Chapter 143 The Lounge
After sending Rou Rou out to buy milk tea, Zhou Pingchuan started working. Xia Mian didn't want to disturb him, so she sat on the sofa opposite him and played on her phone.
As a celebrity, Xia Mian dared not spend too much time on Weibo, afraid of accidentally liking posts and turning it into an indelible stain on her reputation. She'd already bought all the latest clothes, and there wasn't anything new or interesting to read...
Moreover, he sat for a whole day, and his back ached.
"Why don't we get up and move around a bit?" Xia Mian put down her phone and began exploring Zhou Pingchuan's office.
Zhou Pingchuan's office was designed as a suite. Upon entering from the outside, one first sees a small reception room and a restroom, and then goes into the office.
There are two doors on either side of the office entrance hallway. The left door has a combination lock, presumably for storing confidential documents. The right door is just like a regular door.
What's inside?
"Knock knock knock—" Just then, someone knocked on the door of the Dong office. Rou Rou had returned after buying milk tea.
Zhou Pingchuan had urgent business to attend to, so he gestured for Xia Mian to open the door. Xia Mian could tell that Rou Rou wasn't a dedicated tea server. After opening the door and getting the milk tea, she took out a hair clip from her pocket and said, "Thank you for the milk tea, thank you for your help."
“…Xiao Xiang’s, Mr. Xia, I can’t accept it, it’s too precious.” Rou Rou quickly waved her hand.
"It's okay. It was a free gift with the purchase this morning. I'm a boy, so I don't need it. It would be a waste to keep it at home. I might as well give it to you."
Rou Rou is a native of Beijing from a well-off family; otherwise, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to study abroad. Hearing this, she didn't refuse again and readily accepted the gift: "Thank you, boss lady!"
Xia Mian: "...You should still call me Mr. Xia."
Rou Rou quickly changed her tune: "Thank you, Mr. Xia!"
Xia Mian was bored, and having caught Rou Rou, how could she possibly let her go?
"Are you busy right now?" he asked.
"Not in a hurry, we're waiting for Chairman Zhou to review the overall business plan."
"What's that room for?" Xia Mian pointed to the door on the right.
"According to Assistant Yu, it's where Chairman Zhou rests, but I don't know exactly what he does there. It seems like Chairman Zhou doesn't allow people to go in; even the cleaning lady has never been there."
Summer Mian frowned.
Rou Rou noticed his confusion and whispered, "It's said that Mr. Jay Chou had some unpleasant experiences at the company."
An unpleasant experience?
I had a relationship with a company employee, and after the breakup, I started cutting off all places related to him.
After thinking it over and over, Xia Mian could only come up with this one reason: he thanked Rou Rou and let her go back to work, while he went back to the sofa to drink milk tea.
As I inhaled, drowsiness gradually crept in.
Zhou Pingchuan sat opposite Xia Mian. When he looked up, he saw the boy holding a milk tea cup, his eyes getting smaller and smaller, his head drooping lower and lower. Then he suddenly woke up, picked up the cup, and took another big sip of milk tea.
Even when she's this tired, she still remembers her milk tea; she must really love it.
Zhou Pingchuan chuckled and asked, "Tired?"
“…Hmm,” Xia Mian rubbed her eyes, “a little.”
"I have a meeting to attend. You should go to the lounge and get some rest."
The lounge? Xia Mian pointed to the right: "Is that it?"
"Yes, go ahead, there are blankets inside."
He pointed to himself and asked, "Can I go?"
"sure."
But didn't Rou Rou say that Zhou Pingchuan doesn't allow anyone to enter? Xia Mian couldn't ask this question, because if he did, his gossip about Zhou Pingchuan would be exposed.
Xia Mian had no choice but to take the milk tea and slowly move towards the lounge. When she reached the door and saw that Zhou Pingchuan had no intention of backing out, she opened the door, turned around, and went inside.
As I had imagined, the lounge was not large, about ten square meters, with only a single bed, a small bedside table, and a small wardrobe with spare clothes for emergencies.
The bed was simple, with a pillow and a quilt folded against the wall, in a blue-gray color, which suited Zhou Pingchuan's taste.
Summer looked around, searching for any trace of the other person, but unfortunately, she couldn't find them. She simply took off her shoes and got into bed, intending to take a nap.
As soon as I opened the blanket and crawled into bed, I immediately regretted it.
Zhou Pingchuan must have rested here often; the entire small space was filled with his woody scent, especially on the bedding, where the smell was hard to ignore.
It felt like... being held tightly in Zhou Pingchuan's arms.
Xia Mian's heart raced. After noticing her own strange behavior, she angrily scolded herself for being so weak: "Mianmian, what are you thinking? This might be where he used to hang out with other people, and you're blushing and your heart is racing? Besides, you don't like him anymore, okay? It's okay if there's a little fragrance. Treat him like a perfume tester. If you still can't control yourself, I'll smash your head in!"
Go to sleep! He gave himself an ultimatum.
Believe it or not, psychological suggestion really works; Xia Mian actually fell asleep and even had a dream.
In his dream, he and Zhou Pingchuan seemed to have returned to before they joined the crew. He tried every means to seduce the other party, but unfortunately he failed. He was so angry that he curled up in the corner of the bed, like a pitiful shrimp whose vein had been removed.
Zhou Pingchuan tried to coax him, but no matter what he did, he couldn't. In desperation, he simply carried him back to the middle of the bed, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
Zhou Pingchuan had a high body temperature, and Xia Mian was getting hotter and hotter as she slept. Reluctant to let go of Zhou Pingchuan, he pulled back the covers—
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Xia Mian was suddenly awakened. Looking up, she saw a simple cement ceiling, not the retro-modern Longxi No. 1.
Zhou Pingchuan wasn't beside her; instead, she was wrapped in a blanket, so hot that she was covered in sweat.
The vast difference between his dream and reality overwhelmed him with layers of disappointment. Xia Mian had just woken up and was still reeling, so she quickly opened the door to the lounge.
But Zhou Pingchuan was nowhere to be seen; the entire office was empty and deserted.
Could Zhou Pingchuan have just abandoned him at the company and left? Xia Mian returned to the lounge, sat on the bed, and anxiously texted: [Where are you?]
When the message was received, the R&D department and the finance department were arguing fiercely.
Upon hearing the ringing of the phone in the head seat, both directors simultaneously lowered their volume and looked at Zhou Pingchuan. Finding the ringtone short, likely a WeChat notification, they turned their volume back up and continued arguing about their previous issue.
Because Mr. Zhou rarely answers the phone during meetings, let alone uses casual chat software like WeChat. He takes every meeting very seriously, and his employees never dare to give him materials that don't meet his standards.
They thought Jay Chou would ignore the message as usual, but this time, surprisingly, he picked up his phone, tapped a few times, and then looked up: "Have you reached a conclusion?"
CFO: "...Mr. Zhou, the R&D department is doing a terrible job of controlling costs. I can't accept the budget they submitted."
R&D Director: "But R&D requires money! If we don't go all out to experiment, when will we be able to produce results that satisfy everyone in the company?"
“Looks like we won’t be able to finalize the draft today. The R&D department sent me a copy of the budget, let me take a look,” Zhou Pingchuan stood up abruptly, “Meeting adjourned.”
He paused, then added, "My family is anxiously looking for me."
CFO & R&D Director: "...Huh?"
The fact that the boss brought her newlywed husband to the company has already spread within the company, and the two directors know about it.
But boss, we... don't need your explanation, do we?
As wise as you are, why are you trying to cover up your ignorance?
Or are you deliberately trying to slap cold dog food in our faces?
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