Evil Love Appears chapter 38

Monday, the most melancholic and sluggish day of the week for office workers.

However, from early morning, the message alerts in the “Office Workers Love app” group chat were endless.

Xiao Yun: Comrades, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?

Li Jingjing: It’s early in the morning, so let’s start with the good news.

Xiao Yun: Alright, everyone, pay attention! President Fu is officially returning today. I arrived early today and saw that a single office has been prepared for him in our area. The nameplate is already up, and Wang Xiaoshan is organizing documents inside.

Li Jingjing: ? Is that the good news?

Hu Xia: Really? Ahhh! ヾ(ノ°▽°)ノ

Hu Xia’s message was sent together with Li Jingjing’s, creating a stark contrast.

Li Jingjing: =o= Hu Xia, can you still laugh now?

Hu Xia: …

No matter how the office workers felt, Fu Xiaoyu had already driven to the Gemini Tower by noon.

As he was no longer the CEO of the IM Group, he parked his car in a regular parking space and walked confidently to the floor where Lite was located.

They had agreed that he would come later in the afternoon, so Wang Xiaoshan didn’t come down to greet him. The first person to see him was Hu Xia, who was sitting by the corridor.

“President Fu, long time no see! You’ve finally—”

Hu Xia’s eyes lit up, and he almost jumped out of his seat. However, as he was speaking, he suddenly stuttered.

Today, President Fu…

Fu Xiaoyu had clearly dressed meticulously. He was wearing a light gray, tight-fitting suit with a wine-red tie featuring subtle dark stripes on the collar. He wore a black, double-breasted, long coat with only one button fastened. His feet were clad in vintage Chelsea boots. He had arrived at noon, and because the sun was glaring, he had a pair of gray Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses perched on his face.

The aviator-style sunglasses were bold and not something ordinary people would dare to challenge. However, Fu Xiaoyu’s tall stature, combined with his small and straight nose, gave him a sharp and arrogant appearance that left Hu Xia momentarily speechless.

Fu Xiaoyu was always well-dressed, but this level of fashion sense, from the outfit to the color coordination, was akin to stepping out from an Instagram photo with the best OOTD tag.

“President… President Fu… Would you like some coffee?”

In just a few words, Hu Xia stuttered twice.

“No need…”

Fu Xiaoyu removed his sunglasses, scanned him, and seemed to be in a good mood, offering a casual greeting, “Good afternoon. It’s lunch time; why haven’t you gone for your break and lunch?”

Hu Xia remained frozen in place.

He didn’t know if he was more shocked that President Fu had greeted him with “good afternoon” or that he had asked, “Why haven’t you gone for your break and lunch?”

Fu Xiaoyu didn’t wait for him to respond, just leaving a comment, “Remember to prepare progress reports for this afternoon,” and walked further inside.

The entire Lite office area was in “shock-induced silence,” not just Hu Xia.

“Xu Jiale…”

Fu Xiaoyu proceeded to the innermost seat.

Xu Jiale had already noticed Fu Xiaoyu’s arrival. He adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses that were resting on his head and glanced outside for a moment.

“afternoon.”

Xu Jiale replied with a calm tone, “You’re here?”

He didn’t get up from his seat and seemed focused on his work.

Fu Xiaoyu didn’t respond immediately but stood behind him, gazing at Xu Jiale’s computer screen.

No one would enjoy this feeling.

Xu Jiale suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

In theory, Xu Jiale, being a co-founder of the Lite Company and a leader in the General Administration, could have his own office. However, his easy going attitude had led him to sit among his subordinates, without the need for a separate office.

But at this moment, he began to regret his previous hasty decision.

“Are you rushing to prepare the progress report for the afternoon?” Fu Xiaoyu suddenly asked.

“Yes…” It wasn’t really a matter of rank; he didn’t need to report to Fu Xiaoyu, but Xu Jiale was somewhat distracted at the moment, so he responded casually.

“In that case, don’t rush it…” Fu Xiaoyu looked at his watch and said decisively, “We can go over it during lunch. I’ll treat you.”

This seemingly casual conversation was, in fact, well thought out. Fu Xiaoyu had come to the company at noon with the intention of meeting Xu Jiale for a working lunch, and he had a perfectly reasonable excuse for the timing.

Xu Jiale fell into silence.

Why did Fu Xiaoyu want to have lunch with him? While it was framed as a work lunch, they had previously been colleagues. However, Fu Xiaoyu was known for strictly controlling his daily calorie intake and had never considered indulging with others.

