How Will You Thank Me

"You animal!!!"

Guo Yang lunged forward, his hands tightly gripping Chen Zhi's neck, shaking him frantically.

"Are you even human! The pure campus belle of Renmin University! The icy rich beauty of Guanghua! You're hoarding both of them! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution!"

Li Zicong slammed the table in agony, making the water cups on it rattle.

"Lao Chen, this is not just a loss of morality, but a distortion of human nature! Aren't you afraid they'll bump into each other and hack you to pieces?"

Zhang Tianyang silently opened his drawer and handed over a paper cutter.

"Brother Chen, why don't you just end it yourself and leave a way out for the rest of us men."

Chen Zhi, dizzy from being shaken, slapped away Guo Yang's paws and adjusted his collar.

"Basic operations, don't freak out." Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair calmly. "This is all about personal charm, something you guys can't learn."

"Bullshit!" Li Zicong's brain worked at lightning speed as he slammed his thigh. "Fuck, I get it!"

Guo Yang and Zhang Tianyang looked at him in unison.

Li Zicong pointed at Chen Zhi, striking the confident pose of a master detective.

"That Rolls-Royce with the Jing A license plate belongs to Pei Ningxue, right? You must be using that pretty boy face of yours to be a kept man for Pei Ningxue, and then using the pocket money the rich lady gives you to keep that campus belle from Renmin University! Lao Chen, you're fucking eating soft rice the hard way!"

Guo Yang gasped and gave a thumbs up.

"What a fucking animal! This is simply the grandmaster of scumbags!"

Chen Zhi rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, think whatever you want." Chen Zhi couldn't be bothered to explain. He took off his shoes and climbed into bed to catch up on some sleep.

"Don't sleep! Pass on some of your experience!" Guo Yang wailed from below.

Chen Zhi pulled the bed curtain shut, completely isolating himself from the noise outside.

...

He slept straight until past four in the afternoon.

Chen Zhi fished out his phone from under his pillow. On the screen was a WeChat message from Li Zhiyi.

"Chen Zhi, Jiang Ke says she's free tonight. Where are we meeting?"

Chen Zhi typed a reply: "Wait for me to send you the address."

He opened a review app, picked a high-end private kitchen near Wangfujing that cost over two thousand per person, and directly sent the location over.

6:00 PM.

Chen Zhi arrived at the private room early, leaning against the sofa in the seat of honor, sipping tea.

Ten minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open.

A waiter led Li Zhiyi and Jiang Ke inside.

Chen Zhi looked up and glanced over.

Jiang Ke had completely changed her style today.

Gone was the exquisite and slightly mature style from when they first met at the east gate of Renmin University. Today, she wore a loose gray hoodie, paired with straight-leg jeans, and canvas shoes on her feet.

She had only applied a very light base makeup on her face, and her hair was casually tied in a ponytail.

Today's outfit was that of an ordinary female college student.

Chen Zhi held his teacup, sneering inwardly.

This woman was indeed smart. Knowing she was here to ask for a favor today, she deliberately dressed herself to look completely non-threatening.

"Hello, Boss Chen." Jiang Ke walked to the table and greeted him somewhat nervously, sitting on the very edge of her chair.

The atmosphere in the private room was extremely awkward for a moment.

Li Zhiyi sat between the two of them, not knowing how to start the conversation.

Chen Zhi put down his teacup and took the initiative to break the silence.

"What do you want to eat? You guys order first."

Chen Zhi pushed the thick, gold-stamped menu in front of Jiang Ke.

Jiang Ke took the menu with both hands, opened the first page, and her movements visibly paused.

Looking at the cold dishes that easily cost three to four hundred each, and the four-figure signature dishes further back, she secretly swallowed hard, quickly calculating her remaining bank card balance in her head.

She flipped back a few pages and picked three of the cheapest vegetarian dishes and a staple food.

"I've ordered. Boss Chen, Zhiyi, see if you want to add anything." Jiang Ke handed the menu to Li Zhiyi.

Chen Zhi didn't say anything. He casually called the waiter over and added a few more signature dishes.

As the cold dishes gradually arrived at the table, Li Zhiyi finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Chen Zhi, so how about it? Can Jiang Ke intern at your company?"

Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair, not answering Li Zhiyi directly, but turning his head to look at Jiang Ke.

"Compared to your abilities, I'm more curious about one thing." Chen Zhi tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "How did you find out my identity? Even those financial media outlets can't dig up my background, yet you, a college freshman, are quite well-informed."

Jiang Ke put down her chopsticks, placed her hands on her knees, and sat up straight.

"Last time when I was working part-time as an MC, I happened to run into you guys chatting with investors at the hotel," Jiang Ke replied.

"I heard them call you Boss Chen and mention Deep Space Technology's financing, so I guessed your identity."

She paused and turned to glance at Li Zhiyi.

"I just asked Zhiyi about it, but I didn't expect she wouldn't know either. I really didn't do it on purpose, Boss Chen. I swear I haven't told anyone about this."

Chen Zhi nodded, his face showing neither pleasure nor anger.

"Then do you want to come to our company?" Chen Zhi threw out the main topic.

Jiang Ke hesitated.

