On their third date, Lu Ze asked Yao Jingjing a very serious question—he asked her what exactly she did for work.
Yao Jingjing told him, "I originally studied finance, but after my boss discovered my special talents and gifts, he decided to make me take on more responsibilities by managing two other areas for him as well."
Lu Ze asked, "What kind of work?"
Yao Jingjing said, "Sales and human resources."
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t expect you to be a triple threat."
Yao Jingjing mimicked his raised brow. "Don’t trust everything you see with your eyes—they can deceive you, making you mistake a great person for someone insignificant."
Lu Ze narrowed his eyes at her twitching brows. "You said your boss discovered your special talents and gifts—what exactly did he mean by that?"
Yao Jingjing mirrored his squint and replied, "In my boss’s words, I have a good temper and strong endurance, like a tough piece of meat that can handle both good and evil."
Lu Ze coughed into his fist, covering his mouth.
Yao Jingjing asked beside him, "Are you trying not to laugh? You definitely are! I’ve noticed—whenever you want to laugh but force yourself to stay cold and expressionless, you cough! But hey, big bro, can you tell me what’s so funny so I can share in the joy?"
Lu Ze lowered his hand, his face blank. "Nothing. Just thought your boss knows you well."
After a pause, he spoke again, "Let me ask you a question. Tell me how you’d handle this situation."
Yao Jingjing blinked. "What’s the reward if I answer correctly?"
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "What reward do you want?"
Yao Jingjing thought for a moment. "My best friend got cheated on by her ex. I need to go teach that guy a lesson!"
Lu Ze frowned. "You want me to help you deal with him?"
Yao Jingjing wagged a finger. "Nonono! I need to do it myself to feel the satisfaction of self-reliance! I plan to curse him out, but I don’t know what words would hit hardest. Since you’re a man, maybe you can think of some hard-hitting insults from a male perspective!"
Lu Ze’s gaze drifted for a second before refocusing. He raised a brow. "You want me to help you brainstorm insults for him?"
Yao Jingjing nodded and snapped her fingers. "Exactly!"
Lu Ze stared at her for a long moment before scoffing with a smirk. "Your boss wasn’t wrong—you really do have the special talent and gift of being a tough piece of meat."
Yao Jingjing grinned. "So that’s a yes, right? Alright, hurry up and ask me your question!"
Lu Ze looked at her and asked, "Suppose you join a new company and aren’t familiar with everything yet. Your colleague, who outranks you, keeps assigning their work to you. You’re exhausted, but you can’t refuse. If this goes on for a long time, what would you do?"
This was a question he had asked many interviewees before. The answers varied, but none had ever fully satisfied him.Some suggested reporting the situation to the supervisor and letting them handle it fairly. Others advised enduring it until they reached a higher position, at which point they wouldn’t dare to boss them around anymore. There were also those who said they could delegate tasks to subordinates or interns if there were none, because in the workplace, one must follow its rules—the weak submit to the strong.
Lu Ze was curious to hear what Yao Jingjing, whose thought process was quite different from most, would suggest.
"Hey!" Yao Jingjing slapped the table. "This isn’t even a problem! If it were me, I’d just cozy up to his boss and become friends. I’d stick close to his boss every day, chat with them, get along great—then let’s see if he still dares to order me around!"
Lu Ze stared at her, momentarily stunned.
Her answer was indeed unconventional—simple and direct, but undeniably an effective solution.
After a moment’s thought, he raised a question: "But can you guarantee you’ll actually become friends with his boss?"
Yao Jingjing replied, "Whether I can or not isn’t the point. I’ll make him believe I’ve already befriended his boss. If I can’t make it real, I’ll create the illusion. As long as it intimidates him, my goal is achieved!"
Lu Ze looked at her and began to think her boss had some discernment after all.
Yao Jingjing asked, "Did my answer pass?"
Lu Ze sidestepped the question: "I’ll be going to Dalian soon to set up a branch office."
Yao Jingjing went, "Oh?" Then, "And? Are you thinking of handing the Beijing business over to me?"
Lu Ze coughed lightly. "I’d rather utilize a versatile talent like you—skilled in finance, sales, and HR—to expand our territory."
Yao Jingjing blinked. "So you’re saying you want to take me with you?"
Lu Ze nodded. "I’ll be in Dalian for a long time. Interested in coming to help me?"
Yao Jingjing grinned. "Were you just interviewing me earlier?"
