After Han Jingnian put down his pen, Assistant Zhang noticed that he wasn’t showing any more interesting story behind the Yakult. He tactfully steered the conversation back to work, saying, “Mr. Han, at 10 o’clock, when you meet with Mr. Zhang, who should accompany you to take notes?” 

Once he finished speaking, Assistant Zhang had a flash of inspiration. He casually added a side note, “By the way, Mr. Han, there’s something I’m not sure if you’re aware of. Recently, we hired a secretary for the General Office. The HR department informed me that she knows Young Master Zhijin quite well, and they have a good relationship. I asked Young Master Zhijin for some information about her, and he told me that Secretary Ai is very good friends with Madam.” 

While Assistant Zhang was speaking, Han Jingnian’s expression remained mostly unchanged. He stared at the computer screen with apparent concentration and didn’t seem to pay much attention to Assistant Zhang’s words. It wasn’t until Assistant Zhang mentioned “Madam” that Han Jingnian abruptly raised his head and glanced at him, asking, “Who?” 

Assistant Zhang knew that Han Jingnian was inquiring about who was very good friends with Mrs. Han. So he replied honestly, “Secretary Ai.” 

Han Jingnian looked bewildered, clearly having no idea about this person in the General Office. 

“Secretary Ai just joined us not long ago. Her name is Ai Jiang.” 

Han Jingnian didn’t respond, but he recalled the day when he had nearly lost his life and was saved by her. The next day, when she hid in the closet and said, “What’s more important is my friend. She doesn’t know about our relationship…” 

Assistant Zhang repeated his earlier question when he saw that Han Jingnian was lost in thought. He called out to him, “Mr. Han?” 

“Hmm?” Han Jingnian responded, looking at his assistant. However, as Assistant Zhang gazed at him and waited for his response, Han Jingnian seemed to lose focus again. 

‘Could it be? Did Mr. Han completely ignore what I just said?’ 

Assistant Zhang felt tears welling up in his heart, but he maintained a respectful demeanor as he repeated the question, “Mr. Han, who should accompany you to take notes for the 10 a.m. meeting?” 

“Oh, about that…” Han Jingnian momentarily forgot the name of the secretary Zhang had mentioned earlier. After a brief pause, he finally said, “Her friend.” 

It turned out that Han Jingnian had indeed chosen Secretary Ai. It seemed that he was determined to change the impression he had left on Mrs. Han! 

Assistant Zhang nodded and said, “Alright.” Then, he asked, “And what about the lunch meeting and the dinner meeting?” 

After a moment of contemplation, Han Jingnian nodded and agreed to have Secretary Ai accompany him for those events as well. 

… 

By the time the dinner meeting concluded, it was already 8 o’clock in the evening. 

While riding the elevator and leaving the BJ Grand Hotel, Ai Jiang overheard Han Jingnian and Assistant Zhang discussing a trip back to the office. So when Assistant Zhang asked her where she wanted to go next, she replied gently, “To the office.” 

Assistant Zhang replied with an “Oh.” He asked, “Secretary Ai, it’s quite late. Are you planning to go back to the office for overtime?” 

Ai Jiang smiled shyly, as if feeling somewhat embarrassed. She replied softly, “Yes, there are a few things I still need to handle. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep well tonight.” 

Ai Jiang had expected some praise from Assistant Zhang and perhaps a bit of attention from Han Jingnian. However, to her surprise, as soon as Assistant Zhang heard her reply, he immediately laughed and said, “Secretary Ai, I can tell you’re a single dog!” 

Ai Jiang: “…” 

Ai Jiang forced a smile. 

“Secretary Ai, I’m not wrong, am I? Are you still single? Usually, only single people are willing to work overtime like this.” 

Ai Jiang had a boyfriend, but when she glanced at Han Jingnian sitting next to her, despite his apparent lack of emotional reaction to her conversation with Assistant Zhang, he seemed to exude a sense of indifference. Still, she found herself inexplicably captivated by him. 

With hardly any internal struggle, she was about to respond to Assistant Zhang with a simple “Yes, I’m still single.” However, before she could utter those words, her phone rang. 

Not knowing who was calling, she took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID, which read “Dear.” 

She answered the call, and before the person on the other end, He Che, could say anything, she spoke, “I might not be able to reply to your message until later… Yeah, bye. We’ll chat later.” 

Afterward, she hung up the phone. 

Assistant Zhang, standing beside Ai Jiang, saw her caller ID and asked, “Secretary Ai, so you have a boyfriend now?” 

“No, no…” Ai Jiang shook her head, her face blushing. “It was one of my very close friends, a girl. I usually call her ‘Dear.’ We had plans to chat on the phone tonight, but because of work, I’ve delayed our conversation. She called to ask what’s going on.” 

Assistant Zhang responded with a simple “Oh” and didn’t press further. 

As they reached the entrance of the BJ Grand Hotel, the doorman had already started Han Jingnian’s car. 

Ai Jiang looked at the luxurious car in front of her, and her eyes lit up. 

She stood at the entrance, patiently waiting, expecting Han Jingnian or Assistant Zhang to say that they were also going back to the office and offer her a ride. 

However, to her surprise, even after Assistant Zhang received the car keys from the doorman and opened the car door, he didn’t utter those words to her. Instead, he respectfully said to Han Jingnian, “Mr. Han, please get in.” 

Ai Jiang stood there, thinking they might have forgotten about her. Unable to hold back, she began, “Mr. Han, Mr. Zhang…” 

She had only mentioned their names and was about to bend down to get into the car when Han Jingnian, realizing that this secretary, whom he usually couldn’t remember the name of, was her friend, felt that he should say something before leaving. 

Thinking about it, Han Jingnian didn’t wait for Ai Jiang to finish her sentence. He spoke up, “When you take a car back to the office, make sure to keep the receipt. The company can reimburse it.”