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as translator, proofreader and editor!
The employees under Xu Yao sent Han Zhao to the Tai’an community and personally handed him the keys.
“It’s getting late, we should head back,” one employee said to the somewhat reserved Han Zhao, “The house only has basic furniture and no blankets. I’ll go to the supermarket to buy one…”
Although summer would soon be upon Haicheng, it could still get chilly at night without a blanket.
The boy, who had been keeping his head down, hurriedly said, “No need, I’m not afraid of the cold.”
He had been living under the bridge for many days. The river breeze at night was cold and attracted mosquitoes, but his body still young and strong, so he could endure it.
Zhou Qi, who lived across from him, heard the commotion and poked his head out of the half-open door, saying kindly, “I have an extra thin blanket… how about you borrow it for now?”
Zhou Qi certainly knew that Xu Yao was currently conducting rental exams; to rent her house, one had to the test. He had found the questions online and secretly tried to answer them, only to instantly feel like someone who had lived their entire life in vain—a nine leaky fish1.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had been early in renting her property, he probably wouldn’t have qualified to rent from Xu Yao.
Moreover, Zhou Qi knew the reason why he had become somewhat popular and wanted to make a good impression on the landlady, Xu Yao, so he was very accommodating towards this new neighbour of his—Han Zhao.
Thinking of this, Zhou Qi didn’t wait for Han Zhao to refuse. He turned back and went to his room in slippers to fetch a thin blanket from the cabinet.
[Ahhhh, is this a new tenant of Xu Yao? He’s as dirty as a homeless person. Can he even afford to rent in Tai’an Community? The rent there is ridiculously high now.]
[The comment from upstairs is way too vicious. I think this young man is probably quite capable and impressive. After all, to stand out in Xu Yao’s rental exam is already quite a feat in itself.]
[Is Xu Yao really not trying to PUA us? It’s just renting a property, yet she makes it feels like a job recruitment. I’m still the one f*cking paying to rent a house!]
[Sob sob sob sob, I’m so envious that this little brother can be neighbours with Qi Qi. I also want a friendly celebrity neighbour like Zhou Qi.]
[This new tenant looks so ordinary. I definitely won’t tell you all that I didn’t receive any calls from Xu Yao about renting and am feeling envious and jealous [biting handkerchief.jpg]. Besides, he looks so young, is he even eighteen years old?]
Han Zhao, with his back to the camera, repeatedly thanked him.
“Since that’s the case, we’ll head back first. Call us if you need anything,” the employee said, glancing at the time.
Han Zhao tightly hugged the thin blanket, nervously glancing at the livestreaming camera pointing from Zhou Qi’s room, then lowered his head to thank Zhou Qi again before quickly opening the door to go inside.
“Let’s go then, Brother Fan,” the employee said to He Fan while yawning.
Actually, He Fan didn’t need to come with them; he insisted on joining to quickly get accustomed to Xu Yao’s rental team work.
The elevator in Tai’an Community had internet access, and the employee stood in the elevator lobby scrolling through his phone. He Fan didn’t have the bad habit of peeking at others’ phones, but he couldn’t ignore the sound of the notification, ‘WeChat received 200 yuan.’
“Miss Yao Yao sent a bonus.”
As soon as He Fan heard ‘bonus,’ he perked up, “Bonus? Bonus for what?”
“Our working hours with Miss Yao Yao are generally until three in the afternoon. After that, we go home,” the employee continued as they exited the elevator, “But didn’t something come up today? We had to take a tenant to their new home, so Miss Yao Yao sent us a little bonus.”
He Fan’s eyes widened in disbelief. A bonus was given just for such a small matter? It hadn’t even taken twenty minutes—wasn’t this just a simple task?
Upon seeing He Fan’s shocked expression, as if his eyes were about to pop out, the employee quickly added, “Although Brother Fan just joined our team, Miss Yao Yao definitely won’t forget your bonus tonight either.”
He Fan: “……”
Was that what his main point was?
He Fan lowered his head in deep thought. Had he fallen into a nest of fortune?
No, wrong! The saying that relying solely on rental income could easily lead to a loss of ambition—turns out it was indeed true. Just look at Xu Yao and her employees; they were all devoid of any competitive drive.
