What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 12
Is He Being Playful?
After sternly warning Qin Yaguan not to enter the kitchen again, Lan Qing began cleaning it with a cold face.
Unless he was too busy, he usually preferred to cook himself. He enjoyed the process of cooking and trusted the ingredients he handled personally.
Pressed for time, he quickly made a few dishes and a hangover soup for Qin Yaguan.
Looking at the table filled with beautifully presented, delicious-looking dishes, and the special hangover soup for herself, Qin Yaguan smiled with satisfaction, “Looks like my dear brother isn’t completely hopeless.”
Lan Qing: “…”
“You’ll clean the table later. Don’t tell me you can even break the dishwasher.” He said expressionlessly.
Qin Yaguan: “…”
She wanted to take back her previous comment!
After dinner and washing up, Lan Qing continued working until the clock’s hands pointed close to midnight. Only then did he get ready for bed.
He had a habit of reading a physical book by the bedside lamp for half an hour before sleep.
He didn’t mind what book, but they were mostly philosophical or economic, which others found very dry.
Just as he reached for the book on his bedside table, he remembered something and picked up his phone, opening WeChat.
Sure enough, the little intern had accepted his friend request.
The other party seemed worried about the initial rejection and had honestly sent a message explaining.
Seeing the cautious tone, Lan Qing could imagine the intern’s regretful state while editing the message.
As for the sticker…
A puppy had its paws stretched to its chest, making a pleading gesture, with round, innocent eyes.
It resembled the little intern quite a bit.
Both had bright, black eyes and were equally naive.
Lan Qing thought for a moment and sent a message.
Xu Le had just turned off his computer and was about to wash up and sleep when his phone screen lit up with a WeChat message. He instinctively wanted to ignore it and check it after washing up.
However, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be a message from President Lan?
With nervous anticipation, he opened WeChat.
It was indeed a message from President Lan, with only three words, very concise. Just by looking at the sentence structure, he could imagine the cold, frosty look on the other party’s face.
Lan Qing: [Mm, good night.]
President Lan said good night to him!
This must mean that the earlier rejection of the friend request didn’t bother him at all!
Xu Le’s heart, which had been half-uptight, completely relaxed.
He thought, the President is a busy person, having seen many ups and downs. How could he be bothered by such a small offense?
Xu Le happily replied to Lan Qing’s message.
Xu Le: [President Lan, good night and sweet dreams!]
After sending this message, he felt it would be too dry and insincere without an emoji, so he carefully selected one from his collection.
Avoiding the ones that were too strange or ugly, he found a “proper” cute GIF of a little cat tucking itself into bed and sent it to Lan Qing.
Then, humming a tune, he went off to wash up cheerfully.
Lan Qing was reading a book when he saw his phone screen light up. He checked it and found a goodnight message from the little intern.
It was accompanied by a cute sleeping cat emoji.
In Lan Qing’s online social interactions, most conversations were routine. Even with friends and family, he rarely used emojis; when he did, it was usually a simple “OK” from the default keyboard options.
As for subordinates, none would dare to send him any non-work-related messages.
But the little intern seemed to love using emojis.
The intern had sent only two sentences, both with cute animal emojis.
Was this… childlike playfulness?
Was the little intern being playful with him?
Surprisingly, Lan Qing didn’t feel annoyed. He even found it quite amusing.
If he remembered correctly, according to the intern’s profile, Xu Le had just turned 21 this year. He had started school a year earlier than most, so it was normal for a boy his age to be somewhat immature.
But Lan Qing hadn’t noticed it before. In real life, the intern acted timid and cautious around him, like a turtle hiding in its shell, yet through the screen, he seemed a bit—
Lively?
Lan Qing casually opened Xu Le’s social media profile.
The little intern posted quite frequently, usually every two or three days, sometimes even several times a day.
As Lan Qing was about to browse through the intern’s recent posts, his finger paused on the screen.
It was a post from Xu Le at 6 PM that day, featuring a picture of a blue-eyed orange cat with an old bell around its neck.
The picture alone was harmless, but it was the caption that caught his eye.
“Hehe, come and see this noble and aloof little fortune cat. Its temperament is just like my boss—cold and aloof, doesn’t like to interact with people, and they both have blue eyes!”
Lan Qing: …?
He actually dared to compare him to a cat? Not only was the intern lively behind the screen, but he was also downright cheeky!
Xu Le had an unusually good night’s sleep without any dreams.
