Chapter 23: Domineering Secretary Bai Yueguang 2 I will be responsible for you
When Wen Qianning woke up, the first thing she felt was that she was lying on a soft big bed, and her body was faintly feeling an indescribable soreness.
She sat up suddenly.
The bed sheet slipped down, revealing the dotted marks on her shoulder. She paused, and when she looked up, she met a gaze that was quietly looking at her.
Ji Hanlin had already stood up, donned his suit, and sat meticulously on the sofa. He held a document in his hand, having clearly been sitting there for a long time. He appeared aloof and reserved, his brows stern and his expression indifferent.
Wen Qianning was stunned for a moment and subconsciously pulled the quilt tighter around her.
I don't know why, but a common scene from novels about overbearing CEOs suddenly popped up in my mind: the CEO's suit is still on, neatly dressed, while the woman is completely naked, creating a stark visual contrast...
Thinking of this, her face suddenly turned red, her ears felt hot, and she quietly turned her eyes away.
The man spoke first, his voice low and calm, no emotion could be heard: "Awake."
She nodded gently, her throat a little dry, and whispered, "...Yeah."
He put the documents down, stood up, took a few steps closer, and then stopped, maintaining a proper distance. Standing in the backlight, his figure tall and straight, his gaze fixed on her face, yet remarkably calm.
Noticing her hoarse voice, Ji Hanlin paused for a moment, glanced at the empty space on the bedside table, and turned to walk towards the coffee table on the side.
There was a kettle and a glass on it. He poured water into the glass and walked to the bed with the glass in his hand.
"Drink some water," he said.
Wen Qianning reached out to take it. She lowered her eyes and drank the water, taking small sips at a time. He watched her movements without saying a word, his ink-black eyes revealing no emotion.
"What happened last night was an accident." Ji Hanlin finally spoke in a steady voice.
Wen Qianning stared at him blankly, her eyelashes trembling slightly. The chaotic and blurry scenes of last night emerged uncontrollably in her mind, and her face turned even redder.
At this moment, the girl's cheeks were flushed, her hair was slightly messy, her lips were slightly swollen from being kissed, the skin on her shoulders was as white as snow, and a few faint marks could be vaguely seen under the quilt.
She was born beautiful, with watery eyes, a thin chin, and was unusually obedient. Her face was now flushed, making her look particularly pitiful.
Ji Hanlin paused, his Adam's apple rolling down slightly.
He had always been calm and controlled, but at this moment, seeing the weariness and blush still lingering between her eyebrows, he suddenly felt...unable to face it. Besides that, he actually felt a little guilty.
But his face showed no emotion at all.
"In order to reach a cooperation, that company cleverly arranged for a woman to drug me... I thought I could endure it until the effects of the drug wore off, but after you showed up, I seemed to have lost my mind." Ji Hanlin said calmly, but his words concealed his coldness towards the company.
Wen Qianning bit her lip and said nothing. She knew that anyone who messed with the hero wouldn't have a good ending. It seemed that in the original story, this company would soon go bankrupt after today.
"I'm sorry." Seeing the woman in front of him looking a little dazed, his expression darkened. "It was my fault last night... I got you involved."
Didn't she expect this overbearing CEO to whisper an apology to her? Wen Qianning was a little surprised, her grip on the quilt tightening slightly. In novels, shouldn't the overbearing CEO hand her a check and then say something cool and unassuming, "Woman, you just want money, right? Five million, don't expect anything else"?
Ji Hanlin was silent for two seconds, then continued: "I will be responsible for you."
Wen Qianning looked up suddenly. The man looked at her calmly. "Whatever compensation you want, you can ask for it...money, power, or anything else. I will satisfy you."
The girl stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes complex and difficult to read. Then, she gently raised the corners of her lips, revealing a perfect smile: "Boss Ji, do you think I'm the kind of person who would take advantage of the opportunity to make conditions?"
Ji Hanlin didn't reply, but just looked at her without changing his expression, waiting for her to continue.
She lowered her eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "I don't have any other requests. I just hope you don't fire me."
He was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting her to ask this, because this request sounded a little too simple.
"I know what you demand of the people around you and your subordinates," Wen Qianning continued, very bluntly. "Your secretary shouldn't have had this happen with you. You don't like getting entangled with anyone."
"I won't get involved," the girl paused, her voice lowered, "but I really want to stay at Ji's and continue working."
Wen Qianning spoke sincerely, looking at him with genuine eyes.
Ji Hanlin stared at her for a long moment before he slowly spoke, "Why do you want to work at Ji's? I can arrange for you to go somewhere better."
"Yes, Ji's offers generous salaries and good benefits, and is recognized as a leader in the industry. But I don't work at Ji's solely for these reasons." Wen Qianning raised her head and spoke seriously, "I earned this job through my own hard work. I've never relied on anyone to get to the top, nor am I asking for anything for what happened last night. If you want to compensate me, I just hope you can continue to treat me as a normal employee."
Ji Hanlin didn't say anything, his expression remained unchanged.