He Fan stared at the black flip-flops worn by his colleague and quickly realized that the philosophy of Xu Yao’s rental team clashed with his life principles!
What was the difference between a life without struggle and a salted fish2? Only through hard work could one have a beautiful life. He probably still preferred the cutthroat environment of the Ji Corporation.
He Fan’s heart was filled with struggle until he heard the employee say, “Brother Fan, Miss Yao Yao arranged accommodation for you, saying that you can stay while you help her with her tasks.”
He Fan’s throat tightened, and his previously conflicted expression instantly returned to its usual seriousness as he straightened up, “Then many thanks to the boss.”
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
*
Tai’an Community originally had a terrible reputation due to Tiansheng Property, with its housing prices always lower than several of its surrounding communities. But now things were different. Thanks to Xu Yao, Tai’an Community had transformed into a viral community online, collaborating with the international property management company Dailishi, becoming a hot spot in the eyes of many second-hand home buyers.
The housing prices and rents in Tai’an Community had risen, with rents reaching five figures, with most tenants sharing the costs.
Han Zhao was very familiar with Tai’an Community; after all, he and his mother had rented Xu Yao’s property from here before.
He didn’t turn on the lights but stood in the dark for a long time, clutching the soft thin quilt. He sniffled, then switched on the light.
Perhaps because the glare of the light was too bright, but Han Zhao felt a bit of soreness in his eyes.
The rental wasn’t like a hotel, so there weren’t any slippers provided. Han Zhao looked at the clean white ceramic tiles that were clearly new, afraid of dirtying them. He placed the thin quilt down and carefully changed out of his worn-out sneakers at the entrance, walking inside barefoot.
This apartment had the same layout as Zhou Qi’s across from him, but its orientation was not as good.
The indoor area wasn’t large, just over sixty square meters, with two bedrooms in total, and a large balcony in the master bedroom.
In the master bedroom, there was a bed frame with a medium-thickness mattress covered with a protective cover, and a wall-mounted air conditioner hung on the snow-white wall.
Han Zhao turned back from the bedroom to the living room, where there was a pure gray fabric sofa for three, and opposite it was a medium-sized LCD TV, about 55 inches—all basic furniture that would be provided in a rental apartment.
Gentle light fell directly from above, and here there were no rattan canes,, no imprisonment, and no surprisingly poor sound insulation. Han Zhao suddenly couldn’t control himself and squatted down, crying loudly.
Mom, this might really be another home for him.
Even if in the future, it would only be him left—alone.
Han Zhao cried for a long time, until his throat was dry and his lips were chapped. Only then did he go to the kitchen, turn on the faucet, bend down, and drink directly from the spout.
Knock, knock, knock—
Han Zhao heard a knock on the door, his body instinctively jolted, a look of tension flashing in his eyes, but then he remembered he was in Xu Yao’s house, and his shoulders relaxed. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Zhou Qi, that little celebrity.
Probably because it was late at night, Zhou Qi and the others had already stopped their variety show livestream.
Han Zhao opened the door slightly, looking at Zhou Qi in confusion. Zhou Qi smiled and said, “Neighbor, I was worried you might not have any toiletries tonight, so I brought some over.”
Seeing Han Zhao still not taking them, Zhou Qi pushed them into his hands, saying, “These are the ones I used to take when I stayed in hotels. Throwing them away would be a waste.”
Indeed, they were all disposable hotel items, a very cheap toothbrush, a toothpaste the size of a pinky finger, and a small packet of shampoo.
Han Zhao thought for a moment and ended up accepting them. He had been wandering outside for many days and felt very dirty. If he couldn’t clean himself up, he wouldn’t be able to bear sleeping on such a clean mattress tonight.
Seeing Han Zhao accept them, Zhou Qi was pleased and continued, “Do you need internet? My home WiFi name is ZQ…”
Before Zhou Qi could finish his sentence, Han Zhao’s expression suddenly changed, his voice turned cold, and he quickly interrupted, “I don’t need WiFi, thank you.”
Han Zhao immediately closed the door, leaving Zhou Qi with a mouth full of dust.
Zhou Qi: “?”
Wasn’t everything fine just now? The new neighbor seemed a bit weird.
