Chapter 38 Exclusive Takeout

Inside the convenience store, the aroma of oden lingered. Fu Yanle sat in a corner, a straw in his mouth, unable to sip a drop of tea. He didn't know why he had silently run away; he only knew that if Yu Jingchen or Xu Shuo had discovered him then, his expression would have been utterly dumbfounded.

Sitting here, you can see the towering corporate building across the street through the glass wall. A couple across the street is arguing; the girl is walking ahead in a huff, and the boy is chasing after her with a large bouquet of flowers, even though they were holding hands sweetly just half a minute ago.

A couple sat not far away; the wife belittled her husband, calling him useless, yet she remained close to him the whole time. Two children ran past the glass wall; one tripped and fell on his bottom, while the other laughed so hard his throat was sticking out.

Everything around us is so lively.

But Yu Jingchen's voice still rang clearly in my ears repeatedly.

The footsteps of guests, children playing, resentment and arguments... nothing can withstand its surging and clamor.

Fu Yanle took a quick sip of his now-cold tea and pulled out his phone as his phone vibrated continuously in his pocket.

Wanwan: [We've finished trying. Have you found a place to meet up for dinner?]

The hot pot restaurant they originally planned to go to was unfortunately closed today, disrupting their original plans. Fu Yanle also found the audition rather boring, so they suggested splitting up; he would go ahead to find another place to eat. But perhaps caught up in his meme-chat with Yu Jingchen, he not only went to the Zongchen Group building but also stopped at the same flower shop to buy a bouquet, completely forgetting about finding food.

Fu Yanle rubbed his face and replied guiltily: [Found it, let's meet here. (Location)]

Tang Wanbai quickly replied: [Okay, I'll be there in about an hour.]

Fu Yanle pondered for a moment, then added the two to the group chat and typed: 【Have you ever been in a relationship?】

Gou: [What is that thing?]

Wanwan: [I talked to a girl for half an hour in sixth grade, and we broke up after lunch break. Does that count? (Sweating)]

"Forget it, they're really unreliable." Fu Yanle changed the group chat name to "[Zhoucao and his two useless, stinky younger brothers]", coldly ignoring the barrage of messages from his two stinky younger brothers, and scanned a chat bar when he exited WeChat.

It's a new friend I added this afternoon, Song Xueyan.

Remembering Song Xueyan's guidance that afternoon, Fu Yanle's eyes lit up, and he quickly poked the chat box: [Brother Xueyan, are you there?]

Song Xueyan replied two minutes later: [Yes, what's up?]

Fu Yanle took a sip of his tea and typed: [I sincerely want to ask you a question!]

Snow-Covered Beauty: [What's the question?]

Fu Yanle: [A question about appreciating emotions.]

Snowy Eaves Beauty: [I tried my best.]

Fu Yanle quickly typed: [Question: Xiao F knows that Xiao Y has a crush on him. One day, Xiao F accidentally overheard Xiao Y's emotional expression and felt very conflicted (two parts shock, two parts touching, two parts bitterness, two parts bewilderment, and two parts inexplicable impulse). What should he do? (kneeling)]

Snowy Eaves Beauty: [Analyze each situation specifically. What kind of person is Xiao Y? What was their relationship status before and currently?]

Fu Yanle: [Xiao Y is an exceptionally outstanding person in Yuxi, aloof and unapproachable. In many people's eyes, he's high above and untouchable (Xiao F used to think so too). Previously, Xiao F was cold and resistant to Xiao Y because of some inappropriate remarks, but after getting to know him better, she discovered that Xiao Y is like a Russian nesting doll; each layer revealed something completely new. Currently, the two are probably in... an ambiguous phase?]

"This beauty really needs to step up her game," Fu Yanle put down his phone, clasped his hands together, and prayed softly. After all, the people around him were either playboys or innocent young men—none of them reliable. Only Song Xueyan seemed to be a wise woman who deeply understood the mysteries of love.

