However, what was even more outrageous was that Xu Yanshi actually retracted that last message, 【But family matters should stay within the family.】

The entire tech department was stunned. They looked at one another, trying to find answers in each other’s expressions. But there was no explanation to be found.

From his straight-STEM-guy perspective, You Zhi quickly analyzed the situation in his head, snapped his fingers, and gave a conclusion, “The boss is seriously devious.”

Zhang Jun and the others asked, “How so?”

You Zhi said, “In this kind of awkward group chat atmosphere, if I suddenly retract a message, would you ask me what I deleted? Of course not. And those white-collar femme fatales from Sales won’t ask either. I bet they’re huddled together staring at their phones, just like us, ready to jump into battle at any second. They’re just waiting for someone to stir the pot. But what they didn’t expect was for the boss himself to step in. And which one of them doesn’t have a bit of a thing for him? They’re probably dying of curiosity now. ‘What’s Xu Yanshi’s relationship with this woman? Why is he protecting her like that? Does he like her? If he likes her, why delete the message? Maybe he doesn’t like her that much? Do I still have a chance?’ Now tell me, are they more curious about Xiang Yuan, or about the relationship between Xiang Yuan and our boss? Once people’s attention shifts, it’s hard to pull them back to the original issue. So Xiang Yuan’s situation— how a newbie who’s been at the company for a few days got her annual leave approved— does it even matter anymore?”

Even Li Chi suddenly saw the light. “Holy sh*t, if that’s true, I’m ready to kneel to the boss.”

Zhang Jun fell into a dazed trance, half in disbelief. Was this still the same boss who usually acted like he lived above the mortal world?

With a calm air, You Zhi patted Zhang Jun’s shoulder, eyes back on his phone. “Don’t be fooled by how the boss always acts all indifferent and lazy. Back in the day, he was sharp. Isn’t that guy Gao Leng from the same university as him? I heard the boss wasn’t this easygoing back then. He was a legend at Wuhan University. Even I, a guy from Beijing Institute of Technology, had heard of Xu Yanshi, the campus idol. But now? The mighty tiger’s been knocked down and bullied by dogs.”

At that moment, a tall and familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the meeting room. The black down jacket on him was half-open, one hand lazily pushing it aside and tucked into his pants pocket, the other casually taking off his glasses. He dangled them by the temples and leaned against the doorframe, head lowered, seemingly pondering which dog exactly had bullied him.

You Zhi went on, “See? Even lions turn into Hello Kittys if they sleep too long. But I’m impressed with the boss today. He finally remembered that he used to be a lion. Sure, it might still be a long way from a full comeback, but give Gao Leng’s athlete’s foot a few more years to roll into a somersault cloud^[1]a magical cloud that the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, uses for transportation in the classic Chinese novel, 《Journey to the West》, maybe one day, the two of them will wield their swords together and make it back to the heavens

That mouth was so damn foul!

Zhang Jun wanted to warn You Zhi that the boss was there.

But before he could say anything, You Zhi had already metaphorically lifted his own coffin lid, climbed in, and nailed it shut— leaving no room for interruption. Later, when You Zhi asked Zhang Jun why he hadn’t warned him, Zhang Jun simply repeated his earlier thought. That was the first time You Zhi had seen someone express a death wish so elegantly.

Shi Tianyou, Li Chi, Zhang Jun, and a few other bystanders tactfully excused themselves, putting distance between them and the battlefield.

Only then did You Zhi belatedly look up. Xu Yanshi wasn’t looking at him. His head was bowed, lost in thought, lips curled faintly. That slender, sharp profile looked particularly striking. His side profile was especially handsome, jawline tight and clean.

His features weren’t exactly delicate, but everything was just right, and he had a bone structure that gave him a few more points of presence than most.

You Zhi thought Xu Yanshi looked unfairly handsome today.

He calmly picked up his phone and headed out. As he passed by, Xu Yanshi happened to lift his head casually and gave him a glance.

You Zhi felt like his soul had been interrogated. He slipped away like a loach, muttering, “Hello, goodbye.”

────ρя


When Xiang Yuan and the others returned, it was two afternoons later.

At that moment, the ornate old-style clock at the entrance of the office building pointed straight to five o’clock, the time to get out of work.

Just as Xiang Yuan pressed the elevator button, the doors opened with a soft “Ding.”

A woman with dramatic makeup stepped out gracefully. Xiang Yuan remembered the other party. Her name was Ying Yinyin. It sounded delicate and flirty. She was some executive’s niece. Xiang Yuan gave her a polite smile.

Ying Yinyin was dressed even more elaborately than during work hours. Her thick lashes looked like black phoenix feathers poised to strike. She glanced at Xiang Yuan arrogantly and replied, “Back already? What a coincidence, we’re just getting off work too.”

Xiang Yuan wasn’t in the company’s main group chat. Lin Qingqing and Gao Leng, both seasoned employees, never checked the group anyway. With hundreds of people in it, most muted it long ago unless someone directly tagged them.

Lin Qingqing knew that Ying Yinyin always talked like that. The other party was sweet only to men and the other sirens in her little clique. Toward the rest of the female employees, she didn’t even bother to hide her disdain, especially toward someone like Lin Qingqing.

Lin Qingqing usually kept her distance. But Xiang Yuan? She didn’t seem to care about Ying Yinyin at all. She didn’t even respond. That, somehow, made Lin Qingqing feel a little vindicated.

Behind Ying Yinyin was Li Chi. Lin Qingqing shot him a glare. He ruffled her hair playfully. “What? Am I too handsome again?”

Everyone in the company— except maybe Xiang Yuan— knew that Ying Yinyin had been openly flirting with Li Chi. Lin Qingqing had long accepted that Li Chi would eventually give in.

Gao Leng thought the same. He had no issue with Ying Yinyin either. For males, there were only two kinds of females: tomboys or women. Ying Yinyin was all woman. Only the boss and You Zhi, those two hardcore techies, were immune.

Li Chi giving in was just a matter of time.

So when Li Chi passed by, Gao Leng teased him with a nudge. “Whoa, is Young Master Li finally saying goodbye to his right hand?”

Li Chi had already stepped out of the elevator, but he came back and gave Gao Leng a solid beating. Gao Leng, arms full of gift bags from the northwest, was caught off guard and retreated into the corner of the elevator, wailing, “Brother Li! Brother Li! Daddy! Daaaddy!”

Only then did Li Chi stop.

Ying Yinyin stood at the door, smiling sweetly at the chaos. “Li Chi, stop bullying Gao Leng.” She cooed. Her tone sounded closer than how she spoke with the women in her own department.

Lin Qingqing felt oddly excluded and uncomfortable.

Gao Leng, still oblivious, joked, “Yeah, Yinyin wants you to bully her.”

And he got beaten again.

Ying Yinyin had this natural charm with men and knew how to act coy. Except for a few who didn’t like her, most of the guys got along with her. Even a fool could see that Ying Yinyin was showing off her connection with the tech department guys right in front of Xiang Yuan.

Lin Qingqing glanced at Xiang Yuan. But she was calmly holding the elevator door open for Li Chi the entire time.

Both were beautiful and privileged women, but Xiang Yuan was so much easier to get along with. She was well-mannered, witty, and warm, never putting on airs.

Once Li Chi stepped out, the elevator doors closed again.

Lin Qingqing suddenly asked Gao Leng, “Are you and Ying Yinyin close?”

Gao Leng straightened up, bags in hand, and gave her a sidelong glance. “Not really. Why?”

“Nothing. Just feels like you guys all kinda like her.”

Gao Leng grinned. “There are only two kinds of relationships between men and women: on the bed, or off it. If I can’t sleep with her, then it makes no difference if it’s her or you.”

