Chapter 5

Chu Yu had a rather deep impression of Chi Xiting.

On his first day at work, Chi Xiting got injured. Chu Yu was extremely busy that day, but upon hearing the news, he, driven by humanitarian concern, made time to visit Chi Xiting in the hospital.

However, Chi Xiting was still unconscious at the time. After arranging for Zhou Shan to handle the subsequent recovery matters, Chu Yu returned to the company. Over the next few days, he gradually forgot about the incident.

The second time they met was this morning.

Chi Xiting’s “NPC theory” unexpectedly made Chu Yu pause for a few seconds. He looked at Chi Xiting for a while, only then realizing that he had seen him before.

The third time…

Chu Yu glanced sideways at Chi Xiting, who was sitting by the window. Without changing his expression, he walked past him, heading straight to the front desk and calmly said, “An Americano.”

A faint, woodsy, cold fragrance mixed with the rich coffee aroma in the café caught Chi Xiting’s attention.

Just as he thought the smell was familiar, before he could ponder it further, a more familiar and distinctive voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Chi Xiting: “…”

No way.

Chi Xiting loosened his lips around the straw and slightly tilted his phone to the side. The screen, which had been showing Chi Xiting, gradually shifted to reveal Chu Yu, who was standing at the front desk.

Chu Yu stood by the bar, tall and elegant, wearing a well-tailored white shirt with the top two buttons undone. His long legs were encased in suit trousers, yet the muscles underneath still showed through, tight and flexible.

Chu Yu’s appearance was exceptionally striking—his brows were sharp, his nose high, and his facial features had smooth, clean lines. Even from a distance, or with the image slightly blurred through the lens, his handsomeness was hard to capture.

“What’s up? Are you interested in that handsome guy?” Fu Ning, on the other side of the phone, watched the camera shift and, upon recognizing Chu Yu’s face, his expression brightened. His tone became excited as he continued, “Wow, he’s so handsome! Go ask for his WeChat, Chi Xiting!”

Chi Xiting, with sharp eyes, noticed through his phone screen that Chu Yu was looking over. He quickly turned his phone and instinctively raised his hand to cover his side face, lowering his voice and said to Fu Ning: “What the hell do you want? That’s my boss.”

Fu Ning’s expression froze, and with a serious tone, he said, “Oh, Chi Xiting, you’re living such a good life?”

Chi Xiting: “…”

“Is that the point?” Chi Xiting’s voice gradually weakened, but his inner frustration grew stronger.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable running into their boss while having a coffee outside.

What’s worse, he had just said something rather rebellious.

“Don’t worry, just relax,” Fu Ning continued to comfort him from the other side, “Why don’t you just move a bit?”

Chi Xiting cautiously shifted his position.

“Hey, he’s coming over,” Fu Ning played the role of Chi Xiting’s eyes, glancing over discreetly and whispering, “You don’t think he saw you, right?”

Chi Xiting’s back went cold, but he didn’t dare to turn around. He instinctively lowered his voice and said, “Whether he sees me or not doesn’t matter. I’m just worried he overheard my overly negative comments.”

Even though it was his honest opinion, hearing it from his boss would still be “inappropriate.”

Fu Ning casually said, “If he heard it, so be it…”

Fu Ning’s words suddenly stopped.

Chi Xiting paused, suddenly realizing something, and quietly comforted himself a couple of times before calmly hanging up. He turned his head tentatively and, as expected, met Chu Yu’s gaze.

Chu Yu’s eyes were deep and dark, with a hint of coldness behind his glasses. He glanced down at Chi Xiting, who froze in place like a prey caught in his gaze.

“President Chu, what a coincidence,” Chi Xiting blinked, accepting the reality of running into his boss while having a coffee outside, and greeted him warmly.

Chu Yu’s gaze lingered on Chi Xiting’s face for a few seconds before scanning the phone in his hand.

Chi Xiting’s palms grew slightly warm.

Could it be?

Did he really hear?

It wasn’t a big deal, though. Some open-minded leaders would just let it go, but Chi Xiting wasn’t sure about Chu Yu’s personality.

What if Chu Yu was the type who liked to push everyone to work harder, not just expecting efficient work but also hoping employees would genuinely love their jobs? Then Chi Xiting might be in trouble…

“Mm.” Chu Yu replied, his voice still without any noticeable change in tone.

