Ye Shuang's impression of An Zining could be summed up with the following choice words—simple-minded and quick to action.
Other than that, another memorable thing about An Zining was that she had a rather worrying little brother. It was an ostentatious slip-up by this brother that led to the previous adultery-expose that Ye Shuang had been roped into.
Who would have thought that the situation would have escalated to a divorce in just a few days? Based on what Mrs. Chen said before they parted, she was going to let this slide to give face to both families that were involved. So, what happened then‽
While Ye Shuang wondered about the possibility, she didn't let the surprise when she heard An Zining's name show on her face. She was so indifferent that it appeared like she had not had any interaction with this Mrs. Chen before.
When Han Chu brought Ye Shuang to Mr. Fang, the latter was just coming down from a series of mocking from Ruan Yuan's party. His confidence and pride were trampled on, and he was in a lousy mood. He gave Han Chu a side-eye and harrumphed. "What do you want now?"
Han Chu nodded politely before pushing Ye Shuang from behind him and introduced her as naturally as he could. "Your cousin's assistant."
"Wow, so soon… Wait a minute!" Mr. Fang realized something was wrong mid-nod. His eyes widened in shock. "She's the assistant you found me‽ Doesn't she work with horses‽"
When Yuan Ruan and her girlfriends were gloating, naturally, there were plenty of references to Ye Shuang. After all, this was a rare victory for the local team, and it was all thanks to Ye Shuang.
Mr. Fang was not clued into the fact that Ye Shuang was a coincidental helper; therefore, after listening to the group of girls' gloating, he assumed, understandably, that Ye Shuang was a rising jockey who they had hired, or else they wouldn't have trusted her so implicitly.
But just as this impression was starting to settle in his mind, Han Chu wandered over to say that the individual was actually a personal assistant. What the f*ck‽ Which personal assistant would be at the racecourse helping others train their horses‽
Han Chu raised his brow. "Yes, that's one of her specializations."
Mr. Fang thought about it and uttered in a round-about way, "Han Chu, to be honest I've always been impressed by your professionalism, but the two consecutive events that happened today have made me believe I might need to change my previous impression of you."
The first incident was, of course, the surprising loss of the star jockey, and the second was introducing a jockey as a personal assistant. If not for his friendship with Han Chu, if this was some other person, Mr. Fang would have called the hospital directly to have the person admitted into the mental ward.
Ye Shuang was feeling a little out of place. Even though she had confidence in herself, other than this horse appraisal talent, which had nothing to do with the job scope of a personal assistant, she did not have any eye-catching achievements on her resume.
Han Chu assigned her this case mainly because of Fang Mo, so Ye Shuang did not wish for Han Chu to be caught in this awkward position because of her. However, as she opened her mouth, trying to brush up her points before the man, Han Chu interrupted her readily and said in a calm and surprisingly righteous tone, "A personal assistant doesn't require high technical skill, so don't give me all that crap. Furthermore, this is Ah Mo's friend, so just give her a chance. If you really feel disappointed later, I'll swap her out for someone else!"
Ye Shuang was speechless.
This kind of obvious going-through-the-backdoor tactic was readily accepted. Suddenly, Ye Shuang felt the world was indeed a very weird place.
Actually, if this was used in any other occasion, Fang Mo's name might not have been useful. Mr. Fang was willing to give him face mainly because his cousin was married to San Lin City, and he would visit the place several times annually. It was why he would have interactions with the local circle of elites.
Instead of giving Fang Mo face, it was more like he felt that Fang Mo was a worthy individual to be doing a favor for. Since Han Chu had openly mentioned that Ye Shuang was a close friend of Fang Mo, even if she wasn't really qualified as a personal assistant, at least Mr. Fang or An Zining would be able to gain access to Fang Mo via her.
No matter how he looked at it, it was a trade that had no disadvantage!
A businessperson had to look at a situation from all angles, and things like personal relationships and future investments should not be overlooked. After all, a favor done is a favor repaid in the future. Mr. Fang believed his cousin understood that as well. Therefore, after confirming Ye Shuang as the personal assistant, he pulled out his phone before the two of them to contact Mrs. Chen.
To his surprise, when he gave Ye Shuang's name, before he even brought up her relationship to Fang Mo, Mrs. Chen gasped with pleasant surprise. "The Ye Shuang you mentioned is a long-haired beauty, right? She has super nice skin even though she isn't wearing any make-up?"
"…" Mr. Fang clutched the phone in his hands and turned around unconsciously. It was then he discovered that Ye Shuang did have unblemished skin. Initially, he had thought it was the glow from the make-up, but with the reminder from his cousin, he realized she was not wearing any make-up. "It should be, Sister Ning, you know her?"
"Perfect, then your work is done!" An Zining announced. "She can be the perfect bodyguard! This Ye Shuang is an impressive martial artist. It's decided, now you pass her the phone!"