The phone vibrated slightly, and Fu Yanle quickly picked it up to take a look.

Song Xueyan replied: [Actually, you know you have to do something, you just aren't quite sure.]

"Wow!" Fu Yanle was even more convinced that Song Xueyan was the wonderful person who could help him, and quickly replied: [Yes, yes, it just feels like there's a veil in front of my eyes, it's blurry, I can't see clearly.]

Snowy Eaves Beauty: [I can only analyze your emotions and help you answer your questions, but I will not dictate any choices you make.]

Fu Yanle obediently replied: 【Okay! (The little panda sits still)】

About five minutes later, Song Xueyan replied with a long message.

[Shocking: Simply put, he did what you thought was impossible and said what you thought was impossible. His genuine emotions transcended your understanding because, based on your knowledge of him, you subjectively believed that he couldn't possibly be so deeply devoted to anyone else.]

Moved: roughly equivalent to touched.

Sourness: This is a very interesting sign, indicating that you do have feelings for him, and may even feel sorry for him because of your past neglect of him.

Feeling lost and unprepared: Because his confession was so sudden, you weren't ready. But imagine if someone else confessed to you, would you feel the same way?

Unexplained Impulse: All the emotions mentioned above piled up to create this impulse. You don't actually need to analyze what this impulse is; you just need to think about it: once you understand his feelings, will you pretend not to know and let things take their course? Or will you reject him? Or will you take the initiative and choose to respond?

If you agree with my analysis, once you understand the above questions, you'll basically know what to do.

Song Xueyan is truly a master of love for our generation!

Fu Yanle replied with a string of hearts, then walked to the cashier with a relaxed expression. "Could I please have a cup of rose tea, hot, 30% sugar, to go? Thank you."

Clerk: "Okay, please pay here."

After paying, Fu Yanle opened Xu Shuo's chat window.

*

The huge conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The attendees fell silent, a silent pressure pressing down on the back of their necks. They looked down at the notebooks or documents on the table, their eyes filled with hesitation, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Yu Jingchen's pen pressed against the document cover, making a soft, intermittent sound. "Something happened half a month ago, and it's only being reported now. Who's going to explain this?"

A group of people stood up around the conference table and said nervously, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yu. I was thinking of resolving this myself before reporting back to you, so as not to trouble you."

"That's just your excuse. Because of your mistake, the company lost a project and suffered losses. If it were reported, you were afraid you would resign, so you chose to take a chance and keep it a secret. But the facts prove that you don't have the ability to make up for your mistake, and you've only wasted time." Yu Jingchen said calmly, "You're not a newcomer either."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yu, I—"

Yu Jingchen raised his hand to stop them, glanced at everyone, and said, "I know your individual abilities very well. I place you in the most suitable positions to cultivate you or give you important responsibilities, which is my sincerity, but please always remember the rules of Zongchen. This matter will be reviewed by a specialist, and the specific punishment plan for the responsible members will be determined according to the mistakes. I hope that the same situation will not happen a second time."

Xu Shuo entered through the back door and, seeing everyone on edge, couldn't help but push up his glasses.

Yu Jingchen glanced at his watch and said, "Ten-minute break."

No one moved.

Xu Shuo walked up to Yu Jingchen and whispered something in his ear.

Everyone saw Yu Jingchen raise an eyebrow slightly, a strange, almost eerie smile appearing on his face, before he got up and left. He not only meticulously patted his neatly pressed suit jacket, but even picked up his phone… and used it as a mirror to check his own face?!

A person with a fear of death but unable to suppress their curiosity asked, "Assistant Xu, what's wrong with President Yu...?"

Xu Shuo smiled and said, "The next group to submit their reports, please prepare carefully. If anything unexpected happens again, then the next few days will be tough for everyone."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly averted their gossipy gazes and instantly became cautious.

Yu Jingchen hurried back to his office and immediately saw the bouquet of flowers standing on his desk. He looked around, but there was no one else in the office except him.

