"I don't mean to make you my full-time secretary," Zhao Yingjun added quickly.

"Regarding this matter... I've actually considered it a lot."

"To be honest, you're already completely financially free. Your quarterly income will even be more than many large companies' annual revenue. Asking you to do secretarial work now is really not appropriate. That's why I've been hesitant to even mention this to you. "

"Although you're my subordinate now, from the perspective of the company's survival, you might actually be the real boss of X Company. I've also considered what would happen to the company if you left... and where it should go. But that's not related to what we're talking about today."

"We've talked about it. You said you plan to start your own business in the future, want to learn some business thinking, accumulate some experience, and avoid some detours. I also think this is very necessary, and I support you in doing so. And the position where you can learn these things the most... without a doubt, is the position of president's secretary."

"Like the president, secretaries are exposed to a lot of commercial information and even confidential matters every day. They need to consider how to choose, how to make trade-offs, and how to decide, just like the president. Sometimes a small decision can affect the survival of the entire company. You can't learn these things in any other position... only through personal experience. Even me, even Chu Shanhe, many things are still progressed through trial and error."

"Since I've brought this up today, these are some of my heartfelt words to you. You've helped me a lot during this time, and I should tell you everything I know on your entrepreneurial journey and pass on my experience and lessons over the years."

"So, you can consider this matter. If you have this plan... you might as well try to be my part-time secretary, without affecting your daily life and work."

...

Zhao Yingjun spoke very sincerely.

Lin Xian had never seen Zhao Yingjun say so much at once. It seemed she had been thinking about this for a long time before she beat around the bush and said this long-standing tangled matter.

What she said made sense.

From an outsider's perspective, having him, the company's sugar daddy who was financially free, young, and promising, be her secretary was indeed not something that could be easily said.

That's probably why she seemed so preoccupied tonight, hesitant to speak several times.

She was probably afraid that Lin Xian would misunderstand, afraid that Lin Xian would think she was looking down on him or belittling him.

Part-time secretary.

Zhao Yingjun had indeed considered everything very comprehensively.

She wouldn't tie Lin Xian down all day. Instead, she would mainly let Lin Xian help her deal with some confidential matters that she couldn't handle, and Lin Xian would still be free to manage his other time.

It must be thanks to the "wanting to succeed," "wanting to improve," and "wanting to learn" persona he had established before that Zhao Yingjun considered promoting him to be her secretary...

And Lin Xian.

Had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"With pleasure."

Lin Xian smiled and said, "I'm honored that you trust me so much, and I believe I can do this job well."

Zhao Yingjun chuckled, turned her head, looked at the colorful night scene on the opposite bank, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She put down her arms and supported herself on the riverside railing with her back:

"I thought you would refuse."

"I might have in the past..." Lin Xian said softly.

"But now my thinking has indeed changed a lot. I really want to learn some real skills, and being your secretary is undoubtedly the fastest way to grow. What do I need to do?"

"Usually, just continue doing your normal work."

Zhao Yingjun turned her head and looked at Lin Xian:

"It's just that I might call you more often in the future. There are more and more affairs in the company now, and I'm really a little too busy. I can't do everything myself, so I'll have to trouble you more in the future."

"I'll also gradually let you get in touch with some things involving the company's commercial secrets. I only have a preliminary plan for these things. We can coordinate the specific matters slowly in the future."

"Of course... if you have time, I'll also have to trouble you to help me clean the office."

She smiled embarrassedly, and the evening breeze blew the broken hair on her temples into her eyes:

"You don't have to clean it every day, just when you have time. It's good for the mood to have a clean office, just don't let anyone else enter the office. As a lesson from the past, it's better to be careful."

Lin Xian nodded and noted it down:

"I will do my best."

"Oh, right, remember the password to the office's code lock." Zhao Yingjun rubbed her eyes:

"32375246."

"So complicated? Is there any special meaning?" Lin Xian wanted to take out his phone to write it down, but thought it wouldn't be very confidential, so he had to recite it a few times in his heart before he could remember this irregular combination of numbers.

He thought there would be some pattern to follow... Why would Zhao Yingjun set such a strange password?

"It doesn't mean anything." Zhao Yingjun smiled slightly:

"Any meaningful password will always be guessed someday, and there's always a possibility of it being cracked. But this kind of meaningless password is relatively much safer."

"It may be hard to believe, but I just set this password randomly. It really doesn't mean anything."

"Okay." Lin Xian recited it several times in his head again.

Zhao Yingjun was right.

It was really hard to remember...

32375246

Compared to preventing others, this password was probably the most effective at preventing himself. If he didn't review it a few times before going to bed at night, he might forget it when he woke up tomorrow morning.

"Don't worry, I've remembered it."

"Don't tell a second person, Lin Xian." Zhao Yingjun straightened up from the railing and glanced at the increasingly thick and heavy clouds:

"Only you and I know this password."

"I'll keep it a secret."

Lin Xian reassured her:

"After the New Year, you'll see an office that's as clean as new."

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it."

Boom!!!!

Another dull thunder rumbled down, very close, seemingly right above their heads.

Drip, drip, raindrops fell.

From drizzle, it quickly turned into bean-sized drops, pattering down.

"It's raining. Lin Xian, hurry into the car."

"Okay."

The two ran into the car.

