Did some immortal just stretch their head down from the Southern Heavenly Gate and start speaking in his house? Why on earth did he hear Sanskrit chanting? Due to his utter shock, Gong Nanxing’s brain and body stopped functioning for a moment, until the wailing of the little calf across from him finally called his soul back.
“Wuwuwu! Older brother! Even if you think I am hilarious, you do not have to pretend you do not understand what I am saying!”
“No, no, calm down. Where are you hilarious?” Gong Nanxing grabbed a slice of fruit and stuffed it into the calf’s blubbering mouth, finally restoring peace to his ears.
“Really? Does older brother really think I am not funny? In the past, whenever I told people I was going to build roads for my village in the future, everyone laughed at me for having daydreams.” The calf chewed and swallowed a mouthful of fruit, then reached out to grab another slice.
“Of course. I just… never expected that you were working this hard for that reason. To be honest, your brilliance just blinded me a moment ago.” Although the calf’s skin was a matte, frosted black, it genuinely seemed like a halo had just flashed brilliantly behind him.
“Oh yo, older brother, I get so happy when you praise me!” The calf became somewhat carried away by joy and delivered a punch to Gong Nanxing’s shoulder, almost sending him flying right out of his chair. “Aiya! Older brother! I am sorry! I forgot you were my older brother!”
He hurriedly rescued Gong Nanxing. Although the top of the boss’s head was practically smoking with pain, a powerful competitive spirit sustained Gong Nanxing’s dignity as a man, forcing him to sit straight back up.
“It is nothing.” Although Gong Nanxing had to admit that his physique was indeed forged through grueling hours in the gym, there was no reason he should get knocked flying by the calf! No, he was definitely going to increase his weight training routine this morning!
Unaware of what was going through his head, the calf watched Gong Nanxing finish breakfast and launch into a frantic fitness workout. He simply idolized him all the more as a self-disciplined and handsome urban man, humming softly to himself as he headed into the kitchen to wash the dishes while admiring Gong Nanxing’s workout.
“Change into this bag before heading back to school.”
The three-day holiday vanished in the blink of an eye. In fact, on the second day of the break, the calf could not resist the temptation of triple pay and went back to work wearing a mask. Even so, it never delayed him from preparing three meals a day for Gong Nanxing.
Having long-abandoned the comfortable state of having everything at home managed in pristine order, Gong Nanxing even found himself pondering when the calf was adjusting his mindset to return to school: should he just trick him into coming back over during National Day?
“Switch to a new backpack before going back. The straps on your old bag are about to snap.”
“But, everything older brother gives me is too expensive! I feel too embarrassed to take it.”
Before parting ways, Gong Nanxing finally found an opportunity to get rid of the calf’s eyesore of a backpack, forcefully shoving a newly developed mountaineering backpack into the calf’s arms.
“There are no buts! You are a brand model, so you should wear our company’s products from head to toe. Since everyone is going to be looking at you anyway, you might as well help the company advertise!”
“Wow, older brother! You are like a genius!”
That was true! Hearing Gong Nanxing’s logic, the calf’s mind suddenly cleared up. A tall and robust guy like him was equivalent to a massive, walking billboard! This kind of money-making mindset could only be conceived by a brainy man like Gong Nanxing.
Oh heavens, if he had known that such a lame excuse could cure his psychological shadow, Gong Nanxing could have fabricated eight hundred variations a second without repeating a single one. How could he have forgotten that the calf was an unadulterated little money-grubber?
Fine. Considering that his original intention for earning money was remarkably noble, and considering that he kept the house genuinely spotless… To be honest, the calf was ridiculously meticulous; he even dug up and turned over the soil in all the indoor potted plants…
Undergoing self-persuasion once more, Gong Nanxing finally escorted the calf out of his front door. However, before the door could even close, the calf wedged his broad shoulder against the door frame.
“Older brother… if I feel anxious again later, can I still come find you and talk?”
“Of course.”
Having secured the desired reply, the calf bounced happily into the elevator with his new backpack, still raising his hand to wave goodbye to Gong Nanxing at the very last second before the doors closed.
