Unexplainable emotions
The next day, Lin Yu'an arrived at work on time with dark circles under his eyes.
Morning meeting.
The air in the office seemed to be frozen, so thick that it could bend a person's spine.
Lin Yu'an held his breath, his fingertips felt slightly cold, and his eyes were fixed on Gu Lin's bony hands.
The hands had just ruthlessly thrown a stack of printed manuscripts in front of him. The sound of the papers hitting the table was crisp and harsh, like an invisible slap in the face.
"Secretary Lin," Gu Lin's voice was flat and steady, like an icy shard, "This market analysis report needs to be redone."
Lin Yu'an's heart sank suddenly, and his stomach tightened.
Another redo.
He stayed up all night for three days on this report, checked countless data, and revised it repeatedly, thinking that he had made it impeccable.
His throat tightened, and he managed to squeeze out a sound: "Mr. Gu, please tell me... what's the problem?"
Gu Lin raised his eyes.
Those deep eyes are like a cold pond on weekdays.
At this moment, an extremely complex undercurrent flashed by, so fast that Lin Yu'an thought it was his own illusion.
The president's gaze seemed to linger on his slightly pale face for half a second, and then returned to the kind of scrutiny that could freeze a person.
"Problem?" Gu Lin's fingertips tapped on one of the data charts with considerable force.
"The supporting evidence for the projected growth rate is woefully weak. The competitive analysis is superficial, lacking any deep insight. Furthermore," he said, his slender fingers running across a few lines of text, "the logical chain here is broken. The overall structure is loose and lacks a core focus."
Every word was like an ice pick, precisely chiseling Lin Yu'an's tense nerves.
He subconsciously straightened his back, his nails almost digging into his palms.
It's the same again, always finding fault with everything, always being condescending and picky.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the grievance and fatigue that surged in his heart, and whispered, "I understand, Mr. Gu. I will revise it immediately."
"I want to see the new version before I leave work today."
Gu Lin withdrew his hand and leaned back against the wide leather chair, his tone a final judgment that could not be questioned.
"Quality, Secretary Lin, what I want is quality, not a perfunctory patchwork."
He waved his hand with the casual dismissal of a superior, "Get out."
"Yes, Mr. Gu." Lin Yu'an grabbed the report that sentenced him to death, and the edge of the paper hurt his palm.
He turned and walked towards the door, his steps heavy.
Just as his fingers touched the cold door handle, the cold voice behind him sounded again, abruptly breaking the oppressive silence:
"etc."
Lin Yu'an's back stiffened, he stopped and slowly turned around.
He thought that he had been found to have made some mistakes again and was prepared to face a new round of storm.
Gu Lin's eyes did not fall on his face, but were lowered.
He seemed to casually glance at the coffee cup he had placed on the corner of the table and had hardly touched.
There was still a little steam coming out of the cup.
"Coffee," Gu Lin's tone remained cold, but what he said completely stunned Lin Yu'an. "It's too hot. Next time...use warm water."
He paused, as if feeling the instruction wasn't clear enough, and added stiffly, "Or tea."
He could only rely on his instinctive reaction and responded very stiffly: "...Okay, Mr. Gu."
He even forgot to ask Mr. Gu what kind of tea he wanted to drink. He almost opened the door with his hands and feet and left the suffocating space.
The heavy door closed gently behind him, isolating the ubiquitous low pressure in the president's office.
He looked down at the report in his hand that had been ordered to be redone, then looked up blankly at the closed door of the president's office.
Is your coffee too hot? Try warm water? Or tea?
He shuddered and decided not to think about it any further. Holding the heavy pile of "garbage", he walked quickly to his workstation and plunged back into the hell of revision that was destined to make him bald.
---
Gu Lin stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city below that looked like a miniature model.
The glass reflected his stern profile, with taut lines.
Lin Yu'an's confused yet forced calm look when he left just now was clearly engraved in his mind.
That report... Gu Lin's fingertips unconsciously slid across the cold glass.
He admitted that he had deliberately raised the standards to an almost harsh level.
Those so-called "problems" are not fatal flaws, and may even be a bit nitpicking.
But he just couldn't control it.
When he saw Lin Yu'an handing over the documents with his eyelashes lowered and concentrating, he felt an inexplicable irritation and a feeling of being blocked by an invisible barrier while wanting to get closer, which drove him to act picky.
He wanted to see more vivid expressions on Lin Yu'an's face, even if it was the grievance and unwillingness aroused by him.
It's better than that kind of businesslike and cautious distance.
But when Lin Yu'an's face turned pale and his fingertips trembled slightly because of his provocation, an unfamiliar, fine tingling sensation suddenly grabbed his heart.
He turned around irritably, his eyes falling on the corner of the desk.
The coffee cup still stood there quietly, the heat from the rim of the cup had long dissipated.
The words "change to warm water or tea" came out almost spontaneously, and even he was surprised.
He just wanted to... just wanted to break the suffocating silence, just wanted to see what other reaction Lin Yu'an would have besides obedience and nervousness.
As a result, he only received more obvious shock and confusion from the other party.
Gu Lin’s brows furrowed even tighter.
This feeling of being out of control sucks.
He is used to being in control of everything, whether it is a vast business empire or a minute work process.
