Malicious Blow (2)

Following the address Lin Meijing had given him, Pei Shao soon stopped outside a large magazine publisher in the southern part of the city. The place was lavishly decorated, which left Pei Shao quite puzzled.

She had told him yesterday that she had once been the star editor and star reporter of a famous entertainment magazine. However, the owner had made certain unspoken demands of her, and she had slapped him across the face in public, causing the two sides to fall out. As a result, under the boss's furious retaliation, Lin Meijing had been unable to find another job. Yet, proud as she was, she had ultimately used her connections to obtain a magazine publishing license and planned to start a magazine of her own.

Since she had not worked for long, she did not have much money at the moment. After hiring Pei Shao, she had no intention of hiring a second person.

If she has no money, why put up such a grand front? Pei Shao wondered. That revolving glass door alone is beyond the reach of those petty little magazine publishers, isn't it?

The thought merely flashed through Pei Shao's mind before he craned his neck to look inside again. Castle's voice suddenly sounded. "Someone's calling for you. It's Lin Meijing!"

Although Castle had transformed the Samsung phone beyond recognition, its calling function remained. In fact, if it wished, it could instantly grant it special functions that no phone on the market possessed. Its enormous storage system alone would be enough to make any high-end phone enthusiast green with envy.

However, if Pei Shao wanted to use Castle to watch movies or listen to MP3s, he had better give up on the idea now. He did not think his relationship with Castle had reached that level yet.

"Mr. Castle, please help me answer it!" As soon as Pei Shao said that, Lin Meijing's elegant voice came through the earphones. "Mr. Pei? Where are you now?"

"I'm outside Yonghui Magazine. Can I come in now?"

"I can see you!" Lin Meijing said. "I'm standing right next to you!"

"Oh!" After hearing that, Pei Shao raised his head and looked toward the glass windows above him. He searched for quite a while but still could not spot Lin Meijing. Even more puzzled, he asked, "Where are you?"

"Turn around, and you'll see me!"

"..." No way. Could it be that magazine publisher behind me, the one that looks barely bigger than a fish stall at a wet market? When Pei Shao turned around, he indeed saw Lin Meijing waving at him through the glass. He sighed inwardly. My god! There really isn't a single perfect thing in this world!

Entering through the narrow doorway, Pei Shao discovered that the place was merely a small, simply arranged single-story building. Calling it a studio or office would have been more fitting than calling it a magazine publisher.

Aside from a printer, a water dispenser, two work computers, a scanner, a color printer, and advertising poster mockups, there was barely room for anything else on the desks. It was obvious that Lin Meijing had deliberately tidied the place before he arrived.

Seeing Pei Shao's displeased expression, a blush flashed across Lin Meijing's pretty face. But she quickly returned to normal and said, "Mr. Pei, the working environment here may be rather basic, but please rest assured that I will keep my word regarding your salary!"

"That's fine! Oh, no, what I mean is, I don't really care that much about the salary! What matters most is having a chance to put my abilities to use!" Dressed in the suit he had bought with his last bit of money, Pei Shao's words were clearly insincere. Lin Meijing did not pursue the matter, merely pointing to the empty space beside her. "You'll sit here from now on."

Seeing that his seat was less than a foot away from hers, Pei Shao felt slightly better. Lin Meijing then said, "All right, Mr. Pei. I still need to go out for an interview later. Let me briefly explain the main topics our magazine will cover. For this issue, I'm planning to run some features on cars."

"Wait, Miss Lin!" Pei Shao suddenly interrupted her. "You're going out for an interview? Interviewing whom? We're such a small magazine publisher. Would those important people even agree to be interviewed by us?"

Lin Meijing's expression became slightly unnatural. "I don't think I need to answer that question, do I?"

"Oh, of course not. That's your personal privacy!"

"Good, thank you! Now, let's discuss what you'll mainly be responsible for. Since there are currently only two of us at the magazine publisher, I'll mainly handle manuscript review, publication distribution, and part of the interview work. As for every other task the magazine publisher needs, I plan to leave them all to you for now! That includes daily cleaning and the like! You're not going to tell me you can't do it, are you?"

Pei Shao had been listening in a daze and was just about to protest, but the moment he heard that, he immediately said, "I can! Why wouldn't I? A man can't say he can't!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Pei Shao saw the faintly crafty look in Lin Meijing's eyes and began to regret it. But going back on his word had never been Pei Shao's style. Besides, it was only sweeping the floor. How hard could that be?

"Good! Since you've agreed, start working now!" As she spoke, Lin Meijing pulled a folder from the desk. "This contains information on every new car model released this month. Make me a detailed list of each model's appearance, price, engine features, displacement, wheelbase... and so on. Sort them by type, price, or whatever else makes sense. I'll be back to check it in about two hours."

"Boss... aren't we making a news and entertainment magazine? Why am I organizing car price lists?" Looking at the stack of materials in his hands, thicker than some interminably long fantasy novel, Pei Shao felt like fainting.

"A general-interest magazine! We're a general-interest magazine, okay? As long as readers want to see it, we'll write it. No matter how capable you are, I'm the expert in this area, so listen to me! That's it. Time is tight, I'm leaving first!" Pei Shao opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but Lin Meijing had already left behind a lingering fragrant breeze and walked out the door, leaving him standing there stupidly alone.

After Lin Meijing left, Pei Shao did not rush to start working. Instead, he first turned on both computers, took Castle out of his pocket, set it on the desk, and said, "Mr. Castle, this is where I work!"

With a whoosh, Castle transformed into its robot form. Its two electronic eyes flickered as it surveyed the surroundings for a moment. Without saying anything, it automatically sat beside a computer, extended a data cable from its body, and connected it to the machine. Then it began fiddling with it on its own.