Standing at the doorway, Gong Nanxing smiled and waved goodbye to him on the surface, but inwardly he could not help muttering to himself. Weren’t this calf’s shoulders getting a bit too broad? He could not possibly let himself be outdone by him. Thus, he secretly formulated an extra workout plan for himself. Shoulder training tonight—delay was out of the question!
Returning to work after the holiday, although rumors had reached them regarding the bizarre news of the calf moving into Gong Nanxing’s residence, Qiao Xi had learned from past misunderstandings to maintain a completely expressionless exterior while harboring relentless, unyielding suspicions on the inside. This was especially true when Gong Nanxing instructed her to have the editors draft an interview script for him as well.
Ever since joining the company, Gong Nanxing had never accepted any form of on-camera appearances. Various tabloids wanted to expose his identity, but their accompanying illustrations were restricted to his side profile wearing black sunglasses while driving a Bentley. Although everyone universally agreed that Director Gong was exceptionally handsome—to the point where they had once considered joint petitions forcing him to model himself during the early marketing stages when models were scarce—nobody actually possessed the sheer audacity to pitch that idea to him.
A man who was well aware of his own striking looks yet treated it as a non-issue was practically nonexistent across the entire handsome-guy or even male demographic. Sometimes Qiao Xi could not fathom why Gong Nanxing pushed himself to the brink at the gym every single morning and evening.
“Is Mr. Gong finally going to appear on camera to promote the company?”
Hearing Qiao Xi’s question, both of them froze for a moment. Qiao Xi was stunned at how casually the thought in her mind had just slipped past her lips; it looked like she would not be working on this floor much longer today. Meanwhile, Gong Nanxing was stunned because he realized he used to despise putting on a pretentious act in front of a camera and faking sincerity, so why did he suddenly not care anymore?
“…No. The calf has no prior experience speaking on stage. We confirmed with the commercial district today that a large crowd will attend the event, and I am worried the calf might mess it up, so I need to go up on stage and keep an eye on him.” When you cannot figure out a reason, just push the blame onto the calf! Anyway, his shoulders were wide enough to carry the burden effortlessly. Thinking this, Gong Nanxing sneered inwardly, feeling completely justified as he massaged his sore, overworked shoulders.
Looking at the tightly strained muscle lines beneath Gong Nanxing’s slender half-high-neck T-shirt, Qiao Xi could only imagine what kind of ruthless torture this man had inflicted on himself during her pig-like sleep over the holiday. Mom, even if asking this question gets me fired, please let me die with closure—does our daughter really want to know why humans engage in such desire-free fitness regimens?
“Mr. Gong, with a body as great as yours, isn’t it a bit of a waste not to appear on camera?” Hallelujah, Mother Mary! She did it! She actually asked it! Total and complete inner bliss!
“?” Gong Nanxing’s face formed a giant question mark. Ever since Qiao Xi barged into his office last time and uttered a string of incomprehensible nonsense, had she finally lost her mind once again? “Assistant Qiao, this is merely a human being’s baseline requirement for themselves.”
Insane. She really wanted to roll her eyes. Keeping a polite smile, Qiao Xi backed out of the office. She definitely did not want to stay on this floor any longer. What did he mean by a human being’s baseline requirement? By extension, she apparently met neither requirement nor qualified as human.
Was his assistant losing her mind? Frowning as he looked at Qiao Xi’s retreating back, which looked as though she was muttering under her breath, Gong Nanxing couldn’t help thinking this. Perhaps there was simply too much work during the promotional period, which was entirely understandable. He decided to transfer some money to her so she could buy some afternoon tea as a reward.
Flipping through his chat list, Gong Nanxing located Qiao Xi and initiated a private monetary transfer. As his finger swiped across the screen, it accidentally brushed against a round, chubby red apple avatar. Tapping it opened the chat window with the calf’s latest arrival-at-school message…
The calf was an employee too, so the calf drank as well. Since the calf wasn’t at the company right now, the calf would drink alone.
Gong Nanxing initiated another private monetary transfer…