Of course, he knew she meant what she said. Wen Qianning was the secretary he had initially agreed to hire. She graduated from a prestigious university and had gone through a formal recruitment process, selecting her from among hundreds of applicants without relying on connections. Naturally, she was exceptionally capable and steady at work, never making a mistake.
Moreover, she was innocent in the first place, and it was he who had harmed her. Therefore, for both public and private reasons, she should not be fired.
She made him feel this subtle emotion for the first time. Although she was a young girl with an ordinary background, one could always see a vague sense of "self-esteem" in her.
Thinking of this, Ji Hanlin retracted his gaze and said calmly, "I have never thought of firing you, and of course I won't fire you now."
Wen Qianning blinked, and the corners of her eyes curved slightly.
He saw the corners of her eyes curved up, and his heart moved. Then he seemed to be thinking about something, frowning slightly, and hesitated for a rare moment, "Yesterday... we didn't take any measures."
Ji Hanlin didn't say it too bluntly, but Wen Qianning naturally understood what he meant.
She was about to speak when he continued, "It's my fault." His brows furrowed slightly, but he looked at her with unusual seriousness, "Don't take medicine on your own; it's bad for your health. If... you're really pregnant, just give birth to the child. I'll take responsibility."
Wen Qianning pursed her lips, and suddenly felt an indescribable emotion in her heart.
But she quickly remembered: she was a tasker in the Quick Time Travel Bureau. According to the agreement she had signed with the system, she could not actually become pregnant in any world. Even if she had sex with the task target, there would be no side effects outside the plot. In other words, if the original novel did not mention Bai Yueguang's pregnancy, then she would definitely not be pregnant.
However, she couldn't tell the hero about these things, so she just tilted her head and said softly, "...I know."
Seeing this, Ji Hanlin nodded and felt relieved.
"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." He turned around, walked back to the sofa and picked up the documents. His movements were quick and it seemed that he didn't stop at any unnecessary time.
"I had the clothes delivered and put them in the closet." Ji Hanlin stood at the door, holding the door handle. His tall figure paused, and he hesitated for a moment. "...I've already asked for leave for you today. There's no need to rush back to the company."
After saying that, he looked at Wen Qianning deeply, then pushed the door and left.
*
After Ji Han left, Wen Qianning took a nap. When she woke up again, she took a shower and changed into the new clothes in the closet. She looked in the mirror and found that the clothes fit her surprisingly well.
Why did she feel that Ji Hanlin in this world was strangely similar to the male protagonist in the previous world? They both gave her a feeling of subtle consideration.
Wen Qianning was silent. She decided not to overthink it. The system had said it was simply to unify the appearance and name of the male protagonists in all worlds for convenience. How could they possibly be the same person?
It was already evening when I returned to my rental house.
The place she rented was on the fourth floor of an old apartment building in the suburbs. The corridor was narrow, the lighting was dim, and the room was only about 20 square meters.
The moment she opened the door and saw this simple rental house, she was shocked.
Although Bai Yueguang in the original story graduated from a prestigious university with excellent grades, in the plot setting, her father owed 30 million yuan due to business failure and died in a car accident. Therefore, she had to repay the 30 million yuan debt on his behalf.
Therefore, Bai Yueguang wanted to get close to President Ji, and later, when she knew that she had no hope of joining the wealthy Ji family, she betrayed her original company and sold secrets to a rival company in order to obtain a huge sum of money.
Is this where the original owner lived? Wen Qianning sighed.
The original book briefly mentioned Bai Yueguang's living conditions, describing her as "a poor, self-reliant life." She knew Bai Yueguang was struggling due to debts, but she hadn't imagined her life would be this miserable. In the book, Bai Yueguang was always portrayed as glamorous, yet she found herself living in such poverty.
Wen Qianning walked to the table and saw the sticky note with the repayment plan. She felt a mixture of emotions. She took off her high heels, put on slippers, and then pulled out a chair and sat down.
Just then, her cell phone rang. She looked down and saw it was a bank transfer message. A large sum of money had been transferred from a private account to her salary card.
How much?
After seeing the content of the text message and how many zeros it contained, Wen Qianning suddenly sat up straight, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Five million.
She stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds before realizing it was Ji Hanlin calling her. She hadn't asked for anything, but the male lead still gave her some compensation.
Although five million is not enough to pay off all the debts at once, it is enough to alleviate her urgent needs.
Isn’t that right…?
Wen Qianning frowned. She remembered that in the original plot, the male protagonist didn't seem to give Bai Yueguang so much compensation, so Bai Yueguang spent a lot of effort to maintain a close relationship with the male protagonist.
It’s a pity that the male protagonist didn’t realize his feelings for Bai Yueguang at the beginning, and the two did not formally confirm their relationship. As a result, after being humiliated by the female supporting role, she felt that the male protagonist was just playing with her and eventually betrayed him.
Why do I have such a bad feeling... Wen Qianning's eyebrows twitched. Could it be that the plot has deviated again?
She simply couldn't face the system's accusations anymore.
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The author has something to say: Thank you for the nutrient solution~ [Starry Eyes] will be updated soon
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