Chapter 28 The Domineering CEO [VIP]
...
After the Great Heat on July 22nd, the weather became increasingly hot.
Early in the morning, the sun rose above the horizon in the east, hanging high above everyone's heads, recklessly radiating terrifying light and heat.
The light was blinding, and the cicadas chirping outdoors made people restless.
At this point, almost a month had passed since Yan Chen returned to Beijing and appeared at Changsheng Group.
For the past twenty-odd days, the secretaries in the president's office have been working themselves to the bone, constantly bombarded with the bad news of working overtime.
Busy as they are, the effect of their role as a stabilizing force is visible to the naked eye.
Since Yan Chen appeared, the little schemes that had been brewing within the group have vanished without a trace, like bubbles washed ashore. Some projects that had been temporarily shelved due to the president's absence have also been quickly approved and put on hold.
The secretaries were already used to such a high workload, and with the lure of generous overtime bonuses, they could still make ends meet.
In the break room, several secretaries gathered together to relax and chat while making coffee.
Secretary Qi, holding his coffee, looked blank and his eyes were lifeless: "I worked overtime until 8 p.m. yesterday, and I don't expect to be able to leave on time today either. Mr. Yan, you're terrifying!"
Someone quietly added, "It's said that General Manager Yan didn't leave until 10 p.m. last night."
"hiss."
Everyone gasped in unison.
"Ah, so this is the world of the strong?" Secretary Qi exclaimed in amazement, picking up his cup and taking a sip of air.
Oh, I forgot I haven't picked up my coffee yet.
The most senior colleague, Sister Wei, gossiped with them: "Hey, don't you guys think President Yan has changed a bit lately?"
Everyone except Secretary Qi nodded silently.
Secretary Qi is new and doesn't know the details. Actually, although General Manager Yan was busy before, he was never so busy that he worked overtime until 9 or 10 pm for a whole week.
At this moment, Secretary Liu provided a piece of information: "I arrived early this Monday and happened to run into General Manager Yan at work. He looked very..."
Noticing everyone's eyes were fixed on her, Secretary Liu carefully chose her words: "She looks very dejected."
To illustrate her point, she gave a specific example: "She looks like she's just heartbroken."
As expected, everyone scoffed and didn't believe it.
Mr. Yan? Romance?
Putting these two words together is just absurd.
Yan Chen's image is too perfect. He is wealthy, handsome, and emotionally stable, which makes him seem distant.
While the secretaries subconsciously kept their distance from Yan Chen, they also felt that Yan Chen was not interested in down-to-earth romance.
Sister Wei said thoughtfully, "From what you've said, it seems that President Yan has indeed been in a bad mood lately."
On several occasions when she was reporting on her work, she noticed that General Manager Yan was staring blankly at the amber ornament on his desk.
"Oh? Is there something going on with President Yan?" The secretaries all stared at her, their eyes shining.
Sister Wei waved her hand dismissively: "Go away, how would I know?"
However, upon exiting the tea room and seeing Assistant Hong passing by with documents, my feet involuntarily moved closer.
*
"Dodo."
"Enter."
Hong Yue entered the room, placed the report on Yan Chen's desk, reported on today's schedule, and then mentioned that his secretary had inquired about President Yan's bad mood.
He offered a tactful reassurance: "People just find it a bit strange that you work overtime until midnight every day."
Yan Chen hesitated for a moment before signing, then said without looking up, "Let them finish their assigned work and leave normally. They don't need to stay with me."
“There’s been a lot of work piling up lately, and everyone’s been working overtime,” he said, setting aside the signed documents. “How about we double the end-of-month bonus for the CEO’s office?”
Is spending money your way of venting your emotions?
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hong Yue knew he had gone too far.
Yan Chen said this simply because he saw the secretaries' hard work.
"I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking," he said apologetically.
People like Yan Chen, who are restrained and patient, only numb themselves with work when they want to vent their emotions, and they won't let themselves get completely drunk even when they drink.
Yan Chen didn't take it to heart, picked up the next document and flipped through it: "It's okay, I've troubled you quite a bit lately."
Since the topic has come up, Hong Yue couldn't help but ask a few more questions.
"You and Zhou Qingran..."
The man's movements suddenly stopped.
