Director's Secretary

Hong Siyu's day begins in the kitchen, filled with the aroma of coffee.

Having worked as a laborer for many years, a cup of coffee in the morning has become her daily habit. No matter how tired she is when she gets out of bed, as long as she smells the familiar aroma coming from the coffee machine, she feels more energetic.

It was still early, and the sky outside the window was still somewhat dark, but the first rays of sunlight had already pierced through the clouds, casting a thin layer of golden light on the floor of the single apartment. Hong Siyu hummed a song as she busied herself preparing her breakfast.

Remove the pot from the heat, turn off the stove, and wipe the countertop.

Wash the cup, dispense the liquid, and brew the coffee.

After a series of skillful steps, boiled eggs, vegetable porridge, and coffee were already laid out on the small round table next to the stove—this was Hong Siyu the day.

After leisurely finishing her meal, Hong Siyu began to change. But when she finished changing into her business attire and walked to the bathroom mirror, instinctively wanting to put on makeup, her entire movement stopped the moment her gaze fell upon the mirror.

In the mirror, a girl who looked incredibly young, as if she were still a high school student, was staring back at her.

No, that's me when I was in high school.

Thinking of this, Hong Siyu's lips curled up, and she wished she could laugh out loud. However, she had already laughed many days ago, and the self-control that an adult should have prevented her from losing her composure. Instead, she coughed a few times in a calm manner.

A few days ago, with the completion of her treatment at Emerald, she was finally able to fully return to her normal life, and the most important thing about returning to normal life is, of course, to continue working.

However, Hong Siyu not returning to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau under her original identity. Instead, she is re-entering the bureau as "Hong Siyu's niece," a rather subtle identity. Her first job after joining the bureau is quite simple—the bureau chief's secretary.

Fortunately, because of her status as "her own niece" and the assignment from the Kingdom, the others in the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau simply assumed it was another case of someone being parachuted in, and didn't think it had anything to do with Lin Yun. Otherwise, if Lin Yun had hired a secretary who looked like she was underage, everyone in the bureau would probably have looked at her strangely.

In fact, even now, many people are still suspicious of the relationship between Lin Yun and his new secretary.

Of course, none of this matters to Hong Siyu; no one can stop her now.

Arriving at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau early, Hong Siyu went alone to the director's office, which was still empty. She wiped the table, organized the documents, poured hot water, and watered the plants... She did all the work with ease and familiarity.

By the time she finished all her chores, it was already eight o'clock in the morning, and the once quiet office building was now filled with noise.

This was also Lin Yun's usual arrival time. Hong Siyu had figured out the pattern in just a few days and precisely timed her arrival at this point.

Standing by the window, she checked herself again in the reflection of the glass, making sure her hair wasn't messy and her clothes were still neat, before sitting down with satisfaction, her eyes shining as she gazed intently at the office door.

She was waiting for the door to open, ready to rush up and claim credit as soon as the person behind it walked in.

It's worth noting that the clothes she was wearing today were the same ones she had chosen with Lin Yun earlier; her makeup, though light, was the perfect match for her personality; and while her hair looked natural, it had been specially straightened and styled at the salon yesterday to create an absolutely eye-catching "career-oriented literary beauty" image.

Every element was carefully selected, every angle meticulously customized, based on her mature aesthetic sense cultivated through years of hard work in society, and her careful consideration of Lin Yun's preferences... Combined with the fact that she gets almost 100% of people turning their heads to look at her on the street that morning, she is extremely confident in her current look. This is the clarion call she uses to launch her attack.

Come on, senior.

She silently repeated it to herself.

This burning belief seemed to penetrate the door and infect the heavens; not long after, she saw the office door being pushed open.

A figure in a suit walked in.

Good morning, senior.

She immediately put on a smile she had practiced for a long time, holding the documents she had just selected in her hand, her outstretched hand and body posture were just right. "Have you had breakfast? If you don't mind, how about we eat together... oh?"

Halfway through their conversation, Hong Siyu and Cai suddenly noticed that the person who walked in from outside seemed a bit off.

Although she was wearing a suit, it was clearly a woman who walked in. She was tall, had fair skin, wore sunglasses, and had striking orange hair, which was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, giving her a very dashing look.

Stranger? Guest? No... he looks vaguely familiar...

Hong Siyu the woman's face, her mind racing, frantically trying to recall an identity that matched the woman's. Unfortunately, before she could come up with an answer, the woman suddenly spoke:

--"95 points."

What she uttered was simply a string of numbers.

"95 points?"

Her thoughts were momentarily split into two parallel lines, Hong Siyu could only repeat after the other person, "Excuse me... what does this mean?"

"Charm, allure, or perhaps cuteness—that's my rating for your performance just now."

The woman with orange hair propped her chin up with one hand Hong Siyu.

Although there were sunglasses in between, Hong Siyu could feel that the other person was looking her up and down. Not only that, but their gaze even lingered for a moment on several places on her body where she had obviously put effort into her appearance, making her feel as if they could see right through her.

This made her feel a little uncomfortable, so she subconsciously hugged the documents in front of her with both hands and took a step back.

However, the woman in front of her didn't seem to have any intention of letting her off so easily. After Hong Siyu took two steps back, the woman pressed forward two steps closer, saying, "Do you know where the points are?"

"Deduct... deduct points?" Hong Siyu response.

"The problem lies in the wrong approach. Compared to this lively and enthusiastic style, an invitation that is deliberately generous actually carries a hint of shyness. A more subtle and gentle invitation is more likely to evoke a sense of guilt in the other person."

The woman stroked her chin. "But that's nitpicking. In short, it's really cute! I like it! My adorable junior has made such preparations to welcome me, so it would be too much of a waste not to grant your request!"

As she said this, she finally distanced herself from Hong Siyu, turned around on the spot, and pushed the half-open door aside. "Let's go, you lead the way, I don't know where the cafeteria is."

However, after she took two steps toward the door, she realized that no one was following her.

"What's wrong?"

The woman turned around and asked in confusion, "Is there something else you haven't finished?"

"No... I just wanted to ask, who are you?"

Hong Siyu best to maintain a smile, "Please don't joke like that. If you have an appointment to meet with the director, you can wait here..."

"Huh? Sister, you've already called me 'senior,' and now you're asking who I am?"

The woman asked, somewhat puzzled, "Although you've never called me that before... what's going on?"

"Never called me that before?"

The woman's words seemed to have flipped a switch, and the thoughts in her mind instantly connected like an electric current. Hong Siyu finally remembered why the person in front of her looked familiar, and who this strange way of speaking belonged to.

"You... ah? Yuan Xiang?"

However, compared to surprise, the feeling after recognizing the other person is closer to shock.