This time, he had figured out the office schedule and arrived at the company precisely at breakfast time.
The company cafeteria offered both breakfast and lunch, with a wide variety of options catering to both northern and southern Chinese tastes, and even some foreign cuisines.
Of course, Xu Le chose to have breakfast in the company cafeteria.
Faced with a variety of delicious options, he swallowed his saliva and ordered a portion of egg sausage rice noodles. Feeling it wasn’t enough, he also got a cup of soy milk, a serving of soup dumplings, and a fried bun.
“Aunt Zhang, you flatter me. You’re young and beautiful. Your son surely isn’t any worse than me, and he’s only a sophomore, still enjoying university life!”
Xu Le’s sociable personality and handsome, fresh appearance made him popular with women of all ages, from three to eighty.
Aunt Zhang was amused by his words and couldn’t help but add a few more taro sticks to his tray.
“Thank you, Auntie. Wow, that’s too much! I’ll be stuffed!” Xu Le looked at the tray piled high, feeling the warmth of Aunt Zhang’s kindness.
With the tray in hand, he checked the time and saw he had eighteen minutes before work started. He needed to eat quickly.
“Xiao Lele, what a coincidence, come sit with us.”
A charming and pleasant female voice called out. Xu Le saw Jiaxin waving at him from a distance.
That day, Jiaxin was dressed boldly and attractively. Despite the low neckline of her shirt, it didn’t appear vulgar on her; instead, it exuded a sophisticated allure.
Seeing her wave, Xu Le couldn’t refuse and walked over with his tray.
Jiaxin looked at the heaping portions on his tray and asked curiously, “Can you finish all that?”
Xu Le nodded, a bit embarrassed. “I have a big appetite. If I don’t eat enough, I’ll get hungry quickly.”
“That’s true. You’re only 21; you might still grow a bit more. Eat up,” Jiaxin said, resting her cheek on her hand and smiling at Xu Le. “I checked out your account last night. It’s pretty interesting, so I followed you.”
Hearing that she had followed his A-site account, Xu Le’s eyes widened in surprise. “Jiaxin jie, you followed me? Thanks!”
“Your account is managed well. Ever thought about becoming a full-time content creator? I have a friend who’s a beauty influencer. She makes tens of thousands from a single ad, much better than us working regular jobs,” Jianxin asked out of curiosity.
Xu Le shook his head. “Not planning on it for now—”
He was interrupted by a somewhat grating male voice.
“Good morning, Jiaxin. Mind if I join you?”
Xu Le looked up to see a man in a well-tailored suit, wearing a flashy watch, his hair slicked back. At first glance, he might pass as a handsome, successful professional.
But Xu Le felt uncomfortable with him, noticing his dark circles and sullen expression. Even when smiling, his eyes looked somewhat sinister.
The man completely ignored Xu Le and stared intently at Jianxin, clearly determined.
Xu Le frowned. The man seemed to be harassing Jiaxin, and he was about to speak up when Jiaxin beat him to it.
“Manager Zeng, there are so many seats here, you don’t need to squeeze in with us, do you?” Jianxin’s beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, openly displaying her disgust.
Only then did Zeng Junhua turn his attention to Xu Le, but he didn’t regard this new intern with no background as worth his notice.
“A new bar opened recently, it’s members-only and not everyone can get in, but my friend knows the owner. Jiaxin, are you free tonight? After work, let’s go have some fun?” he persisted.
Jianxin didn’t bother looking at him and lazily said, “Sorry, I’m not feeling well and can’t drink. Manager Zeng, once you’re done eating, hurry back to work.” Her implication was clear: she wanted Zeng Junhua to get lost.
Zeng Junhua’s face changed slightly, and he shifted his gaze to Xu Le.
He looked Xu Le up and down, noticing there were no brand-name items on him—just an affordable shirt and trousers, with childish sneakers on his feet.
Seeing this boy focus solely on eating, it was clear he had no background and came from a modest family.
The only remarkable thing was his face, which made Zeng Junhua sneer inwardly.
“A man’s worth isn’t just in his looks, but in his depth and substance. Jiaxin, your taste doesn’t seem very good.”
After saying this, Zeng Junhua deliberately stroked his well-groomed hair with his left hand, which had a Vacheron Constantin watch worth millions gleaming on his wrist.
Xu Le, who was busy eating and had his cheeks puffed out: “…?”
Oh my, did this unwashed, gloomy-faced guy mistake him for a pretty boy?