Chapter 12 – A Wealthy-Family Novel Must Include Entertainment Industry Elements

Yan Dun climbed into An Zao’s car rather unwillingly. But once he settled into the soft leather seat of the luxury vehicle, a thought suddenly struck him.

“How can I possibly trouble Director An to drive me personally?”

“It’s nothing. You’ve been drinking. I’ll drive,” An Zao replied, looking perfectly approachable.

Yet Yan Dun was terrified that An Zao was secretly plotting something.

After all, he and An Zao were practically “old acquaintances.” Based on his understanding of An Zao, the man was either bottling up anger, plotting mischief, or both at once.

Although An Zao appeared polite and gentlemanly, nobody survived long in the business world without a few dark tricks hidden away. The only reason Yan Dun had never suffered from An Zao’s schemes before was because An Zao valued loyalty and never targeted his own people.

But now…

Now An Zao didn’t remember him at all.

In An Zao’s eyes, Yan Dun was probably just some scheming little flirt with mediocre intelligence and pathetic methods who somehow bewitched multiple tyrannical CEOs using his coffee-splashing “skills.”

As An Zao started the car, he said calmly:

“What happened today probably won’t end so easily. Hua Daimao may look broad-minded, but he’s actually very petty.”

Yan Dun nodded frantically.

Not only that! He’s basically a criminal mastermind!

Thinking about all the illegal and terrifying things Hua Daimao had done in the original novel made goosebumps rise across his skin.

Today I smeared mud on his reputation and embarrassed him publicly. There’s no way he’ll let me off easily…

Ugh! This is all my fault! Why did I trust that artificial idiot AI?!

An Zao glanced at him and easily noticed the fear on his face.

“You’re scared?”

Yan Dun nodded honestly.

“Of course I’m scared. President Hua has influence in both legal and illegal circles. How could I not be?”

“Then why weren’t you scared when you splashed coffee on people?” An Zao asked with a faint smile.

Yan Dun’s face turned green.

So the coffee thing really is never going away, huh?

“I-I really didn’t do it on purpose…” he muttered weakly.

Even he knew the explanation sounded painfully unconvincing. One accidental coffee spill might be believable—but his coffee disasters had happened one after another without pause.

Who would believe they were all accidents?

“Mhm.”

An Zao responded vaguely, clearly unconvinced.

Yan Dun sighed miserably.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

An Zao said:

“Xiao Chi is simple-minded. I doubt he can protect you properly. As it happens, I’ve just started a new project and I’m short on manpower. Why don’t you come help out for now? If you’re working under me, Hua Daimao won’t dare act recklessly. Once his anger fades, we can discuss the future.”

Hearing this, Yan Dun froze.

Wait… did I hear that correctly? Boss Zao not only isn’t blaming me—he wants to protect me?

Is this… real?

And it really was.

Yan Dun was quickly “temporarily transferred” into a new project under the An Corporation.

The project was the reality show:

Celebrity Office Workers

Seeing this, Yan Dun became deeply suspicious.

Isn’t this supposed to be a tyrannical-CEO novel? Why is there suddenly a reality show?

Customer Service-kun immediately explained:

Modern CEO novels always include reality shows nowadays. Going viral online is basically mandatory. As long as it’s a wealthy-family story, no matter what the protagonists do, they’ll eventually appear on TV shows, livestream, and trend online. If the fans don’t number in the hundreds of millions, the CEOs are too embarrassed to socialize with other CEOs.

Yan Dun: “……”

Whatever. Work was work.

With the spirit of “if you take the salary, you do the job,” Yan Dun carefully reviewed the information for Celebrity Office Workers.

The concept was simple:

Invite a bunch of celebrities to experience ordinary office jobs.

Modern audiences apparently no longer wanted to watch celebrities sing or act. Instead, they enjoyed seeing them dive into pools, run marathons, cook meals, and clock in at offices.

Looking over the guest list, Yan Dun was startled to see Chen Jiangchen’s name at the very top.

He blurted out:

“The young master cousin is going on the show?”

Since he said it aloud, Xiao Qi—An Zao’s secretary seated beside him—turned and answered:

“People outside don’t know Young Master Cousin is related to the An family.”

“Oh.”

Yan Dun gave a bitter smile.

“Actually, I’m more concerned about… isn’t he supposed to be preparing for the college entrance exams?”

Xiao Qi replied:

“It’s fine. Reality shows are mostly staged anyway. It won’t interfere with his studies.”

“…”

Yan Dun had no response.

He lowered his head and continued flipping through the program booklet.

Then he suddenly froze again.

“Bai Lisu… Miss Bai Lisu is a celebrity too?”

Xiao Qi answered:

“Bai Lisu actually debuted a few months ago. She’s just been very low-profile, so nobody recognizes her.”

“Debuted very low-profile” basically meant:

She debuted to absolutely no popularity whatsoever.

So apparently Mary Sue not only interned at the An Corporation splashing coffee, worked as a hotel waitress spilling red wine, and tutored at the An residence spilling more coffee—

She had also entered the entertainment industry.

Yan Dun couldn’t help sighing emotionally:

Mary Sue really works hard to “coincidentally encounter” every tyrannical CEO. She’s practically the Queen of part-time jobs.

After giving a brief explanation, Xiao Qi informed Yan Dun that it was time for the meeting.

Inside the conference room, both An Zao and An Chi had already arrived.

By now, Yan Dun no longer questioned things like:

“Why are the chairman and president of a massive economic empire personally holding meetings about a reality show?”

