Faced with the sudden, undeniable truth, Guo Fengnian wished he could travel back ten seconds in time just to chop off his own worthless hand.
In the dead, suffocating silence, he felt he ought to say something: "Uh..."
"I should have been more patient," Cheng Mingjiao spoke slowly, his voice calm yet laced with a complex, unnameable emotion. "She really is so fond of me."
Guo Fengnian: "??"
All the well-thought-out lines he had prepared scattered to the winds in an instant.
After thinking for a long time, Guo Fengnian asked earnestly, genuinely confused, "How could you tell?"
Cheng Mingjiao picked up the pre-made meal container and moved it aside. "She went so far as to use this kind of thing just to make me like her. She's really put so much thought into it."
Guo Fengnian: "......"
Heaven above! No one ever told him that a humanoid high-function robot could develop a romantic obsession!
He had a thousand snarky comments he wanted to make, but looking at Cheng Mingjiao, who had been completely placated by a single box of pre-made soup base, he decided it was better to hold his tongue.
Cheng Mingjiao held the pre-made meal container, his thoughts wandering far and wide. When he finally snapped back to his senses, he saw Guo Fengnian was still standing there, and couldn't help but look confused. "Why haven't you left yet?"
Guo Fengnian: "......"
A minute later, Guo Fengnian stormed off, grumbling curses under his breath. Cheng Mingjiao stood alone in front of the refrigerator, studying it for a long time, before he carefully tucked that pre-made meal box back into its original spot so perfectly that no one would ever be able to tell it had been moved.
With no one to bother her and no overtime work to do, Zhang Xiyue had a wonderfully pleasant weekend.
It had been so enjoyable that on Monday morning, she made an exception and cooked a whole pot of pre-made beef bone soup for Cheng Mingjiao.
You have to understand, she only made soup for him on Wednesdays normally.
When Cheng Mingjiao arrived on the first floor right on schedule, the entire space was already filled with a rich, inviting aroma. Zhang Xiyue stood by the dining table, looking at him with a bright smile.
"Mr. Cheng, come and have some soup."
Cheng Mingjiao gave her a silent, long look, then quietly walked over to the table and sat down.
Zhang Xiyue immediately lifted the lid of the soup tureen, revealing the clear, light broth right in front of Cheng Mingjiao, paired with fried eggs and chicken chunks. It was an extremely nutrient-rich meal.
That would have been true, if only the soup wasn't pre-made.
Cheng Mingjiao stared at the soup for a very long time, then slowly shifted his gaze to Zhang Xiyue.
Zhang Xiyue: "...... What's wrong?"
Cheng Mingjiao's eyes flickered slightly. He was dying to ask her if she ever feared being exposed every time she served him pre-made food, if she felt pressured when he mentioned giving her a pay raise for her thoughtfulness, and if she felt a twinge of guilt watching him swallow spoonfuls of this kind of soup.
She never had to go to such lengths at all. She could have just slacked off like Zhou Ce did, and it wouldn't have mattered. After all, he was the best boss in the whole world, and he would never fire her just because she couldn't make homemade soup.
But clearly, what she wanted wasn't just this job. It was him.
That was why she would rather bear the weight of her guilty conscience than risk disappointing him. Zhang Xiyue was truly pitiable, he thought.
The more Cheng Mingjiao thought about it, the more somber his mood grew.
"...... You don't feel like having soup today?" Zhang Xiyue asked, sensing something was off.
Cheng Mingjiao shook his head, calmly and composedly picked up the spoon.
Then he froze completely.
Because it suddenly hit him: feeling sorry for Zhang Xiyue was one thing, but pretending he knew absolutely nothing and chugging down a whole big bowl of pre-made soup was a completely different story.
Wait a minute, he'd been drinking this kind of soup for quite a while now. Had his body really not suffered any harm at all? Should he go get a full body checkup?
Cheng Mingjiao's thoughts started wandering off again.
Just as he was completely lost in his own head, Zhang Xiyue suddenly reached out and pressed her palm lightly to his forehead.
Cheng Mingjiao jolted back to his senses, the shock in his eyes too late to hide.