The rain was heavy, turning into a thick curtain of water squeezing against the car glass. The windshield wipers moved back and forth at the fastest speed, but it was still too late to wipe away the rain.

"Why did it suddenly rain so heavily?"

"The weather this season... is probably like this."

...

For safety's sake, they drove relatively slowly on the road. By the time they dropped Zhao Yingjun off at her house, it was already close to midnight.

"Drive slowly on the road."

Zhao Yingjun instructed after getting out of the car:

"You don't have a car either. You can drive this car home for the New Year. It'll be more convenient."

"That's too high-profile, Director Zhao. Never mind."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"I'll still park the car in the company garage and put the car keys back in your office."

"I remember you always put your car keys in the drawer?"

Zhao Yingjun lowered her head and smiled:

"Lin Xian, you're my secretary. You can decide these things in the future. When you have time, help me organize the office properly, remember where everything is placed, and plan it well."

"Okay."

...

Buzz———————

The Ferrari Laferrari's violent engine roared in the heavy rain.

"32375246."

Lin Xian softly recited this string of numbers amidst the sound of the ticking turn signal.

"Finally... I've got it."

A smile crept onto the corner of Lin Xian's mouth. His heart beat faster, like the V12 engine.

The Genius Club invitation hidden in Zhao Yingjun's office... he could finally see what was on it.

Genius Club...

This mysterious organization hidden in the long river of history for more than 600 years was finally lifting the tip of the iceberg, at least... he could catch a glimpse of its appearance.

It was so mysterious and so powerful.

It was at the center of countless mysteries, driving the entire black vortex to rotate.

Xu Yun.

The cosmic constant 42.

New Donghai City.

The moon covered by a black hand.

600 years of blank history.

Time, past, future.

Even the safe, CC, Chu Anqing, and the bearded man... might all be related to this mysterious organization.

Lin Xian had never understood why Zhao Yingjun was qualified to receive this invitation.

But now...

The answer was only one step away from being revealed!

Squeak——

The Ferrari stopped in the company's underground garage. The torrential rain washed away the dust on its shell, making it look brand new, as red as fire.

After locking the car, Lin Xian went straight to the elevator and pressed the button for the 22nd floor.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

The elevator was extremely quiet at midnight.

The sound of each cable rubbing against the steel buckle was deafening.

It was now past 12:30 AM. There was no one in the entire company. In fact, it didn't matter even if there was because he was now Zhao Yingjun's secretary, and it was reasonable for him to be in Zhao Yingjun's office at any time.

What's more, Zhao Yingjun was a person who paid great attention to privacy. There were no cameras in the corridor on the 22nd floor, and there were no monitoring devices in the office.

No one knew what he was going to do.

No one knew what he was doing in Zhao Yingjun's office.

As Zhao Yingjun said...

32375246.

Only the two of them knew this password.

Ding————

The sound of the elevator doors opening was particularly heart-wrenching.

Lin Xian stepped out of the brightly lit elevator and walked towards the code lock with a breathing blue light indicator in front of him.

The elevator doors behind him gradually closed...

The only light was like a tide retreating bravely, quickly shrinking from a fan shape into a thin line, and finally, dissipating into the darkness, leaving only the flashing blue light indicator on the code lock.

Like a living thing.

Like a heartbeat.

Like breathing.

Like the undulating lifeline on an electrocardiogram machine.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Lin Xian's leather boots, covered in rain, stepped on the dark and lightless floor, especially heavy and especially loud.

Lin Xian felt as if he had walked for several months in this short ten-meter distance.

From the first time he saw that invitation to finally standing in front of this code lock, it was like yesterday, but also like three autumns apart.

He stretched out his right index finger.

And pressed the eight hard-won numbers one by one on the password keyboard.

3, 2, 3, 7, 5, 2, 4, 6.

Bang!

With a familiar thud, the double-layered code lock opened in response.

Squeak...

He pushed open the heavy code lock.

What greeted him was the dark and lightless office, where the torrential rain was banging against the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Even though all the windows were tightly closed, it seemed that the unique fishy smell of rain was still squeezing in from the gaps, filling the entire office with a humid, rusty smell.

There was no light.

There was no moonlight.

Only the lower edge of the screen-off computer monitor was slowly flickering with a standby white dot.

Boom!!!

A bolt of lightning struck down, illuminating the entire room like daylight, but it was as fleeting as a camera flash. The rain turned into a water curtain and climbed onto the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, making the outside world blurry.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

...

Lin Xian breathed in the humid, rusty smell, his eyes fixed ahead, and he walked straight to Zhao Yingjun's desk, step by step.

He clearly remembered that the Genius Club invitation was in the drawer on the right.

Swoosh.

He opened the drawer and flipped through it.

Nothing.

Swoosh.

He opened another drawer and searched.

Still nothing.

He bent down and opened the file cabinet next to him.

"Hehe..."

A woman's chuckle suddenly appeared behind him!

Boom!!!!

Another bolt of lightning struck through the rain curtain, and Lin Xian suddenly stood up!

On the sofa on the side of the office, a woman with her legs crossed and heels swinging was sitting!

She was wearing a trench coat, and the blue ornaments on her ears fluttered in the lightning. She looked at him with a smile:

"Lin Xian, what are you looking for?"