Chapter 41 "So sweet".
Chapter 41
The car was driving smoothly on the way to the company. Yu Pan looked at the street scene receding outside the window, and suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and asked, "Brother, did you help me build the Lego castle that I left in your break room last time?"
Shen Yanzhou was driving when he heard this and replied, "I didn't touch it. It's your stuff, how could I dare to touch it casually?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Pan couldn't help but smile, feeling a little smug, but she pretended to be generous and said, "Actually, you can try it too, it's okay."
Shen Yanzhou chuckled and teased him, "Forget it, I wouldn't dare. Who knows who will be crying and throwing a tantrum at me again?"
This Lego set was bought by Shen Yanzhou because Yu Pan often accompanied him when he worked overtime, and he was worried that Yu Pan would be bored. The first Lego set he bought was a small gray castle.
Yu Pan had never done this before, and she studied the instructions for a long time before daring to start. After assembling it for a while, she finally managed to put together a base.
Because Yu Pan had a rehabilitation class the next day and couldn't come, Shen Yanzhou had nothing to do after lunch, so he casually pieced together a small section of the wall.
When Yu Pan came back when she had time, her face fell when she saw the extra section of wall.
With her lips pouting and her eyes filled with resentment, she circled the table several times without speaking to Shen Yanzhou for a long time.
Shen Yanzhou couldn't help but laugh at his adorable expression. The last time she saw him with that look was when she confiscated the book he was reading.
On another occasion, Yu Pan left a half-finished Lego set on a low table in the lounge. When the cleaning staff came in to clean up, they gathered up the scattered pieces.
This disrupted the sequence of events that Yu Pan had memorized. When Yu Pan came to see him, although she didn't actually cry, she puffed out her cheeks for a long time in front of Shen Yanzhou.
Yu Pan is very stubborn in this regard. She reads one book after another, and she only plays with her Lego set in Shen Yanzhou's office. The other sets she bought at home are just piled up and untouched.
“I didn’t cry!” Yu Pan retorted. “I’m angry that you messed up the order in which I spelled the puzzle. If you want to play, just tell me when you’re done.”
“Okay, okay,” Shen Yanzhou nodded, his tone indulgent: “I will definitely play in the future, and I will tell you when I’m done.”
As they were talking, the car had already driven into the company parking lot.
Yu Pan knew Shen Yanzhou's office like the back of her hand.
Back when Shen Yanzhou was in charge of warehouse entry and exit documents in the factory area, Yu Pan often looked at the calligraphy and painting figures in that small office.
Later, Shen Yanzhou was transferred to a large, independent office, and Yu Pan became a frequent visitor there, often bringing books to keep Shen Yanzhou company while he worked overtime.
Later, Yu Pan started attending rehabilitation classes and tutoring classes, so she could only go on weekends when she had time off.
It's no exaggeration to say that when Yu Pan visited frequently, she remembered exactly how many leaves the potted green ivy on the windowsill of Shen Yanzhou's office had.
Now that I'm officially in high school, I go less often.
Upon arriving at the office, Yu Pan immediately took off her thick coat and shoved it into Chen Yanzhou's arms, then went straight to Chen Yanzhou's lounge.
Pushing open the door to the lounge, he immediately spotted the unfinished Lego castle on the low table, protected by a transparent dust cover. Yu Pan quickly walked over, squatted down, and examined it closely.
Every block remained exactly as it was when he left, even the few small parts he had deliberately placed aside for the next step were untouched.
Yu Pan finally breathed a sigh of relief, a look of relief appearing on her face.
Shen Yanzhou followed them in, helped them put on their coats, and instructed, "Take off your sweaters if you get hot, don't keep them warm, understand?"
"I heard you, I heard you." Yu Pan replied without looking up. He had already taken off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the soft carpet, removed the dust cover, picked up the instruction manual and parts, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to assembling his castle gate.
Shen Yanzhou stood at the door, watching him get into the zone immediately, before feeling relieved and quietly closing the door to the lounge.
About an hour later, Shen Yanzhou finished processing a few documents and prepared to attend a short meeting. He walked to the door of the lounge, knocked on the door, and then pushed it open: "Panpan, I'm going to a meeting, it'll take half an hour."
"Okay." Yu Pan responded, looked up and smiled in the direction of Chen Yanzhou, then looked down again to continue figuring out how to fit the hinge into the door.
Shen Yanzhou did not leave immediately, but remained standing at the door watching him.
Yu Pan was engrossed in the task, but he could vaguely sense that gaze still lingering on him. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he remembered some important procedure.