Hearing that name again after many days still makes his heart leap with joy and feel a pang of sorrow.
Yan Chen forced himself to suppress his surging emotions and calmly replied while looking at the document, "He left on the day I was discharged from the hospital."
No wonder the bar notified him to pick someone up that night, Hong Yue thought to himself.
Despite the doctor's instructions to abstain from smoking and drinking for the next two weeks, Yan Chen never acted recklessly.
Seeing that Yan Chen was in a relatively calm mood, Hong Yue felt relieved.
That's fine too. He'd rather Yan Chen suffer for a while, because time will heal everything. It's better than the two of them being entangled and slowly being torn apart.
"Su Yu has been very dissatisfied with how you handled things. Have you thought about how to explain it to him?"
Hong Yue teased him, "Su Yu isn't as easily swayed by money as I am."
Yan Chen gathered his thoughts, feeling a bit of a headache.
They were friends since childhood, and he was very grateful for what Su Yu had done for him during his disappearance.
"What do you think I should do?" he asked Hong Yue for his opinion.
Hong Yue said, "If you truly feel sorry, then explain your thoughts to him clearly. Even if he can't accept it then, he'll understand why you did it."
"Of course, this is just my personal suggestion; the decision is yours."
Should he be honest with Su Yu about his feelings for Qing Ran...?
"I understand," the man said, lowering his eyelashes.
After Hong Yue left the office, Yan Chen raised his wrist to check the time.
Seeing the deep blue starry sky dial on my wrist, Qingran's image involuntarily came to mind again.
For him, this watch did have special significance; it was the last birthday gift his grandmother gave him.
As I put my hand down and looked up, my peripheral vision was immediately drawn to a bright golden color on the table.
The man hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and took the amber in his palm.
In his palm, a gray-blue butterfly, about to take flight, was encased in resin as clear as honey. Looking at it, Yan Chen could still recall Qing Ran's lazy and carefree demeanor when she gave him the gift.
He clenched his fists, thinking to himself that he was the one who had been captured.
"Knock knock".
There was another knock on the office door.
Secretary Wei brought the documents to sign.
While waiting, she idly observed the items on her desk and was surprised to find that the beautiful amber was gone.
...
In the evening, Yan Chen met with Su Yu to confess.
That evening, Hong Yue received another invitation to drink.
Hong Yue, who had stepped into the bar twice in just one week, was exasperated. He really didn't like drinking that much, really!
The bar has a quiet and elegant atmosphere, with soothing blues music playing in the air.
Hong Yue found the bartender and went to sit down nearby, ordering, "A glass of juice, please."
"No, you have to drink with me!" Su Yu said, dissatisfied.
Hong Yue sighed, "Young Master, I have to drive you home."
Su Yu: "There is a driver."
The bartender looked at Hong Yue questioningly.
Hong Yue nodded: "Whiskey." Then he asked, "Where's Yan Chen?"
"I've gone home after dinner," Su Yu said. "Did you already know about Yan Chen and that guy surnamed Zhou?"
Hong Yue: "Yes."
Su Yu: "That Zhou guy is selfish, vicious, stupid, vain, and short-sighted. How could Brother Yan Chen possibly be interested in him?"
Hong Yue: "Who can say for sure when it comes to feelings?"
Su Yu: "So they're completely done with each other now, right?"
Hong Yue: "It should be."
Leaning on the bar counter, Su Yu raised her eyes blankly: "But Yan Chen seems to really like him."
Yan Chen's disguise was not good at all; he saw through the depression and sadness hidden beneath his calm exterior at a glance.
Hong Yue looked into his bright eyes: "What are you thinking?"
Su Yu unconsciously fiddled with her wine glass and said, "I'm Yan Chen's best friend, and I hope he can be a little happier."
Yan Chen has always had a very tiring life.
Isn't this exactly what Hong Yue was thinking?
He used to think that the person who could make Yan Chen happy was...
"Assistant Hong, do you think I'll still be his best friend if Yan Chen has someone he likes?" Su Yu asked him again.
Hong Yue snapped out of her daze: "Whether Yan Chen has someone he likes or not, as long as you're willing, you'll still be his best friend."
Su Yu seemed to understand something.
