"Try to go out more often when you have time, find places to travel. If you feel bored by yourself, see if there's anywhere you want to go, and we'll go together after I'm done with this busy period. Don't always stay at home," Lu Ming said to him gently. The two sat on the sofa in the living room, and Lu Ming reached out to grab Su Yi's laptop. When Su Yi saw him reach out, he closed the laptop first, as if afraid that Lu Ming would see something.
Lu Ming wasn't angry. She asked him, "Haven't you always wanted to go to Europe?"
"Let's talk about it later, okay?" Su Yi hugged Lu Ming's neck, his tone somewhat pleading. Lu Ming naturally sensed something was wrong, but he clearly didn't want to say anything, so he didn't ask.
"Alright, rest your eyes. Our teacher Su is contributing to the cause of human law, don't overwork yourself. Come and lie on my lap." Lu Ming took a bottle of eye drops, pried open Su Yi's red eyes, and carefully dripped a few drops into them.
"Why are you so good to me~" Su Yi felt a cool comfort in his eyes, and buried his head in Lu Ming's lower abdomen, nuzzling around and whispering, his voice sounding aggrieved.
"Don't stir things up!" Lu Ming gently patted his head and said softly, "How about getting a cat or dog if you're bored?"
"Hmm...don't you dislike those things?"
"I'll pick one that looks like you and I'll like it."
Su Yi raised her hand and slapped his stomach: "Looks like you!" But as soon as she looked up, Lu Ming pressed her back down.
"Close your eyes! Take a rest!"
Perhaps he was really too tired, because he fell asleep immediately after closing his eyes for just a short while. Lu Ming looked at how well-behaved he was while sleeping, ruffled his hair, and carried him back to the bedroom.
"Hello." Su Yi was wearing a well-tailored black slim-fit suit with a white shirt underneath. He wasn't wearing a tie, which made him look neither too casual nor too mature, and it was easy for people to like him.
"Don't be so reserved. You're Lu Ming's person, so we're practically family." Lu Fang looked at the bewildered Su Yi as if he were a toddler taking its first steps, his expression filled with affection and pity, but then turning into cunning and insight. "So? Have you considered it?"
“I’ll be sixty next year, and I won’t be able to manage things for much longer. But Lu Ming still refuses to take over some of the Lu family’s businesses from me… You can’t get rid of these things if you want to, and it would take three to five generations to cleanse them. He’s my only son. If he doesn’t have real power in his hands, how many people will be eyeing him and trample him into a pulp? He’s delusional, but I’m glad he has a partner like you.” Lu Fang’s words completely portrayed him as a father. His sending someone to approach Su Yi and giving hints was actually for this reason. Lu Ming, as the successor he had groomed since childhood, was talented and capable in every way, and impeccably excellent, yet he unrealistically wanted to remain aloof… As long as he had the surname Lu, as long as he had Lu family blood in his veins, it was impossible for him to remain aloof.
"Since I'm destined not to be upright and honorable, then I'll enjoy the darkness." Su Yi stared intently at the pale pink, transparent liquid in front of him. It was incredibly beautiful, like dew on newly opened peach blossoms on a spring morning. He glanced at Lu Fang, picked it up, and drank it down in one gulp.
Upon seeing this, Lu Fang laughed heartily a few times, his gaze fixed on him: "Darling, you are so beautiful. I think I know why Lu Ming likes you so much now."
"You will be my most perfect creation."
"I hope it's as you say," Su Yi said with a smile.
Su Yi himself proposed to work in Lu's legal department for a while, but Lu's side did not agree—Su Yi's academic status was what it was, and it wouldn't be good to overshadow him or attract too much attention. Instead, they arranged for him to take an unbelievable position as the private assistant to the finance minister.
The position of Finance Minister at Lu's headquarters is a delicate one. While seemingly in the public eye, all money, from the hidden to the revealed, flows through his hands, making it difficult to remain unaware of the inner workings. Lu Fang's original intention was to have him learn interpersonal skills before gradually taking over, hence assigning him as a personal assistant to Lei Li, the Finance Minister at headquarters—a low-ranking position, but one where he could learn a great deal. Su Yi vaguely remembered seeing a lot of information about Lu Ming in his emails; he was probably no pushover.
But Su Yi always felt that Lu Fang's purpose had ulterior motives: Lei Li, having served Lu Fang for so many years, had become somewhat arrogant and disrespectful. Lu Fang had long harbored resentment towards him but couldn't act personally due to the need to win people over; this time, it seemed he was using someone else to do his dirty work.
As for Lu Ming, he was also very busy with work, often not home for three to five days at a time, and he wouldn't interfere with Su Yi's private life, even intentionally avoiding Su Yi's social life. Su Yi didn't say anything, and he didn't even know that the person beside him had been acting as his "little brother" for so long.
