He's not in now
"An An, what are you thinking about? So absorbed?"
In the evening, at a seafood stall full of fireworks, Lin Jiating was peeling mantis shrimps skillfully, looking at her brother who was a little distracted across from her.
"Ah? Nothing!"
Lin Yu'an suddenly came back to his senses and picked up a shrimp in a cover-up.
"It's just... I'm thinking about going back to work tomorrow and having to face Mr. Gu's icy face again."
He once again turned the topic to Gu Lin, as if this name had become the anchor of his thoughts.
Lin Jiating looked at him deeply, and without asking any further questions, she just smiled and put the peeled shrimp meat into his bowl.
"When the enemy comes, we will stop him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth! Our An An is so capable, why should we be afraid of him! Come on, eat more, you look so thin!"
As night falls, the lights come on.
Lin Yu'an held Doupi, who had fallen asleep from playing too much, and walked side by side with her sister on the way home.
The evening breeze was cool, blowing away some of the daytime heat and the confusion in my heart.
The feeling of having his sister by his side made him feel a sense of security and warmth that he had not felt for a long time.
However, the waves in my heart caused by my sister's joke took a long time to subside.
The top floor of Gu Group, the president's office.
Time: 9:15 am.
Gu Lin habitually pressed the number 1 button on the internal phone - that was the shortcut key to directly connect to his secretary Lin Yu'an's landline.
The phone rang three times, but no one answered.
He frowned slightly, then remembered the leave request email lying in the mailbox, which he had read twice: Mr. Gu, there is an emergency at home and I need to take a day off.
Urgent? What's the emergency?
When I saw him at the playground yesterday, wasn’t he talking and laughing with my sister?
Gu Lin's fingertips tapped unconsciously on the smooth mahogany table, making a dull "knock knock" sound.
The huge office was unusually quiet. Normally, the sounds of Lin Yu'an's footsteps coming in and out, the rustling of papers, and the occasional whisper of someone answering the phone...
All the white noise that constituted the background sound disappeared at this moment.
It was... annoyingly quiet.
"Mr. Gu," special assistant Chen Feng knocked on the door cautiously and came in, holding a stack of documents that needed to be signed.
"This is the Q4 promotion budget plan submitted by the Marketing Department, a copy of the contract reviewed by the Legal Department, and..."
"Put it on the table."
Gu Lin's voice was colder than usual, and he didn't even look away from the computer screen.
The screen displayed a dull financial statement.
Chen Feng keenly noticed that the air pressure was wrong. He didn't dare to breathe and quietly placed the documents in the designated place, ready to slip away.
"Wait." A cold voice sounded.
Chen Feng's back stiffened. "Boss Gu, what are your orders?"
Gu Lin's gaze finally moved away from the screen and fell on him, with a cold scrutiny.
"Secretary Lin has requested leave. You will temporarily take over his current work. Prioritize the follow-up report on the 'Xinghui' project. I want to see the first draft before 3 pm."
The "Xinghui" project?! Chen Feng's eyes went dark.
That was a core project that Lin Yu'an had been following for almost two months. It was rife with details and complex relationships. And he, a special assistant, was supposed to take over temporarily, and he had to hand in a draft by 3 pm?!
This is simply Mission Impossible!
But he didn't dare to refute, so he could only bite the bullet and agree: "...Yes, Mr. Gu. I'll do it right away."
Chen Feng almost floated out, feeling that the president's mood index had dropped to a historical low today.
He secretly groaned, Secretary Lin, Secretary Lin, why do you feel like you are taking the president's soul away when you ask for leave?
The office fell silent again.
Gu Lin forced himself to focus on the document in front of him.
However, those densely packed numbers and clauses seem particularly glaring and difficult to understand today.
He tried to read a few lines, but his mind drifted away involuntarily.
What is Lin Yu'an doing?
Is he accompanying his sister shopping?
Or did you take Doupi somewhere else to play?
Are these two siblings really that close?
Yesterday I saw them arm in arm...
Did he ask for leave because his sister came back, or was there...something else?
Countless thoughts swirled in my mind uncontrollably.
Gu Lin closed the folder irritably, stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
The hustle and bustle of a bustling city lies beneath your feet, but the noise is isolated by thick soundproof glass.
He felt an unprecedented...emptiness.
He picked up the personal mobile phone on the table and clicked on the WeChat avatar of the dark blue sports car.
In the dialog box, the last message was the good night emoticon that Lin Yuan sent last night.
His fingertips hovered over the input box, hesitating.
As "L", it seems natural to ask: "What are you busy with today?"
But wouldn't that seem too contrived? Too... intrusive?
In the end, he didn't send anything, but just held the phone tightly in his palm. The dim light of the screen reflected his cold and slightly anxious profile.
Time: 10:47 am.
After dealing with several urgent emails, Gu Lin's efficiency was much lower than usual.
He habitually reached out to take the cup on the corner of the table, but his fingertips touched cold ceramic - it was empty.
At this time of day, Lin Yu'an would always come in "just in time" to refill the cup with warm water, or his favorite Pu'er tea recently.
He looked at the empty cup and his brows furrowed even tighter.