"…"
"Hello‽"
Mr. Fang studied Ye Shuang with a curious gaze. The latter was waiting patiently for him to finish the call. The girl's body looked soft and feminine without any muscular lines. Even her skin was as smooth as a baby's bottom. She looked more like a pampered young lady than the martial artist that was mentioned by his cousin.
After a moment's hesitation, Mr. Fang turned back to the phone to say, "Sister Ning, the person is here to apply for the personal assistant post."
Not the bodyguard… The difference in professional fields is so big, could it be that you've got the wrong person‽
Han Chu had probably guessed the content of the conversation between this pair of cousins. With a raised eyebrow, he walked forward to ask Mr. Fang for the permission to speak directly to An Zining. As he accepted the phone, he said politely, "Good afternoon Miss An, I am Han Chu! I've already contacted the best candidate to fill the post of your bodyguard, chef, and lawyer; they all come from a professional workshop. Miss Ye Shuang will only be responsible as your personal assistant. Since you two know each other, this is perfect because it means that you'll be more comfortable around each other."
When An Zining heard that Ye Shuang was there for the personal assistant post, she was also shocked, but she didn't let it bother her. "So be it, now, pass the phone over to her."
Finally, the phone reached Ye Shuang's hands. After a few more words on the phone, An Zining, who based her decision solely on her good impression of Ye Shuang, didn't even ask her for her qualification before she decided her working schedule starting from tomorrow. She talked for a while longer with Mr. Fang, and then the matter was wrapped and done.
…
"This means that you'll start your work as someone's maid starting from tomorrow‽"
When she was home for dinner that night, after hearing Ye Shuang explain the situation to him, Father Ye instantly sighed with worry.
Ye Shuang was about to nod as per her usual habit, but as she bit on the end of her chopsticks, she felt the way her father had phrased things sounded a bit weird to her ears. "…No, it's not someone's maid, her personal assistant."
Father Ye frowned and retorted, "Then what is the job scope of a personal assistant?"
"Record and remind the employer of her schedule, deal with the employer's living arrangements, and solve the little inconveniences that might appear in the employer's daily… Alright fine! It does sound like a maid!" Ye Shuang was irked by the list that she made. Her father wasn't wrong; even if she went out to find herself a husband, he wouldn't have cared for her to such an extent.
Thankfully, An Zining was considered a rich matron. Even after the divorce, she would be a rich divorcee. She did not have to work and had no intention of going to work; therefore, life as her personal assistant wouldn't be too difficult. Ye Shuang shivered from the thought of her being assigned to a workaholic. She imagined she would have to take up the responsibility of a secretary on top of everything else.
Mother Ye passed Ye Shuang some food as she worried about another issue. "Then, what about the days when you're a man? Have you explained your unique situation to them? Don't just show up in a different gender one day; you'll end up scaring your employer."
Ye Shuang nodded with a smile. "That shouldn't be a problem. Both Han Chu and Sister An can be considered friends, so this should not be too much of a problem since it can be discussed further. When this case is over, and hopefully successful, the future cases will be more specialized and focused."
"That might not necessarily be true!" It might have killed Little Brother Ye if he didn't ruin Ye Shuang's day, so even when his mouth was full of food, he couldn't help but deliver a jab. "After all, changing jobs requires plenty of good results and luck, how good a result do you think you can deliver just from being a personal assistant‽ The way I see it, you'll only continue to climb the ladder of personal assistant until you become a high-end nanny… Mom! How do you expect me to eat in peace if you keep hitting my head like that‽"
The culprit glared at her son, regretting not pushing him back into her womb when she realized he had a screw loose. "Focus on eating! Are you that happy when misfortune befalls your own sister‽"
"Of course, I couldn't be happier when bad things happen to good-looking men." Little Brother Ye was surprisingly honest.
Ye Shuang was too tired to deal with him. She picked up a mushroom and glanced over at her brother. "If I'm not mistaken, didn't I hear a female voice when you were talking on your phone last night?"
"What's wrong with that? It's normal for a guy to have a relationship in university!" Little Brother Ye admitted easily.
"Huh, I'm pretty sure you haven't even held her hand yet," Ye Shuang said softly, but the knife was accurately delivered into the target's heart.
Little Brother Ye could not come up with a response.
"But don't worry, your big brother will be looking out for you." Ye Shuang flashed a smile that did not reach her eyes as she leaned over to pat Little Brother Ye extra gently on his head. "When you're free, remember to bring your big brother to school. I'll help you take a good look at this gal."
The table became quiet instantly.
Father Ye coughed before lowering his head to focus on sipping his soup while Mother Ye sat back to enjoy the crossing of swords between the two parties.
'Big brother' was repeated twice, so even a person as dim as Little Brother understood the hidden meaning.
If he allowed 'Big Brother Ye' to take a scroll around his school, he could spend his whole life pursuing the girl, and he would not succeed. In fact, most girls would probably make use of him in an attempt to become his sister-in-law.
A great man knows when to yield and when not to!
Little Brother Ye slammed the chopsticks on the table and announced seriously, "Sis, forgive me!"
"Good, apology accepted."