Feng Jie was completely stunned. He stammered, "I, I'm not... not an undercover... I..."
"Not what?" Ye Zhi said somewhat exasperatedly, "Even that bookworm Chen Wei can tell you're an undercover agent, alright? What was Ou Minghan thinking, sending you here?"
Actually, the script Ou Minghan planned this time wasn't fundamentally flawed.
Given Ou Minghan's obstinate nature, he would definitely find someone to take the blame and carry the burden.
If it were someone else, Ye Zhi might not have been so certain they were an undercover agent; she might have even thought they were just an unfortunate soul chosen to be a scapegoat.
But this was Feng Jie, Ou Minghan's assistant!
Ye Zhi had seen this name in the original novel. It was probably something like Feng Jie working while Ou Minghan and Ye Qin Ya were dating; Feng Jie working while they were having arguments; Feng Jie still working even when they were caught up in a deep, abusive romance; and Feng Jie was even working when Ou Minghan was doing bad deeds.
Feng Jie likely hadn't been involved in those unsavory matters, perhaps because Ou Minghan was wary of his capable assistant, fearing that any leverage might fall into Feng Jie's hands.
Without exaggeration, Feng Jie was practically Ou Minghan's external business brain.
So Ye Zhi genuinely couldn't understand why anyone would send their own external business brain to go undercover. Was he willing to discard his brain entirely?
Seeing Feng Jie's flustered look, unable to utter a coherent sentence, Ye Zhi suddenly thought of something. She realized, "Could it be that Ou Minghan has no one left he can trust by his side?"
Feng Jie: ...
Did Ye Zhi have to guess everything so accurately?
Ou Minghan was inherently suspicious. Aside from himself, anyone else Ou Minghan trusted was either incompetent and unable to act as an undercover agent, or competent but untrustworthy.
He had actually felt the undercover plan was unreliable from the start, but he never expected to be exposed the moment he stepped through the doors of Taoxun.
He had thought he might still have a chance to leave Ou Minghan, but it seemed he was now irrevocably tied to him.
Feng Jie gave a wry smile and said dejectedly, "Ms. Ye, since you don't trust me, I'll just leave then..."
"Who said I don't trust you?" Ye Zhi said in surprise, "I've always believed you were Ou Minghan's undercover agent!"
Feng Jie: ...
Even if he was an undercover agent, she didn't have to stab him in the back like this, did she? It was disheartening.
"You should stay. I happen to need someone to be my workhorse... ahem," Ye Zhi coughed lightly and continued as if nothing had happened, "I need an assistant, so you can stay and be my assistant!"
Feng Jie's eyes widened in shock. Did she just want to say "workhorse"? She definitely did, right?! Wait! Ye Zhi wanted him to be her assistant?
He was an undercover agent; why would Ye Zhi suddenly give him such an important position?
"How did Ou Minghan treat you?" Ye Zhi suddenly asked.
Feng Jie hesitated and cautiously replied with boilerplate, "President Ou used to value me highly and gave me a lot of work experience..."
Ye Zhi instantly understood, "So he just dumped all the work on you."
Feng Jie: ...
Ms. Ye, you don't have to be so direct.
"Then acquiring companies shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?" Ye Zhi asked.
Feng Jie nodded blankly.
"If I asked you to build a game team from scratch, that shouldn't be a problem either, right?" Ye Zhi continued asking.
Feng Jie nodded again.
"Alright then. I'm planning to acquire a company soon and also build a game team to develop games. I'll hand both these tasks over to you," Ye Zhi said calmly.
Feng Jie's eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't help but say, "But I'm underco..."
Before he could finish, Feng Jie bit his tongue hard. He was so shocked that he almost blurted out his true thoughts. He really couldn't understand why Ye Zhi would entrust him with such important work?
"I know, I know, you're an undercover agent!" Ye Zhi waved her hand casually, "But your mission for going undercover was supposed to be to have me fight Qianbaidou to the death, so that Ou Minghan could reap the benefits, right? Now Taoxun is just starting, and our opponents are all major capital. If you don't help me, how can Taoxun possibly stand a chance against Qianbai?"
Feng Jie: ...
This actually made some sense, didn't it?
He truly hadn't expected that Ye Zhi had seen through Ou Minghan's intentions so clearly! The two sides weren't even on the same playing field; how could he possibly compete with Ye Zhi?
He couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Ye, are you really comfortable entrusting such important matters to me?"
"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them!" Ye Zhi smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I know you're an undercover agent, and I'll be on guard against you."
Feng Jie: ...
Ms. Ye, can you really not be more subtle?
"Alright, go back and get ready. You can start working directly next Monday," Ye Zhi said.
Feng Jie agreed in a daze. He still felt a sense of unreality, as if he were dreaming.
As he prepared to leave, Ye Zhi suddenly called him back.
Ye Zhi frowned and asked, "For you to be an undercover agent, Ou Minghan must have used some other matters or people as leverage to ensure you wouldn't betray him, right?"
Feng Jie's expression changed slightly. He really hadn't expected Ye Zhi to have even considered this.
Indeed, Ou Minghan's personality was suspicious. Even after he had faithfully served Ou Minghan for so many years, Ou Minghan had used certain methods to ensure Feng Jie wouldn't escape his control when he was sent as an undercover agent.
Seeing his hesitant look, Ye Zhi understood, "If it's inconvenient to say, don't say it for now. After all, we've only just met, and it's normal for you not to trust me. It won't be too late to tell me when you feel I can help you resolve your troubles."
"Ms. Ye, thank you..." Feng Jie was so touched his nose tingled, and his eyes, as a grown man, were a bit moist.
After working by Ou Minghan's side for so long, this was the first time he had encountered such an intelligent and considerate boss.
"Go back now," Ye Zhi waved her hand, "As for which information can be disclosed and which cannot, I believe you know best."
Feng Jie left in a daze. He truly hadn't expected that just one meeting with Ye Zhi would completely tip the scales in his heart. He had even almost asked Ye Zhi for help to completely break free from Ou Minghan.
However, he decided to wait. As Ye Zhi had said, it wouldn't be too late to confirm Ye Zhi's capability.
As soon as Feng Jie returned home, Ou Minghan called.
"Feng Jie, how did things go today?" Ou Minghan asked coldly.
Feng Jie paused and replied, "Ye Zhi came to see me personally and even promoted me exceptionally, making me her assistant."
Ou Minghan let out a cold laugh and said smugly, "Women are women, so easily deceived! It seems she really thinks you were kicked out of the company by me, and that's why she's valuing you just like she values Chen Wei?"