Zhang Xiyue gave a light cough. "Sorry, Mr. Cheng, I thought you were sick."
...Did she think that just because she assumed he was unwell, she could grope him all over?
Cheng Mingjiao kept his head down, sipping his soup, and protested between swallows, "Stop pawing at me."
"Got it," Zhang Xiyue agreed immediately.
Cheng Mingjiao darted a quick glance at her, then slurped his soup even faster. "...Why are your hands so ice-cold?"
"Oh, I just finished cleaning the kitchen and got my hands in cold water for ages," Zhang Xiyue explained.
Cheng Mingjiao paused for a moment, thinking that even though she'd been lying to him with pre-made meals, she hadn't done absolutely nothing around the place.
She'd still worked pretty hard.
With that thought in mind, he said to her in a serious tone, "Don't bother making soup for me anymore. I don't like it."
"Alright." Zhang Xiyue glanced at the empty soup tureen, wondering what weird mood he was in now.
But no matter what, not having to make soup was amazing. Even though she'd always used pre-made soup bases, the side ingredients she added in were all freshly bought, and preparing those was a total hassle. If all she had to do was fry an egg or toast a steamed bun, things would be so much easier.
The two of them locked eyes for a second, both completely satisfied with this new arrangement.
Monday got off to a great start, and the whole rest of the week went smoothly.
Zhang Xiyue still left work right on the dot every day. She didn't drop by his office unannounced, didn't cling to him, and didn't seem to be secretly preparing anything special either.
Ever since he'd called her out on the pre-made food truth, Cheng Mingjiao had been feeling that she was rather pitiable, and he could totally understand why she was acting so unassertive—after all, she was so head over heels for him.
Some philosopher once said that when you like someone too much, you get timid, nervous, and so cautious that you don't dare do a single thing.
"Which philosopher?" Guo Fengnian asked.
Cheng Mingjiao: "Me."
Guo Fengnian: "Oh."
Not even a little bit surprised.
The two of them fell back into silence.
After a long while, Guo Fengnian was the first one who couldn't take it anymore. "Since the philosopher has already said that, why'd you drag me over here?"
"Do you know about the eastern pygmy possum from Australia?" Cheng Mingjiao asked evenly. "It's a type of mammal that once set a record in a lab environment by hibernating for 367 days."
Guo Fengnian: "?"
"Right now, Zhang Xiyue is just like that lab eastern pygmy possum."
Guo Fengnian: "...What on earth are you trying to say?"
"If no one gives her a little nudge, she'll probably keep dragging her feet forever," Cheng Mingjiao glanced at him, emphasizing his words deliberately. "And of course, I don't care at all when she decides to confess her feelings. I just think that if this goes on much longer, it might take a toll on her mental health. You know she's really fragile—she even got post-traumatic stress from getting lost. A long, unrequited secret crush could easily give her some real psychological issues."
Sure you don't care.
Sure you're only doing this for her sake.
And that wasn't just some regular getting lost incident! She was stuck deep in the mountains with no food, no water, and no way out. Just getting a little bit of trauma from that already made her super tough.
Guo Fengnian had a million snarky comments he wanted to make, but when he noticed the deliberately relaxed yet still taut look on Cheng Mingjiao's face, he just sighed. "So you want me to be the one to give her that nudge?"
"I didn't say that," Cheng Mingjiao denied at once. "I'm just analyzing the situation here."
Got it.
Guo Fengnian nodded. "I'll ask her out to chat some other day."
"Why some other day? Can't you do it today?" Cheng Mingjiao asked immediately.
Guo Fengnian: "..."
He really couldn't make it today, as he had to head back to the lab.
Ten minutes later, a notice was posted in the massive Yu Huang Smart group chat: all employees would get a full day off the next day, and anyone who chose to come into work would receive triple pay.
Almost no one turned down this sudden holiday, and Zhang Xiyue was no exception.
She was cheering along with a group of her colleagues when a message popped up from Guo Fengnian, saying he wanted to ask her out for a meal.
