Superstar Assistant [GL] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Li Tingting, holding Zhou Tiantian’s hand, was genuinely happy for her and asked with concern, “Tiantian, will your salary increase with the new job?”

She knew that Zhou Tiantian’s mother was ill and her stepfather was unreliable, so the family desperately needed money.

Tiantian nodded and said, “Mhm, it increased.”

Little Wang sneered, “Of course she has to say it increased. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if she changed jobs and her salary didn’t increase? If it really increased, she wouldn’t just say those two words.”

Zhou Tiantian’s clear, black-and-white eyes glanced at him without a trace of emotion, and her soft voice added, “It increased to 30,000.”

Little Wang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How is that possible? Who would hire a cleaner for 30,000 yuan? You must mean 30,000 a year!”

Guo Xiaoqing frowned and said, “Little Wang, be more polite. Tiantian was indeed poached for 30,000 yuan a month. She will be Li Ziyu’s assistant from now on.”

“Li Ziyu?” A few young girls nearby suddenly exclaimed, “You don’t mean the celebrity, do you?”

Guo Xiaoqing confirmed, “Yes, that celebrity hired Tiantian as her assistant for 30,000 a month, and the salary might even increase later. Being a celebrity’s assistant is much more tiring than being a cleaner, but at least the experience and the people you meet will be completely different.”

Little Wang, however, still said sourly, “Celebrities don’t have that much money. I saw in the news that celebrity assistants only earn a few thousand a month.”

Zhou Tiantian replied, “She’s willing to hire me for 30,000 a month. Why do you care? Before you criticize me, take a look at yourself. Even if you had this opportunity presented to you, you’d only be worth a few thousand, while I’m worth thirty thousand. Don’t you see the gap between us in our previous work?”

Her words were harsh and completely inconsistent with her former image. Little Wang was speechless, his gaze toward Zhou Tiantian filled with hatred. Why did she get this kind of opportunity while he was stuck in this company as a lousy cleaner, scrubbing floors every day?

But what could jealousy do? He and Zhou Tiantian would now live completely different lives, and Zhou Tiantian hadn’t left behind any dirt during her time at the cleaning company. Even if he wanted to trash her reputation, he couldn’t find anything.

And so, Zhou Tiantian left the company. Those who were close to her wished her well and were happy for her, while those who weren’t secretly harbored jealousy, but there was nothing they could do. From now on, Zhou Tiantian was no longer on the same level as them. What could they do to her?

That evening, after contacting Li Ziyu, Zhou Tiantian moved into Li Ziyu’s apartment at her urging. She moved into a house unlike any she had lived in in both her lives. The apartment was clean, bright, spacious, and had excellent lighting, with top-tier decor. Although this house was just rented by the company for Li Ziyu, Zhou Tiantian was still very happy, knowing she couldn’t afford such a clean house herself.

That night, Zhou Tiantian cleaned up the house and even asked Li Ziyu if she needed help drawing a bath. Li Ziyu was both amused and exasperated, saying, “I hired a personal assistant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself. Stop fussing and go rest.”

Only then did Zhou Tiantian return to her own room and lie down on the soft bed, feeling immense gratitude. She was most thankful to fate for allowing her to be reborn, because this time, she could feel that her destiny was truly different from before. Thinking back to confronting Little Wang at the company today, Zhou Tiantian also felt happy. Although she previously thought those words couldn’t hurt her physically, she still felt great when she fought back.

The next morning, Li Ziyu groggily got up and went downstairs, where she saw a plate of dough sticks (youtiao) and a bowl of soybean milk on the dining table. Her heart warmed, and she was even more pleased with her decision to promptly replace her assistant.

After she walked over and sat down at the table, Zhou Tiantian came out of the kitchen and said to her, “Do you like the soybean milk and youtiao? If not, I can make you something else.”

Li Ziyu’s eyes widened. “You made this yourself?”

Zhou Tiantian nodded. “I made it myself. I can cook some simple meals.”

In fact, she knew how to cook in her previous life because her husband thought buying food outside was too expensive and forced her to learn, often hitting and scolding her if the food wasn’t good. Although her cooking couldn’t compare to a professional chef’s, it was quite presentable.

Indeed, Li Ziyu took a bite of the youtiao and couldn’t help but praise, “It’s delicious! It tastes better than what they sell outside.”

Zhou Tiantian smiled faintly and said softly, “Maybe because there are no additives. If you like it, I can make it for you every day. I can cook other things too.”

Li Ziyu, however, felt a bit bad. “No need. We can buy food later. You can just go out and buy it. You’ll get too tired getting up early every morning to make me breakfast.”

Zhou Tiantian countered, “You hired me as your personal assistant to take care of your food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Making you breakfast is part of my job requirement. I’m not tired at all.”

