Both your salary and your salary will be as you wish.

Chapter 6 It turns out that navigating the world of martial arts relies entirely on acting skills.

The stage of capital: the actors are madmen, and the audience are fools.

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Before the ink on the "pledge" that Zeng Jia and Wang Haowen had prepared was even dry, Zhang Zhishan and Yu Li picked up their pens and quickly signed their names. The sharp sound of the pen nib slicing across the paper was particularly jarring in the deathly silent conference room. It didn't look like signing any contract; it looked more like nailing a coffin lid to a relationship.

Zeng Jia thought to herself: "They've already fallen out like this, how can they still sleep in the same bed? Will they never speak to each other again and fight to the death?"

But as soon as the conference room door opened, her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground. Zhang Zhishan, who had just been arguing so fiercely that he was practically strangling her, now, as if by magic, naturally reached out and gently brushed the tea stains off Yu Li's suit pants, his movements as practiced as if he had rehearsed them eight hundred times.

"How about we grab lunch together? A new Cantonese restaurant opened nearby, their roast meats are pretty good, wanna try it?"

"Great, this will help me relax. I was really tired this morning. But I don't eat sweets, so please tell the kitchen to put less sugar in the roast meats."

"That's not up to you."

The ice in Yu Li's eyes melted away completely, and the intimacy between the couple returned. She even directed Zeng Jia to get a band-aid for Zhang Zhishan, saying, "Be more careful next time, look how clumsy you are."

"My wife knows how to cherish me." Zhang Zhishan affectionately took Yu Li's arm, their love evident, and the board members laughed along with him.

They started gossiping about the rival platform, and the tense atmosphere in the meeting room vanished in the blink of an eye.

Zeng Jia stood there, almost dropping the folder in her hand. Turning her head, she saw Wang Haowen with his mouth agape, looking utterly ridiculous.

They both saw the doubt in each other's eyes: Had these two really broken up, or was it just a charade for the board and outsiders?

Wang Haowen quietly moved closer, gave a thumbs up, and squeezed out three words through his teeth: "Awesome."

Zeng Jia was so startled that her throat tightened, and she quickly went to find a band-aid.

Who cares who they're putting on an act for? She's just doing it to make money. Capitalists' ability to change their tune is like Lao Tzu's alchemy furnace—when the time is right, they can make things turn green or red at will, completely at their mercy. She's certainly seen something new today.

Handing out band-aids and organizing meeting minutes, Zeng Jia hadn't even finished processing what had happened that morning when Zhang Zhishan's messages came in like a barrage: "Book the plane tickets and hotels to Gaoyou for me, make sure they're close to the raw material factory, not too far away." "That legal contract, it has to be all on my desk before I leave work today, and you have to go over it word by word three times! Also, find out everything about that Chen guy's family background, I need to know all about him on the way." "Go see Aunt Chen again, find a way to let her stay in Beijing a little longer, and send her off when we get back."

The barrage of messages made Zeng Jia sweat profusely, her ten fingers flying across the keyboard. She'd worked in HR for three years, dealing with attendance, interviews, and employment contracts every day; she'd never encountered a business contract involving millions of dollars. And she was expected to scrutinize it word by word three times? Forget three times, even if she read it eight hundred times, she'd only find a few typos at most, let alone understand a fraction of it!

The pressure came crashing down on her, and Zeng Jia could only grit her teeth and bear it. After all, with doubled salary in hand, she was still hoping to adjust the down payment amount a little.

She was so busy and overwhelmed all morning that she didn't even have time to drink water until lunch break. She messaged Dong Miaomiao and arranged to meet in the break room for lunch.

After finishing his meeting materials, Wang Haowen checked his watch and realized it was still early. Yu Li had arranged to go for a beauty treatment with several directors after lunch. Although it was a place where men were not allowed, he and his driver had to wait at the door, ready to be there at any time. While waiting, he hunched over his workstation, cramming on luxury goods, his eyes scanning the people inside "Heaven's Will" like radar.

In the morning's "Emei Sect vs. Southern Shaolin" battle, the board members have clearly taken sides, including some company executives who have a clear direction. For example, Yu Li made him a senior assistant and became the HR director with just one phone call.

But what about the others? They may appear silent, but they could all be plotting something.

Wang Haowen loathed the eerie atmosphere, but he had to be on high alert. He and Zeng Jia were both struggling to make a living in this place, and he had also offended Zhang Zhishan. Who knew where a cold arrow might come from and pierce his heart, killing him instantly? In a place like this, one must always be wary of others.

Glancing at his watch, Wang Haowen knew it was about time to leave, so he put on his signature smile and headed straight for the underground parking garage.

He had just reached the entrance of the office area when he bumped into Zeng Jia and Dong Miaomiao discussing lunch. Zeng Jia was browsing Dianping (a Chinese review platform) while struggling to put on her fitted, waist-cinching long trench coat.