Han Zhao washed himself from head to toe, then climbed into bed. The soft mattress finally allowed him to have a good sleep.
In a daze, he had a dream where he met a kind-hearted deity at the brink of death, who provided him with shelter from the wind and rain, giving him the courage to survive.
*
Xu Jing had always been unhappy with the inheritance conditions left to Xu Yao by his grandfather before he passed away. Although he had been friends with Ji Zhengqing for many years and trusted his character, but now is the era of free love.
So after their first private meeting, Xu Jing immediately sought Xu Yao’s opinion.
If Yao Yao really didn’t like him, he would find a way to resolve it.
Xu Yao was applying expensive face cream to her face while on the phone with Xu Jing. “I think he’s pretty good.”
Xu Jing felt a bit relieved but still said with some concern, “Yao Yao, don’t feel pressured because of your brother and grandfather’s thoughts. If you don’t like him, just say so directly.”
Xu Yao thought about Xu Jing’s tendency to help his close family over outsiders in the original novel. If it weren’t for the friendship between the two of them, she believed that just by telling her brother the words ‘I don’t like him’, Xu Jing would probably think of a way to exile the guy off to Africa, the type where he would never appear before her eyes again.
Xu Yao glanced at the royal blue velvet gift box containing a pearl necklace on her vanity and said, “I really don’t have a problem with him.”
Xu Yao’s initial impression of Ji Zhengqing was indeed quite good; he had given her an SSR3 right upon arrival—she believed anyone would be fond of that.
Xu Jing felt a bit uncomfortable upon hearing this, feeling as if Ji Zhengqing had deceived his little sister.
After hanging up, Xu Yao finished her skincare routine and sank into the lazy sofa, calling out to Little 6.
Except for being very proactive in helping with retirement funds, Xu Yao generally wouldn’t call for Little 6, so Little 6 was a bit surprised.
Little 6 cheerfully said: [Host, the retirement assistance spirit Little 6 is at your service.]
Xu Yao didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “I think Han Zhao approached me on purpose. My life’s safety might be at risk.”
Little 6 felt a familiar sensation: [?]
Little 6 sensed something was off, but the system had already automatically detected certain keywords from Xu Yao: [Suspicious person — ‘Han Zhao’ has been automatically detected. Now issuing Han Zhao’s original life history to the host.]
Xu Yao was very satisfied, happily exploiting the system’s glitch. As long as she wanted to, even if the person wasn’t a character in this novel, she could still check their life history.
Han Zhao was mentioned in the novel, but only briefly, stating that he had made outstanding contributions to the network security of the male lead’s company, and that the male lead highly praised him.
Aside from that, his life and past were not mentioned at all, even more of a cannon fodder than she was.
Xu Yao quickly read through the life history of Han Zhao sent by Little 6, gradually falling silent. She even regretted checking his past at night, fearing it wouldn’t be easy for her to fall asleep.
At this moment, it was 10 o’clock at night. He Fan took off his wig, revealing a sparse head of hair. It was more comfortable not wearing a wig at home—more breathable for his head too.
As a ‘King of Involution4‘, He Fan wasn’t tired at all. He even ordered a cup of coffee to be delivered to him.
The housing prices in Haicheng are extremely high. Even though He Fan is the executive assistant to Ji Zhengqing, it would still take him several years of hard work to buy a decent house in a good location with a reasonable indoor area.
He overheard that his housing conditions were based on Lu Ye’s, and he is a person who understands what it means to repay kindness with gratitude.
He Fan had already obtained the information from Xu Yao’s rental team at the first opportunity. In his view, the difficulties faced by this small rental team were insignificant compared to the vast Ji Group.
After some consideration, He Fan switched on his computer and began writing a plan. The balding young man showed a satisfied smile in front of the computer, occasionally sipping on a bitter cup of coffee to stay alert.
Perhaps because he had slept too late, by the time He Fan woke up, it was already half past eight the next morning.
His body was more honest than his brain. He sprang out of bed, rushed into the bathroom to wash up, and then grabbed his briefcase, planning to head out, taking no more than five minutes.
Suddenly, He Fan remembered what an employee had said last night about their working hours being aligned with Xu Yao’s. Xu Yao would sleep until noon every day. He was jolted awake, unsure if he should go out at this time, so he had no choice but to call that guy from last night.
