Cherry Miller let out a bitter laugh.
This was a mess of her own making.
Cherry's fingers flew over the keyboard: "No, Mr. Yin just asked me a few work-related questions. Also, I'm temporarily stepping down as Chief Assistant to Yina Yin. All related tasks will be transferred to the second assistant. Matters with the gaming company will be handled by someone else from now on."
As soon as she sent the message, her phone rang.
Cherry answered, and Derek Tang's tense voice came through quickly: "Cherry, why were you reassigned? Did something happen? Was it because I had dinner with you, and Mr. Yin got upset and transferred you?"
Cherry's fingers tightened around the phone, but she forced herself to sound calm: "It's not what you think. Mrs. Charles Yin needed me for something else, so she reassigned me."
"Will you still be Chief Assistant to Miss Yina Yin in the future?" Derek asked anxiously.
That question meant a lot to him.
If Cherry was still Yina Yin's Chief Assistant, his pursuit would have meaning.
But if Cherry was no longer Chief Assistant to Yina Yin, it meant nothing to him.
The Yin Family wouldn't go out of their way to support an ordinary employee.
Cherry had been in the workplace for years; she was sharp enough to catch Derek's real concern immediately.
When Cherry realized Derek had been chasing her only because she was Chief Assistant to Yina Yin, everything suddenly made sense.
She instantly knew how to answer him.
A sarcastic smile played on Cherry's lips as she replied, "No. Mrs. Charles Yin has already arranged for another Chief Assistant for Miss Yina Yin. That position is always filled—one out, one in. Even if I finish the task Mrs. Yin assigned me and return, I won't be Chief Assistant anymore. Derek, what's wrong? Is that so important to you?"
Derek was momentarily speechless, his voice noticeably colder: "So you're saying someone else has already taken over as Chief Assistant to Yina Yin?"
"Yes," Cherry lied with a straight face. "There were other assistants besides me anyway. I left, and someone else stepped in. That's how it works."
Derek's voice grew even colder: "Did Mrs. Charles Yin give you a more important position? Like president of a branch office?"
"Nope." Cherry's eyes flashed with sarcasm. "I'm just being sent out of town as a manager, that's all."
Derek's patience was gone. "Ah, manager's fine too. Work hard. Sorry, I've got a meeting. Gotta go! Beep beep beep—"
Cherry chuckled and shook her head.
If she'd known it was this easy to handle Derek Tang, what was she even worried about before?
His goal was so clear and precise—he just wanted to latch onto the Yin Family.
Well, that's fine too.
Saves her the trouble of having to deal with Derek Tang herself.
On the other side, after hanging up, Derek Tang's face was frosty.
No wonder Cherry Miller always ignored him, but suddenly agreed to dinner last night!
Turns out she was reassigned by Mrs. Charles Yin!
Ha, reassigned? More like demoted for incompetence!
Just a manager—middle management in Yin Enterprises. Hardly worthy of someone like Derek Tang.
Now that Cherry Miller had lost her value, there was no reason for him to waste time on her.
Derek immediately put Cherry out of his mind and set his sights on other heiresses.
Soon, he targeted a Li Family heiress—not quite on the Yin Family's level, but still promising.
She wasn't as prestigious as the Chief Assistant to Yin Enterprises, but she was easygoing and might fully support him.
To play it safe and avoid repeating his mistake with Cherry, Derek decided to cast a wide net and pursue several heiresses at once.
He planned to get to know each one and see who could help him the most.
Meanwhile, Cherry Miller finally felt completely relaxed.
The two men who'd been troubling her were no longer a problem.
Now Cherry could finally focus on recovering her health.
At three in the afternoon, after meeting all the staff at the manor, the doctor ordered Cherry to stay in bed and rest.
After three days of rest and some medication, Cherry Miller quickly recovered once her worries were gone.
Other than looking a bit pale, she was basically fine.
After dinner, as the workers went about their tasks, Cherry took a walk around the manor, secretly planning how to turn Sunset Manor into a beautiful, self-sustaining little ecosystem.
