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

Chapter 25: Looking at houses right after the Spring Festival

Zeng Jia wasn't too surprised. Today's board meeting was just the countdown to the next three months. After three months, it would be a life-or-death battle between Yu Li and Zhang Zhishan. If they couldn't reach an agreement on financing at this point, all their previous efforts would have been wasted. It would be better to admit defeat and pack their bags and get out of there as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang! I've assigned you to guard the base in Beijing, and I promise I won't delay your important business!" Zeng Jia patted her chest and assured him. Being trusted like this warmed her heart.

"Also, keep a close eye on Zheng Shanhe's side for me," Zhang Zhishan instructed again. "It's cold, so make sure there are no problems with the logistics. Also, pay close attention to the company's daily operations. If you encounter any issues you can't handle, give me a call."

This time, he took all the best and brightest members of the financing team with him, but he also needed a reliable person at home to keep things in order. Otherwise, given Yu Li's personality, she could easily "steal" his place; she was absolutely capable of doing that.

Zeng Jia immediately nodded vigorously, picked up her notebook, and wrote down Zhang Zhishan's instructions one by one, filling it with dense text, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Seeing her earnestness, Zhang Zhishan nodded in satisfaction. To be honest, he hadn't initially thought much of this unassuming girl from Northeast China. But after getting to know her, he discovered that she was efficient, discreet, meticulous, and possessed a rare loyalty—far more reliable than the glib, scapegoat-loving old hands in the company.

"Zeng Jia, work hard. You won't regret following me." Zhang Zhishan suddenly pulled a heavy bunch of keys from the drawer and slammed them on the table. "These are the villa's key and key. I never know when I might need you to take something from the safe. Anyway, there are guest rooms in the villa. If you don't want the hassle of going back and forth, you can just stay there. The Maybach is also yours. Use it whenever you need it."

Zeng Jia was instantly dumbfounded, her voice changing instantly: "President Zhang, me staying at your villa... isn't that just too inappropriate?" That villa had long been a source of psychological trauma for her. Besides, didn't Yu Li go home? What kind of nonsense was it for a lowly assistant like her to move in? Wasn't she just asking for trouble?

"What's inappropriate?" Zhang Zhishan raised an eyebrow. "Your boyfriend isn't happy? I remember you said you didn't have a boyfriend, are you lying to me?"

"I really don't have a boyfriend!" Zeng Jia's hands were practically blurry as she waved them. "I'll stay at your place. As for Mr. Yu's place..."

"Hey, she's flying to Shanghai tonight, leaving only the nanny and Zihao at home." Zhang Zhishan chuckled, flicking his cigarette ash like snowflakes, his tone full of sarcasm. "There are no secrets in this company. We can smell each other's farts. She also left that pretty boy Wang Haowen at BJ."

Zeng Jia suddenly realized why Zhang Zhishan hadn't taken her along; it turned out Yu Li had made her move first.

After seeing their respective bosses off, Zeng Jia returned to her office dejectedly. The moment her bottom touched the chair, she felt a burning gaze fixed on her. Looking up, she saw Wang Haowen staring at her from across the room.

The two stared at each other, the air thick with tension. Then, as if rehearsed, one of their fingers twitched first, and simultaneously they grabbed their phones, their fingertips clicking and tapping across the screen.

Ding Dong!Ding Dong!

The crisp notification sound rang out in the deathly silent office, particularly jarring.

Zeng Jia clicked on the screen like a thief, and Wang Haowen's message popped up immediately: Shall we go home tonight?

Wang Haowen also opened the message and saw that Zeng Jia's message had arrived: Are you going to the villa to be the night watchman tonight?

The two looked up, their eyes meeting. They tensed for three seconds, then quickly bit their lips to suppress a laugh. Why bother? Why bother? It's like they're acting out a spy movie again!

That night, the two of them actually went back to that luxurious villa that made one's legs weak.

The security camera footage remained unrepaired; after all, the three members of the family had secrets, and none of them wanted the other to know. The two of them sat cross-legged on the cold marble floor, rummaging through the refrigerator for all sorts of imported snacks, and even pulled out two ridiculously expensive cans of foreign beer—one can cost as much as half a dozen bottles of Yanjing Pure Draft Beer.

Zeng Jia had sent the nanny home for New Year's Day, since Zhang Zhishan and Yu Li wouldn't be back until next week anyway, and it wouldn't be right to have the nanny take care of them. Zhang Zihao was at school for the New Year's Eve party; the huge villa was so empty you could hear the echoes, with only the two of them and a ragdoll cat with a haughty look on its face.

This time, I didn't feel the shock, inferiority, or sourness I felt the first time I came. After all, it was the boss's special permission. Although I didn't dare to drink the expensive-looking sea cucumber and bird's nest in the refrigerator like porridge, I had some beer, dried meat, and ridiculously expensive fruit without any guilt.

