Chapter 152
Little Assistant Xing Nuo, having worked diligently all morning, carried his cartoon lunchbox to the cafeteria with Assistant Ke.
Employee meals were subsidized, so it didn’t cost much.
Xing Nuo, looking at the bustling cafeteria, the various food stalls, and even a few milk tea shops, his head tilting back, his eyes wide with wonder, eagerly followed Assistant Ke.
Seeing Assistant Ke order a plate of braised chicken with rice, he also handed his lunchbox to the server and said sweetly:
“Auntie, I want bwaised chicken too!”
The server, amused by the tiny child, looked at him curiously.
“Alright! Here with a grown-up, little one?”
Xing Nuo shook his head, holding his lunchbox, and puffed out his chest, showing her his ID card.
“No. I intern assistant. Working today.”
The server, stunned, her hand frozen mid-air, holding a serving spoon, stared at him.
“You?! An intern assistant?!”
Her mind conjuring images of child prodigies, genius hackers, and math Olympiad champions, she finally nodded knowingly.
“I see! You’re a special consultant!”
A little computer whiz, hired by Boss Shen despite his age!
Xing Nuo, not understanding what she meant, just hummed and nodded.
“Yes.”
He took his lunchbox, said goodbye, and followed Assistant Ke to a table by the window.
Assistant Ke even bought him a small carton of milk.
Xing Nuo took a couple of sips, then, looking at Assistant Ke’s milk tea, asked:
“Assistant Ke, why you dwink milk tea?”
He held up his carton of milk, comparing it to Assistant Ke’s brown milk tea, thinking the latter looked more appealing.
And it was.
Assistant Ke took a sip of his milk tea and, seeing the little one’s envious gaze, teased him:
“This not yummy. Bitter.”
Xing Nuo, no longer a naive three-year-old, wasn’t fooled and huffed.
“You lying. Yiyi bought milk tea before. I twied. It’s sweet!”
To prevent him from buying too much ice cream, his allowance was very small.
But Yiyi wasn’t wealthy either, and they would often pool their money to buy one cup and share it.
Xing Nuo had tried it twice and loved it, but it was too expensive to buy often.
Assistant Ke, amused by the little one’s reaction, chuckled and said:
“This one different. Mine is bitter. I asked them to make it extra bitter…so I stay awake.”
Xing Nuo, not knowing much about milk tea, tilted his head, puzzled.
“Really? Milk tea can be bitter?”
Assistant Ke nodded firmly. “Of course! Just like coffee. There’s sweet coffee and bitter coffee. Why not milk tea?”
Xing Nuo, having once tried Shen Yan’s coffee, which had made him cry from its bitterness, immediately believed him.
He sighed sympathetically and offered his milk to Assistant Ke.
“It’s okay, Assistant Ke. You can dwink my milk. I have honey water too…in my bottle.”
Assistant Ke, touched by the little one’s kindness, his heart melting, ruffled Xing Nuo’s hair.
“Thank you, Xing Nuo. But it’s okay. My milk tea is sweet! Hahaha!”
Xing Nuo’s face froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at Assistant Ke.
How can a grown-up be so mean to a child?!
Xing Nuo, offended, didn’t speak to Assistant Ke for the rest of their lunch.
A secretary, having overheard their conversation, giggled and posted a message in the company group chat:
[Boss Shen’s little brother is so cute and gullible!]
Another employee, who had also been in the cafeteria, replied:
[I know! I want to go and cuddle him! I wonder if Boss Shen will notice?]
[Careful, you’ll get your salary docked! How can you bully the Boss’s little brother?! Let me do it!]
Xing Nuo, oblivious to being the topic of their conversation, finished his lunch, carefully washed his lunchbox,
and, nap time having arrived, his duties as a little assistant temporarily suspended, went to Shen Yan’s office, found the small, partitioned nap area, and, snuggling under the blanket, fell asleep.
Shen Yan seemed to be out. He still wasn’t back when Xing Nuo woke up.
Xing Nuo, yawning, his hair a mess, walked out, wanting to wash his face.
He bumped into Director Zhang, who, seeing Xing Nuo, chuckled and teased him.
“Your brother isn’t here?”
Xing Nuo, still sleepy and dazed, nodded.
“No.”
Director Zhang asked, “Do you know when he’ll be back? Our business partners have arrived. We need Mr. Shen to meet with them.”
