Chapter 13 – Why Is An Zao So Beautiful?

After testing things out with the in-car music, Yan Dun became fairly certain that this “An Zao” liked the same things as the An Zao he knew. So, based on his memories of “An Zao’s” tastes, Yan Dun picked a creative fusion restaurant.

Yan Dun asked about An Zao’s food restrictions before ordering, and discovered that An Zao really was exactly like his old boss—his tastes hadn’t changed at all. Music, food, phone models, even preferred fonts—they were all the same. Sure enough, even without memories, a person would still like what they liked.

Creative cuisine was all about novelty—unexpected yet somehow reasonable ingredient combinations—and An Zao loved trying these “new combinations.” An Zao often said he worked in “Internet+,” which, in a way, wasn’t all that different from fusion cuisine and creative cooking.

Yan Dun ordered several signature dishes: spicy hotpot with abalone and sea cucumber, foie gras baked vegetables, roasted chicken with sea urchin, a relatively ordinary truffle rice, and a molecular gastronomy dessert—a cake that looked exactly like a tomato but actually wasn’t one.

Truthfully, Yan Dun wasn’t that interested in “creative cuisine.” To him, it was mostly gimmicks with inflated prices. What he genuinely liked were more traditional dishes from old, established restaurants. But he had never told An Zao that. After all, An Zao was the boss; naturally, Yan Dun always prioritized the boss’s preferences.

In a gentle tone, An Zao asked, “Do you like the food here?”

Yan Dun froze for a moment, carefully studying the boss’s expression. After confirming that An Zao wasn’t particularly fond of the dishes either, he replied, “It feels more like they’re selling a gimmick. They call it ‘fusion,’ but the fusion isn’t done especially well. Still, the ingredients are fresh, so trying it once is fine.”

An Zao nodded, clearly agreeing, then asked, “What restaurants do you usually eat at?”

Smiling, Yan Dun answered, “I usually follow President An around. Wherever he eats, I eat.”

The remark sounded a bit overly intimate—Yan Dun had deliberately said it to reinforce his “dedicated and hardworking employee” persona, hoping to gain some favor with An Zao.

Unexpectedly, it had the opposite effect.

An Zao revealed an unhappy smile.

An “unhappy smile” was the sort of expression where An Zao was displeased but still smiling. He naturally had smiling eyes and brows; even the slightest curl of his lips produced a perfect smile. He was used to hiding his emotions behind it. Having stayed by his side for so long, Yan Dun had learned to read the signs.

An Zao steered the conversation back to work.

“I discussed it with the producer,” he said. “To improve the show’s entertainment value, they want me to participate as an ‘undercover intern.’ What do you think?”

This so-called “undercover intern” setup meant An Zao would hide his identity as a domineering CEO—since he was usually low-profile, very few people knew who he was—and participate in filming alongside the celebrity interns. He would work with them, then dramatically reveal at a critical moment:

“Ha! I’m actually the CEO, and I decide who stays and who leaves. Surprised?”

The producer believed audiences would love this sort of plot. In essence, it was just “the emperor traveling incognito.”

Yan Dun thought: Isn’t this just boredom? Why would a man controlling the nation’s economic lifeline go play undercover intern?

Still, he could tell An Zao was interested, so he said, “It would definitely make for good television. But with how busy Chairman An is, would you really have the time?”

“I’m actually not that busy,” An Zao replied, sounding genuinely puzzled, as though asking: Why am I, a man controlling the global economy, somehow not busy at all?

That was just how domineering CEOs in CEO novels were: absurdly idle. Other than dating, they apparently had nothing to do.

And since An Zao wasn’t dating anyone, he was bored enough to join a variety show as an undercover intern.

Yan Dun remembered that the real-world An Zao was an absolute workaholic with monstrous stamina who only slept four to six hours a day. Letting him idle around was basically torture.

So Yan Dun smiled and said, “Honestly, it does sound pretty fun! Since Boss Zao has the time, why not give it a try?”

An Zao replied, “Going alone would be boring. Come with me.”

Yan Dun was completely surprised by the suggestion. But after thinking about it carefully:

Me going undercover together with him… doesn’t this sound exactly like the beginning of a romantic love story?

So Yan Dun agreed immediately.

And thus, both An Zao and Yan Dun became undercover interns on Celebrity Office Workers.

The show also started filming incredibly quickly—ridiculously quickly. They decided to film today, and shooting began tomorrow.

Yan Dun found it hard to accept.

The Customer Service System popped up to explain:

“In CEO novels, this is normal. You haven’t even seen the classic setup where the protagonist says today that they want to act, joins a production next week, finishes filming in a month, releases the movie immediately afterward, and wins the Golden X Award by the end of the year.”

Yan Dun: “……”

Filming began.

Fourteen celebrities arrived on set, including one hidden An Zao and one hidden Yan Dun, both posing as newcomers from An Corporation Entertainment.

Among the cast, only Mary Sue and Chen Jiangchen recognized them, but neither exposed their identities. They silently agreed to pretend to be strangers.

The program opened with all fourteen guests standing beneath the An Corporation headquarters building. Everyone knew An Corporation was funding the show, so the celebrities immediately launched into a storm of exaggerated praise:

“Wow, the An Corporation building is so beautiful!”

“It’s such an honor to work at An Corporation!”

“Seriously, getting into the An Corporation president’s office is probably harder than becoming a celebrity!”

Then the fourteen artists were brought into the president’s office area. Amid inexplicably dramatic background music, An Chi appeared in a sharp suit.

The celebrities instantly started flattering him too:

“President An is so handsome!”

“Oh my god, he’s ridiculously handsome!”

“Thank goodness President An became a CEO. If he became a celebrity instead, none of us would have jobs!”