She hadn't gone to him to ask about Cheng Mingjiao's whereabouts lately, but the two of them had played several rounds of games together, and they'd grown quite familiar with each other over time.
Though she was a little confused about why he was suddenly inviting her to dinner, she figured she had nothing else to do anyway, so Zhang Xiyue happily agreed.
After getting her reply, Guo Fengnian shook his phone. "It's a done deal."
"Why did she agree that easily?" Cheng Mingjiao sounded displeased. "Are you two that close?"
Guo Fengnian: "...Can you stop being so unreasonable, Young Master?"
Though Cheng Mingjiao was still feeling sour, he knew the big picture mattered more.
Once Guo Fengnian finished this task, he'd deal with him later, he huffed to himself.
Guo Fengnian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He and Zhang Xiyue agreed to meet at noon the next day, at a time-honored restaurant not far from Zhang Xiyue's home.
At just after seven o'clock the next morning, Cheng Mingjiao called him, repeatedly warning him not to slip up and mention that he knew Zhang Xiyue had a crush on him, and absolutely not to rush her bluntly.
"You have to hint at it subtly, probe around the edges, and make her figure out her own feelings naturally under your guidance, without even realizing what's happening."
Cheng Mingjiao was still rambling on nonstop over the phone, while Guo Fengnian was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, just making noncommittal "uh-huh" sounds to show he was listening.
"What did I just say?" Cheng Mingjiao asked out of the blue to test him.
Guo Fengnian: "The priority is to figure out what she's thinking right now."
Cheng Mingjiao sounded satisfied. "That's right. I need to know what's going on in her head."
Guo Fengnian: "...Are you really not planning to tell Liang Xiao about this? I think he's way more suited to talk some sense into Xiyue than I am."
"No," Cheng Mingjiao rejected coldly.
Guo Fengnian sighed, there was nothing he could do.
They were supposed to meet at twelve noon, but Guo Fengnian arrived at eleven.
Cheng Mingjiao was still spamming him with messages nonstop, so Guo Fengnian rubbed his face and typed back: If I keep chatting with you this whole time, she's going to get suspicious.
Cheng Mingjiao sent back a single period, and stopped flooding his inbox.
Guo Fengnian felt like the whole world had gone quiet at last.
The old clock on the wall of the time-honored restaurant ticked slowly, and Zhang Xiyue showed up twenty minutes before twelve.
Guo Fengnian had always thought he was great at making friends and livening up a conversation, but now that he had this secret mission to pull off, he was actually a little awkward and tense.
Zhang Xiyue didn't seem to notice anything off about him. After greeting him, she started chatting with him naturally. "I've wanted to try this place for ages, but I heard their portions are huge. I'd never be able to finish enough dishes by myself, and I could never get the time to line up with any of my friends, so I never got to come."
When the topic turned to food, Guo Fengnian perked right up. "The food here really is amazing, and super good value too. Especially these few..."
He cut himself off mid-sentence when Cheng Mingjiao walked past the restaurant entrance, glancing inside casually like he'd guessed Guo Fengnian would get distracted rambling about food and showed up on purpose to keep him in line.
Guo Fengnian was properly stunned by the sight, his mouth hanging open stupidly for a second as he forgot what he was about to say.
Zhang Xiyue: "Which few dishes?"
Guo Fengnian fumbled to open the menu. "This one, this one, and these two. They're all the signature dishes."
"Let's just order everything then," Zhang Xiyue suggested, "We can pack the leftovers if we can't finish all the food."
Guo Fengnian agreed.
Cheng Mingjiao only popped out once to make a scene, and then he didn't come out to cause any more trouble. But the fright he gave Guo Fengnian left a lasting mark, so Guo Fengnian kept glancing toward the door every now and then.
His strange behavior drew Zhang Xiyue's suspicion. When he craned his neck to look outside again, Zhang Xiyue turned to follow his gaze: "Is there something out there?"
"...Nothing at all. I just saw a three-year-old kid running around a moment ago," Guo Fengnian replied stiffly.
Zhang Xiyue frowned: "Is the little one lost?"
