Early the next morning, Xiaochen Yan arrived punctually on the top floor of the Qi Group headquarters. Dressed in her only decent-looking old suit dress, she stood out starkly amidst the well-dressed, hurried elites around her.
She was led into the CEO's office by Assistant Li Ming. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the bustling city, while the office itself was spacious, cold, and every detail exuded power and luxury, almost suffocating in its opulence.
Qiyu sat behind his large ebony desk without looking up, as if the documents he was processing were far more important than her presence.
"First task," his icy voice cut through the air, devoid of any emotion. "Coffee. No sugar, no milk, eighty-five degrees Celsius."
Xiaochen nodded silently and turned toward the expensive Italian espresso machine nearby. She had never used such a complex machine before, but driven by sheer stubbornness, she observed it carefully for a moment before starting to operate it. Her hands were steady, though her mind was in turmoil.
A few minutes later, she gently placed a cup of steaming black coffee at the corner of his desk.
Qiyu finally looked up, glancing at the coffee with an air of condescension before lightly touching the side of the cup with a critical fingertip.
"Too hot," he frowned, his tone full of undisguised disdain. "Make it again. The temperature needs to be precise."
It was clearly a deliberate provocation. Eighty-five degrees was inherently a scalding temperature.
The air in the office instantly froze. Li Ming, standing to the side, didn't dare to breathe loudly.
Xiaochen looked at him, her face expressionless. After a few seconds of silence, instead of arguing or obediently turning away to remake the coffee as Qiyu had expected, she did something that stunned everyone present—
She directly reached out, picked up the cup of coffee he had deemed "too hot," then took a few ice cubes from the nearby mini ice bucket (used for chilling alcohol) and, right in front of Qiyu and Li Ming, clunked them directly into the coffee cup!
The ice cubes quickly melted, diluting the dark liquid.
She placed the cup back in front of him with measured firmness, her tone calm and even carrying a hint of feigned humility:
"Mr. Qi, is the temperature acceptable now?"
Li Ming turned pale, almost expecting the next moment to involve the enraged CEO throwing the coffee in Xiaochen's face.
Time in the office seemed to stand still.
Qiyu stared at the cup of black coffee, now adulterated with ice cubes, his eyes dark and unreadable like the deep sea. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees.
None of the expected fury materialized.
He remained silent for a full ten seconds.
Then, in the quiet moments , he actually said nothing. Instead, he very slowly reached out, picked up the "adjusted" coffee, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.
Though his brows immediately furrowed in distaste, he did not throw the cup away nor lose his temper.
He simply set the cup down coldly, as if nothing had happened, and turned back to his documents, issuing a new, unrelated order:
"Take these documents to the legal department."
A faint trace of surprise flickered in Xiaochen's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by calm. "Yes," she replied, picking up the documents and turning to leave, her back still straight.
The moment she left, the secretarial office outside the CEO's suite almost instantly erupted in hushed whispers, spreading like wildfire.
"Oh my god! What did she just do?!"
"She actually put ice in Mr. Qi's coffee?! After he explicitly specified the temperature!"
"And Mr. Qi... drank it? Didn't get angry? Didn't fire her on the spot?"
"Who is this new assistant?! How did Mr. Qi tolerate that?"
Everyone was filled with immense shock and curiosity: Just who was this seemingly ordinary woman who could make the always strict, uncompromising Mr. Qi break his own rules?
(End of Chapter 6)