Formatting 18

Chapter 18: Empty, Itchy

The four-person dinner was awkward several times.

He Yan and Li Ge were cousins, Li Ge and Dong Mo were high school classmates, and Dong Mo and He Yan had a past relationship. The three of them formed a perfect circle.

Only Chen Shuo felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

In front of him was freshly squeezed watermelon juice poured by Mr. Li himself, but Chen Shuo didn’t touch it, as if it was poisoned. Scenes from palace dramas played out in his mind. Li Ge was like the vicious and scheming woman in the dramas who liked to make things difficult for the servants, and he was very talkative.

“Assistant Chen, why aren’t you eating? Are these dishes not to your liking?” Li Ge asked.

Being made the center of attention at the dinner table by the “vicious woman” made Chen Shuo extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, he had clearly stated that he had already eaten at home, but Li Ge acted as if he was deaf, deliberately making things difficult for him.

Chen Shuo: “I’m not very hungry, thank you, Mr. Li.”

Li Ge: “You’re such a big guy, why do you have such a small appetite?”

Chen Shuo: “…”

Li Ge: “Eat more, you need energy to work for your CEO He.”

“…” Chen Shuo clenched his fists, having the urge to flip the table.

Sitting across from him were two silent people. Dong Mo wanted to say something but hesitated, and He Yan remained indifferent. The constant awkward silences weren’t a solution, so Li Ge could only target the little assistant beside him. As he teased him, he noticed the robot was nervous, his hands clenched into fists on his lap, his timid appearance quite endearing.

“CEO He,” Dong Mo tried to get closer, raising his glass to He Yan with a smile, “I’d like to toast you.”

“You’re too kind, Mr. Dong.” He Yan raised his glass and lightly clinked it against Dong Mo’s.

The atmosphere became awkward again, the private room silent.

“Come, Assistant Chen, I’d like to toast you.” Li Ge raised his glass and clinked it against Chen Shuo’s watermelon juice.

Fortunately, the method he used to deal with Yuan Feng seemed to work on Li Ge as well. Chen Shuo reluctantly raised his glass of watermelon juice, bringing it to his lips and taking a symbolic sip. Suddenly, a chuckle sounded beside him.

He put down the glass and softly said, “Thank you, Mr. Li.”

“Okay, let’s eat.” Li Ge emphasized, “Assistant Chen.”

“…” Knowing what Li Ge was looking at, Chen Shuo ignored the gaze on him, picked up his chopsticks, and took a symbolic bite of shrimp.

This dinner was incredibly boring, only teasing the robot was interesting. Li Ge was bored. Watching Chen Shuo chew his food with his lips tightly closed, his jaw moving rhythmically, eating and drinking like a pecking chicken, he felt inexplicably itchy, wondering what it would be like if that mouth was opened wider to eat something else. It would probably be more interesting.

“Do you like shrimp?”

Before Chen Shuo could deny it, Li Ge reached out, picked up his utensils, and personally scooped three spoonfuls of shrimp for him, telling him to eat more.

He really wanted to dump the bowl on Li Ge’s head. Someone, please end this, let him go home.

A familiar ringtone suddenly broke the silence.

His boss’s phone was ringing. Chen Shuo was a bit excited, praying that it was Yuan Feng calling. Yuan Feng wanted a long-term relationship with He Yan, and this was the time he would be clingy.

He Yan was attending this dinner not only to return the favor to his cousin, but also because the call from his little lover came at just the right time. He answered, preparing to say a few words.

“CEO He, why aren’t you back yet?”

“I have an appointment, you go to bed first.”

“Ah? Are you coming back? I, I miss…”

“Miss what?”

“I miss you! What time will your appointment end? Come back and keep me company, okay?”

Hearing the clingy and pitiful voice on the phone, He Yan surprisingly didn’t feel annoyed, even chuckling slightly and replying, “Okay, I’ll be back later to keep you company.”