Afraid the conversation would go off on a tangent, Guo Fengnian quickly denied it. After stammering for a long while, he said, "Actually, if you ever need a dining partner and can't find anyone, you can ask Mingjiao to join you. He... he'd be a great fit."
Zhang Xiyue fell silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Is he really that suitable?"
Guo Fengnian glanced at the yellowed walls of the old restaurant and the spotted stains on the floor, then thought of Cheng Mingjiao's sharp-tongued, mean expression. There was no way he could lie through his teeth and nod in agreement.
Luckily, Zhang Xiyue didn't take it too seriously. She just smiled and asked him, "You asked me out all of a sudden today. Is there something on your mind?"
"Uh..."
All the lines he'd rehearsed before coming had long slipped his mind. Guo Fengnian's brain raced at top speed, and he finally came up with a new excuse: "I've got a crush on someone lately!"
Zhang Xiyue looked up at him.
"...It's my fellow PhD student," Guo Fengnian gave a forced dry laugh. "I'm really confused about this, so I wanted to come ask you for advice."
Zhang Xiyue thought for a moment and asked, "Why didn't you go to Liang Xiao? He's already married with a kid, he definitely has way more experience in this sort of thing."
Good point. Why didn't he go to Liang Xiao? He must have lost his mind or something, Guo Fengnian thought to himself with a sigh. "The doctor's always swamped with work."
Zhang Xiyue nodded. After a short pause, she said, "I might not be able to help you much though."
"No, it's fine. You can just help me work through this," Guo Fengnian said eagerly. "Should I confess to them right away, or wait a little longer?"
Zhang Xiyue chuckled. "I don't even know the details of your situation. How am I supposed to analyze this out of thin air?"
Guo Fengnian: "Mm, let's just say... hypothetically, okay? If you had a crush on a guy, would you confess to him the second you realize your own feelings?"
Zhang Xiyue's eyelashes fluttered, and she didn't know how to answer.
Guo Fengnian didn't dare interrupt her, and waited patiently for her to speak. But by the time all the dishes were served, she still hadn't said a word.
Faced with the whole table of steaming hot food, Guo Fengnian had no choice but to suggest they start eating first.
Zhang Xiyue agreed. She kept thinking about the question as she ate, until she finally looked completely helpless. "No way, I can't help you with this."
Guo Fengnian paused: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Xiyue: "Because if I had a crush on someone, I probably wouldn't confess. But you came to ask me about this, which means you already want to tell that person, you just don't know how to say it... and I don't know how to say it either."
Guo Fengnian only cared about one thing. "Why wouldn't you confess?"
Zhang Xiyue: "Because it's such a hassle."
"A hassle?" Guo Fengnian was surprised. "What's so hassle about that? Are you scared of getting rejected?"
Zhang Xiyue laughed. "Getting rejected would be the easy part. The scary part is when the person doesn't reject you."
Guo Fengnian: ?
Seeing how confused he was, Zhang Xiyue simply explained it to him patiently. "Think about it. If I confess, and the person says yes, the next step would be to start dating, right?"
"Y-yeah, what else would it be?"
Zhang Xiyue: "When adults are in a relationship, it can't just stop at holding hands, right?"
Guo Fengnian thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Most probably not."
"But what if the other person has some health issues?"
Guo Fengnian: "..."
"I'm the one who's going to confess. If that person agrees to be with me, that's such a blessing for me. I'd be too grateful to them to even bring up asking for their health check report, wouldn't I?" Zhang Xiyue said.
Guo Fengnian's mind raced frantically, but he had to admit she was right. If you were the one being confessed to, it might be easier to bring up, but when you're the one taking the initiative to confess and then ask for someone's health check report... that really would be awkward.
But he wasn't stumped for long. "What if you already know they don't have any health issues? I mean, say you happened to see their health check report... never mind how, the point is they're perfectly healthy."
"Then there's the next hurdle," Zhang Xiyue said as she picked up a piece of potato with her chopsticks. "This person agreed to your confession and even showed you their health check report. That means they're a really, really good person, right?"
