with her; it'll do you good. Also, don't object to me assigning you a secretary. I'm doing this for your own good; she's a good person, that's why I'm assigning her to you!"

Then, as if remembering something, Chairman Zhang glanced at his grandson, who was undoubtedly very good-looking, and subtly warned him: "If you're going to work, do it well, and keep a clear line between work and personal life."

Zhang Minglang raised an eyebrow.

He got up from the sofa and strode out, saying as he walked away, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I won't have any casual relationships with her."

"you!"

Seeing how bluntly he spoke, Chairman Zhang raised his eyebrows and pointed at Zhang Minglang, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse.

However, the other party had clearly anticipated this. By the time he extended his finger, the person was already standing outside the door, waving at him through the crack and leaving.

Unexpectedly, arriving at the perfect time was better than arriving early, as Zhang Minglang stumbled upon the conflict.

Zhang Minglang pondered what Liu Zhang hadn't finished saying earlier.

Back then with General Manager Zhao?

Did Secretary Tang and this so-called General Manager Zhao have any relationship?

Zhang Minglang thought for a moment and pulled out the basic company information that Tang Yi had prepared for him on his first day of work. However, there were too many people with the surname Zhao, so of course he couldn't find anything.

Forget it, what does it have to do with me?

Junmao is in complete chaos, and there's still a lot to do.

Tang Yi has recently received a lot of strange jobs from Zhang Minglang.

First came the company's internal organizational chart, then the core tasks of each department, performance data, cost structure, employee composition... Even the most oblivious person could sense that Zhang Minglang was planning a structural reform for the entire company.

To be honest, this reform is a bit too radical.

Not to mention that Zhang Minglang has only been here a short time and his position is not yet stable, so the current reforms seem to be too hasty.

Tang Yi, carrying the documents Zhang Minglang had requested, knocked on the door and entered the president's office. Zhang Minglang didn't look up, his mind focused on the documents spread across the desk.

Tang Yi stopped at the table, put down the documents in her hand, and silently pulled out the reform risk assessment report that she had specially prepared, placing it on top of a pile of documents. Then, she took the nearly empty coffee cup that was next to him with her.

When she came in the second time, she quietly placed the freshly brewed coffee down.

However, Zhang Minglang suddenly looked up from a pile of documents and locked his gaze on her.

“Secretary Tang,” he said in a low voice, his tone unusually calm and indifferent, “who gave you permission to touch the things on my desk?”

Tang Yi paused and looked at his hand. His long, slender fingers were pressing down on the report she had deliberately placed there.

"What does this mean?" Zhang Minglang raised his hand and threw the report in his hand across from her with a "thud," then leaned back in his chair, waiting for her answer.

Tang Yi had anticipated this. She remained calm and replied, "President Zhang, this is a reference document I compiled based on the types of data you've been reviewing recently. I think you'll find it useful."

“Secretary Tang,” he interrupted her, his tone clearly indicating his intention to end the conversation, “your responsibility is to carry out my instructions and provide the data I require. Not to presume to know my thoughts, much less to instruct me on when to do what.”

Tang Yi lowered her eyelashes slightly and remained silent.

“No one can change my decision. Remember your place, do your job well, and don’t think too highly of yourself just because you’ve gotten close to my grandfather and become his informant.” Zhang Minglang’s tone was devoid of anger, even somewhat joking, yet it carried an inherent air of authority.

Tang Yi nodded and replied, "You overestimate me. I'm just someone sent by Chairman Zhang to work. I have no other intentions or job, and I'm certainly not a spy. You can rest assured."

Zhang Minglang didn't expect her to be so direct, and for a moment he didn't know what to say or where else to find fault.

So he simply gestured for her to leave with his chin. Tang Yi picked up his risk assessment and turned around.

"etc."

Zhang Minglang's voice came from behind.

She curled her lips slightly with her back to him, but when she turned around, her expression returned to its usual blankness.

He turned his head, glancing at the sofa and then at the glass, but never at her: "...Leave the documents behind."

Tang Yi didn't provoke him with words anymore. She simply raised an eyebrow and respectfully handed the document to him.

As soon as the door to the president's office opened, Tang Yi walked out, startling the heads of the workers at the workstations outside, who all jumped down in surprise.

Colleagues naturally heard the sound of Director Zhang slamming down the documents and questioning them. When they saw Tang Yi come out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the "gossip squad" group chat started flashing wildly in everyone's WeChat.

However, the frosted glass door to the president's office soon opened again, and this time it was indeed the "hot-tempered" President Zhang.

He stood at the doorway, scanning the secretarial office workstations. Because his gaze was so sharp and cold, the colleagues who had been looking up at him all lowered their heads guiltily.

Tang Yi saw that he didn't speak and was about to get up to ask him, but Zhang Minglang recognized Liu Zhang, who hadn't had time to lower his head yet, and pointed at him.

"You, come in."

"Me?" Liu Zhang pointed to himself, flattered. However, Zhang Minglang didn't have the patience to repeat himself a second time, and turned to leave after speaking. Seeing this, Liu Zhang quickly got up and followed.

Seeing this, Tang Yi sat down silently, feeling reassured.

The unsuspecting colleagues immediately started whispering among themselves, speculating about what President Zhang was up to.

"And then you were marginalized for so many days?"

"I guess so." Tang Yi held her phone in one hand, video chatting with Xu Xiaoxiao, while opening the refrigerator with the other to find ingredients to cook.

"No, you think you can strip someone of their authority just because they offered a suggestion? I don't believe anyone in your department is more experienced than you," Xu Xiaoxiao said on the other end of the phone, standing up for Tang Yi. "So what are you planning to do?"

“What else can we do?” Tang Yi put her phone on the spice rack and replied nonchalantly while chopping vegetables. “Just keep going. He’ll get me back someday.”

Secretary Tang suddenly found himself with nothing to do.

Liu Zhang, much like a concubine who had risen from the palace to become a phoenix, transformed into Zhang Minglang's personal secretary. He even began to subtly incline towards instructing Tang Yi to take charge of his work.

Tang Yi didn't show any signs of complaining, but Li Da and Tang Jiaxin started to grumble.

"I'm really impressed. You don't know how professional Secretary Tang is until you compare! What is Liu Zhang arranging all day long? It's not scientific at all. If this continues, we lowly servants will be exhausted."

During lunch in the cafeteria, Tang Jiaxin couldn't help but start criticizing, and Li Da echoed her sentiments.

"Take this opportunity to get used to it, after all, I won't be there to help you forever."

In Tang Yi's view, this situation was perfectly normal. After all, in Zhang Minglang's eyes, she was a "spy" sent by Chairman Zhang to monitor him. Even if she explicitly denied it, it wouldn't be easy for him to believe her. Given his personality, it was normal for him to cultivate a capable assistant of his own.

It's just that Mr. Zhang has a poor eye for talent.

Tang Yi thought to herself with a hint of wickedness.

A note from the author: