When feeling guilty, people often appear particularly flustered.
Chao Musheng stood outside Su Chenzhu’s office, watching as the latter typed on his keyboard, the silver chain of his glasses glinting faintly.
"Xiao Chao?" Secretary Liu approached, arms laden with thick stacks of folders. "Why don’t you go in if you’re here to see the boss?"
"Oh." Chao Musheng turned with a smile, reaching out to straighten the slightly tilted folders in Secretary Liu’s arms. "He’s busy right now. There’s an issue with the film department’s system, and the technician responsible is on wedding leave. I’ll go check it out for him and come back later."
"Thank you." Secretary Liu watched Chao Musheng leave before carrying the folders into Su Chenzhu’s office. "Boss, Xiao Chao left."
Su Chenzhu’s fingers paused on the keyboard. "How did he look…?"
"Perfectly normal." Secretary Liu eyed Su Chenzhu suspiciously. What was the boss feeling guilty about?
"Secretary Liu." Su Chenzhu lifted his gaze. "If your partner hid certain things about your past—like how they’d secretly been watching you, even trying to get close and catch your attention without you knowing—would you resent them?"
"Of course not." Secretary Liu shook his head. "I’d probably feel heartache for them, even regret the missed moments I never knew about."
"You wouldn’t feel intruded upon?"
"No." Secretary Liu closed the file. "People in love don’t get angry over such things. Boss, you should trust Xiao Chao, and the bond you share. Though I may not know him as well as you do, he’s undoubtedly a man who takes relationships seriously. If he didn’t truly care for you, he wouldn’t have chosen to be with you."
Su Chenzhu fell silent for a moment before standing. "You’re right. I was overthinking it. Leave these files here—I’m going to find Chao Chao."
Secretary Liu nodded with a smile.
Being able to reflect on one’s emotions and having a wonderful boyfriend like Xiao Chao—this is what you deserve, Boss.
"By the way." Su Chenzhu turned at the door. "The secretarial department has grown, and we need a chief secretary. From now on, you’ll take the role. The workload may increase, but your salary and year-end benefits will rise by fifteen percent. Are you willing?"
"Yes!" Secretary Liu didn’t hesitate for a second. "Thank you for your trust, Boss! I’ll do my utmost as chief secretary!"
"Work hard."
"Always!" Secretary Liu’s hands trembled slightly as he held the files. From this moment on, he would be Kunlun Group’s most loyal secretary!
Straightening his posture, he cleared his throat and left the office with his usual composed demeanor.
Xiao Chao really had an eye for talent—he’d known from their first meeting that Secretary Liu was the boss’s most trusted aide!
When Chao Musheng arrived at the film department, the manager rushed out to greet him, his enthusiasm bordering on sycophancy.
Kunlun’s subsidiaries were vast, and each department maintained its own secure system. After a quick inspection, Chao Musheng found the issue minor—something any company programmer could fix.
Within minutes, the problem was resolved. As the manager showered him with praise, Chao Musheng nodded politely.
"Assistant Chao, take care on your way out. The floors were just cleaned." The manager bent slightly to open the door—only to lock eyes with Song Xu in the hallway.
Behind Song Xu stood several crew members, their camera capturing the manager’s overly sweet voice.
"Thank you for the reminder." Noticing the camera, Chao Musheng smiled. "I heard your latest program is doing well—congratulations."
The manager, sharp as ever, realized Chao Musheng was preserving his dignity on camera and felt a pang of gratitude.
The film department’s quarterly reports had been lackluster, and he’d hoped to curry favor with Chao Musheng. Expecting arrogance from someone so talented and close to the boss, he was instead met with grace—even receiving face in front of a live audience.
Song Xu hadn’t expected to catch Chao Musheng on camera either. The cameraman swiftly adjusted, framing only Song Xu’s head.
"Assistant Chao, Manager." Song Xu forced a natural smile.
"Ah, Xiao Song." The manager recalled the scheduled filming. "This is the Let’s Go! crew, here to document Song Xu’s workday."
"Hello." Chao Musheng shook hands with the crew. "Your show is quite engaging—I saw many discussions about it online last night."
The crew was flattered, and the bold assistant director spoke up. "Assistant Chao, our apologies for accidentally capturing you earlier."
"No harm done." Chao Musheng checked his watch. "I won’t disrupt your work any further."
"Of course, of course." Worried about impulsive netizens causing trouble, the manager added, "Safe travels."
Just then, the boss stepped out of the elevator. The manager frantically signaled Song Xu.
Get the crew away—don’t let the big boss end up on camera!
The crew, quicker than Song Xu, pivoted their equipment away.