Wang Haowen looked at Zeng Jia with a sincere expression: "Zeng Xiaojia, I swear to God, I work so hard just to earn more money so I can buy you a house and get married. I have no other selfish motives whatsoever. If I'm lying, I'm your grandson, and you can do whatever you want with me!"

Zeng Jia was pondering what to say when Wang Haowen added, "But judging from your current enthusiasm, it seems like you're putting it all into work. So, are you thinking of postponing the wedding?"

Zeng Jia thought about it carefully. She had been too busy lately; her mind was indeed filled with work. The wedding she had been longing for had somehow been relegated to the back burner.

"Didn't we agree to a bet and a competition? I have to give it my all, right? Besides, this opportunity is hard to come by, so I should learn as much as I can. One day, when they find out what our relationship is, they'll fire us both immediately. Then I can find a new job with my skills. I can't go back to being an HR specialist, can I?"

"With your current skills, finding a job should be a piece of cake." Wang Haowen picked up a guava, scooped out a spoonful and put it in her mouth. "To be honest, I don't think Lao Zhang can beat Lao Yu. I used to think that high-end luxury goods were just a waste of money, a way to fleece people, but now I've discovered that there's actually some trick to this stuff, it's not as simple as I thought."

Zeng Jia raised an eyebrow and retorted, "So you didn't argue enough during the day, so you're here arguing with me again tonight? Want to continue the competition?"

"I didn't mean that, don't wrong me." Wang Haowen looked aggrieved. "Why do you get so agitated when I just say a few words to you? You're like a firecracker, ready to explode at the slightest touch."

When? From the time you flirted with her and took her to the police station, I guess. Zeng Jia took another bite of guava, her face scrunched up in a grimace: "What is this stuff? It's so astringent, is it expired?"

"Guava is high in Vitamin C, low in sugar, and rich in dietary fiber. Yu Li eats it every day, saying it can fight aging." Wang Haowen had never tried it before, so he decided to take a bite. After only two chews, he spat it all out, his face turning green. "Damn, it tastes awful! No wonder they make so much money; just controlling what I eat is enough to kill me!"

He shuffled towards the refrigerator in his slippers, intending to find something else to eat. Just as he opened the refrigerator door, his phone, like a death knell, started beeping incessantly.

He took it out and looked at it; Yu Li's name was on the screen.

"Alright, the person in charge is checking up on me!" He tossed his phone toward Zeng Jia. "Could you please just reply to the message directly? It saves this blockhead of mine from having to make up something on the spot!"

Zeng Jia paused for a moment, then took the phone. Yu Li's message was concise: Report on the movements of Zhang Zhishan's team after she left Beijing.

Zeng Jia rolled her eyes, her fingers tapping rapidly on the screen, picking out a few replies that sounded plausible, a mix of truth and falsehood.

Wang Haowen returned carrying a bunch of food, and Zeng Jia casually tossed him her phone as well: "Tit for tat, look, my boyfriend wrote to me too!"

Wang Haowen took the phone, glanced at it, and chuckled: "These two, their check-ups are like they've planned it all out in advance, one after the other, not a minute apart!"

He pondered Zeng Jia's usual earnest yet slightly clever nature, and after some careful consideration, he told her about his situation.

"Actually, we're pretty bad too. We're occupying someone else's villa for the holiday and we're full of complaints. If I were them, I wouldn't be satisfied even if I fired us. I'd want to stab them twice." Zeng Jia still felt uneasy about this.

"Do you think everyone else is loyal? If there were any reliable people, they wouldn't have chosen us. They probably just think we're easy to manipulate. Anyway, we're just doing our jobs properly, right?" Wang Haowen was quite frank. "Don't overthink it. We're already here, so we have to do something for New Year's Eve."

He went to fiddle with the projector; he needed to listen to a New Year's Eve gala, otherwise the empty mansion would feel unsettling. But when he turned on the projector, he discovered that the high-end audio-visual equipment wasn't even connected to the internet—it was just for show.

"I knew it. This place is just a rest stop for them. If it weren't for that little devil Zhang Zihao, they probably wouldn't come back more than a few times a year."

Wang Haowen got the projector working, and the two of them sprawled on the Italian leather sofa, watching the noisy New Year's Eve gala on TV. Gone was the bitterness, jealousy, and smugness they felt before; it actually felt quite nice.

As midnight approached, Wang Haowen pried open a bottle of beer, pouring the golden liquid into a crystal glass, where it sizzled with foam.

"Zeng Xiaojia," he said, clinking his glass against Zeng Jia's, his voice unusually serious, "another year has passed. Putting everything else aside, I'm just hoping that this year we can get things done, truly living together in one house, sharing meals and seasons, working together with one heart. After the Spring Festival, shall we look at a house?"

The cheers of the countdown at the party came like waves, and Zeng Jia was swept up in the atmosphere. He had brought up this matter again and again tonight, and his attitude was sincere. Was it really appropriate for him to be so dramatic about such a small thing?

She clinked her glass against his, "I'll do as you say, we'll look at houses after the Spring Festival!"