"Oh dear..." Yu Pan muttered softly, put down the Lego in her hand, stood up and ran to the door.
Shen Yanzhou was leaning against the door frame, watching him.
Yu Pan tiptoed slightly and gave him a quick, natural kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then, as if she had completed an important task, she gently pushed him away, saying, "Okay, go on, go on, don't be late for the meeting."
Shen Yanzhou clicked his tongue and reached out to pinch Yu Pan's soft cheeks. "There are snacks in the bottom drawer. Take some if you're hungry. It's agreed that you can only eat one pack."
"!!!"
Yu Pan immediately pounced on Shen Yanzhou and hugged his neck, showering him with several firm kisses on the lips, saying obediently, "I know! I definitely won't eat much!"
Shen Yanzhou was rendered speechless by his series of actions. Looking at the face in front of him that seemed to say "I'm very good" and "Brother, you're the best," he could only smile helplessly.
-
This meeting of Shen Yanzhou lasted quite a long time.
Yu Pan sat cross-legged on the carpet, slowly munching on the hazelnut chocolate in his hand. He ate slowly and carefully, but even after he had eaten the seventh piece, Shen Yanzhou still hadn't returned.
He licked off the seventh small crumb from his hand and began staring at the last chocolate in the box for a long time.
Finally, swallowing hard, Yu Pan forced herself to look away and close the lid.
I need to find something else to distract myself.
Yu Pan stood up and decided to go out to get some water. Instead of going back to the lounge, he held his cup and nestled on the guest sofa in the corner of the office, staring blankly at the office door.
After he finished his second cup of tea, footsteps and voices finally came from the office doorway.
Then the door was pushed open, and Lin Siyuan and Shen Yanzhou walked in one after the other.
Lin Siyuan looked annoyed, walking along with his hands on his hips, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger: "Damn it, those bastards really think they're easy prey. Seeing that I've finally managed to get this mess sorted out, they want to jump in and get a piece of the pie!"
His voice was a bit loud, which sounded somewhat abrupt in the quiet office. Shen Yanzhou's first reaction was to turn his head to look at the door of the lounge. Seeing that the door was closed properly, he breathed a barely audible sigh of relief.
“No wonder our project has been progressing so well lately…” Lin Siyuan said, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the reception area, when he was startled by Yu Pan, who was quietly holding a cup of tea beside him. “Panpan? What are you doing here?”
"Brother Siyuan," Yu Pan put down her teacup and greeted him.
Lin Siyuan scratched his head, remembering that Shen Yanzhou had mentioned Yu Pan going to school. "Isn't today Monday? Didn't you go to school?"
"Something came up at school, so I had to take leave," Shen Yanzhou explained, not wanting to dwell on the unpleasant events of the morning.
“Yes,” Yu Pan nodded, adding, “That’s why I came to work with my brother.”
After speaking, Yu Pan looked at them, wondering why Si Yuan was so angry when they were supposed to be having a meeting.
Although Shen Yanzhou doesn't seem to be in a good mood right now, Yu Pan knows that Shen Yanzhou is sometimes like this after meetings; he's just too tired from work.
"I see," Lin Siyuan's anger subsided slightly. Knowing that Yu Pan was timid and easily frightened, he tried to make his tone sound gentler: "Aren't you happy that you don't have to go to school?"
Yu Pan answered honestly, "A little."
He has seen Lin Siyuan frequently in recent years, and he is no longer as afraid of him as he was the first time they met.
Lin Siyuan and Yu Pan chatted casually for a few minutes before their attention quickly returned to their troublesome work. He said to Shen Yanzhou, "Let's go to my place and continue our conversation."
Shen Yanzhou agreed with a "okay," and before leaving, he walked to Yu Pan's side and whispered, "Assistant Yu will bring the food over around mealtime. If I'm not back by then, you can eat by yourself, okay?"
"Okay, but I've already eaten chocolate, so I'm not very hungry yet." Yu Pan could tell that Shen Yanzhou had something important to deal with, so she didn't throw a tantrum.
Shen Yanzhou's heart softened. "Okay, then let's wait for my brother to come back so we can eat together."
"Okay!" Yu Pan replied, giving him a look that said, "Don't worry, go ahead and do your work."
Yu Pan watched as Shen Yanzhou and Lin Siyuan left the office one after the other, and the door closed. He sat there for a while, holding the now lukewarm tea, until the office door was knocked on again.
Assistant Yu brought in two transparent lunch boxes.
