Chapter 2: The President and the Massage Chair 02

Tang Bin fell asleep, and in his dream, there was a small bridge and flowing water, a gentle breeze, and a bright moon. It seemed as though he had returned to the place before he had become a spirit. After transforming into human form, he had just started dreaming, and still couldn’t fully comprehend the nature of dreams, but he felt warm and comfortable.

So much so that the sound of the tinkling stream gradually grew louder, turning into the irritating ringtone of a phone. It took him a moment to realize what was happening.

Tang Bin opened his eyes. The sunlight reflected off the transparent glass above the mall, and it spilled onto him. The sky outside had already brightened.

He had to cover his eyes with his hand to block the glaring light. In a panic, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered the call, only to realize he had slept the entire night in the mall’s massage chair.

“Hello?” Tang Bin’s voice sounded groggy and hoarse, the way someone sounds just after waking up.

“Hello, Le Yang, have you arrived at the office?” The voice on the other end was from Pang Yuqing, and it sounded somewhat displeased.

“Not yet…” Tang Bin quickly glanced at the time—it was eight o’clock in the morning. He still had time, thankfully.

The office started at nine o’clock, so he wasn’t late yet, but if he was, his salary would be docked.

Pang Yuqing’s voice came again. “Oh, well, don’t come to the office. You’ll be going out with me instead.”

“Where to?”

“To meet President Shang from Ruida. The boss has looked at your report and, overall, is quite satisfied. He wants you to come with me and introduce your design to the client. Listen, you’d better do well this time…”

“Ah? Oh…”

Tang Bin agreed, although he was still a bit unclear about the situation.

Ruida Group was a relatively new company in B City in recent years. It was said that they were involved in many industries, and despite the overall economic downturn, they had managed to carve out a path for themselves. They were currently the largest client of Tang Bin’s company.

Tang Bin couldn’t really gauge how big of a client Ruida was. Although he had inherited the original person’s knowledge and skills, he had little understanding of business matters.

He only knew that their company was responsible for providing Ruida with app and online services, making them an essential client that they needed to cater to and please.

Despite this knowledge and the pressure from his supervisor, Tang Bin didn’t feel nervous.

He stood up from the chair and realized that after sleeping through the night, he didn’t feel any discomfort at all.

Stretching his muscles, he confirmed the meeting place with Pang Yuqing. Tang Bin turned back to touch the chair where he had spent the night. It didn’t seem as soft as it had before.

Had he just gotten used to the sensation?

It was puzzling to him.

But there were so many things about this world that confused him. Suddenly, he remembered he was supposed to meet Pang Yuqing and didn’t want to delay any further. He quickly took the No. 11 bus and ran down the escalator that was still off in the mall.

At this hour, the mall hadn’t yet opened for business, but when Tang Bin reached the first floor, one of the large doors was already open.

Not understanding the mall’s operating system, he didn’t notice anything strange and didn’t think too much about it. He just walked out and jogged toward the subway station.

The subway was suffocatingly crowded in the morning, and Tang Bin was nearly squashed flat like a pancake.

But he had gotten used to it. Compared to when he had no experience at all and couldn’t even squeeze in, now he was just grateful to be able to get on the subway without being late.

Pang Yuqing’s office wasn’t far from his place. Although Tang Bin didn’t know the way, he managed to find it without any trouble.

When Pang Yuqing saw him, his eyebrows shot up. “You’re planning to wear that to meet President Shang?”

Tang Bin looked down at his clothes—it was still the same outfit from yesterday. The call had come so suddenly that he hadn’t had time to change.

What was strange, though, was that after sleeping the entire night in the massage chair, his clothes weren’t even wrinkled.

And with the current weather, it wasn’t normal to sleep the whole night in a mall without air conditioning, especially on a leather chair. Normally, just lying on cotton sheets would leave you drenched in sweat. But Tang Bin didn’t sweat, his clothes were still neat, without any unpleasant odor. Although his white shirt and ripped jeans didn’t look very formal, they didn’t seem disrespectful either.

Seeing that his clothes were at least tidy and clean, Pang Yuqing didn’t say anything more.

After all, you couldn’t expect someone who only knew design and programming to dress very formally.

Pang Yuqing also had his own personal reasons for not making a big deal out of it.

He was gay, and he had always had a crush on his senior from university, who was now his boss, Yu Mingcheng.

Yu Mingcheng was bisexual. He had been tall and handsome in school, and his fame as the student council president made him well-known, so this was no secret.

Pang Yuqing had been enchanted by Yu Mingcheng’s charm during school, gradually developing feelings for him. After graduation, he went to work at Yu Mingcheng’s company as a junior. With his good looks, Yu Mingcheng valued him, and things were heating up between them. Just as they were about to spark, a new batch of graduates joined the company.

Le Yang was one of them.

Unlike Pang Yuqing, who was used to the company of others, Le Yang was a proper IT guy—someone who only immersed himself in coding every day.

But Le Yang had fair skin, handsome looks, and extraordinary talent, so it didn’t take long for Yu Mingcheng to notice him after he joined the company.

If Le Yang had understood the game and responded to Yu Mingcheng’s attempts, they would probably already be together by now.

But his “innocence” intrigued Yu Mingcheng even more. Now, he was teasing Le Yang like a hawk playing with a chick, while leaving Pang Yuqing, who had already been about to spark, ignored.

How could Pang Yuqing not feel jealous and resentful?

He had tried to put Le Yang in difficult situations several times, but Yu Mingcheng always came to Le Yang’s rescue.

This time, Yu Mingcheng had even specifically asked Le Yang to give a product presentation to a partner, clearly giving him an opportunity for promotion. Pang Yuqing didn’t sleep well last night because of it.

But seeing Le Yang’s messy appearance now, he felt a little reassured.

Men were visual creatures, especially gay men. He didn’t believe that when Yu Mingcheng saw him, well-groomed and in his suit, and saw Le Yang looking like this, Yu Mingcheng’s gaze would still stay fixed on Le Yang!

“Well, let’s go then,” Pang Yuqing said, adjusting his suit and the hairstyle he had worked on this morning.

The two of them took a taxi and headed to the location of Ruida Group’s office.

Tang Bin was completely unaware of Pang Yuqing’s thoughts. During the ride, he silently recalled the content of the design document he had worked on the day before, hoping he wouldn’t say anything wrong when meeting the boss.

The original owner had outstanding technical skills, and many of the concepts and technical aspects had to be explained to the clients by him personally. So, the original owner had done this before, and Tang Bin wasn’t particularly nervous or stage-struck.

Moreover, he treated his work equally and had no idea that the project the president of Ruida Group was personally overseeing was likely a very significant one that had to be done well.

And not knowing often meant he wouldn’t feel unnecessarily tense.

As he focused on organizing his thoughts, the taxi crawled through the crowded streets during peak hour. After an indeterminate amount of time, they finally arrived at the building of Ruida Group and then made their way to the president’s office.

Inside the office, two men sat, both dressed in sharp suits. Tang Bin recognized one of them—Yu Mingcheng, their boss, who often traveled around on business and was rarely in the office.

The other man… was likely Shang Chengjun, the president of Ruida Group.

Although Tang Bin wasn’t entirely sure.

As soon as he entered the room, he met the man’s gaze. The intensity of the stare startled him—this man’s presence was even more imposing than Yu Mingcheng’s. Within just a few steps, Tang Bin felt almost as if he were unable to escape the pressure of the other man’s eyes.

And he felt that Shang Chengjun was staring at him intently.

Having just started interacting with human society, Tang Bin hadn’t met too many people, but everyone he had encountered so far had been unique in their own way.

But someone like Shang Chengjun, who looked straight at him the moment they met… this was a first for him.

Of course, this was also the first time he had encountered such a handsome man.

With peach blossom eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips—each feature was perfect in its own right. When combined on a single face, it created a striking harmony, as if all the beauty in the world had been assembled in one place.

It was a handsome face that still conveyed masculinity, and with his triangular body shape that was hard to conceal even while sitting, Tang Bin, though still naive, thought this man must be the most handsome person in the world.

Although he couldn’t help but want to look at him again, Tang Bin lowered his head, not daring to raise it easily.

Because every time he glanced at the man, his sharp gaze would meet his own in midair.

The gaze was so intense that Tang Bin felt as if the man had some sort of magic—whenever their eyes met, his face would suddenly heat up, and the warmth was so uncomfortable for him.

After introductions were made, they all took their seats. Tang Bin, with his head lowered like a small quail, buried himself into the sofa. The deep, magnetic male voice opposite him spoke, “Thank you, Mr. Yu and the two of you for traveling so far. Please have some tea, and we’ll discuss things in more detail shortly.”

