Chapter 16: Avoiding Me? Afraid I’ll Eat You?
Chen Shuo ignored Li Ge’s text message and went to the company.
Having learned from the previous experience of being hit on by his boss’s lover, he reported his interactions with Yuan Feng to He Yan without any concealment, down to the smallest detail.
Knowing the little lover’s particular physical condition, He Yan was aware that Yuan Feng wouldn’t dare to cause any real trouble, just throwing a small tantrum. So he instructed Chen Shuo, “You’ll be responsible for picking him up and dropping him off for work these days. Be mindful of what you should and shouldn’t say.”
“Okay, I understand.”
One important reason why Chen Shuo had been able to keep this job for five years was that his boss was reasonable and wouldn’t wrongly accuse him or deduct his salary without cause.
He Yan: “You can go now.”
Before leaving, remembering the unanswered text message, Chen Shuo inquired, “CEO He, Mr. Li from Gewu Media called and said he has a document for you, asking me to pick it up.”
Li Ge had been actively focusing on his career these past few months, so He Yan assumed his cousin wanted him to invest in another film project and said, “Go and get it.”
“…” Chen Shuo had suspected last night that Li Ge might be lying. The reality check came too quickly. Now that his boss had personally given the order, he couldn’t refuse.
Forty-five minutes later, he arrived at Gewu Media.
This time, he was here to pick up a document, and it was Li Ge who specifically requested it. Chen Shuo couldn’t ask Yu Rui for help again. He went to the front desk and was about to state his purpose when the receptionist recognized him.
“Assistant Chen, please go straight in, turn right and go all the way to the end, that’s Mr. Li’s office. But he’s in a meeting, please have a seat first.”
“…” Chen Shuo thanked the receptionist and entered Gewu Media for the first time.
The spacious open-plan office area was bustling with activity, a noisy scene for Chen Shuo, which he wasn’t used to.
Several people were sitting together, seemingly in a meeting, but the conference table was filled with snacks, tea, and laughter, more like a tea party.
Casual glances were cast his way, but Chen Shuo chose to ignore them, trying to minimize his presence. Following the receptionist’s directions, he first saw a transparent conference room with glass walls.
A group of people were sitting around the conference table, passionately discussing creative proposals, while Li Ge stood in front of the smart screen, frowning slightly, one hand in his pocket, the other gesturing as he emphasized something. He was dressed in a relatively formal shirt and trousers, his roguish air somewhat restrained, looking much more serious.
Noticing the gaze from afar, Li Ge glanced over and saw the handsome face he hadn’t seen for a long time, the corner of his lips lifting mischievously.
The little assistant had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. Looking at his tall and straight figure and strong shoulder lines, he felt even more confident in his taste, it was just that he hadn’t properly looked at the other party’s butt before.
“…”
The moment their eyes met, Chen Shuo felt as if he had been publicly harassed, extremely uncomfortable. However, Li Ge remained calm and even looked away first, continuing his meeting with his subordinates as usual, making Chen Shuo feel as if he was the one with something to hide.
Such a good job, ruined by a single rat.
Chen Shuo had never thought of resigning. No matter how uncomfortable he felt, he could only endure it. He walked straight ahead, trying to find Yu Rui, someone he could talk to, in this unfamiliar environment.
“Assistant Chen?” Yu Rui, as if seeing a fellow countryman, hurried over to Chen Shuo.
Hearing his voice, Chen Shuo’s shoulders relaxed. He turned around and greeted politely, “Hello, Assistant Yu.”
Yu Rui asked in surprise, “What brings you here?”
Perhaps Yu Rui knew, so Chen Shuo explained, “I’m here to pick up a document for CEO He, it’s in Mr. Li’s office.”
Hearing this, Yu Rui became a bit excited. Seeing that his boss was still in a meeting, he immediately invited Chen Shuo to the break room, gossiping about whether there were any new collaborative projects between the two companies.
The break room was quiet, and Chen Shuo felt a bit more at ease. To avoid future trouble, he said, “I’m just a personal assistant, I don’t know anything about projects.”
“You’re so busy every day and you don’t know anything?” Yu Rui sat down beside Chen Shuo and whispered, “We have to find ways to make money, Assistant Chen. I don’t even expect to have soup when the boss eats meat, even licking the chopsticks would be good.”
Chen Shuo: “…”
Yu Rui: “Don’t be too honest, it’s a waste not to take advantage of the capitalists. I just went for a paid shit.”
Chen Shuo: “…”
Yu Rui: “Everyone takes paid shits, the atmosphere in our company is quite good. As long as we do our job well, Mr. Li doesn’t care about anything else. Otherwise, with his temper, who could stand it?”
