My Childhood Friend, Who Is An Omega, Has Become My Personal Secretary - Chapter 28

I am just not happy.

The instigator, Zhang Linen, watching the scene with an attitude of “the more trouble, the better,” added fuel to the fire: “She is a graduate of A University, after all; it’s not exactly a ‘mess’ to deal with.”

Her tone rose with a subtle inflection—part mockery, part irony.

Zhao Yan’s face turned green with rage. With a dark expression, she threatened, “How dare you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell my uncle and my cousin?”

Hua Jianjiu thought to herself: My dear aunts, my dear grandmothers, you might not be afraid, but I am.

To prevent a spat between upper management from endangering her own livelihood, Hua Jianjiu hurried to smooth things over: “I was just speaking with Secretary Zhang about something else. Our team hasn’t had a newcomer in a long time, especially a high-achieving graduate from A University.”

Hua Jianjiu smiled, intentionally emphasizing the words “high-achieving graduate from A University.” Zhao Yan’s expression softened slightly, and she looked at Zhang Linen with a look of smug satisfaction.

However, Zhang Linen had already buried her head back in her work, completely failing to notice the boastful display from the proud university student.

Zhao Yan snorted disdainfully, “So, what position will I be doing?”

Without looking up, Zhang Linen said, “An intern position.”

Hua Jianjiu closed her eyes helplessly, thinking: Couldn’t you two finish your bickering before calling me over?

As a person connected to the Chairman, such an arrangement clearly did not meet Zhao Yan’s expectations. she clamored unhappily, “I was sent here by the Chairman himself, and you’re just giving me an intern position?”

Only then did Zhang Linen lift her head. Her dark pupils swept over Zhao Yan’s face. Without a single word, she merely tilted her brow and curled her lips, expressing the word “contempt” to its absolute fullest.

Hua Jianjiu silently complained in her heart: Zhang Linen’s face is even more caustic than her mouth.

It was as if Zhao Yan’s mouth had been stuffed with bitter mustard; her features twisted into a bunch. She stammered, wanting to talk back, but she was so tongue-tied she couldn’t spit out a single word.

Standing to the side, Hua Jianjiu couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” of laughter. But she immediately wiped the smile off her face, because Zhang Linen was narrowing her eyes and gazing at her gloomily.

Since Ji Zeyuan was temporarily away from the company, Zhao Yan had no choice but to follow Zhang Linen’s arrangement for the time being.

Hua Jianjiu led Zhao Yan toward the department office. Along the way, many colleagues greeted her or joked around.

Zhao Yan observed silently until they reached the door of the department office, then suddenly spoke: “You have quite the popular reputation, don’t you?”

Hua Jianjiu gave a faint smile: “I wouldn’t dare claim that.”

The two pushed the door open together. The employees in the office, like automatic targets, raised their heads one after another to look.

“I feel like an ornamental fish in a tank; their eyes make me very uncomfortable,” Zhao Yan whispered to Hua Jianjiu.

Hua Jianjiu secretly praised the vividness of the metaphor; she had felt the exact same way when she first started the job.

Winding through a few turns, the two arrived at a vacant workstation. Li Ziruo’s new station was right next to it. As they passed Li Ziruo, Hua Jianjiu quietly hooked her finger behind her back.

Hua Jianjiu pointed to a frosted glass cubicle in the distance: “My private office is over there, but I spend most of my time working in the common area. You can ask me if you have any questions.”

“I must see President Ji today. It’s impossible for me to just be an intern,” Zhao Yan said, looking at the empty desk with disgust.

Hua Jianjiu gave a polite smile and turned to leave without saying another word.

Inside a psychiatric consultation room at Wharton Hospital, Ji Zeyuan narrated the limited information she knew with logical clarity.

After listening, the attending physician showed a troubled expression and said, “I apologize, President Ji. I would very much like to answer your questions, but no matter how top-tier a doctor is, it is impossible to complete a diagnosis without knowing the full medical history and without the patient present.”

Ji Zeyuan’s gaze darkened. After a moment of reflection, she said, “I will bring the patient here later; it’s just not the right time yet.”