Xiao Qi and Yan Dun sat quietly at the side organizing documents and taking notes.

While assisting Xiao Qi, Yan Dun secretly became more and more jealous.

Watching Xiao Qi casually hand coffee to An Zao, whisper in his ear, and organize his paperwork made Yan Dun’s heart ache sourly.

Obviously I’m An Zao’s rightful secretary!

I was his secretary first!

I’m the original one…

To his horror, Yan Dun realized he felt like a legal wife whose position was being stolen by a mistress.

His heart twisted painfully with jealousy.

Then he snapped back to reality and mentally slapped himself twice.

Wake up! What exactly are you even jealous about?! Are you insane?!

Unconsciously, Yan Dun’s gaze drifted toward An Zao.

Today An Zao wore a perfectly tailored suit. Yan Dun couldn’t tell whether the virtual world had enhanced his appearance stats or whether it was simply because the suit was exceptionally high-end.

In the real world, An Zao usually dressed casually and prioritized comfort. He rarely wore clothing this form-fitting.

The custom suit accentuated his waist perfectly.

Slim yet strong, his waist resembled a tightly braided leather whip—lean but not delicate, filled with resilience and wild beauty.

A sudden impulse surged through Yan Dun:

He desperately wanted to rush forward and hug An Zao tightly from behind.

The moment that thought appeared, Yan Dun hurriedly gulped down several mouthfuls of ice water to calm himself.

An Zao’s gaze swept lightly over Yan Dun’s face.

Immediately guilty, Yan Dun lowered his head so far it nearly touched the table.

An Zao said only a few simple things before ending the meeting.

Yan Dun secretly sighed in relief and prepared to leave—

when An Zao suddenly called out:

“Little Honest, come here.”

Hearing those words, Yan Dun froze in a daze.

After pausing briefly, he turned around to look at An Zao.

An Zao smiled faintly.

“Come meet the producer with me.”

Yan Dun nodded quickly.

“Okay, Boss Zao.”

Hearing the words “Boss Zao,” An Zao himself paused briefly.

In the real world, that was how Yan Dun always addressed him.

But here, he was supposed to call him “Director An.”

Probably because hearing “Little Honest” had momentarily distracted him, Yan Dun unconsciously blurted out the familiar “Boss Zao.”

The instant the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

However, An Zao didn’t seem bothered. He merely nodded slightly and led Yan Dun away.

Left behind in the office, Xiao Qi frowned deeply.

Something feels wrong here.

Why is the boss taking him instead of me?

This little seductress is trying to steal my position as chief secretary, isn’t he?

“Little Honest Yan”? More like “Dishonest Yan!”

Thus, both Xiao Qi and Yan Dun secretly envied each other, each convinced the other was a “mistress secretary” trying to steal their job.

Yan Dun hurried after An Zao.

In reality, An Zao had built his business empire from nothing, so he generally dressed casually. Only after the company succeeded did he occasionally wear suits for formal occasions.

As someone who had accompanied An Zao for many years, Yan Dun had rarely seen him in a suit.

Today, following behind him, Yan Dun could only stare blankly at An Zao’s figure wrapped in expensive custom tailoring.

Good heavens… Boss Zao’s body is actually this good?!

He’s so perfect!

He must be incredibly hard to pursue!

Yan Dun’s expression immediately became gloomy again.

No wonder the system said pursuing him was nightmare-level difficulty.

But…

No matter how difficult, he still had to try.

If he couldn’t win him over in the virtual world, then he probably had no chance in reality either.

After accompanying An Zao to meet the producer, Yan Dun deliberately stalled while driving back.

He drove in endless circles like a taxi driver trying to scam extra mileage.

If the passenger asked to go to Cairo, he’d probably drive all the way to the Arc de Triomphe first.

Perhaps because An Zao had only recently returned from abroad and wasn’t familiar with the roads, he seemed not to notice at all.

Instead, he simply sat with eyes half-closed, listening to the music filling the car.

The playlist had been carefully chosen by Yan Dun according to the real-world An Zao’s preferences.

And this An Zao seemed to enjoy it too.

Yan Dun thought quietly:

Even without memories, it’s still the same soul. The things he likes haven’t changed…

After driving in circles long enough, dinner time passed completely.

With exaggerated acting, Yan Dun exclaimed:

“Ah! It’s gotten so late already? Director An, should we grab dinner before heading back to the company?”

An Zao had been resting with eyes closed the entire time.

Only after hearing that did he lazily lift his eyelids.

Though his posture remained relaxed, his gaze was unexpectedly sharp, making Yan Dun instinctively shrink backward.

An Zao asked:

“Why aren’t you calling me ‘Boss Zao’ anymore?”

Yan Dun blinked nervously.

“Ah… well… everyone calls you ‘Director An,’ don’t they?”

An Zao nodded.

“Fine.”

“Fine…?”

Yan Dun didn’t understand.

An Zao smiled slightly.

“Didn’t you say we should eat first? I said ‘fine.’”

Even though Yan Dun had been the one scheming and issuing the invitation, now that his “scheme succeeded,” he was completely dazed.

“…Okay.”

After parking the car, Yan Dun quickly got out first and opened the door for An Zao.

An Zao stepped out, his long legs wrapped in perfectly tailored suit pants. His suit jacket hung over one arm, while the white dress shirt outlined that whip-like, lean yet powerful waist.

Watching An Zao’s back, Yan Dun could only think blankly:

If a mermaid grew legs… it would probably look like Boss Zao.