Chapter 198 The Real Domineering CEO is By My Side

Getting into the custom-made Ferrari Purosangue from Italy, it slowly drove out of the underground garage.

In the rearview mirror, Chen Dong stood in place for a long time before turning to leave.

"Sister, you're amazing, you're just too amazing!

Looking at you, I never would have imagined that you could be so decisive when working seriously.

You nailed the boss vibe perfectly; you're exactly the image of a female CEO in my mind!

I, your sister, am so proud of you!"

Song Xinyao proudly puffed out her chest.

Ling Yue raised a hand to interrupt her, "Don't get cocky; your skin is already as thick as a city wall."

"That's my skill, too~"

Song Xinyao didn't feel ashamed; instead, she took it as a compliment.

Ling Yue simply couldn't find words to retort.

*

The next day.

The two newly hired assistants arrived at Bamboo Forest Residence promptly at 10:00 AM.

Cheng Jiao was on leave, so Housekeeper Shi Xiaosha went to the entrance to pick them up.

Before Xia Huan and Liu Pei even stepped into the small living room, they were greeted by a rich, sweet scent.

It turned out that Luo Shanshan, having nothing to do, had been craving Shine Muscat candied fruit skewers after seeing them on TikTok China recently. Egged on by the foodie Song Xinyao, she had finally decided to show off her skills today.

Ling Yue came over to join the fun, put on gloves, and joined the ranks of those skewering the fruit.

Consequently, when Housekeeper Shi Xiaosha led them into the small living room, they saw the big boss Ling Yue skewering fruit while sneaking bites.

Xia Huan: Uh... is it this casual?

Liu Pei: ...It smells so good and sweet...

Ling Yue's ears were extremely sharp; she heard Housekeeper Shi Xiaosha give a soft cough.

She turned her head and looked up, "You two are here, wait a moment."

Ling Yue took off her gloves, picked up a plate of peeled lychees, and grabbed two forks along the way.

She stood up with the plate, and as she passed by the two of them, she said, "Follow me."

Xia Huan and Liu Pei, of course, knew who the boss was talking to.

They obediently followed behind Ling Yue into a room filled with various tea sets.

It must be a tea room.

The view from the tea room was excellent, surrounded by windows on three sides; any view from the window was a beautiful summer scene of rockeries, flowing water, and clusters of lush grass and flowers.

"Sit wherever you like." Ling Yue placed the lychee fruit platter in front of them and handed each of them a fork, "You can be casual when discussing business at home; no need to be constrained.

These lychees were bought from a fruit farmer this morning; they were just picked from the tree, very fresh, and taste great. They haven't been ruined by sugar coating, so you can try them."

Xia Huan was still quite constrained and just nodded faintly.

Liu Pei, however, skewered a piece of lychee flesh and popped it into his mouth. After chewing twice, a ripple appeared in his stagnant, pool-like eyes.

The juice was abundant, the flesh was springy and smooth, purely sweet without any sourness—he wanted more!

After finishing one, just as he was about to skewer another, he felt three burning gazes land on him simultaneously. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva and put down the fork.

Heh, looks like he's a foodie too.

Housekeeper Shi Xiaosha left the room after brewing tea.

In the space of less than forty square meters, only Ling Yue and the two of them remained.

Meeting the boss alone for the first time, employees are bound to be nervous and reserved.

But Ling Yue had already deliberately eased their tension just now, and she didn't intend to continue being overly gentle.

"I don't like work occupying my life, and I won't be staying at the company for long periods, so in the future, I'll have to trouble you to travel frequently between the company and my home." Ling Yue opened her WeChat QR code, "You two, add my WeChat."

Liu Pei and Xia Huan stood up simultaneously and took out their phones to scan the QR code.

Ding, ding.

Ling Yue's phone emitted two WeChat notification sounds.

After accepting their friend requests, she sent them a file, "The file contains my addresses around Hangzhou, my dietary restrictions, hobbies, and my personal number. Just take it and familiarize yourselves with it. Remember, this file cannot be shared."

"Understood, Boss!" Xia Huan and Liu Pei said in unison.

Both of them had icy expressions; they really had the potential to be cold-faced assistants.

Once she got serious, Ling Yue habitually crossed her legs:

"Let's talk about your job duties:

Be my mouth: attend various meetings on my behalf, be responsible for conveying my thoughts and work requirements, and for every meeting, you must organize the minutes, send them to me, and archive them.

Be my ears: learn to listen to employees' thoughts, coordinate conflicts between departments, and report problems you can't solve to me.