Guo Fengnian thought of Cheng Mingjiao. He wasn't 100% sure how good he was as a person, but he figured if they really dated, Mingjiao would probably treat his girlfriend well. So he nodded.
Zhang Xiyue went on, "This such a good person. You hold hands, hug, kiss, and then when you get to the final step—what if he takes off his pants and you go, 'Huh?' What then?"
Guo Fengnian: "..."
Zhang Xiyue: "Or maybe when he takes off his pants you don't go 'Huh?', but then after it's all over, you do. What do you do then?"
Guo Fengnian: "...Aren't you thinking way too far ahead?"
"Shouldn't I think about these things?" Zhang Xiyue asked gently.
Guo Fengnian had no retort. His mind was completely stuck on that confused little "Huh?" of hers.
"Morally speaking, I'm the one who initiated the confession, and the other person has been going along with me this whole time. If I ended the relationship just because things didn't work out in that department, people would probably judge me. But if I don't end it, I'd just be stuck settling for a half-baked, unsatisfying arrangement," Zhang Xiyue said, eating slowly as she laid out her thoughts clearly. "I don't like being judged by others, and I don't like eating half-cooked rice either. That's why dating feels like such a hassle to me, and confessing to someone is even more of a hassle. Even if I had a crush on someone someday, I'd never make the first move."
Guo Fengnian's head was so full of all this new information that he only caught the part where she said she'd never make a move, and missed the part before that. "What if things don't turn out as bad as you're imagining?"
"It'd be great if they didn't," Zhang Xiyue said. "But when I think things through, I'm used to running through the worst possible outcome first, and then I make my decision based on that worst case scenario."
Guo Fengnian: "You really aren't very bold, are you."
"But I'm sensible enough," Zhang Xiyue smiled, lifting her drink to clink it against his. "The world is plenty forgiving. It gives all the brave people plenty of rewards, and it gives people like me, the cowards, plenty of escape routes too. As long as you don't hurt anyone, any choice you make is acceptable."
Guo Fengnian stared at her, completely convinced. At the same time, he couldn't help but think that the Young Master was never going to get that confession from her.
"But speaking of which," Zhang Xiyue shifted the topic, "We're different genders, so the things we're worried about are probably totally different. My anxieties don't really apply to your situation at all. I still think you should go ask Liang Xiao."
It was only when she said that that Guo Fengnian remembered how this whole conversation had started: he'd been the one to mention he had a crush on a classmate.
After the pleasant lunch break ended, the two went their separate ways. The moment Guo Fengnian got in his car, he spotted Cheng Mingjiao lingering stubbornly on the backseat.
He recounted the entire situation truthfully.
"She laid out her points so logically and thoroughly that I had no idea how to push back, let alone steer the conversation where we wanted it to go," Guo Fengnian said heavily, delivering the unwelcome news.
Cheng Mingjiao said nothing in response, simply sinking into deep thought.
The next day was another workday, and Cheng Mingjiao's medical report somehow ended up on Zhang Xiyue's workstation.
Zhang Xiyue picked it up to hand it back to him, but he made no move to take it.
"How's my health?" he asked.
Zhang Xiyue flipped through the report and answered honestly, "You're perfectly healthy."
"And I don't have any infectious diseases," Cheng Mingjiao emphasized.
Zhang Xiyue nodded. "That's right."
"Aren't you going to say anything else?" Cheng Mingjiao felt he had made his hint more than obvious.
Logically, Zhang Xiyue should have offered a few polite compliments at that point, but staring at the brand new report that had just come out the day before, she was genuinely confused. "Mr. Cheng, you get physicals this frequently—are you really sure nothing's wrong?"
They had known each other for less than two months, and he had already gone for checkups three times, right?
Once after the formaldehyde incident, once after getting lost in the mountains, and now this one.
Did he have some kind of physical checkup craving disorder?
In response to her question, Cheng Mingjiao only glanced at her sidelong. "Are you that worried about me?"
Zhang Xiyue: ???
"Don't worry, I only went for these tests after asking Liang Xiao for advice," he said, soothing her.
As he comforted her, he thought to himself that she was already this distressed just because he got a few simple tests done—there was no way she could hold back from confessing her feelings to him soon.
