Hao Yan Che held Yuan Gun Gun on his lap.

  ‘Yes,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘Aren’t you supposed to only have one secretary?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Is that what you decided?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘No,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘It’s what I’ve seen on TV.’


  Hao Yan Che gently touched Yuan Gun Gun’s cheeks.

  ‘Does it hurt?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘You deserve it,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  ‘You’re being mean to me again,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Get off my lap,’ Hao Yan Che said and patted Yuan Gun Gun’s bottom.

  ‘Why?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  Yuan Gun Gun hugged Hao Yan Che’s waist. He raised an eyebrow, and she slid off his lap.

  ‘Answer the phone calls,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘Make appointments, file work papers and give out reports. Your teacher said you know how to do all that. If you perform well, I’ll let you eat dessert.’


  ‘OK,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘Your desk is over there,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Hao Yan Che pointed to the desk in front of his desk. Yuan Gun Gun sat at her desk and applied what Tan Tan taught her. He was happy she did her best.

  At five in the afternoon, Yuan Gun Gun looked excitedly at Hao Yan Che.

  ‘Young master, dessert,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  ‘In the fridge,’ Hao Yan Che said without looking away from the work papers.

  Yuan Gun Gun walked around Hao Yan Che’s office looking for the fridge. Yi Tu pointed at the pig fridge, and smiled at Yuan Gun Gun.

  ‘Thank you big brother Yi Tu,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun opened the pig fridge and her eyes lit up.

  ‘Pudding!’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun took out four pudding serves, she turned around and met Hao Yan Che’s disapproving violet eyes.

  ‘One,’ Hao Yan Che said.

  Yuan Gun Gun put three precious pudding serves back in the fridge, and walked back to her desk with one lonely pudding serve.

  Days later, Yuan Gun Gun became a popular topic of conversation at Hao Yan’s company. The employees knew she loved eating sweets, and if she greeted them, they would secretly give her a chocolate. Most of the male employees were infatuated with Yuan Gun Gun, but they knew she was off limits because she was Hao Yan Che’s woman.

  In every crowd there was always a Lancelot type in the crowd. Ning San Yuan was the Lancelot of Hao Yan’s company.

  ‘Big brother San Yuan, this is yours,’ Yuan Gun Gun said and gave a report to Ning San Yuan.

  ‘Thank you Gun Gun,’ Ning San Yuan said. ‘You’re a diligent worker.’


  ‘Big brother San Yuan is too kind,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun turned around to walk to Hao Yan Che’s office.

  ‘Wait,’ Ning San Yuan said. ‘This is for you.’


  Ning San Yuan took out a bouquet of orchids, and gave it to Yuan Gun Gun.

  ‘For me?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Ning San Yuan said. ‘Do you like them?’


  Yuan Gun Gun sniffed the orchids.

  ‘Yes,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘They smell lovely.’


  ‘Don’t breathe the pollen in deeply,’ Ning San Yuan said. ‘It’s not good for the body.’


  ‘Oh,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I didn’t know.’


  ‘Gun Gun, what do you know?’ Ning San Yuan asked.

  ‘Everything about food,’ Yuan Gun Gun said proudly.

  ‘Gun Gun, you’re loveable,’ Ning San Yuan said.

  ‘Thank you big brother San Yuan for the orchids,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘I need to go back to my desk.’


  ‘Bye Gun Gun,’ Ning San Yuan said.

  ‘Bye,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun carried the orchids to the one hundredth floor, and she ran to look for Hao Yan Che in his office.

  ‘Young master, don’t you think they smell lovely?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked and showed Hao Yan Che the orchids.

  ‘Where did you find them?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Big brother San Yuan gave them to me,’ Yuan Gun Gun said.

  Yuan Gun Gun walked around Hao Yan Che’s office to look for a vase.

  ‘Did you take a long time to give out reports because of these orchids?’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘No,’ Yuan Gun Gun said. ‘Big brother Lu was carrying a stack of files. I helped big brother Lu to carry them to his desk before I gave the reports out.’


  ‘Throw the orchids away,’ Hao Yan Che asked.

  ‘Why?’ Yuan Gun Gun asked.

  ***