Tang Bin felt the voice was a bit familiar. He instinctively looked up toward the source of the sound, and once again, he met Shang Chengjun’s gaze. He quickly lowered his head to avoid the man’s eyes. In his flustered state, he forgot to think about where he had heard such a unique voice before.

Meanwhile, Yu Mingcheng, in his polite manner, said, “It’s not a trouble at all. Why don’t we start right now?”

Pang Yuqing, who was seeing Shang Chengjun in person for the first time, was also meeting such a handsome and charismatic man for the first time. He was completely mesmerized, almost losing his composure, until he heard Yu Mingcheng suggest starting, which brought him back to his senses.

In his haste to perform well, and used to being domineering in front of his subordinates as a supervisor, he instinctively pushed Tang Bin beside him, saying, “What are you still dazed for? Let’s get started!”

The push had no real force behind it, more like a light tap. But since Tang Bin was naturally slender and already shrinking into the seat, the sudden push made him tilt slightly.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and used his elbow to steady himself, avoiding any awkwardness in front of Shang Chengjun.

Tang Bin quickly straightened up, took out his laptop and the report he had prepared the day before, ready to present it to President Shang and Mr. Yu.

However, Pang Yuqing’s earlier action caused President Shang across from them to furrow his brows and sternly ask, “Is this how your company treats its subordinates?”

“Ah?” Tang Bin widened his eyes in confusion, not understanding what President Shang meant.

Not just him, but even Yu Mingcheng and Pang Yuqing were stunned for a moment until President Shang spoke again, saying, “I’ve heard that Mr. Le is a key member in this project. At such a young age, he already has this kind of ability. Mr. Yu, you should be cherishing this talent. Is talent something that can be casually pushed around or trampled on?”

President Shang’s demeanor was already quite imposing, but now with a serious expression, his presence made it hard to look directly at him.

As soon as he said this, Yu Mingcheng’s face darkened immediately.

Pang Yuqing, too, realized that President Shang was scolding him for pushing Le Yang earlier.

It was indeed inappropriate to casually touch or push someone in a business setting. Pang Yuqing had acted that way out of habit in the office, and upon seeing President Shang’s appearance, he instinctively felt nervous and shy, which led to his action. It wasn’t a big deal, but for it to be pointed out right there… President Shang was clearly calling him impolite.

Pang Yuqing felt utterly humiliated and could barely lift his head.

Yu Mingcheng was also unhappy with Pang Yuqing’s behavior, but because it involved the company’s reputation, he quickly smooth things over, saying, “Haha, our company has a more relaxed atmosphere, and we don’t usually pay much attention to these things. Please don’t mind, President Shang.”

Tang Bin, sitting across from them, blinked. Although Pang Yuqing often yelled at them in the company and sometimes threw folders directly at their faces, he didn’t think the push earlier was disrespectful.

However, seeing Pang Yuqing speechless and embarrassed, he did cast a grateful glance at President Shang.

… Although it was only a glance, and Tang Bin swore it was a very discreet one, President Shang still caught it.

Tang Bin immediately stopped glancing around. At this point, President Shang led them into the conference room to report on the project. Inside, there were several high-ranking executives from the Ruida Group. Tang Bin didn’t dare delay and quickly pulled out the report and plan from his folder, starting to explain the design to President Shang seriously.

Ruida Group had always followed President Shang’s lead, and today’s report would be a decisive moment for the project—if President Shang was satisfied, the deal would essentially be closed.

Tang Bin didn’t know how well he was doing. He could only focus on one thing at a time and couldn’t pay attention to others’ reactions while explaining professional details. However, after finishing, when he observed President Shang’s response, he felt that the man seemed quite satisfied.

Because President Shang said*, “I really appreciate your design.”*

Tang Bin blushed and quickly lowered his head again, muttering, “Thank you.”

“Then we’ll proceed as planned. Mr. Yu, I want Mr. Le to be in charge of this project as the Chief Engineer.”

“This…” Not only was Pang Yuqing shocked, but even Yu Mingcheng seemed a bit troubled as he said, “Le Yang just graduated a year ago, and President Shang, this request…”

President Shang interjected before he could finish, “If Mr. Le can complete the work three days ahead of schedule, I am willing to increase the final payment by 10% as a reward and pay it directly to your company.”

“… President Shang, are you serious?” Yu Mingcheng was immediately drawn to the proposal.

“Of course,” President Shang replied.

In the competitive market, such discounting conditions were common, so it wasn’t too surprising.

Moreover, Yu Mingcheng’s company had already secured the project by leveraging his family’s connections—his family held a position on Ruida Group’s board of directors, so the fact that President Shang was offering him this deal might have entirely relied on this connection.

In the face of profit, Yu Mingcheng couldn’t refuse. Although he had been unhappy with how President Shang had been staring at Le Yang earlier, he still readily agreed, saying, “Then let’s do as President Shang says. I will assign the entire responsibility of the Ruida project to Le Yang.”

Pang Yuqing’s face darkened even further—programmers are only responsible for the product, not for management.

The two roles were fundamentally different.

Now that President Shang had personally appointed Le Yang as the project leader, it felt like an open challenge to Pang Yuqing’s own position.

Among those present, the other executives from Ruida had not said a word, appearing to have no objections to the president’s decision.

Only Tang Bin still hadn’t grasped the situation.

He hadn’t realized that his career was about to change because of President Shang’s words, he just thought that President Shang, with only two sentences, had easily settled things with his boss—and he thought it was really cool…

“Then it’s settled. I’ll have the legal department draft an additional contract,” President Shang said, slamming the document in front of him shut before standing up from his chair.

Tang Bin instinctively looked toward the sound, and once again met President Shang’s gaze—a gaze that was somewhat seductive, yet probing. His face immediately flushed with heat, making him feel flustered.

He instinctively touched his cheek—indeed, it was burning.

…Could this be what people call being sick?

When Hu Xiaobing had a fever, Tang Bin had felt his forehead, and it had been this hot.

Flustered, he quickly stood up with the others and watched as President Shang elegantly left, all while a familiar electronic voice echoed in his mind—

【Welcome to the world of The Days When the President’s Old Flame Spoiled Him. The system task is now being released—

Target: Shang Chengjun.

Height: 185cm.

Identity: Unknown.

Background: Unknown.

Task Requirements: ① Establish a romantic relationship with the target ② Achieve a happy ending (HE) with the target.

Task Difficulty: One star.】

Tang Bin: “……”

Finally, the task had been released, but Tang Bin was completely dazed.

He cautiously asked, “…So what should I do?”

The system responded mechanically: 【Sorry, this system can only release tasks and cannot provide the host with any actionable ideas.】

Tang Bin… Tang Bin felt like crying again.

Before arriving in this world, Tang Bin had barely managed to understand what a perfect ending and a “HE” (happy ending) meant. But now, at the moment when he was supposed to take action, he had no idea what to do.

He could rely on the original owner’s memories to carry out programming designs, but there was no knowledge or experience in his mind to guide him on how to achieve a “HE” with another person.

Tang Bin felt like crying. Even the system seemed to sympathize with him, attempting to comfort him: 【Host, don’t panic. You’re very lucky. This book is a pure sweet story. There are no tragic or dramatic plotlines like unrequited love, love triangles, abortion, or heart-wrenching suffering. The difficulty is only one star—it’s the easiest level!】

Tang Bin: “……”

What should he do? He seemed to be even more panicked now.

After all, if he couldn’t complete the task in this world, he would have to move on to the next world. He couldn’t finish his trials until he successfully completed seven tasks and could finally achieve a human form.

And according to the system… this world was the easiest…

If he couldn’t even manage the easiest one…

Tang Bin instantly felt worried about his future.

Because the truth was, he had no idea how to go about completing the task in this world.

For a moment, Tang Bin really wanted to throw himself at Shang Chengjun, who had not yet completely left, and beg him to have the “HE” with him.

However, the original owner’s memories and the knowledge he had gathered told him that human society had no place for pity. If he did that, it would only disgust the other person, causing them to distance themselves from him.

Not knowing what to do, Tang Bin was terrified by the thought of “not even being able to complete the easiest task.” His back turned cold, and his hands and feet felt icy.

However, just at this moment, he saw Shang Chengjun, who should have been walking away, turning back to look at him. Then, Shang Chengjun simply turned around and walked over to him, saying, “You’re Le Yang, right? Would you mind exchanging phone numbers?”

Tang Bin: ?!!

Shang Chengjun slightly raised the corner of his mouth and added, “In case I have any sudden ideas, I can contact you in time.”

Not only was Tang Bin stunned, but Shang Chengjun’s sudden question also made the executives, who had previously had no objections to giving a discount to Yu Mingcheng, freeze for a moment.

…Since when did President Shang need to personally contact the designer for his ideas?

How many levels of authority did this span?!