Inside the conference room, Li Ge casually threw the document on the table and scolded the planning director, “I hired you with a high salary, and this is the crappy proposal you give me? Do you think the company is a garbage dump? Go redo it! I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t hold you accountable.”
Planning Director: “…”
Seeing this, the other members of the planning team breathed a sigh of relief.
The little assistant had obediently come after receiving the text message. Li Ge was very satisfied with this and deliberately prolonged the meeting, wanting to make Chen Shuo wait a little longer. But when he entered his office, it was empty, not a ghost in sight.
Fuck, a coward?
In the break room, Yu Rui was still trying to persuade Chen Shuo to invest in funds with him, shouting the slogan “Down with the rich!” one second, and vowing to become rich the next.
Chen Shuo had reached his limit. He truly admired Yu Rui’s fighting spirit, but this world was no different from a palace drama, with distinct social classes.
He didn’t want to fight a futile battle, he just wanted to live an ordinary life, having enough money was enough.
The ringtone suddenly rang. Yu Rui saw that it was his boss calling and quickly answered, “Mr. Li, I’m making coffee for you in the break room, it’ll be a while.”
Chen Shuo stood up and gestured that he would go over first. Yu Rui suddenly reached out to stop him, and then he heard the following words.
“Assistant Chen hasn’t left, he’s here with me. Oh, okay, I’ll ask him to come over later.”
After the call ended, Yu Rui said, “Assistant Chen, wait a moment, Mr. Li wants you to bring the coffee over.”
Chen Shuo: “…”
Seeing Chen Shuo’s expressionless face, seemingly unwilling, Yu Rui comforted him, “This is the life of a worker, just endure it. Or should we start a company together?”
Chen Shuo remained silent. After Yu Rui finished making the coffee, he carried it and knocked on the CEO’s office door. Then, under the uncomfortable, intense scrutiny, he walked step by step to the large desk and extended his arm to place the coffee in front of Li Ge.
The aroma of coffee filled the air. Li Ge leaned back relaxedly and looked up at Chen Shuo, appraising him, taking in his entire appearance, from head to toe.
“Judging by your height, you’re more than 1.8 meters.”
Chen Shuo slightly hunched his shoulders and lowered his eyes, appearing submissive, even though he didn’t want to do this, wanting to pick Li Ge up and punch him twice.
He said directly, “Mr. Li, I’m here to pick up CEO He’s document.”
“Do you reset yourself to factory settings every day?” Li Ge teased the little assistant.
Having gone back and forth a few times, Chen Shuo had gained some experience and used He Yan’s authority, “CEO He is waiting for this document, I have to go back quickly.”
“It’s not an important document.” Li Ge stood up and approached Chen Shuo, wanting to compare their heights. Seeing Chen Shuo flinch back in fright, he was amused.
“Avoiding me? Afraid I’ll eat you?”
“…”
Chen Shuo restrained himself and lowered his head, repeating, “CEO He is waiting for this document, I hope Mr. Li won’t make things difficult for me.”
Despite his promiscuity, Li Ge cared about his face and image at the company, in case his mother, Ms. Min, suddenly showed up. As for why he called the little assistant over, it was because he had too much time on his hands and wanted him to give him a massage.
Of course, it was impossible now. Seeing the tall little assistant cowering, Li Ge wasn’t satisfied with the teasing, finding it amusing, and secretly started competing with Chen Shuo, determined to force him to show some personality.
“Make things difficult for you?” A smile slowly appeared on his face. He took a step forward, “Do I look like I have nothing better to do?”
“…”
Chen Shuo regretted coming. Fortunately, he had set an alarm on his phone before coming upstairs, and it was about to go off.
The crisp and melodious zither music soon rang. He took out his phone, turning his back to Li Ge to avoid him, and after a “Sorry, Mr. Li,” hurriedly left the office, walking to a corner and pretending to answer the call.
Li Ge, still standing in the office, was a bit stunned.
Wait, a grown man the same age as him, why was his ringtone similar to his mother’s? So old-fashioned, what a character.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Li Ge answered the phone and almost went crazy after learning that Ms. Min had just arrived in Beicheng.
Unable to avoid it for more than a few minutes, Chen Shuo calmed himself down, turned around to get the document, and saw Li Ge hurriedly leaving the office, his face grim, seemingly having some urgent matter.
Picking up his mother from his previous residence, Li Ge was so annoyed that he didn’t know what to say, saying helplessly, “Mom, I’m busy with a meeting at the company, you… sigh, really.”
Min Lanshu rolled her eyes at her son and scolded, “I called you yesterday, and you said you were resting. Seeing how tired you were in Nancheng, I came to see you because I was worried, is that wrong?”
“I’m doing this because I’m worried about you, it’s so hot.” Li Ge dismissed the driver and led his mother to his car.
Seeing that they weren’t going in the right direction, Min Lanshu asked curiously, “You were living just fine there, why did you move again?”