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. "You could see it that way."
Yao Jingjing laughed even harder. "So I did pretty well in the interview?"
Lu Ze raised his brow again. "Mm, not bad."
Yao Jingjing beamed like a flower in bloom. "Then how much are you planning to pay me?"
Lu Ze said, "Name your price."
Yao Jingjing thought for a moment. "Don’t give me the chance to go overboard! I might lose control and demand an astronomical sum!"
Lu Ze cleared his throat. "You don’t have to hold back."
Yao Jingjing slapped the table again. "Then what if I say 500,000 a year? Would you pay that?"
Lu Ze looked at her, his tone indifferent. "I’ll double it."
Yao Jingjing froze, her mouth forming a perfect "O." "Huh? Double?" Then she smacked the table once more, putting on a grand, self-sacrificing expression. "President Lu, I’ll go check Dalian’s weather forecast right away! Just say the word, and I’ll pack my bags—we can leave whenever you want!"
●︶3︶●
Before heading to Dalian with Lu Ze, Yao Jingjing really did storm into Qiansheng Group’s headquarters to confront Wang Ruohai and give him a piece of her mind.
Lu Ze didn’t help her come up with the words, but he did act as her chauffeur, driving her to Wang Ruohai in his flashy Ferrari, ensuring she made a grand entrance.During the argument, Wang Ruohai, pushed to the edge, pointed at the Ferrari and snapped at Yao Jingjing, "Look at you! Aren't you also clinging to a rich guy? Aren’t you also chasing a better life? Don’t you also want to treat yourself well? So what right do you have to judge me?"
At that moment, Yao Jingjing was absolutely furious. She never expected Wang Ruohai to turn the tables on her like this in such a place.
Just as she was trembling with rage, Lu Ze stepped out of the car.
He strode straight over, stopping right in front of Wang Ruohai, and said with an air of arrogance, "Let me correct you—she’s not clinging to me. I’m the one offering her a high salary to recruit her. And another thing, if you’re a real man, don’t compare yourself to a woman. It’s beneath you."
After saying that, he led her back to the car.
When Yao Jingjing glanced back, she saw Wang Ruohai standing there, pale-faced, inhaling their exhaust fumes. Instantly, she felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction surging through her entire being.
●︶3︶●
Two weeks later, Yao Jingjing packed her bags and hurriedly followed the wealthy Lu Ze northward to a city she had never been to before, ready to conquer new frontiers and blaze a trail.
Working under Lu Ze, Yao Jingjing threw herself into her tasks with dedication and effort. Sometimes, in the midst of the relentless hustle, she completely forgot her original purpose for coming here.
After all, she wasn’t here to be a workplace hero—she was here to conquer the tycoon...
Yet, in the workplace, she felt as if she had been reborn. Lu Ze gave her ample space and freedom to unleash her wildly creative ideas and talents.
He highly praised her professional abilities and entrusted her with increasingly important responsibilities.
Yao Jingjing’s life had never been more exhilarating, yet for some reason, she still occasionally felt a lingering dissatisfaction.
There was something about Lu Ze that really annoyed her. He never clarified whether their relationship extended beyond professional partnership. His attitude was ambiguous and vague, as if he was stringing her along for fun.
His infuriating demeanor ignited an endless fighting spirit in her. During a break, she stepped into the hallway to call Qian Fei.
●︶3︶●
Yao Jingjing gritted her teeth as she spoke into the phone, "Damn it, he’s playing with me, isn’t he? Fine, I’ll play along! Just watch me bring him to heel!"
After a brief silence, Qian Fei asked, "Are you getting fired up now?"
Yao Jingjing replied, "Yes, fired up! I refuse to believe that with all my romantic experience since kindergarten, I can’t handle one emotionally stunted man!"
Qian Fei, exasperated, asked, "If you’re so determined to outdo him, do you even like him?"
Yao Jingjing thought for a moment and said, "Right now, whether I like him or not isn’t the point. What matters is reversing my disadvantageous position!"
Qian Fei asked, "And how do you plan to do that?"
Without hesitation, Yao Jingjing answered, "I’ve decided to play with him too!"
Qian Fei silently wiped her sweat, wished her good luck, and said goodbye.
As Yao Jingjing hung up and turned to head back to the office, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Lu Ze was standing just two steps away, his face expressionless.
Her heart skipped a beat. How much of her phone call had he heard?