The attending physician gave a faint smile and consoled her: “President Ji, you needn’t worry too much. Although I cannot give an accurate diagnosis based on what you’ve said, generally speaking, this patient is not terminally ill. Daily life can still proceed normally. My suggestion is that if you are truly worried, you could take her out for walks more often.”

“Alright, I understand, Doctor,” Ji Zeyuan ended the conversation with a heavy tone.

Wharton Hospital was located in the suburbs. Unlike the Third Hospital, which was surrounded by stalls and electric bikes, the people who came here were mostly socialites and tycoons with net worths in the tens of millions.

As Ji Zeyuan walked out of the outpatient hall, a strange man even nodded to her in greeting, but she didn’t recognize who it was—perhaps someone she had collaborated with in business before.

In the eternal daylight of midsummer, the bright green loquat leaves were exceptionally lustrous from the nourishment of the sun. The landscaped greenery within the hospital was full of vitality, making it a pleasing sight to the eye.

Looking at the flourishing plants, Ji Zeyuan suddenly thought: Xiao En seems to have liked green plants lately.

Sitting in the moving car, a girl running with a red balloon flashed by, and Ji Zeyuan suddenly thought again: Xiao En said yesterday she wanted to go to the amusement park.

These were things that biological sisters could do as well.

As Ji Zeyuan thought, she suddenly felt like crying, but she believed she didn’t deserve to cry.

Xiao En is the one who is sick; Xiao En must be suffering much more than I am.

Ji Zeyuan lowered the car window to leave a small gap about two fingers wide. A gust of hot air brushed past, and her mind cleared slightly.

“Don’t go back to the company. Go home first.”

Bowing her head for a long time made Zhang Linen’s neck ache. She tiredly pressed the back of her neck with her hand, accidentally touching the bite mark Ji Zeyuan had left behind.

The mark had faded significantly; she could barely feel it with the pads of her fingers anymore.

Thinking that she would see Ji Zeyuan after returning home and be with her, Zhang Linen could not suppress the slight upward curve of her lips.

She checked the time; it was 4:50 PM. She had arranged the work schedule for the next two days properly, and she could go home after a bit of tidying up.

To the home where Ji Zeyuan was.

Zhang Linen smiled faintly and clicked on the messaging app on her phone. Ji Zeyuan’s window showed three unread messages.

“I can’t pick you up today. Can you get back yourself?”

“Let me know before you come home.”

“Don’t eat out.”

Zhang Linen replied with a light smile.

“I can. I’m going home now.”

After sending the message, Zhang Linen took her car keys out of the drawer, shut down her computer, and got up to leave.

As she stepped toward the elevator, she saw Zhao Yan. Zhao Yan was standing by the water dispenser with her head hanging, looking dejected, though it was unclear if she had been given a hard time by someone.

However, none of this was her concern. Zhang Linen stepped onto the elevator in a pleasant mood, secretly pondering every word Ji Zeyuan had said to her.

She thought Ji Zeyuan must have prepared dinner at home; the words were so obvious, she couldn’t hide the surprise at all.

But for Zhang Linen, the fact that Ji Zeyuan could say such things to her was already enough of a surprise.

Rushing along, Zhang Linen arrived home five minutes earlier than usual.

Pushing open the front door, a strange smell wafted toward her. Zhang Linen pursed her cherry lips slightly. After gently closing the door and changing her shoes, she quietly walked toward the kitchen. Ji Zeyuan, wearing a pink apron, was busy at the stove. Zhang Linen intentionally made no sound to avoid disturbing her, just silently watching her.

Ji Zeyuan had always been someone who had food brought to her mouth and clothes held out for her; the “technical work” of cooking was still a bit too difficult for her.

Zhang Linen watched with her own eyes as Ji Zeyuan put salt into the same dish twice. Only then could she no longer sit still, and she stood up to pull open the kitchen door.

Hearing the noise, Ji Zeyuan turned around. The moment she saw Zhang Linen, a flash of bashfulness crossed her eyes, and she hurriedly said, “You… wait a moment before coming in.”