After a while, he started complaining again: "Couldn't he have liked someone else? Of all the people he could have liked, he had to choose Zhou Qingran. First, Zhou Qingran stole his things, and then she chose to take the money and leave."
"Zhou Qingran is really stupid this week. If he likes money, why doesn't he cling to Brother Yan Chen? Brother Yan Chen can give him much more than he can get his hands on."
She then became genuinely puzzled: "What was he thinking? Why did he leave Brother Yan Chen?"
This was also a point of confusion for Hong Yue.
He was the one who made the choice directly in front of Zhou Qingran, and he knew very well Zhou Qingran's attitude at the time. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he did it without thinking or hesitation.
This decisive attitude suggests that he had anticipated this outcome.
Could it be that Zhou Qingran misunderstood Yan Chen's attitude, thinking that only he was showing up, and that the former was doing him a favor, while the latter was buying off the relationship?
Then Zhou Qingran chose to end it with great backbone?
Damn, this guy is toxic. He's clearly the one who's greedy for money, how can he defend Zhou Qingran like that!
Then Su Yu muttered to herself, "Thinking about it carefully, Zhou Qingran did indeed save Brother Yan Chen."
"Although he hid things, he returned them later; although he shamelessly followed me to Beijing, he didn't cling to Brother Yan Chen and refuse to let go in the end..."
"It really is poisonous," Hong Yue thought, speechless.
"Don't think too much about it. It's better that the two of you have broken up. Instead of making excuses for Zhou Qingran, you should think about how to help your brother Yan Chen get out of the shadow of heartbreak."
Su Yu thought it made sense: "You're right."
*
At the neighborhood supermarket, the person Hong Yue and Su Yu were talking about was pushing a cart to buy snacks and fruit.
One of the rewards Yan Chen gave her was a property in Beijing, where Qingran lived after moving out of the manor.
[I've already taken the money and left. When will the lovers finally get together? When will this story finally end?]
The system carefully assessed the host's unusually cold tone and cautiously replied, "[This...this...the male lead and Su Yu might both need some time.]"
Qingran frowned deeply.
His concession was a way of hoping that he would find an opportunity to achieve enlightenment after completing the story; if not...
[ah! ]
The system suddenly cried out in alarm.
Before Qingran could even ask, it burst into tears: [Waaaaah, host, the system just showed that the male lead's relationship with the official couple has completely collapsed!]
[What's going on?] Qingran stopped and squinted.
Let me check...
After much searching and twists and turns, the system finally found the surveillance footage of a high-end restaurant. After watching it, the system went silent.
[...because the male lead confessed to Su Yu that he liked her, so he didn't care about what she did.]
Qingran then fell silent.
He messed it up, so it's okay now.
He hadn't expected the so-called line of fate to be severed so easily, and he frowned in distress.
[So our mission failed?]
[Huh, it seems not.]
Qingran: [Tell me about the mission.]
System: [Assist the host in playing various cannon fodder and villain roles to maintain the plot's development and thus successfully collect energy.]
Qingran grasped the key point: [Maintaining the plot is a means, collecting energy is the real goal. What exactly is this energy you want?]
The system looked bewildered: [Energy is energy, I don't know either.]
Aoran:[……]
Well, things will work themselves out. Let's just take it one step at a time.
After shopping, I paid and went home.
The supermarket in the neighborhood is very close to his home. As he walked, carrying his things, he pondered the opportunity that still hadn't materialized.
It now seems that the opportunity to achieve enlightenment is mostly unrelated to maintaining the plot.
Then what about his regretful decision to give up on Yan Chen? Was it just asking for trouble?
His familiar entrepreneurial venture collapsed halfway through. Could it be that he really shouldn't have been so persistent in pursuing opportunities, but instead should have enjoyed life and followed his heart?
Suddenly, the system, with a hint of unwitting gossip, eagerly offered a reminder.
[Host, it's Yan Chen.]
Qingran suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The streetlights illuminated the space beneath his feet.
Not far away, a dark figure sat quietly in the shadows on a bench.
A note from the author:
Two more chapters to end this world~
Thanks for watering! *kissing*
Reader "Jiji Explodes, Becoming a Hero in Fairy Tales" watered the page with +25 nutrient solution.
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