Alcohol allergy
CEO Si has been having a slightly unpleasant time lately.
It's not that the company's performance has declined, nor is it that some blind competitor has jumped too high.
This dissatisfaction was precisely directed at his temporary personal assistant.
The reason was that he discovered that his "personal exclusive" commands were being used in a variety of creative ways by his assistant, Qu.
He wanted to eat crab roe soup dumplings from a time-honored brand in the east of the city, and in the end, Lin Weiwei delivered them to him despite having dark circles under her eyes.
He needed to deliver an urgent document to a neighboring city, and Wang Qian appeared at the high-speed rail station.
Even when he suddenly decided to change the water in the villa's swimming pool, Sun Mei, who had been handed the task by Qu Shiyao, waited at the door for half an hour with a bucket of water...
Every single time! Every single time! He dialed Qu Shiyao's number, and the reply was always: "Don't worry, Mr. Si! We guarantee the mission will be completed! Sister XX is already on her way!"
His tone was so forceful and his attitude so positive that no one could find fault with him.
But Sicheng just felt that something was wrong.
It felt like he bought a limited-edition supercar, only to have the keys passed around in someone else's hands before finally being symbolically handed over to him to touch the steering wheel.
Finally, after seeing Zhang Li deliver the afternoon tea he had requested in place of Qu Shiyao once again, Si Cheng could no longer bear it and made an internal call to summon Qu Shiyao to the president's office.
Si Cheng didn't sit in his boss's chair, a symbol of power, but instead leaned back in the leather sofa in the reception area, casually flipping through a document in his hand.
Sunlight streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, outlining his deep features and bringing an invisible pressure.
"Assistant Qu, have you been neglecting your duties as a personal assistant lately?"
Qu Shiyao stood in front of him, her back straight.
Upon hearing this, she immediately nodded solemnly, her tone resolute: "President Si! Your criticism is correct! I deeply regret my actions! I promise that from now on, I will participate fully in all your work! I will never slack off!"
His tone was so sincere, and his attitude so upright, as if he were about to write a lengthy self-criticism.
Si Cheng paused, his hand stilling as he flipped through the documents.
"Together?" Si Cheng's brows furrowed, his tone filled with disbelief.
Qu Shiyao scratched her head sheepishly, her face showing just the right amount of helplessness and emotion:
"Oh, Mr. Si, you don't know how enthusiastic the senior colleagues in the office are! As soon as they heard it was for your service, they all rushed to help, afraid that I would get tired!"
She sighed, as if recounting a sweet burden, "Money is hard to earn, but favors are even harder to refuse!"
Si Cheng: "..." I understand now. It wasn't that she was being lazy; it was that those women were too good at stealing her thunder!
His gaze darkened; he wasn't entirely unaware of what his assistants were thinking.
He didn't stop it, thinking it was harmless and even somewhat enjoying the feeling of being fought over.
But at this moment, seeing Qu Shiyao's helpless appearance, that bit of dissatisfaction in his heart resurfaced.
He closed the file, leaned forward slightly, and looked sharply at Qu Shiyao: "You can arrange for them to assist with those tasks. But you must participate personally in the core parts, understand?"
"Understood! Don't worry, Mr. Si!" Qu Shiyao replied quickly, her smile impeccable.
Stepping out of the oppressive door of the CEO's office, Qu Shiyao's professional smile vanished instantly, and she rolled her eyes dramatically.
She leaned against the wall, not in a hurry to go back to her office, but instead brought up the novel's backend management interface and opened the outline.
[Host? What's wrong?] The system noticed the change in her emotions and asked curiously.
Qu Shiyao frowned more and more, her fingers swiping through the outline page, her gaze finally sweeping over the pitiful number of fans in the backend: 4988.
"This is a bit troublesome," she muttered to herself, her tone grave.
[Trouble?] The system data stream paused. [Is something serious about this?]
Qu Shiyao didn't answer immediately. Her fingers unconsciously stroked her cheek, a rare look of melancholy appearing on her face. She sighed softly.
