SABA Chapter 26

Jiang Tiao’s heart slowly calmed down.

It was still three in the morning on Huo Shen’s side, and he had only just lain down. When he saw that it was Jiang Mingyan calling, his heart felt as if it had suddenly sunk into the deep sea. The pressure of the seawater made it hard for him to breathe. He thought something had happened to Jiang Tiao.

He answered the call with cold fingertips, only to find that the two brothers were arguing.

Huo Shen was so angry he almost laughed. He really didn’t know what these two brothers were doing. Since they were children, as long as they were alone together, one would either anger the other to the point of spewing smoke from all seven orifices, or the other would make the first one puff out his beard and glare.

He pressed his throbbing temples helplessly and advised, “He’s not a child. If he needs an assistant, he’ll hire one himself. If you suddenly arrange someone to be by his side like this, it’s like openly monitoring him. Anyone would feel uncomfortable.”

Jiang Mingyan: “You’ve spent years searching for doctors all over the world and invested in so many medical research institutions. Have you figured out why his personality changed so drastically?”

Huo Shen was silent.

Jiang Mingyan’s expression was grim: “After his car accident, his behavior was abnormal. Everyone comforted themselves, thinking it was just after-effects of the injury. He said he wanted to go out and relax. Although Huo Shen and I were worried, we didn’t stop him. But what happened? Half a year later, he reappeared before everyone, his personality completely changed, like he was a different person. No one knows what happened to him during those six months, and no one knows how he became like that.”

“If his condition was stable, I naturally wouldn’t need to worry about this. But the problem is that no doctor dares to guarantee that he won’t revert to his previous state. I’m not saying he needs to be monitored, but having someone by his side can at least notify us in time when his behavior is abnormal. Do you want to experience another situation where he changed like that without you knowing anything?”

Huo Shen’s fingertips curled slightly.

Jiang Mingyan’s expression softened slightly. “Moreover, the entertainment industry is a mixed bag. No one knows what might happen. The young celebrity who died tragically in a hotel room in City W a couple of years ago, his family had some assets, but his parents still have nowhere to seek justice.”

“You can’t be with him all the time. It’s safer to have someone watching over him.”

…

Jiang Tiao lay on Huo Shen’s bed, getting angrier the more he thought about it. He felt that Jiang Mingyan was simply a dictator! Domineering! Unreasonable! Problematic!

He couldn’t stand it, so he called Huo Shen. When the video call connected, Jiang Tiao even felt a bit wronged.

“Huo Huo, you’re not here, and my brother is bullying me!”

Huo Shen saw Jiang Tiao puffing out his cheeks, his handsome features all scrunched up. Huo Shen’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes, like a forest thawing in the early spring snow.

“I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.”

Jiang Tiao: “I don’t want to live at home anymore, I want to move out!”

Huo Shen saw Jiang Tiao’s sulky, all-or-nothing demeanor and felt a headache coming on. He admitted that this business trip of his did have some deliberate intention behind it. With Jiang’s parents absent and Jiang Mingyan rushing to Paris on business, he had been the one accompanying Jiang Tiao since his amnesia. He was worried that Jiang Tiao might develop an abnormal, pathological dependence on him, and the doctor had also advised him to try maintaining some distance for a period. Coincidentally, he had something to handle here, so he used this as an excuse to let Jiang Mingyan spend more time with Jiang Tiao.

If he had known, he would have preferred not to go on this trip.

“Your brother living at home is also to accompany you. He’s already busy. When I get back, you might not be able to see him for a while, and then you’ll miss him again.”

“Who would miss him?!” Jiang Tiao pouted and retorted stubbornly, but his reaction was not as strong as before.

He looked at his phone. In the video, Huo Shen was wearing a matte black silk pajama top with a collar, leaning against the headboard. The dim night light cast a hazy glow, and the warm yellow light on his chiseled face surprisingly showed a hint of warmth.

Jiang Tiao’s heart slowly calmed down. He lay on the bed, holding his phone, “I only miss you~”

Huo Shen chuckled, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

“You don’t know how unreasonable my brother is,” Jiang Tiao listed Jiang Mingyan’s faults without needing any notes. “Did he call you just now?”

Huo Shen replied with an “mm,” but remained silent, not offering his usual comfort to Jiang Tiao.

Jiang Tiao sat up in bed and looked at Huo Shen’s expression. “You also want me to find an assistant?”

Huo Shen was silent for a moment. “I’ll have HR screen some people. You can pick one yourself, alright?”

“I will make him prioritize your wishes. anything you don’t want to say, he will absolutely not leak to anyone else, including me.”

In Huo Shen’s eyes, as unfathomable as the deep sea, Jiang Tiao saw a hint of indescribable pain, like an undercurrent at the bottom of the ocean, imperceptible yet capable of shaking the soul. Jiang Tiao suddenly felt a bit sad.

“Okay,” Jiang Tiao put on a smile, as if he didn’t care about this matter at all. “Then I’ll go to your company tomorrow to interview them myself.”

Huo Shen was slightly stunned: “You…”

Jiang Tiao smiled charmingly, “It’s not a big deal, why are you like this? I’m just trying to annoy my brother.”