But he understood her concern, so he was doing his best to give her all the reassurance she needed before she confessed.
It was easy enough to prove he wasn't sick, but how on earth was he supposed to prove certain other things?
Cheng Mingjiao ran through several possible plans in his head, but every single one of them risked coming off as sexual harassment. As a top-tier, outstanding man with a spotless record, he would never do something like that before they were officially in a relationship.
This was Zhang Xiyue's loss.
The days grew hotter and hotter, and midsummer finally arrived.
Stuck without a reasonable way to prove what he needed to, plus feeling sluggish and irritable from the summer heat, Cheng Mingjiao had been in a foul mood lately.
Zhang Xiyue noticed this, so she stocked the fridge in the CEO's office full of ice cream bars.
"Junk food," Cheng Mingjiao grumbled, even as he reached out to grab a crispy cone.
That was his fifth ice cream of the day.
Zhang Xiyue pretended not to hear his complaint, and brought the stack of contracts that needed his signature over to his desk.
Cheng Mingjiao skimmed through them half-heartedly, too lazy to move a muscle.
Zhang Xiyue sighed.
It was already the end of July, and her strategy progress was still at zero. Meanwhile, there was only one month left before the point in the story where he was supposed to make his first official appearance.
She had stopped by the finance department a couple days earlier, and none of the company's statements showed any signs of decline due to their boss's recent laziness—if anything, the business was growing more prosperous by the day. There was not a single hint that the company was on track to go bankrupt.
The more this went on, the more lost she felt, unable to get a clear sense of direction.
Zhang Xiyue watched the zero percent progress mark fade from her mind, then gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows with a worried look.
"Let's go on a business trip to Yangcheng," Cheng Mingjiao suggested out of the blue.
Zhang Xiyue didn't catch on for a second. "...Huh?"
"There's a factory there that's expanding its facilities, and they need a full set of high-precision, cutting-edge equipment. Let's go check it out," Cheng Mingjiao said, leaning back in his executive chair and holding up a document.
He had been looking at Zhang Xiyue's profile a moment earlier, and suddenly realized the two of them had never gone out to have fun together.
A philosopher once said that if things are stuck in a deadlock for the time being, going out for a walk might help you see things clearly all of a sudden.
Right now, he had no way to prove his condition in that certain aspect, and Zhang Xiyue dared not confess her love because she was uncertain about his condition. That was exactly the deadlock they were in.
On top of that, the summer in Phoenix City was sweltering, while Yangcheng had a pleasant climate that was warm in winter and cool in summer, making it the perfect place to escape the heat.
Cheng Mingjiao thought it over and more, and the more he thought, the better the idea seemed. "We might be gone for a week. We're leaving the day after tomorrow, so get ready in advance."
Zhang Xiyue did not agree right away. Instead, she took the document from his hand and flipped through it.
"This factory is quite large, but it's not at the level that requires Mr. Cheng to go and negotiate the business in person, right?" She had been with Cheng Mingjiao for so long that she was already very familiar with the scale of the company. "Is there some reason you have to go there yourself?"
Cheng Mingjiao said, "There is."
Zhang Xiyue looked at him. But Cheng Mingjiao said no more.
Zhang Xiyue tugged at the corner of her mouth and continued to look through the other company's materials.
Yangshan Craft.
The name sounded oddly familiar. Zhang Xiyue tried hard to recall the original plot of the novel, but after thinking for a long time, she still could not place it.
"What time are we leaving the day after tomorrow? I'll book the tickets," she asked gently.
The corner of Cheng Mingjiao's lips lifted slightly.
The day after tomorrow arrived in the blink of an eye.
They were not the only ones going on this trip. There were also several employees who had been arranged to go earlier.
Because the boss was joining them out of the blue, everyone was a little uneasy. Before departure, they secretly went to find Zhang Xiyue several times to ask her why Cheng Mingjiao was coming along.
Zhang Xiyue told them everything she knew. "He has a reason he has to go for."
Her colleague asked, "What reason is that?"
Zhang Xiyue said, "He didn't tell me."