Get up and go to the tea room by yourself?
This thought made him feel inexplicably...uncomfortable and resistant.
He dialed the intercom: "Chen Feng, pour me a glass of warm water."
Chen Feng quickly came in with a cup of water and put it down respectfully.
Gu Lin picked up the cup and took a sip. The water temperature was just right.
But he felt... the taste was wrong.
It’s obviously the same water and the same cup.
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Lunch time.
As usual, the administration department sent an exquisite business package.
Gu Lin looked at the food in the lunch box, which was carefully matched, colorful, fragrant and delicious, but he had no appetite at all.
He recalled "An Xiao Miao"'s complaints on WeChat about the tastelessness of convenience store sandwiches, and yesterday at the amusement park entrance. He thought the siblings might find some down-to-earth eatery? A street stall? Or...
He picked up his personal cell phone and opened his Moments.
This newly registered WeChat account only has one friend, An Xiaomiao.
I refreshed the page, but there are no new updates.
He opened the dialog box with An Xiaomiao again, his fingers sliding unconsciously across the screen, looking at the previous nagging daily sharing.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated!
A new message!
An Xiao Miao: [[Picture: A cup of milk tea with a straw and Oreo crumbs sprinkled on the milk cap]]
An Xiao Miao: [Mr. L! Guess what Miao Miao is drinking? A viral hit! Waited in line for half an hour! [Kitten looks exhausted and sticking out tongue emoji]]
Gu Lin clicked on the picture almost immediately.
A cup of milk tea that looks greasy and the background is a little blurred, but you can see the bustling shopping mall environment.
His tightly furrowed brows strangely relaxed a little the moment he saw the message and the picture.
L: [Milk tea?]
L: [[Coffee emoji]]
L: [Very sweet?]
An Xiao Miao: [Super sweet! Calorie bomb! [Kitten squinting happily emoji]]
An Xiao Miao: [But it’s okay to indulge once in a while! [Kitten secretly happy emoji]]
An Xiao Miao: [My sister's treating me! She said I've lost weight from being exploited at work and need to eat more! [Kitten with hands on hips, confident expression]]
It turned out that she was with her sister.
The inexplicable anxiety in Gu Lin's heart dissipated a little after he saw the words "sister will treat you".
He replied:
L: [Yeah.]
L: [[Smiling emoji]]
L: [Just be happy.]
Putting down his phone, Gu Lin looked at the exquisite lunch on the table, picked up the chopsticks for the first time, and picked up a piece of steamed fish.
The taste... seems a little better than before?
Time: 3:15 pm.
Chen Feng nervously submitted the first draft of the follow-up report on the "Xinghui" project.
Gu Lin took it expressionlessly and glanced at it quickly.
The more he looked, the tighter his brows furrowed.
The report has confusing logic, unclear key points, and ambiguous data references...it's a complete mess!
Compared with the reports that Lin Yu'an usually submitted, which were clearly organized and had detailed data, it was a world of difference!
"Redo it." Gu Lin threw the report back to Chen Feng, his voice as cold as ice.
"Where is the logical chain? Where is the core data support? What I want is analytical insights, not a running account! Before leaving get off work, I want to see a report that is worth reading."
He pointed out seven or eight key issues without mercy.
Chen Feng's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Holding the report that was criticized to pieces, he felt like he was being roasted on a fire.
"Yes... yes! Mr. Gu! I'll change it right away!"
He wailed in his heart: Secretary Lin, please come back soon! This job is really not for humans!
Gu Lin looked at Chen Feng's back as he fled in panic, and the feeling of irritation in his heart rose again.
If it was Lin Yu'an... He remembered that when Lin Yu'an had his problems pointed out by him, although he would be nervous and at a loss, there was always a tenacity in his eyes that refused to admit defeat.
He would stay up late, look up information, and revise it over and over again until it met his requirements.
That focus and resilience...
He tugged at his tie irritably and picked up his personal cell phone again.
There is no new news about An Xiaomiao.
He opened the album and turned to the photo he had secretly taken yesterday - in the sunshine, Lin Yu'an was holding his sister's neck, smiling with his eyebrows curved, without any gloom.
His fingertips gently brushed across the vivid smiling face on the screen, and complex emotions surged in Gu Lin's deep eyes.
Longing, anxiety, and a tenderness that he himself was not even aware of.
Time became extremely slow.
Gu Lin's work efficiency continued to decline.
He frequently checked his watch and refreshed his phone, hoping that the dialog box with the cat avatar would light up again.
The air in the office seemed to be frozen, and even the cold wind from the central air conditioning had a dull smell.
When the sky outside the window finally turned dusk, Gu Lin watched the time displayed in the lower right corner of the computer jump to 17:30, and he almost immediately turned off the computer.
This day was extremely long and felt like a year.
He picked up his coat and car keys and walked to the private elevator.
As the elevator went down, he looked at the mirror-like wall of the car, which reflected his slightly tired and stern face.
A clear thought took hold of his mind:
Tomorrow, Lin Yu'an must appear in his office on time.
He needed...Lin Yu'an to fill every corner of this cold office again.
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