Superstar Assistant [GL] - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The corners of Guo Xiaoqing’s mouth curled up in a smile, and her voice was full of apology. “Madam, I’m truly sorry. This was entirely due to my supervisory oversight. We hope you can accept our apology and give us a chance to make amends. We can offer you ten free cleanings as compensation.”

“Pfft.” Xiao Liu let out a scoff. “Do you think I’d be willing to let your company’s staff step into the house to clean now?”

Zhou Tiantian turned to look at Guo Xiaoqing, a look of determination surfacing in her not-so-delicate eyes. In her previous life, it was this kind of endless endurance that led to her tragic end. Since she decided to fight her original destiny after being reborn, she was going to stand tall and fight these people to the end. While the cleaning oversight was indeed her fault this time, this person’s attitude did not warrant their sincere apology here. If the woman didn’t want their apology, then she wouldn’t apologize again. The worst that could happen was being fired by the company, as long as it didn’t negatively affect Sister Guo.

Guo Xiaoqing quickly pulled her hand, shaking her head, indicating that she would try harder.

“What are you two signaling to each other?” Xiao Liu sneered. “What, so many little gestures right in front of me? It seems you’re not sincere at all.”

Guo Xiaoqing plastered a smile on her face again. Before she could speak, a fourth person’s voice came from inside the room. The voice was very pleasant but filled with annoyance. “I think you’re genuinely set on starving me to death, aren’t you? And if I remember correctly, the company rented this place for me, right? How is it suddenly your house now? Who are you to judge whether someone cleaned well or not?”

When Zhou Tiantian heard that voice, she felt a sense of familiarity but couldn’t quite place it.

As the voice faded, a beautiful woman in a bathrobe slowly walked out from the living room. Her hair was casually draped over her shoulders, her skin was fair and delicate, and her eyes, with slightly upturned corners, were deep black, like a pool of water—but a very cold pool.

Zhou Tiantian frowned slightly. This was the person she had brushed past in the elevator last night. Why did she look familiar? As if she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn’t immediately recall where.

Xiao Liu, however, instantly changed her attitude, turning around with a sycophantic smile. “Ziyu, you’re back?”

Li Ziyu looked at the person with the well-behaved, soft face, feeling a surge of irritation. She coldly scoffed, “I didn’t say anything, but you made decisions for me.” Then she shot a cold, displeased look at Xiao Liu. “I haven’t wanted you as my assistant for a long time. Today, it looks like I really should have made that decision sooner.”

Xiao Liu immediately panicked, her face turning ashen. “Ziyu, I—I’ve followed you for so long, and Sister Luo also thinks I do a great job.”

Li Ziyu was on the verge of exploding. “You have the nerve to tell me you do a great job? Do you think I haven’t seen what other people’s assistants do? What about Sister Luo? If I fire you today, is Sister Luo going to speak up for you?”

Then she pointed at Zhou Tiantian. “After I fire you, I’ll let her take your place as my assistant. At least after she organized my house, I feel like everything is much more convenient to use.”

Zhou Tiantian looked at Li Ziyu in shock. Why was she suddenly being asked to work for her? How could she just casually change jobs? She was so desperately short of money right now.

Li Ziyu was a woman of action. She called her manager. “Hello, Sister Luo. I don’t want Xiao Liu anymore. You can either fire her or arrange for her to work somewhere else, just don’t let her be an eyesore around me.”

The person on the other end said something, and Li Ziyu instantly erupted in anger. “What did she do? She acts like a bigger star than me on set, putting down small celebrities and other assistants, which makes people say I have a bad temper!”

Zhou Tiantian: “…”

Li Ziyu continued, “I have to wait for her when it’s time to eat! Eating during filming is like fighting a war. I’d rather eat the crew’s boxed lunch! Every time she packs my luggage, she forgets things, and I have to remind her. I’ve practically become her assistant!”

The other side offered another round of soothing words, and Li Ziyu finally calmed down. Then she said calmly, “Mhm, I’ve found a new person here. I’ll bring her to the company this afternoon to start her job as my assistant.”

After hanging up, Li Ziyu looked coldly at Xiao Liu. “You can get lost now.”

Xiao Liu was still struggling desperately, trembling all over. “Ziyu, you can’t be so impulsive. If there’s anything I’ve done wrong, just tell me, and I’ll change!”

Li Ziyu didn’t even look at her. “No chance.” She then acted as if Xiao Liu didn’t exist. Looking at Zhou Tiantian made her feel frustrated again. With Zhou Tiantian’s soft personality, anyone could bully her. How many people like Xiao Liu must she encounter every day?

Thinking this made Li Ziyu even angrier. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Tiantian’s collar, pulling her close and pinning her against the wall. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and she lowered her voice. “Why didn’t you fight back? Why did you keep apologizing and swallowing your anger just now? Do you know how many people will take advantage of you if you keep acting like this!”

Zhou Tiantian was startled by her. Her heart was beating rapidly. She smelled the faint fragrance coming from Li Ziyu, looked at Li Ziyu’s black, bright eyes, and the burning anger within them. Three words slipped out, “Li Ziyu?”