Huo Shen’s eyebrows curved upwards.

Jiang Tiao rolled around on Huo Shen’s bed, messing up his neat bed until it looked like a bird’s nest. “Can I sleep in your room today?”

Huo Shen let out a laugh.

…

The next day, after lunch, Jiang Tiao went to Huo Shen’s company to select an assistant. Secretary Lin received him, having been waiting at the entrance for a long time.

Jiang Tiao handed the car keys to the valet and turned to greet Secretary Lin with a smile, “Brother Lin, good noon, have you eaten?”

Secretary Lin was almost scared to death. He said nervously, “Young Master, please don’t call me that. I wouldn’t dare to take advantage of Chairman Huo.”

Jiang Tiao: “Haha, he’s not here.”

Secretary Lin had been with Huo Shen for many years, watching him grow. He deeply understood Jiang Tiao’s position in Huo Shen’s heart. Seeing Jiang Tiao like this now, he was truly happy for Huo Shen.

The people HR had screened for Jiang Tiao were all very professional. Jiang Tiao interviewed a few, and he didn’t find anything wrong with them, but he also didn’t find anything particularly outstanding that made him’s eyes light up.

The last person to come in was Zhuang Xiang. He had naturally curly hair and looked ordinary. However, perhaps because the lazy, sloth-like aura of a white-collar worker was too prominent on him, Jiang Tiao was always reminded of Flash from “Zootopia” when he saw him.

After entering, he glanced at Jiang Tiao without leaving a trace, in a way that he would glance, then immediately look away, and then glance again after seeing that the other person hadn’t noticed.

Jiang Tiao found it a bit amusing, and he put down the resume in his hand. “Do you know me?”

Zhuang Xiang sighed resentfully, like a wronged person who had won a million dollars but couldn’t find the lottery ticket. “Secretary Lin introduced us.”

Jiang Tiao found his reaction very interesting. He raised an eyebrow and deliberately asked, “You’re currently in the administrative department of Shengyao Group’s headquarters. It’s a good position with excellent development prospects. Why are you willing to be my assistant?”

Zhuang Xiang felt that Jiang Tiao was hitting all his sore spots, poking directly at his heart. Did he think he was willing? Did he know how much effort he had put in to avoid being selected? But what was the result! He was still sitting here! He was still sitting in front of him!

Did he have to go through this doomed plot? Was fate really inescapable?!

Zhuang Xiang parted his lips several times, and finally said with a touch of sadness, “Perhaps it’s because they offered too much.”

If there were rankings for companies, Shengyao Group would definitely be among the companies that white-collar workers wanted to join the most in this world. Not to mention the high salaries and comfortable working environment, here, as long as you worked overtime, regardless of whether it was a holiday or even working overtime at night, you would get triple the pay. In addition to national holidays, the company also had twenty days of company holidays each year, and you didn’t need any excuses to take leave, just write down the time, and you could even take it all at once, for over a month.

These benefits, treatment, and salaries were even better than those of the Fortune 500 companies he had worked for before coming to this world.

People die for wealth, birds die for food. For this generous and high-paying job, even though he knew he might intersect with the main plot, he still chose to stay here with a glimmer of hope.

Jiang Tiao said “oh” with a slight upward inflection at the end, teasing, “So you actually don’t want to be my assistant?”

Zhuang Xiang glanced at the camera above the conference room, wanting to speak but stopping, wanting to stop but speaking again, as if his neck were being held at knifepoint. Finally, he forced a smile that was uglier than crying. “How could that be?! I su~per~ want to~!”

Jiang Tiao couldn’t help but laugh. He leaned back in his chair and looked at him for a while, then changed the subject and suddenly asked, “Have you met Chairman Huo? What kind of person do you think he is?”

When it came to this, Zhuang Xiang had a lot to say. Of course, he had seen Huo Shen, and he had also searched for Chu Xu online, which was why he couldn’t understand it. He could only say that he was indeed a “love-struck fool.” Even Wang Baochai would have to admit defeat.

“Chairman Huo is a very, very good boss. After he took office, he reformed the company system and added a series of benefits for employees. His vision is unique. Within five years of taking power, he brought the company to a new height. He’s handsome and rich. If he didn’t dislike appearing in front of the media, he would definitely be the hottest young entrepreneur!”

The more Jiang Tiao disliked people around Huo Shen, the more Zhuang Xiang praised Huo Shen. Get rid of him, get rid of him, get rid of him… Hurry up and get rid of him so he can go back to his seat! This was the first time in Zhuang Xiang’s life that he had loved his job so much!

Jiang Tiao found it very interesting because, from his half-true and half-false words, he could hear a hint of defending Huo Shen.

“It seems you admire Chairman Huo a lot.”

Zhuang Xiang: “Of course! Chairman Huo is my idol! And the role model for many people in our company!”

Jiang Tiao let out a snicker and laughed. He happily called Lin Shun over, “He’s good, let’s go with him.”

“???”

Zhuang Xiang felt like the sky was falling! He had acted so subserviently, why did Jiang Tiao still choose him?! Could it be that he couldn’t escape his fate of becoming a villain’s cannon fodder no matter what?