Chapter 34
Shu He Building.
CEO’s office.
The secretary walked in and asked professionally, “Mr. He, are you working overtime again tonight?”
He Renyuan nodded, “You can leave first if you have something to do.”
“Okay.” The secretary cheerfully replied and carried out her last task, “What would you like for dinner? I’ll have the cafeteria prepare it and send it over.”
He Renyuan wasn’t interested in eating alone in the cafeteria. After two days apart, he suddenly missed the dining table at home, “I’m not eating.”
At this moment, his phone vibrated. He Renyuan immediately picked it up. Someone was asking about his dinner, but the sender was one of his childhood friends, inviting him to a bar for a couple of drinks.
He Renyuan rarely agreed to such requests when he was busy, but now he needed something opposite to tea – alcohol.
He had insomnia during the two nights he slept at the company and didn’t dare to drink tea during the day. It was unbearable.
“Find a quiet bar.”
He Renyuan had his driver take him there and waved him off.
His childhood friend, Zhu Yiqing, was waiting expectantly. Seeing He Renyuan, he rushed over, “Bro, bro! I was scammed again when signing a contract today!”
He Renyuan asked, “How much did you lose?”
Zhu Yiqing, “Five hundred thousand.”
He Renyuan, “Consider it a lesson learned.”
Zhu Yiqing, “Sigh, I’ve learned too many lessons, but they were all small things, I was embarrassed to ask for your help. Oh, I forgot, no amount of money can move you now.”
He Renyuan, the great lawyer who haggled with the acrobatics troupe owner over 100 yuan, wanted to send a lawyer’s letter to the underwear seller, and wanted to sue the barber who messed up Cha Bao’s haircut, nodded calmly, “Yes, bring your own legal counsel next time.”
Zhu Yiqing curled his lip, “You know the legal counsel at my dad’s company, his face is as grim as yours, his temper as arrogant as yours. Sigh, taking him out to discuss my business, isn’t that just asking for ridicule?”
He Renyuan didn’t bother to remind him that besides the chief legal counsel, a group also had many junior legal counsels, “…Then why do you keep calling me?”
Zhu Yiqing, “Because I’m immune to your deadpan face.”
He Renyuan’s mind stirred, “You can really develop immunity?”
Zhu Yiqing, “Of course, I’ve known you for twenty years, you’ve only been like this for the past three years, I got used to it in a year.”
He Renyuan clenched his fists. One year, such a long time that he wanted to punch the air.
Of course, he had better self-control and adjustment ability than Zhu Yiqing, this time could definitely be shortened.
Zhu Yiqing glanced around and found a quiet booth in the bar. He walked over and sat down, ordering a row of drinks, “You won’t help your brother, so I paid the tuition fee, you’re treating today.”
“I heard you’ve been getting off work on time for dinner recently, sometimes even early. What, do you have a beautiful wife at home now?”
He Renyuan took a sip of lemon water and said indifferently, “Just so-so.”
See, he had already developed some immunity. This wording fully showed that when he mentioned Bai Qingyu now, the fluctuation in his heart wasn’t big. Soon, it would transform from words to cognition, and “Bai Qingyu’s looks are just so-so” would be deeply ingrained in his mind.
“Pfft—” Zhu Yiqing almost spat out his drink, “No, you really have a wife?”
He Renyuan was stunned, then realized, his heart pounding like a roller coaster, “No.”
He didn’t.
Zhu Yiqing, “Then why did you answer like that?”
He Renyuan picked up a glass of whiskey and took a gulp. The liquid went down his throat, a peaty taste, not as good as tea.
Zhu Yiqing always asked He Renyuan for drinks whenever he lost money, but most of the time, he brought a bottle of wine to He Renyuan’s company and drank it himself, as if he could absorb some legal knowledge this way.
He Renyuan always said speechlessly: Legal knowledge isn’t spread through drinking.
So he never drank.
Zhu Yiqing was just wondering why He Renyuan wasn’t staying sober this time when two children sat down at the next table, looking like middle school students at most. He didn’t know how they got in.
One of them, who looked like a good student, started complaining as soon as he sat down, “I hate Uncle Zhang so much!”
“What’s wrong? Hasn’t he always been good to you?”
“I just found out today that he’s only nice to me because he wants to pursue my dad!”
“Uh…”
He Renyuan, sitting next door, felt like he had been kicked. His expression stiffened.
He only wanted to pursue tea, he didn’t want to pursue Cha Bao’s dad.
Zhu Yiqing, “Damn, bro, you’re drinking so heavily?”
He Renyuan didn’t want Cha Bao to hate him at all.
