“We still have to go to the office?” Shen Zhu resisted the sheer urge to swat the hand resting on his head, crying silent tears.
Heaven knew how excruciatingly difficult it was for him to wake up early after pulling an all-nighter. It was already nearly three in the morning; going by Su Xingque’s usual office hours, he would be lucky to get even four hours of sleep.
Su Xingque, however, was always far more patient when dealing with Shen Zhu. “Do you not want to go?”
Shen Zhu shook his head in a hurry. “I’m always willing to keep you company, sir.”
See? The little thing really is that obsessed with me. Su Xingque was highly satisfied with this expected response.
The next morning, Shen Zhu spent his entire walk into the office building yawning, trailing behind Su Xingque like a sleepwalking zombie. Unlike his last visit, the entire company now knew he was the boss’s partner. After greeting Su Xingque, everyone made sure to offer him a polite bow and a warm greeting as well.
“President Su seems to be in a pretty good mood today,” the receptionist whispered to a nearby intern after Su Xingque had walked past.
“How on earth can you tell? He still has the same frozen face as always.”
“Shows how much you know,” the receptionist replied, giving a worldly, knowing look. “In the past, the second President Su stepped through those doors, he’d already be diving straight into work. He’d be surrounded by a flock of project managers, and if anyone made even a tiny slip-up, they’d get a furious tongue-lashing.”
“But these past two times young Mr. Shen came along, President Su didn’t even listen to their morning briefings. And even when someone made a minor mistake today, President Su didn’t scold them at all!”
The intern imagined Su Xingque tearing someone apart and felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
“Is this the magic of love?” She couldn’t help but stand a little straighter, looking in the direction Shen Zhu had gone with a look of profound respect.
Shen Zhu is literally the patron saint of our entire company!!!
The receptionist giggled, covering her mouth as she whispered, “More like the afterglow of a very good night.”
Looking at how much gentler their CEO seemed compared to usual, and then looking at how young Mr. Shen was yawning constantly and looking completely drained—it was blatantly obvious that something had happened last night!
Sacrificing one young Mr. Shen to bring peace and happiness to thousands of employees—what a hero!
Entirely oblivious to the wild “grapevine rumors” circulating among the staff, Shen Zhu was ushered onto the sofa once they entered the office. He felt exactly like a lucky fortune cat—whether at home or at the office, his sole duty was to sit there, raise his arm, and wave politely whenever someone walked in.
Su Xingque transitioned into his work mode almost instantly. Once he was focused, he effectively cut off all connection to the outside world, his eyes darting between the multiple monitors on his desk. Occasionally, he would pause, pick up the internal line, and summon the heads of departments to check on their progress.
Bored out of his mind, Shen Zhu opened his mobile browser to kill time. His eyes randomly snagged on a headline:
Boost Your Happiness: 99 Little Tricks to Tease Your Man.
Though it looked suspiciously like clickbait, Shen Zhu had nothing better to do, so he tapped on it to see if there were any practical ways to reel Su Xingque in.
“Record every single moment of your time together, and find the right way to express your affection.”
“The delivery shouldn’t be overly loud, nor should it be completely silent. It needs to be just right.”
After silently reading these two tips, Shen Zhu looked up at Su Xingque, who was still buried in paperwork across the room. An idea sparked in his mind.
He set his camera shutter to silent, found a flattering angle, and snapped a sneaky photo. Then, he drafted an incredibly suggestive post on his WeChat Moments:
【I love watching him like this. [Image]】
Shen Zhu had very few friends on his WeChat, and since he had no intention of publicizing his marriage to the world, he set the post to “Only Visible to Su Xingque.”
With that done, his boredom returned. He opened Anipop and played a few rounds.
The afternoon sun filtered through the window at an angle, slowly creeping across the floor and onto the sofa, enveloping Shen Zhu in a cozy warmth. Drowsiness washed over him again, weighing down his eyelids.
Huddling into his jacket, Shen Zhu felt too self-conscious to lie completely flat on the sofa, so he merely tilted his head back to doze. His upper body swayed precariously, forcing him awake every few minutes.
Wilson entered the office several times to deliver files. Seeing Shen Zhu’s state, he kept glancing at Su Xingque, who was entirely immersed in his work, but ultimately chose to hold his tongue.
Two hours later, Su Xingque finished his scheduled tasks ahead of time. Looking up, he spotted the little thing sleeping in the corner of the sofa.
Shen Zhu’s passive effect was undeniably potent. As long as the boy remained within a certain radius, Su Xingque’s focus and efficiency improved dramatically.
At the end of the day, a better mood naturally made the workload feel lighter.
Wilson timed his entry perfectly, bringing in a fresh cup of coffee and gathering the newly reviewed documents.
“The contingency plan we drafted last night has already been sent to the lower departments for execution. We should see concrete results in about a week,” Wilson reported. His sharp eyes noticed that his boss’s gaze was entirely fixed on Shen Zhu. He remarked casually, “How did young Mr. Shen fall asleep there? He hasn’t even had lunch yet.”
“He didn’t eat lunch?” Su Xingque glanced at his watch and realized it was already late afternoon.
He had been too absorbed in his work and completely forgot to feed the little thing.
“Go to the restaurant across the street, pack a few dishes, and bring them up. Hurry,” Su Xingque said, not even realizing he had lowered his voice.
Wilson nodded and immediately set off.
Su Xingque sat in his swivel chair, watching Shen Zhu for a moment. Noticing that the boy’s sleep seemed restless, he stood up and walked over. Once again, he gently guided the fluffy head to rest against his shoulder.
Shen Zhu had boosted his efficiency today; it was only fair that he receive a little response as a reward.
Besides, Su Xingque didn’t dislike the sensation at all. It felt as though a tiny kitten was resting on his shoulder, occasionally nuzzling against him—it was incredibly endearing.
Enjoying a rare moment of peace in the afternoon, Su Xingque browsed his phone aimlessly until a photo of himself suddenly popped up on his feed.
A closer look revealed the author of the post: the very same little thing currently snoring softly against him.
Operating under the principle that since the boy loved him so deeply, he should show some appreciation—even if he was just using him—Su Xingque tapped the “like” button on the post.
Perhaps the movement of his arm was a bit too broad, because Shen Zhu let out a soft grunt and slowly opened his eyes.
The distinct scent of Su Xingque’s cologne wafted into his nose. It took Shen Zhu a few seconds to blink himself awake, only to realize he was leaning against Su Xingque yet again.
He must really love this dynamic, Shen Zhu deduced boldly. He decided to close his eyes and keep pretending to be asleep.
“Awake?” Su Xingque didn’t give him the chance, catching him red-handed.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Shen Zhu nudged himself back toward the other end of the sofa, keeping quiet.
Amused, Su Xingque grabbed Shen Zhu’s wrist and yanked him forward.
The distance between them vanished in an instant. Shen Zhu barely managed to stabilize himself by bracing his free arm against the sofa cushion.
“Sneaking photos of me?” Su Xingque’s warm breath brushed directly against Shen Zhu’s cheek.
“Looking at the real thing is much better.”