But as soon as they landed in Yangcheng, she figured it out.
The other colleagues took a car and left first, leaving only the two of them at the airport. Cheng Mingjiao immediately pulled out a travel guide.
"Where do you want to go first?" he asked, acting very democratic.
Zhang Xiyue said, "Aren't we supposed to go to the hotel to meet up with the colleagues first?"
"We'll go a separate way from them. Let's find a place to grab something to eat first," Cheng Mingjiao said.
Zhang Xiyue took a deep breath and smiled. "Mr. Cheng, the reason you absolutely had to come to Yangcheng is just to come out and play?"
She had foolishly thought he was finally going to get serious about his business, but it turned out he just wanted to come here for good food and fun.
"Yes, and you're coming with me," Cheng Mingjiao admitted openly, waiting for her to show a surprised expression.
Unfortunately, before Zhang Xiyue could react, her phone rang first.
It was the colleagues who had left earlier.
Even though Cheng Mingjiao's presence made everyone's stress shoot straight up, they were extremely excited at the thought that the president was personally leading them to negotiate the business, so their tone was full of excitement.
Zhang Xiyue turned on the speakerphone, fully showing Cheng Mingjiao how much the colleagues counted on him, said a few simple words, and then hung up.
"This is such a rare chance to learn from Mr. Cheng. Everyone is really thrilled. If Mr. Cheng doesn't participate in this work, they'll probably be really disappointed," Zhang Xiyue said, sounding rather troubled.
Cheng Mingjiao's brows slowly furrowed.
He had always known he was the backbone of all the company's employees, and he was used to being the supporter for everyone. But once in a while, their expectations could become a restraint for him.
Just like right now.
"Mr. Cheng, we should go meet up with them first," Zhang Xiyue continued to persuade him. "Once we've nearly wrapped up the business talks, we can go out and have fun then."
The colleagues needed him, and it just so happened that she also needed a little time to mentally prepare herself for being alone with her boss again.
In response to her persuasion, Cheng Mingjiao fell silent for a moment.
Just as Zhang Xiyue was about to say something more, he spoke, "Do you want to go find them?"
His staff did need him there, but if Zhang Xiyue needed him more, he would skip checking in on the other team members.
After all, Zhang Xiyue was his employee, but far more than just an employee to him.
Cheng Mingjiao waited for Zhang Xiyue's reply.
Zhang Xiyue had no idea why he was asking such a question, but she gave the most perfect response an employee could offer: "The work isn't finished yet, I'm not in the mood to mess around."
Cheng Mingjiao nodded. "Let's get dinner first."
Zhang Xiyue: "...Fine."
Following a travel guide, the two of them found a nearby restaurant to eat at, and met up with their colleagues right after finishing their meal.
Yu Huang had always been very generous to its employees, and even on business trips, it provided the highest standard of travel allowance.
The group had booked a three-star hotel this time, and Zhang Xiyue was staying there with the rest of the team.
She had originally planned to book a five-star hotel nearby for Cheng Mingjiao, but he turned her offer down.
"I'm staying here with all of you," he said.
Zhang Xiyue nodded, and went to the front desk to request a presidential suite.
The regular queen rooms and suites were not only on different floors, they were also accessible via completely separate elevator banks.
Faced with such obvious preferential treatment, Cheng Mingjiao for the first time felt a twinge of dissatisfaction, and even considered booking a room right next to his own for Zhang Xiyue.
But his sharp, intelligent mind knew perfectly well that doing so before they had officially established their relationship would bring Zhang Xiyue a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. After thinking it over carefully, he upgraded every single team member's hotel room, covering all the extra costs out of his own personal bank account.
All the colleagues were overjoyed, and Zhang Xiyue was happy too. Cheng Mingjiao stood by with his arms folded, waiting until everyone else had gone back to their rooms before stopping Zhang Xiyue.
"I can only stay here for two days at most. No matter how this business deal turns out two days from now, I'm washing my hands of it."
It was just a Class A project, anyway. Even without him, those few employees were fully capable of pulling it off.
What he really wanted was to go out and have fun with Zhang Xiyue.