After surveying the grounds, Cherry took out paper and pen to start designing, mapping out plans for the large unused land behind the manor.
Once the blueprints were done, she sent them to Cecilia Gu.
Cecilia looked at the blueprints and proposal in her inbox, speechless. She said to Charles Yin, "Why is Cherry so stubborn? I sent her to Sunset Manor to relax, but in just a few days, she sent me a proposal and blueprints."
Charles Yin wiped his hands and came over to look at the documents, then laughed. "She just can't sit still. She thinks that since she's taking your salary, she has to do a good job for you. Let her be. Keeping busy keeps her from overthinking things. I gave Ethan a pile of work too—staying busy is the best cure for overthinking."
Cecilia nodded. "You're right. Let her do what she wants. It's just a manor—let her play with it however she likes."
Besides, Cherry's proposal was actually pretty good.
Cecilia quickly replied to Cherry's email and transferred a large sum of money for her to renovate as she wished.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
When Cherry got the reply, she felt energized. All her negative emotions vanished, and she secretly vowed to live up to Cecilia's trust!
The next day, Cherry called in the construction crew, showed them the plans, and said, "We're changing the whole layout of the manor. Just these two buildings aren't enough. If we rely only on outside supplies, we'll be at someone else's mercy. I checked out the open land in the back and made this plan. Take a look and let me know if you have any suggestions."
The construction team saw the blueprints and immediately looked at Cherry Miller with new respect.
At first they thought Cherry was just a spoiled princess here to play, but she really knew her stuff!
"Clear out all this open land—I want to build a smart greenhouse for vegetables and fruit. Over here, we'll make a fish pond with lotus for food and decoration. And here, a large underground storage for emergency supplies." Cherry explained each area to the foreman. "These are the detailed construction plans. Also, without disturbing the mountain crops, I want to reinforce the road at the entrance and replace all roadside plants with tea trees. Any issues?"
"Ms. Miller, are you sure tea trees can really grow here?" the foreman asked, raising an important question.
"I've already checked with the Yun Family—the soil here is perfect for tea trees. They'll provide the seedlings and technical support, so don't worry," Cherry replied. "The humidity and temperature here are ideal for tea flowers. I've already ordered the tea trees from them."
The foreman's view of Cherry changed again.
How could someone so young be this capable?
And it had only been a few days—her preparations were already so thorough?
Cherry continued, "And over here, I want to build a sewage treatment facility. All wastewater will be processed before being discharged, to prevent polluting the local environment."
"Alright," the foreman was speechless and could only nod in agreement.
"I just checked the soil and rocks at the top of the mountain. The soil covers 84% of the area, but exposed boulders are dangerous. So here, here, and here, we need to reinforce with railings and steps. This side of the mountain can't be planted, but we can quarry stone here. The pit left behind can be filled with spring water for a natural pool—good for irrigation during droughts and emergency drainage in rainy seasons." Cherry pointed out each spot. "We'll lay pipes to separately deliver domestic and drinking water to these areas."
The more the foreman listened, the more amazed he was. By the end, he was practically in awe!
Wow, are young women these days all this driven?
Would old guys like us even be needed in the future?
With plenty of funding from Cecilia, and Cherry's fast pace, construction teams kept arriving at the mountain and working simultaneously.
For days, the whole mountain was bustling with construction.
The manor's original workers, seeing Cherry's decisive style, had planned to give the new housekeeper a hard time, but now they thought better of it.
If the owners trusted her with so much authority, she clearly wasn't someone to be bullied or pushed aside!
The team Cecilia assigned to Cherry played a big role too.
They kept a close eye on all the critical construction sites.
In the whirlwind of busy work, Cherry gradually moved past her heartbreak and regained her old energy.
That day, after inspecting the greenhouse team's work, Cherry saw the warehouse foreman walking over. "Ms. Miller, the cold storage is finished as you requested. When would you like to inspect it?"
Cherry nodded right away. "I'll go now."