"Well, you know, I'm a rather conservative person."
System: [...] It paused, wondering if it had misheard something.
[Conservative?! Host, what aspect are you referring to? To what extent are you conservative?] It frantically searched, but couldn't connect the word "conservative" with its own host!
The moment she uttered that word, the system felt an unprecedented shock to its knowledge modules!
Qu Shiyao rolled her eyes at the system, turned her head away, and lowered her voice, sounding a little embarrassed: "It's just... you know, doing that with the CEO!"
【Oh—! !! ! ...
[I remember now! According to the outline, it seems... we're almost at the forced sex scene!]
Just then—
[Ding!]
A crisp system notification sounded in her mind.
[Congratulations, host! The novel's real fan base has surpassed 5,000, and the overall rating has reached 8.9!]
[System privilege level upgraded to: Lv.2!]
"Host! Host!" the system screamed excitedly.
[It's upgraded! We were stuck when we were 12 followers short, but we've finally reached that number!]
"Level 2?" Qu Shiyao was stunned for two seconds, clearly having long forgotten about the upgrade requirements for Level 2.
Her only concern was: "Does Level 2 have the authority to modify the outline?"
We're still a ways off from level 3, which is crucial for survival, but getting some benefits at level 2 is still a good start.
"Let me see..." The system immediately brought up the upgrade permission instructions, and the data stream scrolled and scanned rapidly.
After a moment, its electronic voice hesitated slightly, "[Um...it seems...we don't have that...]"
The air pressure around Qu Shiyao instantly dropped.
Just as this suffocating silence was about to explode, the system let out a "hey!" and wriggled mischievously:
[Just kidding, host! Surprised? There really is a little surprise at Level 2! While it's not as good as Level 3, it grants you a one-time permission to make minor revisions to the outline!]
"Is it funny?" Qu Shiyao's voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth.
System: 【…Not funny.】A host who can't take a joke is truly terrifying!
【Really! Really!】The system quickly added, fearing that if it was even a second late, the system's head would be in danger.
[It's just a mini version of Level 3 access, with only one chance to make a tiny little tweak to a small part of the outline!] It was trying to liven things up.
"What other permissions can I use to speed up promotion and increase followers?" She was restless and couldn't eat or sleep until she reached level 3.
【Yes, yes, yes!】The system immediately displayed the instructions.
[The 'Weekly Top Recommendations' feature has been unlocked! As long as the host doesn't manually turn it off, the system will automatically capture exciting excerpts and accurately distribute them to major popular reading platforms! However…]
[I suggest secretly adjusting the posting time to the peak traffic hours worldwide! The revenue will definitely double!]
Qu Shiyao's eyes lit up, her face instantly brightening from gloomy to sunny, blossoming into an extremely sincere smile as she blinked her big eyes at the system:
"Tongzi! This arduous yet glorious task is entrusted to you! You are experienced, and I believe you can do it!" His tone was full of trust and reliance.
The system was stunned by this sudden "sugar-coated bullet," and proudly patted its chest: [Leave it to me! Just you wait and see, host! I guarantee your followers will skyrocket!]
"Of course..." Qu Shiyao changed the subject, her smile still gentle and sweet, but her voice was like a knife coated in honey.
"If your follower count is still below 10,000 within two weeks..." she drawled, making a throat-slitting gesture, "then you'd better get ready to shine somewhere else."
System: [...] If you're asking for a favor, you should have the right attitude! If you're so capable, don't threaten the system!
-----------------
Qu Shiyao pushed open the door to her assistant's office, and several pairs of eyes immediately turned to her.
Jin Yuxi was the first to sprint over, lowering her voice and asking nervously, "Shiyao! Did President Si call you because our deal fell through?"
This is her important source of pocket money!
The others also pricked up their ears and held their breath.
Lin Weiwei's eyes were filled with complex emotions; she was afraid of losing the business, but also secretly hoped that President Si had finally become dissatisfied with Qu Shiyao.