Judging by his boss’s smile, Chen Shuo knew it was settled. He couldn’t help but feel a bit grateful towards Yuan Feng for saving him from further suffering.

Seeing Dong Mo’s constipated and heartbroken expression, Li Ge waited for his cousin to hang up the phone and quickly gossiped, “Are you two dating?”

“What do you think?” He Yan glanced at his cousin, the meaning clear.

Li Ge said, “Seems like it, that’s good.”

The dinner quickly ended, and He Yan stood up to leave.

Li Ge didn’t actually believe it. He knew his cousin very well and quickly stood up to stop He Yan, “It’s still early, let’s go somewhere else. Assistant Chen, don’t leave either, the more the merrier.”

Chen Shuo was eager to leave and looked at his boss with difficulty, “CEO He, can I wait for you in the car?”

“We’re not going anywhere else.” He Yan gave Dong Mo a look, “Someone is waiting for me at home. Chen Shuo, go get the car.”

“Okay, CEO He.” Chen Shuo opened the door to the private room and quickly left.

Li Ge looked at the closing door.

After He Yan left, Dong Mo stared at the closed door, silent. Li Ge shrugged and advised his old classmate, “He’s quite difficult, I suggest you give up.”

“Is he playing me?” Dong Mo didn’t want to give up.

“Whether he is or not, he’s not interested in you anymore.” Li Ge was blunt, to prevent Dong Mo from asking him for help again. But tonight wasn’t a complete loss, it was just that the little assistant ran away.

Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal.

He would eventually tame that robot and bring out his human side.

After sending He Yan home, it was not yet nine o’clock. Usually, Chen Shuo wouldn’t eat at this time, he would basically take a shower and go to bed.

But he hadn’t had dinner, and he barely ate anything at the dinner party, so he was a bit hungry. He didn’t have a small appetite, on the contrary, he had a good appetite. It was just that during middle school, he had overeaten for a while, making himself sick and throwing up, scaring his mother, Chen Meifang, who rushed him to the hospital on her tricycle.

Before falling asleep, Chen Shuo thought of Chen Meifang and had a dream about the past.

He returned to the small town where his mother raised him, to the grocery store that no longer existed. There was a narrow aisle in the store filled with goods. Walking through the aisle, he returned to the home he could no longer go back to.

Waking up, Chen Shuo sat up and was in a daze for a while.

It had been years since he thought of Chen Meifang so frequently. He didn’t really want to think about her, so he wouldn’t have negative emotions, wouldn’t have longings.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death were the normal course of life. As an adult, he shouldn’t be easily controlled by his emotions.

He Yan’s call came quickly. Chen Shuo got ready for work and set off for Jinxi Bay.

The housekeeper was out buying groceries. He sat alone in the living room until eleven o’clock, when the little lover he was supposed to take care of finally woke up and slowly walked out of the bedroom.

“Mr. Yuan, good afternoon.”

“…” Yuan Feng was startled, “Assistant Chen, why are you here?”

“CEO He asked me to take care of you. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?” Chen Shuo observed Yuan Feng’s complexion and condition, which were much better than yesterday.

Remembering his embarrassment last night, Yuan Feng coughed awkwardly, “I’m alright, just a bit of a sore throat, from the air conditioning!”

“Okay, I’ll get you a glass of hot water.”

“…Thank you.”

To repay him for last night’s favor, Chen Shuo went into the kitchen and diligently took care of Yuan Feng, immediately replacing the cold water with hot water, patiently responding to Yuan Feng’s chatter.

On the other hand, Li Ge, thinking about the little assistant, went directly to Hengxin Group, but the little assistant was elusive, and only Secretary Shao Tong was there to greet him.

“What are you doing here?” He Yan frowned at the uninvited guest.

“Having lunch with you. Don’t worry, it’s just me.” Li Ge sat down on the sofa, “Where’s your little assistant?”

He Yan opened a text message, not hearing what his cousin was saying. Seeing his cousin’s strange expression, Li Ge walked over quietly, and what he saw startled him.

