Oops, I’m the Scumbag Ex in Her Storyline - Chapter 16
At 1 a.m., Xin Yan dragged her exhausted body back home.
She had just finished dinner with two middle-aged men with impressive beards. Assistant An had only told her she will be hosting an important guest—he never mentioned this VIP was from Riyadh.
One a.m. here was 8 p.m. in Riyadh. She had to admit—this man had a very healthy routine.
The only consolation for Xin Yan was that her body’s original owner wasn’t so insanely perfect as to speak Arabic. Thankfully, she had hired a fluent interpreter to handle communication.
That interpreter was none other than Comrade An Zhiyuan.
……
After barely a few hours of sleep, Xin Yan had to head into the office early the next morning. She stumbled out of the car, dazed and barely awake, and suddenly began to question her life.
Was she really transmigrated into a CEO? Why did she feel less like the boss and more like a live-in laborer?
Casting a weary glance at the “CEO-in-training” beside her, Xin Yan sighed silently and continued walking.
Bei Lanlan stopped in her tracks under Xin Yan’s gaze, her right hand instinctively reaching into her pocket.
Inside was the necklace Xin Yan had given her. She had intended to wear it before leaving the house—after all, people love to see their gifts being appreciated. But after hesitating for a while, she changed her mind and tucked it away.
Part of her wanted to wear it to confuse Xin Yan, the other part didn’t—out of spite. She wanted to prove she couldn’t be so easily bought. Rationally, the former option would benefit her more quickly.
But despite the clear pros and cons, the necklace remained quietly in her pocket.
Xin Yan had definitely been looking at her neck just now—clearly noticing she wasn’t wearing it—and had likely gotten annoyed.
Bei Lanlan pinched a corner of the pendant and fell into silent thought.
After two seconds, she made up her mind.
No. I’m. Not. Wearing. It.
First, Xin Yan promised a full day of shopping and then disappeared halfway through. Then she invited her home for dinner only to not show up herself—offering no explanation or apology—and expected a necklace to make it all better?
Ha! Who is she trying to fool?
Once she figured out why she was sulking—and felt completely justified—Bei Lanlan stopped overthinking it. To show she wasn’t easy to manipulate, she deliberately kept a half-meter distance from Xin Yan as they entered the building together.
But Xin Yan, dead tired and still mentally replaying last night’s dinner and banter between Assistant An and the bearded men, didn’t notice a thing.
Which only made Bei Lanlan more frustrated.
…
She didn’t even notice.
She really looked like a wife silently resenting her inattentive husband.
This sulky mood lasted only ten minutes. Once they reached the top floor and she saw the thriving, elite-packed office space, her childish pettiness melted away. Scolding herself mentally, she walked to An Zhiyuan’s desk to collect documents—for both Xin Yan and herself.
Previously, An Zhiyuan would hand in the documents, and Xin Yan would pick a few for Bei Lanlan to process. Now, both tasks had been handed over to her. Standing at the desk, she quickly flipped through the stack, skillfully selecting the thickest, messiest-looking reports and setting them aside.
An Zhiyuan watched this whole scene, feeling deeply conflicted.
This little minx is no ordinary assistant. She’d only been here a few days, yet Xin Yan already trusted her so much. And he? He’d realized it all too late. By the time he caught on, she’d already mastered the job.
Even the reports she compiled—he had scoured them with a magnifying glass and couldn’t find a single fatal flaw.
Sorting documents took a few minutes. Xin Yan had already gone into the office, and An Zhiyuan followed soon after, eager to catch some “office breeze.”
“President Xin,” he offered, “if you’re not satisfied with the materials submitted by other departments, I can instruct them to revise everything based on your preferences. That way, Miss Bei Lanlan won’t have to work so hard either.”
Xin Yan rubbed her temples. “It’s fine. I like reviewing both versions. I look at the summaries Lanlan prepares first—if anything seems off, I’ll check the full version. It’s more efficient that way.”