After waiting for nearly half a minute, just when He Fan thought the call wouldn’t be answered, a groggy voice came through the phone, “Brother Fan, so early in the morning, what are you doing not sleeping?”
He Fan glanced at his watch on his left wrist. Dude, is this what you call early in the morning? It’s almost nine o’clock, okay!
The employee’s voice became increasingly unclear, “Brother Fan, you can still make it if you wake up at eleven. I’m going to sleep a bit more, I’m too tired.”
The call was quickly hung up, leaving He Fan standing in his room, unsure whether to leave or stay.
Should he go back to sleep? He had never slept past eight o’clock except on weekends. Now, if he were to lie down, he would feel restless, and since he was already awake, he found it hard to fall back asleep.
After hesitating for a while, He Fan simply ordered another cup of delivered coffee and returned to his study to handle the team’s documents.
The Xu Yao rental team’s first set of challenges was filtering out a bunch of unreliable tenants while leaving the decent ones.
Currently, there are both residential and commercial rentals. Aside from personal rentals, there are also those hoping to rent commercial spaces for business purposes.
So, as noon approached, He Fan and the others went to Haicheng Bay No. 1 to meet Xu Yao, who was having lunch.
To save time, He Fan immediately began presenting the organized materials, “Boss, after preliminary review, Mr. Sun Faxiang hopes to rent a space over three hundred square meters for an escape room, and Ms. Zhou Meilan is interested in moving her arcade out of the Runda Commercial Center…”
He Fan summarized, “While personal rentals can provide a significant source of income, commercial rentals should be the main focus.”
No matter how expensive personal rentals are, they only reach around three to four hundred thousand a month at most, but commercial rentals can be much higher, especially in prime locations.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yao immediately understood why those domineering CEOs liked to bring along an all-around assistant. Just look at He Fan’s efficiency!
Now this is called professionalism!
Xu Yao nodded, “That’s pretty good.”
He Fan was taken aback when he noticed Xu Yao didn’t provide much feedback. He had no choice but to pull out a stack of printed documents from his briefcase and hand them over. “Boss, this is the plan I drafted for our rental team Please take a look?”
The people around stared in shock at the plan, which was half a centimeter thick, their jaws nearly dropping.
He Fan took in their expressions and discreetly curved his lips.
I’ll involute you guys to death!
This is how hard he worked to climb from the bottom of the Ji Group to become the executive assistant standing by the president!
Xu Yao held the plan, her expression growing increasingly serious. He Fan’s heart sank as he sensed something was off.
Although it was written overnight and might not be perfect, given his abilities, it shouldn’t be bad enough to make his boss angry.
Xu Yao placed the plan on the table, her expression very serious as she said, “Assistant He, this won’t do.”
“Did you work overtime to write this plan?” Xu Yao shook her head in dissatisfaction. “This is where you went wrong. Your work pace doesn’t match with our team’s, which will affect others’ work pace and cause discord.”
“We’re in the rental business; happiness is the most important thing. I borrowed you from the President Ji to help our team, not to disrupt the team’s work efficiency, understand?”
He Fan: “?”
What do you mean, ‘he affects the team’s work efficiency’? Is there anything wrong with improving efficiency?!
Xu Yao became increasingly pained as she continued, “And you wrote this plan while pulling an all-nighter? Our team doesn’t allow anyone to pull all-nighters. Do you know that staying up late and pulling all-nighters also affects your work efficiency?”
“Although my employees only work three to four hours a day, I am a very strict boss. I require those three to four hours to be used to the fullest! If you stay up late and affect the efficiency of those three to four hours, how will you compensate me for the huge losses?”
He Fan: “…”
So you do understand work efficiency, huh…
After a long while, He Fan’s eyes lit up as he said earnestly, “I’m sorry, boss.”
Xu Yao, who understood the art of using a stick and then a carrot, added, “However, the plan is still well written. I’m quite satisfied, so I’ll give you a raise.”
He Fan swallowed hard, momentarily unsure of what to say. A raise? Isn’t this…part of his job?
What is Xu Yao’s purpose in coming to this world?
To retire!
To enjoy life!
To happily collect rent!