Be my eyes: not only must you supervise various departments, but if there is anything inappropriate at the senior management level, you must report it to me promptly, but I do not want any personal emotions mixed in.

Even if I am not at the company, I must know the overall progress and general situation of the company.

In case of emergencies, if you can solve them, make your own decisions. If you cannot solve them, report them first to the highest executive working at the company, and then report to me. Aside from that, everything else should be reported to me first.

Usually, you will go directly to the company to clock in and work. I will contact you if there is anything. Of course, if you have any doubts or questions about work, you can also ask me on WeChat.

You two are mainly responsible to me and are not constrained by others. I have already notified the relevant departments to cooperate with you fully.

These are the job duties for now. Before you officially start, do you have any other questions?"

Liu Pei shook his head expressionlessly.

He was very familiar with assistant work.

It was nothing more than needing to re-adapt to a new boss's personality.

This young boss in front of him seemed like the type who enjoys life; she probably wouldn't appear at the company for long, which was fine—he didn't have to face her every day. With his previous boss, it was precisely because he understood the other person too well and saw through them too clearly that staying even a second longer felt suffocating.

He liked a sense of distance.

A trace of hesitation flashed through Xia Huan's mind, but in the end, reality defeated reason, "Although it's a bit rude, I still want to ask, can the taxi fares for traveling between the company and your home be reimbursed?

Because taking a taxi from the city center here is quite expensive..."

With the boss not at the company, the assistants had to shoulder a larger workload.

It was impossible to take the bus or subway to the suburbs to report work; it would waste a lot of time on the road.

So, it had to be taking a taxi.

A round trip would cost at least 100 yuan.

If they came to report work once a week.

The transportation subsidy for ordinary employees was simply not enough.

Liu Pei was stunned for a moment.

It wasn't because he was amazed that Xia Huan actually dared to ask this question.

But because he was thinking, "Damn, I didn't even think to ask this question, and this is about money! Who likes paying to work?"

Fortunately, fortunately Xia Huan had asked what was on his mind.

Liu Pei looked up to check Ling Yue's expression.

He thought it was something major, but it turned out to be just this.

Ling Yue curved her lips, "Isn't work just for making money? Your question is not rude; it's the HR department that didn't make it clear to you.

The transportation subsidy for ordinary employees is 500 yuan. Considering the unique nature of your work, I'll add another 5000 yuan in transportation allowance per month, for a total of 5500 yuan.

I pursue efficiency. If you are traveling for work, try to take a taxi. Finishing work earlier is better for everyone.

If you two have cars, consider it gas money.

As far as I know, a 5000 yuan transportation allowance is enough to cover the daily travel of business professionals. If there is any excess, you will need to provide reasonable evidence to the Finance Department to have it reimbursed."

They didn't hear a single word of what she said after that.

They only heard "5500"!

It was too much!

It was hard for them not to compare it with their previous jobs in their minds.

Xia Huan's last boss gave a 1000 yuan transportation allowance per month. She often followed the boss to work in very distant places. The boss would leave halfway, leaving her alone. After finishing, she had to take a taxi back to the city center from the suburbs herself, which cost at least eighty or ninety yuan at a time.

But she couldn't take a taxi every time; after all, they wouldn't reimburse anything over 1000 yuan. Because of this, Xia Huan could only try her best to save money. If the workplace was close and the travel time was within 1 hour, she would choose to take the subway or bus, or at worst, ride a shared bike.

Public transport mostly didn't have empty seats, so she couldn't work while on the commute. Then, the work that wasn't completed on time had to occupy her private time after work.

This caused her daily working hours to be severely extended, making her return home from work every day, shower, and just sleep—she didn't even have time to hang herself.

But getting paid more was different!

She could take a taxi every time, could finish work in the car, and wouldn't have to worry about occupying too much rest time. Perhaps this way, she would have time to watch variety shows and dramas!

Liu Pei was also very excited.

Because his previous boss didn't give any transportation subsidy at all, and taking a taxi every time was very troublesome, he bought a car himself.

The result was that whenever the boss's car was sent for maintenance, or the boss didn't drive that day, his car would be directly requisitioned. He was responsible for picking up and dropping off every day, and the boss—no, that old bastard—wouldn't even pay for gas!

He quickly did the mental math.

Previously, his monthly gas cost was about 2100 yuan.

The new boss was giving 5500 yuan!

My god.

His brain went blank instantly, his mouth just blurted it out without any preparation: "Does the unused money need to be returned?"

Return?

This word left Ling Yue stunned.

Except for some bitches.

She wouldn't ask people to return things she had given out.

"You don't need to return any extra, and if it's not enough, I'll make it up."