Li Ge didn’t dare to tell his mother that he had moved because that little star from before the New Year had harassed him at his doorstep. He had been so angry that he moved, and he no longer brought the lovers he kept home.
He changed the subject, “Mom, how many days are you planning to stay in Beicheng?”
Hearing the strange tone in her son’s voice, Min Lanshu asked back, “Are you rushing me to leave as soon as I arrive?”
“Fine, I won’t say anything.” Li Ge focused on driving.
Everyone had their own troubles, but Chen Shuo didn’t have many. Since he started taking control of his life, there weren’t many things worth worrying about.
In other words, nothing was a big deal in the face of life and death.
Chen Shuo had no appetite when he got home and simply skipped lunch. He didn’t feel like going to the gym either, so he spent the entire afternoon watching TV dramas at home.
After watching several episodes of life-and-death palace struggles, he went to pick up Yuan Feng from work on time, then went to Yuan Feng’s rented apartment to help him move again.
He still didn’t have much luggage, but the weather was muggy, and it was a bit tiring going back and forth. After returning to Jinxi Bay, his work was finally done.
There were four dishes and a soup prepared by the housekeeper on the table. Seeing Chen Shuo helping him, Yuan Feng felt a bit embarrassed and invited him warmly, “Assistant Chen, stay and have dinner with me.”
Chen Shuo politely declined Yuan Feng’s enthusiasm as always, “No need, I’ll be going.”
“Why are you always so polite? Stay and eat, I can’t finish it all by myself.”
His arm was grabbed by Yuan Feng again. Chen Shuo felt irritated. He hadn’t been feeling well all day and wanted to vent, but what would happen after he vented?
Would it change anything? No.
“Mr. Yuan, really, no need.” Chen Shuo didn’t move, looking at Yuan Feng, and reminded him, “Please don’t pull on me, it’s not appropriate.”
Yuan Feng quickly let go and said, “Okay, okay, I won’t pull you, I’ll go get you some rice, stay and eat.”
“…” At this moment, Chen Shuo realized something.
The methods he used to deal with work didn’t seem to work on Li Ge and Yuan Feng. These two people, in a sense, were the same, both affecting his emotions and his life.
“Okay.” Chen Shuo agreed, watching Yuan Feng happily go to the kitchen to get him some rice. He quietly closed the door and left.
He didn’t need the enthusiasm and kindness of strangers, his life was enough with just himself.
Such a good opportunity to get closer to Assistant Chen, Yuan Feng filled a large bowl of rice for Chen Shuo, only to find him gone when he returned to the living room.
Fuck, he left so quickly.
For the next few days, Chen Shuo’s life was unexpectedly peaceful. Li Ge didn’t call or text him again, and Yu Rui didn’t complain to him.
But Yuan Feng was the one who gave him the biggest headache. He didn’t know where all the enthusiasm came from, bringing him different breakfasts every morning, not deliberately trying to get close, just inviting him to have breakfast.
He couldn’t accept it, nor could he refuse it, and he couldn’t throw it away, it wasn’t good to waste food. In the end, after dropping off Yuan Feng, he sat alone in the car and silently finished the food.
“Sorry, Assistant Chen, I’m late.”
The passenger door opened. Hearing Yuan Feng’s voice, Chen Shuo was about to say “it’s okay” when he turned and saw Yuan Feng handing him a glass of kumquat lemon tea.
“Here, it’s iced, very refreshing.” Yuan Feng smiled.
Chen Shuo hesitated for two seconds, took it, and thanked him, “Thank you, Mr. Yuan.”
“You’re welcome!” Yuan Feng opened the plastic bag, poked his own lemon green tea with a straw, took a big sip, and then asked, “Is CEO He working overtime?”
Having received his boss’s approval regarding this matter, Chen Shuo replied, “CEO He has an appointment tonight, I’m not sure if he’ll be going over.”
“Oh, then let’s finish our drinks before leaving.” Yuan Feng saw that Chen Shuo wasn’t drinking, so he took his cup, skillfully opened the straw wrapper, and poked the lemon tea for him without touching the straw.
“Here, drink it. I didn’t know what you liked, so I just ordered randomly.”
“…” Chen Shuo felt embarrassed and helpless, thanking him again. It must be the hot weather. He took a sip, the taste was icy, slightly sweet, and refreshing.
“This is fine, it tastes good.”
Yuan Feng smiled, feeling that Chen Shuo wasn’t as robotic as before, his efforts these days weren’t in vain. He took this opportunity to chat, mostly him talking, with Chen Shuo replying briefly and politely.
On the other hand, Li Ge was going crazy.
Introduced by his friend Qiao An, he hurriedly found a “girlfriend” to appease his family, how could he still have time to think about the handsome little assistant?