Xing Nuo shook his head, then, after a moment of thought, said:
“I don’t know when Big Brother come back. Business partners…vewy important?”
Director Zhang sighed. “Of course! This is a crucial partnership for our department’s expansion!”
Xing Nuo nodded, took off his ID card, then put it back on, and walked over to his brother’s desk, searching for something.
Director Zhang, puzzled, asked, “Looking for something? Need help?”
He thought Xing Nuo had lost a toy or a pencil and was about to help him when Xing Nuo said:
“I’m looking for…Big Brother’s ID card.”
Director Zhang: “Huh?”
“What are you doing?”
Xing Nuo, having rummaged through the drawers but not finding the “CEO” ID card, spotted a small nameplate on the desk that said “Company Representative” and took it.
“Big Brother not here. I can talk to business partners.”
Director Zhang gasped. “Holy crap! Are you trying to take your brother’s job?!”
Xing Nuo, walking towards the door with the nameplate, shook his head.
“No. But I good worker. Assistant Ke said…good employees…get pwomoted. I pwomoted to…Little Vice Pwesident now.”
Director Zhang, stunned, quickly stopped him.
“That’s not how it works! There’s a strict promotion process!”
Xing Nuo, confused, asked, “Why not?”
He had worked so hard this morning!
He didn’t understand, but, undeterred, he went to the reception area with the nameplate and greeted the business partners.
“Hello. Thank you for coming.”
He sat down, his little legs dangling, and shook their hands.
Director Zhang hurried over to explain.
“This is Mr. Shen’s little brother. He’s here for his school internship.”
The business partners, understanding now, smiled and shook Xing Nuo’s hand.
“He’s so adorable. Mr. Shen’s family has such good genes. He could be a child star!”
Xing Nuo, his curls bouncing, smiled and said:
“You cute too!”
The portly business partner: “…”
Director Zhang and the business partners exchanged amused glances, the business partner patting his round belly.
“You flatter me. I’m not exactly…cute.”
Xing Nuo, confused, was about to ask why they were laughing when Shen Yan entered, his face slightly harried.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Something came up at the company.”
He greeted the business partners, then picked up Xing Nuo, rubbing the small red mark on his cheek from his nap.
“Xing Nuo, go find Assistant Ke. Big Brother will take you out for dinner later.”
Xing Nuo, seeing the real CEO had returned, his brief tenure as “Little Vice President” over, nodded and left.
He ran into Assistant Ke, who was looking for him, his face filled with worry.
“Thank goodness! I couldn’t find you in Mr. Shen’s office!”
Xing Nuo hummed and let Assistant Ke lead him back to the office.
Assistant Ke asked, “Xing Nuo, where’s your ID card?”
The little one had been so proud of his ID card this morning, showing it off to everyone.
Xing Nuo shook his head.
“Assistant ID card…no good for me anymore. Uncle Ke, I’m pwomoted now. Need Vice Pwesident ID card.”
Assistant Ke, stifling a laugh, said:
“You got promoted quickly.”
Xing Nuo nodded and, patting Assistant Ke’s arm reassuringly, said:
“It’s okay, Assistant Ke. You work hard too…then you be Vice Pwesident!”
Assistant Ke burst out laughing and nodded.
“Okay, okay, then we’ll both be Vice Presidents! How cool is that!”
Xing Nuo giggled and sat down at his desk.
“When my new ID card weady?”
Assistant Ke pretended to think for a moment.
“It might take a few days. The chip inside is custom-made. You’ll have to wait.”
Xing Nuo, not in a hurry, put his assistant ID card back on.
“It’s okay. I can wait.”
Assistant Ke, still chuckling, turned back to his work.
Xing Nuo, having been promoted to “Little Vice President,” no longer had to do assistant work.
He jumped down from his chair, his little yellow shoes squeaking, and started inspecting the company.
He took his inspection seriously, peering over the secretaries’ shoulders, watching them work.
The secretaries, seeing him, offered him snacks from their drawers.
“Little Assistant, working hard? Supervising us?”
Before he even finished his inspection, his mouth full of chips and cookies, he ran back to his desk, his tummy almost full.
He couldn’t continue his inspection. He wouldn’t be able to eat dinner.
Assistant Ke, seeing him back at his desk, gave him a file.
“Here are some company documents, Little Vice President. Take a look and offer some constructive criticism.”
Xing Nuo, pleased to have a task, nodded eagerly, then wondered, What’s constwuctive cwiticizm?