Zhu Yiqing, “Don’t drink alone, have some peanuts.”
The bartender came over and placed two Long Island Iced Teas and a few mixed drinks on the next table.
The well-behaved girl took a sip, frowned, and continued to complain, “You can’t judge a book by its cover, he only revealed his true colors after eight years! Although my dad isn’t my biological dad…”
He Renyuan stood up. Zhu Yiqing looked up, “What are you doing?”
Nothing, he just didn’t like what the people next door were saying.
He stopped the bartender before he left and said with a cold face, “It’s illegal to sell alcohol to minors. Don’t tell me you can’t tell they’re underage.”
The waiter was eager to make a sale and didn’t expect someone to meddle, “I didn’t notice.”
He Renyuan, “Then ask the police.”
If the police came, it would be a big deal, and the bar might be shut down. The waiter muttered, “I’ll ask them to leave, they’ve already ordered.”
He Renyuan, “I’ll pay.”
The waiter was delighted and immediately went to persuade the two kids to find a milk tea shop to continue their chat, “You don’t have to pay.”
The two students had to stand up and reluctantly left, taking another sip of their drinks before leaving.
He Renyuan saw in a mirror on the wall that two anxious-looking men entered the bar and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the children.
The girl hesitated, then seeing her father’s anxious expression, followed him home.
The waiter brought over the untouched drinks from the next table. Zhu Yiqing immediately waved him away, his brother had a cleanliness obsession.
He Renyuan glanced at it, “Give me one.”
“Forget it!” Zhu Yiqing said sincerely, “Lawyer He, you should stick to tea.”
Tea?
He Renyuan pressed his forehead, he promised Cha Bao that he would only drink tea and not coffee anymore.
Alcohol? Alcohol wasn’t coffee, he could drink it.
Alcohol was fermented from grains or fruits, it couldn’t be made directly from a single fruit, so there were sorghum babies and grape babies, but no alcohol babies.
So, even if Cha Bao’s competitors expanded to the beverage world, he could still drink alcohol.
He Renyuan stared at the clear liquid, his mind clear and calm as he analyzed.
Zhu Yiqing, “Why do I feel like you’re drunk?”
He Renyuan, “I’m not drunk, I wouldn’t be scammed out of five hundred thousand even if I signed a contract now.”
Zhu Yiqing: “…”
From any perspective, he didn’t want to drink this anymore. He quickly stood up, paid the bill, and pulled He Renyuan out. Outside, the cold wind blew, and he suddenly realized, damn, he was supposed to be treating. He Renyuan, were you pretending to be drunk?
“I’ll call a cab to take you home.”
He Renyuan stood up straight, the alcohol hadn’t affected his appearance, and the amount he consumed was within his control. His suit jacket smelled of the mixed alcohol in the bar. He originally wanted to throw it away, but suddenly remembered the jacket Bai Qingyu picked up from the trash can and washed for him. In the end, he obediently hung the jacket on his arm.
He now had to support two tea deities and be frugal.
If he went to the company to sleep now, he should be able to fall asleep, right?
Bai Xiaocha didn’t see Uncle Boss during dinner and asked Bai Qingyu, “Where’s Uncle Boss?”
Bai Qingyu, “Uncle Boss is working overtime.”
It must be because dealing with his matter had delayed He Renyuan’s work, so he had to work overtime now.
Bai Qingyu felt a little guilty. What could he do? Should he kill a chicken to nourish He Renyuan?
Bai Xiaocha, “What does Uncle Boss eat when he works overtime?”
Bai Qingyu, “He eats in the cafeteria.”
The housekeeper took the opportunity to say, “The cafeteria food is not good. Cha Bao can go with Dad to deliver breakfast to Uncle Boss, Grandpa will send a car for you.”
Bai Qingyu frowned slightly. The cafeteria food was quite good, he had eaten it.
Bai Xiaocha, “Okay!”
Bai Qingyu thought for a moment. Anyway, Bai Xiaocha would wake up at seven. Instead of going to school early, it was better to deliver breakfast to the young master first, and then take Cha Bao to kindergarten.
He agreed, “Okay.”
The next morning, in order to deliver breakfast to Uncle Boss, Cha Bao got up at six o’clock and personally chose the food downstairs.
He took off his shoes, stood on a chair, supported himself on the table with one hand, and pointed at the dishes with the other.
“Grandpa, a little bit of this, Uncle Boss likes it.”
“Grandpa, a little bit of this too, Uncle Boss likes it.”
It only took three minutes for the housekeeper’s expression to change from complete satisfaction to embarrassment. This hodgepodge would be shaken up even more on the way. Could the young master really eat it so early in the morning?