"I hope your money will be directly proportional to your work speed. In other words, don't take the money and not do the work. If I find out you're taking public transport like buses or subways under normal circumstances—heh—if I find out you're being that frugal, I'll consider lowering your transportation allowance."

"Oh, right, this 5,500 yuan does not include your travel expenses for business trips."

At this very moment, Boss Ling's words fell into their ears like the sound of heaven.

Even with a pig's brain, one could tell that you couldn't spend 5,500 in a month. If the remaining money went into their pockets, how would that be any different from working a part-time job!

To hell with the domineering CEOs in TV dramas. The real domineering CEO is right beside me!

From Ling Yue's perspective, the two assistants in front of her had dull eyes, stiff bodies, and their souls had already left their bodies for quite a while.

Are they... spacing out?

Ling Yue raised her hand and tapped the table lightly. "Hey, are you two still there?"

Xia Huan was such a serious girl, but her smile was radiant right now. "Boss, I'm here, I'm here."

If you looked closely, you could even see fresh, youthful energy being injected into her eyes, which had been ravaged by work until they looked world-weary. Look, they were faintly sparkling!

"I'm here too." When Liu Pei was excited, there was still no expression on his face, but the slightly upturned corners of his mouth indicated that he was very happy right now.

Ling Yue gave a hum of acknowledgment.

She hadn't finished speaking yet. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued, "I've pretty much finished with the requirements for your work. If there are any new requirements, I will notify you. Now, let's talk about my personal conditions for partners."

Xia Huan and Liu Pei sat up straight, their hands folded and placed on the table, looking exactly like obedient elementary school students listening to a lecture.

What's wrong with them?

Ling Yue gave a light cough and said, "If there's too much work, I can assign assistants to you. If the salary is too low, I can give you a raise. If you encounter problems at work, tell me in time and I will try my best to coordinate. If you encounter setbacks in life, perhaps you can even take a shortcut through me. The premise for all of the above is that I need you to maintain absolute loyalty to me—loyal only to me, serving only me. If you cannot be my people, you will absolutely not become anyone else's people in the company. As for work, we can part on good terms, but there must never be betrayal."

As for the consequences of betrayal, let them guess for themselves. If a threat is spoken out loud, it's no longer a threat.

The brains they had used for so many years of work weren't used for nothing. Xia Huan and Liu Pei understood immediately.

The boss was young, but her methods were brilliant!

She was willing to pay for what many modern bosses were unwilling to give: money!

Come on, if a boss is willing to give you money and pay you a high salary, there's hope everywhere when you follow her. Who would be crazy enough to betray her? There might even be a risk of going to jail.

After Xia Huan and Liu Pei repeatedly promised not to betray her, Ling Yue had achieved her goal of keeping them in check. The two of them were buttons she had arranged to be in the company; she should be both strict and lenient—there must be principles, but there must also be human touch.

Bzzzz— Bzzzz— Xia Huan and Liu Pei's phones vibrated one after the other.

Ling Yue tapped the back of the phones on the table. "I've sent each of you a red envelope of 200 yuan. Now you can leave my house and take a taxi back to the company to report for duty. Happy cooperation! As your boss, I hope you can adapt to this job as soon as possible."

Xia Huan and Liu Pei stood up at the same time and bowed slightly to Ling Yue.

"I will!"

"Please trust me, Boss."

Xia Huan reached her smile quota for the past year today. Liu Pei was even more so.

When they left, Housekeeper Shi Xiaosha even handed them a bag of candied hawthorns. They were all freshly made and cooled, very fresh indeed.

They took the shuttle bus out of the residential area. Liu Pei's car was parked in the designated parking space for visitors outside the residential area.

Xia Huan took out her phone to hail a taxi. Even though she offered a tip, no driver accepted the order. This was a high-end villa area; even nannies were picked up and dropped off by car, so it was normal that there were no ride-hailing cars nearby.

Xia Huan turned her head and caught a glimpse of Liu Pei pressing his car key fob.

After a slight hesitation, she still called out, "Um, Assistant... Liu, there are few cars here and it's hard to hail one. Can I ride in your car back to the company? After all, our companies are very close to each other. Don't worry, I'll pay the taxi fare at the market rate. Can you give me a ride?"

Liu Pei was originally not very willing. The last person who said they would pay the taxi fare at the market rate was his stingy boss, who was dishonest and rotten to the core.

In the moment he hesitated, Xia Huan stepped forward, took his phone, quickly scanned the QR code to add him on WeChat, and transferred 50 yuan with a note saying it was for the car fare.

Liu Pei accepted the money instantly. "Get in!"