Chi Xiting fidgeted with his fingers, then couldn’t resist looking at Chu Yu again.

As expected of a CEO.

Is he really so hard to read?

“Why did you come down to buy coffee yourself?” Chi Xiting glanced at the coffee in Chu Yu’s hand and asked.

Chu Yu slightly raised his eyebrows, a brief flicker of surprise passing through his eyes behind his glasses, seemingly not expecting Chi Xiting to initiate a conversation.

Chu Yu didn’t often interact with interns. The few times they did meet were during meetings when department managers brought in new employees for introductions.

Chu Yu was cold by nature, with a strong presence, and as a busy CEO, he didn’t care much about trivial matters or people, making him seem distant and indifferent. Even long-term employees in his department often felt uneasy around him.

Chi Xiting thought Chu Yu wouldn’t answer, but just as he was about to make an excuse to leave, Chu Yu spoke: “The coffee machine in my office is broken.”

That reason was surprisingly unsurprising.

Chi Xiting nodded in understanding: “I see, it makes sense. For someone like you in your line of work, it’s normal for the coffee machine to wear out.”

Chu Yu: “…”

“Huh?”

“In your line of work?”

“But why didn’t you have your secretary buy it?” Chi Xiting, unable to handle the silence, shifted the topic again.

“It’s lunch break,” Chu Yu answered calmly.

Chi Xiting froze.

Lunch break?

Would a leader really not delegate tasks to subordinates during lunch and instead go down to buy coffee themselves?

Was this some kind of fairy tale?

Chi Xiting had worked before, and for them, lunch break just meant time to eat, with the remaining half hour being for a quick nap before getting back to work in the afternoon.

And that was when things were going well.

Most of the time, even during lunch break, Chi Xiting would still be dealing with unexpected tasks that upper management had suddenly decided on.

Leaders often make decisions on a whim without following up, easily tossing tasks down the hierarchy, and those below could only handle these “temporary” and “unplanned” tasks in their own time—either by staying late or during lunch.

Lunch breaks were more like Schrödinger’s lunch break.

It seemed like a break, but it really wasn’t.

He could only say it was a “break” in name.

Chi Xiting, who had worked for nearly 30 years without ever encountering a normal boss, was now struck by the fact that his boss respected the word “lunch break” so much. He was truly shocked and had no idea how to express his amazement, only letting out a heartfelt comment: “Wow, what a good boss.”

Having heard Chi Xiting’s frustration and disdain for work multiple times, Chu Yu gave him a meaningful glance, as if pondering whether there was sarcasm in his words.

Chi Xiting and Chu Yu locked eyes for two seconds.

After years of experience, Chi Xiting, skilled at reading people, said: “That’s sincere.”

Chu Yu said nothing, glancing at his watch.

Chi Xiting, seeing an opportunity, spoke up: “Well, President Chu, have a good walk?”

Chu Yu nodded.

Chi Xiting blinked, raised his hand, and waved: “Goodbye, President Chu.”

—–

Back at his desk, Chi Xiting immediately began recalling the contents of the novel.

He had only skimmed through it, clearly understanding the main plot, but the details had escaped him. Moreover, it was a “big male lead” type of novel, told from the male protagonist Huo You-shen’s perspective. Most of the characterization of the antagonist, Chu Yu, was based on Huo You-shen’s subjective view, along with the author’s excessive glorification of Chu Yu.

Outstanding in appearance, powerful in abilities, calm in personality, and born into a wealthy family, he was a child born with a golden spoon. He graduated from a top domestic university and then went abroad for further studies. After returning to China, he inherited the family business and swiftly reorganized the slightly declining Chu Corporation, gaining fame in just a few years and becoming one of the most outstanding representatives of the younger generation.

However, it still didn’t lead to a good outcome in the end.

Chi Xiting thought for a long time but couldn’t recall more of the storyline. He didn’t remember when Huo Youshen left Chu Corporation to start his own business, nor did he know what event triggered the collapse of such a massive company.

But in fact, these things had little to do with Chi Xiting, who was just a “cannon fodder” character.

It was just that Manager Chu’s statement at noon, “It’s time for lunch break,” had hit the hearts of the working people too precisely, and Chi Xiting unconsciously developed some favoritism and goodwill toward him.