But he couldn’t ask the little young master to hold back, because every bit of it was the little young master’s filial piety towards the young master.
The housekeeper had a brainwave and took out the mini dishes that the young master bought for Cha Bao, along with a special food box with many compartments. Each compartment could hold a small dish, so they wouldn’t shake.
Cha Bao personally grabbed a big steamed bun and put it on top, “For Uncle Boss to eat.”
Bai Qingyu was a little late changing into his uniform. He was delivering the food as a housekeeper, so wearing this made him look very professional.
The housekeeper closed the lid of the three-tiered food box with 18 different dishes. It was Bai Qingyu’s first time delivering food, and it was his duty as a housekeeper to make it plentiful.
This much was enough for three people to eat in the office.
At 6:30, the housekeeper urged Bai Qingyu to leave, “There will be traffic later.”
In order to surprise the young master, he didn’t tell him in advance. He was afraid He Renyuan would be full later.
Cha Bao, holding a big steamed bun, was carried into the car and buckled into the child safety seat, “Dad, did you bring milk?”
He would show Uncle his milk tea shaking skills!
“Yes.” Bai Qingyu had two big-bellied cups hanging around his neck, one with milk, one with tea.
He Renyuan seemed to prefer Mother Tree Da Hong Pao, so he would make a pot for him to try.
At seven o’clock in the morning, the Shu He building, although some floors might be brightly lit at night, was very quiet at this hour.
Bai Qingyu used the password the housekeeper gave him and smoothly went up to the CEO’s office. Following the housekeeper’s instructions, he found the office where He Renyuan rested.
Before entering the password, the tea deity politely knocked on the door.
No one.
Still asleep?
Bai Qingyu could only enter the password himself. The office was very spacious, with a desk, a row of bookshelves, a row of tea cabinets, and a door leading to a lounge.
Bai Qingyu stood at the door and heard the sound of running water. So he was awake and taking a shower.
He put the food box on the table, held Cha Bao, and sat on the sofa to wait.
Five minutes, ten minutes passed, and He Renyuan still hadn’t come out. Didn’t men shower quickly in the morning?
Bai Qingyu sent Cha Bao to call him.
Bai Xiaocha shouted through the crack of the door, “Good morning, Uncle Boss.”
“Uncle Boss, breakfast is ready!”
There seemed to be the sound of the showerhead falling to the ground inside. Bai Qingyu said considerately, “There’s no need to rush to eat.”
He carried Bai Xiaocha back to the sofa, “Let’s not wait at the door, it will make Uncle Boss anxious.”
Cha Bao rubbed his face against his dad, “Okay.”
After a while, He Renyuan opened the door and came out, wearing a bathrobe, his hair wet, looking awake but not fully awake.
He Renyuan averted his gaze several times, but finally gave in. They were on his territory, he couldn’t avoid them too obviously, it would seem like he wasn’t welcoming them. He looked at the big one and the small one who appeared in his office. Did he have hallucinations from drinking last night?
Bai Qingyu actually came to deliver breakfast himself?
“Dry your hair, let’s eat.”
Bai Qingyu bent down and opened the food box, three layers, small dish by small dish, he took them all out and placed them neatly on the table.
After arranging them, he suddenly became silent – it looked like an offering to the tea deity.
He Renyuan also became silent. He rubbed his forehead, did he drink fake alcohol? He always felt that this scene – Bai Qingyu bringing him offerings, was very familiar.
Was it possible that after having Cha Bao, he also started fantasizing about having descendants offering sacrifices to him after his death?
Bai Xiaocha sat in the deep gray sofa, looking tiny, his toes couldn’t even reach the edge. He held his big-bellied cup and urged, “Uncle Boss, eat quickly.”
He Renyuan, “Okay.”
Cha Bao grabbed a handful of grapes and stuffed them into his mouth, then gulped down a mouthful of milk, shaking his head. So delicious!
He asked in a milky voice, “Uncle Boss, do you want to drink milk tea?”
What Baby drank was milk, what Baby spit out was milk tea!
He Renyuan, “Hmm?”
Bai Qingyu hurriedly said, “Cha Bao, don’t spit out the milk in your mouth.”
Bai Xiaocha: (⊙-⊙)
He Renyuan suddenly laughed, remembering the milk tea Bai Xiaocha spat out last time.
Bai Qingyu said, “Your uncle has other channels for milk tea!”
Bai Xiaocha’s eyes curved again, “Oh!”
He Renyuan’s head spun, other… channels? Bai, Bai Qingyu?
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Going to be filial-pied to death by Cha Bao.