As for Lei Li, it's unclear whether he was deliberately making things difficult for Su Yi because he disliked Lei Li's background, or because he saw his assistant grow from a beautiful young woman into a man in his thirties. Even though Lei Li was quite good-looking, he still couldn't stand him and would frequently find fault with him and launch into a tirade of insults. Su Yi hadn't been insulted like that in over a decade since starting university. Even the best temper has its limits. Aside from subtly and meaningfully retaliating, he had almost thrown his freshly brewed coffee in Lei Li's face several times, shouting, "I quit!"
"I told you to book a plane ticket, and what did you book for me?!" Lei Li grabbed the folder on the table and threw it at Su Yi. Fortunately, there were only a few light papers inside, so it didn't hurt, but it still made Su Yi feel offended and angry.
"Mr. Lei, the business class fare for this flight exceeds the company's standard for ministerial travel. However, given the timing of the meeting, it's unlikely that the flight can be rescheduled. I can apply for other forms of compensation for you, but please understand. The accompanying staff are also traveling in economy class."
Lei Li squinted at the assistant in front of him, thinking he was incredibly audacious: "The flight at 5 PM tomorrow is followed by another flight early the next morning, is that right?"
"Yes, Mr. Lei." He had no idea what kind of trouble Lei Li was up to this time.
"Alright, the meeting is at 9:30 AM the day after tomorrow. The outsourced accounting firm will release the subsidiary's financial statements for the previous quarter at 6 PM tomorrow. Go pick them up, then catch the next available flight to S City to prepare the necessary materials for the meeting." The next available flight was at 5:30 AM, a journey of nearly three hours. Su Yi knew perfectly well that he was being deliberately difficult.
"...Okay, Mr. Lei."
He left the office, contacted the accounting firm, booked tickets, and called Lu Ming. He told her he might not be able to go home for the next couple of days. Lu Ming didn't ask too many questions, only reminding him to take care of himself while he was away, and then transferred some money to his card, telling him to have a good time.
Su Yi thought for a moment, then opened the app on her phone to reschedule her flight and upgraded her cabin class at the company's expense—it was all Lu Ming's money anyway.
Unfortunately, it started raining as soon as he got off the plane, with fine sleet mixed in, stinging his face with the cold wind. Getting a taxi in this weather was incredibly difficult; it was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly! Fortunately, the office building where the meeting was being held wasn't far from the airport, only two or three kilometers away. Su Yi stored his few pieces of luggage in the airport lockers, unbuttoned his suit jacket, tucked his briefcase into his arms, and rushed into the rain. He was guaranteed to look disheveled, but as an assistant, he wasn't even qualified to stand behind Lei Li as the "eunuch" during the meeting, so he didn't need to worry too much about his image.
He entered the office building lobby, panting, and glanced at the wall clock—9:10. He was still in time. Su Yi anxiously pounded on the elevator button, watching the floors crawl downwards, then looked at the starkly contrasting private elevator.
My lungs feel like they're about to explode, my head is throbbing and throbbing from lack of oxygen, and my vision is blurring. Workplace bullying! Su Yi has already decided to subtly hint at this issue to Lu Ming, asking her subordinates, both high and low-ranking, to remind them about it.
"Ding—" We've finally arrived.
9:23.
"Mr. Lei, all the documents you need are here." Su Yi rushed into the messy meeting room, which was still in the midst of pre-meeting preparations, and handed over a briefcase.
"Get out! Look at yourself! Aren't you ashamed?!" Lei Li took the briefcase and scolded him in a low voice. Su Yi was in no mood to say another word to him. If he were allowed to, he could just lie on the ground. Those three kilometers had already completed three years' worth of exercise.
The thought of resigning surged into my mind countless times.
Perhaps it was as if heaven had finally opened one eye, but the eye that was open was still somewhat sleepy.
"Come here." The voice, slightly cold, wasn't loud, but it pierced through the crowd with remarkable force. Su Yi ignored it, straightened his clothes, and walked out.
"I told you to come here!" The voice grew louder, even bordering on angry, and everyone in the conference room fell silent. Only then did Su Yi belatedly realize that the voice... seemed vaguely familiar?
Lu Ming? He looked at the man in the main seat, dressed in a black suit, and despite his inner unease under the complicated gazes of the crowd, he strode over.
"Ugh...ugh!" Su Yi had just stood up when Lu Ming took two tissues and wiped the rain off her face. The rough action left a faint red mark on her fair skin.
"What are you doing... be gentle..." Seeing Lu Ming's determination to rub his face raw today, Su Yi impulsively slapped his hand away. Then he realized what he had done.
"I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to! It's just..." He was momentarily speechless.
After a moment of rage, Lu Ming calmed down somewhat. Su Yi… he gritted his teeth and repeated that name countless times in his mind—he always managed to make him lose his mind time and time again.
"Isn't your salary enough for your taxi fare? Your image reflects the company's image. Be more mindful next time."
"Yes, Mr. Lu." Su Yi lowered his head slightly, seemingly genuinely aware of his mistake.
"Go out."
"yes."
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