Chapter 118: Ji’s Enterprise
It was Athena’s first day at Ji’s Enterprise. She woke up early, and just as she was finishing up, Andrei the driver called.
Athena quickly grabbed her handbag and headed out. While waiting for the elevator, she spoke on the phone. The person on the other end was speaking Russian, and she replied in Russian. She wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings. Shortly after entering the elevator, she realized she didn’t have a free hand to press the buttons. It seemed someone was going to the basement, while she needed the first floor. She tried to press ‘1’ with her briefcase several times but failed.
Instead, someone behind her kindly stepped forward and pressed ‘1’ with their well-defined fingers. As she looked up, about to thank them, she blurted out, “Thank you~~~~”
It was an unintentional remark, but upon seeing the kind person, she was stunned. What a coincidence!
Ji Xiangyu stood expressionlessly in the elevator, looking at Athena’s surprised face. For some reason, he found her surprised expression incredibly cute.
Athena stared at Ji Xiangyu for a moment, lost in thought. On the phone, a voice called out, “Afnya, ty slyshaeшь?”
Athena quickly replied to the caller, “Da, slyshayu, ty skazal!” She then gave Ji Xiangyu an apologetic look. Just then, the elevator reached the first floor.
“Afnya…”
Athena, who had already stepped out of the elevator, froze when she heard someone call her name from inside. She looked at Ji Xiangyu with complex emotions, unsure how to respond. She just wanted to leave quickly and maintain a certain distance from the Chairman. She never expected to live in the same place as Ji Xiangyu!
Athena stood at the elevator entrance, watching the doors close. A hint of emotion flickered in both their eyes.
“Why so slow?” Andrei asked Athena in a calm tone.
Athena smiled apologetically. “I forgot to lock the door when I came down, so I went back to do it!” Ugh, that was such a flimsy excuse that anyone could tell it was fake, but Athena still lied. Anyway, Andrei wouldn’t care about such details!
As expected, Andrei didn’t press further and silently looked out the window. It made sense; after so many years away, he needed to reacquaint himself with the city.
Athena also looked out the window, but her mind was replaying the small incident in the elevator. Ji Xiangyu seemed to have something to say to her, but he remained silent.
What kind of person was he?
When they arrived at the Holy Courtyard Hotel, Ji Xiangyu’s car had also just pulled into the parking lot. Including Andrei’s driver, there were four people in total: three men and one woman. Athena was the woman, and she appeared rather small standing among these three well-built and handsome men.
Upon seeing Ji Xiangyu, they politely greeted him, “Chairman, good morning!”
Athena looked at Ji Xiangyu with an expression that suggested the coincidence was anything but accidental. “Chairman, good morning!”
Ji Xiangyu nodded without speaking and walked ahead coolly, stepping into the elevator.
As the elevator ascended, Ji Xiangyu said with amusement, “Miss Afnya, after living in Russia for so many years, you don’t look Russian at all. Your petite stature makes you look more like a Chinese person!”
Andrei also looked at Ji Xiangyu with interest and said, “I didn’t expect the Chairman’s Russian pronunciation to be so accurate, calling our Assistant Afnya’s name so perfectly!”
Athena felt extremely helpless. The General Manager and the Chairman were discussing her name first thing in the morning.
She replied with a hint of annoyance, “Chairman, you might not know, but my mother is Chinese. I inherited my mother’s genes, which is why I’m petite.”
Ji Xiangyu said charmingly, “If you were to change this blonde hair to jet black, then I believe, Miss Athena, you could participate in the Miss China pageant!”
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the elevator turned cold. Andrei looked unhappily at the tempered glass without speaking, while the driver maintained an indifferent expression. Athena gave an awkward smile, unsure how to respond. The Miss China pageant was best left to others!
Under the frigid atmosphere, the elevator finally arrived.
Athena breathed a sigh of relief and walked away with the driver.
Only Andrei and Ji Xiangyu remained.
Ji Xiangyu’s sharp eyes looked at Andrei and said, “General Manager, I’ll have to trouble you today!”
Andrei’s handsome yet cold face broke into a slight smile. “Chairman, you are too kind. This is my duty. I hope for your continued guidance in the future!”
After their polite exchange, they each headed to their respective posts.
Meanwhile, Athena was confirming the hotel’s procedures and the locations of various equipment with a senior employee.
She had to personally guide the General Manager and the Chairman through the hotel’s operations in the afternoon.
Being an assistant was no idle position.
From the outside, the hotel looked decent, but getting familiar with it was exhausting. She first went to the guest room department, then to multimedia and the banquet hall, followed by the restaurant and the back garden. Athena spent the entire morning rushing around.
During her lunch break, she was too tired to stay in the office. So, she took a mango mousse given by a kind person and went to the open-air resting area on the fifth floor to enjoy the breeze and have her lunch.
Athena sat on a chair, feeling the cool breeze, and looked at the distant skyscrapers. It all felt somewhat unreal. In the future, she would have to dedicate herself wholeheartedly to this grand hotel, assisting the Chairman and General Manager in developing Ji’s Enterprise. Just managing this hotel alone felt overwhelming.
Next, there were the mall and the entertainment city. This was her first time dealing with so many different ventures; her previous focus had been primarily on hotels.
The tenth floor of the hotel was entirely closed off to the public. Only two elevators could access it, and one needed a security guard’s card or a cardholder’s swipe to use them.
On this highly secured tenth floor, a man wearing a sapphire blue shirt with his sleeves rolled up stood by the window, watching Athena below, who was lost in the cool breeze.
Shortly after, there was a knock on the office door. The man turned around and sat in his leather chair.
He said in a very cold tone, “Enter!”
The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked in. Upon seeing Young Master Ji, he said, “Young Master Ji, the background check on Athena that you ordered has been completed!”
He then placed a document bag on the desk.
Ji Xiangyu slowly opened the file and began to read. The information wasn’t extensive, but it effectively summarized everything.
After reading, his expression turned colder. He tossed the file back and casually placed it in a drawer.
“Continue digging. Also, find out Andrei’s purpose for coming to Ji’s. I suspect there’s more to it!”
The middle-aged man nodded respectfully and exited the office.
Ji Xiangyu stroked his chin with his right hand, pondering why Athena and Andrei had come to Ji’s Enterprise.