After all, there aren’t many leaders as normal as him…

Chi Xiting propped his chin and thought for a long time. The lunch break passed quickly, and with sounds of stretching, the clicking of keyboards and mice started again.

Xing Panpan spent some time wrapping up the work in her hands. She looked up at Chi Xiting’s direction, thought for a moment, and then quickly organized a document before printing it out and walking over to his desk.

“Xiting, are you familiar with the company’s rules and regulations?” Xing Panpan asked.

Chi Xiting nodded, “Yes, I’m pretty familiar.”

“Well, here’s a small project I’ve been working on,” Xing Panpan hesitated for a moment, then handed over the file. “You can take a look at it this afternoon, and write an event proposal for me, would that be okay?”

“It’s not difficult, and this project isn’t particularly important, so don’t feel pressured,” Xing Panpan added. “You can try it out first, and show it to me later. If you encounter anything you don’t know, feel free to ask me anytime.”

Xing Panpan had never been in charge of new recruits before, so during the lunch break, she went to ask her workplace buddy for advice.

The buddy’s advice was to assign tasks to the intern gradually, starting from easy ones and moving to more difficult ones. However, it’s important to give some guidance and not let the intern work independently right from the start, as it can be overwhelming for them.

Xing Panpan strongly agreed with this and followed the advice strictly.

Chi Xiting lowered his eyes to look at the file in Xing Panpan’s hand, feeling a little disappointed. Ah, so the good days of slacking off were coming to an end.

What could he do?

He was here now.

When Chi Xiting reached out to take the file, he looked up at Xing Panpan.

Xing Panpan seemed a bit nervous, her expression awkward, as if she wasn’t used to assigning tasks to others. After Chi Xiting took the file, she visibly relaxed.

Chi Xiting found it amusing and replied cooperatively, “Okay, if I don’t understand anything, I’ll message you on WeChat.”

Xing Panpan’s expression lightened even more, and she smiled, “Alright, I’ll be in touch via WeChat.”

Chi Xiting glanced at the cover of the document.

Writing an event proposal, huh.

This was basic work in the marketing department.

In his previous life, Chi Xiting had majored in marketing and worked at a top event planning company. Writing event proposals was second nature to him, and besides…

Chi Xiting glanced at another document.

The content of the document was a planning proposal Xing Panpan had done before. From the format to the content, key points were highlighted, and the important sections were listed separately. She had also included several websites for reference at the back of the document.

Chi Xiting had been a newcomer before, and he had also trained new recruits. He knew that teaching newcomers isn’t an easy job.

After all, people’s energy is limited. With the already busy work, there’s also the need to teach newcomers, assign tasks, and solve problems. Occasionally, mismatches in expectations lead to conflicts, big or small.

It’s definitely a thankless job.

Chi Xiting’s eyes flickered, and he couldn’t help but feel a slight emotional tug.

He slightly pursed his lips and looked again at the event’s theme. It was a commercial event for a shopping mall. The scale wasn’t very large, and the content was relatively simple, so the writing wasn’t difficult.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Chi Xiting reviewed Xing Panpan’s proposal again, familiarized himself with the format, and then began brainstorming. About half an hour later, the general structure of the document became clear, and it was just a matter of filling in the details.

The work wasn’t difficult, and with Chi Xiting’s high efficiency, he finished the draft quickly.

After checking the content again and seeing that everything was fine, Chi Xiting slowly got up, planning to go to the tea room for a break.

No rush to submit it.

—–

In the workplace, it’s important to hide your skills appropriately.

After all, the greater the ability, the greater the expectations.

The more you endure, the more hardships you’ll face.

Just as Chi Xiting stood up, he saw Li Yang also getting up. Li Xin, sitting opposite, asked, “Sister Yangyang, where are you going?”

Li Yang closed her laptop, glanced at Li Xin, and said, “Going to have a meeting with Group A…”

Before Li Yang could finish, a low, gloomy male voice came from the doorway, “Li Yang, are you ready?”

Chi Xiting instinctively looked toward the door.

A tall, handsome man stood there, wearing a simple white T-shirt. His hair was somewhat messy, with stray strands hanging over his forehead. He stood with his arms crossed, lazily leaning against the doorframe, casually watching Li Yang.

“Almost done,” Li Yang quickly gathered her things and walked over to the man. “Let’s go, Huo Youshen.”

Chi Xiting froze.

Huo Youshen?