What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 36
Want to Hide You in a Golden House?
Ten… tens of thousands?
Xu Le felt a bit dizzy. He checked the backend interface to confirm there weren’t extra zeros, his heart pounding wildly.
He steadied himself, sang a few more songs, answered some questions from the bullet comments, and then ended the stream.
From start to finish, “Ivan,” who was number one on the leaderboard, never left the live stream.
Soon, Li Dongming called him via video. Xu Le answered, and the screen showed a deathly angle of Li Dongming’s wide jaw and—prominent nostrils.
“Lele, long time no see. Miss me?” Li Dongming, lying on his bed, greeted lazily but cheerfully.
Due to his two-year military service, Li Dongming started college two years later than usual. Xu Le, on the other hand, started school a year early. The three-year age difference, combined with Xu Le’s harmless, fresh appearance and good personality, made Li Dongming quite fond of him, treating him like a younger brother.
Despite still being preoccupied, Xu Le couldn’t help but laugh at his good friend’s ridiculous camera angle. “Buddy, how do you always manage to pick such ugly angles for your videos, each one worse than the last? Don’t forget we took a photography class!”
Li Dongming chuckled deeply, sat up, and leaned against a pillow, looking much more normal. At least now his face on the screen appeared rugged and attractive, no longer distorted.
“Lele, one of your live streams is worth my hard work for half a year. Don’t forget your brother when you make it big.”
“Get out of here!” Xu Le laughed and cursed.
“But that rich guy was so generous. Did he private message you? Be careful not to get scammed,” Li Dongming warned seriously.
Xu Le shook his head. “No, not really…” His tone changed, “Hey, buddy, I ran into Zhao Zhiang recently.”
Li Dongming’s thick eyebrows furrowed, his expression changing instantly. “Zhao Zhiang? Just ignore him. I blocked that idiot a long time ago.”
“Yeah,” Xu Le replied, briefly recounting the events of that day, making Li Dongming frown even more.
“Damn it, he deserved to be dumped and embarrassed. He didn’t act like a decent person and even vented his anger on his girlfriend. I despise cowards like him. Your boss did the right thing! That was awesome!” Li Dongming exclaimed angrily.
Xu Le nodded vigorously. “At that time, I didn’t even know how my boss did it. He single-handedly subdued Zhao Zhiang, who couldn’t even struggle, just shouting futilely.”
Hearing this, Li Dongming became curious about Xu Le’s boss. “Your boss must be something. Sounds like he’s trained in martial arts.”
Xu Le was surprised. “Really?”
“Of course, an ordinary person wouldn’t have that kind of strength, especially to take someone down with one move. He must be trained in martial arts and be quite skilled.”
Having served in the military and always been interested in boxing and martial arts, Li Dongming was somewhat of an expert. Xu Le trusted his words.
Instantly, Xu Le admired Lan Qing even more.
He hadn’t expected that President Lan was not only good at his job but also a former race car driver and proficient in martial arts!
“Maybe because my boss is mixed-race, he’s about your height!”
Li Dongming was 1.9 meters tall, and President Lan was indeed about the same height.
Although President Lan usually appeared dignified and stern, making it hard to associate him with his mixed heritage, Xu Le couldn’t help but recall his boss’s fierce driving, his calm face while downing two bottles of vodka, and how he handled Zhao Zhiang with “actions speak louder than words.”
Indeed, he was worthy of being called part of a “fighting nation.”
“Mixed-race? From where? White or Black? British, American, French, or Italian?” Li Dongming asked curiously.
“Uh, none of those. It’s that really hardcore one! The one always joked about online!” Xu Le teased, trying to make Li Dongming guess.
“Holy crap, is it Russian?” Li Dongming was shocked.
Xu Le, holding back his laughter, nodded. “Yeah, I was surprised too when I first found out.”
Li Dongming gave a thumbs up. “Zhao Zhiang really hit a brick wall. Russians are known for protecting their own. No wonder your boss stepped in for you. You’re his employee, so it’s only natural he’d help you out. Haha, I quite like your boss’s style. A real man!”
“Of course, my boss is super cool!” Xu Le laughed heartily.
“Tsk tsk, you used to say I was the coolest when I brought you meals in college!”
“Get out!”
Li Dongming laughed boisterously. “Hey, does your boss treat all his employees this well? It’s making me want to join your company. Working in a state-owned enterprise is really unsatisfying, always nodding and bowing to leaders every day. I’d rather start my own business and be my own boss!”
Li Dongming’s family background was quite impressive. His mother was a leading figure in academic research, and his father was the head of China operations for a Fortune 500 company. However, Li Dongming wasn’t one to flaunt his background and was quite independent, so his family didn’t interfere with his choices.
“Not really. I feel like our boss…” Xu Le hesitated, conflicted about how to continue, “treats me a bit differently?”
Li Dongming was intrigued. “What do you mean? He values you particularly? That’s impressive, Lele!”
“It’s not just that. I swear I’m not overthinking. In the eyes of everyone in the company, our boss is this cold and impartial high-level boss, but he seems to… care about me a lot?” Xu Le furrowed his brows, puzzled. “It’s like he’s overly concerned?”
“Overly concerned? How?” Li Dongming asked curiously.
“He sends me home, buys me meals, steps in to resolve issues at work, and even helped rescue a stray cat for me. I can’t keep pets in my apartment, so he took the cat to his place…” Xu Le recounted, his tone melancholic and reflective.
Li Dongming scratched his head. “Just from hearing this, why do I feel it’s like something shady?”
He was even straighter than Xu Le, a former soldier and a tough guy, so he was even more clueless about this kind of thing than Xu Le.
“Also, I’ve been looking for a place recently, and then my boss said he has a vacant house that isn’t often used, so he told me to stay there for now. He also said he’d send someone to pick me up at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Li Dongming’s jaw nearly dropped in shock. “Your boss is giving you a place to stay?”
Xu Le nodded blankly. “Seems like it.”
Li Dongming’s expression became a kaleidoscope of emotions. He said wistfully, “Lele, why does this sound like your boss wants to keep you as a pampered pet in his golden house?”
Author’s note:
Well, President Lan might actually have that intention, hahaha.