Chapter 186: The Director

Hong Siyu's day began in the kitchen, filled with the aroma of coffee.

After years as a wage slave, a morning cup of coffee had become her routine; no matter how groggy she felt climbing out of bed, the familiar scent from the coffee machine always lifted her spirits slightly.

The time was still early, the sky outside the window still dim, but the first ray of sunlight had already pierced through the clouds, gilding the floor of her single apartment with a thin golden glow. Hong Siyu hummed a song as she busied herself preparing breakfast.

Put on the pot, turn off the heat, wipe the stove.

Wash the cup, pour the brew, add hot water.

After a series of practiced motions, a small round table beside the stove held a boiled egg, vegetable porridge, and coffee—Hong Siyu's breakfast for the day.

After slowly finishing her meal, Hong Siyu began to change clothes. When she donned her professional attire and stood before the bathroom mirror, instinctively reaching for makeup, her movements froze the moment her gaze met the reflection.

In the mirror, a girl who looked impossibly young, as if still a high school student, stared back at her.

No—this was her own self from high school.

Realizing this, Hong Siyu's lips curled upward; she longed to laugh aloud into the sky, but she had already laughed like that many days ago, and adult self-control kept her from losing composure—instead, she coughed a few times, calm and composed.

A few days ago, after her treatment at the Emerald ended, she finally returned to her normal life—and the most important part of returning to normal life was, of course, going back to work.

But now, Hong Siyu did not return to the Special Affairs Bureau under her original identity; instead, she re-joined under the subtle guise of "Hong Siyu's niece," and her first assignment after re-employment was simple—Secretary to the Director.

Thanks to the "niece" identity and the state's official assignment, others in the Bureau merely assumed this was another top-down appointment, never suspecting any connection to Lin Yun. Otherwise, hiring a secretary who looked clearly underage would have made Lin Yun the subject of suspicious glances from everyone in the Bureau.

In fact, even now, many still suspected a relationship between Lin Yun and this new secretary.

Of course, none of this mattered to Hong Siyu—no one could stop her now.

Arriving early at the Special Affairs Bureau, Hong Siyu went alone to the Director's empty office, wiped the desk, organized files, boiled water, watered the plants… she handled every task with effortless familiarity.

When she finished all her chores, it was already eight in the morning, and the previously quiet office building began filling with noise.

This was also Lin Yun's usual arrival time; Hong Siyu had already figured out the pattern in just a few days, precisely timing her arrival to coincide with this moment.

Standing by the window, she studied her reflection in the glass once more, confirming her hairstyle was neat and her clothes still crisp, then sat down contentedly, eyes fixed intently on the office door.

She waited for the door to open; the moment the person behind it stepped in, she would rush forward to claim her due.

After all, the outfit she wore today was the very one she had picked out with Lin Yun; her makeup, though light, was the optimal match for her natural temperament; her hair, though appearing natural, had been professionally straightened and styled at a salon yesterday, all to craft the perfect "career literary beauty" image.

Every element was carefully chosen, every angle precisely tailored—based on her years of social experience and her careful study of Lin Yun's preferences… combined with the near-100% head-turn rate she'd received walking to work, she was utterly confident in her appearance. This was her battle cry.

Come on, Senior.

She whispered it silently in her mind.

And this burning conviction seemed to pierce through the door, touching heaven itself; soon after, she saw the office door being pushed open.

A figure in a suit walked in.

"Good morning, Senior."

She immediately flashed the practiced smile, clutching the carefully selected files, her hand and posture perfectly poised: "Have you had breakfast? If you don't mind, shall we… eh?"

Mid-sentence, Hong Siyu suddenly noticed something was off about the person entering.

Though dressed in a suit, the woman who entered was clearly female—tall, fair-skinned, wearing sunglasses, with striking orange-yellow hair tied neatly into a bun at the back, radiating an air of sharp elegance.

A stranger? A visitor? No… she felt oddly familiar…

Hong Siyu stared at the woman's face, her mind racing, desperately searching her memory for a match. But before she could find an answer, the woman suddenly spoke:

—"Ninety-five."

And what she said was nothing but a brief string of numbers.

"Ninety-five?"

Her thoughts split into two parallel tracks; her brain slightly overloaded, Hong Siyu could only repeat the words: "What… what does that mean?"

"Charisma, allure, or call it cuteness—basically, my score for your performance just now."

The woman with orange-yellow hair propped her chin on one hand, facing Hong Siyu.

Though obscured by sunglasses, Hong Siyu felt the woman's gaze sweeping over her from head to toe, lingering for an instant on the spots where she'd put extra effort into her appearance—making her feel utterly exposed.

It made her uncomfortable; instinctively, she hugged the files to her chest and stepped back.

But the woman clearly had no intention of letting her off so easily; after Hong Siyu retreated two steps, the woman closed the gap with two steps forward: "Do you know where you lost points?"

"L-lost points?" Hong Siyu stammered.

"The mistake is in direction: instead of this energetic, overly cheerful invitation, a slightly shy, quiet request triggers more guilt in the other person."

The woman rubbed her chin: "But that's nitpicking. All in all, you're adorable! I love it! My cute junior went to such trouble to welcome me—I'd be cruel not to accept your request!"

Saying this, she finally stepped away, turned on her heel, and pushed open half the door: "Come on, lead the way—I don't know where the cafeteria is."

But after taking two steps toward the door, she realized no one followed.

"What's wrong?"

The woman turned back, puzzled: "Didn't finish something?"

"No… I just wanted to ask—who are you?"

Hong Siyu forced a smile: "Please don't joke like this—if you have an appointment with the Director, you can wait over there…"

"Huh? Sister, you just called me 'Senior,' and now you're asking who I am?"

The woman looked equally confused: "You never called me that before… what's going on?"

"Before? You mean… you've never been called that?"

The woman's words flipped a switch; Hong Siyu's thoughts snapped into a single line in an instant—she finally recognized why the woman's face looked familiar, and why her strange speech pattern felt so familiar.

—"You… ah? Yuanxiang?"

But instead of delight, recognition brought something closer to shock.

(End of Chapter)