Aanya promised herself repeatedly, "No Aanya, you mustn't sleep... if you fall asleep, that wolf will eat you alive." But the exhaustion was so great that she didn't even realize when her eyes closed while writing.
Aanya fell into a deep sleep with her head resting on the desk. Her glasses slipped down her nose slightly, and her shoulder-length scattered hair was messy over her innocent face. Her thumb had turned completely red from continuous writing, bearing witness to her hard work and pain.
Zain walked out of his cabin, the same rigidity on his face. He saw that Aanya was sleeping. At first, he felt angry that she hadn't listened to him, but as he moved closer to her, his anger began to melt like ice.
Zain's Changing Form
Zain saw that Aanya was in a bad state. He slowly took off his expensive coat and very gently draped it over Aanya so she wouldn't feel the cold.
Care: He removed Aanya's glasses with very light hands and placed them to the side.
Protection: The hair that was falling over her face, Zain tucked behind with his fingers. Aanya made a slight face in her sleep but remained asleep.
The Sacrifice: Zain saw that more than 300 pages were still left. He took a deep breath, pulled a chair from the side, and sat down beside Aanya.
Zain, who was a ruthless CEO to the world, picked up that same pen and started doing the rest of Aanya's work himself. He was writing rapidly, but he would repeatedly stop to look at the sleeping Aanya, as if ensuring that she was right there in front of him.
Waiting for Morning
Zain stayed awake all night and completed those 500 pages. By the time the first ray of morning entered through the window, all the work was finished. Zain was exhausted, but there was a strange peace on his face.
As soon as Zain saw the faint morning ray coming through the window, he placed the pen on the last page and took a cold breath. He lifted his expensive coat from Aanya, put it on his shoulder, and silently left for his penthouse without waking her up.
Office Silence: Aanya's Shock
Aanya's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Oh no! I fell asleep!" She stood up in a flurry; her glasses were placed on the table. She clutched her head in fear. "That wolf... he will really kill me! I didn't finish the work!"
But as soon as she looked at the table, she lost her senses. The stack of 500 pages was kept perfectly ready!
Aanya picked up those pages in astonishment. "This... who did this?" She looked at the first 80 pages she had written, which looked a bit scattered and in messy handwriting, and then looked at the rest of the pages. The rest of the handwriting was so beautiful and clean, as if someone had written it from the heart. There was a world of difference between the two.
Aanya (To herself): "My handwriting looks so bad compared to this. But who did this? Did... did Xiao (that coffee senior) help me? Or someone else?"
She looked throughout the entire office, but no one was there. She felt perhaps some co-worker had taken pity and done her work for her.
Phone Chaos: Worried Family
Aanya snapped open her bag and checked her phone. Seeing the screen, she broke into a sweat. A rain of notifications was appearing:
Huan Jing: 25 Missed Calls and lots of messages ("Aanya are you alive?? Say something!")
Lu Wei (Brother): 15 Missed Calls ("Aanya, where are you? I'm coming to the office!")
Uncle Lu Kang: 10 Missed Calls and a voice message.
Aanya listened to the voice message with trembling hands. There was both anger and worry in Lu Kang's voice: "Aanya! If you don't reach home in the next half hour, I will come to Z.Y Empire myself and break that Zain Yan's head!"
Aanya immediately gathered her things. She didn't know whether to be happy that her work was done or scared that her family members hadn't slept yet.
Lu Wei put his bike on the stand and moved toward Aanya in anger, but when he saw Aanya's tired face and red thumb, his anger cooled down a bit. He handed Aanya the helmet and signaled her to sit on the bike.
Lu Wei (With suspicious eyes): "Aanya, have you gone mad? In the office until this late? Why weren't you picking up the phone? Mom and Uncle were out of their minds with worry."
Aanya swallowed and averted her gaze. "Bhai... the... the phone was on silent. It was the first day, you know, so I got so much overtime that I didn't keep track of the time. I'm sorry."
Lu Wei started the bike, but his mind was still stuck on the same thing he saw last night.
Lu Wei (In a serious voice): "Fine, it was overtime... I accept that. But tell me one thing, when you were dead drunk last night, why did that same 'The Great' Zain Yan come to drop you home carrying you in his arms? That man for whom people yearn to catch a glimpse, in whose heart a stone beats... since when did he become so 'caring' for my sister?"
Aanya's heart began to beat rapidly. She remembered Zain had carried her in his arms, and tonight too, he had secretly completed her work.
Lu Wei: "Aanya, are you hiding something from me? Does that Zain Yan have some old relationship with you? Or is he trying to trap you in some trouble?"
Aanya suddenly made an excuse and hit Lu Wei hard on the shoulder.
