After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 10

Yuan Yi actually found tasks like writing meeting minutes quite tedious, but the unwritten rule in the department was that such chores were dumped on newcomers, under the noble guise of “speeding up their familiarity with the business.”

Hearing someone call her name, Yuan Yi looked up. Whether it was due to the angle or the difference in height, the first person she saw wasn’t Yu Na standing directly in front of her, but Meng Qiuran behind her.

She blinked as a memory from Berlin was triggered. This person… wasn’t she that bartender?

The reason Meng Qiuran had left such a deep impression on her was that one night, a glamorous guest with long hair had proactively flirted with her, only to be rejected with effortless indifference.

Meng Qiuran remained perfectly composed, meeting Yuan Yi’s gaze squarely without a hint of flinching or any suggestive signal.

She appeared as if she hadn’t realized she’d been recognized at all—or perhaps she simply didn’t care.

Yuan Yi quickly snapped back to reality and turned to Yu Na.

“This is Meng… Deputy Group Lead Meng from Investment Group One. She wants to understand your work situation.”

Investment department? Deputy Group Lead Meng?

Wasn’t that the “airdropped” socialite who had been the talk of the town lately?

Yuan Yi grew even more puzzled. What kind of strange hobby was it for a wealthy young lady to spend her time bartending in a small Berlin bar?

The question marks in her head were piling up, but Yuan Yi presented a more steady demeanor than most people her age. She stood up and lightly tugged at her clothes to look more formal.

“What aspect would Deputy Group Lead Meng like to know about?”

Yu Na turned to look at Meng Qiuran; since Meng hadn’t specified in the office, Yu Na could only wait for her to ask.

Meng Qiuran took two steps forward, not crowding Yu Na, and gave a faint smile. “Don’t be nervous. I’m just curious if you’re able to keep up, given your late start.”

Yuan Yi nodded. “There are no problems. My supervisors and colleagues have been very helpful.”

A textbook answer, delivered with seemingly sincere earnestness.

Meng Qiuran glanced at her computer. She couldn’t actually see the content on the screen from where she stood, but she asked casually, “What are you busy with right now?”

“Organizing yesterday’s meeting minutes.”

Meng Qiuran paused and said nothing. Yuan Yi stole a glance at Yu Na and noticed that the other woman looked even more nervous than she did.

“If you’re free, can we chat further in the conference room?”

The eldest Miss Meng was actually quite polite. Yuan Yi thought about the rumors of her being arrogant and ill-tempered, but seeing her today, she seemed fine. Aside from her baffling motives, there was nothing abnormal about her.

By the time she finished these thoughts, the three of them were already in a small meeting room.

Yu Na closed the door and poured water into paper cups. Meng Qiuran found a random seat and signaled for them not to be formal.

“Actually, it’s nothing particularly urgent; I just didn’t want to disturb others’ work by chatting outside,” Meng Qiuran explained, lightly rotating her paper cup.

Yuan Yi nodded, indicating she understood.

Meng Qiuran took the file from Yu Na and picked a few points to ask Yuan Yi, focusing mainly on her university major and her hobbies. These two areas were worlds apart, but Yuan Yi answered honestly.

When it came to hobbies, besides singing, dancing, and public speaking, Yuan Yi scratched her head sheepishly. “Does celebrity stalking count?”

Yu Na was stunned and frowned, signaling her not to mention such things.

Meng Qiuran, however, curled her lips, recalling Yuan Yi’s passionate account of her idol’s glorious achievements back in Berlin—a stark contrast to the “good girl” office persona she was projecting now.

“Which stars do you follow?”

Yuan Yi saw Yu Na’s signal, but she also noticed that Meng Qiuran genuinely wanted to hear the answer. After a quick calculation, she chose to continue.

“Gu Ruolan. The Gu Ruolan who just won the Silver Glow Best Actress award.”

She was still a bit stiff, but not at all humble. When she spoke Gu Ruolan’s name, her voice wasn’t loud, but it was incredibly solemn, as if she were introducing a rare treasure.

Yu Na breathed a small sigh of relief. Gu Ruolan was considered a “prestige” star; following her was respectable enough.

Meng Qiuran’s mouth twitched into a subtle smile.

“Alright, let’s leave it at that for today.” She looked at Yu Na. “I’ll leave the rest of the paperwork to you.”

She hadn’t even asked if Yuan Yi was willing to be her assistant, nor had she considered any other candidates.

After Meng Qiuran left, Yuan Yi learned the full story from Yu Na.

“Transferring to the Investment Department?”

Yu Na was half-encouraging and half-envious. “You know the status of the Investment Department in this company. Plus, you’ll be following Group Lead Meng directly. There’s a big future for you there.”

It was obvious Meng Qiuran was at the Investment Department for “training” and would eventually be promoted. When that happened, Yuan Yi as her assistant would surely rise with her. Wasn’t that better than being a nameless clerk in HR?