“……”

“No way, are you blushing? Lin Qingqing, have you never had a boyfriend?”

────ρя


After Xiang Yuan finished reporting her return from leave with Li Yongbiao, she went back downstairs to the tech department. The office was empty. The meeting room door was wide open. The windows weren’t closed, and the wind blew in through the gap, fluttering the white curtains, which had gotten caught on the whiteboard. Cold air gusted in.

The meeting table was a disaster zone.

There were half-eaten instant noodles with lids still open, tea mugs scattered everywhere, bread crumbs, half-unpacked high-precision boards, and two laptops still running. Oh, and a pair of socks so crusty they were standing upright on the table.

She wondered what on earth had happened there.

Gao Leng, unfazed, found his mug from the pile and muttered as he walked off to wash it, “Damn it, Shi Tianyou drank from my cup again. Can he just wash his own for once?” Before leaving, he called back to Xiang Yuan, “You’d better hide your cup. That guy doesn’t care if it’s male or female. He drinks from anyone’s cup. Even Lin Qingqing’s cup wasn’t spared.”

“Why would he drink from other people’s cups?”

“Because he drinks that calming tonic every day but rarely drinks water. He hates washing dishes. So when the cup grows mold or mushrooms after a week, he figures it’s unsalvageable and just grabs someone else’s— because they wash theirs.”

“What about Xu Yanshi?”

Gao Leng shrugged. “He doesn’t dare touch the boss’s cup. Last time he did, the boss beat the crap out of him and made him pull overtime. The spiritual and physical torment scarred him. The boss is ruthless when he wants to be.”

“Does Xu Yanshi bully you all often?”

“Not really. Most of the time, the boss leaves us alone. He’s had a rough few years. Our branch’s performance has been declining, and headquarters doesn’t care about us. Chen Shan’s been trying to promote him, but nepotism always gets in the way. He could’ve been transferred to R&D in Beijing ages ago, but you know how it is. Connections are everything. After getting snubbed a few times, he kinda gave up. Chen Shan has talked to him a few times, but every time he comes back from HQ, he’s in a foul mood. Plus, a few years ago, his brother got sick and needed expensive treatment, and his father racked up debt. The boss has been tight on money. Honestly, he’s super disciplined. Compared to us, he’s like a monk. Don’t be fooled by his cold exterior. He almost took out a loan from a loan shark once.”

Xiang Yuan stayed quiet for a while. Then she asked, “Where is everyone?”

Gao Leng poured himself some water and looked around while sipping, searching for Lin Qingqing. “The first bonus of the year came out. They went out for dinner, since it’s the happiest time of the year. You free tonight? The boss told us to go join them after reporting back from leave.”

Just then, Lin Qingqing returned.

Gao Leng put down his cup and grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go. They’re waiting.”

He stepped into the elevator first.

After standing in silence for a moment, as the elevator doors slowly closed, Gao Leng suddenly remembered something. As he put on his coat, he asked casually, “Oh, right, Sister Yuan, when I was handing out the gifts earlier, I noticed one was missing. Where did you put the boss’s gift? I searched everywhere. Don’t tell me it got left in the taxi?”

Xiang Yuan stared up at the LED numbers, distracted. “Oh. It might’ve fallen out in the car.”

Gao Leng froze mid-motion, as if struck by lightning. Three dark lines instantly appeared across his forehead. “What do we do? We can’t let the boss be the only one without a gift! That’s so pitiful.”

“Buy him two lollipops from the shop downstairs.”

Gao Leng exploded. “Did the boss offend you in a past life or something? Why are you doing him like this? You’ll regret it, you know? You Zhi just told me that the boss is personally cooking dinner tonight to welcome us back! I haven’t eaten his cooking in years!”

“He’s probably just trying to save money.”

Xiang Yuan rolled her eyes sky-high.

A man who’s that broke, living by the rules, and still cooking for everyone himself— what other reason could there be?