I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Lin Yang let out a long breath, stood up from the ground, and looked around the luxurious suite of the five-star hotel.

A messy bed, clothes scattered about, an ambiguous atmosphere in the air...

It all felt like an unreal dream.

and many more.

Lin Yang's brows suddenly furrowed.

He began to recall the details of last night.

During the company team building event, he was just a new employee in the sales department, while Su Man was the high-ranking business unit director.

The two were separated by a vast distance.

How did he end up drinking with her?

His memory is hazy; he only remembers being pulled by his department head to toast one table after another of important figures.

Then, someone handed him a beautifully colored cocktail.

And then... that's what happened this morning.

Is all of this really just a coincidence?

An unknown new employee unexpectedly develops a relationship with a divorced female director of a business unit.

Is there really such a coincidence in the world?

Lin Yang's gaze gradually sharpened.

This whole affair was unusual from beginning to end.

What happened last night may not be so simple.

Someone orchestrated all of this behind the scenes.

who is it?

What is the purpose?

Lin Yang, dressed neatly, stood at the door of the luxurious suite.

Looking back at this meticulously planned trap.

Someone wanted to use him to get rid of Suman.

He, Lin Yang, a newbie just out of school, became the most insignificant yet most fatal pawn in this game.

Lin Yang gripped the doorknob tightly; the cold metallic touch calmed him down slightly.

He has to go to the company.

Su Man is the number one in her own collection, so she has to find out what's going on. She also wants to see with her own eyes who's pulling the strings behind all this.

Anyone who's ever lifted weights knows that he's all about getting to work; sitting around waiting to die is never his style.

……

At 10:00 AM, in the sales office of the Enwei Group's laundry and personal care division.

The air was filled with the aroma of instant coffee and the clatter of keyboards.

The moment Lin Yang stepped into the office, all sounds paused for half a second.

"Kobayashi, you're finally here! Did you drink yourself into oblivion last night?"

Old Liu, who works at the next workstation, chuckled and teased, his face showing the exhaustion of a hangover.

"That's right, Lin Yang was the main force last night, he drank several distributors under the table."

"In our sales department, arriving before 11 a.m. on the second day of a team-building event is generally not considered late," another colleague behind me added.

"Xiao Lin, you're new here and don't know many of the rules yet. Drinking a little alcohol is good for young people."

His colleagues chattered amongst themselves, their conversation revealing a casual familiarity; no one thought there was anything wrong with his lateness.

Lin Yang forced a stiff smile, tugging at the corners of his mouth, as a response.

He returned to his seat, and before he could even settle in, he was already making plans.

Before Su Man left, she didn't say she was going to fire me, so I'm still considered a company employee, right?

Should he prepare a post on his WeChat Moments beforehand, play the victim, and see if any classmates can recommend him for a job?

Just as he was lost in thought, a crisp sound of high heels approached from afar and stopped at the entrance of the sales department.

The office fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked up at the newcomer.

That was Su Man's chief secretary, He Xiaoya.

A well-tailored black suit perfectly accentuated her shapely figure.

Her makeup was exquisite, her expression meticulous, and she exuded the capable aura of an elite white-collar worker.

Her gaze swept around the office, finally settling precisely on Lin Yang.

"Lin Yang".

Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Lin Yang's heart sank.

coming.

He stood up, ready to face his punishment.

The surrounding colleagues also cast sympathetic glances. What good could it be if the director's secretary came to find a new employee in person, except to tell him to get out?

He Xiaoya walked up to him in her high heels, her face expressionless.

"President Su has informed us."

She paused, then parted her red lips slightly and uttered a few words that instantly froze the entire office.

"Starting today, you are being transferred to the director's office as Mr. Su's assistant."

"Go pack your things now, come with me."

What?

He suspected that he had heard wrongly.

assistant?

Suman's assistant?

How is that possible!

Didn't she tell me I didn't need to go to the company?

The entire sales department was completely silent.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Lin Yang as if he were a spectacle, their expressions shifting from amusement to shock to disbelief.

After a brief silence, whispers spread like a plague.

"Did I hear that right? Lin Yang? As the director's assistant?"

"Isn't he a newcomer? What makes him so special?!"

"Could he... be some kind of hidden royal relative?"