Yuan Yi liked the opportunity, but she still felt Meng Qiuran’s selection process was a bit random.

The transfer was processed quickly. After a few days of orientation with Zhu Mingxi, Yuan Yi officially took over. Now, Meng Qiuran’s assistant was Yuan Yi. Not long ago, she was an obscure newcomer in HR; now, she had transformed into the right-hand woman of the eldest Miss Meng.

For a time, people were whispering behind her back: Does Yuan Yi have family connections too?

Combined with her delayed entry, the speculation seemed plausible—otherwise, who would dare to do that?

Occasionally, in the pantry or near the stairwells, Yuan Yi heard these rumors. She just smiled and didn’t bother to argue, acting as if she didn’t know.

Meng Qiuran observed her for a while and found that although Yuan Yi was a fresh graduate, she was quite composed—except when it came to the topic of Gu Ruolan.

She also noticed that while Yuan Yi was serious during work hours, her phone screen was dominated by Gu Ruolan-related content the moment she took a break. This was the other reason she had chosen Yuan Yi; after all, having a “living fan” was much more useful than searching for unreliable news online herself.

Zhang Hen’an followed Meng Qiuran’s request and sent over a batch of investment project proposals that were due for a meeting. She and Yuan Yi spent their time reviewing them.

Yuan Yi wasn’t familiar with this field yet, so she did exactly what Meng Qiuran told her to do. As they spent time together, she felt that aside from having high work standards, Miss Meng was quite easy to get along with. Her initial stiffness faded, and they occasionally chatted about non-work matters.

One morning, Meng Qiuran sent Yuan Yi several files and called her: “This project is going to the meeting this afternoon. Re-check the key data and indicators I mentioned before.”

“Got it. I’ll have it done by noon.”

Yuan Yi was adapting to Meng Qiuran’s work habits. Zhu Mingxi walked past her several times, but Yuan Yi was so busy she didn’t even look up.

This project was a proposal from Group Two regarding the acquisition of an office building. Due to rising vacancy rates and headquarters-imposed limits, the owner had decided to sell at a discount.

Meng Qiuran was not optimistic about the project. In professional terms: the ROI was too low; it wasn’t worth it.

In her past life at Shengcheng, she specialized in making money grow. Improving investment efficiency was her only goal. She could have ignored Group Two’s business, but during the meeting, their people praised the investment to the skies, acting as if they were doing the company a massive favor.

Meng Qiuran couldn’t hold back and cast a dissenting vote.

Her status was unique. Because she said “no,” everyone else began to guess if this was Meng Xiayan’s intent. A decision that should have been finalized became “pending” because of her opposition. Crucially, she hadn’t just said she disagreed; she had provided ample supporting data. She was clearly prepared.

Now, even Zhang Hen’an wasn’t sure what to do. Naturally, he had to consult Meng Xiayan.

Meng Xiayan, of course, brought the problem home. When he mentioned it at dinner, Meng Qiuran stated bluntly: “In this day and age, anyone obsessed with acquiring office buildings… I won’t say they’re stupid, but their perception of market trends is definitely extremely poor.”

“Then tell me, what should we be doing?”

“Asset-light, high-turnover projects. Anything like that.”

Meng Xiayan was silent for a while. “Regarding the Investment Department’s projects, focus on learning. Try to stay out of the way as much as possible.”

He feared his sister’s old habit of causing trouble and raising objections was flaring up again. He felt a rising sense of worry but decided to wait and see for a bit longer.

To his surprise, a few days later, Meng Qiuran cast another dissenting vote—this time on a water park project proposed by Group One. When asked why, her reason was the same: the ROI wasn’t attractive enough.

It felt like a hollow theory, as if she were just quoting a textbook. Meng Xiayan had to consider if it was time to move his sister to a different department.

Meng Qiuran was getting more comfortable in the Investment Department, but she was discovering more and more problems. Unfortunately, her brother didn’t seem to believe her.

After work one day, she walked into the same elevator as Yuan Yi and caught a glimpse of a massive photo of Gu Ruolan on her assistant’s phone screen.

Her face looks so big.

That was her first reaction to the photo. Gu Ruolan’s actual face was tiny and perfect; why did it get magnified so much on camera?

Noticing her attention, Yuan Yi looked up with a shy smile. “My idol.”

Meng Qiuran arched an eyebrow and replied softly, “I know. The Silver Glow Movie Queen.”

Yuan Yi’s smile suddenly dropped, and her mood shifted. She looked suddenly angry.

Meng Qiuran was curious. “What’s wrong?”

Yuan Yi gripped her phone, typing furiously while gritting her teeth. “Someone is intentionally blackening Gu Ruolan.”

Meng Qiuran leaned over and saw the content on the screen. It was a “Super Topic,” and the title was clearly hostile:

#MovieQueenLetsLooseAbroad #DrugsAndAlcoholToGo #SoGoodAtFollowingLocalCustoms