"Mr. Su Shui~" Nan Surou rubbed her hands together with a bright smile, trailing behind him. She gazed enviously at Mimi, curled up in his arms.

"What is it~?" Su Shui raised an eyebrow, still stroking the cat.

"Let me hold Mimi, please~"

"Sure~" Su Shui pretended not to get her hint, holding Mimi out to her.

Mimi had been purring with half-closed eyes in Su Shui's embrace, but at the sight of Nan Surou, she bared her claws instantly.

Nan Surou frowned at the hissing cat, then gloomily grabbed a mirror.

"Do I look that scary?" she muttered, staring at her reflection. Something clicked in her mind—she dashed out with a *thump-thump-thump*.

"So, dear, who was that?" Su Shui pointed at the fleeing figure.

"She works with Sister Shuang. Sister Shuang had other plans today, so she sent Surou to help~"

"Why hire such a tomboy? If you need staff, I’m here~" Su Shui complained, lightly poking Lin Ning’s arm.

"You?" Lin Ning pursed her lips. "What can you even do?"

"Underestimating me?" Su Shui shot back indignantly.

"I’m in awe of you. Walls wouldn’t impress me—only you. Happy now~?"

"Not enough!" Su Shui jumped up. "Today I’ll prove I, Su Shui, am the ultimate male secretary!"

"Serious?" Lin Ning stared, shocked at his sudden burst.

"Absolutely!" Su Shui grinned confidently. "Bet: if I nail it, you raise my allowance!"

"Deal. Fail, and you won’t see another cent!"

…………

……

After settling the bet, Su Shui changed into a crisp suit backstage.

"See? Clothes make the man. Don’t I look the part now~?" He preened at his reflection in the mirror.

"You look the part~" Lin Ning stifled a laugh. "Especially like an insurance salesman~"

"Tch……"

The bickering couple sat chatting when a long-haired girl pushed the door open.

"Hello, you are…?" Lin Ning asked.

Before she could answer, Su Shui rubbed his chin, sizing her up head to toe.

"You… are Nan Surou?"

"How’d you know?!" The girl’s voice confirmed it.

"Uh, manly intuition~" Su Shui said smoothly, his eyes drifting downward. *First time seeing someone as flat as Xiao Qing’s file!* he thought secretly.

"Thinking something dirty?!" Nan Surou’s sharp gaze pinned him.

He whistled, looking away fast.

"Now let me hold her, right~?" Nan Surou reached for Mimi lounging on the sofa.

"Come on~ Mimi, I’m your sister~ Cuddle time~"

"Meow!"

Mimi arched her back, refusing to be touched.

"Waaah~ Why?!" Nan Surou leaned close to Lin Ning, watching her cradle the cat enviously.

"Oh, by the way~" Lin Ning whispered, "Take the afternoon off. Su Shui wants to ‘experience’ being my secretary~"

"You’re stealing my job?!" Nan Surou glared at Su Shui.

"Impossible~" Su Shui waved dismissively. "Just teaching you a thing or two~"

"Fine. I’ll watch you ‘secretary’!"

…………

……

"Nothing much to do anyway~" Lin Ning and Nan Surou petted Mimi on the sofa while Su Shui wiped tables with a cloth.

*Ring ring ring~*

The office phone shrilled. Lin Ning picked up casually.

"Hello? Got it—I’ll send someone~" She hung up, turning to Su Shui. "Your first task~"

A mountain of finance ledgers buried Su Shui at his desk.

"Organize these spreadsheets first. I’ll review later~"

"Pfft, easy!" Su Shui cracked his knuckles. A gaming nerd’s typing speed flew through Excel.

Under an hour later, he called out, "Check it out~"

"Hm?" Lin Ning glanced at his screen. "What is this mess?!"

"What’s wrong?" Su Shui defended his "art," stung by her frown.

"Spreadsheets aren’t copy-paste jobs! Categorize by date and type!" Lin Ning planted her hands on her hips as he scrambled to fix it.

"And this header—labeling every use? Summarize first with this many entries!" She waited for his first redo before criticizing.

"Why not say earlier?!" Su Shui glared.

"Recreating Surou’s exact conditions!" Lin Ning crossed her arms, watching him slave away. "This title format’s ugly—meetings need polish!"

…………

……

Revision after revision, Su Shui felt like a dev facing a nightmare client. After a grueling afternoon, he finally produced a spreadsheet Lin Ning approved.

He collapsed on the sofa like a dead dog. Beside him, Nan Surou waved fish treats at Mimi.

Before he could rest, a staffer dropped off files. "President Lin, the documents you requested."

"Thanks~" Lin Ning nodded. A single look sent Su Shui scrambling up to take them.

"Now merge my digital files with these paper ones."

Su Shui stared at the data mountain, flopping onto the desk like a beached fish. "Cancel my allowance! I surrender—I was wrong!"

"Tch, quitting already~? My turn to teach!" Nan Surou finally threw his words back.

She moved like she had three heads and six arms, flipping through files. The pile that crushed Su Shui vanished in half an hour.

"Clock out time~!" Su Shui cheered, heading for the door.

"Who said you could leave?" Lin Ning yanked his wrist. "Overtime!"

"Noooooo!"

…………

……

Dusk fell as Su Shui trudged out with Lin Ning and Nan Surou.

"Office life’s not for me," he muttered, head down, accepting his homebody fate.

"Let’s check on Sister Shuang. I’m worried~" Lin Ning adjusted her bag.

"I want to help her too~" Nan Surou added.

"You two go—I’ll slip off…" Su Shui bolted, but they caught him together.

"You’re coming too!"