Qu Shiyao shrugged, her expression showing a hint of trouble and helplessness: "It's not that it's aborted, it's just that President Si said I have to be involved in all the work from now on." The air in the office instantly relaxed by half.
Qu Shiyao glanced around and slowly added the most crucial sentence: "However, as usual, the money will still be split 50/50."
"Phew—that's good, that's good!" Jin Yuxi patted her chest, her face instantly beaming with joy. As long as the money was still there, she was willing to call Qu Shiyao "ancestor"! She happily sat back down in her seat.
Everyone else, including Sun Mei in the corner, breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
Is it fear of losing the chance to get close to the domineering CEO? Or is it heartache over the money that's about to slip away? Or perhaps both? Who knows?
In this harmonious atmosphere—
"Buzz—!"
Qu Shiyao's phone, which she had just put down, started vibrating wildly. It was a call from CEO Si.
Qu Shiyao's brows furrowed instantly, and a hint of undisguised impatience flashed in her eyes.
You just got out and you're already calling again? Can't you just say what you need to say all at once?
She took a deep breath, swiped to answer the call, and Si Cheng's commanding voice immediately came through, so clear that even Lin Weiwei and the others nearby could faintly hear it:
"Assistant Qu, there's a business dinner on the top floor of the Emperor Hotel tonight at 7 PM. Please prepare to attend as my date."
A female companion?!
Lin Weiwei, Zhang Li... several pairs of eyes widened instantly, burning with a fierce flame of jealousy!
Why?! How could this opportunity to stand openly beside President Si and receive envious glances from everyone else fall to Qu Shiyao?!
Since when did being a female companion become part of an assistant's job?! This isn't how you train an all-around assistant!
Qu Shiyao felt like a million grass mud horses were galloping through her mind.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to curse:
"Mr. Si, I'm so sorry! I... I have a severe alcohol allergy! I can't tolerate even a drop. If I do, I'll either break out in a rash and have difficulty breathing, or I'll be sent straight to the ICU!" Her tone was earnest, tinged with lingering fear.
"How about this, I'll find you a senior with an excellent alcohol tolerance and impeccable manners right away? Not only can they help you with the social obligations, but they can also help you avoid drinking too much if necessary! You have a sensitive stomach, so you should drink as little as possible. Your health is the most important thing!"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
Si Cheng frowned. An alcohol allergy? He didn't quite believe it, always thinking that Qu Shiyao was just making up an excuse because she was being threatened by the women in the office.
But... what if? Bringing a ticking time bomb to the banquet who ends up in the hospital every time he drinks—wouldn't his rivals laugh their heads off? The reason about his stomach problems also touched on a hidden concern of his.
“Assistant Qu,” he said, his voice deepening, carrying a final probing and warning, “Are you sure you don’t want to go? This is work.”
Qu Shiyao said with tears of gratitude:
"President Si! You are so considerate of your subordinates! I really can't go! If something goes wrong, wouldn't that make you look bad and embarrass yourself? I absolutely cannot bring shame to you, President Si!" The reason was high-sounding, and the loyalty was as clear as day.
As Si Cheng listened to her heartfelt words, his doubts and displeasure were strangely soothed.
Sure enough, she was playing hard to get; otherwise, how could she know he had a bad stomach yet still be considerate of him?
He nodded in satisfaction:
"Okay, then you can make the arrangements. But this is a one-time exception. I hope that next time, you can truly participate in the work."
"Yes, Mr. Si! No problem, Mr. Si!" Qu Shiyao replied quickly, and before the other party could hang up, she neatly disconnected the line herself with a "click".
She looked up and met several pairs of eyes that were almost shoved into her face.
Lin Weiwei, Zhang Li, Jin Yuxi... all of them had burning eyes.
"Ahem!" Qu Shiyao cleared her throat, straightened her perfectly wrinkle-free sleeves, and instantly switched to the expression befitting an "auctioneer." Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears:
"Alright, everyone, here comes the new work!"
...
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