CEO's Stand In Lover

Rumors, Reprisals, and Unwanted Assignments

“Forget it, Lucy’s here today—let’s deal with her another time. It’ll be just as good,” Lin Qian declared.

A girl beside her grabbed her arm with a frightened look. “Then how are we going to explain this to Sister Yue?” she asked.

“Have you forgotten? Sister Yue wouldn’t dare yell at her—let alone hit her,” Lin Qian retorted.

“And so? I’m not afraid of her. All she’s good at is her grades—what’s so amazing about that?” the girl continued abruptly. As she glanced over at Lucy, she saw Lucy silently staring back with eyes as piercing as an eagle’s. Startled, the group of girls scattered in fear.

While running off, Lin Qian shouted over her shoulder, “Today, you’re lucky—just wait!”

Lucy, meanwhile, knelt before the trembling girl. “Are you alright? If you keep a low profile, you won’t attract so much needless trouble,” she said gently.

Standing up, she addressed Yan Yishan, “Yishan, let’s go.” The two walked steadily toward their classroom. As they passed, a girl with tears in her eyes called out, “Senior, thank you so much! I’m Fan Yun.” Lucy only offered a glance before moving on.

Somewhere deep inside, Lucy thought, Sometimes I really need to learn to face reality. No matter how much we resist it, reality never changes, does it?

Outside, the day was brilliant—the fountain in front of the Kevin Building danced with sparkling droplets in the sunlight, and the building itself shone as magnificently as ever. Yet Lucy and Yan Yishan were loath to step inside, especially into that dreaded CEO’s office where the cold, unyielding presence of the CEO awaited.

“Do I have to work here?” Lucy murmured, exhaling a heavy sigh as if the weight of a thousand worries had pressed itself onto her forehead.

Earlier, she had pleaded with her mentor to reassign her internship, but her mentor had firmly replied that the placement was already fixed. “If you don’t complete the task, you won’t get your degree certificate—or even your graduation diploma!” the mentor had warned.

“Damn Kevin!” Lucy seethed silently. “It must be him scheming behind the scenes. Otherwise, why wouldn’t my mentor switch companies for me? Come on—stop complaining! Don’t you want your degree and diploma?”

“Fine,” she had finally conceded.

Dejectedly, the two girls trudged back into the CEO’s office. This time, they unexpectedly encountered only his secretary.

“Hello, Miss Xiao. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!” the secretary greeted with a smile, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. “The CEO said you’d come today, so I’ve been waiting here.”

“Um?!” Lucy’s long lashes fluttered in surprise as her eyes widened in shock. How did he know I was coming? Could it be that he spoke with my mentor?

“Damn it—damn Kevin! Using such despicable tactics to force me into submission!” she fumed silently.

“I’m not sure about that,” the secretary replied evenly. “The CEO only instructed me to wait for you here.”

“And where is he?” Lucy demanded, her normally composed demeanor cracking. For once, her gentle eyes flashed with fury. “I want to see him!”

“You can, but you’d have to fly to the UK to meet the CEO—he left for a meeting there early this morning,” the secretary explained.

The sight of the furious, red-faced Lucy made the secretary uneasy, as if afraid that she might stir up too much trouble. “The CEO does know how to escape,” she mumbled.

“Gone to the UK?!” Lucy’s eyes blazed with anger. “Kevin, you’d better not come back!”

Turning her attention to their work assignments, the secretary asked, “So, what is our work today?”

Yan Yishan, trying to defuse the tension, said, “Lucy, why don’t you ask about your assignment first? You can settle your anger later.”

The secretary then addressed Yan Yishan, “You, are you Yan Yishan?”

“Yes,” she replied eagerly.

“You’ll be working in the Creative Department,” the secretary announced.

Yan Yishan’s face lit up with delight—the Creative Department was exactly what she loved. “Great! And what about Lucy?” she asked.

The secretary’s gaze shifted to the still-fuming Lucy. Speaking slowly and deliberately, she said, “Miss Xiao, you are assigned as the CEO’s secretary.”

“Personal secretary?!” Lucy’s eyes widened in disbelief. The words struck her like gasoline on a fire, fueling her simmering anger further. It was almost predictable—this assignment would only set the stage for another explosive encounter with Kevin.

At that moment, a stark truth resonated in Lucy’s heart: In this world, no one truly cares for you. Only you can truly take care of yourself. Such is the bitter, unchanging nature of human relationships.