The trench coat had a slightly narrow shoulder cut, and after she had put on one sleeve, she struggled to reach the other sleeve for a long time. Before Wang Haowen could even process what was happening, his body had already taken action. He took two steps closer to Zeng Jia and very naturally lifted up the dangling sleeve of the trench coat, his movements as swift as if he had pressed the double-speed playback button.

Zeng Jia turned around abruptly, and their eyes met. Wang Haowen, still a bit caught off guard and still somewhat inert, caught a glimpse of Dong Miaomiao watching the scene unfold.

He jerked his hand away as if burned, awkwardly uttering "You're welcome," before rushing towards the elevator without looking back: Damn, why did my hand have to be so clumsy? He wished he could slap himself twice.

Zeng Jia stood frozen in place, her heart pounding like a rabbit, speechless for a moment. She didn't know how to explain it properly. Wang Haowen's movements were so fluid they were incomprehensible, and those peach blossom eyes that carried a sense of entitlement and "I can't live without you"—any explanation would just seem like a cover-up.

Dong Miaomiao crossed her arms and watched Wang Haowen disappear into the elevator. She curled her lip and teased him with a hint of gossip: "No wonder President Yu took a liking to him at first sight. With that natural ease, he can act like he's known anyone for three years. He really knows how to get along with people."

Zeng Jia's heart skipped a beat. She quickly composed herself and continued the conversation, deliberately showing her disgust on her face and forcefully smoothing her trench coat. "He's just a spineless pretty boy who looks down on everyone like they're seedlings."

Afraid the conversation would continue, she quickly made a reservation to eat hot pot. Just as she sat down at Xiabu Xiabu, her phone vibrated and a message from Wang Haowen popped up: "My claws are rebelling. They want to send me to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures ahead of schedule."

Zeng Jia stared at the screen, biting her lower lip to suppress a laugh. Her finger hovered over the screen for a long time before she finally replied with only one word: "Serves you right!"

They've been dating openly for five years, but now it's all turned into a clandestine affair, like something out of a TV drama. Who can they blame for this mess? In the end, it's all about money.

She has only one thought in her mind right now: save! She has to save up the down payment no matter what!

BJ, the city she loves from the bottom of her heart, is where she wants to settle down and build a real home for the two of them with Wang Haowen.

Zeng Jia ignored Wang Haowen and focused on eating with Dong Miaomiao. In the afternoon, she took some time to go to the hospital to arrange a full medical check-up for Aunt Chen and kindly advised her to rest in Beijing for a few more days.

Back at the company, she buried herself in the contract provided by the legal department, scrutinizing every punctuation mark and clause three times over. She was terrified of making even the slightest mistake that could cost her her hard-earned job.

Only after all the details were finalized and the entire process was reported to Zhang Zhishan in detail did Zeng Jia finally receive the "pardon" to leave work, ending the "eighty-one tribulations" of her first day as a secretary.

Night had fallen, and the old light bulbs in the alley flickered on and off. Zeng Jia rubbed her sore eyes hard. It turned out that it wasn't the lights that were the problem; it was that her eyes were about to give out. It was as if her vision was covered by frosted glass; everything was blurry, and she couldn't even make out the outlines of the pebbles at her feet.

She finally understood why Zhang Zhishan's secretary position changed hands so frequently. This guy was as energetic as a wind-up toad, coming up with eight hundred ideas a day. His salary had doubled, but his relentless energy was something not everyone could handle.

When Wang Haowen returned, the clock on the wall was almost 11 o'clock. He had changed out of the eye-catching Burberry outfit he wore during the day and put on a simple Hongxing Erke tracksuit. He was carrying two boxes of still-steaming grilled cold noodles, with eggs and sausages.

His hair was a mess, like a bird's nest, and he looked listless. But the moment he saw Zeng Jia sprawled on the sofa, exhausted like a salted fish, he immediately switched to his signature cheeky demeanor and leaned over: "Was today exciting enough? Wasn't it more thrilling than when we skipped class and ran into our advisor back in the day?"

Recalling her absurd, evasive behavior at the company during the day, Zeng Jia felt a mix of emotions. She was both angry and wanted to laugh, and finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Seeing her laugh, Wang Haowen also grinned foolishly, and before long, the two of them were laughing so hard they were swaying back and forth on the sofa.

Zeng Jia, panting, pushed away the grilled cold noodles Wang Haowen offered after laughing until her hands were numb. "No... I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe... I really can't! We have to make a list of rules, and we both have to strictly abide by them. First, watch your mouth and your hands. If we run into each other at the company, we'll avoid you! Also, you're not allowed to like my posts on WeChat Moments. It'll give you away in a second. Do you have any pictures of me on your Moments? Delete them right now..."

She had just turned on her phone and hadn't even finished typing when Wang Haowen snatched it away and deleted it all.

"We've been inseparable for five years, haven't we? Our tacit understanding is ingrained in our bones. If you can't even change that, we'll have to break up!" He looked at Zeng Jia with a tone that was half teasing and half serious.