Only when facing Lin Yu'an, he always seemed to be on the verge of losing control - during the day, he was out of control and strict, and at night, he was out of control... concerned.
---
The city’s neon lights light up one after another, dyeing the night into an ambiguous glow.
In the old apartment building that Lin Yu'an rented, the window that belonged to him also emitted warm yellow light.
But the scene under the light was completely different from the cautious secretary in the daytime.
Tonight, he wore his hair in long, soft chestnut curls, the ends of which fell playfully over his shoulders.
Her face was delicately made up, with tiny sequins stuck to the corners of her eyes, which flickered as she blinked, like falling stars.
A cream-colored sweater with lace trim sets off his fair skin, and a small velvet choker tied around his neck gives him a sweet and lazy look.
"Hello hello! Good evening, babies!"
An Xiaomao spoke into the microphone, her voice processed by a voice changer, sweet and soft, with just the right amount of cuteness.
"Meow meow, here you are on time! Did you miss me?"
The barrage of comments instantly surged like a flood.
[Meow meow, honey! I finally waited for you! It feels like a long time since I last saw you!]
My wife is so beautiful today! This sweater is amazing!
[Meow meow, look at me! Today I want to hear you complain about that evil capitalist!]
[Right, right, right! Where were we yesterday? Is that icy boss trying to make things difficult for you again?]
Looking at the eagerly anticipated messages scrolling across the screen, Lin Yu'an's nerves, which had been tense all day, finally found an outlet to vent.
He skillfully adjusted the parameters of the voice changer to make the voice more in line with the sweet image of "An Xiaomiao".
Then he sighed softly, and the sigh was amplified by the microphone, carrying a kind of grievance that was endearing.
"Oh, don't mention it, babies," An Xiaomao pouted slightly, and her beautiful eyebrows frowned into a worried arc.
"Today is another day dominated by the devil. You know what? I stayed up all night for three days on a single report! I almost went blind from researching so much, and I feel like my hair has fallen out in clumps! What's the result?"
He imitated Gu Lin's cold and ruthless tone during the day perfectly.
"'Rework! The logical chain is broken! Lack of core focus!' It slammed down on my desk with such force, wow, it felt like the whole floor was shaking!"
He became more and more engaged as he spoke, and the frustration and anger that had accumulated during the day found a safe outlet under the cover of a virtual identity.
"I'm so confused. Does he have titanium X-ray vision? Or is his brain directly connected to a supercomputer? How can he instantly find 'problems' in such a perfect report? Do all CEOs need some superpowers, like the 'nitpicking method' they use to torture their secretaries?"
[Hahahaha! Meow Meow's rant skills are maxed out! My nitpicking skills are pretty good!]
[My heart aches for Miaomiao! Three all-nighters! Is this boss the reincarnation of Zhou Paopi?]
[Meow, don't be angry! Hug! We won't argue with such an inhuman capitalist!]
[Evil capitalists! Devil who sucks the blood of workers! Meow Meow, quit now!]
The barrage of comments was full of echoes and condemnations, mixed with various small gift effects of comfort and rewards.
Lin Yu'an looked at the support and resonance that kept scrolling on the screen, and the depression in his heart finally dissipated a little.
He enjoyed the feeling of being cared for, understood, and even loved, which was a comfort that he could never get in the cold reality of the workplace.
"Resign?" An Xiaomiao held her chin with her hand and made a cute expression of serious thinking.
"Not yet, darlings. This job is stressful and intense, but it pays well... I want to buy a house! And achieve financial freedom!"
He made a fist-clenching fighting gesture, accompanied by a cute expression, which attracted a barrage of "Hahahaha" and "Meow meow, come on" on the screen.
At this moment, an extremely dazzling golden light suddenly exploded above the live broadcast room!
A gigantic space battleship burning with virtual flames suddenly appeared, and slowly sailed across the entire screen with a deafening roar!
The warship's tail dragged a dazzling trail, eventually transforming into a glittering golden line, a massive system announcement that took up almost half the screen:
Supreme user "L" gifted streamer "An Xiao Miao" a "Star Overlord" space battleship! Become the super captain of this live stream! Click to visit "L's" homepage to pay homage to the master!
The entire live broadcast room was instantly ignited by the special effects of this valuable gift!
The barrage of comments was filled with comments like "The boss is so generous!!!" "God L is here! Everyone stand up!!!" and "Meow meow! God L is here!!!".
Lin Yu'an's heart also jumped along with the virtual battleship.
It's him again! That mysterious, shockingly generous top-tier guy, "L"!
Every time he appears, he is accompanied by huge rewards that are enough to shake the entire live broadcast platform.
It always appears precisely at the moment when his emotions fluctuate the most.
"Wow!!!"
An Xiaomao covered her mouth instantly, her eyes wide open, filled with just the right amount of shock and surprise.
As if she was really stunned by this unexpected generous gift, she said, "Thank you, Brother L! Thank you, Brother L, for the super battleship! Oh my god! It's too expensive! Meow meow... Meow meow, I don't know what to say!"
His voice trembled slightly with excitement.
The private message icon in the corner of the screen flashed at the right time, and an exclusive prompt from "L" jumped out.
Lin Yu'an took a deep breath and opened the private message window.
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