In Mr. Xia's office, the conversation continued, but it veered slightly off course from its original direction.
Lu Zhe and the female boss chatted about everything from hobbies to philosophy, from free will to epiphenomenalism, for an unknown amount of time. Their conversation only ended when Xia's phone rang.
Seeing that his boss had a phone call to answer, Lu Zhe shifted his position slightly: "Or should I go out?"
Xia Xiaobing waved her hand, indicating that he should sit still and not move. Then, President Xia picked up her phone and answered the call.
"Hey... I understand. Let's continue the discussion. Don't lower the price yet; we've got the upper hand. Yes, yeah, hold on..."
Listening to President Xia's words, Lu Zhe realized that they were definitely discussing serious matters, but there shouldn't be anything that needed to be kept secret. However, at this point, he finally felt sleepy.
When I first started working at the company, I was full of energy and didn't dare to slack off at all when talking to the boss, but now, I can't help but relax.
As he relaxed, he felt his consciousness enveloped by sleepiness, sinking into a hazy darkness...
After an unknown amount of time, a clear and crisp voice rang in my ears:
"Lu Zhe, are you asleep? Wake up, Lu Zhe!"
He suddenly woke up with a start. The instant he realized where he was, he thought, "Oh no!" He had fallen asleep in his boss's office. He couldn't have been this reckless.
But the boss's reaction was quite unexpected.
Xia Xiaobing looked at him calmly, without any blame in her eyes, and simply asked, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Lu Zhe nodded and quickly came up with an excuse: "I stayed up a little late last night because I was learning some programming and database stuff on my own."
"Is it that hard?" Xia Xiaobing frowned slightly.
Lu Zhe wasn't quite sure what that furrowed brow meant. Did his boss think he lacked technical knowledge and had low learning efficiency? Or did he think he hadn't managed his work and rest schedule well?
Anyway, no matter how you look at it, the employer's reaction probably won't be one of feeling sorry for the employees, right?
Then he was shocked.
Xia Xiaobing reached out and gently patted his head, her tone softening considerably as she whispered, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. This job does require learning programming, databases, and other technologies, but there's no rush. You won't need them for at least a month or two, and I won't test you so soon. Just learn them slowly in your spare time; you'll have plenty of time."
Lu Zhe was at a loss for how to react.
As a corporate slave, he had never seen anything like this before. Falling asleep in the boss's office, he was lucky if he didn't get a severe scolding, but he was even comforted with gentle words. What was going on?
Xia Xiaobing then asked, "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Lu Zhe quickly replied, "No, I was just a little sleepy, but I'm fine now. Um... Mr. Xia, is there anything else?"
Xia Xiaobing paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's alright, you can go back to work."
And so, Lu Zhe walked out of that office.
Back at his workstation, he was still in a daze. Everything that had just happened in the boss's office felt unreal to him; something just didn't feel right.
Suddenly, someone approached and asked, "What were you doing in President Xia's office just now?"
Lu Zhe looked up and saw a colleague who looked somewhat familiar. Mao Kai had introduced this guy's name last week, but Lu Zhe had almost forgotten it by now, only remembering that his surname was Fu.
Fortunately, the man quickly asked another question: "By the way, what's your name again?"
"Lu Zhe, what about you?"
“My name is Fu Hanchen, and like you, I'm in the testing department. Everyone chats with General Manager Xia when they join the company. But why did you spend so much time in General Manager Xia's office?”
Lu Zhe shrugged: "It was President Xia who pulled me aside to talk to him. I also want to know why."
Fu Hanchen paused for a moment, his lips twitching slightly: "Versailles?"
Clearly, the colleague thought he was deliberately showing off the boss's favor towards him.
Lu Zhe said helplessly, "What's so Versailles about this... By the way, the reason I spent so much time in her office was probably because I was interrupted in the middle."
Fu Hanchen: "What do you mean by 'interrupted'?"
Lu Zhe: "She took a phone call in the middle, which took some time. I didn't go out while she was on the phone; I just waited there, which is why it seemed to take longer."
This explanation seemed reasonable, so Fu Hanchen stopped worrying about it, nodded, said "I see," and returned to his workstation.
The surroundings quieted down, and Lu Zhe stared blankly at the computer screen.
He remembered that his boss, Mao Kai, had come to see him around 10 o'clock the previous time. Now, it was almost 11 o'clock.
Spending an hour chatting in the boss's office was indeed a bit strange. Considering all the details that happened in the office, it felt even stranger…
After being stunned for a while, he murmured, "This boss is too good, isn't he?"
————
The door to the CEO's office is transparent, and the wall separating it from the public office area is also made of glass, but it is opaque frosted glass.
Unless someone happens to walk right by the door, no one can see what Mr. Xia is doing.
In the employees' minds, this young and capable female boss had always been very diligent and busy in the office. But this time was an exception.
She sat on the sofa, gently rubbing her right index finger and thumb together. Just now, it was this hand that had slapped that guy on the forehead.
A blush rose to her cheeks, adding a touch of radiance to her usually calm and composed demeanor—unfortunately, no one could appreciate it at that moment. The employees outside could hardly imagine her looking like this.
Xia Xiaobing slowly lay down on her side, lounging lazily on the sofa.
"I shouldn't have woken him up..."
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