Unexpectedly locked
With the company's quarterly financial report about to be released, the entire management team is extremely busy.
Xie Dang practically lived at the company, working non-stop for several days. Lin Jingshang, as a core project team member, also inevitably had to work overtime.
That evening, Lin Jingshang finally finished dealing with the backlog of work. Looking up, he saw that it was already dark outside the window. He rubbed his throbbing temples and prepared to pack his things to go home.
As he passed the president's office, he noticed that the lights were still on.
Inside the glass wall, Xie Dang was facing a computer screen, typing on the keyboard, his face tired.
Lin Jingshang hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Lin Jingshang pushed open the door and entered: "President Xie, you haven't left yet?"
Xie Dang looked up from the screen and rubbed his temples: "There's still some finishing touches to be done, you should go back first."
"Do you need my help?" Lin Jingshang asked instinctively.
Xie Dang glanced at him, his gaze lingering on his equally tired face for a moment, then shook his head: "No need, I can verify the data myself faster."
His tone was calm, but Lin Jingshang could hear the determination in it. He knew Xie Dang's work habits: he was extremely focused and didn't like to be disturbed.
Lin Jingshang didn't know what else to say: "Well... don't stay out too late, I'll be going now."
"Hmm," Xie Dang responded, turning his attention back to the screen.
Lin Jingshang turned and left, gently closing the office door behind him. He walked to the elevator, pressed the button, and felt a little uneasy; Xie Dang looked extremely tired.
As the elevator slowly descended, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have left his charger at his workstation, so he turned back.
After getting the charger, Lin Jingshang passed by the CEO's office again; the lights were still on. He sighed and decided to go downstairs to the convenience store to buy Xie Dang something to eat.
When he returned with hot milk and sandwiches, he found that the door to the president's office was locked.
The doorknob seemed to be stuck in something and wouldn't budge.
He tried to use force, but it was no use.
He peered through the glass wall, but Xie Dang was still focused on his work and hadn't noticed the commotion at the door.
A sense of foreboding rose in Lin Jingshang's heart.
He took out his phone and called Xie Dang.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Xie, it's me. The office door seems to be broken; I can't open it from the outside," Lin Jingshang said hurriedly.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then footsteps could be heard. Xie Dang walked to the door and tried turning the doorknob from the inside, but it wouldn't budge.
“It’s definitely stuck. Call the property management office on duty.” Xie Dang’s voice calmed down.
"Okay, I'll call right away!" Lin Jingshang hung up the phone and immediately contacted the property management.
Even stranger things happened.
The phone in the property management office was constantly busy, and his cell phone signal suddenly became extremely poor, intermittently disconnecting.
He tried to walk towards the elevator entrance to find a signal, but found that the door to the fire escape was also inexplicably locked.
Lin Jingshang's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood.
It must be the system messing with things again!
He strode back to the president's office door, made a helpless gesture to Xie Dang inside through the glass, and then mouthed, "System."
Xie Dang watched his lip movements, his brows furrowing deeply. He took out his own phone and checked it, also noticing the signal problem.
The two stood facing each other through the glass door.
After a while, Xie Dang seemed to accept reality. He walked to the door and said to Lin Jingshang through the glass, "Never mind, let the cleaning staff come tomorrow morning."
That's all we can do.
Lin Jingshang waved the convenience store bag in his hand and mouthed, "Do you want some food?"
Xie Dang nodded.
The door to the CEO's office suddenly opened by itself.
Lin Jingshang carried the bag and charger inside and sat down on the sofa. He was exhausted after a long day.
Xie Dang took the bag and charger, placed the milk and sandwich on the table, and plugged in the charger.
He didn't close the door; it wouldn't close anyway.
Then, he took the carton of hot milk, walked to the door, and handed it to Lin Jingshang, who was sitting on the ground.
"Have a drink."
Lin Jingshang paused for a moment, then took the warm milk.
"Thanks."
Xie Dang didn't say anything, turned around, picked up the sandwich, and ate it in silence.
Lin Jingshang also inserted a straw and sipped his milk.
After finishing his milk, Lin Jingshang hugged his knees, feeling sleepy as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
In a daze, he felt something being covered over him. He barely opened his eyes and saw that it was Xie Dang's suit jacket.
