Chapter 26 — Yan Dun Wallpaper

Old Madam An developed a strong interest in Yan Dun. She decided to see for herself what kind of person he really was, and whether he was truly as scheming and sycophantic as Xiao Qi claimed.

One day, she learned that Yan Dun was working late in the office. She disguised herself as a cleaning lady to test whether he was the type to flatter his superiors while bullying those beneath him.

Yan Dun was reading reports in the office when he looked up and saw an elderly woman with graying hair—well-maintained despite her age—wearing a janitor's uniform and wiping down desks. As Old Madam An approached, Yan Dun's finely tuned gaydar nose picked up the rich scent of rose perfume on her.

After identifying it carefully, he realized it was Frederic Malle Une Rose.

Yan Dun narrowed his eyes.

Since when are janitors this fancy?

That's an expensive perfume!

Old Madam An deliberately tipped over the water cup on Yan Dun's desk.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" she exclaimed dramatically.

She wanted to see whether Yan Dun would lose his temper.

Yan Dun froze for a moment before saying, "It's fine..."

Seeing that some water had splashed onto his clothes, Old Madam An naturally couldn't use a rag to wipe him down. Instead, she casually pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.

Yan Dun narrowed his eyes again.

The handkerchief casually stuffed into this "cleaning lady's" pocket was from Hermès.

"I'm really sorry," Old Madam An said. "You'll forgive me, right?"

Yan Dun frowned slightly.

Something about this isn't right.

Keeping a calm expression, he replied, "It's okay."

Old Madam An then went off to clean the windows.

Yan Dun quietly took out his phone, snapped a picture of the "cleaning lady," and ran a reverse image search.

Within seconds, her true identity appeared:

『 The previous head of the An Corporation, the legendary Old Madam An, known as the "Female Daddy." 』

Yan Dun nearly fell out of his chair.

Why is Madam An pretending to be a janitor?

Completely baffled and increasingly nervous, he quickly searched online:

『 Why would a boss disguise themselves as a cleaner? 』

The top result:

『 Female CEO pretends to be a cleaner to test employees' character... 』

"Ohhh, I get it now. She's testing my character."

Yan Dun thought:

Bosses are seriously sick in the head.

Putting away his phone after finding the answer, Yan Dun immediately switched on his brightest smile and began chatting warmly with Old Madam An. His attitude was even better than the one he showed his own mother.

Old Madam An, meanwhile, committed fully to the act. She knocked over a vase, spilled another cup of water, and generally behaved like a human sprinkler system, apparently copying Bai Lisu's patented disaster route.

Naturally, Yan Dun didn't get angry at all. Instead, he cheerfully helped her clean up and chatted with her.

"You've really had it hard," he said sympathetically.

Old Madam An replied, "It's nothing. When you're old, you still have to keep working hard."

"Old? What do you mean, old?" Yan Dun covered his mouth dramatically. "Big Sister, you look like you're only in your thirties or forties!"

Old Madam An immediately reached a conclusion:

Yan Dun is an honest and good child!

──── ୨୧ ────

The third team battle of Celebrity Office Workers revolved around promoting An Corporation's new game, Idiot vs Dumbass.

This was supposed to be Chen Jiangchen's big shining moment.

Compared to Team B's conventional approach, Chen Jiangchen decided to think outside the box and seek a cross-industry collaboration. He approached the luxury automobile brand We're Freaking Expensive, hoping for a limited-time partnership.

As everyone knew, We're Freaking Expensive was basically the Hermès of the automobile world. If the collaboration succeeded, it would be a major project.

On the show, Chen Jiangchen's first attempt to meet the company's marketing director ended in rejection.

But he refused to give up.

After buying coffee for the director's secretary, he learned that the director's cousin was a fan of his. Through this connection, he managed to arrange a meeting.

At first, the director was arrogant and dismissive, believing celebrities knew nothing about business. However, he was eventually moved by Chen Jiangchen's sincerity, and the collaboration was successfully established.

The director praised him extensively.

"I really misjudged you. Celebrities can understand business after all!"