“I was so sad when I woke up and didn’t see you.” Li Ge read the text message and clicked his tongue in disgust, “So cheesy, is it from your wife?”

“When did you become so gossipy?” He Yan put away his phone and left.

“It must be something important if it can distract my big brother.” Li Ge followed, seeing that He Yan didn’t respond, he continued to ask, “Where’s that little assistant surnamed Chen? He’s usually not at the company?”

He Yan: “Cut the crap, get lost if you’re not eating.”

Li Ge: “…”

“Come, Assistant Chen, try this hairtail fish. Aunt Liu’s cooking is really good! It’s so delicious!” Yuan Feng excitedly picked up some food for Chen Shuo, firstly because his broken arm had healed, and secondly because it was the first time Chen Shuo stayed for lunch.

Chen Shuo’s job today was to take care of Yuan Feng. He originally planned to order takeout, but he couldn’t resist Yuan Feng’s frightening enthusiasm, who kept serving him food and complaining that he was too polite, asking him to address him by name. Besides, the housekeeper had also prepared a portion for him.

He hesitated. He had never eaten with his boss’s lover before and wasn’t sure if it was appropriate.

Seeing Chen Shuo’s hesitation, Yuan Feng brought his bowl and sat down beside him, “Hey, Chen Shuo. After lunch, let’s find a movie or TV series to watch, do you have any preferences?”

“…” He didn’t know why, perhaps it was Yuan Feng’s occasional accent, but Chen Shuo sensed a familiar air about him, reminding him of Chen Meifang.

“Nothing in particular, I watch palace dramas and detective dramas when I have time.”

“Oh my god, you watch palace dramas too!” Yuan Feng was surprised and said with a smile, “I rarely watch TV, then let’s find a palace drama to watch later.”

Watching TV series with his boss’s lover was also part of his job, so Chen Shuo agreed, “Okay.”

“I’m calling you Chen Shuo, it’s not appropriate for you not to call me by my name.”

“…”

Worried that Chen Shuo had concerns, Yuan Feng patted his chest and assured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll still call you Assistant Chen in front of CEO He, and you can still call me Mr. Yuan. Let’s not be so polite in private, okay?”

Yuan Feng had mentioned this more than once. Chen Shuo was tired of dealing with this and reluctantly agreed. After a pause, he awkwardly uttered two words, “Yuan… Feng.”

“Hey.” Yuan Feng chuckled, “I find you quite interesting.”

“…” Chen Shuo was slightly stunned. It was the first time someone said he was interesting.

He started to wonder, was he really interesting? What did Yuan Feng find interesting about him? Even Chen Meifang found him dull and hoped he would be more outgoing.

Yuan Feng: “By the way, can you smile?”

Chen Shuo: “…”

At the Japanese restaurant, He Yan was being secretive about his little lover. Li Ge couldn’t find out anything, so he simply stopped asking. He was here for the little assistant anyway.

“Why do you care about him?” He Yan knew his cousin’s preferences and didn’t think too much about it.

“Just asking, he seems quite capable, I want to poach him to be my assistant.” Li Ge said casually, testing the waters to see if his cousin would let him go.

He Yan: “Find your own assistant, Chen Shuo is not an option.”

Li Ge: “Why not?”

“He’s the son of your uncle’s friend, entrusted to my care, he wouldn’t be able to adapt to your place. He doesn’t know about this, don’t mention it in front of him.” He Yan urged his cousin, “Hurry up and eat.”

“…”

A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its burrow, and Li Ge naturally didn’t want to touch the people around his cousin. But every time he saw the little assistant, he felt an itch, wanting to have a taste. After going back last night, he felt so empty that he even used the little assistant’s face for self-gratification.

He didn’t expect to uncover this connection and felt hesitant for a moment, wondering if he could have him, what the consequences would be, it couldn’t be too messy.

What if Chen Shuo, like that little star, became clingy…

Fuck, what a pity.