Zhang Xiyue had no clue what had gotten into him all of a sudden, so she just nodded and agreed.
The next morning, at half past eight.
Zhang Xiyue sent Cheng Mingjiao a message, reminding him to get up early, as they had an appointment to meet the boss of Yangshan Craftworks in one hour.
Under normal business procedures, this kind of meeting should be handled by corresponding sales representatives, but since Cheng Mingjiao was here this time, the other party's boss had found out and taken the initiative to call to schedule the meeting.
It would be terribly rude to turn up late for such a kind invitation.
Cheng Mingjiao was well aware of that too. When he received the message, he was already standing right at the door of Zhang Xiyue's room.
Zhang Xiyue stepped out the door, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the imposing the yandere CEO standing in the hallway, her eyes going wide with shock.
Cheng Mingjiao lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile. "Surprise."
Zhang Xiyue: "..."
What kind of nonsense surprise was this!
Zhang Xiyue could only stare at him, completely speechless.
Seeing her expression, Cheng Mingjiao assumed she must have been so overwhelmed with joy that she couldn't speak.
Sure enough, it was absolutely necessary to occasionally let him be the one waiting for her.
Since the meeting was arranged to be a private one, the other employees didn't need to tag along. Zhang Xiyue followed Cheng Mingjiao alone to the other company's office.
It was already the end of July, but the weather in Yangcheng was still pleasantly cool.
Zhang Xiyue walked beside Cheng Mingjiao, breathing in the sweet scent of flowers drifting through the air, and her mood lifted significantly.
"The place we're heading to next is even more comfortable than the city proper," Cheng Mingjiao said.
Hearing that, Zhang Xiyue finally started to feel just a little bit of anticipation for the idea of going out to play with her boss.
"Rafting is super famous here in Yangcheng, wouldn't you want to give it a try, Mr. Cheng?" she asked him proactively.
Cheng Mingjiao was about to blurt out that he would never do anything that put personal safety at risk, but when he met Zhang Xiyue's expectant gaze, he silently nodded his head anyway.
Come to think of it, Zhang Xiyue had even worked so hard to process pre-made dishes all for him.
Zhang Xiyue really had it rough.
He might as well just grant her this little wish.
"Our first stop will be there," Cheng Mingjiao said.
Zhang Xiyue let out a cheer, then asked, "Mr. Cheng, do you like fishing? There's also the largest reservoir in the whole country around here."
Fishing was simply the most mind-numbing, life-wasting boring activity there was.
Cheng Mingjiao frowned, but still nodded in agreement.
"Actually, the mountain scenery nearby is also pretty good... but let's not go there after all," Zhang Xiyue still held a total aversion to mountains to this day.
Cheng Mingjiao thought exactly the same.
He had to admit, he and Zhang Xiyue were really quite compatible in certain aspects.
He had always been a straightforward person, and since he felt that way, he wanted to voice his recognition of Zhang Xiyue. But before he could say a word, a tall man walked towards them head-on.
Driven by some sharp, strong instinct, Cheng Mingjiao stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Zhang Xiyue had no idea what was going on, and followed his line of sight. When she saw the handsome face, her first thought was: Someone that good-looking can't just be a random extra, right?
The two of them were looking at him without hiding their gaze, so the man also looked over.
His eyes shifted slightly, and he seemed to recognize Cheng Mingjiao. Just as he was about to speak, an anxious, clear voice came from behind him: "Mr. Gu... Gu Feng! Why didn't you wait for me!"
The second she heard that name, Zhang Xiyue instantly realized the man in front of her was the male lead. So when she saw Qing Tian trotting over all the way, she was weirdly numb and calm.
Yangshan Craft.
She finally figured out why it had felt so familiar.
Turns out this was the project partner that the male lead and female lead secured together for the very first time in the original novel.
So all her painstaking efforts yesterday to persuade Cheng Mingjiao, who had planned to go on a trip right from the airport, to come to work, was just to make them meet a whole month earlier than they were supposed to?
Zhang Xiyue thought of a saying: The harder you work, the sadder you end up.