An Zhiyuan smiled. “But those tasks belong to the secretary department. Isn’t it a bit of a waste of Miss Bei Lanlan’s talents?”
Xin Yan paused mid-motion, then lowered her hand and asked curiously, “Lanlan has talents? What talents? I must’ve missed them. You’ve got the sharp eye—tell me, in detail.”
An Zhiyuan: “……”
I was just being polite! You actually took it seriously?
He casually tossed out a few generic compliments to muddle through the conversation, then slunk out of the office looking utterly defeated. As he exited, he saw Bei Lanlan standing at the door holding a stack of documents—apparently waiting for a while.
She gave him a sweet smile. “Assistant An, you’re looking especially radiant today.”
An Zhiyuan: “……”
Forget it. The little minx was riding high on favor these days. No point fighting fate—better to keep a low profile.
Pretending not to hear her sarcasm, he went back to work and didn’t show his face in Xin Yan’s office for the rest of the morning.
Xin Yan was fully focused on work, only stepping out briefly for a meeting. When she returned, Bei Lanlan had just finished organizing a new set of files and was about to place them on her desk.
Before the papers touched the surface, Xin Yan reached out and took them—but didn’t open them right away. Instead, she glanced at Bei Lanlan’s collar.
Not seeing the necklace, she asked directly, “Did you see the necklace?”
Bei Lanlan tensed slightly. She straightened up and, without revealing her nerves, checked Xin Yan’s expression before nodding.
Xin Yan smiled. “Did you like it?”
“I did.” Bei Lanlan replied.
She answered quickly, but instead of smiling again, Xin Yan pressed her lips together—looking somewhat troubled. Two seconds later, she asked again, “Really?”
Bei Lanlan was confused but nodded again. “Yes. I really did.”
She wasn’t lying—the necklace was beautiful, and of course she liked it. Who doesn’t love pretty things?
But Xin Yan still wore a half-creased expression. After a moment, she gave a dry, self-deprecating chuckle and said casually, “It’s fine. Go ahead. Lunchtime’s in half an hour.”
Bei Lanlan paused. She turned and walked away as instructed, taking just six or seven steps before glancing back—twice.
Xin Yan showed no further reaction. She sat in her chair, reading the summary with focused attention.
The office quieted down. Xin Yan immersed herself in her work, but Bei Lanlan’s mind wasn’t as settled. She was still wondering what those earlier questions were about when, suddenly, the door opened again.
In this company, aside from Xin Yan and Bei Lanlan, only Assistant An could walk in without knocking.
Sure enough, it was him. He came to inform Xin Yan that there would be a last-minute evening party—organized by the VIP she had met last night. He had invited everyone he knew, including her.
Whenever Xin Yan heard words like party, banquet, or dinner, her reaction was always the same. She didn’t even lift her head. “Not going.”
Normally, An Zhiyuan would drop the matter at that gesture. But today, he rushed forward and stopped in front of her.
“President Xin, you really can’t skip this one! Sure, we won some goodwill yesterday at the airport—but that wasn’t the endgame. Don’t forget—Mr. Adubo’s net worth is dozens of times yours. His family owns one of the oil fields on the Red Sea coast! He brought $800 million to China looking for investment opportunities. To him, it’s just another deal. But for us—this could be the cornerstone of something much bigger!”
It was the first time Bei Lanlan had seen Assistant An this worked up. Curious, she looked at Xin Yan—who still looked calm and composed.
She raised a brow.
An Zhiyuan was panicking, but Xin Yan? She was trying to figure out how many zeros were in eight hundred million.
Once she got the math right, she jumped up from her chair. “Go? Of course we’re going! Who said we weren’t? I’m changing right now!”
Bei Lanlan: “……”
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Author’s Note:
Xin Yan: Not going? You’re not Chinese if you don’t go!
Assistant An: Ah, the shame… but also the pride…