Shen Zhu felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Could someone please tell him why Su Xingque had suddenly become so incredibly good at flirting?
Human troubles truly were endless. Back when Su Xingque gave him nothing but the cold shoulder, Shen Zhu had spent his days plotting how to melt that frozen block of a heart. Now that Su Xingque was pulling moves like this on him at every opportunity, he had absolutely no idea how to handle it.
“I won’t take any more photos,” Shen Zhu mumbled, twisting his upper body back and forth as he tried to pry his wrist from Su Xingque’s grip.
At that moment, the office door was pushed open. Wilson walked in carrying several takeout bags. Catching sight of the scene inside, he instantly turned around with practiced discretion and pulled the door shut behind him.
“You can take them,” Su Xingque said. Leaving Shen Zhu with a face as red as a ripe pomegranate, he stood up and went to the door to bring in the meal—which, at this point, could have been either lunch or dinner.
Completely jolted out of his sleepy state and feeling quite hungry, Shen Zhu didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the chopsticks from Su Xingque and dug in.
From now on, we are officially shifting into old-married-couple mode, Shen Zhu declared to himself.
As the CEO, Su Xingque naturally enjoyed a few perks that ordinary employees didn’t—such as being able to call it a day early once his scheduled tasks were wrapped up.
Feeling a bit of a food coma coming on after eating, Shen Zhu leaned back on the sofa, his eyes half-closed as he watched Su Xingque pack up his things at the desk. He was already planning to head straight for the shower the second they got home, then collapse back into bed for a proper sleep.
His phone, resting on the sofa, buzzed with a notification. Shen Zhu reached out and grabbed it, only for a friend request on the lock screen to catch his eye:
【Bai Que has requested to add you as a friend.】
Bai Que? The name sounded incredibly familiar. His brain still foggy from sleep, Shen Zhu pressed his thumb against the screen, only for the “Incorrect Password” prompt to flash back at him.
Only then did Shen Zhu realize his mistake. He flipped the phone over to check the case, realizing it was actually Su Xingque’s phone.
Wait, isn’t Bai Que Su Xingque’s ex-boyfriend?
The second the realization struck him, all traces of sleepiness vanished. Shen Zhu bolted upright on the sofa and tossed the phone aside as if it were a hot potato.
Everyone in S-City knew that Su Xingque was hopelessly hung up on his first love. He had remained single for years after their breakup, never once entering another relationship.
And Shen Zhu himself had only managed to secure a sliver of Su Xingque’s favor by diligently copying Bai Que’s style, behavior, and even personality.
Now that the actual ex was making a comeback, was an imitation like him about to get kicked to the curb?
Alarms blared in Shen Zhu’s head.
Hearing the sudden rustle of movement from the sofa, Su Xingque turned around. He found Shen Zhu staring blankly into space, his brow tightly furrowed, radiating pure anxiety.
“Had a nightmare?” Su Xingque set his files down. Worried the little thing might move around blindly and knock over the takeout containers, he walked over, rolling up his shirt sleeves to tidy up the desk.
Unable to admit that he had accidentally snooped on his ex’s friend request, Shen Zhu could only nod passively.
“Be good,” Su Xingque said, reaching out to stroke Shen Zhu’s hair once more. “Don’t be scared.”
This guy.
Shen Zhu had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.
“Boss!”
Zhou Shi was, as always, heard long before he was seen. His voice echoed through the hallway even before his hand touched the door.
In the next second, the office door was swung open with force. Seeing no one behind the desk, Zhou Shi began scanning the room for Su Xingque.
“Holy crap!” The instant Zhou Shi spotted Su Xingque, he took a giant leap backward, covering his eyes with both hands as he yelled dramatically.
“Boss! You can’t do this!”
“In broad daylight, in a professional office, carrying on like this!”
“Don’t—don’t you forget you have my adorable sister-in-law waiting for you at home!!!”
