He reached out instinctively and, to his surprise, he and Gu Mingxue moved in perfect sync—both landing a precise chop on Xu Xuan’s neck at the same time. With a muffled groan, Xu Xuan truly passed out.
Thankfully, the driver was focused on the road and didn’t see what happened in the back seat.
Gu Mingxue had already sensed something off with Chen Yi earlier, and now, seeing him return to his original appearance, she found it unbelievable—but after thinking it through, she still decided to help him.
After getting out of the car, the two exchanged a smile. Neither of them mentioned what had just happened.
“I’m home now. Thanks for dropping me off… and also, thank you for helping me keep that secret.”
There were some things he truly didn’t know how to explain to Gu Mingxue. Anyone else would think he was crazy.
“It’s nothing. If you really want to thank me, just help me fix my computer again sometime.”
“Don’t worry, I definitely will.”
Gu Mingxue watched him walk away. Once she got back into the car, it wasn’t long before Xu Xuan regained consciousness. He rubbed his sore neck as if he had slept wrong.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He turned to Gu Mingxue with a look of panic. “Director Gu, I just saw your boyfriend—he turned into Chen Yi. He suddenly changed appearance. What… what the hell was that?”
Gu Mingxue frowned, clearly displeased. “Xu Xuan, I haven’t even scolded you yet. You were supposed to accompany me to a meeting today, and you spent the whole time asleep in the car. What nonsense are you talking about? This isn’t some fantasy world. How could a person just change appearance like that?”
Xu Xuan was stunned and couldn’t explain himself. He turned to look at the driver. “Old Wang, did you see Mr. Chen in the back seat earlier?”
“No, but I did notice you fell asleep.”
That only confused Xu Xuan more. Had he really dreamed the whole thing?
“Enough. Old Wang, take me home first, then drop him off.”
…
After getting home, Chen Yi didn’t lie down immediately. He changed into workout clothes and went for a night run.
He returned drenched in sweat, his cheeks flushed. He wiped his face with a towel.
The phone on the table buzzed with a call. He didn’t check and just picked it up.
At that moment, Chen Yi was shirtless, his pale belly fully exposed. Compared to the eight-pack he had earlier in the day, it looked rather pitiful.
“Ah… Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?!”
A sharp scream came from the phone—it was a video call from Gu Mingxue. He immediately realized what had happened and hurriedly ended the call. Then he quickly sent her a voice message. This story is hosted at novelping(.)com.
[Sorry, I just got back from running and my clothes were soaked. I didn’t expect a video call, and I accidentally hit the wrong button.]
On the other end, Gu Mingxue listened to his explanation, her face blushing. This was ridiculous. How could she be flustered by the sight of a man’s bare belly?
No… he was a grown man after all. It wouldn’t do to act so flustered.
Gu Jiaming overheard her scream from outside and rushed in, thinking something had happened. But when he saw her flushed face and phone in hand, he looked suspicious.
“Aunt, why were you screaming just now?”
“Your face is so red… did you see something indecent?”
Gu Mingxue glared at him. “What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!”
“I’m not a kid anymore. I’m already an adult.”
“You, on the other hand, you’re getting older. If you’re not married by thirty, you’ll be a spinster. So I really think you should just consider Chen Yi.”
Gu Mingxue never understood why, after just one meeting, Gu Jiaming acted like he and Chen Yi were best buddies and kept trying to pitch him like some product.
At that moment, Chen Yi sent another video. She gave it a quick glance, then immediately pushed Gu Jiaming out the door. “Go on, I’ve got work to do.”
Gu Jiaming assumed she was on a video call with that pretty boy from earlier. He clicked his tongue and left reluctantly.
After locking the door, Gu Mingxue looked at herself in the mirror and composed her expression before calling Chen Yi back.
This time, he had a shirt on.
“It’s late. I hope I’m not disturbing you, but Mr. A just sent me a few new questions. Since it’s your partnership too, I thought I should let you know.”
The two of them talked for a long time. Chen Yi helped her analyze and revise the proposal, completely forgetting about his German language practice.
…
The next day, when Chen Yi returned to the office, he hadn’t even sat down before his coworkers surrounded him.
Many were staring curiously. “So, how was the blind date yesterday? Was the girl pretty?”
“Chen Yi might be a bit chubby, but chubby guys are full of potential. Once he slims down, he’ll look great.”
Hearing all this chatter, Chen Yi was confused. “Wait, stop, stop—what blind date are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you take the day off yesterday for a blind date? Why are you acting like you don’t know?”
They all looked at him suspiciously. Then he remembered—Gu Mingxue had told them she helped him apply for leave using that excuse.
“Oh~ yeah. It went fine.”
He answered vaguely, but he completely underestimated how nosy his colleagues could be.
“So what did she look like? Got any photos? What’s her family background, what does she do?”
A vein bulged on his forehead. Did these people even have work to do, or were they paid to gossip all day?
Just then, Xie Yaohui walked out of the office and saw Chen Yi surrounded. He cleared his throat and barked, “What are you all standing around for? Don’t you have work to do?”
The crowd quickly scattered and went back to their desks.
“Chen Yi, get ready. You’re coming with me to discuss the final bidding round with the German company.”
“No problem!”
He packed up quickly and left with Xie Yaohui for the meeting.
At the venue, since it was the final bidding stage, the Germans came prepared with everything they had. The questions were much harder than last time—anyone without real experience wouldn’t have been able to answer even one.
[System has detected that this negotiation will be difficult. Would you like to use the Response Adaptation Card?]
Without hesitation, Chen Yi confirmed.
[Response Adaptation Card activated successfully.]
As soon as he opened his mouth, his words became sharp and persuasive. Everything he said amazed the Germans while sounding highly professional and effortlessly diffusing their challenges.
“I remember your name is Chen Yi, right? Don’t you feel that working in a company like this is wasting your talent? As you can see, our company’s projects are all very demanding. Everyone here grows rapidly.”
He immediately picked up on the offer—first Mr. A, now the Germans. Clearly, if you’re gold, everyone wants to dig you up.
“Mr. Henry, your company is indeed excellent. But I’m the kind of person who enjoys my hobbies after work. I’m worried if I get too busy, I won’t even have time to lose weight.”