Chapter 17: Needs Training, How Dare He
Another bright, sunny morning.
Chen Shuo sat in the car, quietly waiting. It wasn’t long before Yuan Feng emerged from the building, carrying a bag in addition to his briefcase. He didn’t need to guess to know it contained breakfast for him.
“Morning, Assistant Chen.” As soon as Yuan Feng got into the car, he enthusiastically handed the bag to Chen Shuo, “I don’t know if you’ve eaten yet, I brought you two meat buns.”
Refusing Yuan Feng would only waste time. Chen Shuo thanked him and took the bag, intending to put it in the armrest compartment, but Yuan Feng told him to eat it before they left. So he took out the warm meat buns, took a symbolic bite, and thanked him again.
Yuan Feng: “You’re welcome.”
Half accepting, half refusing—this was Chen Shuo’s current helpless strategy. Since the first time he accepted the food, he knew he couldn’t keep refusing.
Because Yuan Feng had a kind of simple nature, appropriate compliance was the only way to navigate the situation. For example, now, by taking a bite of the bun in front of him before driving, Yuan Feng wouldn’t chatter.
“Eat slowly.” Yuan Feng continued to flatter Chen Shuo, thoughtfully adding, “I also have milk in my bag, wait a moment.”
“…” Chen Shuo coughed violently, almost choking to death.
“Oh, are you okay? I’m full, I’m not going to fight you for it, don’t rush.” Yuan Feng joked and quickly took out a carton of milk, inserting the straw for Chen Shuo.
Unable to bear being treated like a child, Chen Shuo took the milk with a headache, took another symbolic sip, then put it in the armrest compartment. Ignoring Yuan Feng’s chatter, he started the car and drove off.
Yuan Feng: “Really, don’t rush, I timed it, we won’t be late.”
Chen Shuo: “Mr. Yuan, I’m driving.”
Yuan Feng: “Oh, oh.”
Fortunately, he only needed to be a driver these days. After dropping Yuan Feng off at his destination, Chen Shuo finally relaxed, taking out the still-warm meat buns and silently eating them.
The meat buns were made by the housekeeper who took care of Yuan Feng. The dough was delicate and chewy, and the filling was very generous. One bite filled his mouth with the savory juice of the meat.
Chen Shuo was used to a light diet, usually having a cup of oatmeal and a boiled egg for breakfast. He couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he last ate something so greasy, but it was fragrant and delicious.
He chewed slowly, savoring the aroma of the meat spreading in his mouth, and slowly remembered.
Since Chen Meifang left this world, he hadn’t eaten such delicious meat buns, and no one would ever make such delicious meat buns for him again.
It vaguely tasted like home.
Despite feeling troubled, Chen Shuo was grateful for Yuan Feng’s enthusiasm and kindness at this moment. His subtle expression revealed satisfaction, his gaze towards the trees and sunlight ahead, his eyes slightly brightening, but quickly returning to calmness as a “ding-dong” sound rang.
His thoughts returned to reality. Chen Shuo took out his phone and saw a notification message that his online order of fish food had arrived.
He felt speechless about the face that suddenly popped into his mind, quickly finishing the buns and the milk. After eating and drinking his fill, he immediately drove home to feed his fish.
The fish swam gracefully, their tails swaying gently, leisurely moving through the water.
Looking at the huge fish tank that looked like a cage, Li Ge suddenly felt like he was the arowana trapped inside, feeling pitiful and aggrieved.
He turned back and interrupted the two women who were chatting, calling out to one of them, “Aunt, I think this fish is really pitiful, why don’t we just release it?”
The arowana was a symbol of wealth and good fortune, how could they release it? Min Lanshu glared and scolded her son, “You talk too much!”
Li Ge: “…”
The woman addressed as “Aunt” was He Yan’s mother. She smiled and explained, “Releasing it would disrupt the ecosystem, it’s good to keep it here. You should worry more about your mother.”
Li Ge thought to himself: Who’s going to worry about me?
His role today was Driver Li, accompanying his mother to visit the He family. It was incredibly torturous. Fortunately, Ms. Min was returning to Jiangcheng in the afternoon.
“What does that girl do?”
“She’s an architect, even more ambitious than Xiao Ge. I saw her photo, she’s quite pretty, but they just started dating, Xiao Ge won’t let me meet her.”
Hearing the topic shift back to him, Li Ge quickly went over and sat next to his mother, nudging her arm and saying, “Mom, it’s not serious between us yet.”
Knowing that her nephew was gay, Min Lanshu was also worried that her sister would be disappointed, so she quickly changed the subject to family matters. They chatted until after lunch before parting ways.
The driver was already waiting in the courtyard. Li Ge couldn’t wait to send his mother to the car. Before closing the door, he repeatedly said that he would be very busy and that his relationship with his “girlfriend” needed more time.
Min Lanshu lowered the car window and repeatedly instructed her son, “Behave yourself, pay attention to your manners and image, girls need to be coaxed, be sweet-talking, and be more accommodating.”
Li Ge nodded repeatedly, seeing the car off. Finally, he was free.