Zhou Shi ranted at the top of his lungs for several seconds, but receiving no response, he slowly parted his fingers to peek. He found Su Xingque staring back at him as if looking at a complete imbecile.
“Hi?” Shen Zhu tilted his body, letting half his head peer out from behind Su Xingque to wave at Zhou Shi.
He had a vivid memory of Zhou Shi. On the night he and Su Xingque registered their marriage, when a crowd of people was trying to force drinks down his throat, Zhou Shi had been the only one who didn’t join in on the hazing.
Now, the tables were turned, and it was Zhou Shi’s turn to be utterly embarrassed. Folding his hands behind his back, he took tiny, sheepish steps toward Su Xingque like a reprimanded schoolgirl.
“Um, Boss don’t be mad.”
“I had no idea it was my little sister-in-law.”
The icy aura radiating from Su Xingque only intensified, terrifying Zhou Shi so much that his explanation began to sound like a whimper. He mumbled, “Who knew you two would get along so well? Didn’t you absolutely loathe him at first.”
Su Xingque had a sudden, overwhelming urge to toss this idiot into a zoo to feed the sharks.
“Go out and ask Wilson for a card,” Su Xingque told Shen Zhu, deciding to dismiss him first. “There’s a shopping mall just a block away. Go do some shopping, and I’ll pick you up once I’m done talking to him.”
Finally, some cash!
Shen Zhu’s eyes lit up instantly. On the outside, he put on a show of being completely reluctant to leave Su Xingque’s side, but in reality, his heart had already flown straight to Wilson.
Keep it together, play it cool, Shen Zhu told himself. After offering a quick goodbye to Zhou Shi, he drifted over to the secretarial pool, secured the card, and ducked straight into the restroom to check the balance.
500,000 yuan!
Seeing the long string of zeroes on the screen, Shen Zhu felt that every single grievance he had suffered so far had been entirely worth it.
How could he possibly squander this just by wandering around a mall? The exceptionally frugal Shen Zhu carefully tucked the card away, happily took the elevator downstairs, and bought a cup of milk tea at the café across the street. He settled into a seat, planning to play mobile games until Su Xingque finished work.
“What’s going on?”
The moment Shen Zhu left, both Su Xingque and Zhou Shi dropped their playful expressions and sat down across from each other at the desk.
Though Zhou Shi’s demeanor had turned serious, he still couldn’t resist keeping the tone light.
“I’m technically your creditor right now. Can’t a guy come by to inspect his investment?”
A few days ago, several of the Su Corporation’s projects had run into simultaneous snags, stalling their cash flow. Left with no choice, Su Xingque had reached out to Zhou Shi to secure a short-term bridge loan.
Su Xingque shot him a flat look. “Have you gotten a bit too bold lately?”
“I just saw how nicely you treat my little sister-in-law, so I logically assumed you’d have a bit of patience for me, too.” Zhou Shi leaned forward onto the desk with a grin. “Seriously, what kind of magic does he have to tame a tyrant like you so quickly?”
Su Xingque let out a soft chuckle. “Who said he tamed me?”
Zhou Shi gave him a classic “keep denying it, dead duck” look, pointing his index and middle fingers at his own eyes and then at Su Xingque’s, signaling that he had seen it with his own eyes.
“I’m simply utilizing him,” Su Xingque replied, reclaiming his usual detached composure. “Don’t you feel a distinct shift in the atmosphere when you’re around him?”
“A heart-fluttering kind of shift?” Zhou Shi’s brow furrowed. Clutching his hands over his chest, he leaned back as far as his chair would allow. “I wouldn’t dare feel that around your man!”
Su Xingque sighed.
“He possesses a rare, inherent ability to soothe and stabilize others’ emotions.”
Zhou Shi sat frozen in his chair, completely petrified. “Say that again?”
Su Xingque knew his friend had heard him perfectly clearly and was simply struggling to process it.
“Keep it to yourself,” Su Xingque warned.