"Last night during team building... I think I saw him toasting President Su. Could it be... that President Su has taken a liking to this young heartthrob...?"

Jealous, suspicious, and distrustful gazes were like countless fine needles pricking Lin Yang's back.

He could sense that the way his colleagues, who used to treat him like a younger brother, were looking at him had completely changed.

Lin Yang's Adam's apple bobbed.

He looked at He Xiaoya, who had no expression, and then thought of Su Man, that woman.

He understood instantly.

monitor.

This isn't a promotion; it's putting him under close surveillance, like being under the nose of the police!

This woman didn't believe he could control his mouth.

She was afraid he would reveal what happened last night and this morning.

Instead of being on guard and constantly on edge, it's better to make him one of our own and put him under absolute control.

What a brilliant, open scheme!

Lin Yang's heart calmed down instead.

Since you won't let me leave, then I'll stay.

I'd like to see what tricks you're up to.

He said no more, silently bent down, and put all his pitiful possessions on his desk—a mug with "Genshin Impact Activation" printed on it, a few pens and notebooks from the company—into a cardboard box he had just found in the storage room.

Under the complex gazes of all his colleagues, Lin Yang, carrying the cardboard box, followed He Xiaoya out of the sales department.

From the noisy and crowded cubicles of the sales department to the quiet and luxurious director's office area, it felt like stepping into a different social class.

The carpet underfoot was so soft it made almost no sound, and a delicate botanical fragrance filled the air, a stark contrast to the "everyday life" atmosphere of the sales department.

The outer room of the director's office is a separate office area, which is not large, but it is spacious and bright.

Of the four individual desks, two are currently empty.

He Xiaoya pointed to one of the empty seats by the window.

"This will be your seat from now on."

She then turned to another young girl who had already stood up.

"Li Tong, this is our new assistant, Lin Yang. Show him around and get him familiar with the work."

Li Tong looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She had her hair tied in a ponytail, her face was a little chubby, and she was wearing a beige casual suit, which made her look somewhat young.

When she saw Lin Yang, her eyes held a mixture of curiosity and shyness, and she reached out her hand.

"Hello, my name is Li Tong. We'll be colleagues from now on."

Lin Yang activated the system, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

Name: Li Tong

[Wealth Rating: Silver Level]

Overall rating: 7.8

[Appearance: 8.0, Figure: 7.5, Charisma: 7.9]

Lin Yang remained completely unmoved. His score was too low, and his wealth level was insufficient; he didn't meet the system's requirements.

His gaze then turned to He Xiaoya.

Name: He Xiaoya

[Wealth Rating: Silver Level]

Overall rating: 8.1

[Appearance: 8.2, Figure: 8.3, Charisma: 7.9]

It's still not enough.

Lin Yang remained calm and politely shook hands with Li Tong as a greeting.

He Xiaoya instructed, "President Su has an important video conference this morning, so please don't disturb her for now. We also have a colleague here, Liu Wenwen, who is also a secretary. She's on maternity leave and won't be back for a few months. If you have any questions, ask Li Tong first."

After saying that, she sat back down in her seat, turned on her computer, and focused intently, as if the notification that had just caused an uproar in the entire sales department was just a trivial matter she had casually mentioned.

Li Tong enthusiastically introduced Lin Yang to the various facilities in the office, where the printer was, the classification rules of the filing cabinets, and how to use the coffee machine in the break room.

As Lin Yang listened, he took his own things out of the cardboard box.

He raised his head.

Facing his desk was a heavy double oak door.

There was no sign on the door, but everyone knew that behind that door was Su Man's office.

She was the woman who held the power of life and death over him, and with whom he had the closest relationship.

Just one door separates two worlds.

He sat down, feeling the soft and comfortable high-end office chair beneath him.

The surroundings were so quiet that the only sounds were the soft tapping of the keyboard and the whirring of the air conditioner.

Li Tong and He Xiaoya were both focused on their work, and no one paid any attention to him anymore.

Lin Yang leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms behind his head, and stared intently at the closed door.

He became Suman's assistant.

From a low-level sales newbie who could have been eliminated at any time, he rose to the top and became a close associate of the company's senior management.

How absurd, yet how real.

Su Man, what exactly do you want to do?