As Xuan Feng had been following Min Haofeng since he first took over the company, he had always considered himself an assistant who understood his boss’s mind very well.
At least, that was true until today.
When he saw Min Haofeng come in from outside with furrowed brows, looking like he’d run into some insoluble problem, Xuan Feng shrewdly went up to ask what had happened. Min Haofeng suddenly raised his hand and made two gestures at him. “Go look up what this means.”
So Xuan Feng went and looked it up. He found the answer, but that didn’t stop him from agonizing over it.
This was one of the rare times his boss had assigned him something outside of work. In the past there was usually a reason that could be explained, but this time, he genuinely couldn’t figure it out.
“How did the lookup go?”
“Yes, I asked around. Those two gestures are from sign language.” Xuan Feng didn’t know the origin of the two gestures, but he dutifully demonstrated them as he explained, “This one means ‘stupid,’ and adding this one makes it ‘super stupid’ a big idiot.”
Min Haofeng: “…”
Watching Min Haofeng’s face darken at a visible speed, Xuan Feng swallowed. “Boss, I’m not making this up to insult you, it’s just”
“Get out.”
“Boss”
“You know I don’t like saying anything twice.”
So Xuan Feng slunk out the door, leaving Min Haofeng seething alone in his office with a heart full of complicated feelings.
In all the years he’d known Qu Tianyao, this was the first time she’d done something like this. Could it be that what she said about not pestering him anymore was actually true?
Meanwhile, Qu Tianyao had no idea that what he’d done had been discovered, nor did he know about Min Haofeng’s current turmoil, because his mind was entirely on the hot pot.
He was, barely, the kind of person who didn’t gain weight easily though he did put on weight, he also slimmed down fast. Even so, his former agent had always restricted his diet on the grounds that it was bad for his skin, which had made him miserable. He was a natural beauty! He wasn’t afraid of anything!
“Tianyao, are you sure it’s okay for you to eat this?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Qu Tianyao’s smile was clearly heartfelt, and the speed and frequency of his chopsticks showed he truly loved eating. Though Chen Danman found it a little strange, she was afraid of dampening his spirits and said nothing. “You did very well today. The director was very pleased. It seems you really put in the effort this time.”
Qu Tianyao fished everything out of his bowl, dropped the raw meat into the strainer, and swirled it in the pot as he said, “Don’t you worry, I’ll put in the effort from now on.” Judging it was about done, he lifted the strainer, tipped the meat into his bowl, and put on a serious expression. “Sister Man, I know I did badly in the past and let you down. From now on I’ll work hard. I hope you’ll help me.”
At his words, Chen Danman was stunned for a good while, and then her eyes suddenly turned red. Qu Tianyao was startled and hurriedly handed her a tissue. “Did I say something wrong?”
Chen Danman shook her head, already crying like a tear-streaked mess by the time she took the tissue. “It’s just that I feel like you’ve grown up. I’m a little moved, sob… Don’t worry, I will definitely make you a TOP!”
Qu Tianyao just laughed at that. “Okay, I’ll work hard. As for TOP, let’s just leave it to fate.”
“How can that be?” Chen Danman said. “You need a goal, you need ambition that’s what gives you drive.”
Qu Tianyao only smiled and nodded, offering no answer. It’s lonely at the top. He’d seen some of those views in his past life, they weren’t pretty, and he had no desire to see them again.