Yu Pan stood up, bowed slightly to her, and said, "Hello, thank you."
"You're welcome, eat it while it's hot." Assistant Yu put down the food, smiled at Yu Pan, and then left.
Yu Pan watched her retreating figure. In the past two years, Shen Yanzhou's team of assistants had also expanded. In addition to this new assistant Yu, there were also the longest-serving assistants Chen and Liu. He hadn't met Assistant Yu often and wasn't very familiar with her.
The lunchbox wasn't sealed tightly, and the aroma of the food wafted out from inside, constantly tempting Yu Pan.
Staying here was pure torture, and Yu Pan began to get restless.
So he went back to the lounge, took out the remaining box of chocolates, and placed it on Shen Yanzhou's desk. After doing all that, Yu Pan simply locked herself in the lounge, out of sight, out of mind.
Shen Yanzhou was gone for a long time, so long that Yu Pan had fallen asleep before he returned.
-
As the office door closed, the employees in the open-plan office area outside breathed a sigh of relief, but then began to worry about the meeting that was about to begin.
"Oh my god... I'm supposed to be the first one to give the report at the meeting later..." Wang Xi said with a mournful face. Thinking of Shen Yanzhou's expression when he passed through the office area, she felt a surge of panic and slumped weakly onto her desk. "I feel like I'm in deep trouble..."
Fang Shenghui, who was next to him, also slumped down, saying with a look of utter despair, "Don't even mention it. My proposal has already been rejected for the third time, and it's going to be submitted soon... I've already figured out how it will end up..."
"What's the panic?" Assistant Yu walked over with a folder, tapped their desk, and had a mysterious smile on his face. "I have good news for you. Chen Gong's brother is here and is in the room right now."
"Really!?" Wang Xi immediately perked up. "Why didn't you say so sooner!"
"Why would I lie to you? I even went in to deliver two meals at noon." Assistant Yu smiled.
Fang Shenghui was new and a little confused. "Chengong's brother is here, and then what?"
What does this have to do with him getting criticized?
"And then?" Wang Xi winked at him and lowered her voice, "And then, Shen Gong's mood index will significantly improve, although the requirements will still be just as strict... well, but his words won't be as hurtful..."
Fang Shenghui was a little skeptical, scratching his head, "Whether this is done well or not is a problem with the plan itself, right? How could it have anything to do with Chen Gong's brother?"
He simply couldn't connect the two.
"You just don't understand, do you?" another old colleague chimed in. "Anyway, when his brother was around, Chen Gong was much easier to talk to. Trust us, you can't go wrong!"
-
Shen Yanzhou pushed open the door, saw that no one was in the office, and walked towards the lounge.
Sure enough, Yu Pan was already asleep on the small bed, hugging a pillow in her arms, her breathing rising and falling, and her face was rosy from sleep.
Shen Yanzhou walked over, sat down by the bed, leaned down and gently patted Yu Pan's face, "Panpan, wake up, get up and eat."
Yu Pan groggily opened her eyes, recognized Shen Yanzhou, turned over, wrapped her arms around his neck, and said in a sleepy voice, "Why were you gone for so long..."
"Sorry, it's my fault, I've been busy." Shen Yanzhou slipped his hand under his armpits and lifted him up with a little force, supporting Yu Pan's bottom like a child. "I've made Panpan fall asleep while waiting."
"Hmm..." Yu Pan rested her head on his shoulder. He was still sleepy and spoke slowly, "Is the matter... difficult to handle?"
"It is a bit troublesome." Shen Yanzhou rarely talked to Yu Pan about work, only vaguely mentioning it. He carried him to the sofa outside and put him down, poured a glass of warm water and handed it to his lips, "Drink some water to soothe your throat first."
Yu Pan took small sips of water from Shen Yanzhou's hand, and when she had had enough, she turned her head slightly away.
Shen Yanzhou put down his water glass, sat down next to him, opened the lunchbox lid, and was about to tell Yu Pan about today's dishes when Yu Pan suddenly turned around, straddled his lap, buried her face in his chest, and pressed her face against his neck.
"What's wrong, Panpan?" Shen Yanzhou wrapped his arms around his waist and stroked the back of his hand. "Are you bored and feeling unwell while waiting?"
Yu Pan shook her head, her voice muffled, "No."
He hugged her quietly for a while before speaking, "I feel... you're not happy."
Shen Yanzhou was taken aback, then softened his voice: "What's wrong with me?"