Testing the waters, she asked, "Handsome, how long have you been standing there waiting to scare me?"Lu Ze looked at her, his face as stiff as if injected with an excessive dose of botox, devoid of any human warmth. "Just now," he said.
Yao Jingjing felt relieved.
This man was arrogant, aloof, and domineering, never bothering to say anything other than the blunt truth. If he said "just now," then he definitely hadn't had time to overhear her phone conversation.
With reassured steps, she returned to her office, determined to stick to her original plan of "teasing him for fun."
●︶3︶●
Lu Ze sat at his desk, fiddling with a small square box. Inside was a necklace he had intended to give to that gluttonous woman someday.
He had never been good at expressing his feelings verbally, but he thought that gluttonous woman should have sensed his special treatment toward her.
He had planned to give her this gift tonight, making it clear exactly how he felt about her.
But in the afternoon, he overheard her telling her best friend on the phone that whether she liked him or not didn’t matter—what mattered was reversing her disadvantageous position. And that she also wanted to "tease him for fun."
Listening to her nonsensical chatter, he really wanted to knock some sense into her head.
When she asked how long he had been standing behind her, he wanted to say, "Long enough to hear your entire conversation."
But then he reconsidered, thinking that might spoil the fun.
He was actually quite curious to see what kind of tricks she would come up with to "play" with him.
So he said, "Just now."
After toying with the necklace box a little longer, he put it away in a drawer.
He decided not to rush into giving it to her. He wanted to see how she planned to deal with this stoic, expressionless man.
●︶3︶●
Yao Jingjing pulled out all the stops, dressing up elaborately every day and flitting around Lu Ze like a butterfly.
She concluded that Lu Ze must have been a debauched libertine in his past life, which was why he could remain so composed and indifferent in this one—utterly unmoved whether she appeared seductive, innocent, demure, or lively.
Faced with his monk-like restraint, she sometimes felt a little defeated. Fortunately, she wasn’t entirely without gains. Though Lu Ze showed no reaction, she began receiving bouquets from other men—some were clients, others were bosses from partner companies, and some were even talented new hires from her own firm.
Holding armfuls of flowers, her emotions were complicated. She sighed dramatically, wondering if she had misdirected her efforts—the one who should have reacted remained indifferent, while those who shouldn’t have were suddenly overflowing with hormones.
But then, inexplicably, from some unknown day onward, she stopped receiving flowers from those men altogether.
During that time, she scrutinized herself in the mirror, checking if she had suddenly turned ugly.
Yet no matter how she looked at it, she was still as radiant as ever. So why had she lost her ability to attract admirers?
She was utterly baffled, frustrated, and suffocated by confusion.
●︶3︶●
Lu Ze watched Yao Jingjing flaunt herself before him every day, finding it highly entertaining.
He coldly observed her exhausting every trick to flirt with him, his face betraying nothing while secretly relishing the show.He found this edible woman increasingly interesting and was less inclined to tear down the thin veil between them too soon. Watching her switch between hot and cold, sweet and sour styles every day, going all out to catch his attention, he felt particularly amused and delighted.
However, his amusement and delight were soon replaced by irritation and displeasure.
She actually started receiving flowers from other men—and not just one bouquet at a time.
Seeing those flowers, a surge of anger rose in his chest, the kind one feels when something that belongs to them is being coveted by others.
He instructed the front desk that if anyone sent her flowers again, they should be delivered directly to him.
Then, when no one was looking, he threw all those flowers away.
After that, he returned to his comfortable and secretly smug life.
The only annoyance was that before he could enjoy it for long, his troublesome ex-girlfriend actually came looking for him.
Author's Note: Many girls have asked why Yao Jingjing isn't given her own standalone book. Here's a unified answer: because there isn't enough material to write about.
Lately, my health has deteriorated to the point of being a wreck—headaches, spine pain, two periods a month—so Aunt Jiu says she must take a break after finishing Yao Jingjing's extra chapters TT. Well, the extras for "The Siren" should be wrapping up soon ^_^
Comments will continue to earn points, so don’t worry everyone ●︶3︶● Thanks to the big spenders who’ve been showering me with money—I’ve been scared to tears again TT. Big spenders, big spenders, does your family know you’re throwing money around like this?! Big spenders, big spenders, please stop splurging like this!!!!!!!! Aunt Jiu’s aunts are all crying with me now!
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