Hu Xia, seated at another desk, was eager to eavesdrop and catch every word from their conversation.

“Fu Xiaoyu, I really don’t like eating salads.”

Xu Jiale responded quickly and added a smile. This statement, while a polite refusal, sounded light-hearted.

“Okay,” Fu Xiaoyu responded matter-of-factly, “I’ll have Wang Xiaoshan make a reservation at a steakhouse. Their steaks are quite good.”

Fu Xiaoyu had directly proposed a solution.

“fine..” Xu Jiale was now genuinely starting to feel a headache.

The conversation had reached a deadlock. If he had initially expressed his desire to rest alone, it would have been a reasonable and unawkward situation. But by phrasing it differently, he was stuck, as a direct refusal might make Fu Xiaoyu feel embarrassed in front of his colleagues.

To be honest, anyone could see that Fu Xiaoyu today was particularly radiant and charismatic.

Regardless, Xu Jiale didn’t want to embarrass Fu Xiaoyu.

He could only helplessly stand up, grab his coat, and walk out with Fu Xiaoyu. Fu Xiaoyu was wearing a cologne with a scent of cedar, which helped to suppress his pheromones, giving him a cold and pleasant fragrance.

At that moment, Xu Jiale suddenly became alert, realizing that even if he wanted to keep his distance from Fu Xiaoyu, this omega’s social maneuvering skills were impressive.

Subsequent events in the next few days confirmed Xu Jiale’s premonition:

Fu Xiaoyu was awkwardly making attempts to be close to him.

Fu Xiaoyu invited him to lunch every day, from steak to sushi and even afternoon tea at a luxury hotel. It wasn’t unhealthy, and there were no vegetables for Xu Jiale to use as an excuse.

Honestly, Xu Jiale had to admit that Fu Xiaoyu had chosen these restaurants meticulously, showing a high level of intelligence. Even Xu Jiale couldn’t help but sigh –

At one point, Xu Jiale had pretended to invite Hu Xia and Xiao Yun to have hotpot to avoid Fu Xiaoyu. But to his surprise, the ever clueless Hu Xia had gone to invite Fu Xiaoyu, “Xu-ge is inviting us for hotpot, are you coming, president Fu? It’s hotpot!”

Fu Xiaoyu indeed joined them for hotpot. He ordered a clear broth and ate by himself.

Signs were evident not only during lunch. After work, Fu Xiaoyu would message him on WeChat.

Of course, this time, Fu Xiaoyu didn’t use the excuse of sending the message to the wrong person. Instead, he started a conversation about work.

Naturally, Xu Jiale responded as expected: “Fu Xiaoyu, after work is my personal time, no work talk.”

So Fu Xiaoyu changed his strategy and asked, “Have you found your Cartier bracelet?”

This time, he really found a personal matter to chat about.

-.-: “I looked for it, but couldn’t find it.”

Fu Xiaoyu: “I’m really sorry, Xu Jiale. How about I compensate you with one?”

Damn it…

Fu Xiaoyu didn’t even want to send Cartier.

In the midst of being amused by Fu Xiaoyu’s clumsy attempt to get closer, Xu Jiale had been thinking about how to respond.

He was a master of “avoiding entanglements,” but it appeared that this omega had trained diligently in some Shaolin kung fu and didn’t care about flashy moves; he just charged forward with a punch.

He wanted to address the matter, but it seemed he had to find a less hurtful pretext.

And the time for that came quickly.

It began on Thursday night when Xu Jiale and Fu Xiaoyu left the office together. He suddenly realized his Tesla wasn’t charged and considered booking a ride. However, it was peak time, and the wait was too long.

Seizing the opportunity, Fu Xiaoyu offered to give him a lift since they were heading in the same direction. At this point, Xu Jiale wasn’t in the mood to wait any longer.

On their way back, they encountered heavy traffic due to an accident on a particular road. It was so congested that they couldn’t move for a while.

So they spent their time casually chatting in the middle of the night amid the stationary cars.

For Fu Xiaoyu, this experience was probably a delightful occurrence, and Xu Jiale could tell that the omega was genuinely happy.

………….

The next day, on Friday morning, Since Xu Jiale had been held up as he had to call a cab to take Nanyi to Amon’s place, he asked Fu Xiaoyu to help him charge his Tesla. But to his surprise, in the evening, after work, when he arrived at the company’s parking lot, he found that his Tesla still had no charge.

Damn it Fu Xiaoyu.

Even clumsiness should have its limits!

Author’s note:

“OOTD” stands for “Outfit of the Day”!