She absolutely wouldn’t allow anyone to disrupt this rhythm; if someone did, she would correct it.
“Seems like many of these people, including Mr. Sun Faxiang and Ms. Zhou Meilan, are coming from the Runda Commercial Center?” Xu Yao asked while looking at the compiled information.
Beside her, Lu Ye nodded, “The Runda Commercial Center will significantly increase rents this year due to funding issues, and many entertainment venues are planning to sublet their rental because of rising costs.”
Sun Faxiang and Zhou Meilan are among the worried business owners trying to find a location that is both good and relatively affordable. They came to Xu Yao to give it a try, but they were unsure if Xu Yao had any commercial properties available for rent.
This matter is actually quite troublesome. She has quite a few commercial properties in her hands, but running an escape room business requires a surrounding entertainment business system. The owner also doesn’t dare to rashly switch to a standalone shop, which is one of the reasons why Runda Commercial Center dares to increase the rent.
Xu Yao nodded, keeping this matter in mind, and soon issued a new order, “By the way, Assistant He, please take the new tenant for a full physical examination.”
Such trivial matters actually don’t require He Fan to handle personally, but He Fan understands a principle: to never question the boss’s decisions.
He Fan promptly went to Tai’an Community. Dailishi International Realty had already taken over, and the community’s landscaping, elevator maintenance, and underground parking maintenance were all underway, making the owners very satisfied.
Xie Zhengtian has been wandering around Tai’an Community recently. He felt that being a member of the HOA to protect the rights of the other homeowners—although unpaid—is very spiritually rewarding.
He Fan knocked on Han Zhao’s door and said, “Please follow me to the hospital for a checkup.”
Han Zhao looked confused: “??”
Huh?
Zhou Qi was still peeking in from across the hallway. After providing Han Zhao with some toiletries last night, their relationship remained pretty good.
He Fan said with a righteous tone, “This is to ensure the tenant’s health, so that they won’t suffer from various diseases or sudden death on our property.”
“You should know that if you suddenly die in the house, it will cause a serious loss to Miss Yao Yao’s property value. Future tenants will be afraid to rent it, and selling it will also be difficult, so please understand our actions.”
Although Han Zhao’s mind was still in a haze, he still felt that He Fan made a lot of sense.
If he suddenly died here, it would indeed affect the property value.
After hesitating for a moment, Han Zhao had no choice but to put on his shoes and go to the hospital for a checkup with He Fan.
Meanwhile, amidst the reality show My Home Life recording across the hallway, Zhou Qi and the recording crew looked bewildered.
[What’s going on? Just because they’re afraid a tenant might die in their house and affect the property value, they’re sending the tenant for a health check??]
[F*ck, is Xu Yao really this much of an involution king? Just renting a property, yet they’re even giving tenants a free health check?]
[Yes, yes, I’ve seen news like this before. There was a tenant who suddenly died in the landlord’s house, and the landlord had to sell it at a low price. Both the tenant and landlord were so so miserable.]
[I’ve also seen something similar on the news, where a group of mentally ill kids rented houses to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, turning the houses into haunted properties. The landlord really had nowhere to cry.]
[Xu Yao’s operation is toxic, but… but let me do it!!]
Xu Yao’s move directly left netizens dumbfounded.
Because they’re afraid of deaths affecting property values, they send tenants for health checks…
That’s quite a vicious statement.
Although Xu Yao’s actions are somewhat off-putting, I have to say—I like it!
Aside from companies that conduct pre-employment health checks, many freelancers won’t go for health checks just to save money. After all, the price isn’t cheap.
What kind of divine landlord is this? It’s just a matter of renting a property, yet they’re arranging health checks for tenants and investing in those with overdue rent!
You call this a landlord? Just fully change the title to Bodhisattva!
Many netizens planning to rent in Haicheng couldn’t hold back and immediately called Xu Yao’s rental team. Isn’t it just a matter of taking Xu Yao’s exam before renting? Who hasn’t gone through nine years of compulsory education?
But when they called, the line was always busy or already engaged.
Does it really have to be that exaggerated?
[Xu Yao Rental, can your team handle this? The line is always busy! I just want to schedule a rental exam!]