Li Ziyu was even more annoyed, even laughing in anger. She raised her hand and squeezed Zhou Tiantian’s fair, soft cheek. “You only recognize me now?”

Zhou Tiantian blushed, feeling a little embarrassed that she hadn’t recognized her immediately.

Li Ziyu was her high school classmate. Completely unlike her, Li Ziyu had a very volatile temper, either treating boys as brothers or getting into fights with them. In the second year of high school, they had a good relationship, and Li Ziyu had even stood up to a few students who bullied her. It was only after befriending Li Ziyu that Zhou Tiantian’s high school life slowly quieted down.

But now, Li Ziyu was taller and thinner than in high school, and much better looking, so she hadn’t recognized her right away.

Li Ziyu exhaled, her ears slightly red, and her eyes flickered. “Forget it. It’s always been easy to bully you. Just follow me from now on. At least no one will dare to bully you again, understood?”

Zhou Tiantian froze, only then remembering that Li Ziyu had just offered her a job. She quickly said, “But I—I can’t work for you!”

“Tiantian!” Guo Xiaoqing let out a soft cry, constantly giving her meaningful looks. Zhou Tiantian, however, didn’t understand.

Xiao Liu also chimed in now, “Ziyu, look how slow her reaction is. How can she take care of you? Don’t fire me. I promise I’ll be better from now on…”

“Get out!” Li Ziyu turned back, her eyes carrying a faint look of ruthlessness. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll call security!”

Xiao Liu’s face turned even uglier. She gave Zhou Tiantian one last jealous look and left like a beaten dog.

Li Ziyu exhaled unhappily. She grasped Zhou Tiantian’s wrist through her clothes. “Come inside and talk.”

Zhou Tiantian stood still in the doorway, an internal battle raging in her mind. She knew she couldn’t be a housekeeper forever, but would working for Li Ziyu be better than cleaning? Could it help her gradually become stronger and change her and her mother’s fate?

“What are you still dithering about?” Li Ziyu was a little angry, but her tone wasn’t harsh at all.

Although she looked scary and volatile, Zhou Tiantian wasn’t particularly afraid of her. During the year they spent together in high school, even though Li Ziyu spoke harshly, she was always very good to her.

However, Zhou Tiantian was still hesitant about working for Li Ziyu, especially since she had other goals now.

Li Ziyu saw her lowering her head, frowning, and biting her lip, which only made her feel more irritated. “What’s wrong with you? I told you to come inside and talk. Do you like staying in the entranceway so much?”

Zhou Tiantian quickly shook her head, wanting to ask something but feeling too embarrassed to speak.

At this moment, Guo Xiaoqing stepped forward, forcing herself to be brave, and asked for Zhou Tiantian. “Um, Miss Li, Li Dà Míngxīng (Big Star), I know this is rude to ask, but I want to ask for Tiantian: If she works for you, what would the salary roughly be?”

Zhou Tiantian was a little surprised. Li Ziyu was a celebrity? In her previous life, she had been busy taking care of her husband and working to support the family, so she hadn’t kept up with celebrities and didn’t know Li Ziyu had become a big star.

Upon hearing Guo Xiaoqing’s question, Li Ziyu finally realized that this was Zhou Tiantian’s worry. She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Quite smart, knowing not to come if the salary is too low. But if you want to ask about the salary, why don’t you say it yourself?” Then she raised her voice. “What is your current salary?”

Zhou Tiantian felt even more embarrassed. She actually really wanted to work for Li Ziyu. From what Xiao Liu had just said, the job seemed to be taking care of Li Ziyu. Li Ziyu had been very good to her before, and she also wanted to take care of Li Ziyu, but… she also needed money.

Her two white front teeth bit her pink lower lip. Zhou Tiantian softly opened her mouth and said, “I can earn a little over ten thousand a month.”

Li Ziyu scoffed. “I’ll give you thirty thousand a month to be my assistant!”

Zhou Tiantian immediately looked up at Li Ziyu, somewhat flustered. “You don’t have to give me such a high salary. Ten thousand is enough.”

Li Ziyu glared at her with her beautiful eyes. Her voice, although pleasant, was laced with menace. “Do you have the right to refuse? Don’t worry about me. The company will pay your salary, not me.”

“Tiantian, agree to it,” Guo Xiaoqing winked at Zhou Tiantian. “Where else can you get opportunities like the ones with her at a cleaning company? Don’t you need these opportunities?”

Zhou Tiantian pursed her lips, looking at Guo Xiaoqing, then turned her soft gaze to Li Ziyu. Finally, she nodded. “Mhm, I’ll be your assistant.”

A smile curled the corner of Li Ziyu’s mouth. Her face instantly became radiant, exuding a brilliance that made it impossible to look away. “That’s more like it. You just need to be obedient and listen to me from now on. With me around, no one will be able to bully you again, understood?”

Zhou Tiantian smiled shyly, her heart feeling warm. She never imagined that after being reborn, she would meet Li Ziyu again and even work with her. It felt so wonderful.