An Chi basked happily in the praise and declared:

“Although I am handsome… but—but—but screw the ‘but’! I am handsome!”

The celebrities all thought privately that their boss was an idiot, but still continued praising him:

“President An is so straightforward!”

“Confident men are the most beautiful!”

Watching An Chi repeatedly act like a fool, even An Zao felt deeply confused:

How has our company not gone bankrupt yet?

Still, he had recently become accustomed to having his common sense repeatedly shattered. Seeing everyone else behave as though all this was perfectly normal, An Zao even started wondering whether he was the one lacking common sense.

During a filming break, An Zao suddenly asked Yan Dun, “How long do you think it takes to prepare a subsidiary company for IPO?”

Yan Dun didn’t understand why An Zao was asking him this, but the topic was outside his expertise, so he answered honestly:

“Which subsidiary do you mean? Domestic listing after a spinoff? Overseas listing? It’s actually very complicated. You’d need professional consultation before even getting a preliminary assessment…”

When An Zao heard that answer, something resembling delight flashed across his face like a shooting star—but it disappeared almost immediately, replaced by his usual faint smile.

“Mhm,” he said. “Just asking casually.”

What Yan Dun didn’t know was that An Zao had asked several other secretaries the same question. Every single one had looked baffled and replied:

“Isn’t listing on the market like getting on a bus? You just get on whenever you want. Why would you need preparation?”

Filming continued.

The fourteen guests were divided—through “random drawing” (actually producer arrangements)—into two competing teams of seven.

Their assignment was to promote a newly launched perfume from An Corporation called Ancient Tomb Sect. Victory would be determined by sales numbers.

Yan Dun, An Zao, Mary Sue, and Chen Jiangchen all ended up in the same group.

Since Chen Jiangchen was the biggest celebrity among them, everyone nominated him as team leader.

He immediately refused. “I’m too young. Let the older brothers and sisters do it!”

So everyone instead chose the popular actress Hong Xiaohua.

Hong Xiaohua took charge confidently:

“Since the perfume is called Ancient Tomb Sect, I suggest we cosplay characters from The Return of the Condor Heroes while selling it. First, we need a Little Dragon Maiden…”

She assumed she herself would obviously get the role due to her beauty.

But Mary Sue had the “white lotus heroine filter,” and everyone unanimously felt her ethereal temperament fit the role better. Through voting, Mary Sue became Little Dragon Maiden.

Hong Xiaohua silently seethed with jealousy, though she said nothing outwardly.

“Then who’ll play Yang Guo?” she asked.

Everyone nominated Chen Jiangchen.

Smiling, Chen Jiangchen said, “I can play Yang Guo—but Yan Dun has to play my condor.”

Yan Dun’s eyelid twitched. “T-that’s probably not a good idea…”

Chen Jiangchen grinned mischievously. “Why not?”

An Zao said calmly, “I also think it’s a bad idea.”

Chen Jiangchen had always been afraid of this older cousin. Hearing An Zao say that, he toned down his teasing.

However, the other teammates didn’t understand the situation. Since Chen Jiangchen had the highest status, they all felt his wishes should come first.

Hong Xiaohua immediately said, “I think it’s great. Yan Dun really does look suitable to play a condor!”

An Zao said nothing. He simply lowered his head and sent out a text message.

A little while later, a staff member hurried over to Hong Xiaohua.

“The condor costume was made too small. Only the female members can fit into it…”

“?”

Hong Xiaohua was stunned.

Among the women on the team, there were only Mary Sue, Hong Xiaohua, and Sister Li. Sister Li weighed nearly 400 pounds and obviously couldn’t fit…

So in the end, the woman who had wanted to play Little Dragon Maiden wound up wearing the giant condor costume in 34°C weather while selling perfume on the street, silently wondering whether she had stepped in dog shit before leaving the house.

Chen Jiangchen didn’t fare much better. In the blazing heat, he wore heavy ancient robes and a wig while hawking perfume alongside Little Dragon Maiden and the Condor.

Mary Sue, however, had exchanged points in the system for a “human air conditioner” item package. She wasn’t hot at all, didn’t sweat, and looked flawlessly beautiful.

Meanwhile, beside her, Hong Xiaohua had already melted into a sweaty mess. Her makeup had smudged, her false eyelashes curled up, and compared to Mary Sue she looked terrible.

As a result, side-by-side screenshots of Mary Sue and Hong Xiaohua immediately trended online.

Netizens commented:

“Bai Lisu is way too beautiful!!”

“So fairies really don’t sweat!!”

“Beauty really is all about comparison!! Hong Xiaohua next to Bai Lisu literally looks like a stupid bird!”

“It’s true: beauty and beast.”

Of course, Hong Xiaohua was a much bigger celebrity than Mary Sue and had far more fans. Her fans immediately jumped out to defend her, blaming the styling, while accusing Mary Sue of clout-chasing and stepping on others for attention.

But none of that had anything to do with Yan Dun or An Zao.

The two of them had “randomly drawn” the assignment of working as sales clerks at a shopping mall perfume counter, meaning they could wear normal clothes and stay comfortably indoors with air conditioning.

In a low voice, Yan Dun asked, “Was this drawing really random? Why do we always end up…”

“Luck is what matters in a drawing,” An Zao replied with a mysterious smile. “Some people are simply born luckier than others, aren’t they?”

Yan Dun was dazzled by An Zao’s smile and kept thinking:

Could Boss Zao also have some kind of “halo” or “filter”? Otherwise why does every random expression look so attractive?!

The Customer Service System immediately answered:

“You have old virgin syndrome, Dear Customer~ When you’re desperate enough, even a dog looks attractive.”