He returned to his car and immediately called Qiao An, planning to celebrate his freedom with a few drinks, but unfortunately, the other party had an appointment, ruining his good mood.
“You can come too.” Qiao An invited, “It’s just me, Fei Fan, and your cousin, no outsiders, I have something to discuss with your cousin.”
“No.” To avoid being mocked by He Yan, Li Ge hung up the phone directly, then remembered something and called Qiao An back, “Your friend isn’t planning to date anyone in the next two years, right?”
Qiao An: “Don’t worry, she’s not interested in marriage.”
Li Ge: “My mother is quite satisfied with her photo, she’ll be my girlfriend for the next two years. She’ll have to cooperate with me in acting, money is not a problem, please talk to her for me.”
Qiao An: “Okay. I’ll arrange it, and you two can officially meet.”
Now that he was “single,” Li Ge’s heart was temporarily at ease. He returned to the company to deal with the piled-up work.
Seeing his assistant bring him coffee, he suddenly remembered a certain handsome little assistant. Didn’t he say he was coming to pick up the document? He hadn’t given it to him, where was the little assistant?
“Yu Rui.”
The boss hadn’t been to the company for a few days, and now he was dealing with work with a serious expression. Yu Rui thought he was going to be scolded again and approached him obsequiously.
Li Ge asked, “Did Assistant Chen come to the company after I left that day?”
“No.” Yu Rui asked, “Mr. Li, do you need me to contact Assistant Chen now?”
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Ge dismissed the idea of calling the little assistant to the company. He found a photo on his phone and sent it to his assistant, instructing, “Print this photo, buy a nice frame, and put it on my desk.”
Yu Rui opened WeChat and saw a photo of a beautiful woman with long flowing hair. He was both shocked and heartbroken. Mr. Li, who always preferred men, was now after women. No wonder he hadn’t kept any male lovers recently, how hateful!
Li Ge scanned his desk, tapping the most prominent spot next to his computer, reminding his assistant to put it there, then waved his hand, “Go on, don’t bother me.”
“…”
Jealousy distorted Yu Rui’s face. The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he felt. He went to the restroom for a paid break, took out his phone, and typed furiously, venting to his fellow sufferer.
Chen Shuo turned off the TV, preparing to leave to pick up Yuan Feng. The apartment was quite far from Yuan Feng’s company, and worried about traffic jams, he usually left half an hour early.
As soon as he left the apartment, his WeChat was bombarded with messages.
Yu Rui: [Sigh, comparing myself to others is really infuriating!]
Yu Rui: [I was wondering why Mr. Li hadn’t kept any men recently and hadn’t come to the company, it turns out he found a girlfriend! He showed me her photo, you don’t know how beautiful she is, goddess level, I can’t even imagine.]
Yu Rui: [I don’t think I told you, he dated an actress last year, also very beautiful, and then he only went after men, I almost forgot he swings both ways.]
Yu Rui: [Sigh, such a troublemaker, how can he go after beautiful women?]
Yu Rui: [I’m working myself to death to make money, and I can’t even find a girlfriend. He can find one whenever he wants, sometimes I really think life is unfair, is it just because I wasn’t born into a good family?]
After receiving the key information, Chen Shuo confirmed that Li Ge was indeed petty, which was why he deliberately asked him to bring coffee that day, deliberately making things difficult for him.
Out of gratitude, he comforted Yu Rui: [I wish you find a beautiful girlfriend soon.]
Yu Rui: [Forget it, beautiful women won’t look at me, my family background isn’t good, and I’m just average, I’ve even envied you, let alone Mr. Li.]
Chen Shuo didn’t understand what about him was worth envying. Just like his former colleagues had gossiped behind his back, he was a dull and boring person.
Perhaps, in the eyes of others, he was even strange.
He originally wanted to reply to Yu Rui that a beautiful appearance was nothing compared to the soul, and if he planned to get married, he should focus on the mind and spirit.
But after typing it out, he deleted it word by word. It was meaningless to say too much, and Yu Rui might find him strange, he was just venting.
Chen Shuo: [Assistant Yu, I have to work.]
Yu Rui: [Go ahead, I was just venting.]
Just as he finished socializing, his phone rang. Seeing the familiar digits, Chen Shuo’s first reaction was that it was about the document he didn’t pick up that day, so he answered.
“Hello, Mr. Li.”
Li Ge, still in his office, heard the calm voice and felt unexpectedly good, chuckling, “Quite good, you answered quickly.”
Holding the phone too close to his ear, Chen Shuo moved it away slightly. Before he could ask about the document, the chuckling voice came again. Li Ge was asking if he was free tonight.
“No.” He politely declined.
“What kind of assistant are you, not finishing your task for your CEO He, just giving up?” Li Ge teased the little assistant, “Come to my house tonight to get it.”
Having a girlfriend and still not settling down, Li Ge’s level of boredom exceeded Chen Shuo’s imagination.
He politely explained, “Sorry, Mr. Li. Please bring the document to CEO He, that’s what he specifically instructed that day. I still have work to do, so I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Hey!” Li Ge moved the phone away and looked. Fuck, the call was hung up???