"Chao Chao." Su Chenzhu strode forward. "There’s something I need to tell you."
"Ahem." Chao Musheng cleared his throat, gesturing to the camera. "Song Xu, keep up the good work. I’ll head upstairs with President Su now."
Song Xu nodded eagerly. "Understood, Assistant Chao."
[Song Xu’s bowing and scraping reminds me of how I suck up to my boss.]
[Camera crew, DARE you point the lens at that gorgeous civilian and the man who called him “Chao Chao”?]
They didn’t dare. The assistant director, monitoring the live chat, ached with frustration.
Such high engagement, yet he couldn’t capitalize on it. The itch was unbearable.
Gritting his teeth, he spoke up as Chao Musheng prepared to leave.
"Mr. Chao." His voice was softer than ever. "Many viewers are sending their regards. Would you like to greet them?"
Chao Musheng approached the camera. "Will it interfere with your program?"
The assistant director shook his head vigorously. Interfere? He’d kill for a cameo.
"Hello, everyone online." Chao Musheng waved. "Thank you for supporting Kunlun. Lunchtime approaches—don’t forget to eat on schedule."
There was a display screen on the filming setup, showing various comments from netizens.
He glanced at the screen—aside from people complimenting his looks, some were asking whether he was currently single.
"So this is what netizens are curious about?" He looked up at Su Chenzhu, who was off-camera. "I’m indeed not single right now."
The comments flooded in even faster, nearly overwhelming Chao Musheng’s vision.
"Old? He’s not old. Not only is he young, but he’s also very good-looking." Chao Musheng smiled at Su Chenzhu. "But he is indeed very wealthy."
[Ahhh! When talking about his partner, the non-celeb keeps glancing off-camera—that means his lover is right there beside him!]
[There’s only one truth: his partner is the man who just called him 'Chaochao.']
[Song Xu, you’re my only insider at Kunlun. Tell me, is the non-celeb’s partner really that person?!]
Netizens, wary of causing trouble, avoided directly naming Kunlun’s big boss, resorting to heavy-handed hints instead.
Chao Musheng chuckled at the comments speculating his boyfriend was Kunlun’s CEO. "Now, I’ll hand the camera back to Song Xu. Goodbye, everyone."
Stepping out of frame, Chao Musheng immediately took Su Chenzhu’s hand. "Let’s go."
Song Xu, witnessing this, widened his eyes in shock. The boss and Assistant Chao—were they not even trying to hide it?
The production crew, noticing how the general manager and Song Xu didn’t dare even breathe loudly around the mysterious man, began to piece together a wild guess.
Could this person be… CEO Su?
Holding hands so openly in front of them somehow made the staff hesitate to look.
Meanwhile, gossip-loving netizens, unsatisfied with the lack of answers in the livestream, swarmed Kunlun’s official account with thinly veiled hints.
[The boss is in love—can’t the official account drop some celebratory perks?]
[As a concerned netizen, I wish your boss and his partner eternal happiness. Now, send me Kunlun’s latest phone model.]
Netizens joked around, not taking it seriously—until Kunlun’s official account actually launched a giveaway. Then, everyone realized something was off.
[It’s still days before Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day—why is Kunlun giving away so many high-value prizes?]
[Wait, that ‘concerned netizen’ who wished the boss and his partner well actually got a DM from Kunlun’s official account asking for their shipping address?!]
[?? Kunlun, your generosity is terrifying.]
[A person’s desire to show off is unstoppable. Though Kunlun hasn’t said a word, just showering netizens with gifts, I see the truth: the CEO wants the whole world to know he’s in love.]
[But who’s the partner? So hard to guess…]
[Hehe, an industry insider dares to spill: the boss’s lover is exactly who everyone suspects. According to sources, the boss is tall, handsome, and exudes charisma. Most importantly? He’s a hopeless romantic. After getting together with his boyfriend, he—who never posted on social media—now floods his feed with PDA every few days.]
[I get it. I envy him. If I had a partner like that, I’d brag ten times a day.]
"Chaochao."
On the terrace, Su Chenzhu gazed at their intertwined hands. "I’m sorry, I…"
"If I’d known it was you in the car that day, I would’ve ridden my bike slower." Chao Musheng squeezed his hand. "When did it start?"
"What?" Su Chenzhu had expected anger, but in Chao Musheng’s eyes, he only saw regret and tenderness.
"When did you start liking me?"
"I don’t know." Su Chenzhu shook his head. "At first, I just wanted to see you live well."
But love is an unreasonable thing.
He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly his heart grew greedy.
Maybe it was the day Chao Musheng walked out of his college entrance exam, bathed in dazzling sunlight.