Zhang Linen said leisurely, “Don’t cook anymore, Xiao Yuan. Forget it; let’s order takeout.”

The yellowish-brown unknown objects in the soup pot were still “gurgling” and bubbling. Ji Zeyuan looked at Zhang Linen’s gentle eyes and sheepishly turned off the fire.

Afterward, Ji Zeyuan called for a housekeeping service to clean up the messy kitchen. Zhang Linen looked at her and couldn’t stop suppressed laughter, her face turning red from the effort.

“Why did you suddenly want to cook yourself?” After the housekeeper left, Zhang Linen leaned her head against the living room wall and asked with a smile.

Seeing her sincere smile, Ji Zeyuan felt a leap of joy in her heart, and the corners of her mouth flew up as well. She said, “I just suddenly remembered that I told you once that I would let you eat a meal I cooked myself one day. Although… it didn’t succeed this time.”

In addition to cooking, Ji Zeyuan had specifically cleared two days from her schedule, planning to take Zhang Linen to the amusement park she had been longing for, though that was for later.

Zhang Linen’s eyes were like clear water. She pursed her lips and smiled without speaking. She had thought that only she remembered such small details; she hadn’t expected Ji Zeyuan to remember them so clearly as well.

“I noticed while processing work files today that the workload seems much lighter than before.” Zhang Linen stood up straight, moving away from the wall. “Did you handle a lot of it for me?”

Ji Zeyuan pretended to be nonchalant and shrugged: “Not a lot, I finished it very quickly.”

She then changed the subject and asked, “Did you see that cousin of mine? I heard from my father that she has a lot of ‘personality’.”

Zhang Linen raised her brows dismissively: “When a child is rebellious, it’s called personality. When someone is already twenty and still ignorantly self-centered, that’s just being a giant infant.”

Ji Zeyuan laughed, thinking: Xiao En’s words are always so piercing; her cousin is likely in for a tough time.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Ji Zeyuan said, “That should be the takeout arriving.”

She brought the takeout into the dining room. Zhang Linen took the opportunity while she was getting the food to set out the bowls and chopsticks.

“But where did you arrange for her to be?” Ji Zeyuan asked after sitting down next to Zhang Linen.

Zhang Linen curled her lips into a subtle, mischievous smile, her eyes full of cunning light: “I shoved her into Hua Jianjiu’s team.”

Ji Zeyuan watched Zhang Linen quietly, smiling because she was smiling.

While placing food into Ji Zeyuan’s bowl, Zhang Linen said, “She even said she was going to complain about me to you. That kid is quite arrogant, but when I came back today, I saw her hanging her head; I wonder if she was bullied.”

Ji Zeyuan ate all the food Zhang Linen gave her, quietly listening to Zhang Linen share the anecdotes from the company.

This was the first time since she returned to the country that she had seen such a vivid expression and felt such abundant vitality on Zhang Linen’s face.

Suddenly, as if inspired by a spiritual epiphany, Ji Zeyuan spoke and asked, “Are you very happy today?”

Ji Zeyuan’s voice was airy, like a gentle breeze brushing past.

“No, not happy enough.” Zhang Linen’s words pulled Ji Zeyuan back to reality. She frowned in confusion and asked, “Why?”

Zhang Linen thought to herself: Because you have a look on your face that says, ‘If I answer that I’m happy, you’ll leave contentedly.’

She didn’t say those words out loud. She simply withdrew her joyful expression and shook her head solemnly: “I am just not happy.”

Ji Zeyuan’s frown deepened as she racked her brain to figure out why Zhang Linen felt this way. Suddenly, a certain nerve in her brain connected like an electric shock, and memories of the past surfaced in a flash.

“You…” Ji Zeyuan put down her chopsticks, her cheeks flushed as she laughed. “Why are you imitating me again? I’m telling you, Zhang Mumu, I only have those few embarrassing moments in my history—are you going to flip through every single one of them?”

“I am just not happy” was a common phrase Ji Zeyuan used during her student days when she was being unreasonable; she usually used it as a transition sentence when she was inexplicably irritable and couldn’t find a reason to vent. It worked every single time on the Zhang Linen of their student days.