Xie Dang stood next to him, looking down at him.
"Go to sleep," he said softly.
Lin Jingshang couldn't hold on any longer. He mumbled an "Mmm," wrapped his coat tightly around the other person's warm body, and fell into a deep sleep.
Xie Dang looked at Lin Jingshang, who was curled up asleep by the door, wrapped in his coat, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He stood there for a while, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
When Lin Jingshang woke up, a delicious aroma of food wafted over.
He groggily opened his eyes and found himself still curled up on the carpet outside the CEO's office, covered with Xie Dang's suit jacket. Daylight was streaming in through the window, casting a soft glow.
He shifted and felt some soreness in his neck and back due to his improper sleeping posture.
He looked up and saw Xie Dang already awake in the office, standing by the coffee machine with two cups in his hands. On the table next to him were several open lunchboxes containing porridge, steamed buns, and fried eggs.
Hearing the noise, Xie Dang turned to look at him, his complexion better than last night.
"Awake? Go to the bathroom and get ready, then come have breakfast."
Lin Jingshang got up somewhat dazedly, folded his coat, and placed it on the chair next to him.
"The door...can be opened?"
"Mm," Xie Dang replied. "It unlocks automatically at seven o'clock sharp."
As expected, it was controlled by the system again.
Lin Jingshang rubbed his neck and walked to the restroom at the end of the corridor. After washing his face with cold water, he finally woke up completely and recalled the absurd experience of last night.
When Lin Jingshang returned to his office, Xie Dang had already pushed a breakfast to the other side of the table.
"Eat it while it's hot."
"Thank you." Lin Jingshang sat down opposite him.
The porridge was warm, the steamed buns were still steaming, and the fried egg was cooked perfectly; it was clearly takeout that Xie Dang had just ordered.
"You're coming with me to the meeting this morning." Xie Dang finished the last bite of his fried egg and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
Lin Jingshang looked up: "Me?"
That was a high-level management meeting; normally, someone at his level shouldn't need to attend.
Xie Dang looked at him: "Yes, you were responsible for checking the data in the financial statement section, so you need to provide supplementary explanations."
"Okay." Lin Jingshang nodded.
After finishing breakfast, the two cleaned up their lunchboxes together. Lin Jingshang picked up the neatly folded suit jacket and handed it to Xie Dang: "Mr. Xie, here's your jacket, thank you."
Xie Dang took it, casually draped it over his arm, his gaze lingering on Xie Dang's face for a moment before he suddenly spoke: "You can call me by my name in private from now on."
Lin Jingshang froze, his heart skipping a beat. He looked at Xie Dang, whose expression was calm.
“…Xie Dang?” he tentatively uttered the name softly.
"Okay." Xie Dang responded, picking up the documents on the table. "Let's go to the conference room."
He was the first to walk out of the office, his steps steady.
Lin Jingshang stood there, watching his retreating figure, feeling his cheeks burning. He took a deep breath, picked up his notebook, and quickly followed.
During a work meeting, when he needed to present data to everyone and occasionally met Xie Dang's gaze while he was sitting in the main seat, the familiar "President Xie" hovered in his throat for a moment before being silently swallowed back down.
A name is the shortest spell; once uttered, it shortens the greatest distance.
Now, those two words have become a secret between them.
---
The system seemed to have sensed this unlawful intimacy and began to stir again.
That afternoon, Lin Jingshang was processing emails when a pink dialog box suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of his computer screen. The title was alarming: [Warning! Abnormal fluctuations in intimacy level detected with a key figure! Suspected risk of being downgraded in terms of address!]
The dialog box listed a long list of suggested titles, ranging from the mushy "Brother Dang" to the formal "Mr. Xie Dang," and also included usage scenarios and expected effects.
Lin Jingshang moved the mouse expressionlessly, preparing to close the annoying window, only to find there was no close button.
He pressed the computer's power button directly.
The world is peaceful now.
He sent a message to Xie Dang.
[Lin Jingshang]: It seems to have a strong opinion about us calling you by your name. (Attached: Screenshot of system notification)
【Xie Dang】: Invalid interference; similar pop-ups have been blocked.
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