If she answered directly that she wanted to go, combined with her previous act of playing the victim in front of Li Zhiyi, it would make her seem harboring ulterior motives, deliberately using her classmate connections to climb the ladder.

But since she was already sitting here today, if she answered that she didn't want to, it would be too hypocritical. Even she wouldn't believe it.

Jiang Ke gritted her teeth.

Thinking of her bloodsucking father, and her situation of working three part-time jobs a day and still not having enough to eat, what did that ridiculous bit of self-esteem count for?

"I want to go." Jiang Ke raised her head and looked straight at Chen Zhi. "Boss Chen, if you can arrange the position of president's assistant for me, I can go without a salary."

Li Zhiyi, listening from the side, was stunned.

President's assistant?

Wouldn't that mean she'd be with Chen Zhi every day? Even she didn't have that privilege.

Jiang Ke continued, "I just want to enrich my resume and experience, so I can stand out among my competitors in the future. I promise, I can handle all work arrangements, even if it means being on standby twenty-four hours a day."

The private room fell silent.

Chen Zhi looked at this ambitious girl in front of him and suddenly laughed out loud.

He picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of beef, put it in his mouth, chewed slowly, and only spoke after swallowing.

"Do you have the right to negotiate terms with me?"

Jiang Ke's face instantly turned pale. She lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her hoodie.

"I'm sorry," Jiang Ke's voice was hoarse.

Li Zhiyi watched Jiang Ke's appearance from the side and felt anxious.

She reached out and tugged at Chen Zhi's sleeve, wanting to put in a good word for Jiang Ke.

"Chen Zhi, don't be like this, Jiang Ke is actually..."

Chen Zhi turned his head and glared at Li Zhiyi.

"Just eat your food like a good girl."

Li Zhiyi was shocked by his glare. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and aggrievedly picked up her chopsticks, poking at the rice in her bowl, not daring to make another sound.

For the rest of the meal, Jiang Ke never took the initiative to speak again.

She just mechanically ate the plate of greens in front of her, not even daring to look up.

When the food on the table was almost finished, Jiang Ke suddenly stood up.

"Boss Chen, Zhiyi, you guys eat first. I'm going to the restroom."

Jiang Ke walked out of the private room and went straight to the front desk.

"Hello, I'd like to settle the bill for private room 8, please." Jiang Ke pulled a bank card from her pocket and handed it to the cashier.

The cashier tapped on the machine and printed out the receipt.

"Hello, miss. The total comes to six thousand three hundred and twenty yuan."

Jiang Ke's breath hitched for a second when she heard the number.

This was equivalent to her entire living expenses earned from over a month of working herself to the bone.

Gritting her teeth, she entered her PIN.

The POS machine beeped twice.

The cashier handed the card back with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, miss, but your card has insufficient funds."

Jiang Ke's face instantly flushed bright red. She wished the ground would swallow her whole.

"I'm sorry, I... I need to make a phone call."

Clutching her phone, Jiang Ke walked to a corner of the lobby, took a deep breath, and dialed a number.

Less than two minutes after she hung up.

Jiang Ke's phone let out a crisp notification chime.

"Alipay received: six thousand three hundred and thirty-one point two three yuan."

Jiang Ke took a deep breath, composed her facial expression, walked back to the front desk, and scanned the code to pay.

Returning to the private room.

Jiang Ke picked up her backpack draped over the back of her chair and gave a slight bow to Chen Zhi, who was still putting food on Li Zhiyi's plate.

"Boss Chen, I've already settled the bill," Jiang Ke said calmly. "I still have work tonight, so I won't bother you two any longer. I'll be taking my leave."

She didn't bring up the internship again and simply turned to walk out.

"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, go to the twentieth floor of the World Trade Center and report to the front desk of Deep Space Technology."

Chen Zhi's voice came from behind her.

Jiang Ke's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

She turned around, staring at Chen Zhi in absolute disbelief.

"Boss Chen..."

"Don't even think about the executive assistant position; that's President Pei's person." Chen Zhi wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Go do grunt work in the administrative department for two months first. If you can survive that, then we'll talk about your resume."

Overjoyed, Jiang Ke's eyes instantly welled up with tears as she bowed repeatedly.

"Thank you, Boss Chen! Thank you, Boss Chen! I definitely won't let you down!"

It wasn't until Jiang Ke left the private room that Li Zhiyi finally snapped back to reality.

She looked at Chen Zhi, her face full of confusion.

"You obviously planned to let her go there all along, so why were you so fierce just now? You scared her half to death," Li Zhiyi muttered softly.

Chen Zhi leaned back in his chair and turned to look at her.

"I did you such a huge favor, so how are you going to thank me?"

Li Zhiyi was dumbfounded, pointing at her own nose.

"Huh? Weren't you helping Jiang Ke? Why do I have to thank you?"

Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow and nodded with a completely straight face.

"Makes sense." Chen Zhi stood up, making a show of heading for the door. "Then I'll go chase after Jiang Ke right now and have her thank me instead."

No matter how well-behaved Li Zhiyi usually was, she actually got anxious this time.

She grabbed Chen Zhi's arm, acting like a little kitten fiercely guarding its food.

"Don't you dare!"