Li Ziyu’s heart skipped a beat, as if she was recalling the innocent, fluttering feelings she had in high school. As a certain person flashed through her mind, she dismissed some thoughts.

After breakfast, Li Ziyu took Zhou Tiantian to Yuanwei Film and Television Culture Company to process her hiring paperwork. Upon arriving, Zhou Tiantian and Li Ziyu were surprised to see Little Liu still at the company.

When Little Liu saw Li Ziyu, he immediately bowed and greeted her, “Ziyu, why are you at the company today?”

Li Ziyu frowned slightly. “I’m the company’s artist. What, can’t I come to the company?”

Little Liu quickly said, “No, I didn’t mean that. I was just asking if there’s anything you need at the company. I can run errands for you.”

Li Ziyu snorted coldly. “No need. I can’t compliment your work ethic.”

Then she told Zhou Tiantian, “Wait for me here. I’m going to talk to Sister Luo.”

After Li Ziyu left, Little Liu’s face immediately changed. He looked at Zhou Tiantian scornfully and said, “Dog relying on the master’s power.”

Zhou Tiantian’s heart sank, and she murmured, “I wonder who the ‘dog’ is.”

Little Liu heard her mocking his attitude toward Li Ziyu just now and sneered, “Don’t think you’re anything special just because you’re Ziyu’s assistant. This entertainment industry isn’t somewhere you can do well in just by knowing how to clean.”

Zhou Tiantian knew she couldn’t show weakness. Today was her first day, and many people were watching. If she was bullied by Little Liu and didn’t fight back, more people in the company would bully her later.

So, her expression became more serious. Her eyes, usually so gentle, now seemed to hold a trace of firmness. “Whether I am competent for this position is none of your business. That’s my personal matter. After all, I am Ziyu’s assistant now, and you are nothing.”

Little Liu could not stand her talking to him like this and became extremely angry, but he didn’t know how to retaliate. At that moment, he suddenly saw the glass cup in Zhou Tiantian’s hand and laughed, “You really are getting old! You have to drink wolfberry and red date tea. With your health condition requiring red date and wolfberry tea, how can you be a good assistant to Ziyu?”

Zhou Tiantian replied, “This is prepared for Ziyu.”

Little Liu laughed even harder. “Wow, are you really looking after Ziyu? She’ll definitely fire you for this. How could Ziyu possibly drink red date and wolfberry water?”

The surrounding employees watching the scene covered their mouths and discussed, their eyes full of anticipation for the drama.

But just as Little Liu finished speaking, Li Ziyu walked out of the office. Zhou Tiantian gave Little Liu a meaningful look, then handed the glass cup to Li Ziyu. Li Ziyu took it and drank a sip, sighing contentedly, “The taste is quite sweet.”

Zhou Tiantian said, “I specially selected Xinjiang Hetian large red dates and Ningxia wolfberries yesterday, which is why the brewed water is sweet.”

Li Ziyu nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Little Liu next to them and said coldly, “Now you know why you were fired? She hasn’t even officially started yet, but she already knows I like sweet drinks. You worked for me for so long and never knew, always buying coffee, and never changed even after I mentioned it several times.”

Little Liu stood frozen, publicly humiliated, his face completely red. The onlookers burst into laughter. Little Liu, who had always been arrogant in the company, was not well-liked, so everyone enjoyed the spectacle of him being fired and then called out. They also looked at Zhou Tiantian with new eyes. They hadn’t expected her, who seemed so gentle and soft, to be so sharp-tongued. She seemed like someone not to be trifled with. This first impression led some people in the company to be very polite to Zhou Tiantian, not daring to suppress or bully her as a newcomer.

In the following days, Zhou Tiantian went to the company for training according to work hours, while Li Ziyu rested at home.

She was 21 years old this year and was in her third year of film school. Since she had already debuted and started filming, she rarely went back to school for classes.

Normally, when filming on set, Li Ziyu would be tired and want to go home to rest, but once she was actually home resting, she felt a bit bored. While bored, the sound of the front door lock turning came from the entryway, and she turned to see her mother, Zhong Yanjun, walking in.

The moment she saw Zhong Yanjun, Li Ziyu felt her scalp tighten because she had only come out to Zhong Yanjun half a year ago, and her mother had been reluctant to speak to her much since then.

Zhong Yanjun walked into the room, and seeing the terror in her daughter’s expression, she immediately became angry and snapped, “What, you don’t welcome me here?”

Li Ziyu quickly shook her head. “No, it’s just that you didn’t call. It was too sudden.”

Zhong Yanjun huffed. “If I weren’t thinking of bringing you something, who would come to see you.”

Li Ziyu looked at her hands but didn’t see anything, so she asked, “What did you bring me?”

Zhong Yanjun slowly walked up to her and took out a test tube from her bag. Inside the sealed test tube was a capsule.