He quickly called back, and a cold female voice informed him that the number he dialed was busy. His first reaction was that he had been blocked, the same fate as that slut Lin Yuzhi.
How dare he, he needed to be taught a lesson.
Li Ge didn’t believe it and continued to call, impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk, thinking that if that Chen guy dared to block him, he would go over tonight and fuck him, no more playing hard to get.
Two minutes later, the call went through. He confirmed that he hadn’t been blocked, but the other party didn’t answer until the call automatically disconnected. Then, his old classmate Dong Mo called.
Li Ge: “Speak.”
Dong Mo: “I’m interviewing your cousin tomorrow morning. He knows it’s my company now and isn’t responding to me. I want to thank him in person tomorrow night, can you arrange it for me? At Jinling Xuan.”
Li Ge felt like he was becoming a matchmaker. He really didn’t want to get involved in this, but Dong Mo had helped him before, sending him dozens of porn videos when he was still unsure about his sexual orientation. He had learned many techniques from those videos back then.
The next evening, after repeated invitations, Li Ge finally managed to get his cousin, He Yan, to Jinling Xuan, but unexpectedly ran into Chen, the temporary chauffeur, in the parking lot.
“Yo, isn’t this Assistant Chen?” He greeted him enthusiastically.
Chen Shuo lowered his head and respectfully said, “Hello, Mr. Li.”
“I’m not your boss, no need to be so polite.” Li Ge stared at Chen Shuo, then opened the back door, “Quite fast, didn’t make me wait long.”
He Yan glanced at his grinning cousin and ignored him.
“Don’t give me that long face when we go inside.” Li Ge put his arm around his cousin’s shoulder and patted him hard, then looked at the person beside him, “Assistant Chen, come along too.”
Having not answered Li Ge’s call yesterday, Chen Shuo knew he would be given a hard time if he went, so he declined, “Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Li, I—”
“Come along.” He Yan spoke.
Chen Shuo felt exhausted at this moment. Yuan Feng hadn’t let him pick him up last night. The so-called overtime was a lie. He went on a date and watched a movie with a girl from the company behind He Yan’s back and was caught red-handed.
He kindly reminded Yuan Feng to try and appease He Yan and not anger his sponsor. Firstly, to thank Yuan Feng for his enthusiasm and kindness, and secondly, if Yuan Feng was stable, his work would be smooth.
After receiving He Yan’s call in the morning, Chen Shuo knew that his day wouldn’t be easy. He first went to the bookstore to buy books for Yuan Feng, then to the pharmacy to buy medicine, and also prepared the check.
Arriving at Jinxi Bay, he saw that Yuan Feng was pale and listless, his gait awkward. It was obvious he had suffered last night, and he couldn’t say much. However, even so, Yuan Feng was still asking him how to maintain a long-term relationship with CEO He.
Chen Shuo felt that Yuan Feng wasn’t foolish, different from the other lovers he had interacted with before. He couldn’t understand, but still kindly reminded Yuan Feng not to cross the line if he wanted a long-term relationship.
Then, following He Yan’s instructions, he took Yuan Feng to the hospital to see a doctor for a cold and to have his cast removed. Yuan Feng chattered almost non-stop. Chen Shuo found it annoying, but sensing Yuan Feng’s simple nature, he thought of Chen Meifang, his mother, who also used to chatter like this, making him unable to feel annoyed.
After finally taking care of everything and sending Yuan Feng back to Jinxi Bay, he hadn’t rested long when he received a new task, to take He Yan to Jinling Xuan, and he still couldn’t get off work.
“Okay, CEO He.” Chen Shuo had to comply.
Zhongye Real Estate Website was a small, unknown website. The company had been established for less than a year. He Yan was attending this dinner purely to give his cousin face. He ignored Dong Mo’s gaze and exchanged a few polite words.
“Come, come, sit down.” Li Ge first arranged his cousin’s seat, then arranged Chen Shuo’s, “Assistant Chen, sit with me.”
“…” Chen Shuo sat down stiffly, lowering his head and thanking him, “Thank you, Mr. Li.”
“Always ‘Mr. Li’.” Under the light, Li Ge looked at the fair little assistant, leaning closer and teasing Chen Shuo, “Should I pay you a salary too?”
Chen Shuo immediately apologized, “I’m very sorry, Mr. Li.”
“Let’s eat, everyone, make yourselves at home.” Li Ge greeted everyone and picked up the wine glass in front of Chen Shuo, “Assistant Chen, would you like some?”
Seeing this, Chen Shuo quickly took back his wine glass, “Thank you, Mr. Li, I can’t drink, I have to drive later.”
Li Ge: “It’s okay, there are designated drivers.”
Chen Shuo: “Sorry, I’m allergic to alcohol.”
“Really?” Li Ge thoughtfully called the waiter and teased the little assistant, “What kind of drink do you like? Or juice? Don’t be shy, Mr. Li will treat you tonight.”
“…” Chen Shuo just wanted to leave immediately. Even going to Jinxi Bay to clean up Yuan Feng’s mess would be better than suffering here.