Even An Chi praised Chen Jiangchen on the show.

"You did very well. You're not much worse than the professionals I hire."

This operation earned Chen Jiangchen another wave of popularity and goodwill.

What nobody knew was that An Corporation had already finalized the partnership with We're Freaking Expensive long before filming.

All of Chen Jiangchen's failed visits had been scripted.

Even the marketing director was acting.

The arrangement was excellent publicity for the car company as well, so the director cooperated enthusiastically. Some scenes were acted so enthusiastically that the filming director had to call for retakes.

One second, the director was looking down his nose at Chen Jiangchen.

"Hmph. What would you know about business?"

The next second, after the director yelled "Cut!", he bent respectfully and asked:

"Teacher Chen, was my performance too much just now?"

──── ୨୧ ────

After securing the collaboration, Chen Jiangchen and his teammates visited the gaming exhibition hall to promote the game in person.

As mentors, Yan Dun and An Zao attended as well.

Xiao Qi drove them there.

Yan Dun viewed Xiao Qi like a romantic rival.

Xiao Qi viewed Yan Dun the same way.

The two couldn't stand each other.

Xiao Qi thought:

Hmph. I actually have to drive this guy around?

Yan Dun thought:

Hmph. How is this guy allowed to drive Boss Zao's car?

I used to be the one driving Boss Zao around!

Hmph!

An Zao sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.

Yan Dun secretly studied his profile and thought:

Boss Zao is way too handsome.

Suddenly, An Zao opened his eyes.

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

Yan Dun's ears reddened slightly.

"Because Boss Zao is too good-looking."

An Zao smiled, seemingly pleased.

Xiao Qi ground his teeth.

Bootlicker! Bah!

...But if flattery made the boss happy...

"Ah!" Xiao Qi couldn't help joining in. "Does that even need to be said? Anyone with eyes can tell Chairman An is handsome!"

An Zao glanced at him.

"Focus on driving. Stop talking."

Xiao Qi:

Argh, I'm so angry!

──── ୨୧ ────

They soon arrived at the gaming expo.

It was a large gaming carnival where numerous brands were unveiling products. An Corporation was far from the only exhibitor.

Glancing around, Yan Dun noticed that the two best exhibition spots belonged to An Corporation and Hua Corporation respectively.

He found this strange.

Didn't Hua Corporation's last game get canceled because it plagiarized an An Corporation title? What are they exhibiting this time?

Curious, Yan Dun slipped away to Hua Corporation's booth during a filming break.

By sheer coincidence, he immediately ran into Hua Daimao.

At this point, Yan Dun no longer wondered why the chairman of a massive conglomerate would personally attend such a small event.

It's probably required by the plot, he thought.

The last time he had seen Hua Daimao, the man had been seriously injured.

Now he looked fully recovered and full of vigor.

Dressed in subtly flamboyant clothing, Hua Daimao carried himself as upright and elegant as a pine tree, while his face remained as beautiful and romantic as peach blossoms.

It was an unusual combination, giving him a uniquely captivating charm.

When Hua Daimao spotted Yan Dun, his eyes sparkled.

"Little Yan, you're looking especially handsome today."

Only then did Yan Dun remember that he normally met Hua Daimao without makeup, whereas today he had been styled for filming.

Touching his face awkwardly, he laughed.

"Haha, I'm filming today."

"I watched your show," Hua Daimao said with a smile. "You're incredibly photogenic. I even took screenshots of your scenes and made them my wallpaper."

Yan Dun chuckled and chatted with him for a while.

Then he happened to glance at Hua Daimao's phone.

The wallpaper was clearly the default wallpaper.

Not a screenshot of him at all.

Yan Dun immediately understood:

A CEO's mouth is a liar's mouth.

What Yan Dun didn't know was that Hua Daimao had been telling the truth.

The "wallpaper" he meant was a literal wallpaper.

The kind you paste onto walls.

Specifically, it covered an entire wall of Hua Daimao's bedroom.

Apparently, Yan Dun had forgotten that Hua Daimao's character setting was a black-hearted, obsessive psychopath.