"You're just unhappy." Yu Pan raised his head and sat up straight. He was a bit taller than before. Before, when he sat upright on Shen Yanzhou's lap, he could only look Shen Yanzhou in the eye. Now he could look down at him slightly.
He looked into Shen Yanzhou's eyes and said very seriously, "I can feel it, here you..." Yu Pan touched Shen Yanzhou's brow, "...it's all furrowed up, you're not happy."
Shen Yanzhou smiled and admitted, "A little, I've had some troubles at work, but," he flicked Yu Pan's cheek with his finger, "seeing you when I got back made me feel much better."
"Really? Am I that useful?" Yu Pan's eyes widened in surprise. He had this ability?
"Hmm." Shen Yanzhou placed his hand on the back of Yu Pan's neck, pulled him closer, and kissed his lips. "Panpan is like my ray of sunshine. Just one look at him and I can temporarily forget all my worries."
Yu Pan was amused by the metaphor, stretched out her arms and swayed her body from side to side, "I'm the source of joy... then you're my source of joy too, brother!"
"Okay, you're all happy." Shen Yanzhou patted his belly. "Let's eat, or the food will get cold."
"Hmm!" Yu Pan was finally satisfied and changed from straddling to sitting sideways on Shen Yanzhou's lap. He didn't want to be too far away from Shen Yanzhou now.
Yu Pan immediately spotted the braised pig's trotters in the lunchbox, swallowed hard, and mumbled, "I knew it smelled so good."
"So it's Panpan's favorite braised pork trotters, right?" Chen Yanzhou chimed in.
"Mmm! I love braised pig's trotters the most..." Yu Pan took a bite, and the fragrant and tender pig skin and soft lean meat made him squint his eyes.
Looking at his bulging cheeks, Shen Yanzhou said, "Hmm? Didn't Panpan say that sweet and sour pork with pineapple was her favorite?"
Yu Pan paused for a moment, then quickly added, "Um...they can be tied for first place."
"What about sweet and sour pork ribs? They can only be second place?" Shen Yanzhou asked, suppressing a laugh.
"This...this one can also be tied for first place!"
Where does boiled pork slices rank now?
"!" Yu Pan finally realized that Shen Yanzhou was teasing her. She angrily got off his lap, pushed her lunchbox, and tried to sit on the other side. "I don't want to talk to you anymore!"
Shen Yanzhou quickly pulled the person back and held them close: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I won't ask anymore. Our Panpan is kind-hearted and fair, she always gives everyone the best food."
Yu Pan turned her head, glanced at him, and snorted, "Considering that you apologized in time, I'll let it go."
"Thank you so much for your magnanimity, Yu Pan." Shen Yanzhou made a grateful expression in response.
Yu Pan then picked up his chopsticks again to eat. Before he had eaten a few bites, he suddenly remembered something, quickly put down his chopsticks, ran to Shen Yanzhou's desk, took the last hazelnut chocolate, and placed it in front of Shen Yanzhou.
"For me?" Shen Yanzhou asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Mmm." Yu Pan nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and continued eating.
Shen Yanzhou smiled, took the round chocolate, and unwrapped the gold foil.
Yu Pan ate her food, but her eyes were fixed on Shen Yanzhou's movements, as if she were about to hang a banner on her forehead saying, "Hurry up and ask me if I want to eat."
"Panpan, would you like a bite?" Shen Yanzhou asked, just as he had hoped.
Yu Pan had been waiting for these words, so she quickly nodded, swallowed the food in her mouth, and leaned over to take a bite of the chocolate from Shen Yanzhou's hand.
Mmm, just a small bite.
"So sweet." Yu Pan smacked her lips.
Shen Yanzhou pinched his chin before putting the rest of the chocolate into his own mouth.
…
The meeting proceeded as scheduled. When it was Fang Shenghui's turn, he took a deep breath, presented his revised proposal (which he had revised three times), and finished speaking.
I thought it would be another brief and indifferent "redo".
Unexpectedly, what I heard this time was—
“The market analysis and data in the previous part are not bad,” Shen Yanzhou said, flipping through the materials in his hand. “The part about implementation is not focused enough. Take it back and revise it around points three and five. Bring it to my office tomorrow morning.”
They didn't redo it; they even gave specific directions for improvement!
Fang Shenghui could hardly believe his ears. He was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted and quickly replied, "Okay, I'll deliver it to you on time tomorrow!"
Back in his seat, Fang Shenghui let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Chen Gong's younger brother, please come more often in the future!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Panpan: I'm a warm-hearted guy [calico cat emoji][calico cat emoji][calico cat emoji]
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