The surging emotions in his heart subsided instantly, leaving only a gurgling, fragmented sound. Yu Jingchen suppressed his disappointment and walked to the table.

The roses were vibrant and glistening with water, but Yu Jingchen had no idea that the original water droplets had dried. These droplets were actually water that Fu Yanle had borrowed from a convenience store and dripped onto the roses himself.

He peeled back the paper and pulled out a small white rose-patterned card embedded inside.

[This is my first time delivering food to a personal shopper, please remember to give me a five-star review!]

"Who just drops off the goods and leaves without verifying the information in person?" Yu Jingchen had no intention of giving a good review.

He casually turned the card around and saw that there was another line of words on the back.

To avoid picky customers not giving me a good review, I've decided to bribe them with a cup of hot rose tea with only 30% sugar. But I won't tell you where it is (okay, I'll be merciful and reveal it anyway: it's in the office, find it yourself!).

Yu Jingchen put down the card, walked around the office, and searched high and low but couldn't find any suspicious rose tea. He stood next to the air conditioner unit and suddenly looked towards the lounge. The door was slightly ajar, leaving only a corner exposed, exactly the same as when he last came out.

Yu Jingchen's heart suddenly began to pound wildly.

The suit jacket suddenly tightened, and Yu Jingchen uncomfortably unbuttoned the top button. Finally, he simply took off the entire jacket and strode towards the lounge.

"Smack!"

Yu Jingchen pushed open the door and rushed in, and a figure suddenly pounced on him.

"Surprise!"

Just as Fu Yanle touched Yu Jingchen's arm, his right foot, leading the charge, collided with Yu Jingchen's foot, causing him to stumble and fall forward two steps uncontrollably. Then—

In a headbutt, Fu Yanle impulsively and devoutly slammed his knees and head onto the bed, his hands outstretched, his buttocks sticking up, as he headbutted the window of the lounge.

"..."

Yu Jingchen held his breath for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled.

Damn it!

Fu Yanle closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and slammed them hard on the bed. He turned around and angrily berated her, "Can't you watch where you're going?! Who let you in?! Who told you to be so tall?! You have no compassion at all, and you even dare to laugh at me!"

“You came crashing down like a small meteorite, I didn’t even have time to see you. You let me in. I just grew to this height naturally. I have no sympathy, but I feel sorry for you. I didn’t laugh at you,” Yu Jingchen answered, walking to the bedside and leaning slightly closer to Fu Yanle.

He looked at Fu Yanle's face, which was slightly flushed from raising his voice, and said, "I'm just charmed by how cute you are."

"You think it's cute when I fall flat on my face like a dog? You think it's cute when I kowtow?" Fu Yanle said resentfully, "How can your heart be so cruel!"

Yu Jingchen's palms itched slightly, and he couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Fu Yanle's hair, brushing the few strands of hair that were covering his face back to his ears.

“In my opinion, there’s more to your charm than just this.” Yu Jingchen’s tone was calm, neither teasing nor playful. “My definition of cute is different from the dictionary. In my understanding, cute means ‘Fu Yanle’.”

"...Don't think I'll forgive you just because you praised me a couple of times." Fu Yanle rubbed his ear, his tone fierce. "You should kowtow to the window too!"

Yu Jingchen looked at him silently, and just as Fu Yanle was about to back down, he finally spoke: "Okay."

Huh? Okay? Ah!

Fu Yanle stared in surprise, only to see Yu Jingchen lean in and cover him.

Yu Jingchen knelt on the outside of Fu Yanle's legs, one hand supporting Fu Yanle's head and the other hand bracing against the bed. Under Fu Yanle's slightly bewildered gaze, he lowered his head and touched his forehead to Fu Yanle's.

"Was my bow performed correctly?"

Author's Note:

Xiao Fu: What do you think?! (In a fit of impotent rage)

Da Yu: I think it's good. (Seriously)