[Is this all just hype? Besides Haicheng’s urban villages and Tai’an Community, how many properties does Xu Yao have for rent? Is there any clear information?]
[Lousy team, don’t affect my Yao Yao’s rent collection! If you can’t handle it, hire more people, okay?]
[I’ve heard that Xu Yao’s rental team actually has quite a few people, but they’re all being salted fish, working only three to four hours a day. Can you believe it?]
Soon, the online discussion shifted from the toxic landlord forcing tenants to get health checks to Xu Yao’s rental team.
Li Xiaoli, who collects rent in the urban village, isn’t an exception in Xu Yao’s team; they all have this work schedule!
The boss is a salted fish, and the team under her is also a salted fish!
Furthermore, some directly found Xu Yao Rental information from job recruitment websites like 51job, Zhaopin, Boss Direct, etcetera and posted it on Weibo.
[Oh my god, I just humbly wanted a nine-to-five job, and these people work less than half a day?]
[I’ve submitted my resume. It’s nothing else, I just want to help Yao Yao collect rent.]
[F*ck, the most important point in this job listing is— ‘rejection of involution maniacs,’ because it doesn’t align with the team’s philosophy? Isn’t this tailor-made for me? Perfect for me!]
Xu Yao’s team even registered several social media accounts, all officially verified.
[Xu Yao Rental Official Account v: Dear friends, please don’t worry, the appointment function for viewing houses will be launched soon, stay tuned~
Meanwhile, when Han Zhao’s health check report came out, He Fan wished he could cover his face with the report. The surrounding doctors and nurses looked at him with an almost suspicious gaze, as if they were about to call the police at any moment.
He Fan said with a serious face, “I didn’t do it, don’t look at me like that.”
No wonder Han Zhao covered himself so tightly; he was covered in injuries. The most obvious was a burn scar on his nipple from a cigarette, with marks on his back from being whipped with a rattan cane. There was hardly a piece of intact skin on his body.
The doctor looked at him strangely and could only say, “The external injuries are quite severe, but the rest of his body is in good condition. I’ll prescribe some medicine.”
Han Zhao was in a tense state, following He Fan and repeatedly asking, “Will Miss Xu Yao not let me rent her apartment anymore?”
Isn’t Miss Xu Yao afraid that tenants might get sick and die in her house, causing the property value to drop?
Han Zhao felt a bit dazed. He had just spent a night in a warm room, and now he had to go back to the underpass of the bridge to drift aimlessly.
However, when the boy, who was only seventeen or eighteen, thought of this, he suddenly felt his eyes redden, his hands tightly clenched behind his back.
He Fan couldn’t answer rashly before receiving Xu Yao’s instructions, so he could only take Han Zhao back to Tai’an Community first.
As Han Zhao entered the house, he looked around. Although it was still furnished with rental furniture and lacked the warmth of a lived-in home, this small room was the home he had dreamed of last night.
The items in the room were all provided by the landlord, and Han Zhao had no right to take them. He planned to wash the thin quilt in the bedroom, but since he couldn’t wait for it to dry to return it to Zhou Qi, he would have to let Zhou Qi go to the rooftop to fetch it himself.
He Fan placed the medication on the dining table, his voice sounding from behind Han Zhao, “Wait, Miss Yao Yao asked you to rest well.” He Fan had just received a message from Xu Yao.
Han Zhao stiffened, turning around in disbelief, staring at He Fan in shock. “Asked me… to rest well?”
Wasn’t Xu Yao afraid of him, a dirty tenant covered in wounds, causing trouble in her house?
He Fan nodded in a businesslike manner. “That’s what Miss Yao Yao said verbatim.”
He Fan reminded him to remember to apply the medicine before leaving Tai’an Community. Han Zhao sat dazedly at the dining table, unable to muster any reaction for a long time.
It was Xu Yao who let him live rent-free, it was Xu Yao who arranged for someone to take him to the hospital, and it was still also Xu Yao who didn’t drive him away.
At that moment, Han Zhao somewhat understood what Director Zuo Ning meant when he said Xu Yao was his life’s benefactor.
He got up and went out, and for the first time, actively knocked on the door across the hall. Zhou Qi opened the door.
Han Zhao awkwardly avoided the livestream camera, his dry, chapped lips murmuring as he timidly asked Zhou Qi, “Excuse me, could I borrow a computer?”