Only a fool wouldn't earn money. It was a whole 50 yuan, enough for him to eat a bowl of spicy hot pot.

Liu Pei didn't talk much, and the car was very quiet the whole way. Xia Huan was worried that since they were colleagues, she should find some topics to chat about to get closer, but Liu Pei was focused on driving and had no intention of speaking at all. That was actually great; she could save some breath too. Introverts are great!

Xia Huan took the opportunity to open the kraft paper bag.

Inside was a box of candied hawthorns, including the recently popular Shine Muscat and milk skin candied fruit skewers, lychee cherry skewers, strawberry skewers, orange apple skewers, and yam bean skewers. They smelled so good. She would have a treat tonight.

Should she order a cocktail and some grilled skewers? Forget it, she'd better go out for Korean BBQ with a good friend! She hadn't eaten it for a long time, and it would be perfect to share the candied fruit skewers. Otherwise, if she ate so many by herself, she would easily gain weight. This is so nice~

It had been a long time since Xia Huan had fantasized about what to eat or drink after getting home from work. It turned out that thinking about daily life was so happy! Fortunately, she seized this opportunity. If she had missed it, she would have been furious!

Thinking about it carefully, she had stayed at her previous company for 10 years. The boss said she was his right-hand man, but her salary still remained at the 18,000 yuan level for a mid-level assistant. After deducting social security and housing fund and paying taxes, she got 16,000 yuan in hand every month, with an extra 3 months' salary as a bonus at the end of the year.

It looked like a lot, but it didn't actually match the market rate, and her expenses were high. She was very busy at work and had no time to waste on commuting. The company was in the city center, so she naturally chose to rent an apartment near the company, and the rent alone was 3,500 yuan per month.

She had no time to cook and ordered takeout every day, which cost about 2,800 yuan a month. To avoid gaining weight, she often ate light meals, which were even more expensive than regular meals, but there was no other way. Eating junk takeout would affect her health. She would rather eat healthily; if it was expensive, so be it. It was better than spending money like water in the hospital when she got sick.

She had to pay about 300 yuan for transportation every month, and she also had to buy skincare products, cosmetics, and clothes, and pay for utilities and internet, etc., spending about 3,400 yuan a month. The boss said she was the face of the company, so she occasionally had to spend money on fitness and beauty treatments.

Calculating it, she could save at most 5,000 yuan a month. But she wanted to buy a house. Her parents divorced years ago, and they both started new families. She had been living alone since high school. She had experienced sleeping in the living room when returning home and being kicked out of rental apartments on short notice. She wanted so much to have her own home in this city—a home where she could have the final say, a home where she wouldn't be kicked out, and a home with a separate bedroom.

It just so happened that housing prices had fallen recently. She had her eye on a two-bedroom apartment, and her savings were just enough to pay the down payment, with a monthly mortgage payment of over 6,000 yuan. With her previous salary, buying a house was too dangerous and it would easily collapse. She had brazenly asked her boss for a raise, but was rejected.

This brings us to her new job. The base salary alone was 30,000 yuan per month, with all kinds of benefits fully provided, and she didn't even have to pay for coffee, the life-saving elixir for workers.

The most, most, most critical thing was that the company had a free gym. She heard from the HR manager that there was no annual fee to use the gym daily. Hiring a private trainer outside would cost at least 300-400 yuan per session, which was too expensive. Therefore, the company specifically hired trainers. To avoid wasting resources, they only charged a symbolic fee of 80 yuan per session, and you could get a private trainer to accompany you for 60 minutes. After work, she could just go to the gym. It was a way to take care of both work and health!

In this way, she could save at least 20,000 yuan every month! Xia Huan had made up her mind: after safely passing the 3-month probation period, she would definitely buy the house she had her eye on!

Liu Pei was waiting at a traffic light. He didn't notice at all that the corners of his colleague's mouth were curving upwards wildly. Because he was also lost in his own fantasies.

Workers don't want to guess what the boss is thinking. If possible, isn't direct, instructional communication more time-saving? The new boss did this very well! He gave a big thumbs up to her excellent character of having clear goals and speaking straightforwardly!

The salary was high, and the boss was generous and not stingy. Oh my, it was just great no matter how he thought about it. During his interview yesterday, he also found that there were many restaurants near the company. He would eat at them one by one, slowly, trying to take his time to get tired of them. After eating, he could go for a walk in the park. How wonderful~ The new job finally gave him something to look forward to!

The green light turned on. Liu Pei released the clutch and started slowly in first gear. The sun was so bright today, and the reflection on the glass was as bright as his future!