Aanya: "Oh Bhai! Honestly... you are so filmy! It was just... it was just because I am his new secretary and he was worried about my safety. That's it! There's nothing else. Now let's go, I'm very hungry and sleepy too."
Lu Wei increased the speed of the bike, but he wasn't satisfied. "Worried about safety? Zain Yan? Impossible."
The Scene at Home: Lu Kang's Court
When Aanya reached home, Lu Kang (Uncle) was sitting in the hall waiting for her. In his hand was the same old file he often looked at in anger.
Lu Kang: "You're back? Aanya, from tomorrow you won't go to that office. I heard Zain Yan fired 3 people today. That man is dangerous, and I suspect he wants to reach me through you."
Aanya froze. She remembered her 500 pages were still on the office desk and she had to report tomorrow.
Aanya started using all her filmy tactics to convince her Uncle Lu Kang. She knew that if Uncle said no, Zain Yan wouldn't leave her alive.
Aanya's "Butter" Plan
Aanya (Sitting near Uncle's feet): "Oh Uncle! Why do you worry? What can that 'Wolf Boss' do to me? Your niece is no ordinary girl, I am a 'predator' too! I have established my terror in his office. He is scared of me, that's why he gives so much work!"
Aanya started building bridges of self-praise and criticized Zain so much as if he were an ordinary servant. She made funny faces and showed how she "controls" the Boss.
Mother (Turning her face away): "Uff... someone should learn how to butter people up from this girl! Lu Kang, let her go, otherwise she will melt the whole house with her talk."
Lu Kang took a deep breath and gave in. "Fine, but remember Aanya... if he even raises an eye at you, I will burn his company down."
Mission: Handwriting Expert
Aanya quickly went to her room and started getting ready. But the same question was still spinning in her mind: "Who wrote those 500 pages?"
Aanya (Looking in the mirror): "Xiao senior? No, she's so busy herself. Huan Jing? She can't even understand her own handwriting. Then who? I'll have to go to the office today and check everyone's handwriting. I'll check every single diary!"
She cleaned her old glasses, tied her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail, and decided that she would find out who this "Secret Helper" was today.
Entry into the Office: Suspense
As soon as Aanya reached the office, she first looked closely at the file on her desk. That handwriting... it was so 'perfect,' so 'commanding.'
Just then, she saw Zain Yan coming out of his cabin. He was wearing a navy blue suit today and looked as rigid as ever. He glanced toward Aanya, but there was a faint 'tiredness' in his eyes that only Aanya felt.
Aanya (To herself): "Why are his eyes so red? Did he also stay awake all night? No, no... why would this wolf help me? He wants to kill me."
Aanya made a plan: She would ask everyone for their signature or to write something so she could match the handwriting.
Aanya had decided she would find out this "Secret Helper." Her first target was Xiao, that same senior who was an expert at giving coffee. Aanya went to her and on tiptoe started checking an old file kept on her desk.
Aanya (With a sweet smile): "Xiao Senior! That... last night's work... was it you who did it? The handwriting looks very similar."
Xiao jerked her head up. There was sweat on her face and her hands were trembling. She remembered the scene from last night when she had accidentally seen Zain sitting at Aanya's desk and writing from outside the cabin.
Just then Zain had caught her and pinning her to the wall, threatened her: "If you let Aanya have even a slight suspicion that I did this work, not only will your job be gone, but your family won't get work anywhere in this city. Remember that!"
Xiao (Panicking): "Y-Yes! I did it! I... I felt pity for you so I stayed up all night and wrote. Now don't ask again and go from here!"
Aanya emotionally grabbed Xiao's hand. "Xiao Senior, you are so good! Such beautiful handwriting... Honestly, thank you so much!" Aanya felt her mission was accomplished, but seeing the fear in Xiao's eyes, she was a bit confused too.
CEO Cabin: Qian's Question
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, Zain was sitting in his chair drinking coffee, but his exhaustion was clearly visible. Qian placed the file and looked at Zain for a while, then gathered courage to ask a question.
Qian: "Boss... why did you do that? Not only did you write more than 400 pages for her, but you also threatened Xiao to lie. You wanted to take revenge on her, right? So why this sympathy?"
Zain slammed the coffee cup on the table. There was both anger and confusion on his face.
Zain (Rigidly): "This is not sympathy, Qian. I just want her to remain indebted to me. And her handwriting was so bad that if she had written it herself, my project would have been rejected. I did this for the company, not for her!"
Qian smiled and bowed his head. He knew the Boss was lying to himself.
Qian: "But Boss, Aanya thinks Xiao is her best friend. Don't you feel bad that someone else is taking credit for your hard work?"
Zain looked out the window where Aanya was dancing with joy. He said softly, "As long as she is before me and smiling, I don't need any credit."