He was just a useless waste, so this little talent of his was the only way he could repay Miss Xu Yao.
*
Since they met, Xu Yao and her fiancé had started to keep in touch, chatting occasionally.
[Ji Zhengqing: Yao Yao, is Assistant He working well with you?]
They weren’t familiar with each other and didn’t know each other’s preferences. Their only common topic now was—Assistant He.
[AAAA Professional Rental Little Xu: Quite good.]
[Ji Zhengqing: Mm, I really like Assistant He’s work efficiency. I hope he can be of help to you during this time.]
Xu Yao clicked her tongue. What should I do, President Ji? I like the assistant you like as well.
If she couldn’t dig her biological brother’s corner5, then she could only dig from her fiancé… Xu Yao thought for a moment and immediately sent a WeChat message to Lu Ye.
After He Fan left Tai’an Community, he promptly reported back to Xu Yao.
Xu Yao was very satisfied with He Fan’s work efficiency, saying, “You did well. Remember to rest well tomorrow.”
He Fan wasn’t on the same wavelength as her, not quite understanding what Xu Yao meant by ‘remember to rest well tomorrow.’ He glanced at his phone screen—he had remembered correctly. Tomorrow was indeed a workday.
He Fan was still confused. He lived very close to Lu Ye, and on his way home, he happened to run into Lu Ye, who was taking a walk downstairs. He humbly asked Lu Ye, “Lu Ye, when Boss Yao Yao just told me to ‘remember to rest well tomorrow’, did that have some kind of deeper hidden meaning?”
Lu Ye glanced at him. “Just the literal meaning.”
Literal meaning?
He Fan’s mind was a bit slow to process. After thinking for a while, he said, “Does it mean… a day off tomorrow? But isn’t tomorrow Wednesday?”
Lu Ye replied, “Our team implements a four-day workweek, with Wednesdays and weekends off.”
At that moment, He Fan felt like a cluster of fireworks was exploding wildly in his mind, making his head buzz.
A four-day workweek…??
Initially, the other team members weren’t quite used to this four-day workweek model, but after experiencing it, they all found it quite wonderful.
Going back to work on Monday wasn’t so painful anymore; after all, they could rest again after just two days, and when they returned to work on Thursday, they could look forward to the upcoming weekend. This way, employees were full of energy at work, and their efficiency actually improved a lot!
He Fan’s rationality was constantly collapsing. Was a four-day workweek something he could dare to fantasize about?
In Ji Group, they followed the standard two-day weekend. He Fan would take the initiative to work an extra day each week, and even under such conditions, he was already very, very satisfied. Yet Xu Yao’s rental team was even more terrifying.
He Fan couldn’t help but repeatedly ask himself in his heart, did he really enjoy working? What benefits did internal competition and grinding bring him besides preventing his hair from growing?
Could he gain a sense of psychological achievement? That was all f*cking bullsh*t!
Only money mattered. He worked hard to climb to the position of President Ji’s assistant purely for promotion and salary increases—he wanted to earn his paycheck!
He Fan swallowed hard and asked cautiously, “Brother Lu, may I ask about your salary?”
Xu Yao had mentioned that his salary during this time helping the team would be benchmarked against Lu Ye’s.
Lu Ye didn’t care about his salary. He had no special hobbies and didn’t worry about food and housing, so he could save about ninety percent of his money each month.
Lu Ye answered, “About a million6.”
He Fan breathed a sigh of relief. This salary was still much less than what he earned at Ji Group. With bonuses and various allowances, he could earn over four million a year at Ji Group.
He Fan’s previously restless thoughts calmed down a bit. After all, he was always thinking about making money and could only force himself to ignore the happy working atmosphere of Xu Yao’s rental team. Perhaps he was just better suited for the highly competitive Ji Group.
Then Lu Ye added in the most casual tone, “Monthly salary.”
He Fan: “…………”
At that moment, He Fan’s pupils were experiencing a magnitude nine earthquake: “!!!”
A million monthly salary?!!
Annual salary of ten million+7? Are you forreal, big bro?
In that instant, He Fan suddenly felt that internal competition and involution was detrimental to both his physical and mental health.
Lu Ye quietly watched He Fan clutching his wig, and then delivered a fatal blow: “By the way, Miss Yao Yao has shares in the Xu Group.”
Xu Yao’s rent collection team may not sound as prestigious as the Ji Group, but… the Xu Group, led by the richest man, is certainly no less impressive!
Working for Xu Yao would still make for an impressive entry on a resume, as evidenced by Yan Xiang, who is a living example.
He Fan’s psychological defenses had completely collapsed at this point. He quickly shifted from the shock he had just experienced to his usual serious and calm demeanour, as if nothing had happened, and said, “I want to return to the Ji Group tomorrow.”
He Fan took out his phone and immediately booked the fastest flight back to Jing city that night.
*
The Ji Group is located in Jing city. Before it even hit nine in the morning, the entire company had already started operating, with employees occasionally jogging past while clutching documents to save time.
It was a typical busy Wednesday.
The scene in the president’s office was still bustling. As soon as Ji Zhengqing arrived at the company, he took the documents from his secretary and quickly reviewed them while the secretary reminded him of the day’s schedule.
There was a morning meeting, which would run past ten o’clock.
As Ji Zhengqing walked out of the conference room, his gaze fell on a young man not far away—it was He Fan.
Ji Zhengqing glanced at his WeChat. Xu Yao hadn’t said anything, which meant she tacitly approved of He Fan’s return.
Back so soon? But given He Fan’s style of doing things, Ji Zhengqing could understand.
He was very busy today, with a business lunch meeting with the president of Runda scheduled for noon.
“Back already?” Ji Zhengqing strode past He Fan, heading quickly to his office, while saying, “Xiao Li, hand over the itinerary for the next couple of days to He Fan.”
“Assistant He, I need the project proposal summary within an hour, and also in regards to the lunch preparation…”
Not hearing He Fan’s response, Ji Zhengqing turned back, his deep gaze slightly surprised as he asked, “Assistant He, is there some sort of problem?”
He Fan smiled awkwardly, “Um, President Ji, I… came back to resign.”
Ji Zhengqing: “…?”
Who’s digging his corner?
assistant he and president ji’s next assistant are one of my fav characters in this novel GHLDSKFJSDF the fastest face swap—could probably compete with sichuan opera face changing,,,,ahhh intangible cultural heritage [smokes cigarette]
you’ll see how the biggest victim in this novel ends up being ji zhengqing, the inheritance tool fiance constantly getting fleeced of his wool
also, when will chinese authors stop the trope of exiling to africa,,,WE ARE TIRED acting like the gobi desert isn’t right there
also, retiring from the entertainment circle to collect rent everyday will no be updated weekly @ sunday 12pm aest! i’m trying to finish translating running a hotpot restaurant in a post-apocalyptic world and then i’ll see if i can ramp up the updates for this novel or my upcoming novel (yes i alr have one planned out QAQ spare me)!
- 【九漏鱼】’Nine leaky fish’ refers to ‘the fish that slipped through nine years of compulsory education’. An internet buzzword that was originally used to mock the low cultural literacy and academic qualifications of some celebrities. It is now also used to mock oneself or to refer to people who have not completed compulsory education, especially those who have not mastered the Chinese language ↩︎
- 【咸鱼】refers to a person lazy, unmotivated, devoid of drive, a slacker. ↩︎
- Term used in gacha (lowkey gambling/probability/pay2win) games where an ‘SSR’ grade card/item represents the highest tier and lowest drop rates, usually with powerful stats. ↩︎
- 【卷王】popular internet term. In an environment of internal competition, those who eventually stand out with extraordinary efforts and become the only winner are called “King of Involution”. Chinese equivalent to the term ‘try hard’ or overachiever I guess ↩︎
- ‘Digging someone’s corner’ (the corner referring to the junction between two walls) means to poach someone, since when you dig at the junction of two walls, the wall ends up collapsing. Poaching refers to stealing someone else’s talent or technology, usually with the intention of damaging the interest or foundation of your competitor ↩︎
- Approximately 460k USD ↩︎
- Approximately 1.4million USD ↩︎
Thank you for the updates (ㅅ´ ˘ `) (ㅅ´ ˘ `)
thanks for the support ◡̈